The Basketball Feelings Podcast, Episode 55: Kerith Burke

My job is all emotional. I really don’t consider my job Xs and Os at all. It’s being an emotional conduit for the moment.

If you’ve ever watched a local Bay Area broadcast of the Warriors you’ve had Kerith Burke grace your screen (if you’ve watched the last three Olympics then you’ve likely seen her too). She has a knack for bringing out candid, honest, genuine answers from athletes, many as they’re still catching their breath walking off the court, by creating an empathetic, intelligent space with a lot of nuance. An exception in this space, not the rule.

We talked about Kerith’s first journalism job being on the crime beat, how she hated it, and how her pivot to sports was career-saving. We talked about the necessity of trust in interviews (with athletes, but with anybody), her time covering UConn women’s basketball alongside Breanna Stewart and the short-changing of women’s sports before its current cultural high-water mark.

We also talked about prep, how sideline reporters and broadcasters have to prep a lot and the grace required to let go of all that information you’ve crammed in your head for the sake of another — or better — story in the moment.

Plus: Fluidity as a muscle, the beautiful feeling of being saved in an interview by a generous person at the other end, if any sports dynasty ever ends well — or in a satisfying way, the Warriors dynasty what happens now, troubleshooting when technology fails you in a critical moment (like interviewing LeBron James), Steph Curry and the awareness of career mortality, working in a crumbling industry, how to hold awareness of an athlete’s challenges/personal struggles/current failings in your head with empathy and still do your job with objectivity.