Michael James Florio[2] (born June 8, 1965) is an American sportswriter, author, radio host, and television commentator. He writes for Profootballtalk.com which he created and owns. He also hosts the daily NFL talk show PFT Live on Peacock with Chris Simms.
Mike Florio | |
|---|---|
 Florio in 2014 | |
| Born | Michael James Florio June 8, 1965[1] Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | |
| Occupations | |
| Notable credit | NBC Sports |
| Spouse | Jill Florio |
| Children | 1 |
Florio is a contributor to NBC's Sunday night NFL studio show Football Night in America and appears in the Sunday Night Football digital postgame show. The show covers the NFL's top stories of the day and other commentators appear, namely Jason Garrett, Devin McCourty, and Maria Taylor. Additionally he appears with Peter King during halftime of NBC's coverage of Notre Dame football to discuss timely NFL topics.[3] He is the author of Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn't), a book released in March 2022.[4]
Early life
editFlorio was born and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia. He attended Wheeling Central Catholic High School and graduated in 1983.[5]
He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a metallurgical engineering degree and one in "engineering and public policy"[6] and from West Virginia University's law school in 1991.[7]
Sportswriter career
editFlorio began his sportswriting for a now-defunct site called NFLtalk.com in June 2000. The site was then bought out by ESPN.com, where Florio continued to write a rumor and news report. He worked for ESPN.com for six months.[5]
On November 1, 2001, Florio created the website and blog Profootballtalk.com, which focuses on the National Football League.[8] Florio, 36 at the time, began Profootballtalk.com as a sideline to practicing labor law in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
On June 14, 2009, it was announced that Profootballtalk.com would become an affiliate of NBC Sports, which would hold exclusive rights to Profootballtalk (PFT) content although Florio would retain ownership in a revenue-sharing deal.[9]
After becoming a partner with NBC, Florio began contributing to NBC Sports' television coverage, including Football Night in America.[10]
In June 2020, disparaging comments Florio had made about the LGBT community and derogatory comments he made about the disabled community in PFT articles in 2005[11] and 2006[12][13][14] came to light. These comments included the use of derogatory terms such as "homos", "fruits", "queers" and "fudge packers". Florio issued an apology for these comments on June 26, 2020.[15]
Personal life
editFlorio is married to Jill Florio;[16] they have a son named Alex. They live in Bridgeport, West Virginia.[5][17] Florio previously practiced law for 18 years[18][19] and is a fan of the Minnesota Vikings.[18]
References
edit- ^ "Happy birthday, Florio". NBC Sports. 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ "Fridays with Florio Jr., Week Two". NBC Sports. 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ "Mike Florio". NBC Sports Group. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018.
- ^ Florio, Mike (2022-03-15). Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn't). PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-5417-0017-8.
- ^ a b c Anderson, Justin. "West Virginia lawyer's NFL blog goes big time". Wvrecord.com.
- ^ "Bill Nye says Bill Belichick made no sense". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. 25 January 2015.
- ^ Robinson, Alan. "ProFootballTalk's Florio the ultimate NFL insider". TribLIVE.com.
- ^ "About - ProFootballTalk". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. October 19, 2010. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021.
- ^ Farmer, Sam (15 June 2009). "Profootballtalk.com acquired by NBC". Articles.latimes.com.
- ^ "NBC Sports Pressbox". Press.nbcsports.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
- ^ "ProFootballTalk.com -- Best Pro Football Scoop on the Internet". ProFootballTalk.com. December 22, 2005. Archived from the original on December 22, 2005.
- ^ Moriello, John (June 21, 2020). "A Fight With Jason Whitlock Puts Mike Florio and 'PFT' in a Bad Place". Sportscasting.com.
- ^ "ProFootballTalk.com -- The Best Pro Football Scoop on the Internet". ProFootballTalk. January 19, 2007. Archived from the original on January 19, 2007.
- ^ "Jason Whitlock on Twitter". Twitter.com. June 20, 2020. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020.
- ^ Florio, Mike (June 26, 2020). "A message from the founder/CEO". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com.
- ^ "2018 Irish Legend – Jill Oliverio Florio '80". Notre Dame High School. 22 January 2018.
- ^ "Bridgeport's Mike Florio, Known for Covering NFL, to be at Ohio County Public Library to Talk New Book". Connect-Bridgeport.com. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
- ^ a b Sandomir, Richard (20 November 2009). "Quiet Subdivision Is Home to a Booming N.F.L. Blog". The New York Times.
- ^ "Judge Berman takes full control of Brady case". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. August 2015.