radio, and writing for the Isthmus, a weekly newspaper. He and Jessica discussed what settling down would look like for them and they agreed in order to do work they both loved, they’d go back to New York. In 1998 they got married and moved east. Abbott had always been an avid basketball
fan. He says, “I’ve been an NBA junkie since my time at OES, when Walkmen were first invented; if I listened to a Blazer game on my headphones with books open, it was plausible to my parents that I was doing homework.” As a result of a second twist of fate owed to OES, his love of basketball, journalism skills, and circumstances came together. In 1999 OES had an alumni event in New
York. He had the opportunity to reconnect with Anna Gebbie ’88, who at that time was a managing editor at SLAM—a basketball magazine. Tey talked about life in New York, journalism, and basketball. Abbott was thrilled to have made the connection and they stayed in touch. Eventually, Gebbie left SLAM and went on to work for the official NBA magazine, Hoop. Not long after, Abbott got a call from
Gebbie. She asked if he’d be available the next day to cover a last-minute piece interviewing New Jersey Nets player Jayson Williams during practice. “I couldn’t believe that interviewing basketball players was work,” says Abbott. “I had so much fun that day!” From that initial story that paid him $100, Abbott became a regular freelance writer for Hoop. Abbott’s passions would truly converge in 2005 when he started his blog TrueHoop. Tough he had experience in AP style journalism, he felt it was restricting. He says, “Tere were many stories in the NBA that were being missed. I wanted to cover basketball and saw that the
stories I wanted to tell wouldn’t fit into existing news so I started my blog.” Abbott also wanted to improve editorial quality along the way. He shares, “What motivates me is an old-fashioned hankering for the truth. Tere’s a lot of hogwash out there, and that messes up who’s celebrated as a hero, or who’s blamed for failure. I like sticking to the facts, telling it straight. Tis makes the sport a lot more nuanced and interesting.” Much to Abbott’s surprise, within a month of starting TrueHoop, his blog received a “Best of the Web” award from Forbes magazine. Te exposure prompted inquiries from Google, GQ, and many others. ESPN was one of them. Over the next several years Abbott created content, built the reputation of the blog, and made contacts in the NBA. In 2007 ESPN purchased TrueHoop.
Abbott became a full-time employee of ESPN and continued covering the NBA. He and his wife Jessica settled in New Jersey and today, have two children, Molly, 12 and Duncan, 9. Tough the work can be demanding, Abbott never takes for granted his good fortune. He says, “I’m currently ESPN’s editor for NBA online and print coverage. I’ve been lucky to interview everyone from rookies to superstars and even the commissioners, David Stern and now Adam Silver.” Abbott believes he has a mission to infuse truth into reporting, and if it happens to be the NBA, and he loves it, so be it. He says, “If what I do is to matter beyond
entertainment, I tell myself maybe readers who understand that the NBA isn’t always as it seems, they might end up more open to the idea things are similarly more nuanced in politics, Hollywood, and business too.” He chuckles, then jokes, “I realize this is far- fetched, but please don’t burst my bubble.”
Henry Abbott's trip to India, Nepal, and Tibet.
Abbott hard at work interviewing NBA players for ESPN.
Summer 2016 33
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44