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© Blavity, Inc., 2023

11-Year-Old Sports Reporter Pepper Persley And Malika Andrews Share Sweet Exchange

"And so if there is anything that I could ever do to help you, because I would not be here without Ramona, without Doris Burke, without Mark Spears, without Stuart Scott, without so many people who I saw a small piece of me in," Andrews said.

March 10, 2023 at 10:52 pm

11-year-old sports reporter Pepper Persley joined NBA Today on International Women’s Day to discuss her interest in sports journalism and spreading awareness to stop bullying. The NBA Today show shared a sweet moment Persley shared with sports journalist Malika Andrews when the young sports reporter posed a question that left Andrews emotional.

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“My question for you is, what does it mean to you to inspire girls like me?,” Persley asked Andrews.

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A post shared by Pepper Persley (@pepperpersley)

Persley’s words touched Andrews, who said representation particularly with natural hair on camera was one of the main reasons for pursuing a career as a sports journalist.

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A post shared by NBA on ESPN (@nbaonespn)

“You’re going to make me cry. It means a lot, Pepper. And it means a lot because I felt like when I was your age and I was looking for me, there wasn’t a lot of me, particularly a lot of me that wore my hair like this or was mixed like me, or had grown up maybe having a little bit of a hard time like me,” Andrews told her.

“And so if there is anything that I could ever do to help you, because I would not be here without Ramona, without Doris Burke, without Mark Spears, without Stuart Scott, without so many people who I saw a small piece of me in,” she said. “And if you see that in me, then it is my duty, my responsibility, my honor, my pleasure to make sure that the door is standing open wide for you,” she said.

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A post shared by Pepper Persley (@pepperpersley)

Andrews made light of the idea of her one day being replaced by the next generation of women like Persley in the years to come–and thanked the women who held the door open for her as well.

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A post shared by Pepper Persley (@pepperpersley)

“Because I felt like I had to crack it open a little bit more and the people before me had to push through that door and up against that ceiling. So I know that your time is coming,” she said. “Please give me a little bit more of a run because my 401K is not where it needs to be quite yet,” she added.

According to ESPN Front Row, Persley has had a fruitful career as a child sports journalist who hosts the Dish with Pepper podcast, was a 2022 broadcast reporter for ESPN’s KidCast and has covered numerous WNBA games.