Winters-Scott and McPeak are pillars of excellence

Members of the Washington Mystics took the floor and linked arms in an empowering display of solidarity, wearing white t-shirts stained with red paint resembling blood pouring out from a gunshot wound. The shirts were worn after several WNBA teams boycotted that evening’s contests.

That decision, along with similar actions by other WNBA teams, came amid the backdrop of heightened racial tensions following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the shooting of Jacob Blake in broad daylight. It was a tumultuous summer marked by activism, set against a backdrop of a divisive political climate, police brutality and nationwide protests.

Christy Winters-Scott and Meghan McPeak were every WNBA player in the Orlando bubble during the summer of 2020, even though they were 847 miles away inside of the comfortable Monumental Sports studios working remotely.

“In that moment, we were also them,” Winters-Scott said. “Even though we weren’t physically present in the bubble with them, we were there with them mentally.”

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Four years later, the recollection of that evening still sends shivers down their spines. It was when Christy Winters-Scott and Meghan McPeak’s bond reached new heights, vividly illustrating every positive aspect of their partnership and highlighting why the veteran Monumental Sports broadcasting duo is exceptional. They were poised, empathetic, authentic, transparent and vulnerable during a difficult moment. Those qualities made a difference for the viewers who witnessed them transform their powerful platform into something bigger, but one that personally resonated with everybody who tuned in.

Their capacity to connect with viewers forms the core of their broadcasts and rock-solid alliance. Winters-Scott and McPeak are talented, diligent, funny, prepared, knowledgeable and passionate, and their personalities and engaging smiles light up digital devices from coast to coast.

Yet, they are just two friends who discuss their love of basketball with each other while passionately describing WNBA games with unmatched chemistry. They have worked together for six years, and listening to them call games has been a treat for listeners. An example of this was the fun exchange between the pair that highlighted Karlie Samuelson’s early hot shooting during the Storm-Mystics game. Samuelson had scored 18 points in a road loss at Connecticut two nights earlier.

Following Samuelson’s second 3-pointer of the first quarter, McPeak remarked, “Samuelson with the deep three as her shot has traveled from Uncasville, Connecticut.” Winters-Scott immediately quipped, “She packed that in her bag. I don’t know what brand of bag it was. A carry-on. A checked bag. All of it. It was big enough to carry that bucket-getting ability from three.”

‘An actual friendship’

A former MVP point guard at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, McPeak is an elite play-by-play announcer who uses her former playmaking skills to set up Winters-Scott for colorful analysis and thoughtful discussion. Winters-Scott even refers to a sweet move by players as “adding a side of Mambo sauce to her finish.” 

It never feels like work for the affable pair. Radiating joy, Winters-Scott and McPeak enthusiastically reflect on their opportunity to broadcast games.

“It’s an actual friendship,” McPeak said. “We’ll text and call each other outside of a game day or a practice day, as well as when we have our off-season breaks between WNBA and college basketball. It happened organically, and it wasn’t like we forced it when we first started working together in the summer of 2019. 

“When you watch the broadcast, you can hear that and feel it’s not just two people working together. It’s two people who are genuinely and authentically close and enjoy working together. You’ll see us if you take the cameras and headsets away. That’s how we are, and fans are getting the authentic version of the two of us.”

Winters-Scott, who led Maryland to the 1989 Final Four, has been with the Mystics for over 15 years. Although she’s nationally recognized thanks to her work with ESPN and the Big Ten Network, Winters-Scott’s heart is always in the DMV region. Winters-Scott coached at Maryland, Georgetown and George Mason for ten years. She handled recruiting efforts and was responsible for on-court practice preparation for the post players, film breakdown and scouting reports.

That background has helped her during games to have a nuanced understanding of every perspective of the game, from coaching strategies to player movements to intricate offensive and defensive sets. She explains what she’s seeing entertainingly and engagingly, bringing fans into the minds of the participating players, officials and coaches.

“That level of love I have for the game was organically placed in my heart,” Winters-Scott said. “So, for me, I want that to shine through. I’m going to bring the same energy, effort and focus to every opportunity I have to share my love and the heart I have for this game. I want to be in the gym. I want to be at practice. I want to be at shootaround. I want to be on air to relay that love. And it’s not the tactical side of the game that I love the most, even though I love a good pick-and-roll, a good trap-and-rotate and a good block.”

They take their roles as storytellers seriously. The broadcasts aren’t just about the game. For example, during Sunday’s game between the Mystics and Storm, McPeak and Winters-Scott discussed Ariel Atkins‘ budding fashion design line and the emotional story behind Jewell Loyd‘s newest player edition Nike shoe, which her best friend’s autistic son designed. The stories enhance the broadcast, leaving fans educated and more invested in the players of the WNBA, which is 80% Black.

“Every game is another opportunity to share our basketball passion with fans, viewers and listeners,” McPeak said. “I’m doing my due diligence of making what fans are watching fun and exciting and just continuing to tell the stories of these amazing athletes in the W. Because as much as they are basketball players — that’s their job — it’s not who they are. So, making sure that within talking about their job, we’re also telling them about who they are and telling their stories outside of the 94 feet by 50 feet.”

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Monumental momentum

Recognizing the explosive growth and popularity of the WNBA, the Mystics and Monumental Sports are meeting the moment for increased demand for content. It’s no surprise that, under the leadership of Ted Leonsis and Sheila Johnson, the Mystics and Monumental Sports Network have led the way regarding regional WNBA telecasts for over a decade.

The Mystics were the first WNBA team to feature a dedicated pre- and post-game show for every regional game broadcast, and Monumental Sports Network will continue to broadcast Mystics Pregame Live and Mystics Postgame Live from brand-new studios in downtown D.C. for 30 minutes before and after each game on the network.

In addition to enhancing its portfolio as a regional leader of a sports network platform for women’s athletics, Monumental Sports has intentionally ensured that its talent and overall company are diverse.

“There is a level of integrity behind what is happening here at Monumental Sports & Entertainment,” Winters-Scott said. “They understand the assignment. They understand that the league is 80% Black women, and who better to tell those stories? That speaks to the diversification that the league and Monumental Sports represent. There’s integrity behind it because we’re not here to check a box, right? We’re here because we’re qualified, just like the 80% of the women in the league are playing in this league. After all, they are qualified. They’re not there because of the race. They’re there because they can do the job well and execute at a professional level in a high manner.”

From a broadcasting standpoint, the Mystics’ season opener against the Liberty reflected the WNBA’s overall enthusiastic wave. It was Monumental Sports Network’s most-watched WNBA regular season broadcast since at least the start of the 2021 season. Joining Mystics broadcasts this season to interact with McPeak and Winters-Scott is sideline reporter Meg McDonald.

Monumental Sports Network outperformed CBS’ programming by 104% and the NHL playoffs on ESPN by 48% in the Washington, D.C. market during the Liberty game, shattering 2023’s high viewership mark for the Mystics and outperforming last year’s most-viewed game by 131%.

These incredible numbers mean more people are tuning in and simultaneously experiencing the joy of listening to McPeak and Winters-Scott do what they love to do. Monumental Sports Network reaches more than three million homes in the D.C. area for various women’s sports, including broadcasting the Washington Mystics (WNBA), Washington Spirit (NWSL), women’s college basketball and high school girls basketball.

“Monumental Sports and Entertainment makes sure there’s diversity amongst the ownership group, but also diversity amongst Monumental basketball front office,” McPeak said. “That just tells you what this company is looking for, what it is looking to do, and to continue pushing the best people forward, whether they look like us or not. But it also shows that they are focusing on wanting to have diverse people.”

Shining storytelling skills

In a league predominantly composed of Black and minority women, the significance of media representation cannot be overstated; it enriches storytelling. Winters-Scott and McPeak shine in this regard — their positive presence exudes a distinct energy. Before recording their opening segments, they were immersed in laughter, adding final touches to their makeup, glancing at their phones and enjoying boxed lunches.

“So, you look at a league like the W that is predominantly women of color and minority women, and then you look at some of the broadcasts that are also women of color and minority women, and it’s pushing that conversation forward,” McPeak said. “When you look at that, and you look at the landscape, and then you look at people covering the league — even the minority men that cover the league — it’s a service to these women that play. We can understand that shared experience from a human level, a race level and a minority level. And you may have people who do their best to try and understand those experiences, but unless you walk in our shoes, you’ll never fully understand it.”

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That level of awareness and empathy helped viewers comprehend the struggles and pain of the players in the bubble.

McPeak shattered barriers by becoming the first and only female play-by-play broadcaster in the NBA G-League (formerly NBA Development League). In October 2018, she became the first female play-by-play broadcaster in 30 years to call an NBA game, which featured the Washington Wizards taking on the Detroit Pistons in pre-season action for Monumental Sports Network. 

As they embarked on their inaugural season, she was the play-by-play broadcaster for the Capital City Go-Go, the G-League affiliate for the Washington Wizards.

Once the camera lights flick off, Winters-Scott is a wife and a mom with three kids she supports — ensuring they are good and deciding what to eat for dinner. A member of the ACC’s Fiftieth Anniversary team and the University of Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame, Winters-Scott is proof that you can thrive under the bright lights with a strong family in a demanding business that requires a lot of time in the trenches talking to coaches and players and staying on top of the latest storylines.

‘Not an easy job to do’

While they make it look seamless, it’s far from it.

“This is not an easy job to do,” McPeak said. “It’s not an easy grind. If you don’t have the passion to put in the work, to put in the hours, to grind it out, to do your due diligence, or to do the things that aren’t flashy, fancy and spicy … you might as well not even start with point A, because you’re going to burn out real quick.”

Even with that, Winters-Scott would gladly broadcast for free. She also acknowledged that many opportunities are available for those looking to get started in broadcasting, thanks to the many connections one can make on social media.

“Doing this job, there has to be a level of persistence,” Winters-Scott said. “There’s a difference between want to and have to. Do you have to do it because you’re making money, or do you want to do it because you love it? It will show if you’re passionate about it and love it to your core.”

“I have plenty of people telling me, like, why are you (coaching high school basketball) for free? You could be coaching in college and making a million dollars. Like, why aren’t you doing that? There’s a purpose behind what I’m doing, and it’s fulfilling my emotional purpose more than my pockets. For Meghan and I, it’s very smooth with how we present the Mystics and the league as a whole, as well as women’s sports and the community.”