MacMullan?s career marked by talent, toughness and tact
In a field cluttered with ego, machismo and braggadocio, Jackie
MacMullan is a refreshing alternative. The veteran Boston Globe scribe and local and
national sports commentator is one of sports media?s true pros.
She signed a contract with ESPN last March to cover the NBA and is a
regular contributor to the network?s ?Cold Pizza? and ?Around the Horn.? In
addition, she is a panelist on NESN?s ?Sports Plus? and 7NBC?s "Sports Extra."
Despite these many outlets, MacMullan believes that overexposure is a
four-letter word.
?I get tired of me, so I think the viewers could too,? says the
self-effacing MacMullan. ?(Boston Globe colleague) Bob Ryan told me that it is
important to make sure that never happens.?
MacMullan was born on Long Island, but raised in Westwood, MA where she
played for the highly successful Westwood High School girls basketball
program as well as track and field hockey. It was high school sports that gave her
the entry into sports media.
Says MacMullan, ?The Daily Transcript newspaper (Dedham, MA) never
covered girls sports. My father (Fred MacMullan) told me to call the sports editor
and see if they would let me write for the paper. They agreed. I started
writing my stories in long hand and passing them in to the newspaper office.?
MacMullan was recruited as a basketball player by Brown University and
badly wanted to attend the Ivy League institution. When she was not accepted
into the school, she chose UNH, played basketball for the Wildcats and
graduated in 1982 with a major in English and a minor in Political Science.
Along the way, it was MacMullan?s parents, not any athlete or writer
who inspired her. ?My dad was a sports junkie and never missed any of my games,?
she relates. ?My mom Margarethe was a good athlete and an extremely
competitive person. Dad was born and raised in New York, but loved (legendary Boston
Globe writer) Ray Fitzgerald. He always covered the human side of sports.?
MacMullan started as a Metro/Region news intern at the Globe in 1982
working the 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. shift. It was here that her desire to cover
sports blossomed.
She states, ?Ian Thomsen, now of Sports Illustrated, interned with me
at the Globe at that time. He is my best friend in the business and a very
underrated writer. I really wanted to be in sports. I was only 21 at the time, but
I took a deep breath, went into (then-Globe sports editor) Vince Doria?s
office and asked for a chance.
?He told me I needed some experience. I went back and covered UNH
sports for two weeks and gave him those stories.?
Right around this time, Bob Ryan left the Globe for a full time job at
WCVB-TV 5. MacMullan was there for the opportunity.
?They hired me and I was covering crew, Boston University football,
Northeastern basketball and the NCAA Final Four. Ian (Thomsen) was hired then as
well.? MacMullan counts former Globe scribes Lesley Visser and Leigh Montville
as mentors who helped her at the Globe.
With the continued excellence of the 1980s Celtics, MacMullan became
one of the most influential and respected basketball writers in the country. In
1999, she collaborated with Larry Bird on ?Bird Watching,? a book delving
into Bird?s perspective on the game as a player and coach.
MacMullan blanketed the Celtics through the salad days of 1984-1987, and
through 1994. She credits the players for allowing her important access.
?Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson gave me a
chance. They were all great to me. Robert Parish was the best of them all. I
have had great relationships with athletes over the years. Patrick Ewing,
Charles Barkley, Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest and David Ortiz stand out.?
Not all of MacMullan?s dealings with athletes have been positive. ?
(Former NBA star) Larry Johnson was absolutely terrible, a real jerk,? says the
46 year-old MacMullan. ?At one of the World Championship tournaments in
Toronto, he grabbed his crotch in front of me and was a total disgrace.
?One of my first assignments was a UMass football game. When I got to
the locker room after the game, security stopped me and physically prevented me
from going inside. One of the coaches came and reamed out the guard. I was in
tears.?
Like other trailblazing female reporters, MacMullan felt the sting of
sexism from all sides.
She relates, ?Ninety percent of the time early on, I was the only woman
in the locker room except maybe for (Boston Herald writer) Karen Guregian
(Former New York Giants GM) George Young was against me being in the locker room
and Lawrence Taylor once threw a hair dryer at me.
?Bruce Hurst was adamantly against female reporters in the locker room.
Red Auerbach didn?t want me in there at first. I had to work at getting Grady
Little?s respect and I still wonder if Bill Belichick will ever take me
seriously.?
Ideally, MacMullan would like to see gender eliminated from any
discussion of her career. She states, ?I hope I?m passed being known just as a
woman
who knows sports. I want people to listen to me and say that they like my
opinions regardless of gender.?
MacMullan left the Globe in 1995 and joined Sports Illustrated. She
left SI in 2000 and relates that this marriage seemingly made in sports writing
heaven was never a good fit.
?It just never felt right. SI wasn?t breaking news. It was a different
culture. I made more money than I ever dreamed possible, but it got to the
point where I had to get off the merry go round.?
Indeed, family has been a running theme in MacMullan?s storied career.
She has been married for 20 years to husband Michael with children Alyson, 14,
a freshman sports aficionado at Westford Academy and son Douglas, 10, a
theater and music lover.
MacMullan eventually took two years off to stay at home and be with her
family. She also enjoys traveling, hiking, camping, cooking and working in her
vegetable garden.
Now back at the Globe as a columnist, MacMullan?s career flight is
hardly in its final approach. She explains, ?I did a week-long visiting
professorship at UNH in journalism last year and I loved it. It would be great to try
teaching full-time sometime in the future.?
In truth, MacMullan has been teaching us the right way to cover sports
and voice an opinion for nearly a quarter century. While local media
colleagues like Gerry Callahan employ hate and hurt, and national commentators such as
Michael Irvin have zero credibility, MacMullan?s talent and knowledge is
surpassed only by her class.
She is a must-view, must-listen and must-read, and continues to be a
standard-setter in terms of dignified and insightful sports talk. MacMullan
counts the 1988 Seoul Olympics, 1985 NCAA Finals, 1986 World Series and 2004 World
Series as some of her favorite stories.
She is a huge admirer of trailblazing distance runner Joan Benoit
Samuelson and that is fitting. For women, and for that matter men, who want to
excel in sports journalism, MacMullan has been a superb role model, albeit a
humble one.
?I never looked at myself as a trailblazer,? says MacMullan. ?I was
just doing what I liked. I really hope people think I?m fair. I understand why
athletes view the media the way they do. This is a tough business and we need
to take our responsibilities seriously.?
John Molori?s columns are published in The Boston Metro, Patriots Football
Weekly, ColdHardFootballFacts.com, Boston Sports Review, Boston Baseball
Magazine, Methuen Life, TheRemyReport.com, PatsFans.com, BostonSportsReview.com,
BostonPressBox.com, BostonSportsMedia.com and BostonSportz.com. Email John at
MoloriMedia@aol.com.
PRINT THIS | 
E-mail To A Friend | 
Post Comment
