‘I also saw the ideal makeup of what America should be’
ESPN Communications' Jon McLeod interviews Tesfaye Negussie regarding The Undefeated digital producer's coverage of social justice protests in Washington, D.C., earlier this year
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jon McLeod is an associate producer in ESPN’s Communications Department. Tesfaye Negussie is a digital producer for ESPN’s The Undefeated.
Tesfaye Negussie and I have been friends and colleagues for about five years.
Our friendship began on the ESPN basketball court as teammates. But I also would bump into Tesfaye in the many halls of ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., campus, each of us with a camera in hand and an assignment in mind. I always admired his work ethic and pursuit of excellence.
But we also clicked because I finally met someone who thought like I did when it came to attacking a narrative head-on. As the world was hit with unprecedented circumstances, our friendship became virtual.
Working in Washington, D.C., with ESPN’s The Undefeated, Tesfaye is thriving and telling amazing stories.
Then George Floyd was killed.
The D.C. streets were painted with outraged voices, including those of many athletes ESPN covers. Tesfaye was there to capture it.
I watched the videos he posted on Instagram and absolutely was in awe of what I was seeing. Over the last few months, ESPN continues to cover the intersection of sports and social justice.
But I wanted to take a step back and ask Tesfaye more about his experience covering the protests for social justice in the streets of our nation’s capital.
“What was it like? How did you feel?”
He agreed to chat over Zoom. He tells us more in the video above.
Jon Mcleod produced the video.
