Joy Taylor & MJ Acosta-Ruiz Talk New Show & Sneaker Rotation

Joy Taylor & MJ Acosta-Ruiz discuss their new television show and sneaker rotation.

Joy Taylor and MJ Acosta-Ruiz. / Like A Girl

In the world of sports, MJ Acosta-Ruiz and Joy Taylor are two of the most acclaimed and popular media personalities in the game.

Acosta-Ruiz is a Sideline Reporter for ESPN Deportes’ “Monday Night Football” and Anchor of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in Los Angeles. Taylor is a host of FS1’s “Speak Now” and co-host of the “Two Personal” podcast with Taylor Rooks.

Acosta-Ruiz and Taylor met as college students at Barry University in Miami, becoming best friends and launching their careers as sports broadcasters.

For their latest endeavor, Acosta-Ruiz and Taylor are hosting and executive producing the second season of ‘Like A Girl’ which premiers on August 21 on Fuse TV.

The ground-breaking show spotlights some of the biggest names in sports including Olympians Sydney Leroux and Emma Malabuyo, pro soccer stars Ali Riley and Kennedy Fuller, world flag football champion Diana Flores, rapper and collegiate basketball sensation Flau’jae Johnson, and more.

Kicks On SI spoke with Acosta-Ruiz and Taylor about how they forged a friendship over their love of sports which was the catalyst for their careers.

“I remember vividly that first class that we had because Joy walked in with a full set of lashes on. I was like, ‘That's my girl and we're about to be friends,” Acosta-Ruiz laughed. “Barry had like-minded people and professors who looked like us and worked in the business which was huge for me.  We've been side by side, not just in life, but in our careers, and that is such a powerful thing.”

“We met in media law class with an amazing professor named Connie Hicks. She was on Miami television for a long time as a reporter and she was very influential on both of us. Barry University School is just a great place. Everything I learned at Barry I use in my day-to-day jobs.”

They also shared their excitement about the rise of Black women in sports journalism but noted that there are still more barriers to break.

“A lot of things are true at the same time. There are more of us coming through and hitting at the national level with higher levels of visibility like Joy and I. There were so many other women sports media like Lisa Salters and others who came before us,” Acosta-Ruiz explained. “At the same time, it’s heavy because we know there's still so much work to do, and we are still very much in the thick of the change.”

“It’s very exciting, affirming, and it's encouraging that the trends that we are seeing show more women in sports in every arena, whether it is on air or athletes or executives,” Taylor added. “There's a lot of change happening and there was a lot of work done to get here and we're excited to see what happens next. There are so many more women for people that the masses of people do not know about and need to be introduced to.”

To ensure that women in sports continue having platforms, the duo is committed to highlighting the issues women face on and off the field on “Like a Girl.”

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For season two of “Like a Girl”, Fuse had the foresight to try to change things up a bit. They reached out to us independently and then someone said along the way said, ‘Wait, these two are not just friends but best friends,” Acosta-Ruiz said. “To be in a moment where you can have two Black women, where most places would be like, “God forbid”,  hosting a show is amazing.”. 

We also executive produced the series so we were very involved with who was on the show, and the direction of the energy of the show. We're proud of the work that we both put into it. Shoutout to Fuse because this is season two and they were ahead of the game,” Taylor said. “We're so grateful to be able to be a part of the show and  to continue to roll it forward and hopefully expand the franchise.”

Although they both are former athletes, they shared how participating in some of the sports on camera made them nervous.

“We are Pilates girlies so the gymnastics episode was the scariest. I was like, ‘Am I going to injure myself?,” Taylor laughed. “Also, the MMA episode.”I can fight. I can squabble but this was something else .

We had to keep telling them that we're friends,” Acosta-Ruiz said.

When it comes to sneakers, Acosta-Ruiz and Taylor, who are both avid collectors, shared some of their favorite kicks and talked about creating some sneaker content in the future.

“I’m an Air Max girly. I have a lot of variations. Joy has some cool versions of them too but we’re not the same size,”  Acosta-Ruiz said. “They are so comfortable and always look cute.”

“For me, my favorites are the Jordan 1 Lows. I have an unrealistic amount of Jordans but I've been getting more creative with my sneakers these days,” Taylor said. I'm a Jordan purist in a lot of ways but I do like New Balance for the arch support as an older millennial.”

“I'll do some adidas and Pumas. I'm diversifying my portfolio when it comes to sneakers. Maybe I should do a sneaker show or tour,” Taylor continued. “I have some Jordans that I hardly wear but I'm having a hard time parting with them. I'm trying to purge but  I just can't bring myself to let go.”

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