Sometimes the best jokes are the ones that don’t announce themselves as jokes. Malika Andrews delivered one of those moments Friday night while presenting Adrian Wojnarowski with the Curt Gowdy Award at the Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony.
Andrews, who owes much of her ESPN career to Wojnarowski’s early mentorship, was tasked with honoring her former colleague’s contributions to basketball journalism.
She handled it perfectly, including a subtle but unmistakable reference to the most infamous email in sports media history.
“He is fiercely committed, he is deeply principled, and he is funny too, although a certain Senator may disagree with me on that one,” Andrews said.
Malika Andrews gives a nod to Adrian Wojnarowski’s famous Josh Hawley e-mail at the Basketball Hall of Fame
“He is fiercely committed, he is deeply principled, and he is funny too, although a certain Senator may disagree with me on that one.” pic.twitter.com/JcbxP6gx2H
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2025
If you missed the reference, let’s refresh your memory. Back in July 2020, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley sent out a press release criticizing the NBA’s approved social justice messages on player jerseys. The release went to various media members, including Wojnarowski, who was apparently having none of it.
Woj responded with a brief “F*ck you.”
Hawley did what any attention-seeking politician would do. He screenshotted the email and posted it on X.
Don’t criticize #China or express support for law enforcement to @espn. It makes them real mad @Outkick pic.twitter.com/WJDxrotUBD
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 10, 2020
The incident became legendary in sports media circles, even if it led to ESPN suspending its star NBA insider for two weeks without pay. Wojnarowski later apologized, saying he regretted sending the email and understood why ESPN had to suspend him.
But the damage was done, or rather, the legend was born. For better or worse, Woj’s two-word response to Josh Hawley became as much a part of his legacy as breaking news about NBA trades.
Which brings us back to Andrews’ perfect needle-threading at the Hall of Fame ceremony. It was subtle enough for the Basketball Hall of Fame crowd but obvious enough for anyone who lived through the summer of 2020 in sports media.
Andrews has repeatedly credited Woj with jumpstarting her career, dating back to when she was a college reporter at the University of Portland and he discovered her work covering Terry Porter’s hiring as basketball coach. Wojnarowski made sure her writing got in front of ESPN editors, directly leading to her being hired three years later.
Now Andrews is one of ESPN’s most prominent NBA personalities, hosting both NBA Today and NBA Countdown. Her mentor, meanwhile, shocked the sports world by retiring from ESPN in September 2024 to become general manager of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, trading his $20 million contract for a $75,000 salary and a chance to help his alma mater compete.
The Curt Gowdy Award recognizes outstanding contributions to basketball journalism, and Adrian Wojnarowski certainly earned it. Over nearly two decades, he revolutionized how NBA news breaks, turning the “Woj bomb” into a cultural phenomenon and making his X account appointment viewing for basketball fans.
Sometimes, the most human moments define us more than our professional achievements. In Wojnarowski’s case, his “F*ck you” email to Josh Hawley might be remembered as long as any trade he broke. And thanks to Malika Andrews, that moment got its due recognition at the Basketball Hall of Fame.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.