By Cameron Lee
May 10, 2026
A brief and unintentionally humorous moment on a cold winter Saturday in 2022 for Charlotte news reporter Myles Harris has become a symbol of the affectionate and endearing bond between mothers and their sons, and it continues to live on.
Harris, now a reporter for NBC affiliate WCNC-TV, was reporting on a serious crime story for WSYX ABC 6 in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. While filming a stand-up — an on-camera segment from the field — his mother, Sandi, who was nearby, unexpectedly interrupted the shoot to greet him with a cheerful “hi baby!”
The clip has garnered millions of views across the internet, and it’s easy to see why. As Harris pauses his segment to greet his mother and introduce her to DeAngelo, every beat of the interaction feels familiar: the mild frustration of being interrupted at work, the embarrassed smile that comes with being treated like a little boy in front of your colleagues, and the undeniable warmth underneath it all. It’s a timeless moment that captures something universal about the relationship between a mother and her “baby boy.”
But Harris’s relationship with his mom is special, one that has defined perseverance and gives Myles purpose pursuing his dream as a news and sports reporter. Sandi, a single mother who raised Myles primarily on her own, worked multiple jobs to provide the type of life that she was not privileged to have. He went to St. Francis DeSales High School, one of the top-ranked private and Catholic schools in the Columbus area, and played tennis competitively with Sandi attending every match.
In his senior year of high school, Harris suffered a serious knee injury that threatened to derail his Division I tennis aspirations entirely — but his mom was always there, right by his side.
“That was probably one of the harder things I had to go through because, when you’re dealing with an ACL injury, you’re out for six months,” he said. “And so the mental side of things really kind of weighs on you. I have to be honest, man — without my mom helping me and doing all that stuff, I wouldn’t have been able to get back to college tennis.”
Still, Harris fulfilled his dream of playing Division I tennis at Wright State University in nearby Fairborn, Ohio. Although his college tennis career was hindered by multiple knee injuries, he discovered a passion for sports reporting and broadcasting, co-hosting a radio show called Raider Sports Scene. The experience fueled his desire to pursue a career in media — a path Sandi was especially fond of, as it was something she had once hoped to pursue herself as a college student.
“Through that experience, it really kind of shaped my ideas and possibilities as far as actually being a journalist and getting a chance to really do what I do now,” Harris said.
Following graduation from Wright State, Harris worked multiple jobs — teaching tennis, driving Uber, and working at the Schottenstein Center, where he helped convert the arena from sporting events to concerts and ceremonies overnight — before landing a production assistant position at his local ABC affiliate, WSYX ABC 6.
During that time, Harris also helped care for his mother during a difficult stretch after she shattered her ankle and underwent multiple surgeries, leaving her unable to move around or care for herself. He gladly stepped in to return the favor for the years of hard work and love she poured into him as a single mother. At the same time, Harris was juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet while sending daily emails in pursuit of an on-air reporting position.
Eventually, Harris earned a role as a digital reporter at WSYX ABC 6, along with the opportunity to host an on-air segment called “Myles the Millennial,” where anchors had to guess the meanings of trending phrases like “woke” and “cuffing season.” The segment became a hit, and Harris later secured a position at the station as a multimedia journalist — a role he had worked tirelessly to achieve and one that made Sandi especially proud.
“She’s my biggest fan, as well as my biggest cheerleader… always there to support me,” Harris said. “I’m thankful to have somebody like that in my corner.”
So while the moment captured that February day outside a Roosters restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, may have seemed like a typical interaction between a son and his proud mother, it ultimately became a lasting memento of the undeniable bond between the two — and a reflection of the sacrifices made by countless single parents who devote their lives to creating better opportunities for their children.
The moment happened on a Saturday, and Harris initially posted the clip to his Instagram Story as a blooper. But after a co-worker encouraged him to share it on his main feed, the video quickly spread across social media, morning radio shows, and television stations nationwide, and Harris and his mom were both featured on Good Morning America and The Drew Barrymore Show.
When Harris’ contract expired six months after the viral moment, he found himself with multiple job offers across the country. But it was Charlotte and WCNC-TV that stood out most.
“So this was really my first time experiencing and living outside of Ohio,” he said. “And when I visited, it was crazy just being able to witness and see how vibrant the city was.”
While Sandi still lives in Ohio, she visits frequently and even traveled to Charlotte to watch Myles cover the Charlotte Invitational tennis exhibition in December. It was a full-circle moment for the mother and son, who had both worked tirelessly to overcome humble beginnings — now seeing Myles cover the sport they both loved so dearly.
To this day, Sandi of course remains Myles’ biggest supporter, and when the demands of newsroom life become overwhelming — with long hours and constant responsibilities — Harris often thinks back to something his mother told him after he complained that his station in Ohio was “throwing the kitchen sink at him.”
“But did you catch it?”
It’s a mantra Harris still repeats to himself during difficult moments — a reminder of his mother’s resilience and the sacrifices she made to create opportunities for him. The viral clip back in 2022 lasted just 22 seconds, but it caught the hearts of millions and remains a timeless keepsake of a mother’s love for her son.
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