{"id":121371,"date":"2026-01-13T15:35:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/121371\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T15:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T15:35:16","slug":"sports-broadcaster-jake-kemps-rehab-stint-had-a-ripple-effect-for-listeners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/121371\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports broadcaster Jake Kemp\u2019s rehab stint had a ripple effect \u2014 for listeners"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was big news in Zack Kulesz\u2019s group chat when Dallas sports broadcaster Jake Kemp<\/a> told listeners he was back from rehab. This was October 2024, and the past month had been a guessing game in the chat about why Jake was missing from the sports podcast he co-hosts, The Dumb Zone<\/a>. His reappearance on the show ended that mystery. At 39, he\u2019d gotten sober. <\/p>\n

For Kulesz, who was 41 at the time, the revelation felt strangely personal. He\u2019d been listening to Jake since his days on The Ticket<\/a>, where he was the young Turk on a popular Dallas sports station. Over the next two decades, both men hit markers of adulthood at roughly the same time. Marriage, then kids. Now one of them had left his drinking days, and the other had not. <\/p>\n

Kulesz texted his group chat, \u201cMaybe I should go to rehab ha ha.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a joke, but it was also a troubled drinker\u2019s classic deflection, a way to gesture at a problem without actually naming it. Privately, Kulesz had been worrying about his drinking for a long time. \u201cI\u2019d have five to six beers at the bar, then go home and start digging through the cabinet,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce I started, I didn\u2019t want to stop.\u201d He kept promising himself he\u2019d tackle the problem, but instead he started hiding it. \u201cI loved picking up food for the family, because I could stop at a bar and knock back one drink, which turned into two.\u201d<\/p>\n

News Roundups<\/p>\n

Catch up on the day’s news you need to know.<\/p>\n

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Drinking trends have been declining the past few years, but middle-aged men<\/a> have proved something of a stubborn holdout. As younger generations passed on the heavy boozing that once defined the American coming-of-age, and early midlife (35 to 50) women decreased their consumption, men in that age group held steady. Even that demographic seems to be slowing down, though, as a new Gallup poll<\/a> noted a plunge in middle-aged drinkers since 2023 and a dip in male drinking overall; the poll also reports the lowest rate of adults who drink alcohol (54%) in its nearly 90-year history.<\/p>\n

\""I<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t know what my life would look like if Jake had not told his story,” said Zack Kulesz, 42, whose rehab stint was inspired by the Dumb Zone co-host. <\/p>\n

Smiley N. Pool \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Zack Kulesz is part of that statistical shift. In the weeks after Jake\u2019s return, the broadcaster talked on-air about his time in rehab \u2014 or \u201cthe \u2019hab,\u201d as he jokingly calls it. On a three-hour show covering sports, viral nonsense and news of the day, this was a small part of the program, often given comic topspin (in a running gag, co-host Dan McDowell and producer Blake Jones would tease him, \u201cYou\u2019re so brave\u201d), but it brought normalcy to a decision often spoken about in whispers. <\/p>\n

In November, a month after Kulesz sent that half-jokey text about rehab to his group chat, he sent a sincere note to Jake through social media. It was one of those mornings when he felt the weight of letting people down. His family, his friends, his employer. <\/p>\n

\u201cHey what\u2019s the place where you went to rehab?\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve looked in a mirror.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few weeks later, he checked himself in.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was needed, but I was inebriated\u2019<\/p>\n

I profiled<\/a> Jake when he quit drinking in 2024. (Kemp is a friend, and I\u2019m an occasional guest on his podcast.) Over the next year, I noticed changes in him common to people in recovery. He dropped weight and went hard at the gym; he sounded sharper on-air. Vape pens and nicotine pouches were scattered around his desk. <\/p>\n

There was a change I wasn\u2019t tracking, though. Some Dumb Zone listeners were renegotiating their relationship with booze. One of them, named Rick, reached out to me over email. \u201cI have hope and clarity I do not think would be possible without Jake telling his story,\u201d read a note he sent me a few months ago. \u201cI know I\u2019m not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rick is a Dallas-area father in his early 40s who didn\u2019t want to use his last name; work doesn\u2019t know about his drinking. As with everyone I interviewed for this story, Rick\u2019s consumption ramped up during college, and he carried the habit into his 30s, but late nights got harder when he became a father of four. \u201cThere are few things less hangover-tolerant than a 2-year-old,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His drinking spiked during the pandemic, as his social circle shrank and remote work allowed for a 3 p.m. cocktail. His wife has a chronic illness, so much of the child care fell to him, but the more he escaped through booze, the less available he became for his kids. \u201cI was needed,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I was inebriated.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Jake<\/p>\n

Jake Kemp in The Dumb Zone studio, about a month after coming back from rehab, on Nov. 25, 2024. <\/p>\n

Azul Sordo \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Rick was trying to figure out a way through this when he heard Kemp on the podcast. \u201cIt was inspiring,\u201d he said. \u201cYou could hear a change in his energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rick didn\u2019t go to rehab, which would have been challenging given his family situation, but he did start going to AA meetings, which he found helpful. Ultimately he decided he wanted a moderate relationship with alcohol, not total abstinence. \u201cIf you compare my drinking 13 months ago to what it is today, it\u2019s not even close.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rick never reached out to Jake about this (\u201cthose guys get enough emails\u201d), but I was curious who had. Jake told me he\u2019d ballpark about 50 people had contacted him to talk about drinking problems. Several went to rehab and at least half a dozen (including Kulesz) checked in to the same rehab he had, Banyan Treatment Center in the Hill Country. <\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Jake\u2018I don\u2019t really talk about this stuff\u2019<\/p>\n

Sports shows may seem an unlikely place to spark discussion about men\u2019s drinking, given that alcohol companies often sponsor the programs, and sports and booze are so entwined. But that makes these shows a great place to talk about drinking; the hosts are funny, relatable and trusted as straight shooters. When I asked guys I interviewed why they listened to The Dumb Zone, which invariably became a question about why they also listened to The Ticket (since Dan and Jake\u2019s show started there), they said it was like hanging out with friends.<\/p>\n

Jake remembers the impact of Ticket host Gordon Keith writing about drinking<\/a> in The Dallas Morning News. Jake was in his late 20s then, not ready to quit, but by his early 30s, he ran the board on The Ticket\u2019s afternoon show, The Hardline, where commentator Joel Klatt, who\u2019d spoken about his sobriety, was a frequent guest. Troubled drinkers often keep a close eye on the timeline of former drunks\u2019 lives: How old were they when they quit? Do I still have time to straighten myself out? Jake remembers Googling how old Klatt was when he gave up booze, which was in his late 20s. Dang it, he was already past that age. <\/p>\n

The anguished mental tabulation of how much is too much, when a harmless habit tips over into a problematic one, can be easier when a person opens up the bathroom cabinets, metaphorically, to give passersby a peek at what\u2019s inside. <\/p>\n

\""I<\/p>\n

“I don’t really talk about this stuff with family or friends,” said Chris Halverson, 51, of the drinking problem sports broadcaster Jake Kemp helped him confront. <\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

As a married father of two, Chris Halverson, 51, had been trying to get hold of his consumption for a while. Drinking was part of his job in sales, but it was also the way he unwound. \u201cTito\u2019s was my drug of choice,\u201d he said. As stresses mounted, so did the booze. \u201cDrinking on the road, drinking at home, day drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went to a psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with depression and substance use disorder. He was trying different ways to cut back when he heard Jake talk about rehab on The Dumb Zone. Kemp also recorded a few break-out episodes about rehab, sharing his comic travails as well as the nuts and bolts of what it\u2019s like inside, and Halverson listened to them. He played portions for his wife, and it started a dialogue that can be hard to broach. \u201cI don\u2019t really talk about this stuff with family or friends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He found a rehab called The Arbor in Georgetown that specializes in dual diagnoses. \u201cI was more comfortable going because I knew what to expect from listening to Jake\u2019s experience,\u201d he said. \u201cJake\u2019s description of the \u2019hab, as he calls it, was spot-on. Everyone just vapes nonstop.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went in October 2025 and returned to work in mid-November. He could have made an excuse for the absence, but he chose to be honest about it. He was surprised by how many people reached out to share their own experiences, often about family members who\u2019d dealt with substance abuse. \u201cPeople are coming out of the woodwork,\u201d he said. \u201cI had no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Jake\u2018A dark cave you start wandering down\u2019<\/p>\n

Another listener who found himself motivated to make a change was Tim Schwartz, 37. Schwartz began as a social drinker, but over the years, he turned into a solitary one. \u201cI would think, I\u2019m home, and I have nothing else to do. I\u2019m just going to drink,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a dark cave you start wandering down, and you don\u2019t know how to get out of it once you\u2019re in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/p>\n

Tim Schwartz, 37, checked into rehab a few weeks after Dumb Zone host Jake Kemp returned from his stint.<\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

By 2018, Schwartz had become such a heavy daily vodka drinker that he checked into a two-week detox to kick the habit. He kept drinking though, just not vodka. He liked Four Loko, a malt beverage known for high alcohol content. That was ramping up into trouble territory by the time he heard Jake talk about rehab. The moment energized him. If Jake had the courage to admit this problem, Schwartz thought, why couldn\u2019t he? He checked into a rehab a few weeks later.<\/p>\n

That was 14 months ago, and he hasn\u2019t had a drink since. \u201cOne really great thing is I never have to worry, what did I do last night? What did I text to someone? Is today the day my body is going to give out? There\u2019s a lot of peace that comes with the decision to quit drinking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Julie\u2018It\u2019s about fighting for your life or giving up\u2019<\/p>\n

The whisper network of drinkers reaching out to former drinkers stretches far beyond one local sports podcast, but the story of Jake Kemp\u2019s experience offers a glimpse at how one person publicly staring down their life can inspire others to do the same. <\/p>\n

Schwartz\u2019s sister reached out when her brother went to rehab to ask Jake if he\u2019d write a note of support, which he did. Jake was surprised, though, when a year rolled around, and Tim\u2019s sister appeared again to ask him to write a note to celebrate her brother\u2019s first anniversary of sobriety. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, whoa,\u201d said Kemp. He typically doesn\u2019t know how these exchanges turn out. Strangers reach out to him, often in the late hours; he responds to them, often in the early hours, when he\u2019s starting his day. It\u2019s a mutually gratifying back and forth shared across recovery programs, across private afflictions, the simple act of showing up for each other.<\/p>\n

For Kemp, the exchanges are not about getting sober, per se. He has no investment in how other people drink. \u201cIt\u2019s about fighting for your life or giving up,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\"Zack<\/p>\n

Zack Kulesz pictured at his Arlington home with his wife, Lauren, daughter, Grace, and son, Griffin.<\/p>\n

Smiley N. Pool \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a message that resonated with Zack Kulesz, who once joked he should follow Kemp to rehab \u2014 and then did. He\u2019s been sober more than a year, and the changes are profound. \u201cI feel super healthy, clear-headed,\u201d he said. He still hangs with his buddies at the bar, where he drinks the nonalcoholic Athletic brew, but he\u2019s been more present with his family. On New Year\u2019s Eve, his daughter asked for gravy on her meal. Sorry, kid, they had no gravy at home. Then it hit him: He could make gravy. It felt good to do something small and useful on a day he\u2019d normally be distracted by booze.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what my life would look like if Jake had not told his story,\u201d said Kulesz. \u201cI needed someone I knew, who I\u2019d grown over time to trust, to assure me if he can do it, I can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Laterras<\/a>Hepola: A Dallas man wrote hundreds of letters to his future wife. Then he met her<\/a><\/p>\n

Laterras R. Whitfield became a viral sensation with his \u201cDear Future Wifey\u201d podcast. More than five years after its launch, he found his happy ending.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Carla Rockmore went from Dallas carpool mom to fashion force<\/a><\/p>\n

Q&A with the TikTok queen of dressing up, who escaped into her Preston Hollow closet and found her calling. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was big news in Zack Kulesz\u2019s group chat when Dallas sports broadcaster Jake Kemp told listeners he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,12605,242,1526,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-121371","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-news","11":"tag-high-profile","12":"tag-lifestyle","13":"tag-media","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}