Katie Nolan: Sports Commentator Who Gets Public Relations
Katie Nolan, 28-year-old Fox Sports and News personality has her own show first airing in March of this year – Garbage Time. She got her B.A. in Public Relations from Hofstra University in 2009 and has been making her career in front of the camera since then with work as a digital reporter and contributor on YouTube and other internet sources, including Fox Sports 1 programs Crowd Goes Wild and Guyism Speed Round.
This month on her program Garbage Time– she called out the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys, and one of the sport’s bad boys, Greg Hardy – who is returning to active play after a year’s suspension. Hardy was suspended after numerous documented instances of violence against his former girlfriend, one of which he threw her across the room and onto a futon covered with assault rifles. So when the Dallas Cowboys posted an interview with Hardy on their website where his first comment was to say he’s ready to come out gun’s blazing.
In response to that remark, Nolan said “That’s baffling to me. And not just as a woman, but as a person who majored in public relations. How do you let that comment happen? Oh, I’m sorry. Not just let it happen. Publish it on the League’s official website, endorsing it with your precious shield. Oh, which I notice has a pink ribbon on it this month because you care about women.”
Hardy then deflected a few questions when he could have taken a moment to either apologize or show the time away gave him pause to think. And then when asked about an upcoming game and if he was looking forward to it, answered with a positive and continued on to say the reason was because he wanted to see Tom Brady’s attractive girlfriend and her sister too, if possible.
Nolan was almost left speechless – but not really! “Greg Hardy had to pretend to respect women for 12 minutes — just 12 minutes — and he couldn’t even do that. And what’s worse: no one stopped him.” And later, “Another reporter, a person I’m supposed to feel is a colleague of mine, here in Sports Media, asks if Hardy looks forward to playing teams such as the Jacksonville Jaguars and whether he finds their quarterback, Blake Borties’ significant other attractive.”
Calling all of the participants out – Hardy for his comments, the sports journalists for encouraging him, the Cowboys PR people for actually putting the video on their official website, and the NFL for treating women as an afterthought. It’s fine to put the pretty pink ribbon up, but now let’s objectify women and pander to a guy who has shown flagrant disregard for women everywhere.
Apparently the NFL and the rest of them don’t see this as a problem. They must also believe that though women make up approximately half of the population none of them have any interest in football.
Well done Katie Nolan. You know how to make a good point, and we applaud your efforts. That Hofstra education seems to be doing wonders along with your natural flair for pointing out garbage even before the stink hits the rest of us.
