Leon H. Carter
Leon H. Carter, A graduate from the Mass Communications Department of Norfolk State University and the Editor at Large at The Athletic, is a trailblazing figure in sports journalism who has transformed the field by mentoring future generations of writers and fostering diversity in the newsroom. Carter started out as a copy editor for the Louisville Courier-Journal and worked his way up to positions at Newsday, the New York Daily News, ESPN, and The Athletic, earning accolades and prizes for journalism at each turn. Carter was awarded the National Association of Black Journalists' Legacy Award in 2009 after serving as the Freedom Forum's Journalist-in-Residence at Norfolk State University in 1992. Other accolades include winning the Red Smith Award in 2022 at the Indianapolis APSE Summer Conference. The Sports Journalism Institute (SJI), a nonprofit organization that is designed to attract talented students to journalism through opportunities in sports reporting and editing and enhance racial and gender diversity in sports departments nationwide, was established in 1992 by Carter and Sandy Rosenbush, the 2019 Red Smith Award winner. Over 350 alumni have been placed in newsrooms across the nation by Carter and Rosenbush, who have held 30 SJI classes to date. In addition, in the fall of 2024, The Athletic launched the Leon H. Carter Newsroom Internship Program. Furthermore, His goal is to contribute to the industry's improvement by bringing inclusiveness and diversity to the newsroom and sports journalism. Throughout his career, Carter has shown himself to be a mentor and role model for journalists from underrepresented backgrounds, and he has done it all.