Career
In 1997, Drayer was working as a barista at a Starbucks coffee shop when a customer encouraged her to submit a tape for a sports radio contest at KJR, a Seattle sports radio station. [1] As one of the finalists, Drayer started getting fill-in spots covering Washington Huskies men's basketball, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Mariners for KJR for four years. [2]
In 2003, KOMO hired Drayer to cover the Mariners for their radio station full-time. [1] She worked there for six years before being hired by KIRO, her current employer. [3] Since 2009, Drayer has served as a clubhouse reporter, interviewing players and coaches before and after games for the radio station. She wrote a Mariners blog for KIRO's website and contributes to Seattle Sports' website. [4]
Role as female sports reporter covering male athletes
Drayer said in an interview that while she loved baseball, she knew she could not play or manage because she was a woman. She initially dismissed journalism as a career because when she was in college in the late 1980s, "pretty much the only women who were working in sportscasting were ex- beauty queens and basketball players." [2] When she was hired by KOMO, Drayer became one of the first American female sports journalists to travel with a team on their airplane. [5] [6] Drayer has said her gender was not an issue in the clubhouse and that as long as she did her job as a reporter professionally, she was treated the same as male colleagues. [7] Generally, players have treated her with respect, opening doors for her and ensuring she has a chance to ask her questions, she said. [5] She credited Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus and players Jamie Moyer and Ichiro Suzuki as being particularly helpful in her career. [6]