An ESPN analyst fainted and collapsed on air before the start of a soccer match. Shaka Hislop was working a pre-match show with co-host Dan Thomas during the Real Madrid and AC Milan contest. During a live segment, Hislop started wobbling and losing his balance before falling forward and collapsing. Thomas then screams Hislop’s name and says “We need some help” before other people rushed in to help Hislop.
During halftime of the match, Thomas gave an update on Hislop’s condition. “As it stands, it’s good news,” Thomas said, per PEOPLE. “He’s conscious, he’s talking. I think he’s a little embarrassed about it all; he’s apologized profusely. Not a man who likes people to make a fuss of him.”
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Hislop added: “We spoke to his family, as well — because you imagine, seeing that happen live, there can’t be many more things that can scare you amongst a family. We fortunately, we spoke to his wife, and things are looking okay.” Shortly after the collapse, Thomas tweeted, “Shaka is conscious. The medics are looking after him.”
Hislop, 54, appears as an analyst on ESPN FC, ESPN’s daily global football news, information and highlights program. He is a former soccer player, spending time as a goalkeeper for multiple club teams and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. On the club level, Hislop played for Reading, New Castle United, West Ham United, Portsmouth, and FC Dallas from 1992 to 2007. He spent the most time with Reading and West Ham United, appearing in 104 and 121 matches, respectively.
When speaking with FourFourTwo Magazine in 2021, Hislop talked about working for NASA before becoming a soccer star. “I had been attending university in the US on a football scholarship, and had been doing a summer internship at NASA the year before I graduated,” he said. “After getting my degree in Mechanical Engineering, I was drafted by an indoor team called the Baltimore Blast. This was before the days of MLS. As it turned out, Baltimore were touring England that summer. We played Aston Villa in two indoor games. Dwight Yorke – another Trinidadian – had signed for them a couple of years previously. I played in both games and did quite well. A Reading scout was there and spotted me and the club got in touch and offered me a trial. They gave me a contract a couple of months later.”
