Anish Shroff is set to become just the second radio voice in the history of the Carolina Panthers franchise. The team made the announcement Tuesday on its website. Shroff, who also calls college football and basketball for ESPN, has lived in Charlotte for a decade.
The job was available after the team’s original radio play-by-play man Mick Mixon announced his retirement after the 2021 season.
Shroff is a transplant, like so many people in Charlotte. He hopes that he can be part of the fandom that unifies people that came from all over the country to call the Queen City home.
“You have to be a fan at heart; I really believe that,” Anish Shroff said. “I think I represent a lot of the people in this town. I moved here for an opportunity, and for a job, never knowing it would be home forever, and it’s become home forever. And there’s a lot of people here who are transplants. Half the people on my street are from Connecticut, Boston, Florida, New York. They’re from everywhere. And these nomads, these vagabonds, have found a place they can call home and call community.
“I want the Panthers to be a unifying factor there.”
With this hire, the Panthers become the only NFL team with a person of color in the play-by-play role. Anish Shroff is a first-generation American, born to parents that immigrated to New Jersey from India.
“I get asked about background and race a lot, but with this job, I view it as, ‘Hey, Panthers fans are a cross-section of gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, race, religion, everything.’ I want to be a voice for that,” Shroff said. “And I want to be someone who can bring the games into their homes, their cars, their tailgates. I want to connect with all of that.”
