CBS Sports Establishes New Race and Culture Unit

CBS Sports will launch a new Race and Culture Unit, beginning in early February. The Race and Culture Unit will be jointly led by veteran journalist David Cummings, who will serve as Senior Director, and award-winning producer, Sarah M. Kazadi, who returns to CBS Sports as Senior Producer.

Cummings and Kazadi will report to Jodi Logsdon, CBS Sports Vice President, News Director and operate in close collaboration with Harold Bryant, Executive Producer and Executive Vice President of Production and Ndidi Massay, Vice President of Workplace Culture and Diversity Initiatives for CBS Sports.

“As we continue in our steadfast commitment to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion across all aspects of CBS Sports, it is essential for our success to have a dedicated, strategic, intentional team focused on the context and tone of our content and programming,” says Bryant. “Sarah and David are both accomplished journalists who bring a vital perspective and years of storytelling experience. Together, they will be a formidable duo leading and building this team.”

The Race and Culture Unit will pinpoint opportunities, identify priorities, and help shape the editorial direction for all CBS Sports content at the intersection of sport, race, and culture. To make CBS Sports’ storytelling, news gathering and reporting more inclusive, the unit will ensure that content – from planning through production – is developed, examined, and executed through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens, driving progress forward on issues related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and other cultural touch points.

“It’s a blessing to rejoin the CBS Sports team in this special role,” says Kazadi. “Honoring those who have been historically excluded and misrepresented is a personal passion. I’m excited about creating compelling work that strives to meet the moment.”

The CBS Sports Race and Culture Unit will also collaborate across ViacomCBS networks, divisions and platforms, including the CBS News Race & Culture Unit, the ViacomCBS Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and other similarly situated groups, to cultivate relationships and build strategic partnerships for the company.

“Diversity and inclusion have long been a part of CBS Sports’ DNA before DE&I became a part of major corporations’ internal focus. For me, it dates back to the revolutionary cast of The NFL Today, with Irv Cross and Phyllis George, in the 1970s,” says Cummings. “Today, we have a tremendous opportunity to build on and strengthen that DNA, focusing a diverse lens on the content we create, the messages we send, the voices we hear and the stories we tell. I am excited for all that Sarah and I can create together, further elevating CBS Sports.”

Kazadi and Cummings will build CBS Sports’ diverse slate of programming and content, that in recent years has included the powerful 8:46 PSA campaign; We Need to Talk, the only sports talk show hosted by all women; the Emmy-Award winning tease for Super Bowl LV, “Stand By Me” performed by Jennifer Hudson featuring NFL players whose family members serve as frontline workers; PORTRAITS IN BLACK; Monthly Heritage Vignettes and features celebrating Race and Culture; as well as shows and documentaries surrounding the upcoming first-ever HBCU men’s college basketball All-Star game.

Cummings is a veteran journalist with a background in education, non-profit social work, communications, and digital and print content. He covered professional and college sports for the Jackson (Ms.) Clarion-Ledger, New York Daily News and Miami Herald before serving as an Executive Editor at The Source Sports. Cummings also served as Senior Deputy Editor at ESPN The Magazine, where he worked on two National Magazine Award winning editorial teams. Most recently, he led D.E.K Strategies, a strategic communications consultancy focused on aligning creativity with purpose and mission. Cummings holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication/Media Studies from Morehouse College.

Kazadi is an Emmy Award-winning producer and journalist who returns to CBS Sports from ESPN, where she was a feature producer for “The Undefeated” and “E60.” Her work has been featured in the New York Times, The Guardian and Newsweek, among other news outlets. In 2021, Kazadi reported and produced “I RUN WITH MAUD: A Promise. A Movement,” a documentary unveiling how Ahmaud Arbery’s murder mobilized Black distance runners nationwide in pursuit of change and justice. Kazadi has won several journalism awards for her work, which covers an array of topics, including mental health, culture, and sports. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Lupita Luenda Initiative, an NGO focused on bringing clean water, education and healthcare to Kambala, in the D.R. Congo. Kazadi was born in the D.R. Congo and raised in New York City. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from Stony Brook University and a Master of Arts in International Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.