Becky Sullivan
Becky Sullivan is NPR’s sports correspondent. She covers professional leagues, college athletics and youth sports, with stories about the people who play them and the intersections of sports with science, business and the law.
She has reported and produced for NPR since 2011. Before becoming the network’s sports correspondent, she traveled widely around the U.S. and the world to cover conflict, natural disasters, disease, politics and protests.
In 2020, she flew to Tehran to help cover the assassination of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, work that helped make NPR a Pulitzer finalist that year. Her work covering the killing of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police in 2020 won an Edward R. Murrow Award for Hard News.
She has traveled repeatedly to Israel and the Palestinian territories to cover the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and she was part of NPR’s team on the ground in Ukraine after Russia invaded in 2022. Sullivan has spoken to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan on the anniversary of Sept. 11, reported from a military parade in Pyongyang for coverage of the regime of Kim Jong-Un, visited hospitals and pregnancy clinics in Colombia to cover the outbreak of Zika and traveled around Haiti to report on the aftermath of natural disasters.
Born and raised in Kansas City and a graduate of the University of Kansas, Sullivan has often brought coverage of the Midwest and Great Plains region to NPR. In the summer of 2023, she rode her bicycle more than 4,000 miles from Washington, D.C., to the Oregon coast.
-
The United States, Mexico, and Canada co-hosted the nearly six-week tournament. NPR's team of journalists who covered the World Cup reflects on the experience. -
Argentina, who have been based in Kansas City for the entire World Cup, survived another heart-stopping match when it scored two late goals to topple England. The returning champions will face Spain in the final on Sunday. -
The anxieties before the World Cup were many. But with the knockout round beginning Sunday, it's fair to say: The North American World Cup has been a thrill. -
Striker Folarin Balogun knocked in two goals, the second a one-on-two stunner to the upper corner of the net to end the first half. For the Americans, it was an impressive start to a home World Cup. -
The U.S. is opening its 2026 World Cup on Friday evening against Paraguay. For the 26 Americans on the team, this match is the culmination of years of hard work and training. -
Some veterans from the last World Cup — like forward Christian Pulisic and midfielders Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams — made the team. The roster includes 13 newcomers as well. -
The two losses — 5-2 to Belgium and 2-0 to Portugal — were a wakeup call for the USMNT and the team's ambitions for this summer's World Cup. But the Americans said they welcomed the lessons learned. -
Iran is set to play three games in the U.S. this June. But amid the U.S.-Israel military campaign that has killed Iran's supreme leader, Iran's sports minister said the team would pull out. -
This weekend features three top-10 matchups, the most ever for an opening weekend in college football history. And Arch Manning, the most hyped player of a generation, will start for the first time. -
Federal authorities are also investigating the Washington, D.C. shootings as a hate crime and an act of terrorism. One of the victims, 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim, was a Prairie Village native.
