Julie Donaldson

Career

Donaldson won the Miss Florida USA title at the state pageant held in Orlando, Florida, in July 2000. She had previously placed first runner-up to Kristin Ludecke in the previous year's pageant. Donaldson competed in the Miss USA 2001 pageant won by Kandace Krueger of Texas, but did not place. In July 2001, she passed on her title to Shannon Ford.

In 2006, Donaldson joined SportsNet New York at the network's inception. She made numerous reports from various sporting events covered by SNY and hosted Mets Weekly, a weekly program recapping New York Mets games, trades, injuries, and other features. She spent two years working for the network from 2006-2007.

Donaldson worked as a TV host for Miami Heat's Heat TV. Prior to that, Donaldson co-hosted Sports Rap on Fox Sports Net Florida. Donaldson also co-hosted Softball 360 on Fox Sports Net National. She also co-hosted the PBS series Healthy Body Healthy Mind on the Information Television Network.

In February 2008, Donaldson was hired as the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, and Boston Bruins reporter and fill-in sports anchor for Boston NBC affiliate WHDH-TV 7. She left the job in December 2008, seeking "a fresh start in a new market" in the wake of significant publicity related to her being a victim of domestic assault.

In June 2010, Donaldson was employed as a freelance reporter for Comcast SportsNet’s Mid-Atlantic network, covering sports stories in the Washington, D.C. area, filling in for regular contributor Jill Sorenson while she was out on maternity leave. Three months later (September 2010), Donaldson was promoted to anchor/reporter after Lisa Hillary left CSN Mid-Atlantic for its sister network in Philadelphia. SportsNet Central, CSN's daily news program, premiered on October 4, 2010. The new show replaced CSN's SportsNite and SportsDay, which were re-launched as the new entity. SportsNet Central airs daily at 6 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and 1 a.m., as well as multiple times each morning. Chick Hernandez and Donaldson handled the 10 and 11 p.m. editions from October 2010-September 2013. Donaldson is now paired with Michael Jenkins for the 10:30 p.m. editions of SportsNet Central.

Domestic assault

In July 2008, Donaldson testified in a Boston Municipal Court hearing that she and two female guests had been assaulted at her apartment on June 27 by her then boyfriend Ivan Lattimore, a professional Slamball player for the Rumble. Lattimore, who was arrested after the June 27 incident and charged with three counts of assault and battery and one count of indecent assault, was ordered to be held without bail until his trial in September. Lattimore has a prior criminal record with at least two other domestic violence convictions.

In September 2008, Lattimore plead guilty to the assault charges against him and was sentenced to serve a year in jail, with eligibility for parole after 90 days (Lattimore was given an 89-day credit for time served). In addition to his sentence, Lattimore would be on probation for five years and be required to undergo a batterer's treatment program. In January 2009, Lattimore was sentenced to another year behind bars for sending letters to Donaldson after his conviction, thus serving a total of two years in jail.

In October 2009, Donaldson spoke out for the first time on her own terms about her own personal experience with domestic abuse. Taking part in both the 15th Annual Barbara Ann Campbell Memorial Breakfast for Hubbard House and the Take Back the Night Walk at the University of North Florida, Donaldson shared her message of hope. Donaldson returned to Ponte Vedra Beach after leaving the Boston news station in November of the previous year. She found refuge in her family and from Hubbard House in Jacksonville. "My biggest purpose [is that domestic violence] needs to be talked about," she said. "There is no stereotype [in domestic violence situations]. But you can get out. There is someone out there. You don’t have to pretend to be normal." Donaldson worked as a volunteer at the Hubbard House and said she was in the process of getting her life and career back on track. "People don't need to look away [from domestic abuse]," she said. "This is a community issue." Donaldson said it took perseverance to get where she is today — happily working in her dream job in D.C.

In June 2010 (as mentioned above), Donaldson relocated to Washington, D.C., to work as an anchor and reporter for Comcast SportsNet's daily half-hour news program, SportsNite (now SportsNet Central). "I lost everything," Donaldson said. The previous October, she spoke with The Recorder to publicly tell her story for the first time. "It's taken a support system that believed in my recovery and never pushed me to go further than I was ready [for]," she said. "I kept going and kept trying," she said. "Every no was discouraging, but I believed, and I knew what I wanted. I'm anchoring [for SportsNite]. It's amazing." She said she left Ponte Vedra in June to freelance and was officially offered the position at Comcast in August.

Donaldson is currently the vice chairwoman of the Florida Coalition against Domestic Violence and plans to become active in the Washington, D.C., community as well. "I want to take advantage of being in D.C.," she said. "I don't mind being a voice and a tool. Hopefully my story can help someone who can't." She is excited about her new home and her new position. But most of all, Donaldson said she is thrilled to have her life back. "There is nothing I'm afraid of anymore," she said. "I'm so much more balanced."