WATCH: ESPN’s Debbie Antonelli on pursuing a career, raising a child with Down syndrome
Debbie Antonelli, our next interview subject for “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” has broadcast college and pro basketball games for the past 35 years. She was inducted into the women’s basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
She is deeply rooted in the Carolinas, having grown up in Cary and played college basketball under the legendary Kay Yow at N.C. State in the 1980s. She now lives in Mount Pleasant, S.C., with her family.
In addition to her heavy travel schedule calling both women’s and men’s basketball games, Antonelli is also a wife and the mother to three boys. Her middle son is Frankie, who has Down syndrome and recently graduated from Clemson’s LIFE program.
Her charity work includes an annual free-throw marathon where she makes 100 free throws every hour for 24 straight hours in her driveway. By doing that and soliciting contributions for each free throw made, the 58-year-old Antonelli has raised close to a million dollars for the Special Olympics with “24 Hours of Nothing But Net.”
This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. A fuller version of this interview is available as a free podcast by searching “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.”
This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 4:09 PM with the headline "WATCH: ESPN’s Debbie Antonelli on pursuing a career, raising a child with Down syndrome."
