Tami Roman Says She’s Not a Bully

By: Taren Vaughan

Tami Roman of Basketball Wives Miami was one person from the popular reality TV show who viewers developed mixed feelings about as some were turned off by her quick temper, violent antics and excessive use of foul language. Labeled as the bully of the show, one of Tami’s craziest moments was when she slapped cast mate Meeka Claxton square in the face at a nightclub for all to see. Even with the departure of Meeka from the show, Tami held on tight to that image that she gained as she snatched up new cast mate Kesha Nichols’ purse last season, refusing to give it back and driving Kesha to tears. Nowadays though, it seems that the rough and tough Tami Roman that Basketball Wives Miami fans were accustomed to is no longer around. Tami has undergone significant weight loss but it also seems that the labeled bully of Basketball Wives Miami has made some changes to her behavior as well. Chatting it up with Too Fab, Tami Roman dished on her weight loss, her previous smoking habit  and no longer being “the big chick on the show”:

“I was a very heavy smoker. When I decided not to smoke anymore, I started eating and ballooned all the way up to 185 pounds. I looked at myself one day and I said, “No this is not cute. You’ve got to get it together.” I started researching products that would help me suppress my appetite. And I’m real big on research and I settled on a product called NV primarily because they were the only product that offered mango seed. I’ve done research on mango seed and it’s basically an antioxidant. Coming from years of smoking, I wanted something that would help clear my body of toxins as well as suppress my appetite. So I started popping pills and the first week I actually lost 7 pounds — this was without me changing anything. I still didn’t have healthy eating habits at the time and I still wasn’t exercising. I asked myself what would happen if I became a little more diligent in the process? So I started incorporating 15 minutes a day of just light walking and the second week I lost 5 pounds. And I was like, “Oh gosh, I’m hooked on this now.” I stopped talking the supplements and I started using a product called NV Sprinkles which you sprinkle on your food and it keeps you from eating everything. And then a few more pounds came off. Through the whole journey I’ve lost 25 pounds. I’m very excited about it because for a long time I was the big chick on the show. A lot of the girls have great bodies but that wasn’t who I was as a person. If people research me and go back I’ve always been a thin person because I’m tall. And I wanted to get back to that and get back to that lifestyle. The product worked and I’ve been going strong ever since.”

The purse snatching incident was brought up into conversation as Tami was questioned about whether or not what people saw on TV was her doing or the producers doing. And according to Tami, it was all on her:

“Let me take responsibility for my actions. I did what I did. I don’t take pride in taking on a weaker opponent because that’s not who I am as a person, so I was a little upset about that. But I took that opportunity to learn and grow. What I mean by that is I don’t consider myself a bully. Anyone that knows me knows I will give the shirt off my back; I’m a very loving person.”

And when asked if she made up with Kesha, Tami said:

“I apologized to Kesha in written word and to her face. She can accept it or not accept it. I think the bigger picture was for me to own up to what I did to the young lady, acknowledging it was wrong, and making that apology. From that I’m able to move on and say okay Tami, when you’re learning how to deal with people, this is something that you can’t do. You have to be able to recognize the person you’re speaking with and where they’re coming from and step into their shoes. You have to acknowledge that when you’re dealing with someone when they’re not ready to have that moment you have to accept that. I’ve learned and grown from that moment but I’m not going to say we’re friends. I’m not going to say we speak. I don’t know if she accepts my apology or not, she’s not been vocal with that. It’s not for me to get her to accept that. It’s for me to acknowledge and initiate the process of apologizing. I always thought bullying was big kids picking on small kids. I had a bullying moment and I was pushing someone who wasn’t ready for that confrontation. I own up to that but me as an individual, that’s not how I go through my life. There’s a saying that your intentions may be good and still the wrong things will happen. In all honesty, I just want Kesha to stand up for what she said and own up to the things that kept pushing her to do that but that’s not in her makeup. And so because of that I had a bully moment and not being able to recognize that she’s not that type of person she was, she was never going to do and I should have stopped pushing.”

She also expressed her excitement about the upcoming season of BBW Miami and said the show will be more family-centered and positive versus what people are used to seeing the past seasons.

Tami Roman’s bullying past might still be stuck in the mind’s of viewers. Now it looks as though she is trying to put that all behind her and start over with a clean slate.