| Kristine Leahy | |
| Birth Date: | 16 October 1986 |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Boston University |
| Occupation: | Talk show host |
| Years Active: | 2012–present |
| Known For: | The Herd, American Ninja Warrior |
Kristine Leahy (born October 16, 1986) is an American television host and former sports reporter.[1] [2] [3] She is most known as a former host on NBC's American Ninja Warrior. She was the former co-host and newswoman of Fox Sports 1's simulcast of The Herd with Colin Cowherd and was also a former anchor and reporter for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles.
In 2018, Leahy began hosting Fair Game with Kristine Leahy on Fox Sports 1. The show was cancelled in December 2019.
Leahy was born in Chicago,[4] [5] where she became interested in sports. She graduated from Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, Illinois in 2005.[6] She earned a Bachelor of Science in journalism from Boston University.
After college, Leahy got a job at the sports radio station WEEI in Boston. After a two-year stint at WEEI, she transitioned to a position as an official reporter of the Boston Celtics and Celtics.com. She turned that into a job at FOX Boston, where she covered all Boston area sports teams.[7] [8]
Leahy moved to Los Angeles in 2012 and covered a variety of different sports, most notably as a sideline reporter for Turner Sports' March Madness coverage. She worked for a variety of CBS affiliated sports outlets, including the local CBS Los Angeles news. Leahy then became the sideline reporter for American Ninja Warrior on NBC.[9] In September 2015, she took a job to join former ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd on his new show after his exodus to FOX. Cowherd cited a lack of female voices in sports talk radio as a reason for Leahy's addition to the show, as well as Leahy's history of developing useful sources as a sports journalist.[10]
On May 17, 2017, Leahy had a heated exchange with LaVar Ball on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.[11] Ball never faced in Leahy's direction for the whole interview, apparently trying to talk only with Colin Cowherd on the other side of the studio.[12] When Leahy asked Ball how many shoes he had already sold, he said "stay in your lane" and called her a "hater", which led to accusations of sexism against Ball.[11] [13]