ESPN’s Malika Andrews And Chiney Ogwumike Are The Future In Sports News
essence.comNBA Today, host Malika Andrews and WNBA player turned analyst Chiney Ogwumike are applying full-court pressure, Ari Lennox–style, to professional basketball news. “And we do it with some flavor,” Ogwumike says.The rising stars understand that sometimes in sports media, you have to be seen before you’re heard—and both Ogwumike and Andrews take the responsibility of making sure that Black women are seen, seriously. “We know that every time we step in front of a camera, we’re not just doing it for ourselves,” explains Ogwumike, 30. “We’re doing it for the next generation that looks like us, who grew up not seeing those faces, and now they know they can do this, too.”Andrews and Ogwumike bring a distinctive voice to their industry—one that’s not often amplified in major sports. “Representation matters,” Andrews says. “Diversity of roles for women is just as important as diversity as a whole.” Andrews, 27, a native of Oakland, was one of the youngest sideline reporters in ESPN’s history when she was hired in 2018.
Her journalistic prowess during the NBA’s 2019–20 Bubble season launched her to the head chair of her own daytime show less than three years into her tenure.Ogwumike, an All-Star forward for the Los Angeles Sparks, became one of the first professional athletes hired by the network as a full-time employee in 2018.
She began her off-court career calling women’s college hoops, sprinkling her H-Town flair into broadcasts around the country.
The Nigerian-American also coanchored Africa’s edition of SportsCenter, where she was able to tie her heritage and her passion for sports together.
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