Dana O'Neil,
You are my idol. You have been from the day I met you when you handed my dad his Hall of Fame Plaque, from you introducing me to Austin Hatch the boy who survived two plane crashes, from the moment I realized that you, a woman, was the president of the Basketball Writers Association. You were beautiful, poised, smart, and not a dumb blonde wearing 10 pounds of makeup. You were confident and knowledgeable. You were a trailblazer in a world of men. You gave me hope that there was a place in the world of sports for those who truly were knowledgeable about the world and not just for people trying to get their 10 minutes of fame.
You were different. You weren't the girl on tv, I have even heard you didn't want to be on tv. I admired that because you certainly had the looks to be on TV, but you knew better than most, if you are a pretty girl on TV, you will not be taken seriously and your words and thoughts somehow are now not your own. You are a writer and you stuck to that. That is what I admire so much. As a woman who worked at ESPN, you were looked at as one of the best at the company despite gender. You always looked professional and never once did I think "wow is she trying to sell out?" I followed your social media presence daily just waiting to see what latest insight you would have into the latest events. During the NCAA tournament, you are the queen of tweets.
You managed to be a mom, wife, worker, and trailblazer all at the same time (something that we never even consider when men take jobs because it is always assumed there is a wife at home.) You played all the roles at once and seemed to be on top of the world until the world decided to be unfair.
This week ESPN let go of some of the most talent writers on their staff, you were the one whose name I looked for first. I thought there was no possible way they could let you go with your history and how well praised you are in the business. But per usual, money is the only concern and you were cut, My heart broke for you because I felt betrayed by ESPN, so I couldn't even imagine how you were feeling. This was not fair and completely unwarranted. However, despite this, you took the high road and did not complain when you have every right to. You were professional and well spoken as always. SOmething I hope to be able to do as well as you one day.
Ms. O'Neil, please know that you inspire so many young girls who watch sports and don't want to be the ditzy cheerleader. You are an incredible writer and I pray that you will find a job even better than ESPN with and even better salary because you deserve the world for what you have done to the business. You have made women feel like they can be a writer without being a sideline girl and that having brains is way more important than beauty.
Please keep going. Please keep fighting. There are so many young girls like me rooting for you,
Elizabeth Bradley
