Bomani Babatunde Jones[1] (born August 26, 1980) is an American sports journalist who was formerly employed by ESPN. He was the co-host of Highly Questionable with Dan Le Batard, before leaving the show in June 2017 to develop his own show, High Noon.[2] He is also a regular panelist on Around the Horn. Jones also hosts the podcast The Right Time with Bomani Jones for ESPN and his own podcast The Evening Jones.[3] He has also written for SB Nation, Salon and Page 2 at ESPN.com.[4] His sister is award-winning novelist Tayari Jones.[5][6]
Bomani Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bomani Babatunde Jones August 26, 1980 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Clark Atlanta University (BA) Claremont Graduate University (MA) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (MA) |
| Career | |
| Show | Highly Questionable; The Evening Jones, Around the Horn, The Right Time with Bomani Jones, High Noon, Game Theory with Bomani Jones |
| Style | Sports radio |
| Country | United States |
| Website | http://www.bomanijones.com/ |
Early life and education
editJones, who is of African American heritage, was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Later he moved to Houston, Texas, attending school in the town of Waller in the Greater Houston area.[7][8][9] His economist mother Barbara Ann Posey and political scientist father Mack are professors and activists.[5][10] Jones graduated from Clark Atlanta University in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He followed that up with a master’s in politics, economics, and business from Claremont Graduate University and a master’s in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[1][5][9][11][12] He later studied towards a doctorate in economics at UNC, while living in Durham, North Carolina.[8][13]
Career
editBefore becoming a sportswriter, beginning in 2004 Jones worked as a music and pop culture critic, including writing for AOL and ESPN.com.[8][9][11][14] From January 2008 to October 2009, he hosted two radio shows in Raleigh: The Three Hour Lunch Break on 620 the Bull and Sports Saturday with Bomani Jones on 850 the Buzz.[10][11][15] The shows ended after the radio stations were sold.[11] In January 2010, Jones launched his radio show, The Morning Jones, which was hosted from Durham, North Carolina.[16] Also in 2010, Jones began appearing as a contributor on ESPN's Outside the Lines and a panelist on Around the Horn.[1][11] The Morning Jones ended on August 30, 2011.[11][17] Jones later hosted his own internet shows, The Evening Jones[5] and Bomani & Jones on SB Nation's YouTube channel until January 2013.[11]
Beginning in 2012, Jones appeared regularly on Dan Le Batard's ESPN2 show Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable, where he discussed major sports stories with Le Batard.[1][11] Around the same time, he began guest hosting The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz radio show on The Ticket Miami on Wednesdays. On May 9, 2013, it was reported that Jones had signed a new four-year contract with ESPN.[1][18] In May 2013, Jones became co-host of the renamed Highly Questionable, which moved to ESPN in March 2015.[11][14] Jones remained on Highly Questionable until June 2017, when he left to prepare for a new project with fellow ESPN talent Pablo S. Torre.[19]
In January 2014, Jones won three consecutive Around the Horn episodes in which he appeared.[20] As of October 30, 2014, he has 104 wins in 373 appearances on Around the Horn. On March 30, 2015, The Right Time With Bomani Jones debuted on ESPN Radio.[10][21] On September 21, 2015, The Right Time was moved to the 4 to 7 PM time slot.[10] In December 2017, "The Right Time" ceased airing daily on ESPN radio. It reappeared as an ESPN Podcast in April 2018. On June 4, 2018, Jones and Torre co-led the series debut of High Noon on ESPN.[22] On March 13, 2022, Jones began a new show, Game Theory with Bomani Jones, on HBO.[23] Jones has served as an adjunct professor at Duke University and Elon University.[7][11]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Cain, Brooke (May 25, 2013). "Local sports talk personality makes the move to ESPN". The News & Observer. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ "ESPN's 'Highly Questionable' gives co-host Bomani Jones an emotional, sweet send-off". For The Win. June 23, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ Jones, Bomani. "The Evening Jones". www.theeveningjones.com. Old Soul Productions.
- ^ "Bomani Jones About".
- ^ a b c d "Do you know this… Bomani?". The Atlanta Voice. June 21, 2013. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ^ "Houston, Part III". March 16, 2005.
- ^ a b http://www.bomanijones.com/about-media-personality-bomani-jones/ Archived October 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c "Ask Bomani Jones!". youtube.com. Around the Horn, ESPN. July 24, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ a b c Barron, David (October 2, 2015). "Rich Gannon on Ryan Mallett: Strong arm an asset and a liability". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Bynum, R.L. (September 24, 2015). "Bomani Jones credits producer Penn in his rise to national radio". Raleigh & Company. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Can you believe I've been writing for 13 years? | Media Personality". Bomani Jones. December 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ Penrice, Ronda Racha (April 23, 2015). "How Bomani Jones went from Clark Atlanta to ESPN: Sports writer and on-air personality's wild ride to media stardom". Creative Loafing (Atlanta). Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ^ Edwards, Stassa (November 24, 2015). "Bomani Jones on Highly Questionable: "It's Improvisational"". Miami New Times. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ^ a b Hall, Andy (January 24, 2014). "Bomani Jones and the Le Batards put everything on the kitchen table as Highly Questionable returns today". espnfrontrow.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ Press Release (February 20, 2009). "Sports Radio 620 The Bull and 850 The Buzz Host Bomani Jones Featured in HBO's New Documentary "Battle For Tobacco Road: Duke vs. Carolina"". PR.com. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ^ Penrice, Ronda Racha (June 21, 2010). "Bomani Jones, Sports Radio Rising Star". atlantapost.com. The Atlanta Post. Archived from the original on June 24, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ Jones, Bomani (August 29, 2011). "Tuesday will be the final episode of The Morning Jones".
- ^ "Bomani Jones signs new deal with ESPN". SBNation.com. May 9, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ "Bomani Jones says goodbye to Highly Questionable". espnfrontrow.com. June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ "Behind the Horn - 1-20-14 - Bomani Three in a Row?". youtube.com. Around the Horn, ESPN. January 20, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ Chozet, Tara (March 25, 2015). "Bomani Jones Joins ESPN Radio Hosts Jorge Sedano and Freddie Coleman to Create Enhanced Weekday Evening Lineup: The Right Time with Bomani Jones Debuts at 9 p.m." espnmediazone.com. ESPN MediaZone. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ "ESPN's 'High Noon' felt simultaneously fresh and familiar in its debut hour". Awful Announcing. June 4, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ "Bomani Jones: The cerebral sports pundit leaves things late on HBO". TheGuardian.com. March 11, 2022.
