Darren M. Haynes is an eleven-time Emmy Award-winning sports anchor who joined CBS affiliate WUSA in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in August 2017 as a sports director for that station. He was previously a sports anchor for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

's ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

''.

Broadcasting career

Darren is currently the sports director and main sports anchor at WUSA in Washington D.C. He also anchored at ESPN. During his time at the World-Wide Leader, he anchored ''

'', ESPN’s flagship program. His career includes the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, NASCAR Cup Series Championship, World Series and more. Haynes' first television sports reporting job was with Rob Parker's SportsRap in Detroit in 2005. Haynes then worked at ABC affiliate

WLAJ WLAJ (channel 53) is a television station in Lansing, Michigan, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Nexstar Media Group, owner of CBS affi ...

in Lansing, Michigan, in 2006 as a reporter and sports anchor. His reporting duties included the Detroit Lions, Detroit Pistons, Detroit Tigers, Michigan State athletics, and high school sports. Haynes also worked at CBS affiliate

WBKB-TV WBKB-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Alpena, Michigan, United States, affiliated with CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and MyNetworkTV. It serves as the flagship television property of the Marks Radio Group. WBKB-TV's studios are located on North ...

in Alpena, Michigan in 2007. He then worked at

KGBT-TV KGBT-TV (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Harlingen, Texas, United States, serving the Lower Rio Grande Valley as a primary Antenna TV owned-and-operated station and a secondary MyNetworkTV affiliate. It is owned by Nexstar Media ...

in Harlingen, Texas, from 2007–2010, where he was a sports anchor and reporter. During his three years at KGBT, he was Texas AP Sportscaster of the year in 2008 and Rio Grande Valley Sports Broadcaster of year in 2008 and 2009. He then joined

KABB KABB (channel 29) is a television station in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside dual NBC/The CW, CW affiliate WOAI-TV (ch ...

in San Antonio, Texas from 2010–2012, as a sports anchor and reporter on Maximum Sports. At KABB, Haynes was nominated for two broadcaster

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s. He also worked a

KMYS KMYS (channel 35) is a television station licensed to Kerrville, Texas, United States, serving the San Antonio area as an affiliate of the digital multicast network Dabl. It is owned by Deerfield Media, which maintains joint sales and shared se ...

as a sideline reporter for Thursday Night Lights high school football show. He then joined now-former NBC affiliate WHDH in Boston, Massachusetts from 2012–2013, as a sports anchor and reporter. He also was a sports anchor at

Al Jazeera America Al Jazeera America was an American pay television news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network. The channel was launched on August 20, 2013, to compete with CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News, and in certain markets RT America. It was Al Jazeera' ...

in New York, New York in 2013. Haynes then joined ESPN and debuted on March 13, 2014, on the 3:00 p.m. ET edition of ''

''. He created segments such as "Suit-it or Boot-it", "SC Vocal Point" and "Sunday's Best". Haynes also appeared on ''

'' Top Plays of the Month and NBA Tonight. He was laid off from ESPN on April 26, 2017. In August 2017, Haynes joined WUSA, the

Tegna Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into tw ...

-owned CBS station in Washington, D.C., as its sports director, a position that had been vacant since the resignation of

Brett Haber Brett Haber is an American sportscaster. He is a host for the Tennis Channel and several other national and regional sports outlets. Sportscasting career In the mid-1990s Haber was an anchor on ESPN's flagship news program ''SportsCenter''. I ...

(also an ESPN alum) in July 2011.

Public image

Haynes has been recognized as one of the "Most Influential Blacks" by the NAACP. He received the "Community Service Award" for his work in the city of New Haven Connecticut, "Outstanding Leadership Award" for his work with the Pregnant and Parenting Teens Program as well as the "Media Recognition Award" for his fight against domestic violence with the Love Life Now Foundation. In 2007, he launched the Junior Broadcast Program that has helped hundreds of aspiring journalists achieve their dreams in the media industry. His motivational speeches help individuals increase confidence and use personal power to activate their ideal life. His mantra is "I would be a fool not to give back to the community that raised me." Darren continues to host seminars across the country, teaching and motivating high school and college students to never give up on their dreams.

Personal life

Haynes is a Connecticut native, a graduate of

Amity Regional High School Amity High School is a regional public high school located in Woodbridge, Connecticut, United States. It provides high school education (grades 9-12) for the children in the towns of Woodbridge, Orange, and Bethany (which together form Regional Di ...

Woodbridge, Connecticut Woodbridge is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,087 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town center is listed on the National Register of H ...

. Haynes was inducted into the Amity Hall of Honor Class of 2016. Haynes received his undergraduate degree from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. In 2021, Darren received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Wayne State University. He is also a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

Family: William Haynes Jr., Kelli Gorman, A'lan Murray, Andre DeVan, Keith Murray, Edna Fennell, (Deceased) Roderick Gorman. He married Teddi Adderly on April 15, 2018 in Houston, Texas.

Player career

Haynes was a highly recruited running back at

,. He attended

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

on a full athletic football scholarship before transferring to play college football at the University of New Haven. There he broke the single game rushing record and received numerous NCAA accolades from both UNH and

. Haynes was inducted into the New Haven Gridiron Hall of Fame Class of 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Darren M 1981 births American sports journalists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Wayne State University alumni Journalists from Connecticut