Lesley Visser

Sports Keynote Speaker Lesley Visser is a true pioneer in the world of sports journalism. As a hall of fame sportscaster, TV personality and sportswriter, she has become a role model for up-and-coming female sports journalists. Lesley currently works as a reporter for CBS Sports and as a co-host on the Gracie Award winning all-female sports talk show, We Need to Talk. Her historic journalism career has taken her to many of the sporting world’s biggest annual events. To date, Lesley has covered 28 Super Bowls, 34 Final Fours, 12 NBA Finals, 7 World Series, 6 Olympic Games and 15 Wimbledon Championships just to name a few. In 2015, Lesley participated in a moderator Q&A session at the Doha Goals Forum commenting on her journey as a female sportscaster in a male-dominated field.

Beginning her career as a sports journalist at The Boston Globe, Lesley broke the gender barrier in NFL Football when she began covering the New England Patriots in 1976. In 1987, Lesley started working for CBS, covering a multitude of events such as the NBA Finals, college basketball, the World Series, tennis and the Olympics. In 1989, she covered the historic fall of the Berlin Wall. As Lesley gained acclaim and experience, she joined the cast of The NFL Today with Greg Gumbel, Terry Bradshaw and Pat O’Brien.

In 1993, Sports Keynote Speaker Lesley Visser left CBS to join ABC and ESPN after CBS no longer held the rights to broadcast NFL games. She became the first female sideline reporter in Super Bowl history at Super Bowl XXIX. Returning to CBS in 2000, Sports Keynote Speaker Lesley Visser again made history in 2001 when she became the first female color commentator on an NFL broadcast.

Lesley has been widely recognized as an inspirational pioneer in sports, winning the 2006 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award for her work on NFL Broadcasts. In addition to being named one of the 10 pioneers in women’s sports by USA Today, Lesley was inducted into the 2015 class of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association’s Hall of Fame; she is only the third woman to be inducted. Whether it be a keynote speech for a graduation, corporate conference, or any motivational lecture, Lesley Visser is a truly inspirational figure for all.

Contact Sports Speakers Bureau today to hire Sports Keynote Speaker Lesley Visser as a keynote speaker for your upcoming corporate conference or event.