Israel Gutierrez
| Israel Gutierrez | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 26, 1977 (age 36) |
| Education | University of Florida |
| Occupation | Columnist for The Miami Herald |
Israel Gutierrez (born June 26, 1977) is a sports reporter for ESPN. Before joining the staff at ESPN, he worked for The Miami Herald as well as The Palm Beach Post.
He has covered the Miami Heat for both newspapers. A South Florida native and University of Florida graduate, he also has covered the Florida Marlins.
While attending The University of Florida in Gainesville, he was a staff writer for the student newspaper Independent Florida Alligator. Prior to that, he attended North Miami Senior High.
He has appeared as a sports commentator on ESPN2's ESPN First Take as part of 1st and 10 with Jay Crawford and Skip Bayless.
On March 18, 2008, he debuted on Around the Horn. The following day he recorded his first win against Kevin Blackistone. As of July 2008, he has become a recurring (albeit not regular) panelist on the show. He did not appear for over two years before making his return on August 1st, 2012, picking up a gold medal in the Around the Horn Summer Games by defeating Bomani Jones.
In November, 2008, Gutierrez began appearing on ESPN's The Sports Reporters and is now a regular panelist. His work at the Miami Herald continues to receive national attention, including regular mentions on USsportspages.com.
On March 31, 2010, Gutierrez wrote a controversial Miami Herald column about his hatred for the Duke University men's basketball team because of Coach Mike Krzyzewski's "beady eyes," "nasal voice" and hard-to-spell name, among other reasons. While Gutierrez's column was labeled as "commentary," it received criticism from readers in Miami and throughout the U.S. The column even attracted a rebuke from his own newspaper’s ombudsman, Edward Schumacher-Matos, who wrote that the piece should never have been published.