Sarah Spain

Sarah Spain
Sarah Spain at the ESPY's (2017)
Born Sarah Colby Spain
(1980-08-18) August 18, 1980
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality American
Education Cornell University
Occupation Sports Reporter
Years active 2009–present
Employer ESPN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Spouse(s)
Brad Zibung (m. 2016)

Sarah Colby Spain (born August 18, 1980)[1][2] is an espnW.com columnist, ESPN Radio host and SportsCenter Reporter for ESPN.

Early years

Spain was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but raised in Lake Forest, Illinois. Spain attended Cornell University, where she majored in English. Spain was a heptathlete on the Cornell Big Red track and field team, for which she was co-captain her senior year.[3] In 1998, as a senior at Lake Forest High School, Spain was the MVP and captain of her track and field, field hockey and basketball teams.[4][5][6]

Career

Before joining ESPN, Spain worked for Fox Sports Net, MouthpieceSports.com, ChicagoNow.com and was the recurring guest-host of WGN's radio show called ChicagoNow Radio.[3] Spain also did some work as a sideline reporter for the Big Ten Network and hosted the Coors Light Fantasy Players Minute. Spain was one of the original co-hosts of the WGN-TV show "Chicago's Best," with Ted Brunson and Brittney Payton.[3] She joined ESPN 1000 in Chicago in 2010 and signed on as a writer for espnW.com in October of the same year. On January 23, 2015, it was announced ESPN was launching a new radio show called Spain & Prim with Spain and anchor Prim Siripipat as the co-hosts.[7] In January 2016 Spain, Jane McManus and Kate Fagan launched a new national ESPN Radio show, "The Trifecta," and Spain launched her own ESPN podcast, "That's What She Said." Spain has appeared on a variety of ESPN television shows, including "His & Hers" (formerly "Numbers Never Lie"), "Olbermann," "Mike & Mike," "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz," "First Take," "The Sports Reporters" and "Outside The Lines." On February 25, 2016, Spain made her first appearance on ESPN's Around the Horn. In September 2016, Spain inked a new multi-year deal with ESPN and launched the new national ESPN Radio show, "Izzy & Spain", with co-host Israel Gutierrez.[8] In 2017, Sarah hosted Fantasy Football Island with Mike Golic Jr. [9] In 2018, Spain and co-host Jason Fitz launched the new national radio show "Spain & Fitz."

Super Bowl XLI

Spain gained some notoriety in 2007, when she made a post on eBay offering to be someone's "date" to Super Bowl XLI, in which the Chicago Bears played the Indianapolis Colts. She was living in Los Angeles at the time and, expecting to go to the game with friends, she had purchased a plane ticket to Miami. However, the friends decided they couldn't afford to go, leaving Spain solo and without a game ticket, so she got creative. She has described the auction as a stunt to get media attention, with the hope that some company would try to gain publicity by sponsoring her attendance at the Super Bowl. In fact, word of the auction reached Unilever, the makers of Axe Body Spray, who covered Spain's costs to attend the game and in turn began a media campaign to "see how many guys would do the same thing for a chance to see their team play."[10] As Spain's career in sports media has advanced, she has been critical of those who spread misinformation about the stunt or bring it up in ways which she sees as misinterpreting her actions and principles.[11]

#MoreThanMean

In 2016, Spain, along with Chicago sports radio host Julie DiCaro, appeared in a video entitled "More Than Mean," in which unsuspecting, ordinary men read real, degrading tweets directed to Spain and DiCaro to them while sitting face-to-face.[12] The video was meant to highlight the sexual harassment, unjust criticism, rape threats, and death threats that female sportscasters face online simply for doing their jobs.[13] The four-minute video, produced by Just Not Sports and One Tree Forest Films, won a 2016 Peabody Award in the Public Service category.[14]

Accolades

- Crain's Chicago 40 Under 40 (2017)
- Peabody Award (2017)
- Gracie Award (2016, 2017)
- Sports Clio Grand Award (2016)

References

  1. ↑ "Sarah Spain".
  2. ↑ "Reporter Sarah Spain Is a Chicago Sports fan". chicagomag.com.
  3. 1 2 3 "Sarah Spain's Website". sarahspain.com. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Title IX 40 for 40: Sarah Spain". ivyleaguesports.com.
  5. ↑ "His & Hers: Finding Your Voice: 12/17/15". ESPN.Go.com. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Glory Days with Lake Forest High School Athlete Sarah Spain". patch.com.
  7. ↑ "Two women are bringing down the last old boys club with the help of ESPN". USA Today. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  8. ↑ "ESPN Signs espnW Writer and ESPN Radio Host Sarah Spain to Multiyear Extension - ESPN MediaZone". espnmediazone.com.
  9. ↑ Rosenthal, Phil. "ESPN pushes expanded fantasy football coverage with 28-hour marathon".
  10. ↑ "Sarah Spain - Jeff Pearlman". www.jeffpearlman.com.
  11. ↑ "Sarah Spain » I'm Mad As Hell & I'm Not Going To Take This Anymore". sarahspain.com.
  12. ↑ Laird, Sam (26 April 2016). "More than mean: Powerful video highlights harassment of women in sports media". Mashable. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  13. ↑ Gibbs, Lindsay (3 May 2016). "'More Than Mean' Roundtable: Female Sportswriters Speak Up About Online Harassment". ThinkProgress. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  14. ↑ Blanchard, Margaret (25 April 2017). "News, Public Service, Radio/Podcast, and Web winners round out the Peabody 30". UGA Today. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
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