An early death seemed inevitable to Lisa Guerrero. At the tender age of eight, Lisa lost her mom—who was only 29—to cancer, prompting her to believe her own life would be short. A need to accomplish all that she wanted, before her time came, drove Lisa to reach great heights while breaking down barriers for herself and others. Whether serving hard-hitting questions on the sidelines to sports greats or to criminals on “Inside Edition,” Lisa has been the epitome of bravery. Yet, it was only recently that she recognized that within herself.
Today, at the age double her mom’s lifespan, Lisa has recently completed what she hopes will be her legacy. Her book, “Warrior: My Path to Being Brave,” details her wins and losses, her highs and lows, both professionally and personally. A project that started as a comedic look at life in the men’s locker room, among other settings in her diverse career, gave her perspective she hadn’t had before.
“I started to write a book that was a series of funny events about a woman in sports journalism and investigative reporting—like a fish out of water. But as I began writing, I began to realize that a lot of what I went through was traumatic,” she explained. “I started to think about the people who ask me about bravery and how I’m able to chase bad guys, and I started to feel like an impostor. I didn’t feel like I was born brave, so how was I able to do that?”
Lisa was born in Chicago to Walter Coles and Lucy Guerrero—an immigrant from Chile. Lucy, whose maiden name is Spanish for “warrior,” demonstrated how to be a warrior in the adversity she faced as a newcomer to America as well as in her career.
“I come from two people who are hard workers,” Lisa shared. “My mother worked with vulnerable people as a translator and within the Salvation Army to help others. My dad was a Salvation Army social worker. He put himself through college and got his master’s degree and then raised two small children by himself when his wife died.”
It was Lucy who inspired a deep appreciation of her Latino heritage in Lisa, who took the Guerrero name as her legal name in her 20s. It was Walter who instilled a love of sports in his daughter, helping Lisa amass a wealth of sports knowledge that would open doors to a career with the NFL.
Having moved to southern California at an early age, Lisa tried out to be a Los Angeles
Rams cheerleader while in college. Though she lacked the same level of training as her rivals, it was her big love for the game that won her a spot on the team. She would also soon win a band of sisters and develop camaraderie she’d never experienced before.
“Growing up, I learned what femininity was, or what it was supposed to look like, through television and magazines,” she explained. “It wasn’t until I became a Ram’s cheerleader that I was suddenly with 36 women daily, and I started to realize what true femininity was and the strength of women together. This concept of female bonding and sisterhood had not happened until I was 19, and that’s when it hit me; this is what real women are like. These are the conversations women have together. This is how we empower each other.”
A new love—an NFL player—would eventually take her across the country and away from her sisters, but her desire to empower others would never leave. The move would also take Lisa off the sidelines and into the offices of the Atlanta Falcons where she was the NFL’s youngest entertainment director, at age 26, and the Falcon’s first female entertainment director.
She’d accompany her fiancé to another NFL franchise and work as its entertainment director. However, she’d face— and fight back against—sexism and racism, leading to her firing as well as a lawsuit. It was time to head back west. Her relationship had already ended, following his infidelity, so there was no reason to stay.
Back home, she landed a year-long role on NBC’s “Sunset Beach” soap opera, a series of sports reporting stints, and guest-starring roles on hit TV shows. After making Dennis Rodman cry at a press conference, she eventually became Fox Sports Net’s first female anchor for the southern California region. This led to a co-anchor position on “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” alongside NFL veteran Michael Irvin, comedian Tom Arnold, and others. Even though Lisa could hold her own in the “boys’ club,” she watched the producers create a misogynistic culture that didn’t sit well with her. She left the show on her own terms and excitedly joined the famed “Monday Night Football” broadcast as a sideline reporter.
It was during her time on “Monday Night Football” when Lisa married Major League Baseball pitcher Scott Erickson—a union that would last 15 years. It was also when she discovered she had become a role model for the Latino community.
“I hadn’t seen Latina role models when I was younger. I wanted people to know that, when they saw me on TV and my name on their screen, they, too, could aspire to be a sportscaster or journalist,” she explained. “The fact that I was a role model was incredibly important, but I also realized that, if I was criticized, it would reflect badly on my name—every Monday night, 40 million people see my name. I thought, ‘I better be very good, better than anyone else, or they’re going to diminish me because I’m a woman or because I’m Latina.”
When she wasn’t brought back for the next season of “Monday Night Football,” Lisa believes her feeling like she’d let people down contributed to the depression she’d been keeping to herself for almost two years. Hearing the jeers of the media over her departure would nearly push her over the edge.
“When I was in my car driving south on Pacific Coast Highway and I heard these sports radio personalities making fun of me, I felt very strongly that I should just pull the steering wheel to the right and end [my life],” Lisa shared. “I had spent over a decade trying to build up my reputation and my credibility and, when that was gone, and when I was fired and humiliated in that way, I knew I would never get a job in sports. I thought, ‘Well, that’s it. That’s who I am, and if I don’t have that, I’m nobody’.”
Fortunately, instead of following that feeling, Lisa pulled her car over on the side of the road and made a life-changing phone call. Her dad would steer her to therapy. He would also help her find her career aspiration again.
“My dad told me something that was really impactful. He said, ‘Sports reporting is a niche. You aren’t meant to be just a sports reporter. You are a storyteller. You can do the news. You can write. You can reach people in other ways’,” she recalled.
A couple of years later, Lisa joined the top-rated TV newsmagazine, “Inside Edition,” and rose through the ranks to become chief investigative correspondent. In her 12 years in this position, she has earned dozens of awards for her work— oftentimes very dangerous work—talking with victims and even the perpetrators of sexual abuse, child abuse, scams and other crimes. In any situation, she makes a point to practice the empathy she’s learned throughout her journey—which she came to realize was the key to her bravery.
“Had I not had the loss of my mother at eight years old and those career challenges, I wouldn’t potentially be as empathetic as I am now to other people’s loss and grief. I have learned to channel my feelings and what happened to me to help others,” she explained. “I’m brave so that I can uncover the wrongdoings for the survivors who take the time to talk to me.”
Her bravery has even caught the attention of an unlikely audience—teenagers who binge watch her segments on YouTubeTM. In the comments, they’d ask for her advice on how to be more courageous when being bullied, managing arguments between their parents, or just in everyday life.
“I read these comments and started bawling, thinking these kids are looking up to me as a role model,” she said. “So, I started doing Q&As and speaking events at schools and for nonprofits, especially where kids were involved, and then I realized my message was really important for everybody. I just want to help people live a more courageous life and give them the tools to tap into their inner superhero that we all have.”
Lisa continues to sharpen her bravery by doing one thing outside of her comfort zone every day. To balance her mental health amid stressful situations at work or home, she does mosaic art—her work has been shown in galleries and featured in magazines and books. And while she’s doing her most impactful work to date on “Inside Edition,” Lisa says, “when she hangs up the microphone,” she has the goal to develop TV and film projects for Latinos and about Latino experiences.
“For Latinos, our first challenge is there is not enough representation. The other issue is the types of roles that are written for us—cartel members and maids. A smaller challenge is, when they see my last name ‘Guerrero,’ they want to put me on Univision or Telemundo—our projects don’t have to be in Spanish with subtitles,” she said. “We have to push for representation always.”
As for the treatment of women in the industry, Lisa feels like there’s still work to do regarding equity in respect and in pay, but she says there is improvement.
“I do believe you’re seeing more and more women do impactful journalism and do great sportscasting and investigative stories. We have great anchors and hosts that are women,” she said. “The types of shows I did at Fox Sports Net, for example, wouldn’t be greenlit today. I held my own and did what I could within the network and culture at the time. But it is getting better; no doubt.”
“Warrior: My Path to Being Brave” is available for pre-order now and scheduled for release in January 24, 2023.
Creative Credits
- Written by
- Jessica Catignani
- Photography
- Diana Ragland
- Retouching
- Brianna Kish
