Photo Credit: Craig Davis/South Florida Sun-Sentinel
If you have ever watched SportsCenter, then there’s probably a chance you know Linda Cohn. Cohn isn’t just a SportsCenter anchor, but more on those later. As one of the biggest and most well-known female sports anchor, Cohn has more than earned her place in our spotlight this week!
Cohn grew up in New York where she found her love for all New York sports teams like the Giants, Mets, Yankees and especially the Rangers. Hockey is really where Cohn found her true love in sports. In high school, Cohn played hockey on the men’s team. Cohn’s love for sports continued into her college career at SUNY-Oswego where she earned her bachelor’s degree in arts and communication. While attending Oswego, Cohn played on the women’s ice hockey team where she earned a spot in their athletics hall of fame.
Cohn would then go on to work at various radio stations before being hired by ABC. At ABC, Cohn became the first full-time female sportscaster on a national radio station. After that, Cohn’s career took off and she landed her job at ESPN. When she first joined ESPN, Cohn was hired to work on SportsCenter before branching out to do play-by-play on WNBA games. Most of you probably see Cohn also hosts SportsCenter Monday through Friday from 1-3 PM and as of 2016, Cohn has hosted more SportsCenter shows than anyone else employed at ESPN currently.
In addition to her 23-year career, Cohn is also the host of her own podcast, “Listen Closely to Linda Cohn.” Many also don’t know that Cohn is a published author. Her book, “Cohn-Head: A No-Holds-Barred Account of Breaking Into the Boys’ Club” gives the reader an inside look into her life especially working at ESPN along with her love for sports and how she became one of the most respected and top female journalist at ESPN today.
She is also very active on her Twitter account where she shares her opinions on sports, live-tweets games and general news about sports. Cohn was the recipient of the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Women’s Sports Journalism Award in 1995 and was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
Cohn gives a whole new definition to the saying, “a female in a man’s world.” She has shown not only that she can handle herself in a “man’s world”, but excels in it. Â Cohn has opened many doors for female journalists looking to get their break in sports and that is why she is a perfect choice to spotlight!
