When media houses cover sporting leagues such as the NBA, they have to keep themselves from crossing the fine line wherein the players or the league are not portrayed in a bad light. Critics accused ESPN’s Malika Andrews of doing exactly that in her role as host of NBA Today.
The first and most infamous of them was when the 29-year-old dismissed any notion that the woman in the Ime Udoka scandal was at fault. She dismissed Kendrick Perkins‘ comments who demanded punishment for the woman involved.
She later on clashed with Stephen A. Smith when he took objection to her continuously slamming the then Boston Celtics head coach’s character. That built a reputation for her that took a turn for the worse when she did not talk about Josh Giddey‘s allegations of having relations with a minor.
Former NFL star Dez Bryant felt Andrews did not speak about Giddey as he was white. He further slammed her for her opinions on Black NBA athletes despite them not being proven guilty at the time, something she did not do during Giddey’s allegations. After all this time, she opens about those allegations.
The hardest thing for me sometimes is stomaching the falsehoods, particularly this, ‘you hate Black men,’ that couldn’t be further from the truth, and using my family or the way that my family looks as some sort of evidence of that. And that it’s just untrue, and it’s just unkind.
Malika Andrews on Dinners with DeMar
Malika Andrews talked about how many were quick to suggest her family and upbringing led to her targeting primarily Black NBA athletes. She felt deeply hurt by those situations and insisted she was nothing close to the narrative that defined her.
Malika Andrews vows to be better when handling sensitive topics
After denying that she was specifically targeting Black NBA athletes, Malika Andrews talked about how she tried to do her job in the best way she knew. The recently married host acknowledged the need to handle such sensitive topics better.
That doesn’t mean that I’ve covered every story perfectly; it doesn’t mean that I don’t make mistakes. But I think I’m pretty good at saying to you guys, ‘I could have been better there.’ And that’s, I think, what I hope we can keep.
Malika Andrews on Dinners with DeMar
With these words the ESPN host acknowledged she could have done better when handling those topics. Instead of slamming the athletes or personalities in question, just reporting the news would have done less damage.
Since those incidents, Malika Andrews has not found herself in any controversy. She continues to spearhead the network’s NBA coverage and has seemingly thrown out the negatives. She incidentally became the first Black woman to host the NBA Draft in 2022.
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