Courtside With APA Women NBA Reporters: Two Asian women who are changing the face of NBA coverage

Being a sports journalist is not all about cheering on the team during the game and hanging out with players in the locker room afterward. Journalists like Janny Hu, a San Francisco Chronicle writer whose beat is the Golden State Warriors, have to be impartial observers, reporting on everything from exciting games with memorable performances to tough losses where they must ask questions about why the team failed, which can often be a thankless and difficult job. Hu is the only Asian female reporter to have a full-time assignment to cover an NBA team, and while women sports reporters are not uncommon today, Hu is still something of a pioneer. “At times, a lot of our reporting outside of the team would come over the phone, and if I end up seeing another general manager or someone I’ve talked to over the phone, there might be a surprise factor because I don’t look like what they might have expected,” Hu said. Like many Asians, Hu initially pursued a career in science and was on the path to becoming a doctor when she began writing for UC Berkeley’s student newspaper. “I always liked sports and writing, and I went to The Daily Californian,” Hu said. “They offered me men’s gymnastics. Little did I know it’s the beat nobody wants, and that’s why they give it to freshman.” But Hu found her calling and later completed internships at the Detroit Free Press, The Dallas Morning News, the Times Union, The Houston Chronicle and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hu said her job “takes a little of the fan out of you,” because she spends so much time with the team. “I see them more than I see my own family and friends throughout the season.” But she acknowledges that the thrill of the game remains. “When you get great stories like the playoff run [the Warriors] had last year, and you’re in the middle of that and you get to tell the story of how it unfolded, that’s a pretty special thing.” Hu said she enjoys most the ability to put a female perspective on a sport for which the stereotypical writer is a middle-aged Caucasian male. “I’ll probably ask them different things that other guys wouldn’t ask them and tend to be motherly or whatever in those aspects,” Hu said with a laugh.

Doing work similar to Hu, but on the other side of the court, is Angela Tsai, a courtside and multimedia reporter for the Sacramento Kings. The 31-year-old Tsai was a captain of Duke University’s cheerleading team, and upon graduation, she tried her hand at acting and stand-up comedy. Those performance skills got her a job with Comcast as a host for Dating on Demand, after which AZN TV and the NBA hired her to host NBA Timeout, a lighthearted magazine-style show. That gig piqued her interest in professional basketball, and she got a chance to meet some of the all-time greats, including Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Patrick Ewing and Clyde Drexler. In 2007, Tsai joined the Sacramento Kings. As a courtside reporter, she is around the team not only for game day and practices, but also community events and feature stories. Tsai said one of her biggest challenges is gaining respect from the rabid fans that live and die with the team. “I just fear of being that token pretty face on the sidelines,” Tsai said. “Some people may say, ‘Well, she’s attractive; she must not know anything.’” Tsai said she has received a lot of positive feedback from viewers, particularly young girls. “These are all Kings fans who are so excited to see a new face and, more importantly, a face that looks like theirs,” Tsai said. “I am the only female riding on that charter plane with the team and coaches. Even in the rest of the media, nobody else is female — just me.” Ryan Leong has been a sports reporter for 10 years, and covers the local pro and college teams for ESPN Radio and the Associated Press Radio Network.