Football, Faith and Family

On the air, James Brown's professionalism, intelligence and sincerity are obvious. During his 30 years in broadcasting, JB (don’t call him James or Mr. Brown) has hosted two Olympic Games, the NBA finals, college basketball's "March Madness" and four Super Bowls—including this year's football championship in Miami.

His ease in front of the camera and behind the microphone have earned him numerous awards, including two Emmys and the Sportscaster of the Year.

But don't get caught thinking that JB's life is all about sports.

"The TV and the other stuff, that's my avocation," JB says. "God's business; His work. That's my vocation."

Not that JB wears his faith on his sleeve while he's on the air. He's mindful to be respectful of his mainstream audience. However, his charity work, business decisions and personal life demonstrate his deep commitment to Christ.

Football
Most people wouldn't choose to leave a job at the pinnacle of performance. But last fall when JB moved from Fox Sports to return to CBS, he did exactly that.

"Making the decision to go from Fox to CBS was a tough one," JB says. "My wife and I put it before the Lord and put everything down on paper. The spiritual component was critically important. Then I prayed on the matter with the women in my life—my wife, my sister and my mother."

From a career perspective, the decision may not have made sense. For 12 years, JB had helped "Fox NFL Sunday" earn the No. 1 spot and a place in the Television Hall of Fame as one of the longest-running, top-rated shows with the same cast.

But God had given JB a peace about the move that allows him to spend more nights at home with his wife and gives him greater opportunities to be at church, where he helps out as a youth minister. The Fox studios are in Los Angeles, which meant a lot of long plane trips and days away. CBS is based in New York—much closer to JB’s Washington D.C. home.

"I'm not sure what God has planned for me," the 55-year-old says. "But it's incumbent on me to make certain that I am digging deeply in the Word and truly allowing Him to guide me."

Faith
While JB's life isn't all about athletics now, sports played a key role for him growing up in the nation's capitol.

"No one wanted to play professional basketball more than me," JB says. "It was my passion, my dream, my talent."

JB earned high school all-American honors during his junior and seniors years at DeMatha High School. Every major college—including Dean Smith at North Carolina and John Wooden at UCLA—recruited the power forward. However, JB chose to attend Harvard where he was a three-time all-Ivy League player and graduated in 1973 with an American government degree. The Atlanta Hawks drafted him with the 62nd overall pick.

"I felt exceedingly good about my training camp," JB says. "Even Pete Maravich—God rest his soul—and a number of the veterans on the Hawks said, 'You can play. This should work out well for you.' "

Near the end of camp, JB was called into the coach's office.

"I thought he was calling to congratulate me," JB says, "and he told me that he was letting me go."

JB jumped on a plane and cried his way back home. Then he hid in his house for a few weeks. Finally, he decided to get on with life and took a job as a sales director for Xerox. The JB's family weren't big churchgoers while he was growing up. During his teens, they started going to church and talked more about faith. But God soon became very real to the 23-year-old.

"I was driving home from work one night," JB remembers. "I was making good money and driving a nice Corvette, and I felt the emptiest feeling. Everything was about toys, clothes and cars. It was just so shallow, so I asked God: 'If You would help me and deliver me from this superficial, hedonistic lifestyle that I will work on being a better servant for You.' "

JB admits that there have been some stumbles, but he's come back from his mistakes more committed in his faith.

Family
Following God's direction is a big theme for JB, especially as he transitioned back to CBS Sports as host for "The NFL Today" and as a play-by-play announcer for NCAA college basketball games. JB got his big break with CBS in 1984 before going over to Fox 10 years later.

JB married Dorothy 12 years ago, and she's helped him stay focused on his relationship with Jesus.

"She teaches at the Bible college at our church," JB says. "Having a wife who's very firmly grounded makes me grounded, especially in this business where it is easy to allow ego to run rampant and be pulled off course—she doesn't deviate."

"It’s human nature to be selfish," Dorothy adds. "In marriage you have learn to be unselfish. As the Word says, 'consider others better than yourself,' then you truly learn to work together."

With a high-profile career that causes JB to travel a lot and creates certain temptations and stresses, the Browns feel it's the basic, little things that keep their relationship strong.

"Marriages go through peaks and valleys," Dorothy says. "So it's important to get back to doing those little things you did for each other when you were dating."

Talking with each other, spending quality time, sharing feelings, holding hands—all these things, plus a foundation of faith have made their marriage work.

"Nurturing the relationship is critical. I’m not going to say we've mastered it—we haven't," Dorothy says. "Like everyone else, we have our challenges, but the one thing that the Lord always reminds me is to get back to my first love, and that is Christ, and allow Him to guide me."

"At this point in my career, I've tried to be smart about stopping to smell the roses," JB says, "and also to be very prayerful to make sure that which I'm doing is consistent with what God's perfect will is for my life."