Laura Rutledge has been battling inner demons during her time with ESPN.
Rutledge, a host for ESPN, ABC and the SEC Network, opened up about facing anxiety, especially after switching into a full-time role as a sideline reporter with “Monday Night Football” last season.
“I deal with that every day, I really do,” Rutledge said on Shannon Spake’s “Sons and Daughters” podcast Wednesday. “I think there’s probably some people out there in the world that go to their TV job and feel great about it everyday, that has never happened to me.
“I can know inside of me I’m capable of doing these things and yet be my own worst enemy the whole time. Beating myself down or telling myself I can’t do it or I’m gonna fail.”
Rutledge also talked specifically about her time on “Monday Night Football.” It was her first year working on the broadcast full-time after a few “spot starts” in the past. She mentioned that her days were long during gamedays, including “SportsCenter” and “Monday Night Countdown” appearances.
Through all the chaos, and even before the day began, Rutledge said that she got on herself constantly.
“I had a lot of trouble with that this past season,” she said. “Before the day would start, psyching myself out and being like ‘You’re not gonna be able to do this, you’re gonna have a big mess up today,’ beating myself down so bad.”
However, she added that most of those negative thoughts would go away come game time.
“By the time I would get to the game, I’d be like ‘Oh, I’m fine,’” Rutledge said. “I had to prove to myself every single one of those Mondays that I could actually do it again, which is wild because I couldn’t convince myself that I had done it last week.”
Rutledge’s first full season included her interaction with Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, when he brushed off a postgame interview with her following a win.
She eventually got the interview, but Herbert gave notably short answers during the exchange.
Rutledge originally started her career with Fox Sports as a sideline reporter before moving to ESPN in 2014. In 2020, she became the host of ESPN’s “NFL Live” before her promotion to a full-time sideline reporter in 2025 alongside Lisa Salters.
She’s set to continue in the position for the 2026 season.
