Robin Roberts left his place at Hiya America and reunited with teaching legend Geno Auriemma practically 30 years after he known as the first-ever WNBA sport in 1997, bringing issues full circle for the TV star.
The 65-year-old arrived Tuesday for the one-night-only broadcast of the Dallas Wings vs. New York Liberty sport on the Barclays Middle, to have a good time the thirtieth season and the unimaginable progress of the league. “Coming again to ESPN to name a WNBA sport is like coming dwelling,” Robin mentioned in a press launch earlier than the sport.
“When Geno and I sat down collectively for the primary ESPN WNBA broadcast in 1997, we knew we have been witnessing one thing particular. Reuniting with Geno and celebrating the WNBA’s thirtieth season alongside Beth is really an honor. It is unimaginable to replicate on how far the league has come and the brilliant future that lies forward.”
Geno, who’s the pinnacle coach of the College of Connecticut girls’s basketball crew, defined how vital it was to have Robin again.
“I have been lucky to spend most of my life round girls’s basketball, and when Robin and I known as that first WNBA sport, it felt like the beginning of one thing that might change this sport perpetually,” he mentioned.
“Thirty seasons later, it has been extremely rewarding to see this league develop into what it’s. With the ability to reunite with Robin, a broadcasting legend and lifelong supporter of our sport, and have a good time this milestone is a reminder of how far the sport has come and the way many individuals have contributed to its elevation alongside the way in which.”
© Getty PicturesAdded ESPN Senior Vice President of Sports activities Manufacturing Tim Corrigan: “Robin and Geno have been there from the start, serving to inform the story of a revolutionary new league that might perpetually change the panorama of ladies’s sports activities.”
“Bringing them collectively once more for one night is a becoming option to honor the historical past of the league, acknowledge its extraordinary progress and spotlight the celebrities who proceed to raise the sport at this time,” he concluded.
© Icon Sportswire through Getty PicturesRobin started her profession as a sports activities journalist and joined ESPN in 1990, successful three Emmy Awards for her work. She additionally performed basketball in school and has been an advocate for ladies’s sports activities for many years. The journalist turned an investor within the New York Liberty crew in 2025, solidifying her assist for the sport.
© Getty PicturesRobin’s look on the particular occasion got here simply days after she attended Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding ceremony at New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard. She confirmed the Hiya America legendary rocker Stevie Nicks carried out on the star-studded wedding ceremony and added that it felt intimate and private regardless of 1,000 company within the room.
“That they had their neighbors, their buddies from highschool. It was like several wedding ceremony you go to. Oh, and their vows! They each introduced their very own vows!” she mentioned on the present.