Jason Benetti is not your typical sports announcer. In fact, very little about Benetti is typical, which has helped make him one of the more accomplished and sought-after personalities in sports announcing. Few play-by-play announcers have a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, economics, and psychology, topped off with a law degree. Even fewer are pursuing their dream career while dealing with a disability.
Benetti has cerebral palsy. While his disability does not define him, it has presented some challenges throughout his life with regard to how some people perceive him. "There are so many people with CP who have different symptoms and physical or mental differences," said Benetti. "But, I do think the default setting is that people with disabilities can't do things rather than believing that they can."
This perception translated over somewhat early in his career as he was trying to get his foot into the broadcasting door. "I think early on it was difficult for TV people to take a chance on me, either consciously or subconsciously. When you walk into a room and don't have the same look as others, there are some below-the-surface decisions people tend to make on you," continued Benetti. "It's simply a human reaction."
He is a life-long fan of the Chicago White Sox, his childhood home being about 35 minutes south of Chicago in Homewood, IL. He grew up listening to legendary White Sox television play-by-play announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson. "Since high school, I planned to get into play-by-play. I was fortunate enough to have a high school radio station, WHFH, where I was able to call games even before college. So, that was the goal."
After spending time announcing with several minor league baseball teams and living the not so glamourous minor league baseball life of long bus trips and even longer hours, Benetti seized the opportunity of a lifetime. Going into the 2016 season Harrelson announced he was cutting back on the grueling 162 game broadcast schedule by only announcing road games and some home games.
Benetti reached out to the White Sox about filling in for him. "I called the Sox and asked if they'd be interested in meeting me," said Benetti. After a four-month interview process, "they said yes, and off we ran." The rest, as they say, is history and after filling in more and more as Harrelson cut back on his schedule the last couple of years, Benetti became the full-time play-by-play announcer for the 2019 season alongside his partner Steve Stone.
Benetti calls a number of different sports on several different networks. "Learning the nuances of the rules is so, so important. I always have a rule book on me, whether electronic or in book form, for the sport I'm doing."
While he may be one of the busiest people in broadcasting, he still reserves time to work with and on behalf of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. He has participated in two campaigns to help increase awareness and understanding of CP. "Just Say Hi has a goal of simply getting people without disabilities to be more likely to start a conversation with people with disabilities," said Benetti.
"The other, Awkward Moments, is an animated series which I am terribly proud of." The social media campaign created by Benetti and two others explores a level of honesty that is portrayed through animation. "It's an effort to help people understand their reactions to people with disabilities. It's fun and light."
Benetti explains, "There are moments and conversations in our society where people rely on accidental snap judgements or speak without forethought or understanding. That's ok. We all do it, and sometimes it is even funny. But, if unaddressed, we don't know how to move past them. So the goal of the campaign is to illuminate these moments when we might be on mental autopilot, and - by using humor - show people that they are having misperception about people - and learn to think differently."
Jason Benetti will be the keynote speaker at the 2019 Big I Annual Convention on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at the Westin Hotel in Indianapolis.
