Pam Oliver has performed admirably as one of a handful of women in the male-dominated NFL broadcast arena for 19 years. But Oliver had to fight hard to secure a 20th year.
SI.com reported that Fox Sports has replaced Oliver with Erin Andrews as the primary sideline reporter of its lead NFL broadcast team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
Erin Andrews part of Larry David's night at an LA Kings hockey game
Oliver will join the No. 2 team with Kevin Burkhardt and John Lynch.
She said Fox Sports president Eric Shanks and executive vice president of production John Entz traveled to her home in Atlanta to to deliver the news. They initially planned to remove Oliver from sideline duty completely.
But the executives, eventually, offered the 53-year-old Oliver a role that included doing long-form pieces, specials, major interviews and some producing. They insisted their decision was about an overall strategy to avoid stagnation.
"I think in the last five years we have made a lot of changes with the NFL crews," Shanks said. "We have made changes to keep our coverage across the board fresh, including the addition of Burkhardt and Lynch -- which has been one of the more exciting pairings we have put together. This is kind of the next move in that evolution."
But Oliver was not pleased with the initial news.
"To go from the lead crew to no crew was a little shocking," Oliver said. "I said I wanted to do a 20th year [on the sideline]. I expressed to them that I was not done and had something to offer. Again, I think it was predetermined coming in. Not at that meeting, but two years ago it was determined that no matter what I did or did not do, a change would be made for this year."
Shanks and Entz relinquished, allowing Oliver to complete her 20 years as a sideline reporter -- albeit in a lower-profile role.
"The emphasis at the meeting was always placed on how they saw what was next for me versus what I saw would be next for me," Oliver said. "I felt I was not done. I still felt I had more to offer with sideline reporting. I think that took them by surprise a little bit. So we focused on what the next step was and that's how we ended up where we are now. And I am excited about that."
A veteran NFL reporter who wished to remain anonymous, however, said there was another reason Fox replaced Oliver with the 36-year-old Andrews.
"She's not blonde, nor is she in the demographic," the reporter said of Oliver. "I'm not naïve and I understand it's a business, but I think that Fox did not treat her as befits a woman who has been the female face of their sports operation for the past 19 years."
At least, all parties are happy for now. But the fact that Fox didn't keep Oliver with the No. 1 team or at least come up with the idea of one more year is troubling.
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