The NBA now has its first full-time female analyst. The Charlotte Hornets have hired former sideline reporter Stephanie Ready to join the broadcasting booth as game analyst, according to Fox Sports Carolinas.
Hornets hire Stephanie Ready as first full-time female game analyst
Stephanie Ready will be providing game analysis for Charlotte next season.
Ready has a long history of blazing trails. She was the first D-League assistant coach and has been working her way up the ladder for years after playing college basketball at Coppin State University. She’s been an assistant coach and a recruiter at his alma matter before spending 12 years working with the Hornets’ broadcast team in various capacities.
“There’s a lot of pressure. There’s a lot of skepticism,” Ready told Fox Sports’ Cory McCartney. “There’s a lot of people that may think it could be publicity stunt and I’ve always just been about forging ahead, doing the task at hand, handling my business, so to speak, doing the job and letting the job and the work speak for itself.”
She will be joining Dell Curry and new play-by-play man Eric Collins in the booth. His co-workers support the move.
“She knows the game very well. She knows the players. She knows strategy, plays,” Curry said. “As an ex-player, whether you’re male or female, if you’re an ex-player, you should know your craft and she definitely does.”
Slowly but surely jobs that have traditionally been given to males are now welcoming very deserving women. Nancy Lieberman and Becky Hammon are full-time assistant coaches now and Hammon became the first woman to coach a Summer League team earlier this year. The league is making progress when it comes to gender equality, even if there are issues that still need solving.
* * *
SB Nation presents: A historic summer for women in sports
See More:
