Arielle Chambers is a multimedia journalist and commentator for ESPN and Andscape, renowned for her advocacy in women's sports. A Raleigh, North Carolina native, she founded HighlightHER in 2019, a platform dedicated to amplifying female athletes' stories, which has since been integrated into Bleacher Report's BR Women's Sports. Chambers, a former professional cheerleader, holds degrees from North Carolina State University and the University of Oxford, and has been recognized with accolades such as Forbes 30 Under 30 and Sports Illustrated's 100 Influential Women in Sports.

Your journalism journey began in high school, covering women’s and girls’ basketball. What did you notice at that time that others seemed to overlook or underestimate?

AC: I went to a magnet high school, so I specialized in journalism — newspaper, yearbook, and things like that. But I wasn't interested in making a difference through journalism in high school; that was never a thing. I was just always a writer, I loved to write. More for the structural as opposed to the content, but that's a story for a different day.

Went to college, was very normal, thought I was going to be a defense attorney, but when I got to be an adult and I moved to New York and I was a part of the entertainment team for the Knicks, Rangers, and the Liberty. I noticed the media discrepancy because it was something as simple as my friends' stories weren't being told. I'm a good conversationalist, I love people, I love listening to their stories, and I was in the space where I had access to facilitate storytelling in a way where I didn't have to go through PR. It's like a cardinal sin the way I approach my career, so sorry to all the PR I gave a headache to too, but I just didn't wait for a bigger network to do it. If you have the access and you have the tools—my tools being my phone—and you have the relationships, why not just do it yourself?

Bleacher Report discovered you through your instinct to share your work, interviewing athletes after games and posting those clips on Twitter. You actually helped them create their woman’s platform (HighlightHER). How did working for Bleacher report and other experiences prior help prepare you for your position as an ESPN commentator today?

AC: I was a writer before I did anything with social because I had to prove that I knew the game. My writing background really helped me write editorial pieces and breaking news. It helped me put all of my thoughts about the game into words, and it showed that I knew the X's and O's of the game. I used my phone recordings and that type of storytelling to show that I can facilitate and hold conversations with athletes.

Now, when I decided to work with Bleacher Report and create their women's platform, it gave me the business side of social. I always carry the creative side because I literally just put on the page what I wanted to see, and I opened it up to all ages, levels, abilities, and sports. So it wasn't restricted to the red tape of a major network that had to only cover the big names. I had the freedom of operating kind of under the radar for two and a half years before it went to market.

And so I was able to cover a wide range of people, so that it opened up my eyes to the different experiences of people who are outside of basketball, which is where I started. It helped me learn the business of social media, it helped with my credibility in the women's sports space, it helped with me getting regular reps on TV, it helped with the type of storytelling that I want to do, and it empowered me to push the envelope on what it looks like to story tell.

“And as long as we continue to not be satisfied with being the first or the only, we'll be all right. “

- Ari Chambers

In your interview on the Capturing The Game podcast, you shared advice for women in the sports industry, saying: “Know that you’ve already made it, by trying to enter. You’re not called to these positions just to be quiet”. How has that mindset, “knowing you belong”, shaped the way you lead, mentor, and amplify others through your work and dedication?

AC: You can't lead from a shaky foundation. From me being so confident in the place that I'm in and being so ten toes down in the mission and the passion that I want to perpetuate, I am able to bring people along because I'm unshaken in my journey. Like imagine walking on a concrete floor versus a tightrope. You're going to be more suited, more fit to bring people along on a stable foundation. I think that just knowing that you're supposed to be there is the foundation that allows you to bring people along for the ride with you.

Arielle’s famous Tweet *(All rights reserved to owner)*

You’ve made it a mission to help close the gender gap in sports coverage. Share with us your hopes for how the WNBA will continue to grow and be valued in the years ahead?

AC: I want to make sure that the storytelling persists because the more storytelling you do, the more fandom you attract, and the more fandom leads to viewership—and viewership is investment. So when you have continued investment, sustainability follows. The WNBA is the longest standing women's sports league in the United States. I wanted to continue to persist as that most elite league in the world, yet it's the hardest league to make and the standard is so high. I want it to remain high.

What role does representation play in helping the next generation believe that their dreams and aspirations are truly possible?

AC: Oh, girl, we are here. We actually have an advantage being Black women; we are perceived as more maternal, more relatable. We have an advantage of many athletes being warmer to us just because we are that maternal figure, and we carry a level of resistance and rebellion just to exist. Just knowing that we're able to put humanity—or showcase humanity—in athletes that other demographics might not be able to reflect because it's not their lived experience for survival to be in that.

It's funny because it’s everybody's like, “How do you enter this male-dominated field?” and I'm like, “I look to my left and my right; I work with women.” I think that's so dope, so lit. And as long as we continue to not be satisfied with being the first or the only, we'll be all right. I want to be in a room full of my sisters; I want to be in a room full of people that look like me because I feel more empowered when there's strength in numbers.

Want to hear more amazing stories like this? Check out our “More of Us” series! If you want to connect with Arielle and support the work she is doing, follow her on social @ariivory and support her journey.