Sportswriters aren’t as popular as actors or musicians, but a few manage to get noticed. Amin Elhassan is one such sports journalist. His impeccable analyzes and his sense of sports presentation have distinguished him by his climate. To think he had no degree in journalism or a related profession makes him a character to watch.
Amin is an engineering graduate from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Either way, he is making waves in the sports industry. Maybe he studied sports engineering, who knows? His dexterity brought him to the halls of ESPN, where he did a remarkable job as a sports commentator.
Biography of Amin Elhassan
One could imagine with the kind of waves that Amin made in America, and without an accent, he would have been born on American soil. Well, he wasn’t. He was born in Sudan on April 12, 1979. He lived in Sudan for three years before his family decided to move to the land of opportunity, America. When they came to America, their city of residence was New York.
Amin returned to Sudan when he was eight years old. In Sudan, he developed a passion for sports, especially basketball. He once said he asked his father to buy him a pair of sneakers in Sudan, but it was as if they had hit a brick wall. However, he returned to New York in 1993 to attend high school. His passion for sports never translated into a career in sports. Instead, he resorted to studying engineering at the GIT. This choice was motivated by his excellent abilities in mathematics and science.
5 interesting facts you should know about Amin Elhassan
He worked for NBA clubs but never played
Although he studied engineering, it was obvious Amin Elhassan didn’t fit in. His passion for basketball didn’t make him a player either. However, his career started with the Atlanta Hawks, a National Basketball Association (NBA) team. Instead of ending up in court, he was in the marketing department. It was a bit difficult, for someone with an engineering degree. But he was doing well. It was during his time working at the Atlanta Hawks that he became familiar with the NBA environment, forming beneficial connections along the way.
In 2004, he left the Atlanta Hawks for an internship program with the New York Knicks. Again, he didn’t play. He worked with the operations office during the 2004/2005 season.
At the end of his internship, he was hired by the Phoenix Suns as a video coordinator. His talent and excellence led him to take on the position of scouting coordinator. He continued to perform well until he landed the position of assistant manager of basketball operations. He was assigned to Steve Kerr, who was the team leader at the time. Elhassan spent four seasons with the Phoenix Suns before parting ways with them in 2009.
He is an NBA analyst for ESPN
Amin Elhassan has always been adventurous and has a knack for going after big challenges. As part of his desire to take on a more demanding role, he successfully launched ESPN, one of the world’s leading sports channels. He was hired as a freelance sports reporter for the channel. He has done his job brilliantly by preparing some excellent high-profile sports articles. Thanks to his skill and consistency, he was hired permanently by ESPN in 2013. Since then, he has been a sports correspondent and analyst. He’s covered a lot of top NBA games, giving fantastic analysis.
In addition to covering and analyzing NBA games, he has also appeared on other ESPN sports broadcasts. The Jump and SportsNation are two of the biggest. He is also a frequent contributor on The Dan LeBatard Show, an ESPN live radio podcast.
He is a father
When it comes to Amin Elhassan’s personal life, he has done well to keep him away from the prying eyes of the media. He is almost 40 years old and it is debatable whether he is married, has a family or even a relationship. The fact is that there is no concrete evidence to this effect.
However, responding to a tweet from September 2018, he said he had his first child when he was 31. He went on to say that he wasn’t ready too. This was assumed to refer to his relationship status. It is possible that he is married or unmarried. But one thing is clear from the tweet is that he has a child that makes him a father.
He was involved in some scandals
Well, when it comes to maintaining it, Amin has failed many times.
In February 2016, he quit an ESPN radio show midway through a hideous argument he had with Peyton Manning. The duo continued their ugly clash on social media. He then apologized to his fans on the radio for his unruly behavior.
In August of the same year, Amin Elhassan made fun of Kevin Owen’s son for a video posted by his wife, where the young boy celebrated his father’s victory. His comment, “Until someone tells him the script’s been written,” earned him serious criticism on social media.
He has also been known to crack seemingly offensive jokes at sports shows. This got him into a lot of controversial situations with fans of some NBA teams.
He is not an American citizen
It is interesting to know that even though Amin has spent almost three decades in America, he is not yet an American citizen. Although he is of African American ethnicity, he is not an American national. His nationality still remains Sudanese. This situation could affect his long-term career prospects in America.