Tami Roman of Basketball Wives took some time to answer a few questions about the explosive season 3 that saw her engage in a physical altercation with Meeka Claxton which later resulted in a lawsuit. Tami maintains her desire for truth at all cost and her future ventures such as authoring a book about her life in the hopes of helping other women. Read excerpts from the Rolling Out interview below:
We have to get this question out of the way. Why did you join “Basketball Wives?”
Well, I watched the first season of “Basketball Wives” and just felt like the things that I was going through weren’t really represented on the show. I had been a basketball wife, and now that I was divorced, things weren’t as golden as they portrayed on the show. I wasn’t eating out and getting manicures every day … and I wasn’t drinking all night, every night. That wasn’t my world, so for me, I felt like my individual story would be valuable.
You’re a television veteran, but were you prepared for the real-time responses and criticisms that celebrities now experience with social media?
When I did the “Real World,” we didn’t have Facebook, Twitter, or blogs, so I didn’t really know how people felt about the things that I did, [unless] they took the time to write a fan letter. So social media is very new to me, and it’s something I had to get used to because people will criticize you, judge you and lash out at you. People will feel like that can say anything to you and you’re just supposed to take it. I haven’t always done that because I’m a human being with feelings. So if you hurt me or my loved ones, I’m going to address it accordingly. I realize now that I can’t do that though, I can’t curse out every person who doesn’t like me on Twitter.
Do you feel like the producers have done a good job portraying you?
I think that the producers have done a fantastic job of blowing out of proportion one aspect of my personality. Now I’m not going to say that it’s the editing, and I’m not going to try and blame it on anything else, because Tami will go off on you [laughs] … that is a part of my personality. Whether you like it or not, I’m going to tell you the truth because I feel like everybody should be able to deal with the truth. That way, you can know what you’re dealing with. I’ve always been a big fan of that, of honesty and loyalty. So while what you see on TV is a part of my personality, it’s not all of who I am. I think that the audience who watches “Basketball Wives” is only seeing that aspect of my personality 100 percent magnified. They don’t see me working with my charity, and they didn’t see me when I was a part of corporate America going to work in a business suit every day. And they don’t see me with my mother, or me with my dude. There’s so much about me that you don’t see because that’s not what “Basketball Wives” wants to show.
You said that you are a fan of the truth. Do you ever have problems receiving the truth if it’s not what you want to hear?
I prefer the truth, and anybody that watches “Basketball Wives” knows that is all I asked … just be truthful with me, and if you have an opinion directly about my life, say it to me. Don’t talk behind my back. So whatever you have said, I think that everybody should be woman enough to bring those opinions or concerns to the person directly. When that’s not done, that’s when I really have a problem with you.
The word on the street is that you’re about to become an author. Is that true?
Yes! I’m working on my book, and I will say that several ladies on the show have books coming out … well, all of us except Suzie [laughs]. I know with my situation in particular, everybody knows me from the “Real World” and from “Basketball Wives.” I think that there is so much more to my life that they don’t know about and that they don’t get a chance to see. So I want to really open up myself to people to give a lot of backstory to me, my family, how I was raised, and the things I’m going through or have gone through. Hopefully, someone can read my book, understand my situation, and learn how to get through something similar that they may be going through.
Question of the day: What can Tami Roman help you get through?