ESPN’s Erin Andrews said that she "remains 'really confused' regarding the controversy surrounding her endorsement deal for Reebok footwear shortly after she reported on problems with Nike cleats during the Rose Bowl," according to Neil Best of NEWSDAY. In her first public comments on the matter, Andrews said that she was “doing her job when she reacted to ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit saying TCU players were slipping by obtaining and relaying a comment from the team’s equipment manager.” Andrews said of her endorsement deal, “First of all, it’s a fitness shoe, not a football cleat. Second of all, it’s a female fitness shoe. I didn’t see any females on the field at the Rose Bowl. My third thing is, you’ve got to be crazy to think, given how under scrutiny I am, how people dissect every little thing I say, I do, who I hang out with, to think for a minute I’m going to think to myself, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m going to go after this company right now.’ Are you kidding me?” (NEWSDAY, 2/27). Meanwhile, NEWSDAY’s Best noted Andrews “has been exploring media life beyond sports.” It began with a “long run on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ last spring and has expanded further under a new contract with ESPN that allows for such work as contributing to ‘Good Morning America’ on ABC.” Andrews: “'Dancing With the Stars' really opened my eyes to different things to try, not so much entertainment but just different ways to branch out a little bit.” The “biggest moment to date” came yesterday when Andrews covered the Oscars by “working the red carpet and interviewing winners for GMA.” Still, Andrews continues “working many big college football and basketball games, even as she adds to her portfolio” (NEWSDAY, 2/27).
