Getty Allie LaForce
Allie LaForce, a sideline reporter for CBS Sports and TNT, is a former Miss USA pageant winner who is married to a major league baseball player, Joe Smith.
LaForce caused controversy when she interviewed NBA star LeBron James about the surprise death of Erin Popovich, the wife of San Antonio Spurs’ coach, Gregg Popovich. Some people criticized LaForce for asking James the questions, but he defended her in a video he posted on social media.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. LeBron James Says Allie LaForce Didn’t Blindside Him
.@KingJames sends his thoughts and prayers to the family of Gregg Popovich, sets record straight on reporter’s question.
LeBron James seemed at a loss for words when asked about Erin’s death by LaForce just a few hours after the team announced it (she died of a respiratory illness she’d struggled with for years). After a pause, he said, “I mean obviously I’m a huge Pop fan. I love Pop. That’s such a tragedy and my best wishes goes out to Pop and his family. I know that’s devastating news. Holy.. um, in the NBA family, we all stick together… it puts everything in perspective.” You can watch that video here:
LeBron James after the game finding out about the horrible news of Erin Popovich’s passing
After some people on social media criticized the interview, James posted a video on Twitter defending LaForce. “A lot of people think I was blindsided,” James said. “That is absolutely false.” You can watch the video above. He added, “Allie LaForce told me she was going to ask me the question and if it was OK. Once I started talking about it on-air, actually my emotions just kind of took over and that was just my emotions coming straight from the heart about the late Erin Popovich.”
The Spurs confirmed the death, releasing this statement. “With deep regret the San Antonio Spurs announce that Erin Popovich, wife of Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich, passed away earlier today. Erin and Gregg were married for four decades and were blessed with two children and two grandchildren.”
“We mourn the loss of Erin,” said Spurs General Manager RC Buford. “She was a strong, wonderful, kind, intelligent woman who provided love, support and humor to all of us. The organization asks media to respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time.”
2. LaForce Is Married to a Major League Baseball Pitcher
According to NESN, LaForce is married to Los Angeles Angels pitcher Joe Smith. LaForce frequently gushes about her husband’s looks on Instagram.
According to Cleveland Magazine, “She met Cleveland Indians sidearm relief pitcher Joe Smith back in 2011 when she was working at Fox 8. But by the time they married in 2015, she was at CBS and he was pitching for the Los Angeles Angels.”
The couple runs the HelpCureHD foundation because Smith’s mother has Huntington’s Disease, which he is in peril of inheriting.
3. LaForce Won the Teen USA Pageant Crown After Her Mother Urged Her to Join the Pageant Scene
Allie LaForce is a former Miss Teen USA. Her mother was a pageant winner too who urged her to join the pageant circuit. Lesa LaForce, whose maiden name was Rummell, was Miss Ohio in 1977.
In 2005, with her mother’s urging, Allie entered the pageant system, eventually becoming Miss Teen USA. “She said it would be a great experience for expanding my interviewing skills and learning how to put on makeup for the first time and learning how to walk in heels and do all the things that were a part of me growing up and becoming a woman,” Allie said of her mother’s urging. “She was like, we get it, you’re a jock, but you’ve got to learn this side too.”
4. LaForce Played Basketball in College & Her Family Is Full of Athletes
LaForce was a walk-in for the Ohio State basketball team after playing basketball at Vermilion High School.
LaForce came from a basketball family. Her parents were college athletes and her aunt was a varsity basketball coach. According to Allie LaForce.net, “Allie’s father, Wade, played in two Stagg Bowls for the Wittenberg Tigers. Her mother, Lesa, was a tennis player and cheerleader at Kent State University. Her brother, Jack, was a linebacker for the Mount Union Purple Raiders and her sister, AuBree, was a four-sport standout at Vermilion High School.”
In college, she wrote a thesis “on the objectification of women in sports,” according to Cleveland Magazine.
5. LaForce Says She Has the ‘Greatest Job in the World’
Being a sports reporter is a dream job, according to LaForce. “I really do think I have the greatest job in the world. But if there is a con in covering sports, it’s the travel,” she said.
She has had a series of sideline reporting and broadcast TV gigs. According to Allie LaForce.net, they include hosting the late night show “Lead Off” on CBS Sports Network, working as a sideline reporter for NBATV, and working as a sideline reporter for the 2014 AFC Divisional Playoff.
“Allie worked as a broadcast sports anchor and reporter for the Cleveland, Ohio FOX Affiliate WJW. She won a 2011 Emmy award for anchoring FOX 8’s ‘Friday Night Touchdown’ high school football show. Allie is a journalism graduate from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude,” the site says.
LaForce’s husband is reported to earn $3 million a year. Her salary and net worth have not been released.