Brett Meister
Episode 194
17 OCT 2022
He spent 23 years working for the Harlem Globetrotters, leading the team’s Communications Department. During that time, he arranged two visits to the Vatican and accompanied the Globetrotters players to meet Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. Previously he had served as VP of Communications for the Continental Basketball Association, working as the league’s main spokesperson and liaison to the NBA and USA Basketball. His international experience also included work on the US Olympic Committee press information team at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and serving as assistant venue press manager for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. As a student-athlete he played football, baseball, and ran track & field in high school, still holding the school record for 400-meter hurdles and being inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2018. This past March he was named the Director of Communications for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. He is also a professional sports photographer and prior to his new role shot Georgia Tech football and men’s & women’s basketball.
Notable guest quotes:
“We grew up in a very Catholic household. We all served Mass. We were all lectors. We lived very close to the Catholic church… we were about two blocks away. So, very involved in the Catholic church, growing up.”
“The small Catholic college that I went to… just continued my faith journey through academics.”
“I never had a moment in my life where I strayed away from the church. It was always part of going to Sunday Mass, following the sacraments, um, never had a moment where I strayed away. It’s always been the center of my life.”
“It was everything off of the court; how the Globetrotters could impact lives, be a role model, be a symbol for hope or opportunity. That, quite honestly, was what kept me going, is, their role as ambassadors of goodwill.”
“Part of my work with the Globetrotters, I worked with a couple of different charity initiatives. One was called World Vision International. They’re a Christian-based humanitarian group that helps underprivileged regions of the world.”
“We had an opportunity to meet (Pope John Paul II), took some pictures, spun the (basket)ball on his finger.”
“In 2015 we met Pope Francis at the Vatican… we met him, took pictures, spun the (basket)ball on his finger, shook his hand… and I’ll never forget Pope Francis, when I shook his hand and asked him to pray for me, and he says, ‘No, you pray for me’!”
“The Globetrotters… would play an annual tour of games… and they would go to U.S. military bases overseas… One of my favorite things about the military tour is we would eat with the troops in the mess halls and a couple of times I would actually end up sitting with the chaplain of the base and asking about the prayer life and pray with the chaplain before the meal.”
“Communications is communications. Yes, I went from sports and entertainment to the Catholic church, but the Catholic church has been part of my life since a baby. It was just learning the nuances and some of the vocabulary and the people.”
“I am a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus – been a member of the Knights for probably 37 years… I love what the Knights do, and I love the charity work they do.”
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