The story of how the best sideline reporter of her generation was nearly blindsided by DVT
When mentioning the name Bonnie Bernstein, the reaction invariably runs along gender lines.
Men will mostly say, “Oh, Bonnie. She’s (insert physical accolade here). But you know what I like about her? She really seems to know what she’s talking about.”
Women will mostly leave it at, “Who’s that?”.
There are exceptions to the rule, of course…
Disparity in recognition by guys and girls aside, how she got to where she is now is an inspiring success story. Bernstein is a Howell, NJ High School graduate and attended the University of Maryland on a full athletic scholarship for gymnastics. While in College Park, she graduated Magna Cum Laude while earning Academic All-American distinction during each of her four years there. With a broadcast journalism degree in hand, she moved to remote Lewes, Delaware, to develop the news and sports departments for a start-up country radio station. Then it was on to Salisbury, Maryland, where she served as weekend news anchor at the town’s ABC affiliate. Elevating quickly, she proceeded to move to Reno to work at an NBC station there, where Bernstein became the Veronica Corningstone of the industry as the first weekday female sports anchor in the city’s history.
After gaining some needed on-air experience and building an audition tape worthy enough of the big boys to evaluate, she was hired at ESPN at only age 24 to work as a correspondent for the mother of sports programs, SportsCenter.
It really didn’t matter which sport had a major event happening at the time…Bernstein was usually sent to help cover it.
The Chicago Bulls NBA Finals dominance? Check.
Major League Baseball Playoffs? Check.
NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships? Check.
Weekly reports for NFL Countdown and College GameDay? No problem.
Three years later when CBS bought the rights to the NFL’s AFC package, she was hired to work for the Tiffany Network as a sideline reporter. Besides the rigors that traveling and working each week can have on single twentysomething’s social life while covering all regular season and playoff contests (a total of 23 games including preseason during some seasons), Bernstein also worked five Super Bowls. In another groundbreaker, during Super Bowl XXXVIII she became the first sportscaster ever to cover the Super Bowl for both radio (Westwood One) and network TV. In 2006, she left CBS to start her own consulting business and also made a return to ESPN.
With her business up and running and the start of the first year of her new contract with ESPN underway, all seemed to be going as well as it possibly could for Bernstein. But on one brilliant afternoon after doing sideline reports for one of the most celebrated college football rivalries you’ll find anywhere (Oklahoma-Texas), she said at the time that her “entire left leg felt shot.”
Fatigued during and after her exit from the Cotton Bowl, and in severe pain during her flight out of Dallas back to New York, she went to see a specialist (Dr. John Schneider) who was recommended to her by former CBS colleague Phil Simms. After evaluating Bernstein’s condition and seeing her left knee swell up on both sides, he instinctively sent her Lenox Hill Hospital, where she was diagnosed with DVT.
I recently conducted a question-and-answer session with Bonnie to learn more about her condition and her role raising awareness, as well as to gain her thoughts on everything from her consulting venture, to Hoboken, to what she does with the little downtime she seems to possess.
JOE CONCHA: YOU HAD A MAJOR HEALTH SCARE IN OCTOBER, 2006, WHEN YOU WERE DIAGNOSED WITH “DEEP-VEIN THROMBOSIS” (DVT). YOUR CONDITION IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF LATE NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT DAVID BLOOM, WHO DIED WHILE COVERING THE WAR IN IRAQ IN 2003. SINCE MANY AMERICANS HAVE NEVER HEARD OF DVT, EXPLAIN WHAT EXACTLY IT IS.
BONNIE BERNSTEIN: Deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot that usually forms in the lower limbs. I initially thought I pulled a muscle in my thigh, but it turned out to a massive blood clot that extended from my Achilles heel all the way up to the top of my leg. What made my condition life threatening, though, was that the clot had broken off and migrated into both of my lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism (PE). Things were dicey for a while, but thankfully, I had some great doctors who got me on admitted to the hospital and on medication right away.
It’s important to note that anyone can get a blood clot. I work out all the time, eat well, don’t smoke, don’t drink much… and I still got one. Two million Americans are diagnosed each year with DVT and 300,000 die (more than breast cancer and AIDS combined, BTW), but the encouraging news is that the condition, in many cases, is completely preventable!
CONCHA: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS AND RISK FACTORS?
BERNSTEIN: One of the biggest risk factors is family history, so it’s worth asking Mom or Dad if anyone in the family has had blood clots. Some of the other risk factors: cancer or heart disease, traumatic injury or major surgery, smoking, obesity, use of “the pill” (or any estrogen-based birth control) and prolonged mobility (long plane/train/car rides or time sitting at your desk). For women, it’s extremely important to check on family history before going on the pill, because that measurably increases your risk of getting a DVT. If you’d like more info about DVT or want to a risk assessment test, check out www.preventdvt.org
As far as prevention, get up and walk around if you’re on a long trip or you’re pulling crazy hours at the office. Or at the very least, do ankle circles or “pump the gas” motions with your feet to keep your blood circulating. Most important, though, if you’re feeling persistent pain or fatigue in your leg or see swelling or redness. Don’t blow it off… call your doc!
CONCHA: SINCE YOUR CAREER ENTAILS FLYING OFTEN, HOW WILL THIS AFFECT YOUR WORK MOVING FORWARD?
BERNSTEIN: I’ve cut back on my work schedule a lot. While I’ll still cover the entire college football season, I’m not doing Sunday Night Baseball anymore, because the season is really long and the travel is grueling. This year, I’ll cover some of the Wednesday ballgames that have intriguing storylines and I’ll be at Home Run Derby and the other All-Star events this July in San Francisco. My bosses have also talked to me about working on special projects and bringing me in to do some studio work at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, CT, which is only a two-hour drive from NY.
CONCHA: OFTEN WHEN PEOPLE SUFFER A SERIOUS ILLNESS, IT CHANGES THEIR OVERALL PERSPECTIVE OF LIFE. HAS YOUR VIEWPOINT BEEN ALTERED?
Bloom Family, 2002 BERNSTEIN: I know it sounds cliché, but having a life-threatening illness did help “put my life into perspective.” I feel so lucky to still be alive, I really want to help get the word out about DVT so we can get the diagnosis and fatality numbers down. I’ve teamed up with Melanie Bloom, David Bloom’s widow, and a group called the Coalition to Prevent DVT to help create a greater awareness about DVT and its symptoms and risk factors. In late March, in fact, we spent a day in DC meeting with legislators on Capitol Hill. Hopefully someday, I’ll feel like I’ve helped make a difference by bringing a preventable health issue “front and center,” the way cancer and AIDS are now.
CONCHA: YOU LIVE IN MANHATTAN, BUT SINCE THIS IS AN INTERVIEW WITH HOBOKEN’S PREMIER ONLINE MAGAZINE, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN’T ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS ON OUR FAIR CITY. WHAT DO YOU LIKE AND DISLIKE (IF ANYTHING) ABOUT THE SIXTH BOROUGH?
BERNSTEIN: I have a great group of friends who live in Hoboken, but I don’t get down there very often. I do think Washington Street has some great little restaurants and boutiques, though. And there are some amazing views of NYC!!
CONCHA: IN EARLY 2006, YOU STARTED A CONSULTING COMPANY CALLED VELVET HAMMER MEDIA. TELL US WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO ADD “ENTREPRENEUR” TO YOUR RESUME.
BERNSTEIN: I’ve always loved helping aspiring broadcasters and young journalists hone their interviewing/writing/producing skills. So, that’s essentially the premise of VHM. The interesting thing I’ve learned, though, is that there’s also a market for this type of service for non-broadcasters. One of my clients is a forensics expert, but loved food so much, he just decided to create a program showcasing different restaurants in Texas! Since he had no background in TV, I worked as a consultant on the project and helped him design a viable product for broadcast. There are also a lot of people out there who are experts in other fields (medicine, law, finance, etc.), and want to lend their knowledge to TV, but need someone to coach them.
CONCHA: WHAT IS THE NAME “VELVET HAMMER” SUPPOSED TO IMPLY?
BERNSTEIN: It’s a phrase that describes someone who is focused on a task at hand, yet diplomatic and pleasant in the way he or she goes about getting something accomplished (I actually read an article not too long ago that referred to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a “velvet hammer”). I think it’s a terrific philosophy to use not only in business, but in life, too, so I figured why not make it the name of the company?
CONCHA: WHAT FREE ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A YOUNG JOURNALIST LOOKING TO BREAK INTO BROADCASTING?
BERNSTEIN: I think it’s really crucial to start laying the foundation in college. Whether you want to cover news, sports, weather or entertainment, do as many internships as you can! They not only give you a feel for “the business,” but also allow you to start creating a Rolodex of people you can reach out to for guidance or references once you’re ready to look for a job
CONCHA: WHAT IS THE COOLEST PART ABOUT BEING A SIDELINE/ON-FIELD REPORTER FOR THE NFL, COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL?
BERNSTEIN: Aside from being able to watch games from field level (which never gets old!), I think it’s being able to tap into the expertise of the players and coaches. For as much as I watched sports as a kid and studied the games, there’s obviously no substitute for playing. Having access to some of the world’s best athletes and coaches enables me to gain insight about the nuances and intricacies of the games… and for as much knowledge as I have stored away, I still learn something new every day!
CONCHA: MOST EXCITING EVENT YOU EVER WORKED?
BERNSTEIN: Without question, the coolest experience I’ve ever had was covering my alma mater’s run to the national basketball championship in 2002. I went to Maryland during what I refer to as the “dark days” of men’s basketball. The program was just a few years removed from Len Bias’ cocaine overdose, it was put on probation my sophomore year after coach Bob Wade committed a bunch of NCAA recruiting violations, and we didn’t beat Duke once the entire time I was there!
So, not surprisingly, it was such a rush to be courtside for every one of the Terps’ wins en route to their first championship…and even though I managed to be objective on the air, it was tough not to tear up watching Gary Williams and the players hoist the trophy as they viewed “One Shining Moment” on the Jumbotron!
CONCHA: EVER BEEN INJURED ON THE JOB?
BERNSTEIN: (Laughing)…Actually, just this past fall! I was up in Detroit covering the Tigers/Angels game and during Angels BP, I was getting ready to do a live shot for ESPN News right down the first baseline. We were about two minutes out from my hit, and I’m crouching down to look over some last minute notes… when WHACK! I get nailed in the head with a ball! I felt like someone had shot me, but I was in such a state of shock, I didn’t really react at first. I just sat there, crouched down, looking straight ahead. My producer was aghast, the Angels PR guy came running over and everyone was, like, “Oh my gosh! Are you OK? Do you need a doctor? Should we bag the live shot?!?!”
Somehow, I managed to get through my hit, even though I was kinda fuzzy. But by the second inning, I had a raging headache, my vision was blurry and I couldn’t really move my head side-to-side. I was a gamer, though. Even though I had a tough time staying focused, I got through all nine innings. No way THIS chick was going on the DL! (You should have seen the size of the lump on my head, though!)
CONCHA: WHEN YOU’RE NOT DOING BROADCAST STUFF OR REVIEWING TAPES FOR YOUR BUSINESS, WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING WITH YOUR FREE TIME?
BERNSTEIN: Hitting the gym, reading (working on Barak Obama’s latest right now), hanging with friends and family, checking out great restaurants, visiting the Great White Way (huge fan of musical theatre) or doing something cultural in the city…and, of course, watching games in person or on TV!
Bonnie Bernstein may have what many in sports journalism consider to be a dream job: Traveling each week, meeting the biggest professional athletes and celebrities…all while standing 10 feet from all of the action. But as her recent bout with DVT has proven, even the most successful and fortunate are fallible.
Bernstein was given a second chance to appreciate what she has and to embrace the activities and people she enjoys most in life.
Given her work with the Coalition to Prevent DVT, she hopes to give others that same chance as well.