Malika Andrews has responded to the ‘falsehoods’ present in criticism of her coverage of black players and coaches in the NBA.
ESPN host Andrews – who has a black father and white mother – has been accused at times by fans of targeting black basketball figures, with some feeling that she’s unfairly brought up past transgressions.
Speaking on DeMar DeRozan’s YouTube talk show, however, she strongly denied that she had any bias against black athletes – and detailed just how much those unfounded claims hurt.
‘The hardest thing for me, sometimes, is stomaching the falsehoods, particularly this [idea that I] ‘hate black men,’ Andrews said on ‘Dinners with DeMar’, via the New York Post.
She added, ‘Using my family or the way that my family looks as some sort of evidence [to that effect] … it’s just untrue and it’s just unkind.’
That second remark seems to refer to a post from former NFL star Dez Bryant last year.
Malika Andrews talks to Bucks coach Doc Rivers on Tuesday before the NBA Cup final
Andrews is the host of ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’ and has become a star at the network
The ex-Cowboys receiver took issue with the fact that Andrews brought up Brandon Miller’s involvement in a fatal shooting before he was drafted by the Hornets, while apparently not bringing up Josh Giddey (who is white) having an alleged relationship with an underage girl (neither Miller nor Giddey were charged).
‘Your parents really raised you wrong and just because you went to a private school don’t make you better,’ Bryant said on X, before calling Andrews a ‘puppet.’
Andrews also received criticism from fans for mentioning two past arrests of Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla when he was initially hired in the role on an interim basis in 2022.
And some fans were also upset with her for mentioning that former NBA player Adreian Payne was accused of sexual assault in discussing his death.
‘I try very hard to make it so that the things that I’ve experienced — I try to keep [them] in mind when I’m talking about players,’ she said. ‘I try to have that empathy … I have a job to do [but] I’m not here to play ‘gotcha,’ she said.
‘That doesn’t mean that I’ve covered every story perfectly, it doesn’t mean that I don’t make mistakes. But, I think I’m pretty good at saying to you guys, ‘I could have been better there.
Andrews, the host of studio show ‘NBA Today,’ is considered a star at ESPN and was in Las Vegas on Tuesday for the NBA Cup final.
