Just Call Me "Andi" (Sports Stories from a Trailblazer)

For readers of sports broadcasting tell-alls like Jay Onrait’s Anchorboy or James Duthie’s The Guy on the Left comes Andi Petrillo’s candid memoir. She explores the sexism she’s faced and the relationships she’s built, offering an underreported, crucial perspective on sports broadcasting from one of North America’s top female sportscasters.

When Andi Petrillo decided to pursue a career in sportscasting, a woman offering her opinion on sports was still a novelty. She was constantly being criticized, scrutinized, and sexualized, but her love for sports — and her determination to prove she deserved to be doing what she loved — propelled her into a successful and historic career. From becoming the first woman to be part of the Hockey Night in Canada in-studio broadcast, to being the first woman to host a daily sports radio talk show in Canada (Leafs Lunch on TSN), to being the first woman to win a Canadian Screen Award for Best Sports Host, she’s come to see her perseverance as inspiration for young women who now believe they too can achieve great things in sports broadcasting.

Just Call Me “Andi” shares many of the obstacles Petrillo’s faced, as well as the incredible friendships she’s made, and the lessons she’s learned along the way. It also provides a behind-the-scenes look into the industry, explaining why editorial and broadcast decisions are often made and how the broadcasting world has evolved in the era of streaming and social media.

Women have come a long way in sportscasting, but it may surprise people to learn about the pervasive sexism and the downright ridiculous requests that are still made of women that are not made of men … Petrillo’s story is both heartbreakingly honest and deeply insightful, providing a roadmap for future broadcasters navigating similar challenges so that female voices in sport are the norm, not the exception.