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Cari Champion

EXCLUSIVE
  • Award-Winning Broadcast Journalist & Television Personality
  • CNN Contributor & Former ESPN Host
  • Founder, Brown Girls Dream
  • Host, 'Host, Naked Sports with Cari Champion'

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Award-winning broadcast journalist and television personality Cari Champion has helped redefine sports media with an unapologetic voice and authentic storytelling. Throughout her career, she has advanced the industry for women while building a reputation as one of its most trusted interviewers. Today, her influence extends across sports, culture, and news as host of Naked with Cari Champion, where she explores the stories behind the headlines with athletes and cultural leaders, and as a regular CNN contributor offering sharp analysis on the issues shaping the national conversation.

For nearly a decade, Champion was a defining presence at ESPN, where she co-hosted SportsCenter: Coast to Coast, hosted SportsNation, and moderated First Take. She later made history as the first Black woman to host a late-night cable news and information program with Cari & Jemele: Stick to Sports on Vice TV, and has since continued to shape the conversation through projects including The Cari Champion Show, Tokyo Tonight during the Olympic Games, and the inaugural Athlos Invitational.

On stage, Champion explores the intersection of sports, culture, and leadership with the candor and curiosity that have defined her career. Whether delivering a keynote or moderating a conversation, she gets to the heart of today's biggest issues, leaving audiences with a fresh perspective on leadership, influence, and the power of finding your own voice.

 


Cari Champion headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • 2024 Makers Conference
Uniting Fronts: Evolving Together with Cari Champion & Dany Garcia | MAKERS Conference - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Cari Champion
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Messages of Motivation & Empowerment

Veteran broadcast journalist CARI CHAMPION is renowned for getting to the heart and soul of issues, sharing a message of motivation and empowerment that is making a difference. As the Founder of Brown Girls Dream, Champion knows first-hand the impact of meaningful support and mentorship, and shares ...

Veteran broadcast journalist CARI CHAMPION is renowned for getting to the heart and soul of issues, sharing a message of motivation and empowerment that is making a difference. As the Founder of Brown Girls Dream, Champion knows first-hand the impact of meaningful support and mentorship, and shares insights about finding your passion, staying inspired, and achieving your dreams.

Overcoming Adversity and Persevering in Work & Life

Multimedia game-changer and veteran broadcast journalist CARI CHAMPION has worked at the highest levels, overcoming personal and professional adversity to rise to the top of her field. Highly regarded for her courageous and authentic approach to discussing important issues, Champion shares takeaways ...

Multimedia game-changer and veteran broadcast journalist CARI CHAMPION has worked at the highest levels, overcoming personal and professional adversity to rise to the top of her field. Highly regarded for her courageous and authentic approach to discussing important issues, Champion shares takeaways about how to cultivate perseverance and invest in your dreams and yourself.

Diversity and Representation in Media

Inspired by the unfair representation she saw on TV growing up, veteran broadcast journalist CARI CHAMPION embarked on a powerhouse career covering stories for major networks with an eye to diversity and equity. With her unique perspective and unparalleled insights, Champion is an advocate for makin ...

Inspired by the unfair representation she saw on TV growing up, veteran broadcast journalist CARI CHAMPION embarked on a powerhouse career covering stories for major networks with an eye to diversity and equity. With her unique perspective and unparalleled insights, Champion is an advocate for making space for marginalized voices in storytelling, and making a difference.

Women in the World of Sports

Veteran sports anchor and broadcast journalist CARI CHAMPION spent over ten years at ESPN covering nationally important sports stories, rising to the top of her field in the male-dominated worlds of sports and media. Champion shares her journey creating her own path, finding support and mentorship t ...

Veteran sports anchor and broadcast journalist CARI CHAMPION spent over ten years at ESPN covering nationally important sports stories, rising to the top of her field in the male-dominated worlds of sports and media. Champion shares her journey creating her own path, finding support and mentorship that were essential to her early career success, and the challenges and opportunities for women in the world of sports.

Cari Champion: Moderator and Host

As a veteran broadcast journalist, CARI CHAMPION is an expert at getting to the heart and soul of the story, and making the opportunity for guests to from all industries to reveal impactful insights. Champion deftly navigates the important conversations of the day, bringing her trademark authenticit ...

As a veteran broadcast journalist, CARI CHAMPION is an expert at getting to the heart and soul of the story, and making the opportunity for guests to from all industries to reveal impactful insights. Champion deftly navigates the important conversations of the day, bringing her trademark authenticity, humor, and depth. She makes a fantastic choice for your next virtual or in-person event.

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Speaker News

Cari Champion makes history with her move to Vice TV, working alongside co-host Jemele Hill, as the first Black women to host a late-night cable show: Cari & Jemele: Stick to Sports.

CARI CHAMPION has worked across the country covering network news, entertainment, and sports stories of national interest for ABC, CBS, NBC and other cable networks. Champion worked as anchor, sports journalist, and host and spent nearly a decade at ESPN where she served as a SportsCenter anchor and host of ESPN2’s First Take.  Most recently, Champion made history with her move to Vice TV, working alongside co-host Jemele Hill, as the first Black women to host a late-night cable show. Cari & Jemele:  Stick to Sports deliver their unique, engaging, and comedic perspectives on today's issues. An entertaining and emboldened communicator, Champion has done features for The Insider, Hollywood 411 and Starz Entertainment.  In her energizing and uplifting talks, at virtual and in-person events, Cari empowers audiences worldwide with a unique perspective and thoughts on women in the male-dominated world of sports, race, and ethnicity in both sports and media, how to overcome personal and professional adversity.

Women Making History: How Cari Champion Opens Doors for Women in Sports

Distinguished broadcast journalist and television personality CARI CHAMPION has significantly impacted and advanced the sports media industry for women today through her work as a mentor and role model. As reported by AfroTech, Champion’s mentorship program, Brown Girls Dream, has connected countless young black women to high-level mentors and opportunities in sports and media. Champion told Essence, “If I don’t hold the door open for the next Black or Brown girl behind me, why am I doing this? I feel like that is the best thing that anyone can do.”

Watch Cari Champion present at TEDxUCLAWomen >>

Watch Cari Champion moderate ESPN’s Women in Sports Summit >>

Cari Champion hosts the Naked with Cari Champion Podcast, showcasing her moderating and interviewing skills as she speaks vulnerably with some of today’s greatest names in sports and entertainment

Sports anchor, journalist, and host CARI CHAMPION showcases her moderating and interviewing skills as the host of the Naked with Cari Champion podcast. Champion speaks with some of the biggest names in today’s sports and entertainment world, and asks them to “get naked” by describing life-altering circumstances and events that helped shape who they are. She brings out the best in people as a professional interviewer, getting them to share the most interesting bits and information they might not share with someone else. In a world in which we show the best sides of ourselves on social media and in the news, Champion creates an environment in which celebrities are authentic and honest about their untold stories, the way they want to tell them. Just like on her podcast, Champion is a skilled interviewer and moderator at events, guiding intriguing conversations as she puts guests at ease and helps them share answers audiences want to hear.

Listen to Cari’s podcast here > >

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Press & Media
‘STICK TO SPORTS’ CO-HOST CARI CHAMPION IS OPENING DOORS FOR FUTURE FEMALE LEADERS OF COLOR - Black Enterprise
Cari Champion on Her New Podcast 'Naked,' and Sports as a Great Unifier - Muse by Clio
In Honor of Black Music Month, Cari Champion Treats Us to A Life in Tracks - The Root
Cari Champion’s ‘Brown Girls Dream’ Creates Opportunities for Future Leaders - The Grio
ESSENCE To Honor Jemele Hill And Cari Champion Ahead Of New Show On CNN+, "Speak.Easy"" - Essence
Cari Champion Is Ready To Get Vulnerable - Bustle
ESSENCE Black Women In Sports Honors Cari Champion, Jemele Hill And The Off The Field Players' Wives Association - Essence
Cari Champion Is Not Afraid to Speak Her Truth - Sports Illustrated
Cari Champion on the power of Black women in sports—including herself - NPR
As A Black Woman In Media, Cari Champion's 'Creating A Voice That Cannot Be Denied' And Making More Space At The Table - Afrotech
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Ideas for the Meeting Planner
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Biography

Cari Champion is an award-winning broadcast journalist and television personality in sports media. Known for her unapologetic voice and authentic storytelling, she has significantly impacted and advanced the sports media industry for women today. She continues to expand her influence across sports, culture, and news with a reputable and candid perspective.

Cari is the host of Naked Sports with Cari Champion, a groundbreaking interview-based podcast from iHeartMedia that explores how sports shape personal and global experiences. Each episode features in-depth, unfiltered conversations with athletes and cultural leaders who’ve made an impact on and off the field. Her show shines a spotlight on women’s sports, amplifying the voices and stories of female athletes who are often underrepresented in traditional sports media. She also co-hosts Flagrant and Funny with Jemele Hill where they debate the buzziest topics of the day in women’s sports, culture and beyond.

A regular CNN contributor, Cari is known for her sharp analysis and cultural insight. She appears across a range of programs offering analysis on culture, sports, and major national issues. Whether discussing breaking news or the evolving role of athletes in society, her voice brings depth and clarity to conversations at the intersection of sports, culture, and social impact.

Previously, Cari made history as the first Black woman to host a late-night cable news and information program with Cari & Jemele: Stick to Sports on Vice TV. She also hosted The Cari Champion Show on Amazon Prime Video, where she delivered unfiltered, conversational takes on the world of sports

In 2024, she lent her voice as a commentator for the Netflix special Unfinished Beef, calling a high-profile hot dog eating match that blended sports and entertainment and also hosted the inaugural Athlos Invitational, a groundbreaking women’s track and field event backed by Alexis Ohanian, designed to amplify coverage of the sport outside the Olympic cycle and spotlight elite female athletes.

In 2021, she co-hosted the Sports Illustrated Awards, celebrating icons such as Tom Brady and Billie Jean King. Other notable work includes co-anchoring Tokyo Tonight during the 2020 Olympics, hosting The Arena on TNT, and holding prominent stints at ESPN on SportsCenter’s Coast to Coast, First Take, and SportsNation.

Splitting her time between Los Angeles and New York, Cari remains a leading voice in the intersection of sports, identity, and culture.

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