A Woman of Many Talents: The Journey of WNBA & NLL Sideline Reporter Robyn Brown

By: Kate norum

An opportunity came from an internship, which is how it all started for Robyn Brown.

Brown, the current sideline reporter and marketing specialist for the WNBA team, Connecticut Sun, also sidelines for the National Lacrosse League team, New England Blackwolves.  

Connecticut Sun never had a sideline reporter before until Brown came onto the scene in her internship. She was working towards her master’s in sports journalism at Quinnipiac University and graduated.

Before taking the plunge to graduate school, Brown was a college basketball player at the University of Mount Union in Ohio. She obtained her bachelor’s in Sports Business and Integrated Media.

The love of sports was ingrained in her at a young age, and playing basketball was the beginning of it all. 
The overall passion for her expands in sports and storytelling, igniting her to keep going along her path.

She had someone take a chance on her and has remained grateful for the opportunity, flourishing under pressure. 

I asked Robyn a few questions about how she eventually became full-time for the Connecticut Sun and other questions on her journey:

K: I’m genuinely curious how you started working for the Connecticut Sun - How did it all happen for you?

R: “So I’m going into my third season, and I started as an intern. They [Connecticut Sun] never had a sideline reporter before. I studied sports journalism working on getting my master’s, and I tried to get an internship with the Washington Mystics.

I went through a process of wanting to work for the Mystics, interview after interview - which didn’t end up panning out. I never heard from them. So as I spoke with my advisor, I said, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do about a summer internship, I put all the eggs in one basket, and the door was essentially shut in my face,’ time was running out. She [advisor] says to me, ‘I know a woman’ - and that woman happened to be the Vice President of the Connecticut Sun [Amber Cox]. 

She set me up with a phone call with the VP, and I sold it. I sent her a tape of my reel, and we had about a 20-minute conversation, and she [Cox] says to me, ‘ The position is yours if you want it.’ 

One door shut, and another door happened to open, so I took that opportunity. I worked as a sideline reporter as an intern in the summer, went back to school for my final year, getting my master’s. I get a call from Amber [VP Connecticut Sun] - she said, ‘ I don’t have a position open for you, but I want to create one because I know I want you on my staff.’ I couldn’t turn that down.

I graduated and 24 hours went by, we had a preseason opener at home the next day, and I started my full-time job and now heading into my third season.” 

K: Did you always want to go into sports reporting? Was that still your goal?

R: “I loved sports growing up, played them my whole life. I played basketball in college, and I knew I was never going to play professionally. I had a jump shot, but not that nice of a jump shot. I knew I wanted to stay in the sports industry, so I studied sports business and communication. I figured between both of those areas; I wanted to combine them. And that was sports journalism. Storytelling in the form of sports. So I gravitated to that. One-piece led to the next, figuring it out as it comes. I didn’t know at a young age, but eventually, it came to me.”

K: Was there ever any moment in your life, where you did not think you were capable of reaching the positions you hold currently [Connecticut Sun & NE Blackwolves]

R: “I think the way I look at it is, if I don’t believe in myself, why would someone else believe in me? I think I’ve always believed that anything I set my mind to I could accomplish. Because if I didn’t believe that, then why would someone want to hire me to do this job? If I didn’t believe I could be the best reporter or the best content creator, why would they choose me in a pool of applicants? It’s all a mindset. Just as an athlete is preparing for a game, so are we in our profession. If you’re reporting on a game, you have to know the storyline, the stats, and performing well. I’ve always taken that approach, the preparation is the key, and if I believe in myself, then that’s when the doors open towards success.”

K: Ok, how did you end up working for a lacrosse team [NE Blackwolves]?

R: “It’s exciting. So it’s owned by the same ownership group [as Sun]. My role for the WNBA is sideline reporter, team content, and marketing coordinator, which is the same for the lacrosse team, New England Blackwolves, in the National Lacrosse League. So I did the internship with the Sun [WNBA], and when that ended, I headed back to school. I didn’t know they had a lacrosse team at the same location. Amber Cox [VP of both NE Blackwolves and Sun] calls me up and says, ‘Do you know anything about lacrosse?’ and I said ‘no.’ She eventually said, ‘do you think you could learn the sport [box lacrosse]?’ So I went out and bought Lacrosse for Dummies, watched tutorials on the sport - to learn the game since I have never covered it in my life. 2-3 months later, I was on Bleacher Report Live for my first game as their sideline reporter, and I have fallen in love with the sport. Once you get indoors for a box lacrosse game, you will be hooked.” 
Everyone has their journey, and for Robyn, it led her to incorporate various specialties to sideline reporting, marketing and overall content creation. It’s all dependent on the belief in yourself; you have to realize your worth and fight for it. 

Robyn initially had her heart set on the [Washington] Mystics. Still, the opportunity never came, and instead of letting that bring her down, she was able to create a new opportunity. The process of working in the sports industry will always remain cutthroat, but the balance between striving for more is the beauty of it all. 

You can follow Robyn Brown on Twitter & keep up to date with life in the #Wubble: @RobynNBrown_​

[Further proof that she might’ve helped come up with the #Wubble] -