ESPN anchor and NBA Today host Malika Andrews has been granted a restraining order against a man accused of stalking the sports journalist and her coworkers, including Stephen A. Smith.
The 28-year-old TV personality asked a Los Angeles judge to order Ahmed Abubakar to stay 100 yards away from her and her fiancé, reporter Dave McMenamin, and fellow ESPN talent. The temporary restraining order was granted mere hours after the petition was filed.
Andrews alleges that the 41-year-old New Jersey man began sending her direct messages via Twitter in September 2022. When Abubakar’s attempts at communicating with her went ignored, Andrews claims the man’s messages became menacing. The accused allegedly traveled to Los Angeles to make contact with Andrews and other ESPN on-air talent at the network’s facility.
“You malignant c*nt. You work 1 hour today. You didn’t even tell me you were going to a fu**ing wedding. You keep so many fu**ing secrets from me,” one of the messages Abubakar allegedly sent to Andrews reads.
“As a friend you treat everyone well except for me. You are great on camera and also off camera with most friends except me. Why you treat me like s**t as a friend.”
According to TMZ, Abubakar was allegedly arrested for attempting to make contact with ESPN’s First Take
host Molly Qerim at her Connecticut residence back in August. Andrews claims that Stephen A. Smith has been another target of Abubakar in recent months. Andrews alleges that the 41-year-old located her unlisted personal phone number, which he used to further his unwanted communication with the journalist by placing several phone calls throughout the summer.“You lied to police you b***h saying you never met me,” another alleged message from Abubakar to Andrews reads. “I hope endometriosis destroys all your genital organs so you never get a man, and you[r] sickening obsession with money.”
A hearing has been set for later this month.
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