If there is one thing Chris Dempsey knows well, it’s Colorado sports. The Denver native is a lifelong resident of the state and has covered athletics at all levels in the state for decades. After rising to prominence with the Denver Post, Altitude Sports hired Dempsey in 2017. He became the first African-American analyst on the network, building on Maya Starks’ trailblazing run as a host on Altitude between 2008 and 2015. Dempsey understands the significance of the platform he has as he is able to share his well-respected perspective in the Rocky Mountain region. “When I got out of college [CU Boulder], there were a couple of other African-American writers [in this market], but I remember players coming up to me and saying, ‘It’s nice to see a familiar looking face, someone that looks like you,’” Dempsey told Nuggets.com. “In this city, that’s just not always been the case.” He added, “Being the first African-American analyst at Altitude Sports, to me it’s a big deal. It’s a big deal on a few levels because we cover a sport [the NBA] that’s played by mostly black players.” Dempsey’s reputation for providing fair and trusted reporting comes across when he walks around Pepsi Center. He’s often greeted with smiles, handshakes, pounds and occasionally hugs from players, NBA executives, traveling reporters and fans. It is clear sign his work is resonating with his audience. As part of the Nuggets.com’s Black History Month tributes, Dempsey spoke honestly about his experience in sports journalism in Colorado and his favorite moments covering Mile High Basketball. Here is what he had to say:
[Editor’s note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity purposes] As a lifelong resident of Colorado, what does it mean for you to cover sports in the state and on a platform like Altitude? For me, growing up in Montbello, going to the University of Colorado, getting a journalism degree and just basically working my way through the system [means a lot]. Covering college, club sports, high school sports, college sports, Broncos and then Nuggets, it’s been a lot of years, and a lot of hard work. So I feel very proud to be where I am. Anytime I see people from the old neighborhood and they tell me how proud they are of me, it just makes me feel really good inside. And then, as another layer to that, I didn’t necessarily have people I could look up to and go, ‘Hey, that’s a job I can do!’ So, for me, to give back to as many young people of color as I can, that is a big deal. That’s awesome. Being one of the leading voices for Altitude, how important is for you to crosscheck and make sure your perspectives come from an accurate place? This is where my newspaper brain turns on. For me, what I always wanted to do, if I ever had a platform big enough to have a voice to where people valued my opinion, was just to make sure that everything that I was saying about a certain team or player was fair and very clear. It wasn’t coming from an angle. That it was done in the proper context. When I was growing up, I didn’t want to be the ‘spouting anything off just to say it guy.’ If I’m telling you something, hopefully, I have some legit evidence behind that. I just think that you owe that to the fans of this city, in particular basketball fans in the city. The arrivals of you and Katy Winge have added some unique perspectives to the Altitude broadcast. How important is diversity in reporting and broadcasting? It’s hugely important. Hugely important. You know, even when we’re trying to internally figure out things like Martin Luther King Day or Black History Month, how do we handle those things. I remember when we got here, they just largely weren’t handled. You get International Women’s Day and you get Black History Month, when you get people into the building who care about it, who can give you the diversity of those opinions and what they care about, it just makes you a better organization overall. I think it’s helped everything we’ve been able to do on the air and within the organization. Finally, you’ve covered the Nuggets for quite some time. What is your favorite memory or memories of covering this team? The 57-win team [in the 2012-13 season] was pretty incredible because nobody thought they were going to win 57 games. But they were just really, really good. Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari and those guys, that was a really good basketball team. So that was just kind of a fun ride unexpectedly, [considering] the Carmelo [Anthony] trade was supposed to decimate the team to whatever degree. The run to the Western Conference Finals [in 2009] was probably the most fun. I’ll never forget them winning in New Orleans by 58 points! I had never heard of such a thing in a basketball game. Then I would say last year’s playoffs run, because it was a whole new crew from what I seen in my time here. Young guys that when the lights are at their hottest and brightest, [they] answered the bell. Like Jamal Murray carrying a team in (Game 2) against the Spurs [in the first round]. That’s big time stuff! Nikola Jokić basically going for 25 points, 12-14 rebounds and 10 assists every single game in his first playoffs? You don’t see [that often] and this is how you know players are big time players.