Malika Andrews discusses criticism of coverage on Black athletes
12/18/2024 10:06 PM
Malika Andrews has been critiqued about how she chooses to cover Black athletes over the years.
Andrews who is a host on ESPN NBA Countdown and NBA Today sat down with Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan on his new show Dinners with DeMar, where they discussed the rumors online that she had a bias to Black players.
One moment that made headlines in the wake of fans pointing to an alleged bias from Andrews was when she and Stephen A. Smith argued about the Ime Udoka scandal. Udoka, who was a coach at Boston Celtics at the time but was later suspended due to having an intimate relationship with a woman who worked in the franchise.
Another time Andrews was scrutinized was her alleged disinterest on covering Chicago Bulls’ Josh Giddey, a white player, when he was accused of having a relationship with a girl who was underage.
“You’ve heard me say this before. I always say I’m going to be two things. I want to be accurate, and I want to be fair,” said Andrews. “And if I’m not one of those two things, you might not always like me, but this is my number. Please call me, and people have called and they’ve said that. I also say that oftentimes, especially before I’m talking to folks about something that is sensitive or tough because these things come up, and it is hurtful.”
She continued, “I think that’s okay to say sometimes it hurts even if it doesn’t matter, if it is someone who is credible or someone with a big platform or if it’s someone in their mom’s basement just firing off a post. Sometimes it is hurtful when that seeps through, particularly for me when it’s not true, right, and that’s been the hardest part for me sometimes is stomaching the falsehoods, particularly, you know this, you hate Black men or think that.”
Since Andrews is married to ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin, a white man, and has a mixed-race family, fans have used those points to drive the narraitve of an alleged bias against Black men.
“That couldn’t be farther from the truth, and using my family or the way that my family looks as some sort of evidence of that and that is just untrue, and it’s just unkind,” she added. “We all have jobs to do, and I try to do my best to show up every day in a way that you guys know what I’m about.”
Take a look at their full conversation below:
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