ESPN has a pretty impressive set of hosts and anchors, but majority of them are males. There are very few female figures that are associated with ESPN, and fortunately for all of us, Cari Champion happens to be one of those females. Broadcast journalist and television personality Cari Champion has been working with ESPN since 2012, and she has established herself to be one of the network’s most talented individuals. She’s a familiar face to anyone that watches the network; but if you aren’t a regular, there are probably many things you don’t know about her. Here are 10 things you should know about Cari Champion.
1. She is a Californian through and through
Champion was born in Pasadena, California in 1978, and she lived in the state for pretty much her whole life. She attended college at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She majored in English and was minoring in mass communication. Champion once stated that she’s loved journalism all her life, and it’s something that she’s pursued all throughout her college years and career. When she was a junior, she had a chance to intern for CNN in Washington, D.C. She finished her undergraduate studies in 1998.
2. She got to work straight away
Working as a reporter is not an easy job, especially if you’re just starting out. For most people, that may mean carrying your own camera everywhere, doing your own writing and editing, and so forth. That was certainly the case for Champion’s first reporting job. She left sunny California after college and moved to West Virginia for work. Although it was difficult, she loved the job and was willing to work hard. She also worked as a reporter in Santa Ana, California and West Palm Beach, Florida in 2002.
3. She had an anchoring controversy
Champion finally got promoted to an anchor after all her hard work, but she experienced a controversy while working as an anchor in Atlanta. Champion was fired for allegedly saying a profanity while on the air. Champion appealed her situation and claimed that she absolutely did not say any profanity and that the situation happened under unlucky circumstances. Champion was eventually hired again.
4. Her entry into the sports industry was also by circumstance
Champion moved back to Florida and started writing and reporting about human interest stories in the state. Given that Florida is one of the states in the US that goes through hurricanes every year–sometimes devastating–it made sense for Champion to write about the stories surrounding hurricanes and more. She ended up covering tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, who are both Florida natives. The sisters taught Champion about the sport, and the reporter ended up falling in love with it the more she covered tennis. After a while, Champion applied for a job on the Tennis Channel, and she got picked out of at least 50 applicants.
5. She had other jobs before ESPN
After Champion got the gig for the Tennis Channel in 2009, she started to become a more prominent figure in sports reporting altogether. Apart from being a courtside reporter for the channel, she ended up getting gigs as an entertainment reporter for other networks. Those included the Starz network, The Insider, and Hollywood 411. It would be those experiences that would catapult her into ESPN stardom in the near future.
6. She had humble ESPN beginnings
It’s difficult to be a woman in a man’s show. Being a host on ESPN’s First Take couldn’t have been easy when you’ve got sports pundits like Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless constantly battering each other on live television. The fact that First Take was a live show was another undertaking. However, Champion was good enough to beat out Heidi Watney and Jemele Hill for the job, and ESPN definitely made the right choice with her. She was able to stand her ground as a female host.
7. She became an anchor only after three years
Sometimes it takes a fight to get what you want in life. It was clear from the get-go that Champion belonged in ESPN, that Champion might even need a bigger stage to contain her shine. It took her six months of petitioning to become an anchor before ESPN granted her the promotion. On June 19, 2015, Champion hosted her last episode of First Take, and on July of the same year, she officially became an anchor on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
8. She’s got the physique of an athlete
If you’re seeing Cari Champion for the first time and hearing her speak as an anchor on ESPN for the first time, you might immediately think that she’s been an athlete all her life. However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Champion claims that she was physically awkward and uncoordinated when she was younger, and that tennis was really her first introduction into the inside world of sports. However, Champion stands at 6 feet 1 inches with heels on, which makes her stand shoulder to shoulder with all the other male hosts and anchors on ESPN. In short, she fit right in.
9. She was a basketball fan
Even though she didn’t play sports growing up, Champion was a big basketball fan. Like most people that come from Los Angeles, Champion loved the Lakers growing up and she was also a fan of the UCLA Bruins. That was the extent of her love for sports, however, but the industry grew on her as she got older.
10. She is leaving ESPN
As much as we’ve talked about Champion’s life on ESPN, it seems that she’s finally leaving the network to pursue other interests. She made that announcement recently, but she hasn’t made any further move so far. Champion has always fought for diversity, and it seems as if that has something to do with why she is leaving the network. So far, we’re still waiting on further news from Champion regarding her next career move.
Follow Us
