Who is Kathryn Tappen?

Kathryn Tappen is a talented sports news reporter. This talent must have come because of her experience as a former athlete.

Kathryn Tappen is an American sportscaster. Tappen works on NBC Sports Groups’ coverage of the NHL, Notre Dame Football, Football Night in America, and Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

Kathryn is famous for her unique way of reporting news, and her charming personality has been an added advantage.

She has received numerous awards for her work, and she is also an influential personality. She strongly believes that women are equally capable of achieving great heights in sports and advocates it accordingly.

Born on April 9, 1979, Kathryn never hesitates to speak on issues that need to be addressed. She is indeed a genuine feminist who is a successful newscaster and a caring mother to her children.

Kathryn is one of the highest-paid sportcasters, who have proven that talent is not gender-specific. She has also shown the world that being a woman should never make you compromise on your self-respect.

The university sports star not only casts sports updates but also hosts different sports programs that have made the voices of women in sports heard. Kathryn indeed is a personality we can look up for inspiration.

Did you know Kathryn had even raised her voice against her colleague who had passed a rather degrading comment about her? Talk about fearless women! To know about what had actually happened and many other interesting facts about Kathryn keep scrolling!

Quick facts

Interesting facts

1. Kathryn Tappen is a talented athlete herself.

Kathryn was a very active kid. Since her childhood, she has played sports like baseball and softball. Similarly, she was a track and field and cross country team member in her university days.

Kathryn was quite an athlete who had legs that were seemed to be built for tracks. Her athletic abilities earned her a sports scholarship to Rutgers University. Similarly, her talent also helped her excel in her career as a sportscaster.

2. She was brilliant in academics.

Kathryn is a perfect example of beauty with a brain. Not only was she amazing at sports, but also had good academics. She has been a bright student since her school days. Kathryn later received the scholarship to study at the prestigious Rutgers University.

3. Kathryn Tappen played on the boys’ team.

This might sound weird but the fact is Kathryn did play on the boys’ team. The reason was that there was no girls’ team playing any sports. However, she did great even on the boys’ team!

4. Tappen anchored the first NHL game broadcast and produced by all women.

In March 2020, Kathryn hosted the first NHL game that was broadcast and produced solely by women. So, Kathryn became a part of history by anchoring the Blues-Blackhawks matchup on International Women’s Day that had only women crew for the first time in the US. She expressed her emotions as:

“I actually got choked up. Seeing it in print, for whatever reason — people have asked me about it this week, and they’ve mentioned it on different phone interviews and radio interviews — I was overwhelmed with emotion. It’s amazing.

Early life and childhood

Kathryn Tappen was born on April 9, 1981. She was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey, USA. As of 2022,

Kathryn had a happy childhood where she was raised with love and care by her father Richard Tappen and mother, Sheila Tappen. She grew up along with her sister Amanda Tappen.

Kathryn completed her high school at Villa Walsh Academy in 1999. Kathryn was interested in sports and also was very good at it. She played basketball and baseball on the boys’ team.

Her incredible athletic skills and brilliant academic reports earned her scholarship to the prestigious Rutgers University. While in the university, Kathryn was a part of the school cross country and track team. Similarly, she was a Big East All-Star as a Scarlet Knight and four-time Academic All-American.

Kathryn later graduated from Rutgers University in 1983 with honors in Journalism. After, graduating she decided that she wanted to pursue her career as a television personality and worked accordingly.

Love affairs and romantic relationship

Jay Leach (Kathryn Tappen Ex-husband)

Jay Christopher Leach is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was born on September 2, 1979, in Syracuse, New York, US.

Jay is currently the assistant coach of Seattle Kraken in the National Hockey League (NHL). Similarly, he is the former caption of the Alabamy Devils.

The popular hockey player was drafted in 1997 during the fifth round by the Phoenix Coyotes and spent several years in minor leagues until NHL’s Boston Bruins picked him up. There, he spent some years before being signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

He was then traded to the Anaheim Ducks before signing with the New Jersey Devils. Afterward, he moved to the Montreal Canadiens. He played a lot of games with the San Jose Sharks before he was traded back to the Devils, where he ended his career in 2013.

How did Kathryn Tappen and Jay Leach meet?

Kathryn and Jay first met in February 2005, during the National Hockey League lockout. Jay was with the Bruins then and had gone to Providence, R.I., to play for the Bruins’ minor league team. On the other hand, Tappen was covering sports for WJAR, the NBC affiliate in Providence.

Tappen later talked about her meeting with Jay as,

“We both had off on Mondays and were able to hang out a lot, and I soon realized that he has a great, light-hearted personality. We became friends initially, and it later evolved into what it is.”

The love-struck couple took their wedding vows in July 2009 at New Castle Congregational Church in New Castle, N.H. The wedding ceremony was quite impressive, and the two made a beautiful couple.

How is Jay and Kathryn’s relationship now?

Jay and Kathryn were deeply in love and happily married. They even have three beautiful children together, 2 daughters and a son.

However, the couple decided to part ways in 2013. Unfortunately, their five-year-long relationship ended in divorce, which was finalized in 2014. However, we do not know the actual reason for their divorce.

Kathryn is now a single mother. Also, she is not committed to any relationship for now. In fact, she is more focused on her career and professional life.

Career

Tappen started her career in 2003 in College Sports Television (CSTV) as a host of various programs. Then she moved to New England Sports Network (NESN) in 2006, where she worked as a lead host in many games, including Boston Celtics.

Later, Tappen joined the National Hockey League (NHL) as an NHL Tonight show’s host in 2011. After working in NHL for three years, she moved to the She became a sports and news anchor for NBC affiliate WJAR in Rhode Island.

Kathryn Tappen is now involved in multiple programs run by NBC. She is a popular face, and people love her bright smile and unique way of presentation.

Needless to say, Kathryn is doing very well in her career. She has hosted popular shows like Off the Ice with Kathryn Tappen, and Lunch Talk Live. In addition to that, Kathryn also became a part of the first All-Women NHL broadcast Team.

List of shows where Kathryn Tappen appeared on NBC.

Kathryn Tappen’s association with Marine Raider’s Foundation

Kathryn is actively involved in various charities and donations. She is also associated with one such organization named Marine Raider’s Foundation.

She is a board member of this foundation. This foundation is actively involved in providing support to the retired US marines and their families.

Kathryn Tappen Awards and nominations

Tappen is doing appreciable work in uplifting women’s positions in sports. So, for her visible efforts, Kathryn received several awards and nominations.

The Boston Chapter of Women awarded Kathryn Tappen the “Woman of Inspiration” Award in Sports and Events in 2014. Similarly, Tappen won the Associated Press Award in 2006 for her sports feature, “Swim Meet.”

In addition to that, she is a two times nominee for the Sports Emmy Awards. Kathryn also is a two-time nominee for the New England Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Controversies

Kathryn Tappen strongly spoke against a sexually explicit comment from her co-worker Jeremy Roenick. Roenick played 20 NHL seasons before retiring in 2009, and NBC Sports hired him in 2010 as a hockey games reporter.

Kathryn had worked together with Jeremy on several projects, and the two were close friends. However, Jeremy made a very insensitive remark about Tappen, for which he was even suspended from work indefinitely with no pay.

Roenick had gone with his wife and Kathryn on a summer vacation in Portugal. Upon the inquiry of a hotel guest if the three were together, his response was:

“I play it off like we’re all going to bed together every night, the three of us. If it really came to fruition, that would really be good. But it’s never going to happen.”

Kathryn’s reply to such an unacceptable comment was:

“While Jeremy and I continue to be good friends, what he said was unacceptable, especially among workplace colleagues. I do not condone his comments.”

Jeremy later apologized for his jokes through a video he posted on Twitter.

Kathryn Tappen Net worth

Kathryn Tappen is a very successful sportscaster and anchor. She is one of the highest-paid sportscasters as she is brilliant at her work.

So, most of her income is from her successful career as a sportscaster. Her net worth is estimated to be USD 2 million, including her house, cars, and other luxuries.

Despite her huge income, Kathryn likes to live a rather modest life.

Social media

Kathryn is a television personality. However, she is also very active on social media.

Kathryn often posts pictures and updates about her work. She is active on social sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Tappen Kathryn Facebook: kathryntappen

Kathryn Tappen Instagram: kathryntappennbc

Kathryn Tappen Twitter: KathrynTappen

FAQs

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