Kristine Leahy (born October 16, 1986) is an American television host and former sports reporter.[1][2][3] She is most known as a former host on NBC's American Ninja Warrior. She was the former co-host and newswoman of Fox Sports 1's simulcast of The Herd with Colin Cowherd and was also a former anchor and reporter for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles.
Kristine Leahy | |
|---|---|
 Leahy in 2015 | |
| Born | October 16, 1986 |
| Alma mater | Boston University |
| Occupation | Talk show host |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Known for | The Herd, American Ninja Warrior |
In 2018, Leahy began hosting Fair Game with Kristine Leahy on Fox Sports 1. The show was cancelled in December 2019.
Early life
editLeahy was born in Chicago,[4][5] where she became interested in sports. She graduated from Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, Illinois in 2005.[6] She earned a Bachelor of Science in journalism from Boston University.[4]
Career
editAfter college, Leahy got a job at the sports radio station WEEI in Boston. After a two-year stint at WEEI, she transitioned to a position as an official reporter of the Boston Celtics and Celtics.com. She turned that into a job at FOX Boston, where she covered all Boston area sports teams.[7][8]
Leahy moved to Los Angeles in 2012 and covered a variety of different sports, most notably as a sideline reporter for Turner Sports' March Madness coverage. She worked for a variety of CBS affiliated sports outlets, including the local CBS Los Angeles news. Leahy then became the sideline reporter for American Ninja Warrior on NBC.[9] In September 2015, she took a job to join former ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd on his new show after his exodus to FOX. Cowherd cited a lack of female voices in sports talk radio as a reason for Leahy's addition to the show, as well as Leahy's history of developing useful sources as a sports journalist.[10]
On May 17, 2017, Leahy had a heated exchange with LaVar Ball on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.[11] Ball never faced in Leahy's direction for the whole interview, apparently trying to talk only with Colin Cowherd on the other side of the studio.[12] When Leahy asked Ball how many shoes he had already sold, he said "stay in your lane" and called her a "hater", which led to accusations of sexism against Ball.[11][13]
References
edit- ^ "Kristine Leahy Is Having Way More Fun Than You Right Now". The Big Lead. April 18, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ "Kristine Leahy". PressPass. Fox Sports. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ O'Donnell, Jake (October 21, 2015). "Kristine Leahy Details More Examples of How Female Reporters Are Objectified in Locker Rooms". SportsGrid. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Garcia, Brittany (October 2, 2017). "Woman in Sports: Kristine Leahy". LaPalme Magazine.
- ^ "Twitter". mobile.twitter.com. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ Gowins, Hilary. "On the Record With...Kristine Leahy," Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL), Friday, September 9, 2011. Archived December 4, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 3, 2018
- ^ Radloff, Jessica (June 26, 2017). "Kristine Leahy of 'American Ninja Warrior' Dispels 10 Misconceptions About Women and Sports". Glamour.
- ^ "Kristine Leahy". NBCUniversal Media Village. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (March 12, 2015). "'American Ninja Warrior' Taps New Co-Host for Season 7 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Warner, Ralph (May 2016). "Kristine Leahy Has Colin Cowherd's Back". Complex Media. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ a b Davis, Scott (May 17, 2017). "LaVar Ball tells Fox Sports' Kristine Leahy 'stay in your lane' after question about how many shoes he has sold". Business Insider. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ Whitfield, Kristian (May 17, 2017). "LaVar Ball disrespects FS1's Kristine Leahy: 'Stay in your lane'". SB Nation. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ Brazillier, Zach (May 17, 2017). "LaVar Ball attacks Fox Sports reporter in sexist rant". New York Post. Retrieved November 20, 2017.