outfit. Alexander Wang
necklace. Cult Gaia
ring. Georgina Jewelry
Taylor Rooks love of sports runs deep. Her earliest memories are filled with family; her mother being the household’s football fan, her father playing for the University of Illinois, and her very first basketball game being at the United Center in Chicago, where Michael Jordan played. She has been surrounded by the love of sports for as far back as she can remember, the loss, the fury and all emotions in between. The way it brings people together, how it can connect fans from all over the world.
And at the heart of the whirlwind is Rooks, looking to tell good stories through the lens that sports have to offer. It’s more than getting a sound bite; it’s about getting to the heart of the people playing the sports that we love to watch, building a trust, a safe space, and no one is better than Rooks. Leading with empathy, determination, strength, and finding a voice distinctly her own in a male-leaning industry, she is an example to women and girls everywhere.
Turning that empathy into creating the ‘Taylor Rooks Foundation’ (TRF), Rooks has been working on paying it forward for years. Acutely aware of the position she finds herself in, she recognizes the need for doors to be opened, having had one opened for herself. She hopes that with the work they’re doing, which includes supplying 28 classrooms with their wish lists, the foundation will continue to grow under her care.
In conversation with Schön! Magazine, Taylor Rooks discusses her love of sports, building ‘NBA on PRIME’ from the ground up, becoming one of the most sought-after sports journalists on television, and so much more.
jersey. Champion
skirt. Yume Yume
shoes. Steve Madden
cuffs. DDEIDEII
belt. Off White
opposite
jacket. Tell The Truth
jewellery. Retrofete
When did you first fall in love with sports? Is there a distinct memory that comes to mind? When did you know that journalism was the field for you, and how did you make the connection between the two?
So many of my earliest memories of sports are memories with family. Visiting Chicago and Champaign with my dad, listening to people recite his highlights — especially his game-winning touchdown against Ohio State during Illinois’ Rose Bowl season — taught me how sports live inside people, no matter how much time has passed. My first ever NBA game was at Michael Jordan’s United Center when we lived in Chicago in the mid-90s. Going to Busch Stadium every July for my Uncle Lou’s birthday and hearing the crowd yell ‘Louuuu!’ whenever they showed his face on the Jumbotron. My mom was the football fanatic in the house, and I’ll never forget watching Michael Vick beat the Packers in the playoffs or when they bought me a #7 jersey dress. My high school football team won the state championship my freshman year, and under those Friday night lights, I felt like I was part of something bigger.
I was never elite at any sport, but I was surrounded by the love and emotion of it. The joy of winning, the sting of losing, and how deeply people connect to their teams. At the same time, I was nurturing my love for people, questions, and storytelling. I’d set up a camcorder and deliver fake newscasts, obsessed with the cadence of anchors I’d watch with my mom. By the time I got to college, I realized how much I loved everything about production, the travel, the access, the adrenaline of live sports, and I dedicated myself to building the foundation to become the best broadcaster I could be.
Can you touch on the intersection of high fashion and sports and the effect it’s having on young women looking to get into the field? How does it feel to know you’re slaying during sideline interviews?
I’ve always seen style as an extension of storytelling. I choose colours that pop on screen, silhouettes that feel interesting, and pieces that honour my personality in a space that can feel uniform. People sometimes dismiss broadcasters’ fashion choices as frivolous; I think it’s the opposite. What you wear is part of what makes you memorable. It’s how the viewer sees you. It makes people stop, pay attention, and hear what you have to say. It’s another layer of performance, just like sports.
Craig Sager was a master of that. His clothes weren’t just loud or colourful; they represented his joy for the job. He was humble and disarming but impossible to ignore. I approach my style with the same intent: bold, but always authentic. When Deion Sanders said, “When you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you play good. When you play good, they pay good.” That applies to us, too. The best part is when women DM me or stop me to say they love a look, or that they feel seen because I didn’t shrink myself to fit the alleged “box” of what a journalist should look like. It opens conversations with people who might not even be huge sports fans but are drawn in by the sideline-chic aesthetic. I hope young women see that you don’t have to give up your interests to belong here.
You’re changing the narrative around a male-dominated industry, and with that comes pushback. What does showing up for yourself look like, and what battles did you face as a woman and a woman of colour?
I prefer to call it a male-heavy industry as opposed to a male-dominated one. I don’t believe men are the dominant ones in space. This space is dominated by those who do the job at a high level. One of the hardest parts about working in a male-heavy industry is that you’re constantly navigating an invisible scale… Trying to weigh being assertive without being labelled “difficult,” being confident without being called “cocky,” being stylish without being deemed “distracting.” You learn to exist in the nuance of perception, and you eventually realize it doesn’t matter what people think of you when you know who you truly are.
There were times early on when I felt like I had to earn the right to exist in this space. Every question, every interview, every outfit felt like a test. I was being graded on my credibility in ways that many of my male counterparts weren’t. What kept me grounded was knowing that my perspective, as a woman and as a Black woman, is not a disadvantage but a gift. It gives me access to truth, empathy, and understanding that others may not see. Now, showing up for myself is about protecting that gift. It’s about saying no to situations that diminish me, about setting boundaries, building a career that reflects my values, and about making sure the next generation of women doesn’t feel they have to trade pieces of themselves to be taken seriously. Every time I sit on a desk, ask a question, or lead a conversation, I’m showing that there’s not just one way to do this job, and that’s the change I want to represent.
outfit. Alexander Wang
shoes. Diopuo
necklace. Cult Gaia
ring. Georgina Jewelry
opposite
vest. The Wan Couture
bracelet. Adornia
ring. We Wore What
You’ve risen through the ranks and have become one of the most sought-after journalists in sports. You’ve been recognized as one of Complex’s 25 Most Entertaining Sports Media Personalities, and GQ even coined the term “Your favorite athlete’s favorite journalist.” What does that recognition mean to you?
It means a lot, but more than anything, it reminds me why I started. I never got into this for headlines or the lists; I got into it because I genuinely love people, and I love conversation. So, to be recognized for the very things that feel most natural to me, like curiosity, connection, trust, that’s incredibly fulfilling. It’s so surreal to me when I cover the NBA drafts and some of the first-round picks will sit in the chair and say things like, “wow I’m getting interviewed by Taylor, I made it.” It just shows that I’ve been a part of their personal NBA experience and having the interview with me feels like a destination to them. I’m forever thankful for that.
I’m really proud that I’ve been able to cross over into cultural spaces without losing the integrity of the journalism. I’ve been name dropped in different rap songs by some of my favorite artists, I’ve had cameos in movies and even got to have a discussion with President Obama. Sports don’t exist in a vacuum. They touch everything — music, fashion, politics, identity. The fact that people see me as both a sports journalist and a cultural voice means the work is resonating in many different spaces.
The foundation of everything I do is trust. My interviews aren’t about viral moments; they’re about honest ones. My favourite compliment is when someone tells me I’m easy to talk to. I want the athlete to feel like they can exhale — like they’re being seen as a full person. Ahmad Rashad did that so beautifully. His interviews felt like conversations among friends, yet he still asked the questions that mattered. That balance of warmth and rigour is what I try to emulate. I’ve built a career on genuine relationships, and that comfort allows for vulnerability on both sides.
You recently started the Taylor Rooks Foundation (TRF), and it feels like a way of paying it forward to the communities that helped shape you. How long was that in the works? What are your hopes for the foundation?
The Taylor Rooks Foundation is very personal to me. I wanted to create something that directly supports people in the everyday, tangible ways where life can be hard — funding access to opportunities and alleviating financial stress. We recently supplied 28 teachers with their classroom wish lists, and it’s been amazing to hear the ways their students have benefited. We focus on groups that have through-lines to my own life, because I know what it’s like to need a door opened. The foundation definitely wasn’t an overnight idea. It’s something I’d been thinking about for years… How to formalize the small, individual acts of help I was already doing. The hope is to grow it into a trusted place people can turn when they need support, help young people build their futures, and improve the lives of as many people as we can.
jacket + skirt. Yume Yume
jersey. Champion
shoes. Steve Madden
belt. Off White
cuffs. DDEIDEII
opposite
jacket. Sami Miro
top. Nike
earrings. Nialaya
When you look at how far you’ve come, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to your past self, knowing everything you do now?
Use the internet, don’t let the internet use you. Social media has become a place where people lose themselves. It has introduced metrics into our lives that don’t have any real effect on our careers. Whenever I meet younger people now, I tell them to prioritize being great and skilled at the job, not being able to go viral for a photo or outlandish opinion. Create something lasting. Make yourself last.
You are building ‘NBA on Prime’ from the ground up. What does that look like? How excited are you to build a space that’s yours, and where you have some creative control?
I feel proud to join a long line of hosts who’ve shaped how fans experience the NBA. It’s my ultimate honour.
Building ‘NBA on Prime’ feels like standing at the intersection of everything I’ve worked toward — storytelling, leadership, collaboration, and creativity. It’s more than a show, it’s a chance to reimagine how basketball is talked about, celebrated, and felt. I get to help build a space where information meets personality. There’s something really special about starting from scratch. You get to define the tone, the rhythm, the culture. Everyone involved in front of the camera and behind the camera has a voice in shaping what this becomes. My job is to pass the ball, to make my co-hosts shine, and to create an environment where the conversations feel entertaining and additive.
We have this incredible lineup in Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Udonis Haslem, Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker, Rudy Gay, and John Wall… And that’s not just talent, that’s decades of experience, perspective, wins, and losses. When you put that kind of basketball IQ and personality together, magic happens. My goal is to make sure we honour that — to let legends be legends, to ask the right questions that unlock their insight, and to have fun doing it.
Prime Video has built its sports identity around innovation, from how it uses technology to how it centers the fan. I also get to be the connective tissue between Thursday Night Football and NBA on Prime, which is so exciting. There’s no “this is how it’s always been done” energy here. We get to create our own rulebook. We can blend entertainment and depth in a way that feels fresh. You’ll learn something, but you’ll also laugh. You’ll see the game differently, but you’ll also feel more connected to the people who play it. I’ve covered the NBA for nearly a decade, and ‘NBA on Prime’ is a dream realized.
You’re known for creating a safe and trusting space for sports personalities and cultivating great relationships! What goes into creating a safe space for interviews, and why is it so important?
Trust takes time, and I’ve put in that time. I’ve been covering athletes since I was 19 years old and have seen so many stages of their careers. Some of the athletes I’ve interviewed were at my wedding; I’ve known them since we were all climbing together. Many of them call me to vent, to ask advice, or just to get my perspective on a situation. Those behind-the-scenes moments of listening, showing up, and being discreet are what allow me to get the interviews you see on camera. A “safe space” doesn’t mean soft questions. It means a space where people feel understood, respected, and able to explore their experiences.
When athletes trust you, they’re willing to go deeper, and that’s when you get the stories that matter. Most of the time, I’m interviewing someone I don’t have a relationship with, and I set the tone before we begin recording by asking them how they view their own story, establishing my goals for the interview, and reminding them that this only works if they decide to be open. I don’t believe in wasting time – mine, theirs, or the viewers – so it’s important to lead with trust and transparency at the very beginning.
Were of wanting there ever any instances to throw in the towel? What kept you from doing that?
Honestly, no. There’s never been a second when I thought about giving up. This is exactly what I’m meant to do. That doesn’t mean it’s been easy, because it’s actually been incredibly difficult, but the love for the work always outweighs the noise. That’s what keeps me going.
jacket. The Little Black Bow
top. Sami Miro
skirt. Samuel Gardner
shoes. Renesans Paris
jewellery. Retrofete
‘NBA on Prime’ airs on Amazon Prime.
photography. Dametreus Ward
fashion. Eburns
talent. Taylor Rooks
hair. Jazmyn Hobdy
make up. Elle Valle
production. Cassidy Cocke
photography assistants. Francois Joesph + Deaun
location. Meech Studios
interview. Dana Reboe
