NFL sideline reporter Laura Okmin announces shock exit from Fox
NFL sideline reporter Laura Okmin has announced she is leaving Fox.
Okmin has become one of the most recognizable faces on the sidelines of NFL games after two decades with the network.
She told Front Office Sports on Wednesday that she wasn't forced out by Fox, but rather rejected their offer of a new contract.
Okmin said: 'They sent me the contract. I printed it out. I sat there. It was just my voice saying, "It's time, this is it".
'I'm happy to say [my boss] was very surprised. I would have been very disappointed if there was any other reaction.'
Okmin spent last season working in a team alongside play-by-play commentator Kevin Kugler and analyst Daryl Johnston.
She joined Fox in 2002 and, over her 23 years in the NFL, became the third-longest tenured sideline reporter in league history.
Away from her NFL duties Okmin launched GALvanize, a mentorship space for women in sports media.
After working on the sidelines for such a long time, she now wants to switch her focus to her new passion of guiding the next generation of female reporters.
'Honestly, it's a tough job having to justify your job for 20 years. Having to fight for your job and having to justify it,' she added.
'It feels like there's a bit of dog years with that job.'
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