Gregory Clay - Washington, D.C. Award Winning Features Writer, Columnist & Sports Commentator

Award Winning Features Writer, Columnist, & Sports Commentator

CURRENT POSITION: Editor/Writer

Assistant Sports Editor - January 1996 to present
McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT) - Washington, D.C.
Duties include: Editing daily copy for newspaper clients Editing copy for long-term special projects Writing commentaries and opinion articles for MCT.

EDUCATION: University of North Carolina, graduated in 1980 with a B.A. in journalism and a concentration in biology.

For more than two decades Gregory Clay has been covering sports and offering issue-oriented commentaries as a journalist, editor and media consultant for major publications. Employed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Clay has always had his finger on the pulse of societal trends and high-profile sports figures, ranging from O.J. Simpson and Rae Carruth to Josh Gibson and Tiger Woods.

Gregory Clay has been a featured guest or commentator on local radio and television stations as well as major media outlets such as ESPN, Geraldo and BET. His journalism experience includes, not only McClatchy-Tribune, but also Newsday, and newspapers in Wichita, KS, Milledgeville, GA and Raleigh, NC.

A graduate of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Clay served as an instructor providing an overview of the “basics” to aspiring writers on the college level. He has also participated as a panelist in workshops conducted by the National Association of Black Journalists, addressing sports journalism, editing and issues.

He has contributed feature columns to Internet outlets, including BlackVoices.com

Entire articles or portions of articles written by Gregory Clay have appeared in the following books:

Black College Football, 1892-1992: One Hundred Years of History, Education and Pride (by Michael Hurd)

Headslap: The Life and Times of Deacon Jones (by John Klawitter)

They Cleared the Lane: The NBA’s Black Pioneers (by Ron Thomas)

Rugged Waters: Black Journalists Swim the Mainstream (by Wayne Dawkins)

By the Color of Our Skin: The Illusion of Integration and the Reality of Race (by Leonard Steinhorn and Barbara Diggs-Brown)

How to Play the Sports Recruiting Game and Get an Athletic Scholarship: The Handbook and Guide to Success for the African-American High School Student (by Rodney J. McKissic)

“I am an honest arbiter. Don’t tell people, readers, viewers and followers what to think, instead, tell them what to think about.”

Clay: More crime victims should follow Goldman family’s lead

Originally published September 19, 2007 The Salt Lake Tribune

WASHINGTON – When grieving father Fred Goldman speaks publicly of social pariah O.J. Simpson, he doesn’t refer to the former football star by name. Instead, Goldman simply references Simpson by using more graphic and descriptive nouns, such as: ”The Killer,” or ”Monster” or ”SOB” or ”Garbage” or ”Filth.”More.

Put hip-hop’s CEO out of business

Originally published May 5, 2007 Amarillo Globe-News

My, look what the hip-hop culture has spawned. Observe this recent exchange between TV anchorman Anderson Cooper of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360″ and a couple of teenagers in Harlem on the subject of gangsta rappers……..More.

With Tiger, seeing may not always be believing

Originally published April 9, 2010 All Business

The media were in the eye of the Tiger – and scared away. Frightened by a steely eyed control freak trying to reclimb the Mount Everest of sports pedestals. Tiger Woods controlled his first open news conference on April 5, make no mistake. Whenever a questioner dared to dip his toe into the cold-water side of the pool, i.e., with a tough question, Tiger recoiled and fired back with a latent, but stern, message: don’t go there again…… More.

Rosa Parks: Small frame, with major courage.

Originally published November 1, 2005 Knight Ridder/Tribune

WASHINGTON _ If there is an invaluable lesson to be culled from Rosa Parks’ majestic journey into American history, it is simply this: Size doesn’t matter. Reflecting back to the summer of 1992 made me realize that. It was a hot August day during the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Detroit 13 years ago. .More.

National Association of Black Journalists' pre-inaugural reception was held in Washington DC.

Gregory Clay on "Geraldo"

Gregory Clay's Favorite Video