On Friday night, ESPN’s Chiney Ogwumike made headlines on SportsCenter by breaking a significant free-agent story in an unexpected way—she received a text while on air. While it may not be unusual to see reporters like Adam Schefter do similar, this instance was very different.
The text came from her sister, Nneka Ogwumike, who was the subject of the big news. “Wait, hold on … I just got a text from my big sis,” Chiney announced. “My answer just got personal when it comes to winners of free agency. She wants me to break the news, so I’m going to do it: Nine-time WNBA All-Star, WNBA champion, and president of the players association, Nneka Ogwumike, is re-signing with the Seattle Storm.” We should all be lucky enough to receive such a glowing introduction from a sibling.
“This is huge! Congratulations to my big sis, shout out to watching live and texting me live. Once again, my big sis, who I love so much, is re-signing with Seattle,” Ogwumike continued. “Congrats, sis. I get to rock her jersey once again.”
When your sister gets to break your news 🙌
Nneka Ogwumike is re-signing with the Storm, a source tells @chiney ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6r9YLy5Ngh
— ESPN (@espn) January 31, 2025
“Yeah, we absolutely love that you broke that news,” host Elle Duncan remarked. “Is it any wonder that you would be the one to get the exclusive? How did you pull that one off?” To which Ogwumike humorously replied, “I have a direct line.” This is a nearly literal truth; while renowned sports insiders like Schefter and Shams Charania rely on agents and team sources to break news, they can only dream of having a source right in their own family.
