Cari Champion Is Not Afraid to Speak Her Truth
Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.
Long before Cari Champion ever knew she’d become a broadcast journalist, she used to tag along to Los Angeles Lakers’ games with her sports-obsessed grandmother, Estelle Manning. Now 96, Manning planted the sports seed in her granddaughter’s heart. Champion recalls that when no one else would go to the games, she excitedly jumped at the chance just to spend time with her grandmother, who she describes as “a hardcore basketball fan.” This special bond laid the groundwork for Champion’s love of sports, which would eventually bring her full circle to her life’s purpose.
Champion and Manning, who played on a segregated team in Magnolia, Ark., took public transportation to Lakers games, to what was then known as The Forum. “She would sit and explain to me who the players were,” says Champion. “She passed her love of the sport onto me without even knowing that I’d ultimately make a name for myself as a Black woman covering sports at the highest level.”
Just a few years ago, there were only a handful of Black women in that role. “I couldn't have said to you that I would have been working for ESPN, hosting SportsCenter, and changing the way we see young brown ladies approach sports,” says Champion. “But I knew that I was supposed to be doing this, in some capacity.”
Oprah Winfrey played a role in Champion’s destiny as well. On the day she saw Oprah’s face for the first time, Champion recalls her mother scolding her for sitting too close to the TV screen. “I was mesmerized,” she says. Although the 7-year-old was much too young to understand the subject matter, she was still drawn to Oprah. “I remember thinking, I don’t know what that is, but I want to do that,” she says. “I’ve always felt like I was destined to be a journalist, and to be someone bold for our community, our culture and for women. It feels right.”
Her upcoming show on CNN+, the new streaming platform—titled Speak.Easy and cohosted by sports journalist Jemele Hill—offers the perfect platform for two of the most outspoken voices in the industry to speak on trending topics, ranging from race, politics, war, current events, sports and more. Nothing is off-limits.
“We’re talking about topics in a way that gets to the heart and soul of issues,” Champion says of the show, which is slated to premiere this spring. “It’s not wheat toast. It’s very juicy. The idea is two women sitting in a bar, which is often where Jemele and I have a lot of our conversations.” Champion adds that it’s not always easy to speak freely, to share your unapologetic opinion about the world we live in, especially when you have so much to lose.
Courtesy of Ally Spooner
Admittedly, she says she wasn’t always ready to speak so easily. What Champion calls “the George Floyd year” sparked a certain freedom in her, igniting a fire for her to be fearless. This was a huge transition for the broadcaster, who says that it changed the way that Black, brown and other marginalized people talked about the world that we live in.
“It gave us freedom to be much franker,” says Champion, who knew she had to talk about it in a very truthful, honest, sincere way. “That was the inspiration of the very first show that Jemele and I had, Won’t Stick to Sports. We were able to do a lot of fun, outrageous things on that show.” And their candor got the attention of other networks, offering a perspective that was rarely heard.
It took a while for people to respect her voice in the sports world. And now, people are questioning her transition out of sports. “They are wondering, What does she know about society and social politics? I know a lot quite frankly,” she says. “There are these people who only like to put you in a box labeling you just a sports reporter, or a girl who used to work at ESPN.” Champion firmly believes that women can be all-encompassing. “We’re not just one thing. I can be whatever I create,” she says. “And I’m going to be good at it. I’m going to lean into whatever it is. It’s not just one thing, because we're not just one thing. I can do it all. I’m not limited.”
As a kid, Champion set her sights on being a White House correspondent. And for years, professionally, she thought she had to be a certain way. She started off as a local news reporter, which aligned with her wanting “to tell people’s stories or point out what wasn’t fair.”
Her dream was realized, but she stayed in what she calls “a safe space” when it came to reporting the news and giving her opinions. “Even when I was hosting SportsCenter, there was always this fire that I had in my belly,” she says. “I never shied away from uncomfortable subjects or questions. … It’s how something just sits in your spirit and finally you’re like, I can’t hold it back anymore. I wasn’t really getting to the truth because I was afraid to talk about the truth. That all changed. It coincided with me leaving ESPN after being there for almost 10 years.”
“Anyone who really knows me and people who work closely with me would know how I felt about a subject. But how I would present it might be a little more conservative and safer because people in America weren’t ready for that. Now they are,” she says. “And even if they aren’t, we’re here. I feel like for a lot of people who are very vocal, who consider themselves comfortable speaking truth to power, you can’t walk it back now. No matter how uncomfortable it is, truth must be shared.”
Seeing women who looked like her in this space was rare. But she managed to connect with two women who inspired her beyond measure. “There was a Black woman on local news here in L.A. named Pat Harvey,” she says. “She’s still on the news. I remember seeing her at church. And my mother ran up on her and said, ‘My daughter wants to do what you do. Can she talk to you for a second?’ Pat was so generous and so kind. She let me come to the studio.” Now she realizes that she has become one of those women that many aspire to be. “I used to roll up on Shaun Robinson all the time at the National Association of Black Journalists,” she recalls. “I was so excited. I didn’t know what to do. And it’s so funny because now if I go to NABJ, people will come up to me.”
She wants the new guard to be multihyphenated and even more prepared than she was. Her foundation, Brown Girls Dream, is laying the groundwork, and changing the fact that there were very few Black broadcasters when she was coming up. They have created an impactful and caring sisterhood to do informal mentorships for Black or brown girls between the ages of 21 and 28, who want to be in front of the camera. “I’ve asked every single one of my friends who are not just in front of the camera but also my friends, who are doctors, attorneys, in FinTech and other fields.”
Champion says she is locked in on standing with Black and brown women and making sure they have access and opportunity. And that they are not seen as pariahs for speaking their truth, demanding equity and knowing their worth.
“The narrative around women is starting to change, because more people like us were built for the world that wants to silence us,” she says.
“We’re built to speak loudly and proudly about injustice, not in a way that is ranting and angry but in an educated, logical way where you can’t deny it. You can’t deny our value to this country. There’s this beautiful renaissance that’s happening. If you just take a step back and you look at every different institution, there is some woman who looks like me or you who is changing the world and not apologizing for it. And it’s beautiful.”
Bryna Jean-Marie is a contributor for Empower Onyx, a diverse multi-channel platform celebrating the stories and transformative power of sports for Black women and girls.