First All-Black Sports Radio Station Closes After 3 Months

In June, veteran sportscaster Rob Parker launched Detroit’s first all-black sports rap radio station. Just three months later, he announced Sports Rap Radio in I’m 1270 ceased operations.

According to , Sports Rap Radio has stopped broadcasting and officially went off the air at 5:00 p.m. ET on August 27. The station broadcast from WXYT-AM in Detroit. After Sports Rap Radio went off the air, the radio station reverted to BetQL Network programming, which had occupied that slot before Parker launched the station.

“Unfortunately, our second round of funding fell through, which made it difficult to continue,” Parker said. “Sports Rap Radio, the idea and the concept, is doable and serves the underrepresented black community in sports radio. I’m proud that we were able to launch the first all-black sports station in this country. I’m proud of the product that the staff delivered. But I’m devastated that I couldn’t deliver that to our culture. I let my people down.”

Parker wasn’t alone on this endeavor; other owners of Sports Rap Radio included his longtime friend Dave Kenney, former NBA player B.J. Armstrong, and former Detroit Country Day football star and University of Michigan forward Maurice “Moe” Ways. He said the station originally had (*3*)starting May 16, nevertheless it didn’t reach the airwaves until June 4 under a two-year lease with Audacy, owner of WXYT. Audacy’s syndicated BETQL Network previously occupied the slot before making way for Sports Rap Radio.

Parker had high hopes for the station before its launch.

“Up until four years ago, Detroit had no black regular sportscasters on the radio,” Parker said. “In a city that is almost 80 percent black, I saw that as a problem.”

Parker assures that each one station employees shall be paid for his or her work.