Cari Champion: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Cari Champion, middle, poses with Billy Bean, left, MLB’s Ambassador for Inclusion and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred at the Beyond Sport United 2015 event. (Getty)

Cari Champion, current SportsCenter anchor, has had a prodigious and award-winning career in broadcasting. Before starting work at ESPN in October of 2012, she was a local reporter in the Orange County, Calif., West Palm Beach, Fla. and Atlanta markets. She also spent some time with the Starz Network and the Tennis Channel prior to her tenure in Bristol, Conn.

Champion has also held different roles at her time with ESPN, having previously co-hosted the flagship debate show First Take before her move to SportsCenter in 2015. Today, she is one of the most recognizable anchors on the Worldwide Leader in Sports’ daily coverage. While Champion has had a strong career, it has also been one complete with a bit of controversy. Here is everything you need to know about Champion.

1. Champion Attended UCLA and Had a College Internship at CNN

Champion is a UCLA Bruin. (Getty)

Born in June 1975, Champion was raised in Pasadena, California. Prior to ESPN, she had spent time working as an anchor and reporter for the Tennis Channel. Champion attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in English and minored in Mass Communications. She graduated in 1998 with an English degree. In her junior year, she studied in Washington, D.C. and earned an internship at CNN.

After graduating from UCLA, Champion moved to Florida for her first reporting job. After moving there, Champion covered a plethora of news items. She specialized in human interest stories and weather, including coverage of the well-known — and devastating — hurricanes in the state.

2. Champion Was The Target of Insensitive Tweets By Comedian Artie Lange

Champion has high visibility as an ESPN personality. (Getty)

In November 2014, Champion was the target of racist and sexist tweets from comedian Artie Lange, who jokingly portrayed himself and Champion in a sexual fantasy set during “Slavery.” Lange tweeted a stream of jokes about wanting to have a physical relationship with ESPN’s Cari Champion. The grotesque and demeaning personal nature of the jokes overshadowed whatever humor he was attempting to derive from it. Lange eventually apologized to Champion, via Twitter.

While Lange did apologize to Champion, he refused to apologize to any PC groups defending her after the incident, according to TheBigLead.com:

Lange apologized to Champion, though refused to apologize to any PC groups rallying on her behalf.

3. Champion Was Fired From a News Network in 2007 For Allegedly Using Profanity On Air

Champion has had a varied broadcast career thus far. (Getty)

Champion quickly created a name for herself, and began to cover more nationally televised events. She was a reporter at the Orange Country News channel in Santa Ana, California before joining WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach, Florida in the same capacity in 2002. In November 2007, while working as an anchor for WGCL-TV in Atlanta, Champion was fired for allegedly uttering a profanity over the air.

She appealed the firing and said in an interview for the Maynard Institute that the floor director had not cued her and her co-anchor following break, and that the microphone picked up another conversation they were having. Afterward, she was re-hired in 2008, but left shortly after for a broadcasting job outside of Atlanta.

4. She Worked at the Tennis Network, Covering the Williams Sisters Closely

Champion is a big tennis and basketball fan. (Getty)

Champion joins ESPN from the Tennis Channel where she was an anchor and a courtside reporter, most recently covering the 2012 U.S. Open. She has a love for the sport. Champion’s interest in tennis started while working in Florida.

While there, she covered the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, closely. This sparked her interest in the sport. Champion subsequently auditioned for the Tennis Channel’s burgeoning news department and was one of three women selected from a pool of more than fifty candidates.

5. Champion Has A Net Worth Of $2 Million

Cari Champion has a reported net worth of $2 million. (Getty)

Champion has a reported net worth of $2 million. She earns an annual salary of $1 million, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com. Just last year, her net worth was estimated to be valued at $0.75 million.

While unmarried, it has been rumored that Champion and fellow ESPN personality Ryen Rusillo have been in a relationship. That has not been confirmed. It is not known what Rusillo’s net worth is. However, in 2015, Rusillo did sign a multi-year deal with ESPN, increasing his earnings potential.