April 26, 2023

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The San Francisco 49ers had an impressive 2022 season with a record of 13-4, just shy of a Super Bowl appearance. But Lindsey Pallares earned her spot on the team last July in her first season with the 49ers, as their very own team reporter. With nine years of experience under her belt and counting, Pallares is paving the way for women of color in the male-dominated sports broadcasting field.

The 32-year-old sports reporter is a proud first-generation Mexican-Ecuadorian-American. Having just one older brother with a 16-year age-gap, Pallares was born and raised in Long Beach, California. 

“I grew up doing gymnastics until I was 18 and competed for my high school,” Pallares said. “I think that was my first love in sports.” 

After graduating from her private Catholic all-girls high school, she attended UCLA to pursue a degree in Economics and had a goal of becoming a film producer. 

“For someone that was coming from such a small high school, [attending UCLA] was good because it was a stepping stone to the real world where you get tossed everywhere and have to adapt quickly,” Pallares said.

While exploring the entertainment industry, Pallares found interest in the broadcasting field and took on her first internship at FOX Sports Radio. From there, she switched her Economics degree to English and soon graduated from UCLA.

“I thought I wanted to be behind the scenes in TV and film production, but I did a quick switch after I graduated and was like, ‘You know what, I think I kinda want to be on camera,’” Pallares said. “I felt like journalism and sports blended all of my love and I decided to go full 100 on it.”

Navigating the sports journalism field consisted of a lot of “trial and error,” according to Pallares. She described her career journey as a “snowball effect,” jumping from different places across the country working for companies like FOX Sports and FOX News, to ABC News, and CLA Sports in order to grow her resume while working on her craft at the same time.

Aside from her sports broadcasting professions, Pallares also has knowledge in the world of social media content creation, when she worked as a TikTok producer during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the unprecedented hiatus of live sports.

Pallares’ well-rounded skills and involvements led her to her current position as the San Francisco 49ers team reporter. She resides in Santa Clara, just 10 minutes away from Levi’s Stadium, the 49ers home venue. It’s been almost a year since she started, and while it may be an exciting role to possess, it comes with a notable amount of work. She attends every practice, media availability, press conference, and conducts her own interviews.

“In-season you’re firing at 150%, off-season scales back a little bit in between events like the NFL Combine and the Draft,” Pallares said. “But it’s kind of a constant flow, which is cool.”

During her first year with the 49ers, Pallares traveled with the team in-season, published five to 15 articles a week, filmed interviews, hosted shows, and provided other media content to fulfill her role as the team reporter. She even worked alongside NBC Sports Bay Area on game days. Though she is still doing most of these things during the off-season, “It’s been nice to have some weekends off,” she said while laughing.

Pallares’ has utilized her social media background to bring a fresh breath of unique content for football fans. She created her own segment on TikTok called ‘Cart Talk’, where she conducts lighthearted interviews with 49ers players while driving them around in a golf cart, or what she refers to as, ‘The Cart’. Another comedic video shows Pallares representing her Latino Heritage for Latino Heritage Month, testing the 49ers on their Spanish language knowledge.

“There’s no typical day-to-day, it’s never boring – ever,” Pallares said. “I think because the 49ers had such an incredible run to the NFC Championship Game this last season, there were so many memorable events.”

Since September 2022, Pallares has hosted the 49ers “You’ve Got Mail” podcast. Players, coaches, analysts, and more discuss fan-submitted questions with her and episodes are posted weekly. Her articles relating to the team such as statistics and Draft updates are published to the 49ers website, and interviews are posted across hers and the 49ers social media pages. 

Being the team reporter for the 49ers has been Pallares’ favorite job so far, and with plans of still working in sports journalism, she acknowledges her humble start. 

“I’m the daughter of two immigrants,” she said. “I think their work ethic is what’s really ingrained in me, they built everything they have from the ground up.”

As a woman of color working on the sidelines of a male dominated sport and industry, Pallares has not let that discourage her from achieving the position she’s at now. Having a Latina voice be the reporter for an NFL team is a head start towards more diversity in sports and in sports journalism.

“I have a really strong belief that you might not always be the smartest person in the room, but you can always be the hardest-working person in the room,” Pallares said. “There’s no roadmap to success.”