Conversations with LaChina Robinson

Today we’d like to introduce you to LaChina Robinson.

Hi LaChina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey into sports broadcasting wasn’t a straight line. It was a calling I answered before the industry was ready to receive it.
I grew up with a deep love for sports and an even deeper belief in the power of women. Those two things have driven every decision I’ve made professionally. I played college basketball, so I understood from the inside what it meant to compete at a high level, to be coached hard, and to be part of something bigger than yourself. That experience shaped how I see the game and ultimately drew me toward telling its stories.
I got my start not in front of a camera or microphone, but in athletics administration, working for Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball. It was there that I found my way to broadcasting, calling games on the radio in my later years with the program. Those early experiences gave me a foundation that most broadcasters don’t have, I understood the sport from the inside out, from the front office to the floor.
My first big broadcasting opportunity came in 2008 when I became the Atlanta Dream’s first ever analyst, a role I held for 15 seasons. That tenure gave me a front row seat to the growth of the WNBA and deepened my conviction that women’s basketball was a product the world needed to see more of. From there, my career grew to include the biggest stages in the sport. I went on to work the Olympics, Final Four, the WNBA Finals, WNBA Playoffs, and multiple NCAA Tournaments, building my career across multiple major media networks and earning an Emmy Award along the way.
When I started out, the conventional wisdom was clear: if you wanted to build a real career in sports broadcasting, you covered men’s sports. That’s where the money was, the visibility, the prestige. Most of my peers followed that path, and I understood why.
I chose a different road.
I committed myself to women’s sports at a time when that commitment came with real professional sacrifice. I’ve been part of the women’s sports ecosystem for 25 years, and spent 20 of them as a broadcaster covering women’s basketball specifically. In the early days, I was sometimes the only person in the press conference. Not one of a few. The only one. I was showing up for athletes and stories that the rest of the industry hadn’t yet decided were worth covering.
But I never wavered, because my mission was always bigger than the sport itself. I wasn’t just covering games. I was committed to elevating the profile of women. I watched icons like Pat Summitt lead with an intensity that would have been celebrated on any men’s sideline, but instead drew scrutiny because the world hadn’t yet decided that kind of fire was acceptable from a woman. That told me everything I needed to know about why this work mattered.
Before The Rise, I launched Rising Media Stars as a standalone nonprofit dedicated to developing the next generation of women in sports broadcasting. Over five classes, we have helped shape some of the most exciting voices in the industry. Alumni like Andraya Carter, Zora Stephenson, and Isis Young are now lead analysts and reporters at ESPN, NBC, and CBS. Seeing them thrive at that level is proof that when you invest in women early, the returns are extraordinary.
I also founded The Rise, a women’s leadership development platform, because the belief that drives my broadcasting work extends far beyond the arena. Women deserve to be elevated, celebrated, and compensated for their excellence in every room they walk into.
Today, the landscape looks completely different. Media credentials for women’s sports are selling out. Billion dollar media rights deals are being signed. The audiences have arrived.
Thirty years in, I’m still here. Still showing up. Still believing in women. And now, finally, the numbers are starting to agree with me.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth is not the word I would use. There were real moments of doubt not about my purpose, but about whether the industry would ever catch up to it. Choosing to build a career in women’s sports broadcasting when most of my peers were moving toward men’s sports meant consistently being told, directly and indirectly, that I had chosen the lesser path. Lesser visibility, lesser resources, lesser pay. I had to make peace early on with the fact that doing meaningful work and being financially rewarded for it were not always going to happen at the same time.
The pay gap was one of the hardest things to sit with. For years I watched colleagues who covered men’s sports earn significantly more for doing the exact same job. The industry’s explanation was always revenue women’s sports didn’t generate enough to justify equal pay. I never fully accepted that logic, because the work doesn’t change based on which league you cover. Pushing back on that, advocating for my own worth in contract negotiations, required a level of courage that doesn’t always come naturally when you love what you do and fear losing access to it.
But the personal dimension was just as real. Building something from the ground up Rising Media Stars, The Rise, a broadcasting career across multiple networks while navigating an industry that wasn’t designed with women like me in mind, required sacrifice. There were seasons where I had to outwork every doubt in the room, including my own. What kept me grounded was the mission. Every time I saw a young woman find her voice through Rising Media Stars, or watched women’s basketball fill an arena that used to be half empty, I remembered why I stayed.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At my core, I am a storyteller. I specialize in women’s basketball as an analyst and broadcaster, and over 20 years I have built a reputation for bringing deep basketball knowledge, authenticity, and genuine passion to every broadcast. I played the game at the collegiate level, spent years in athletics administration, and called games on radio before ever sitting in front of a camera. That foundation is what sets me apart. I don’t just analyze women’s basketball, I have lived it from almost every angle.
I am known for being one of the most knowledgeable and trusted voices in women’s basketball broadcasting. I have covered the sport’s biggest moments including the Olympics, Final Four, the WNBA Finals, WNBA Playoffs, and multiple NCAA Tournaments across multiple major media networks. I earned an Emmy Award along the way, but what I am most proud of has nothing to do with a trophy.
What I am most proud of is the women I have helped bring into this industry. Through Rising Media Stars, a standalone nonprofit I founded, we have developed five classes of women of color in sports broadcasting. Diversity in this industry doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when someone decides to be intentional about who gets access, who gets trained, and who gets an opportunity to be seen. That is exactly what Rising Media Stars was built to do. We have helped diversify the voices covering sports at the highest levels, and seeing alumni like Andraya Carter, Zora Stephenson, and Isis Young go on to become lead analysts and reporters at ESPN, NBC, and CBS is the accomplishment that means the most to me. I didn’t just want to have a seat at the table. I wanted to build more seats for women who looked like me.
That is ultimately what sets me apart. Broadcasting is my platform, but elevating women is my purpose. Through The Rise, my women’s leadership development platform, I work to make sure that mission extends beyond sports. I have spent 25 years in the women’s sports ecosystem believing in women before it was popular, before it was profitable, and before the industry was ready. Everything I have built has been rooted in that same conviction: when you invest in women, the returns are extraordinary.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
There are a few meaningful ways to connect with me and support the work.
If you are looking for a speaker who can bring a powerful perspective on women’s sports, leadership, and breaking barriers in media, I welcome speaking engagement opportunities. Whether it is a corporate event, a conference, a university, or a community gathering, I love being in rooms where people are ready to be challenged and inspired.
For brands and organizations that are invested in women’s sports and women’s leadership, I am open to partnerships and sponsorships that are aligned with my values. Women’s sports is one of the fastest growing opportunities in business right now, and I am proud to work with partners who see what I have always seen in this space.
And if you want to make a tangible difference in the lives of the next generation of women of color in sports broadcasting, I encourage you to support Rising Media Stars. Our nonprofit has already helped place talented women at the highest levels of the industry, and your contribution directly funds the training, mentorship, and access that makes that possible. The pipeline does not build itself. It takes community investment to make it happen.
The common thread across all of it is simple: if you believe in women, there is a place for you in this work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.risingmediastars.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therisewithlachina?igsh=MXN4c3gxcHAzZzl5Zg==
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lachina-robinson-b938137?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@lachinarobinson?si=JzaSufmJE0rtaGwm
• Other: https://Therisewithlachina.com