Hey, everybody. This is Richard Deich and welcome to the sports media podcast. My producers are Patrick Antonetti and Sean Cherry. Today's guest is Malika Andrews. She's an NBA reporter who covers that league nationally. You have seen her certainly on ESPN television.

She recently was believed to be the youngest television sideline reporter ever to work the Eastern Conference Finals.

Malika is only 25, but her work is remarkable for sure she she works for ESPN.com you may have seen her

byline in the Chicago Tribune or the New York Times she's she's really one of the people in

the industry one of the young people in industry whose name and work you should know.

And in this piece, we talk about what it's been like to cover the NBA inside the bubble for four months.

The challenges of that, the joys of that.

Malika was very, very honest and very transparent during a sports center segment with Scott Van Pelt regarding the grand jury's results on Brianna Taylor.

And so she talks about getting choked up on air.

She is very, very honest about her background and her family life.

She left home at 14 after flunking out of middle school,

had an eating disorder, eventually went to a couple boarding schools and, um, came back, uh,

did not, I believe, go to college, uh, immediately worked a year prior to that. And she's just,

it's got a pretty unique family and a unique background.

I work with her sister, Kendra Andrews, at the Athletic,

who's a phenomenal young talent.

And so I think you're going to enjoy this.

It's a,

it's a woman who is just really honest about her place right now in the sports media.

Malika Andrews coming up on the sports media podcast.

All right, as I said at the top, Malika Andrews is the guest. She is an NBA reporter,

and she covers the league nationally. So you've seen her work a lot during the bubble across

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