ESPN’s Malika Andrews interviewed basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo on-air Monday afternoon, and then an earthquake shook things up.
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake hits Los Angeles at 12:20 and The “NBA Today” host paused calm and collected inside ESPN’s LA studios, the 29-year-old’s real-time response sparked an avalanche of praise on social media.
The tremor jostled cameras and shook the structure, giving anyone who has experienced a tremor conflicting feelings of wonder and disarray.
“We’re having a bit of an earthquake here in Los Angeles,” Andrews said, pausing the interview. “So we’re just going to make sure our studio shines [and] everything remains safe. Everything is shaking.”
Andrew’s body language was that of someone dragging out a minor altercation, her voice soothing as she asked her co-workers if they were okay. The tremors only lasted a few seconds, and she deftly returned to the video call with Lobo, who was understandably wearing an expression of disbelief. They had talked about USA basketball team gold medal over France at Paris Olympics.
“Definitely a scary moment here in our LA studios,” Andrews tweeted. “Thank you to our incredible staff and crew who kept their cool throughout.”
No doubt Andrew’s cold kept the temperature from rising. No injuries or significant damage to structures were reported as of 2:30 p.m