Malika Andrews (born January 28, 1995; age 28) is an American journalist who presently works as a reporter and anchor for ESPN. Malika is not married and has no known partner, however, she has been connected to a few individuals.
Malika majored in communication at Portland University before becoming a journalist. Before landing her current position as a sports writer and anchor for ESPN, the California native worked for media outlets such as The Denver Post, The New York Times, and The Chicago Tribune.
Malika Andrews Age, Birthdate, Birthplace
Malika Andrews was born on January 28, 1995, making her 28 years old. Malika Rose Andrews was born in Oakland, California, and was given the name Malika Rose Andrews. It goes without saying that she is a US citizen, yet her ethnicity is defined as mixed, with Jewish and Afro-American influences.
Her father has been identified as Mike Andrews, an African-American personal trainer, and her mother, Caren, is a lawyer. Malika’s Jewish ancestors came from Caren, while her African-American ancestors came from her father, Mike. Malika practices Judaism as a result of her mother’s ethnicity, and she had the Jewish traditional mitzvah in 2008.
Malika Andrews isn’t Mike and Caren’s only kid; the California native has an elder sister, Kendra Andrews. Kendra is also a sports writer for the Athletic, and she just joined Malika on ESPN as an NBA reporter for the Golden State Warriors.
When asked where their confidence came from, the Andrews sisters pointed to their mother. According to Kendra, their mother attended law school while pregnant and went on to become the firm’s first female lawyer, and she is now a partner.
Caren, who disliked seeing her daughters stand with their legs crossed, would constantly tell them to “take up space” since they are just making themselves smaller by doing so. Kendra and Malika were encouraged from a young age to always express their opinions without fear of being judged.
Malika was supported by Caren and Mike when she developed an eating disorder.
Malika Andrews battled mental illness as a consequence of an eating issue throughout her childhood years. Malika confessed to the New York Post in an interview that her condition did not fit neatly into a box. She suffered with both purging and restricting, according to the California native – you can’t really label it bulimia or anorexia, but it was closer to anorexia than bulimia, she added.
Malika was continuously unhappy, worried, and furious as she tried to hold it all in. She also had to cope with periodic outbursts and poor academics; she dropped out of school in eighth grade. Her parents were completely unaware of her illness at this point until she chose to inform them.
When it became clear that Malika needed professional treatment, Mike and Caren enrolled her in a therapeutic boarding school in Utah. Despite all of her obstacles, Malika Andrews graduated from high school at the age of 17.
Caren detailed her daughter’s life story in an interview with the New York Post years later. The mother of two compared the whole event to an “after-school special,” describing Malika as a nice child who went through a hard phase but was able to overcome it. The pleased mother praised her daughter, who is now on national television doing what she loves.
Malika, for one, sees her decision to seek her parents’ assistance as a watershed moment and is quite happy of her current achievement. The American journalist expressed gratitude to her mother for all of her assistance and said that she now has a good connection with Caren.
Malika Andrews’ Schooling
Malika Andrews was in seventh grade when she was expelled from Head Royce School due to an eating issue. Her parents sent her as an adolescent to a Utah-based institution for disturbed kids, where she finished high school at the age of 17 in 2012.
Andrews did not attend college immediately after graduating from high school because she took a year off to work with her grandmother at her grandmother’s civil rights law company.
She went on to study communications at the University of Portland, where she earned a BA in 2017. Malika’s days at the University were filled with excitement as she worked as a sports reporter for the college newspaper, The Beacon. In the long term, she became the sports editor and eventually climbed to the position of editor-in-chief.
During her time as a student sports writer, Malika Andrews authored a remarkable essay. The article she wrote was about a player who had a brain hemorrhage after colliding with a wall. Her report prompted the school to install padding to avoid such incidents in the future.
Malika attended the Sports Journalism Institute after graduation, where she received a scholarship from the National Association of Black Journalists.
Malika Andrews’s Professional Career
Malika Andrews began working as soon as she graduated from high school in 2012; her grandmother hired her into her woman’s civil rights legal practice, where she worked for a year. She just started pursuing a career in journalism as a student at Portland University, yet she has already reached significant professional milestones.
In 2018, she was hired as an ESPN reporter.
At the age of 23, she joined ESPN in October 2018. Her services as a sideline reporter for the NBA were contracted by the media organization. She was first assigned to cover Bulls and Bucks games before being transferred to New York to cover Nets and Knicks games.
During the 2019-20 season (The NBA Bubble), the sportscaster made her ESPN debut as a sideline reporter at the ESPN World of Sports Complex in Florida. She was on hand to act as a sideline reporter for the NBA Playoffs, making her one of the youngest sideline reporters in Conference Finals history.
Following the four-month hiatus caused by the Corona Virus outbreak, Malika Andrews was among the first reporters to report from the National Basketball Association’s temporary campus in Florida. She was assigned in charge of the NBA draft for 2020, which included multiple virtual interviews with elite players.
Andrews began presenting NBA Today, ESPN’s day-to-day NBA studio program, in 2021. The program was developed to follow the NBA’s operations around the nation. The journalist’s work has been often featured on ESPN sites such as SportsCenter, ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, and others.
Malika gained national notoriety after covering the NBA finals during the Orlando, Florida bubble, and her achievement of documenting the NBA players’ boycott in tandem with the “Black Lives Matter” movement was dubbed legendary.
Her outstanding reporting has piqued the interest of renowned media publications like as the New York Post, which has praised her “garden party elegant” manner on the court. Malika’s defining style, according to the media outlet, is “flowing flowery feminine frocks.”
Malika worked at several companies before joining ESPN.
As previously stated, Malika Andrews began her career with her grandmother before moving on to work for her school’s newsletter, The Beacon. Her job at The Beacon prepared the path for her in the labor market, as she was able to hit the ground running after graduating from college.
She received a scholarship from the National Association of Black Journalists as a result of her efforts at the college publication’s sports section. With this, the then-aspiring sportscaster was given the unique chance to learn from the likes of Sherrod Blakely and Marc Spears.
While driving to Portland University, NBA analyst Adrian Wojnarowski observed Malika’s work on Beacon. When he finally saw Andrews a year later at one of the NBA’s Summer League games, she was startled to learn that he remembered her by name. That specific encounter had a significant impact on the Portland University alum’s career.
Malika Andrews completed her internship with the Denver Post. She then went on to The New York Times, where she worked in the sports department and was named a “James Reston Reporting Fellow.”
Malika moved on from The New York Times to The Chicago Tribune, where she worked as a news writer for a year before being called up to work for ESPN.
Her coverage of the Donald Trump/Stormy Daniels case, in which she partnered with other reporters to solve the mystery, was a highlight of her career as a newspaper reporter. Her 2017 study on how the Sonoma County fires in the autumn impacted the horse industry received attention. Another interesting one was her x-ray of how Larry Nassar’s sexual assault scandal affects children’s gymnastics.
Malika Andrews has a notable social media presence.
Malika Andrews is no exception to the trend of celebrity journalists creating social media profiles through which they connect with followers. @malika Andrews is her Instagram handle.
Fans flock to her page to see work-related photographs and videos, and she has also revealed some personal details about her life on the account. Currently, the ESPN reporter has over 450k followers and has shared 313 articles (and counting).
Malika Andrews’ Awards and Recognition
Malika Andrews’ achievements in sports journalism have not gone unnoticed, as the American journalist has been recognized on many occasions. Her wins, nominations, and honors are shown below.
She started winning accolades in Oregon as early as 2016 when she won the “Best Writer Award for College Students.”
She was nominated for an Emmy for “Emerging On-Air Talent” in 2021. Malika has received awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Society of Professional Journalists for her work as the NBA’s sole Black female reporter. Forbes recognized her to its 30 Under 30 list in the sports business in 2021.
She was named the winner of the “Outstanding Personality/Emerging On-Air Talent Sports Emmy” in May 2022.
Malika has been on several television shows, including SportsCenter, NBA Countdown, Get Up, The Jump, Around the Horn, and others.
Andrews received the “2021 NABJ Michael J. Feeney Award for an Emerging Journalist.”
She created history for the first time on June 23, 2022, when she became the first female presenter of the NBA Draft. Aside from her achievements, the Portland University graduate has received other distinctions during her journalistic career.
On July 6, 2021, ABC appointed her as a sideline reporter for that year’s NBA Finals. The release of Rachel Nichols’ audio recordings, in which she was heard criticizing their network for selecting Maria Taylor as the major presenter of the Finals, led to her dismissal, and Malika was brought in to take her place.
She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and serves on the Scholarship Committee of the NABJ Sports Task Force.
Is Malika Andrews married?
Malika Andrews is not married and has never been in a relationship. The ESPN reporter, on the other hand, recently ignited engagement rumors when she was seen wearing a ring on her finger. Needless to say, this piqued the curiosity of enthusiasts, who unearthed some intriguing information that is currently awaiting confirmation.
Who is she with?
Malika Andrews has never spoken publicly about her romantic life, but the California native was shipped with her coworker, Dave McMenamin, in 2022. Dave has worked as an NBA reporter for ESPN since 2009.
The pair’s rumors began in May 2022, when the couple was spotted attending an event together. The image was obtained from Getty Images and was taken during the Netflix premiere of “Colin In Black And White” in 2021. Needless to say, the shot quickly went viral and astounded admirers.
The couple’s fame grew when Malika was seen with a ring on her finger. Fans quickly believed she’d been engaged to Dave. They never bothered to find out why she was wearing a ring when she was still a long way from being legally engaged.
The most intriguing aspect of Malika and Dave’s engagement rumors is that none of them has felt compelled to provide a confirmation or denial. Their nonchalance, however, hasn’t stopped followers from looking for information about this rumored romance.
Malika Andrews’ Previous Relationships and Breakups
Malika Andrews‘ alleged romance with Dave McMenamin isn’t the first time she’s been connected to someone of the opposite sex. The ESPN host was previously dispatched with Richard Jefferson in 2020. However, this remained a rumor and has yet to be proven.
