Erin Andrews Wipes Away Tears On ‘TODAY’ As Her Father Recounts Her Struggles With Stalkers, Peeping Toms, And Cancer

Erin Andrews has always had a supporter in her father, Steve Andrews.

The FOX Sports broadcaster—who is Jenna Bush Hager‘s guest co-host this week on Today with Jenna & Friends—was joined by her father on the NBC daytime show on Tuesday. On the air, Steve and Erin watched a video in which he spoke to the origins of his daughter’s love of sports, her work ethic, and her perseverance through various obstacles, including having a stalker, battling cervical cancer, and welcoming her son via surrogate.

Steve, who introduced himself as a former reporter at Tampa, Florida’s WFLA TV and “the proud dad of Erin Andrews,” recalled his daughter’s passion for sports starting “on a couch,” where Steve, a “big Celtics fan,” would watch games with her.

“We would just sit and watch the game. While she sat there, I would tell her stories about these guys,” he shared. “And then over the years, she would show up at the studio. She’d pop in the makeup room and have talks with the female anchors at the station. And then one day, Hannah Storm was interviewing Charles Barkley.”

As a clip of the interview played, TODAY viewers could see Erin begin to tear up.

“She just looked at me, and she was probably 12 or 13 at the time. She says, ‘Dad, that’s what i want to do,’” he remembered in the heartfelt video.

Steve said that “from the very first game she did,” he’s “tried to watch every one of them,” texting her

The segment became more emotional as Steve addressed the “stalking incident” that took place in 2008. According to ESPN, Michael David Barrett recorded a nude video of Erin at a hotel in Nashville without her knowledge from the room next door to her’s. Regarding the “terrifying” experience, Steve recalled his concern for her daughter’s safety, saying he offered his “24/7” company if it would make her feel safer.

Steve also talked about Erin’s 2016 cancer diagnosis. As he spoke about receiving the call from Erin notifying him that she was cancer free, Erin was seen continuing to wipe away tears. He also shared his pride in becoming a grandfather to Mack, Erin’s son who was born in June 2023 via surrogate.

“Erin is such a fighter,” he gushed. “In broadcasting, when you get knocked down, you gotta be able to get back up. And Erin has experienced these physical, traumatic incidents. You would think for the average person, bam, on your back, you’re done. And she just used that as motivation to say that this is not going to beat me. And honestly, I don’t know that I have it in me to do what she did. She’s just so strong, so amazing.”

He highlights that “beyond” her illustrious career, she is also a “wonderful daughter.”

“I look at some of the things she’s done for us and I think, I hope that I have been as good a dad to her as she’s been a daughter to me,” he said.

Once the cameras returned to the studio, Bush Hager told Steve that they are all “in tears,” and Erin got the chance to return the praise for her “amazing” father.

“He’s amazing. My mom, my sister, all amazing, as well,” she said. “I mean, it’s funny, you said you don’t know if you could do that. I feel like—and we’ve talked about this—when you are faced with certain things, you jut have to put on the persona [of] ok, I’ve got it, I’ll handle it. But then you can fall apart when you’re off-camera, and my family has allowed me to do that.”

Steve said he is “overwhelmed with pride” for his daughter, who credited her parents for the kindness he praised her for.

Today with Jenna & Friends airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.