The Untold Truth Of Jalen Rose’s Wife – Molly Qerim

Introduction It isn’t often that we see a woman succeed in the male-dominated world of sports journalism, and it is especially rare to see one

Olivia Clarke

Molly Qerim

Introduction

It isn’t often that we see a woman succeed in the male-dominated world of sports journalism, and it is especially rare to see one reach fame while hosting Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events. However, Jalen Rose’s wife managed to do exactly this.

Who is Molly Qerim? Is her famous husband responsible for her success or did she make a name for herself on her own? Keep on reading and you will find out.

Early life and Education

Molly Qerim Rose was born on 31 March 1984, in New Haven, Connecticut USA to parents of Albanian and Italian descent. She spent most of her childhood years in a suburb of Cheshire, Connecticut, and it is supposed that she went to high school there as well, as she hasn’t disclosed much information about her early years.

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Beauty for Ashes. #ashwednesday

A post shared by Molly Qerim Rose (@mollyqerim) on

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in communications from the University of Connecticut, with a minor in business administration. Some years later, she earned her master’s diploma from Quinnipiac University in the field of broadcast journalism.

Career

Qerim’s career in journalism started in 2006, when she started working for ESPN. In 2008, she was the interactive host for their “College Football Live”, as well as the breaking new reporter for ESPN2’s “Fantasy Football Now”, her contribution to which was rewarded with an Emmy. She was also a co-host for ESPNU’s “Campus Connection”.

During her time with ESPN, Versus (today’s NBCSN) and FS1, and starting from 2007, Qerim has covered the UFC, and she has been a co-host of the annual World MMA Awards multiple times since 2011. This gained her the title of ‘female pioneer in the UFC broadcast industry’.

She started working for the CBS Sports Network in 2010, where she reported coverage of college football, as well as tournaments such as the US Tennis Open and NCAA Tournament. She also covered National Signing Day, when new students commit to a university. At the same time, she hosted a lot of shows, including “SEC Tailgate Show”, “SEC Tonight”, as well as “MaxPreps Lemming Report”, “Bracket Breakdown”, “Full Court Press” and many others.

In 2012, Qerim joined the NFL Network as a host and a correspondent. She hosted shows such as “NFL Fantasy Live” and “NFL AM”, while stayed at the network for three successful years.

Return to ESPN

In mid-July 2015, Qerim returned to ESPN, and together with Stephen A. Smith, she became the co-host of “First Take”, an American sports talk show. This happened after the previous host Cari Champion was promoted to ESPN’s “SportsCenter”. On 15th September and after just two months, she was promoted to permanent host.

Qerim didn’t stick just to television and classic work, but is also a big part of ESPN’s digital media output.

She guided interviews of a plethora of athletes and other celebrities for ESPN mobile, as well as ESPN.com. She has been the main reporter of many Super Bowls, where she’s done both hosting and reporting from the field, as well as coverage of the VIP events. The other events that she‘s covered are the Heisman Trophy presentation – an annual event where one NCAA football player is rewarded for his outstanding performance – the NBA draft, the NBA All-Star Game, as well as the MLB All-Star game, providing coverage and interviews from site.

Marriage with Jalen Rose

In June 2016 thanks to pictures on his Instagram profile, it was confirmed that Qarim was dating American sports analyst Jalen Rose.

Molly Qerim and Jalen Rose

Jalen Rose used to be a professional basketball player until he retired in 2007. During his outstanding basketball career, he was a team member of the Denver Nuggets, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and more. He is the son of famous Jimmy Walker, a former #1 basketball pick who played together with another big name, Jerry West. When Jalen retired from playing sports, he switched career paths to journalism and reporting, and was hired by ESPN to be a co-host of their sports talk show “NBA Countdown”. Soon after he started working on ESPN’s “Grantland”, and became a co-host with David Jacoby on the sports radio show “Jalen and Jackoby” on ESPN Radio.

In April 2018, he started working as a co-host of “Get Up”, alongside Michelle Beadle and Mike Greenberg. Qerim and Rose started dating after meeting each other on set, and married in a private ceremony two years later, on 20th July 2018. They have two children – a daughter Gracie Rose and son LaDarius. Rose also has a daughter with his former girlfriend Maurie Goens, born in 2000.

The couple is often seen together at many sports events, and they’ve always got each other’s back in public, which shows their deep mutual affection. The couple has great success in their individual careers, despite working in the same environment.

Merry Christmas 🎄

Posted by Molly Qerim Rose on Sunday, December 24, 2017

Controversies

In 2019, Qerim got into a bit of controversy after her colleague and father of NBA star Lonzo Ball, LaVar Ball, made an inappropriate comment towards her during an episode of “First Take”. Ball is reported saying ‘You can switch gears with me anytime’ to Qerim after her transition, a comment which was brushed off by Qerim herself. This incident caused ESPN to distance itself from Bell, however, that decision made many accuse Qerim of being oversensitive and vindictive. Many even made speculations that Qerim herself got Ball banned, some went so far as to point out that there was a racial angle to everything, noting that Qerim got a black man fired from ESPN – an accusation she totally denies to this day, especially since she herself is married to a black man.

Personal Life and Social Media

Qerim announced her ongoing battle with endometriosis – a problem with her reproductive system – in April 2018.

She is active on Social media, and her Instagram has over 380,000 followers, while her Twitter has around 215,000 followers as of March 2020. She is also active on Facebook, where she has almost 90,000 followers.

In 2012 she was one of the 20 Sexiest Sports Reporters, and the same year she was listed as one of the 10 Most Beautiful Female Sportscasters.

Net worth

Molly’s salary as sports anchor is around $50,000. Her career brought her international fame and earned her an estimated net worth of approximately $3 Million as of early 2020. This may sound like a lot, however this is still a lot less than her husband, as his net worth is estimated at $60 million.

Physical characteristics

Qerim is a slim woman with body measurements of 37-27-38 inches, black hair, dark eyes and olive skin tone. She is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall  – her husband has a height of 6ft 8ins (2.03m) – and has a weight of 140lbs (64kgs). Her body combined with her charming looks makes her a really beautiful lady in the eyes of many.

Olivia Clarke

Started with TheLegit.org in April 2023. Previously, Executive Editor at Echoes Media. Holds a Journalism degree from New York University.

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