On Monday, seven sports broadcasting pioneers will join forces to celebrate Women’s Empowerment Month – and Jenny Cavnar is one of them.
The Golden State Warriors’ game against the New York Knicks on Monday at Chase Center will feature an all female-talent broadcast, with NBC Sports California's Oakland A’s play-by-play voice joining ESPN's LaChina Robinson as the game’s play-by-play talent.
And despite it not being Cavnar’s first time, the energy that comes with being a part of an all female broadcast team is unlike anything else.
"I am so excited,” Cavnar said. “I was a part of an all female broadcast last year during spring training for the Rockies and the Padres. I think the energy that comes with that of all these women that are just bringing their crafts together.”
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For Cavnar, the significance behind Monday’s operation lies in the intentionality of bringing talented women to the forefront and allowing them to occupy a traditionally male-dominated space.
“It's really not a placement of, 'Oh, we can't find a play-by-play [announcer],' or, 'We can't find a host, or we can't find an analyst,' Cavnar added.
“It's like, 'Oh, across the network of NBC we have an analyst, a play-by-play, a sideline reporter and a host, and they all just happen to be female, let's put them on the same stage together and let's do a game.”
NBA
A 20-year media veteran, Cavnar joined NBC Sports California as the Oakland Athletics play-by-play announcer last month, becoming the first woman to serve as a primary MLB play-by-play broadcaster.
Golden State's game on Monday will serve as a moment to celebrate accomplishments like Cavnar’s and women in the industry at large.
"I think that energy is so exciting, because we're all coming with a craft we've been working at for a very long time and we get to present it all together on the same night,” Cavnar said.
“And to celebrate the accomplishments of women in sports and how far we've come, how much further we have to go -- and on the basketball stage we're seeing so many women shine brightly and it's awesome. I just can't wait to be in the same room as these women and get to do the game."
