Lesley Visser

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Lesley Visser (born September 11, 1953 in Quincy, Massachusetts) is an American sportscaster, radio personality, television personality, and sportswriter. Visser is the only sportscaster in history, male or female, who has worked on the network broadcasts of the Final Four, NBA Finals, World Series, Triple Crown, Monday Night Football, the Winter Olympics, the Summer Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Figure Skating Championships and the U.S. Open. She is currently working as a reporter for CBS Sports and News. Visser now writes for CBSSports.com. Visser joined a local radio station in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to be part of their morning show a few days per week. She can be heard regularly on Fridays–Sundays on WFTL 640 Fox Sports (WMEN, Boca Raton) as part of "South Florida's First Team."

[edit] Biography

Lesley Visser [1] was the first woman to be recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the 2006 recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award which recognizes long-time exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football. Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman said about Visser in his 2006 induction speech, "She brought respect and professionalism to the field of journalism for her work in print and broadcasting. It makes me proud to be in her company today."

A pioneer among woman sports journalists, Visser re-joined CBS Sports in August 2000 after a six-year hiatus after being relieved of her duties as the sideline reporter for Monday Night Football among other assignments she had at ESPN and ABC Sports. She serves as correspondent for the network's NFL programming, as well as for Tennis, college basketball, and horse racing programming.

[edit] Early life and career

Born on September 11, 1953, in Quincy, Massachusetts*[2], to a school teacher and engineer, Visser has been a sports fanatic for as long as she can remember: she was an avid box-score reader as a child and once dressed up as former Boston Celtics guard Sam Jones for Halloween. She had her heart set on being a sportswriter early, but, she said, there was one major problem: “The job didn’t exist”—not for women, anyway. Still, her family never discouraged her. “My parents didn’t say girls can’t do that, and my mother told me, ‘Sometimes you have to cross when it says “don’t walk.”’” Visser was educated at Boston College, majoring in English.

[edit] Boston Globe

In January 1974, she won a prestigious Carnegie Foundation grant which entitled her to work as a sportswriter at the Boston Globe primarily covering High school football. In her 14 years at the Globe, she covered college basketball, the NBA, the MLB, tennis, college football, golf and horse racing. In 1976, she was assigned to cover the New England Patriots, becoming the first ever female NFL beat writer. She was also assigned to cover the Boston Red Sox, and the Boston Celtics, becoming the first ever female MLB Beat Writer and NBA Beat Writer.

And it was during her time at the Globe that she met and married sportscaster Dick Stockton. (The two met at—where else?—a sporting event, Game 6 of the 1975 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. Stockton was part of NBC’s broadcast team that night, while Visser was at the Globe.)

[edit] Begins television career at CBS Sports

In December 1983, she did a few features for CBS. Lesley said: "In television, usually it's, 'Let's hire somebody who knows television and we'll teach them sports.' But CBS said: 'Let's hire somebody who knows sports and teach them television.'" (14) But it took time. "I looked like I had rigor mortis. It's a learned skill." (15)

In January 1984, Visser joined CBS Sports part-time and going full-time in January 1987. In 1984, she became the first woman to cover the NBA Finals. Her assignments included the NBA including the NBA Finals (1984–1990), college basketball including the Final Four (1989–1993), MLB including the World Series (1990–1993), College World Series [3] college football, horse racing, Tennis including the U.S. Open of Tennis (1984–1993) and the Olympics including the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville where Visser coined this phrase, "Hey Snooze you luge."

In 1990 she became a regular on The NFL Today with Greg Gumbel, Terry Bradshaw and Pat O'Brien. She said that contacts she had made over the years while covering the sport allowed her to get interviews that others might not have been able to get. "I had gained respect with 14 years covering pro football and 14 (years) at the Globe. I understood what a box-and-one and a two-three zone defense was. Knowledge is the key." (16)

In 1990, she also became the first woman to cover the World Series. In 1991, Visser became the first woman to cover the Final Four. In 1992, she became the first (and to date, only) woman to handle the televised Super Bowl postgame presentation ceremonies and in 1989 she covered the fall of the Berlin Wall, focusing on how sports would change in East Germany for CBS News.

[edit] ABC Sports and ESPN

After CBS lost television rights to NFL games to FOX. "When CBS lost the NFL [in 1993], we all had to leave." Visser spent the next six years with ABC Sports and ESPN (1994–2000) and was a sideline reporter for Monday Night Football, becoming the first woman assigned to the series in 1998 and the first woman ever to report from the sidelines during a Super Bowl when she covered Super Bowl XXIX in 1995. She also covered for ABC Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.

While at ABC Sports, Visser served as a reporter for college football bowl games and the NFL playoffs games during Wild Card Saturday. She also contributed to horse racing including the Triple Crown, ABC's Wide World of Sports, Major League Baseball, including the 1995 World Series, figure skating, Special Olympics, skiing, the Pro Bowl, and an ABC series A Passion to Play." She co-hosted the network's coverage of the "Millennium Tournament of Roses Parade show."

Visser covered college basketball, figure skating, and horse racing including the Triple Crown [4] for ESPN. Also for ESPN, she contributed to shows such as SportsCenter, NFL GameDay, and Monday Night Countdown.

From 1998 [5] to 1999 she was a sideline reporter for Monday Night Football, making her the first woman to become a member of the Monday Night Football broadcast team. She feels she's earned it after covering the NFL for 24 years. "Credibility doesn't come from gender. It comes from the work you've done. ...

"When I started out in the '70s, people wrote to ask me why I was doing this. Now they write to ask me if I think the Dallas Cowboys are going to get to the playoffs." (18)

In June 2000, Visser's career suffered a highly publicized setback when she was famously bounced as the Monday Night Football sideline reporter for a less experienced, much younger woman and a man, who did not have as extensive journalistic credentials as Visser. "It was staggering to me," Visser later recalled. However, she wound up returning to CBS Sports, philosophical as ever. "You can have a short career if it's based on looks and youth," she said, "but legitimacy is what lasts." Which ABC replaced her with both Melissa Stark and Eric Dickerson. This was part of the overhaul when ABC brought back Don Ohlmeyer to serve as producer who installed Dennis Miller as an analysis (for ultimately two unsuccessful seasons). She sued ABC Sports which were Howard Katz and Ohylmeyer.

[edit] Return to CBS Sports

On August 28, 2000, Visser returned to CBS on camera where she covered the 2000 U.S. Open of Tennis. That is where she continues to work today, as a contributor to the The NFL Today, college basketball, horse racing and Tennis as well as for special projects for CBS Sports and News. In 2004, Visser became the first woman sportscaster to carry the Olympic Torch when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer." Returning to her roots, Visser now is a sportswriter for CBSSports.com. “The journey is always what has pleased me,” she says. “I’m honored to be called a pioneer, because I’m glad that women can find encouragement in my career.”

During the 2001 NFL season Visser became the first female color analyst [6] on an NFL broadcast booth. She joined play-by-play announcer Howard David and analyst Boomer Esiason in the booth for Westwood One/CBS Radio. As the 3 of them worked the 2002 Super Bowl. She resigned from Westwood One after the 2002 Super Bowl to focus exclusively on CBS and HBO. She was at Westwood One from August 2001–February 2002.

Visser served as the lead reporter for the Network's coverage of the NFL on CBS, teaming with CBS Sports' No. 1 announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms for the 2004 NFL Season and the 2005 NFL season replacing Armen Keteyian, who went to the No. 2 announce team. Bonnie Bernstein took her spot on The NFL Today for 2 seasons. In 2006, she returned to The NFL Today as a reporter.

Visser was a pre-game reporter for The Super Bowl Today, where she covered the Super Bowl XXXV in February 2001, Super Bowl XXXVIII in February 2004, and the Super Bowl XLI in February 2007 pre-game broadcasts. Visser was also a sideline reporter for the Super Bowl XLI besides pre-game reporter. Visser also contributes reports for CBS News.

[edit] NBC Sports

Visser was loaned to NBC Sports twice to cover the Olympics as she covered the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens when she served as the Equestrian reporter. She also she covered the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino as a Reporter for Short Track Speed Skating.

[edit] HBO Sports

She served as field reporter for HBO's coverage of the 2009 Billie Jean King Cup. Also, she served as a reporter for HBO Sports' Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel for 10 years (1995–2005)

[edit] Personal life

Visser is married to sportscaster Dick Stockton, who broadcasts for both FOX (for the NFL) and Turner Sports (for the NBA). They live in Boca Raton, Florida. Visser and Stockton met at the 1975 World Series, when Visser was covering for the Boston Globe and Stockton was a broadcaster for NBC. Dick says, "We're together maybe four days a week. Lesley says, That way we don't get tired of each other," she said. The couple wed on January 23, 1983.

In June 1993, Visser suffered a jogging accident in New York's Central Park in which she broke her hip and skidded face-first across the pavement.^[1] She required reconstructive plastic surgery on her face and in 2006 she required an artificial hip replacement. She returned to CBS Sports in July 1993 to cover the 1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game as a pre-game analyst instead of a field reporter due to the accident.

In March 2008, Visser joined a local radio station in Fort Lauderdale, FL, to be part of their morning show a few days per week. She can be heard regularly on Fridays–Sundays on WFTL 640 Fox Sports (WMEN, Boca Raton) as part of "South Florida's First Team."

[edit] Achievements

[edit] Events

Visser has covered a number of events:

31 times the Final Four/NCAA Men's Basketball Championship (Boston Globe: 1979–1988, CBS: 1989–1993, 2001–present and ESPN: 1994–2000)
14 times the NBA Finals (Boston Globe: 1977–1988 and CBS: 1984–1990)
18 times World Series (Boston Globe: 1975–1988, CBS: 1990–1993, ABC: 1995)
18 times the Kentucky Derby (Boston Globe: 1977–1988, ABC: 1994–2000)
18 times the Preakness (Boston Globe: 1977–1988, ABC: 1994–2000)
18 times the Belmont Stakes (Boston Globe: 1977–1988, ABC: 1994–2000)
5 times the Summer Olympics (Boston Globe: 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, NBC: 2004)
6 times the Winter Olympics (Boston Globe: 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, CBS: 1992, NBC: 2006)
19 times the Super Bowl (Boston Globe: 1977–1988, CBS: 1992, 2001, 2004, 2007, ABC: 1995, 2000, Westwood One Radio: 2002)
12 times the World Figure Skating Championships (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2: 1994–2000, CBS: 2001–2006)
25 times US Open (tennis) (Boston Globe: 1977–1988, CBS: 1984–1993, 2000–present)
12 times Wimbledon (Boston Globe: 1977–1988)
7 times the Breeders Cup (Boston Globe: 1984–1988, Breeders Cup Simulcast Show: 1998–1999)
12 times the French Open (Boston Globe: 1977–1988)
12 times the Australian Open (Boston Globe: 1977–1988)
12 times the British Open (Boston Globe: 1977–1988)*[7]

[edit] Honors

Visser was honored by the American Women in Radio and Television in June 2006 as the first woman sportscaster recipient of a Gracie Allen Award which celebrates programming created for women, by women and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the industry. In 2007, she became the first woman sportscaster to host the Gracie Awards. Visser also, in 2007, received the Emily Couric Leadership Award—previously given to Sandra Day O'Connor, Caroline Kennedy and Donna Brazile—and in 2007, she was honored at the 22nd Annual Sports Legend Dinner, to benefit the Buoniconti fund to cure paralysis. In 2005 she won the Pop Warner female achievement award and was inducted into the New England Sports Museum Hall of Fame, along with Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy and the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey team. “This is such an honor,” said Visser. “Gracie Allen had humor, wit and energy, and made it all look easy. I am humbled by the American Women in Radio & Television for recognizing me with such a distinguished award.” Then, flashing her own humor and wit in a way that would have made Gracie Allen proud, Visser added: “I wasn’t at the dawn of women covering sports. But I made the breakfast.”

Visser has been honored with the Compass Award for "changing the paradigm of her business" and was one of the 100 luminaries commemorating the 75th anniversary of the CBS Television Network in 2003. She was named "WISE Woman of the Year" in 2002 and voted the "Outstanding Women's Sportswriter in America" in 1983 and won the "Women's Sports Foundation Award for Journalism" in 1992. In 1999 she won the first AWSM Pioneer Award. Visser earned her bachelor's degree in English from Boston College and received an honorary doctorate of Journalism from her alma mater in May 2007.

Visser became the first woman sportscaster to carry the Olympic Torch when she was honored in 2004 by the International Olympic Committee as a "pioneer and standard-bearer" and the first woman analyst in an NFL broadcast booth. She has been covering sports for 35 years, nearly half of them for CBS Sports. Visser worked her 31st Final Four/NCAA Men's Basketball Championship this April 2009, having worked the tournament for the Boston Globe, ESPN and CBS Sports. This past season marked her 34th year covering the NFL and for covering other sports. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre once said of Visser: "She doesn't demand respect, she commands it."

In 2008, she returned to The NFL Today teaming up with James Brown, Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe, Boomer Esaison, Bill Cowher, Charley Casserly and Sam Ryan. Having returned in 2007 as a regular on the show and having just worked their coverage of the Super Bowl XLI.

[edit] Pioneer

While receiving an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Boston College, on May 21, 2007, she remembered a time when credentials specifically barred women and children from press boxes, women's restrooms were nowhere to be found in the press area, and players and coaches were rude and threatening and refused to allow women reporters access to locker rooms.

During her time at the Globe, "she wasn't at the dawn of women covering sports. But she made the breakfast." (13) She wasn't always welcomed in the locker room, but she stuck it out.

Female sportscasters may be ho-hum news today, but thirty years ago it was a different story, and Lesley Visser can tell you all about it. A true pioneer, she counts numerous historic firsts among her accomplishments, including first female beat reporter to cover the NFL, MLB, and NBA, first female member of the Monday Night Football announcing team, first woman sportscaster to preside over the post–Super Bowl presentation of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, first woman analyst in an NFL broadcast booth, first woman Super Bowl, NBA Finals, Final Four, and the World Series sideline reporter, and first female sportscaster to carry the Olympic torch. But Visser remembers a time when credentials specifically barred women and children from press boxes, women’s restrooms were nowhere to be found in the press area, and players and coaches were rude and threatening and refused to allow women reporters access to locker rooms. Through it all, Visser persevered, covering every major sporting event—from the NBA Finals to Super Bowl to the World Series to the Final Four to the Triple Crown to the Olympics—earning tremendous respect from both broadcasters and athletes, and blazing a trail that eased the way for the generations of female sportscasters who followed.

Once, at a public seminar on women sportswriters, Visser had to defend herself for agreeing to interview Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves outside the clubhouse when he refused to talk to her inside. ”My boss doesn’t want to hear why I didn’t talk to him,” Visser responded at a seminar in 1988. He wants a story by 6:30. But how many of you did I compromise by doing it out on the steps?”

One of the most traumatic moments in Visser’s career at the Globe occurred after the 1980 Cotton Bowl between Nebraska and Houston. Blocking Visser from entering the locker room, Houston coach Bill Yeoman declared, “I don’t give a damn about the equal rights amendment. She’s not coming into my locker room.” The exchange was captured by the media, and Visser felt humiliated. “I remember thinking earlier that afternoon it was a new decade, and that I was so excited to be doing this job,” she told Kevin Kaminski of Palm Beach Illustrated in 2005. “But after it happened, I went back into the stadium, walked to the top of the Cotton Bowl, and just sat there and cried.” (Years later, while covering college basketball for television, Visser had a run-in with famously combustible Indiana coach Bobby Knight that ended much more happily. As she recalled in 2004 in the New York Times, Visser asked Bobby Knight how were you able to deaft Temple?, to which Knight replied, “We scored more points than they did that's something that you may have missed in the news media when the team when the buzzer blows-- “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,” how did you how did you get the match up zone what did you tell your kids? Visser retorted, rolling her eyes, cracking Knight up.)

At the Globe, Visser working alongside among others Bud Collins, Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan, and Will McDonough. “They were all so great to me,” she said. “I remember going with [Peter] Gammons to see Bonnie Raitt at a coffeehouse in Cambridge. Those were great times.” Gridiron guru McDonough became one of her greatest advocates. “He was a great mentor,” she shared. When she got the gig as the NFL, NBA, and MLB Beat writer she said, “This will work. She knows football, baseball and basketball. All you need to do is give her a chance.”

While covering the 1989 U.S. Open*[8], Steffi Graf had just finished off Gabriela Sabatini in the semi-finals, Steffi Graf, who had been suffering severe leg cramps during the match was trying desperately to get to the locker room, and Visser made the poor judgment call of trying to interview her before she got there. Poor Lesley got hit with a right cross by Steffi's fist. *[9]

Also in 1989, New York Jets tight end Mickey Shuler verbally accosted Visser as she entered the locker room at the Meadowlands. "Hey, no women in the locker room," he yelled. Visser, thinking he was joking, smiled and waved. Shuler shouted, "Hey! No——women in the locker room!" Shuler, who had thought he was just following team policy, wrote Visser a letter of apology She hung it on her wall.*[10]

Being a woman in a male-dominated field, Visser has had to prove herself time and again,a challenge she has welcomed and met throughout the past thirty years. As Visser herself has said, "Credibility doesn't come from gender. It comes from the work you've done. "Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports and one of Visser's biggest fans, summed up her contributions this way: "Lesley Visser's career has broken many barriers and defined previously unimagined roles for women in professional sports and sports broadcasting."

[edit] References

^ SPORTS PEOPLE: BROADCASTING; A Recuperating Visser Aims for N.F.L. Opener - New York Times

[edit] External links

[0] SPORTS PEOPLE: BROADCASTING; A Recuperating Visser Aims for N.F.L. Opener - New York Times

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