Washington Examiner politics reporter Kelly Cohen thought it would be another boring day on the hill. Instead she unexpectedly went viral for her reaction on live TV to the day’s biggest sports story.
At 3 PM, the Washington Capitals announced that head coach Barry Trotz was resigning and would not return next season. For many Caps fans, this news was a total shock, especially after the franchise won its first Stanley Cup with Trotz behind the bench.
Cohen received word of Trotz’s departure via a text from ABC 7’s AnnaMaria Di Pietro. Her reaction is classic.
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And here it is, the moment @politiCOHEN_ finds out Barry Trotz resigned pic.twitter.com/Y38VwRdkrf
— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) June 18, 2018
wait r u srs, annamaria? you cannot be srs.
omg what!
Cohen’s expressive reactions immediately caught the eye of the internet, which then it turn shared screenshots and video all over social media.
“Basically I was writing a story and not on Twitter. My friend texted me, ‘Hello from the outside world where Trotz has resigned,’ Cohen said. “I then immediately clicked on Twitter and saw everyone tweeting about it. I saw the Caps statement and then boom. There was my reaction.”
Cohen, who described herself as “definitely shocked” by the “just crazy” Trotz news, was covering a “very boring” Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Department of Justice Inspector General. Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy was asking a question to Michael Horowitz as Cohen began to lose her 💩 .
“I was mid story on the hearing when I got my friend’s texts,” Cohen said.
The young reporter is from Miami and grew up in South Florida. She graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in December 2012 and moved to DC in January 2013. She also does freelance work for NBC Sports Washington.
