Taylor Rooks knows better than anybody about the perils that come with being a woman in the sports media sphere — but she’s not about to let criticism get in the way of her ascendance.
“Like everything in life, it’s a learning process,” Rooks, 34, exclusively told Us ahead of the season premiere of NBA on Prime on Friday, October 23. “When I was a really young person starting in this business, you do care about things like social media. You do care about criticism. But the more you do it, you realize it’s fairly insignificant. What happens online has truly no effect on me.”
She added, “You show up to work. You’re prepared. You do your best work. It’s also the truth of knowing the news cycle moves so quickly. You can never feel like the worst thing in the worst thing. You get up and you do your job again the next day.”
Rooks — who is also an NFL sideline reporter for Fox Sports — recalled a nugget of wisdom given to her by NBA Hall of Famer and longtime Inside the NBA cohost, Charles Barkley.
“You can go on TV and you can be someone you’re not and half the people won’t like you,” Rooks recalled Barkley, 63, saying. “Or you can go on TV and be who you are and half the people won’t like you. But the numbers are the same. I feel a lot more peace going on TV being who I am, living my life as who I am. Leading with professionalism and credibility and knowing that the job is the main thing. That’s really all you can do.”
She continued, “It’s cliche to say you can only control what you can control. But I truly live by it and it has done me very well.”
Rooks returns to the NBA on Prime desk alongside panelists Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin, Udonis Haslem and Steve Nash. As Rooks explained, it’s a show that comes with a very specific vision.
“At the end of the day, what we get to do is cover basketball and that should be fun,” she said. “But we should also be educating and informing the viewer and we should do it in ways that’s entertaining. We were able to compile a desk that has so many different experiences and skills and vantage points, that it really makes every conversation really compelling.”
NBA on Prime premieres Friday, October 23, at 6:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video, ahead of a doubleheader featuring the New York Knicks taking on the Boston Celtics, and the Houston Rockets battling the San Antonio Spurs.
