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Meet Doris Burke the World s Best Basketball Broadcaster

At 52 she s the woman calling the premier NBA games for ESPN

ESPN reporter and analyst Doris Burke broadcasts games with insight, intelligence and wit. Ethan Miller/Getty Images Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. This career arc was recently detailed in an interview with journalist Andrea Kramer on an episode of With Bryant Gumbel. In this conversation, Burke, who is divorced and has two adult children, explained how broadcasting was initially a family compromise, giving up a budding coaching career while continuing to follow her passion for basketball. “There’s not a working woman out there,” Burke said, “regardless of her profession, who doesn’t struggle with that work-life balance. There’s not one.” Burke has risen from there to broadcast Big East men’s basketball, the WNBA, the New York Knicks and the NCAA Women’s Final Four. She was also added to ESPN’s NBA coverage, first as a sideline reporter and then this past autumn as a lead analyst. She’s even featured in one of the world’s most popular basketball video games, "NBA2K," and recognition from rapper Drake, who wore a Doris Burke sweatshirt while sitting courtside at a Toronto Raptors game. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > The media world agrees: Just this month, Doris Burke was honored with the 2018 Curt Gowdy Award for print and broadcast media, and will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in a ceremony this September. This honor, however, will not be a curtain call. As a woman thriving in a man’s world, she plans on broadcasting for the foreseeable future. “I promise you,” Burke told Kramer, “. I’m 52. I’ve earned every wrinkle on my face. I actually like my wrinkles. And guess what? There are a lot of 60-year-old men who have wrinkles, no hair, glasses, and nobody gives a damn. It’s about time that a woman my age or above, if she chooses to go into her 60s as an announcer, she should be allowed to do just that.” More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS