By Luka Secilmis, Year 12
MJ or Bron?
It was forecasted to rain that evening. The streets of the Gramercy Park area were dull and empty as we got out of the R-train. Drastically, the atmosphere changed as we stepped into Barush College’s basketball gym. Throughout the warmups, half-time, and game itself, the gym was filled with a cacophony of private conversations, blasting hip hop, squeaking sneakers, and the bouncing of a basketball. Of all the sounds in the gym, one stood out. That was the voice of Mr. Brawley Chisholm Jr., the official announcer of the Pro-City Basketball tournament.
“Chef! What you cookin’?”-Chisholm’s words- resonated in the gym as Omar Cook, Magic Johnson-esque, got himself another assist, climbing back up to tie the game late in the fourth.
Chisholm was born in Harlem, in the same hospital as the sky-hook master, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He spent his childhood living in Central Park West, 108th street to be precise, where his father worked as a superintendent. “I wasn’t proud of my father’s work, he always wore that outfit, which he needed to clean.” Chisholm says.
“I’ve got his work ethic though… Later I realized that he was working hard for his family.”
Chisholm’s love for the game of basketball started when he was a teenager, as a McDonald’s All American he played till he found himself a good job at ITT, earning a solid $25,000 a year. He went to High School at the New York School of Graphics, but never attended college. In the 80s he moved away from playing basketball as he founded a family, and bought a house. His career as a basketball announcer started when he got offered a job at KISS FM (98.7). He then went on to announce for celebrity games, and slowly worked his way up to announcing at tournaments where
prominent players such as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Tobias Harris participated.
“Don’t let people peer pressure you, or bully you… Success starts in little bits and pieces.”
Chisholm is also a devout believer and starch advocate of womens’ rights and empowerment. “The universe is my university, and the earth is my classroom.” He says, criticising, what he describes as, our malfunctioning society. He believes that “working with others, tolerance, and unity” are crucial to female empowerment, basketball teams, and other societal aspects. “There is too much ‘this is my group, this is your group’ in this world, and that leads to our planet become fragmented. If we keep going, we are going to destroy each other through our social, economic, and
ethnic differences…There are trillionaires out there. And homeless still do not have healthcare. If you sit next to a sick homeless person in the subway, who isn’t treated, even if your vegan, you’re still going to catch a cold from him!”
As an announcer, Chisholm can be very creative and funny when coming up with nicknames, and calling out players for missing a free-throw. “I don’t want to demoralize players. I empower them through giving them nicknames, so they can feel like superheroes.”
An avid Knicks fan, Chisholm, when asked, believes that the game has changed a lot: “There are no traditional big men anymore. Most can shoot threes too now.”
Like any basketball fan, he also shared his opinion on the imminent question that is debated constantly: who is the best ever? Michael Jordan or Lebron James? “MJ” he says without giving it a thought. “He always produced everything he needed to do to win. And all the pieces came together.”
When Lebron had a tour for his movie More than a Game he provided free food and free basketball events. Chisholm announced at one of the games.
“He payed me $800 for 45 minutes of announcing. I like Lebron James.”
