Meet Symone Stanley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Symone Stanley.

Symone, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always had a burning passion for sports. Growing up in a family full of NFL junkies, football was my first love. I grew up obsessing over my Philadelphia Eagles and defending our greatness amongst a family full of Redskins fans. I always knew that I wanted a career in sports, but I had no idea what exactly I would do. I ran track and cross country in grade school knowing I wasn’t going to be able to compete on the collegiate level (largely due to my laziness). When I got to NC State, I participated in recreational sports to fill the void and even spent time refereeing basketball because I would do anything to stay around the game. I majored in sport management, of course, and held different internships with professional teams in the accounting department (something I was randomly good at). I liked the business side of sports but I always felt like I was missing something: talking about the game. This is the part of sports that always brought me closer to family and peers, being able to debate and bond over different or common perspectives. That’s when I realized my career in sports wouldn’t be fulfilled until my opinions were heard. This is why Symone with the Sports was created. A year ago, I started with my phone camera in my bedroom and now I am covering professional sports and championship games. My blog is centered around my interests, personality and talents. It has grown into a platform that has gained me so many opportunities and job options in the sports journalism world.

It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.

Has it been a smooth road?
A lot of my challenges have been with having to learn new things every step of the way. I am continually learning and being challenged and I see it as a way to add more value to my brand. For example, I never knew how to fully operate a DSLR camera until I was faced with shooting professional games for my job with the newspaper. I had to learn so many things about photography that I never imagined myself having to know. My pictures started very poorly and it so awesome to see my growth over the months. I never knew writing would lead me to being a photographer but it is making me a very well rounded sports journalist and it is a challenge I appreciate.

Please tell us about your work.
The basis of what I do is cover sporting events. This means I conduct interviews, generate narratives around the game, and capture the action through photographs. Outside of this, I also create and share “off the court” stories that individuals want to have told. I get to have dope conversations with so many different individuals and share their inspiring stories. One thing I am proud of the most is the realness that I aim to bring to all of my work. I do not try to “force” anything or try to create fake news. I know how to find relevant local stories that relate to what is happening in the larger world of sports.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I believe the industry is shifting towards media members having their platforms versus the major companies that we are used to.

Contact Info:

• Website: symonewiththesports.com
• Email: symonedeonne@gmail.com
• Instagram: symonewiththesports
• Twitter: symone_stanley

Image Credit:
All photos are my own

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