The Journey Started Here…

Jamal Burke was born in Roxbury, MA in 1980. During his childhood, he regularly visited his grandmother in the Jamaica Plain area of Boston on the weekends. Jamal adored his grandmother and credits her for being the first person in his life he identifies as instilling confidence in him. His eyes immediately light up and he flashes his big warm smile(which Mother Joyce, who I love to pieces enjoys seeing) when he enthusiastically recalls how proud she was of him when he was named, “best sitter”during kids’ church. For the foreseeable future, whoever walked through her doors or called her phone, the very first thing she would say was, “I’m just up here with my best sitter and gonna make him his favorite macaroni and cheese”.

Although the neighborhood Jamal grew up in was violent, there was always a strong sense of community. Burke reflects proudly on the countless life lessons he acquired during that time period of his life. Jamal credits his mother for making a life changing decision, by relocating to the city of Brockton, just one week prior to Jamal’s 10th birthday.

Brockton introduced Jamal to the world of sports and he fully immersed himself into football, basketball, and baseball. In high school, Jamal made the tough decision to stop pursuing baseball and run track. Jamal said he would forever be indebted to his two Little League Baseball coaches, Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Coffin for teaching him the importance of competing daily in sports and being consistent in the classroom. Now clear on what sports Jamal will focused on, he excelled in football, basketball, and track. Jamal was selected to Prep Star Magazine’s All-American team in 1998. He was rated the #1 wide receiver in the state of Massachusetts and one of the best wide receivers in the country. Not satisfied, Jamal’s dominating performance at the prestigious five star basketball camp, where the next players in the country compete, earned a spot on the White & Orange All-Star Team. Division-1 scholarship offers flooded in, mainly in football, but also in basketball. Jamal kept the hundreds and if not thousands of college letters in a bevy of shoe boxes that he copied from NBA superstar, Stephon Marbury, who kept his letters in shoe boxes when he was being recruited by Georgia Tech out of high school. Jamal ended up selecting Boston College to challenge himself both in the classroom as well in the sports arena. His high school coach, the late-goat, Armond Columbo who he loves so much, was beaming the entire time Jamal signed his D-1 scholarship to Boston College.

While playing football at Boston College, Jamal also ran track in college for 2 seasons. A day Jamal will never forget was at the Big East Track & Field Championship inside the Carrier Dome, locate at Syracuse University. He competed in the 200 meter dash against University of Miami’s Hall of Famers, Clinton Portis(NFL Denver Broncos, Washington Football Team) and Santana Moss(Washington Football Team, New York Jets). Jamal was a standout wide receiver on Boston College’s football team from 1999-2003. Additionally, he shouldered punt return and kickoff return duties, which paid off the night he returned an 84-yard punt return against #1 rated Virginia Tech. Jamal finished his stellar collegiate career at Boston College with 95 receptions, 1454 receiving yards(avg 15.3 yards per catch), and 16 touchdowns. As a result, he was invited to the 2003 NFL Combine, which only the top 30 players at their respective positions are selected. Later on that year, his childhood dream of being a professional athlete materialized when he signed a free agency contract with the Atlanta Falcons, just a few days after his 23rd birthday.

Several years following Jamal’s cup of tea in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and the Dallas Cowboys. Jamal pursued a career in the financial services industry. He received his Series 6,63, and 7 licenses.

In 2017, Jamal was a regular sports analyst on Boston’s NESN, “Dirty Water Sports Show”. Additionally in 2019, Jamal became a sports writer for “Ironiq Media Network”. However, an entirely different world of broadcasting opened up when he traveled to the NABJ National Convention event in Miami,FL. During this event, Jamal had the pleasure of debating Fox Sports’ and former ESPN’s sports analyst, Chris Broussard.