Mike Wilbon
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Michael Wilbon (; born ) is an American commentator 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 ...
and former sportswriter and columnist for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. He is an analyst for ESPN and has co-hosted '' Pardon the Interruption'' on ESPN since 2001.


Early life and education

Wilbon was born and raised in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. He graduated from
St. Ignatius College Preparatory School Saint Ignatius College Prep is a selective private, coeducational Jesuit college-preparatory school located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The school was founded in Chicago in 1869 by Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J., a Dutch ...
in 1976 and received his journalism degree in 1980 from
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
's Medill School of Journalism. While in college, Wilbon wrote for '' The Daily Northwestern''.


Career


Newspapers

Wilbon began working for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' in 1980 after summer internships at the newspaper in 1979 and 1980. He covered college sports,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
and the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
before being promoted to full-time columnist in 1990. His column in the ''Post'', which dealt as much with the culture of sports as the action on the court or field, appeared up to four times a week until he left to work full-time for ESPN on December 7, 2010. In his career, Wilbon covered ten Summer and Winter
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
for ''The Washington Post'', every
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
since 1987, nearly every Final Four since 1982 and each year's
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
since . Notably, he was also the only reporter based outside of
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
to cover the historic basketball upset of top-ranked
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
by then- NAIA member Chaminade in 1982 (he was in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
to cover a college football bowl game). During his time at the ''Post'', Wilbon earned the reputation as one of "the best deadline writer in American newspapers." In 2001, Wilbon was named the top sports columnist by the
Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...
. In recent years, Wilbon has become more known as an ESPN personality than as a reporter. On December 7, 2010, he wrote his last column for the ''Washington Post'' and officially dedicated full-time to work for ESPN and ABC.


Television

After contributing to ESPN's '' The Sports Reporters'' and other shows on the cable network, Wilbon began co-hosting ESPN's daily opinion forum '' Pardon the Interruption'' (''PTI'') with
Tony Kornheiser Anthony Irwin Kornheiser (; born July 13, 1948) is an American television sports talk show host and former sportswriter and columnist. Kornheiser is best known for his endeavors in three forms of media: as a writer for ''The Washington Post'' from ...
on October 22, 2001. Wilbon was also a member of
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's '' NBA Countdown'' (which he hosted with
Jalen Rose Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30, 1973) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Wolverines' " Fab Five" (along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy K ...
,
Bill Simmons William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website '' The Ringer''. Simmons first gained attention with ...
and
Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...
), which was the pre-game show for the network's NBA telecasts. In addition to his work at ''The Washington Post'', ''PTI'' and ESPN, Wilbon appeared weekly on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. with WRC Sports Director
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
, and
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
rs John Riggins and
Sonny Jurgensen Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III (born August 23, 1934) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He was inducted int ...
on ''Redskins Report'' during the football season. He also appeared with Michael, ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' basketball writer
David Dupree David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and
Tony Kornheiser Anthony Irwin Kornheiser (; born July 13, 1948) is an American television sports talk show host and former sportswriter and columnist. Kornheiser is best known for his endeavors in three forms of media: as a writer for ''The Washington Post'' from ...
on ''Full Court Press'' during the basketball season. Both of these shows were canceled in December 2008 due to budget cuts. Wilbon also forged a close friendship with former Marshall and former NFL quarterback
Byron Leftwich Byron Antron Leftwich (born January 14, 1980) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for ten seaso ...
while the young passer was a standout player for HD Woodson in Washington, D.C. In late 2006, Wilbon agreed to a multi-year contract extension with ESPN. After accepting the contract, Wilbon offered to resign from the ''Post'', but the newspaper's chairman Don Graham and executive editor Len Downie both asked him to stay on. The network gained priority therein with regards to conflicts with his newspaper assignments. The first major conflict occurred on February 4, 2007, when Wilbon covered a Detroit Pistons
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
game instead of
Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...
.


Personal life

Wilbon currently lives in
Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
, and also has a home in
Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...
. Wilbon and his wife Cheryl Johnson Wilbon had their first child, Matthew Raymond Wilbon, via
surrogate A surrogate is a substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role and may refer to: Relationships * Surrogacy, an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child for another person who will become its parent at bi ...
on March 26, 2008. Kornheiser often refers to Matthew affectionately as "Lilbon." Wilbon has a cousin,
Travon Bellamy Travon Garrett Bellamy (born January 11, 1988) is a former American football cornerback. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football for the University of Illinois. He was also a member of ...
, who played for the University of Illinois football team. Former
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
reporter Carole Simpson is Wilbon's cousin. Wilbon suffered a heart attack on January 27, 2008. After complaining of chest pains, he was taken to a Scottsdale hospital where doctors performed an angioplasty. Wilbon is also a type-2
diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...
. On August 10, 2008, during a Cubs–Cardinals game at
Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...
, Wilbon threw out the ceremonial first pitch and then sang " Take Me Out to the Ballgame" as part of the seventh-inning stretch. Footage of Wilbon wearing a tucked-in Cubs jersey and bouncing the pitch is frequently shown on '' Pardon The Interruption'' as a friendly teasing by Kornheiser. In May 2009, Wilbon competed in a made-for-TV "King of Bowling" show against pro bowling star
Wes Malott Wes or WES may refer to: * Westmorland, county in England, Chapman code __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Wes (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Wes Madiko (1964–2021), Cameroonian musici ...
. Wilbon beat Malott by a score of 256–248, but Wilbon received a 57-pin handicap and Malott had to use a plastic ball. Wilbon has served as a trustee of Northwestern University.


White House visit

On July 12, 2013, Wilbon, Kornheiser and
Tony Reali Tony Reali (born July 4, 1978) is an American sports personality and television host of ''Around the Horn'' on ESPN. He served as the statistician on ''Pardon the Interruption'' from the show's debut in 2001 until late 2014. In April 2014, it wa ...
(PTI statistician and de facto co-host) were guests at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. After lunch the trio met in the
Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...
with President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilbon, Michael African-American sports journalists American sports journalists African-American writers American sports radio personalities American television sports announcers ESPN people National Basketball Association broadcasters National Football League announcers Medill School of Journalism alumni St. Ignatius College Prep alumni The Washington Post people Writers from Chicago Journalists from Washington, D.C. Living people Sportswriters from Illinois People from Bethesda, Maryland People from Chicago Year of birth missing (living people)