Hines Ward is a former professional football player and two-time Super Bowl champion who joined CNN Sports and HLN in July 2016. He can be seen regularly on HLN's popular program, Morning Express with Robin Meade as a sports contributor.

The Super Bowl MVP and Dancing with the Stars Mirrorball trophy winner is based at the network's headquarters in his hometown of Atlanta, where he is responsible for providing analysis and commentary on major sporting events and breaking news across all CNN platforms, including CNN/U.S., CNN Digital, CNNMoney and CNN International.    

Most recently, Ward has become the Director of Football Operations and Player Development for the new Alliance of America Football League (AAF) which debuts February 2019. Ward, along with Troy Polomalu, Justin Tuck, and other notable former NFL athletes and coaches will spearhead the new league which will begin with 8 teams in 8 different regions of the U.S. The AAF is designed to be a complimentary league to the NFL and will be built around diversity in personnel, greater player safety, and fan interaction at all phases of the game.   

Ward began his television career as an analyst for NBC's Sunday primetime NFL show, Football Night in America from 2012-2015. He can also be heard on The Hines Ward Show, a popular podcast he currently co-hosts with Michael O'Neal, founder and host of the award-winning business and entertainment podcast, The Solopreneur Hour.

Ward was the third round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1998 NFL Draft and remained with Pittsburgh all 14 seasons of his career, making him the longest tenured wide receiver with the same team in the NFL. Additionally, he was the team's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yardage and touchdown receptions.

He played college football at the University of Georgia and was a top scholar-athlete, earning All-SEC honors his senior year and finished his college career as Georgia's second all-time receiver with 144 receptions. 

Born in Seoul, South Korea to a Korean mother and an African American father, Ward has become an advocate for the social acceptance of foreigners in Korea, especially mixed-race youth. He founded and operates Helping Hands Foundation both in the U.S. and Korea, and actively leads his personal charities, Positive Athlete Pittsburgh and Positive Athlete Atlanta, a movement that ties high-character professional athletes to celebrate young athletes who have overcome difficult circumstances, or made positive contributions to their schools and communities.

Ward currently lives in Atlanta with his wife and son.