Bilingual sports journalist working for ESPN

By: Vanessa Olivares

Antonietta "Toni" Collins is a Mexican-American sports commentator at an English worldwide leader in sports. She joined ESPN and left Univision in September 2013, as part of the digital media team. She anchors news and analyzes video segments in every sports category for ESPN.com, as well as enterprise reporting and interviews for features. 

Collins explained her experience with sports not only as a Latina, but as a female in a male-leading industry. 

"I grew up in a bilingual home. Spanish was my first language and I learned English when we moved from Mexico City to the United States in 1992," Collins said. 

It helped her a lot in her professional life when she simultaneously became a reporter for Univision in Spanish and Fox in English in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The advice her parents gave her was to believe in herself. She said that it was hard having to read and speak in different voices in a news environment. 

"You realize that it won't be easy and you will see things that you never imagine, but at the end of the day you will grow as a person, Collins explained. 

"That's what makes a difference. If it's your passion, you will fall in love with it," she continued. 

For most college students, finding a passion is hard at first. When one finds a passion for something it will be worth it in the end by seeing all the accomplishments that have been made along the way. 

"Being a Latina sports reporter is such an honor and a privilege. I feel blessed and lucky to be a second-generation Mexican-American living my dream and being able to tell stories not only our Hispanic athletes, but of all athletes."

Collins described that there are also big misconceptions when it comes to women and sports. The public underestimates the professional skills of a female sports reporter. 

"We are just a pretty face and we are here because it's what's 'in' right now. Women in sports are used to attract male viewers, but we know our sports too," said Collins.

Prior to joining ESPN, Collins was a sports anchor for Univision Deportes' morning Despierta America (Wake up America) and for the network's magazine show Primer Impacto (First Impact). Previously, Collins was also a sports anchor and reporter for Univision's Dallas, where she covered the NBA post-season and finals, Major League Baseball's ALDS, ALCS, and World Series, the Dallas Cowboys, FC Dallas, and the Dallas Stars. She is the daughter of Maria Antonieta Collins, a freelance correspondent for Univision network. She said the people she gets to call colleagues and learn from is a dream come true. She works amongst her idol, great journalists, anchors and athletes to hopefully one day be able to be part of the Sports Center.