Sacramento sports anchor Lina Washington is leaving Northern California for a similar role at a television outlet in Phoenix.
The move was announced last Friday on Washington’s social media accounts.
Since 2017, Washington has served as the lead sports anchor at Sacramento’s ABC affiliate KXTV (Channel 10). She received an Emmy Award nomination in 2019 for conducting a round table interview and discussion following the death of Stephon Clark, an unarmed Black man who was fatally shot by Sacramento police officers one year prior.
Her first Emmy Award came during her stint as the sports director for KGET (Channel 17), the NBC affiliate in Bakersfield. Prior to that, Washington worked as a production intern for the regional Fox Sports station in Arizona.
ICYMI: last night @SeanCunningham surprised me with this goodbye video at the end of our final show together on @ABC10 ???? my dawg almost made me shed a thug tear on live TV. I’ll miss working alongside this lovable goon and Sacramento sports media legend! pic.twitter.com/quINougWka
— Lina Washington (@LWashingtonTV) June 14, 2021
Returning to Phoenix marks a kind of homecoming for Washington, who was born and raised in the area before embarking on her career.
“It’s not an exaggeration when I say this is a dream come true, and it’s something my family and I have prayed over for years,” she said.
Washington will join the sports reporting team at KPNX (Channel 12), the NBC affiliate in Phoenix. Both KPNX and KXTV are owned by TEGNA.
“I’ll deeply miss the Sacramento community and the amazing people who made my time here so memorable since arriving in July 2017,” Washington wrote on Twitter.
During her time in Sacramento, she co-founded the community beautification project Boards for Change. The not-for-profit was established after several Sacramento businesses boarded up their doors and windows during periods of civil unrest that followed Clark’s death and similar fatalities across the country.
The goal of the not-for-profit was to “create messages of solidarity, power, and strength on boarded up storefronts” by connecting local artists with business owners. The artwork was eventually auctioned off, with profits going toward local organizations that assist Black youth in the Sacramento area.
A GoFundMe project launched by Washington and her partners generated nearly $18,000 in donations for the organization. Her partners on the project include co-founders Shannon O’Rourke, the chief of staff to the president of the California Public Utilities Commission President, and real estate agent Kimberly Prince.
Washington says she intends to stay involved in Boards for Change. Her last day at KXTV is scheduled for Wednesday.
