Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're searching
Speaker 1: Pride parade, but we aren't getting any of the NWSL
Speaker 1: title celebration photos we're looking for. It's Wednesday, November twenty seventh,
Speaker 1: and on today's show, we'll be talking with US Women's
Speaker 1: national team legend and Angel City FC co owner Lauren
Speaker 1: Holiday about being a change maker in the sports ownership space,
Speaker 1: her meet cute with MMBA player husband Drew Holiday, and
Speaker 1: how a brain tumor helped her learn how to choose joy.
Speaker 1: Plus the PWHL season starts this weekend, and a millennial
Speaker 1: man in his spoons. Y'all tell us what you collect
Speaker 1: on vacation. It's all coming up right after this welcome
Speaker 1: back slices. Here's what you need to know today in
Speaker 1: NWSL news. The Orlando Pride held their championship parade in
Speaker 1: downtown Orlando on Monday, and the city showed up and
Speaker 1: showed out. Commissioner Jessica Berman was in attendance, as was
Speaker 1: co owner and former MNBA great Grant Hill. The drinks
Speaker 1: kept flowing throughout the day and Marta head coach Seb
Speaker 1: Hines and members of the team's executive leadership address the
Speaker 1: crowd in front of City Hall. Later on Monday evening.
Speaker 1: We'll link to the full City Hall ceremony and some
Speaker 1: sights and sounds from the championship celebration in our show notes.
Speaker 2: More soccer news.
Speaker 1: The US women's national team heads across the Pond to
Speaker 1: play a friendly this weekend. The retooled Olympic gold medal
Speaker 1: winning side will face England at Wembley Stadium Saturday, November
Speaker 1: thirtieth at twelve twenty pm Eastern. You can watch on TNT,
Speaker 1: Telemundo and NBC Universo, or stream on Max and Peacock. Then,
Speaker 1: on December third, the team heads to the Hague, Netherlands,
Speaker 1: to face the Dutch national team at two forty five
Speaker 1: pm Eastern. That'll be available on broadcast and streaming in
Speaker 1: the same places. They'll be without their triple Espresso frontline
Speaker 1: of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson for.
Speaker 2: Both of those games.
Speaker 1: All three are resting nagging injuries. And don't forget these
Speaker 1: two matches will be the last for a legendary keeper,
Speaker 1: Alyssa Naire, who announced her retirement from international play after
Speaker 1: all eleven years with the national team. In college soccer,
Speaker 1: only eight teams are left in the twenty twenty four
Speaker 1: NCUBLEA College Cup. There will be no repeat winner this year.
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt upset twenty twenty three champion Florida State in the
Speaker 1: second round. In the quarterfinals, it'll be Southern cal versus
Speaker 1: Wake Forest, North Carolina versus Penn State, and Stanford versus
Speaker 1: Notre Dame on Friday the twenty ninth. Then on Saturday,
Speaker 1: the thirtieth, Duke plays Virginia Tech. We'll link to the
Speaker 1: full weekend schedule in our show notes in college Vibes.
Speaker 1: The twenty twenty four nc DOUBLEA Tournament is on the horizon.
Speaker 1: The bracket selection show goes down on Sunday, December first,
Speaker 1: at six pm Eastern on ESPN. Sixty four teams make
Speaker 1: the tournament, thirty two get automatic bids, and the other
Speaker 1: half are selected by the D one Women's Volleyball Committee.
Speaker 1: Last season, Texas beat Nebraska three nothing in the championship
Speaker 1: to win the school's second consecutive title and fourth overall.
Speaker 1: The first and second rounds the tournament take place December
Speaker 1: fifth through seventh, and you can get even more pumped
Speaker 1: for the volleyball tourney by watching number one ranked pitt
Speaker 1: play number three Louisville tonight at seven pm Eastern hell
Speaker 1: of a matchup. Panthers won the first meeting between these
Speaker 1: teams three to two on their home court back in October,
Speaker 1: but the Cardinals have been on a nine game win
Speaker 1: streak ever since. The winner of the rematchable claim at
Speaker 1: least a share of the twenty twenty four ACC Volleyball Championship.
Speaker 2: Catch the action on.
Speaker 1: ACC Network or streaming on ACC Network X via ESPN. Finally,
Speaker 1: Track and Field News Grand Slam Track, a pro track
Speaker 1: competition launched earlier this year by four time Olympic champ
Speaker 1: Michael Johnson, has officially announced the signing of three time
Speaker 1: gold medalist Gabby Thomas. Thomas's scheduled to compete at all
Speaker 1: four Slams in twenty twenty five in Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: and Los Angeles. All Right, Selicis, we wanted to give
Speaker 1: you an update today and a college volleyball story we've
Speaker 1: touched on a few times over the last few months
Speaker 1: concerning the San Jose State Spartans volleyball team. ESPN's Katie
Speaker 1: Barnes has done excellent reporting on this and they were
Speaker 1: on Tuesday's episode of the ESPN Daily Podcast if you
Speaker 1: want to listen to them discuss their reporting in full,
Speaker 1: but here's the gist of it from Katie's story.
Speaker 2: Now you remember the number.
Speaker 1: Of teams were forfeiting matches with San Jose State after
Speaker 1: an online outlet reported that a member of the team
Speaker 1: was transgender. Now earlier the season, San Jose State co
Speaker 1: captain Brooks Slusser joined a federal lawsuit challenging NCAA policy
Speaker 1: allowing transgender athletes to participate in women's sports.
Speaker 2: The latest is this.
Speaker 1: On Monday, US District Judge s Cato Cruz denied a
Speaker 1: motion filed by twelve plaintiffs, including Slusser and a spartan's
Speaker 1: assistant coach, against the Mountain West Conference. It would have
Speaker 1: rendered the San Jose State player in question ineligible and
Speaker 1: removed Wins from the team. The plaintiffs argued that they
Speaker 1: had their Title nine rights violated due to the participation
Speaker 1: of a transgender athlete on the San Jose State volleyball team.
Speaker 1: The motion also alleged that the plaintiff's free speech rights
Speaker 1: were infringed upon because they were discouraged from speaking about
Speaker 1: their opposition to her participation. Now, the player in question
Speaker 1: has played for San Jose State for the past three
Speaker 1: seasons without incident. We'll link to Katie's story about the
Speaker 1: whole situation in our show notes.
Speaker 2: Take a read.
Speaker 1: The Mountain West Tournament is scheduled to start today in
Speaker 1: Las Vegas. The Spartans, who received six four FOOIT victories
Speaker 1: because of boycotts from Mountain West opponents, are seeded second
Speaker 1: and they'll get a first round by The team is
Speaker 1: scheduled to play in the semi finals Friday against the
Speaker 1: winner of today's quarterfinal match between number three seed Utah
Speaker 1: State and number six Boise State, both schools forfeited to
Speaker 1: the Spartans during the regular season. All Right, Slices, this
Speaker 1: is going to be our last show before Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2: We're taking a.
Speaker 1: Couple of days off to eat all the food and
Speaker 1: watch all the shows you recommended. Just a quick reminder
Speaker 1: that the professional Women's hockey season starts this Saturday, so
Speaker 1: mark your calendars for the three games this opening PWHL weekend. Also,
Speaker 1: we're going to talk to Minnesota Frost captain and US
Speaker 1: legend Kendall Coin Scofield on Monday show. That'll help you
Speaker 1: get even more fired up for Season two of the PWHL.
Speaker 1: But before we hit the ice, we're not quite ready
Speaker 1: to say goodbye to the field. We've got a little
Speaker 1: more soccer talk from our incredible weekend at the NWSL Championship,
Speaker 1: and coming up we're going to hear from ACFC co
Speaker 1: owner and former US women's national team at NWSL player
Speaker 1: Lauren Holiday, who I got to sit down with in
Speaker 1: Kansas City. Part of the weekend's festivities was the presentation
Speaker 1: of the twenty twenty four Lauren Holiday Impact Award, presented
Speaker 1: by Nationwide, which celebrates the community involvement of fourteen different
Speaker 1: players nominated by their teams. At the media day, an
Speaker 1: award ceremony, and WSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said this about
Speaker 1: the no brainer of naming the award after Lauren Holiday.
Speaker 3: When we made the decision with Nationwide to attempt to
Speaker 3: name the award after a human who had outside contribution
Speaker 3: to women's soccer, to the league, and to the community,
Speaker 3: it was a very daunting task. It's hard to imagine
Speaker 3: that we'd be able to get consensus and have complete
Speaker 3: agreement across our ecosystem, that everyone would universally feel represents
Speaker 3: what this award means to all of us, and the
Speaker 3: process was actually quite surprising, without even prompting anyone with
Speaker 3: potential names or ideas, when we presented this idea said
Speaker 3: we'd like to think of someone who could embody the
Speaker 3: essence of what this award means to the league and
Speaker 3: to nationwide and to have it live the test of time.
Speaker 3: Every single person, without prompting, said Lauren Holiday. And when
Speaker 3: we call Lauren, of course she said yes, as she
Speaker 3: always does, and not only is she lending her name
Speaker 3: to this award, but she's lent her time, her resources,
Speaker 3: for energy, her ideas, and we're so happy to have
Speaker 3: her with us and part of carrying the legacy of
Speaker 3: what this award means to us.
Speaker 1: This year's overall winner and fan vote winner BAFC defender
Speaker 1: Jen Beattie, a breast cancer survivor herself, received thirty thousand
Speaker 1: dollars to give to Pink Ribbon Good, which provides support
Speaker 1: for those going through Breston gynecological cancer treatment. And a
Speaker 1: little Birdie told me that each year Lauren matches with
Speaker 1: a gift to that year's winner. Two you'll hear from
Speaker 1: the incredible. Lauren Holliday herself coming up right after this break.
Speaker 2: Joining us here on good Games.
Speaker 1: She's a former midfielder and forward for the US women's
Speaker 1: national soccer team from twenty seven to twenty fifteen. A
Speaker 1: two time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champ, played
Speaker 1: professionally for the Boston Breakers in the WPS before joining
Speaker 1: Kansas City in the NWSL, where she was the league's
Speaker 1: inaugural MVP in twenty thirteen. When she retired in twenty fifteen,
Speaker 1: she was a two time champ and the league's all
Speaker 1: time leading goal scorer and all time assists leader. A
Speaker 1: UCLA brewin, she met her NBA star husband Drew Holiday there.
Speaker 1: In twenty sixteen, she revealed that she was diagnosed with
Speaker 1: a brain tumor during pregnancy with their first child, and
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty they co founded the Drew and Lauren
Speaker 1: Holiday Social Impact Fund, a program supporting nonprofits, businesses, and
Speaker 1: educational institutions in five key cities with the goal of
Speaker 1: combating socioeconomic inequality and fostering community growth. An Angel City
Speaker 1: FC owner, the twenty twenty three Muhammad Ali Sports Umanitarian
Speaker 1: Award winner at the SP's and a member of the
Speaker 1: National Soccer Hall of Fame. We have a lot of
Speaker 1: mutual friends, so I have so much good dirt that
Speaker 1: I can't put any of in the interview. It's Lauren
Speaker 1: Cheney Holliday. What's up, Lauren?
Speaker 4: Hi, thank you for having me and I agree. I
Speaker 4: have heard a lot about you also, but we can
Speaker 4: talk offline.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we just have.
Speaker 1: We've been circling each other and whenever someone's oh, did
Speaker 1: you see Lauren Mike, Oh, actually I haven't met her again,
Speaker 1: They're like, what, how is that possible? So here we
Speaker 1: are in this lovely Western conference room making the magic happen.
Speaker 1: I want to start. We were just talking before we
Speaker 1: started recording. It's been almost a decade since you retired
Speaker 1: from soccer. Looking around at this Championship weekend, the parties,
Speaker 1: the activations, the enthusiasm, the press, the media. Can you
Speaker 1: put in perspective the growth that you've seen in the
Speaker 1: league since you left.
Speaker 4: Yeah, first off, almost a decade from retiring makes me
Speaker 4: feel very old, so that's a little uncomfortable, But just
Speaker 4: the growth in general is insane. I mean, I played
Speaker 4: in Kansas City at Shawnee Mission North High School. When
Speaker 4: we first started playing. We ended up playing at UMKC
Speaker 4: at the end. Still, I'm pretty sure they would lie
Speaker 4: about our attendance and they would say, oh, fifteen hundred,
Speaker 4: and I'm sure there was only six hundred people in
Speaker 4: the stands. So to come here and see like KC
Speaker 4: Current over everything, like the branding. You go on an airport,
Speaker 4: it's like Kansas City Chiefs KSE Current, You see the buses,
Speaker 4: you see everything. Just with the branding alone is incredible.
Speaker 4: I think the Lungs have done a phenomenal job here
Speaker 4: doing that. The stadium is beautiful, and I think what
Speaker 4: gets me the most is that we haven't even scratched
Speaker 4: the surface of where this is going. Like this is
Speaker 4: the first right, this is like they're pioneering a new
Speaker 4: road and it's just the beginning and it's so cool
Speaker 4: to see and it's full circle for me, But it's
Speaker 4: just the beginning, and that's what gets me so excited.
Speaker 1: Can you simultaneously hold your enthusiasm for what's happening and
Speaker 1: respect your place in that for having been a part
Speaker 1: of it when you weren't made as much money and
Speaker 1: getting the sponsored deals and playing in the purpose built facilities.
Speaker 1: Can you hold that at the same time as a
Speaker 1: little bit of like jealousy of like I really wish
Speaker 1: I was still playing right now.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I do think that comes to mind. But I
Speaker 4: had so much fun playing, Like I think back even
Speaker 4: to the WPS and now the NWSL, and I'm like,
Speaker 4: I met some of my best friends, Like we experienced
Speaker 4: some of the wildest things ever, three flights to a
Speaker 4: playoff game and you know, like just wild things that like,
Speaker 4: of course, I'm so grateful to see the growth of
Speaker 4: the sport. And then also like I get to say, like,
Speaker 4: I had a really really good time, and I think
Speaker 4: that is so cool.
Speaker 1: That is without knowing you, but of having heard so
Speaker 1: much about you. That gratitude for the tough stuff is
Speaker 1: probably why you're such a happy person and so beloved,
Speaker 1: because instead of lamenting it, you're looking back and being like, hey,
Speaker 1: but I had the best time. I got the best
Speaker 1: out of what I had, which is that's really powerful
Speaker 1: to remember. You've been a part of the USLW League,
Speaker 1: the WPS, the NWSL. We love celebrating positives, we love
Speaker 1: celebrating growth, but we also have to be critical in
Speaker 1: order to keep improving. And I guarantee you have seen
Speaker 1: things that leagues have done wrong and are still doing
Speaker 1: wrong in this current iteration. What do you think stands
Speaker 1: out to you from over the years.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think for me is people didn't believe, you know,
Speaker 4: they didn't believe that women's sports was capable of this.
Speaker 4: It was like, well, what do you want us to do?
Speaker 4: We're losing money, we're doing this and now like being
Speaker 4: involved and understanding the business side of sports. It's like
Speaker 4: a lot of teams lose money, but to have the
Speaker 4: marketing to have and I think we were still not there,
Speaker 4: Like the marketing isn't there, We're not being we're not
Speaker 4: on the main channels enough. Not everyone is a household name.
Speaker 4: Yet I think the marketing piece is what comes up
Speaker 4: for me, Like it was absolutely zero when I played,
Speaker 4: and now it's like, oh, we're doing something, you know,
Speaker 4: Like I said, I shout out the lungs for what
Speaker 4: they're doing here in Kansas City. But it's still such
Speaker 4: a long way to go. There are still people in
Speaker 4: cities that there are NWSL teams that do not know
Speaker 4: that there's a professional women's soccer league in America and
Speaker 4: that's unacceptable in.
Speaker 2: Their cities too.
Speaker 1: I remember when I took over as minority owner of
Speaker 1: the Chicago Red Stars, that was one of the first
Speaker 1: things I said, is people here don't even know that
Speaker 1: Megan Rappino, Alex Morgan, these names that they do know
Speaker 1: are playing here and they could go see them. They
Speaker 1: don't have to wait for the friendlies when the US
Speaker 1: one's national team comes into town. But the marketing is
Speaker 1: so bad, especially in cities that have other professional teams.
Speaker 1: And to say the product is the problem and it
Speaker 1: won't work when you haven't invested enough on the awareness side,
Speaker 1: on getting on the proper networks and channels is so
Speaker 1: short sighted.
Speaker 2: And so we're seeing that change.
Speaker 1: But even in this current NWSL, what do you see
Speaker 1: and you're like, that's still not We still need to
Speaker 1: work on that.
Speaker 4: The purpose built facilities. I think facilities aren't equal across
Speaker 4: the league. And obviously in every sports team, one owner
Speaker 4: might spend more whatever, and there will be some disparities,
Speaker 4: but there's a vast difference in some of the locations.
Speaker 4: I think that needs to get better. I think travel
Speaker 4: where how are we traveling throughout the whole season, not
Speaker 4: just the playoffs? Like that is huge, not only for timing,
Speaker 4: but for recovery for the athletes, for all of that,
Speaker 4: and I think the investment in women's nutrition, their bodies
Speaker 4: there were vastly different than men, and just understanding like
Speaker 4: how we can continue to grow in that and have
Speaker 4: the ability the access to it without it being on
Speaker 4: our own dime. So I think that all of those
Speaker 4: things still in the NBSL can improve greatly.
Speaker 1: Ever since you were tired, you've been interested in team
Speaker 1: ownership and you've taken business classes at Harvard. You've become
Speaker 1: an athlete advisor for Avenue Capital Group that's run by
Speaker 1: former Bucks co owner Mark Lasry. Your husband played for
Speaker 1: the Bucks for a while, won a championship there, and
Speaker 1: that Avenue Group was reportedly set to take control of
Speaker 1: the NC Courage. In fact, on our show we reported
Speaker 1: about the majority ownership by and set to go through.
Speaker 2: What's the latest on that? We haven't heard much since
Speaker 2: that original report.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that's a dream, right. I would love
Speaker 4: to be a part of that. It's still in process.
Speaker 4: I don't know how much that I can divulge in
Speaker 4: this setting, but yeah, I think that that would be
Speaker 4: The hope is that I would get to be a
Speaker 4: part of an ownership group where I had real say
Speaker 4: and my voice was heard and I had a real
Speaker 4: role in that. And I hope that it is with
Speaker 4: North Carolina Courage.
Speaker 2: So the dream isn't over yet, even though we haven't
Speaker 2: heard about.
Speaker 4: The dream's not over yet. It's not over yet.
Speaker 1: But it's not a sure thing at this point because
Speaker 1: we haven't heard that it went through all the final
Speaker 1: league approvals.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't think it's a sure thing. That hasn't happened. So, Okay,
Speaker 4: we haven't signed the dotted line yet.
Speaker 2: Got it.
Speaker 1: What's interesting to you about being a controlling owner because
Speaker 1: you are a part owner of Angel City, but you
Speaker 1: want to be in a different role.
Speaker 4: How much time do we have? Okay, that is my question,
Speaker 4: and maybe we get to talk longer after this. But
Speaker 4: for me, I have a dream. It is not just
Speaker 4: for the end of CELL. I want to start in
Speaker 4: the end ofsl But I believe, truly the athletes need
Speaker 4: to have an ownership stake in their leagues. And I'm
Speaker 4: extremely passionate about it because I think there needs to
Speaker 4: be integrity from the top. And I'm not saying that
Speaker 4: ownership groups don't have integrity, but an integrity of understanding
Speaker 4: what an athlete goes through to play the sport, Understanding
Speaker 4: what I have been through in the NWSL, in the WPS,
Speaker 4: and making sure that like our voices are heard. So
Speaker 4: I think in the ENDBSL, my idea of control, to
Speaker 4: have a controlling stake in an NWSL team is to
Speaker 4: create an environment that I want to be replicated across
Speaker 4: all leagues men's women's internationally in America, but to run
Speaker 4: it with integrity. Hey, everyone from the top down, like,
Speaker 4: this is what we believe in, this is what we're
Speaker 4: shooting for, this is our vision. Right, So everyone is
Speaker 4: in alignment, the athlete and the ownership. So sometimes I
Speaker 4: think there's a disconnect, Right, the ownership wants to win
Speaker 4: for a vastly different reason than why the athlete wants
Speaker 4: to win, and so it's like, well, how do we
Speaker 4: get an alignment. How does the athlete and the ownership
Speaker 4: want to win for the same reason. There can be nuances.
Speaker 4: Ownership can care more about one thing and the athlete
Speaker 4: can care more about another. But if we have that
Speaker 4: integrity to know that we're both working toward that goal,
Speaker 4: I think it's going to change sports. And I think
Speaker 4: the only way you do that is with an athlete
Speaker 4: that has a voice in a majority position. And so
Speaker 4: that's my dream, that's my that's what I want to do.
Speaker 4: I like look at ownership groups like Michelle O Kang
Speaker 4: and her voice is so powerful and what she's doing
Speaker 4: and everything she does, I love it, and I'm like, yes,
Speaker 4: and let's get an athlete. Let's get a player that
Speaker 4: played with her, because she's going to change the world.
Speaker 4: She already is. And so I think that that's where
Speaker 4: my passion is. And I'm like, I see that, and
Speaker 4: I see that I have an opportunity in Mark and Avenue.
Speaker 4: They've been an incredible partner with me where they say, hey,
Speaker 4: this is yours, this is you're the expert here, and
Speaker 4: to give me that taste of like, wow, I am
Speaker 4: the expert has really like opened my mind, So like
Speaker 4: what can we do?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: You know, I know you're friends with Merret Matthias. She
Speaker 1: came on the show and I don't know if it
Speaker 1: made the final cut because she and I were talking
Speaker 1: for a long time, but one thing she mentioned was
Speaker 1: hierarchies in sport, and in men's sport, the athlete is
Speaker 1: at the top of it, the top of the pyramid
Speaker 1: because they're the product, they're the reason it succeeds. They
Speaker 1: people understand that they're the value there. And in women's
Speaker 1: sports there's somewhere in the middle. They're just not valued
Speaker 1: the same way. They're not paid the same, the facilities
Speaker 1: aren't the same, the respect isn't the same, the treatment
Speaker 1: isn't the same. That's how toxic situations also occur so
Speaker 1: often in women's sports, because there isn't enough power in
Speaker 1: the athlete to overcome some of the manipulations or otherwise
Speaker 1: that come from staff, coaches, ownership. Is it possible to
Speaker 1: do that without someone like Mark Lazary or the kind
Speaker 1: of capital behind you to compete, Because what's happened in
Speaker 1: the NWSL. There is a woman I was speaking to
Speaker 1: who is putting in a bid on the Portland Thorns,
Speaker 1: and midway through the process of having this massive group
Speaker 1: of women with a lot of money, they said, well,
Speaker 1: the main owner has to be a billionaire. Wipes out
Speaker 1: their bit. There's who do we call Oprah and Kylie Jenner?
Speaker 1: There's like three, right, So when we make it about
Speaker 1: only money, we end up having mostly majority middle aged
Speaker 1: white dudes owning everything. And if they say you're the
Speaker 1: expert and put you in charge.
Speaker 2: Awesome. If they don't, we end up with the same
Speaker 2: pattern over and over again. How do we stop?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 4: At first off, I think it is consistency, right, we
Speaker 4: need to have a consistency across the board for the league.
Speaker 4: If this is our standard, then that's our standard. But
Speaker 4: then we have to rethink it. How are we getting
Speaker 4: athletes involved? Yes, isn't a former NWSL player, even a
Speaker 4: former women's national team player. There's not any of us
Speaker 4: that are billionaires. There's not one of us that could
Speaker 4: come in and do that. But then it's like, oh,
Speaker 4: we're not taking funds or we don't want funds in
Speaker 4: the league, or we don't want this, or we don't
Speaker 4: want that, and so that makes it really hard. So
Speaker 4: I do think it's special. And there's something about partnerships
Speaker 4: with a billionaire who says, actually, I'm giving you control
Speaker 4: because you are the expert. And I think that that's
Speaker 4: what is so special about Avenue that I've experienced is
Speaker 4: Mark and his sister started Avenue Capital. Right, Sonya has
Speaker 4: just as much. Say she is a powerful woman who
Speaker 4: believes in women, and they believe in us like they
Speaker 4: would not partner with me if they didn't believe that
Speaker 4: I could do it. And even when sometimes I doubt myself,
Speaker 4: I mean, let's be fair. Sometimes I like what am
Speaker 4: I doing? Like how do I know? Do I know this?
Speaker 4: And I'm like constantly reminded that it is possible. But
Speaker 4: that's how we also rethink sports because I think you
Speaker 4: said it's different, and I agree with mere. It is
Speaker 4: different for women versus men. But also our men don't
Speaker 4: control the NBA. They don't they the NBA. Yes, there
Speaker 4: might be a single person that has a little more control,
Speaker 4: but it's like what if Yes, I know there's been
Speaker 4: Michael Jordan and the ownership group, but what if it
Speaker 4: was a whole group of NBA players that took back
Speaker 4: and owned a team. What if their voice was on
Speaker 4: the board. What if there was a collective of understanding.
Speaker 4: And that's where like my passion is. It's like, we're athletes.
Speaker 4: We need to take back our sport like we live it.
Speaker 4: We know what our bodies need, we know how to
Speaker 4: market ourselves, we understand the nuances of that. Teach us
Speaker 4: the business side and we could flourish.
Speaker 1: What have you learned from the ACFC ownership side, because
Speaker 1: I feel like I having briefly been in the ownership
Speaker 1: side and having been an athlete only at collegiate level,
Speaker 1: and talking to so many on both sides, there is
Speaker 1: a disconnect sometimes between the athletes saying we want extra.
Speaker 2: Y just sat down with Billy Jean King and she said,
Speaker 2: my issue.
Speaker 1: With the athletes is that they're always saying we deserve,
Speaker 1: we deserve, we deserve, But when I ask them what
Speaker 1: they know about the business side, it is zero. So
Speaker 1: they don't know if the people promoting the events are
Speaker 1: making money. They know they get their check at the
Speaker 1: end and that they want more of that. So how
Speaker 1: do we What have you learned from being on the
Speaker 1: ownership side that has made you maybe a little bit
Speaker 1: more empathetic to that side to say the players, Oh,
Speaker 1: by the way, when they tell you no on this
Speaker 1: or this, it's not to be dicks.
Speaker 2: It's here's how this works.
Speaker 4: That's why I think it's so important for athletes to
Speaker 4: be involved because I remember, like the first meetings I
Speaker 4: had going through financials right, and I'm.
Speaker 2: Like, oh, they lose how much money?
Speaker 4: And then you know, talking to Mark and owning an
Speaker 4: NBA team and he's like, yeah, you could lose their
Speaker 4: thirty million dollars a year, or like you, your losses
Speaker 4: could be this and understanding like the P and L
Speaker 4: sheets and the and and all of that. My eyes
Speaker 4: were like, oh, well, when the NWSL started, there is
Speaker 4: absolutely zero way that we could have done anything different
Speaker 4: than a Southwest flight the night before a game. There
Speaker 4: was there was no other way. And so I think
Speaker 4: that understanding that side. If there is an athlete that
Speaker 4: is involved that's doing it a we can tell it
Speaker 4: differently and there's a different level of understanding. But so
Speaker 4: many times as an athlete were dismissed. It's like I
Speaker 4: was never told, oh, this is how much money I
Speaker 4: put in and we're actually losing like a million dollars
Speaker 4: more than and I have a loss of this amount,
Speaker 4: Like no one was ever telling us those things. Would
Speaker 4: we have met on more understanding, I think so. But
Speaker 4: also then it's like, okay, well what are we putting
Speaker 4: into the marketing? What are we And maybe if you
Speaker 4: take on a collaborative approach where the athlete wants to
Speaker 4: serve you and wants to do more so that it
Speaker 4: can build, then that will help. But right now, like
Speaker 4: you said, there is a DISCONNECTE.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's been probably interesting for you to be married
Speaker 1: to a male professional athlete. Everything's different, treatment, paychecks, facilities,
Speaker 1: all the stuff.
Speaker 2: But I was told by a little bird that you
Speaker 2: have a good meet cute with your husband, Drew Holiday.
Speaker 4: I think I know that little bird. Yeah, Drew and
Speaker 4: I met. We met in college and he's younger than me.
Speaker 4: So I was at the women's basketball game, supporting women's sports,
Speaker 4: but I was basketball playing high school. I was friends
Speaker 4: with all the women's basketball players at UCLA. So I
Speaker 4: went after class sitting by myself. Drew walks in with
Speaker 4: one of the other freshman basketball players and someone comes
Speaker 4: up to him. He's like, oh my gosh, Darren Collison,
Speaker 4: can I have your autograph? And I'm like giggling because
Speaker 4: I know he's not Darren Collison. I know he's like,
Speaker 4: you know, freshman basketball player coming in, And after they leave,
Speaker 4: he was so gracious, and after they leave, he's like
Speaker 4: talking to his friend like, what the heck? I don't
Speaker 4: even look like Darren. And I told him I was like,
Speaker 4: don't worry, like you're cuter than Darren. And honestly, there
Speaker 4: was no intention I promise, Sure, but I just thought
Speaker 4: he was more attractive and so just facts. We became
Speaker 4: friends after that, and yeah, that's really cute.
Speaker 1: There are cliches about folks who go through tough times
Speaker 1: and what they learned from it, but they are usually
Speaker 1: cliches for a reason. A lot of people come out
Speaker 1: of traumatic events with a different perspective. Do you find
Speaker 1: that after the brain tumor, after the support that he
Speaker 1: gave you, after you had your child in the midst
Speaker 1: of dealing with that, you were pregnant when you when
Speaker 1: you learned that you had that, did it change your
Speaker 1: perspective in all the ways that people say when you
Speaker 1: have those traumatic events.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's interesting. So I think my whole life has
Speaker 4: been slightly traumatic. Like I had open heart surgery when
Speaker 4: I was four years old. I like just how I
Speaker 4: grew up, everything it was like then soccer. I feel
Speaker 4: like it all prepped me for that moment. But there's
Speaker 4: nothing more traumatic than you worrying about your child. And
Speaker 4: for me, it was like I needed my daughter to
Speaker 4: be okay for me to ever be okay. And I
Speaker 4: think after when my daughter is healthy and thriving, it
Speaker 4: is completely changed my perspective on what matters and like
Speaker 4: for me, I am super competitive, Like, don't play Uno
Speaker 4: with me. I will call you a name and don't know,
Speaker 4: don't like I will call you a cheater if you
Speaker 4: beat me, and I have no qualms about it, like
Speaker 4: you probably did cheat, like truly, I mean if.
Speaker 2: You beat me, probably something's up.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, and I just lose. I don't lose so obviously, right.
Speaker 4: I think our Drew and I's biggest fight was over Uno.
Speaker 4: So I think that that is like a real thing
Speaker 4: for me. But I realized, like what do I care
Speaker 4: about most is like how do we make life beautiful?
Speaker 4: How do we love people? How are you loving on people?
Speaker 4: And I think that that is what really like changed
Speaker 4: my perspective of like, yeah, I'm competitive, I like to win.
Speaker 4: I'm competitive for my husband he's competitive, but I more.
Speaker 4: But it's like, no, what matters is like is community,
Speaker 4: is people, family love, And I think that that's helped
Speaker 4: me get through a lot.
Speaker 1: You have big mothering energy, not only for your own children.
Speaker 1: You've been coaching your daughter's soccer team, but also I've
Speaker 1: been told you mother Drew's teammates, whether telling guys, hey,
Speaker 1: time to man up and propose to your fiance stop
Speaker 1: messing around?
Speaker 2: How about this?
Speaker 1: Can I help you with your housing while you're figuring
Speaker 1: out your move and your divorce?
Speaker 2: Like you are now this mother. Did you have that
Speaker 2: before you had kids?
Speaker 1: Or do you think that that comes from having these
Speaker 1: little babies running around?
Speaker 4: I think if my sister was listening to this, she
Speaker 4: would laugh out loud. I am like the epitome of
Speaker 4: the youngest child, like forget her school bad, leaves the
Speaker 4: doors open, forgets to lock the front door, like I
Speaker 4: am that person locks their key in the car so
Speaker 4: to hear like I have mothering energy. She would probably
Speaker 4: laugh out loud, like I probably didn't do my own
Speaker 4: hair until I got to college, so that is hilarious
Speaker 4: to me. But I think it's really just like meeting
Speaker 4: people where they are.
Speaker 2: Maybe I should have said big meddling energy.
Speaker 4: Oh I like that.
Speaker 2: I like meddling energy.
Speaker 1: Fro. I'm like, let me tell you how to handle
Speaker 1: your relationship and your life and your housing. It feels
Speaker 1: like mothering, but it might just be metal.
Speaker 4: It might be meddling. And hey, if you ask, you
Speaker 4: wanted my opinion, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because I'm also youngest, not mothering energy. Big meddaling energy. Yeah, yeah, big,
Speaker 2: let me help you out. I know what's best for.
Speaker 4: You, absolutely, I think that I do that too. But
Speaker 4: you know, if you want to have the conversation, I'm
Speaker 4: open to giving you my opinion. Sometimes you might have
Speaker 4: to kick me under the table.
Speaker 2: I heard that. Sometimes he says, Okay, that's good.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he'll give me big eyes, like, please don't actually
Speaker 4: say your opinion, maybe like say half of your today
Speaker 4: and not not the whole thing.
Speaker 2: Oh man, we're gonna get along.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, last question for you, And it might be
Speaker 1: just big picture and you kind of already spoke to
Speaker 1: it about like loving on people and spreading love. But
Speaker 1: is there advice you would give people that never have
Speaker 1: to go through the ordeal that you did about what
Speaker 1: they should know from the other side of it, that like, hey,
Speaker 1: don't wait for this thing to happen to you. Don't
Speaker 1: wait for this moment where you fear for yourself or
Speaker 1: someone else you care about to realize X or to
Speaker 1: start doing X.
Speaker 4: I think I would just tell them that it's a choice,
Speaker 4: like you have a choice to choose joy, and I
Speaker 4: think it's it's a lot easier than choosing the other like,
Speaker 4: sometimes everything feels like it's going wrong. I'm a mom,
Speaker 4: Like I can tell my kids to do something, they
Speaker 4: don't do it, And it's like I could literally crumble
Speaker 4: for the day, or you can choose joy, and sometimes
Speaker 4: I crumble. But it's like I would just tell people,
Speaker 4: like it's choice. You have a choice to how you
Speaker 4: react to things. You have a choice on how you
Speaker 4: handle a trade. You have a choice on how you
Speaker 4: handle disappointment, a medical scare, any of those things. And
Speaker 4: I would say, like, in those moments, choose joy.
Speaker 1: You had a choice of how to spend your time today,
Speaker 1: and you came to this conference room to talk to us,
Speaker 1: So thank you, so appreciate it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, thank you for having me. I feel like
Speaker 4: we could talk for an hour.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we probably will later, Okay, we got to take
Speaker 2: another break.
Speaker 1: When we come back, we learn about all the cute
Speaker 1: little things you like to collect from your travels. It's
Speaker 1: coming up next, Welcome Back Slices. As we recover from
Speaker 1: our trips abroad and stateside, we are loving reading about
Speaker 1: all the things that you collect on vacation. The obvious
Speaker 1: from the magnet shot glasses, Christmas ornaments, postcards, globes to
Speaker 1: the less obvious, like coffee, mugs, earrings, and spices. And
Speaker 1: we got some pretty funny responses from y'all on social too.
Speaker 1: At Reviling, Neptune said, spoons because I'm apparently an old
Speaker 1: woman in a millennial man's body. At Count Nivik said,
Speaker 1: I usually come back with an extra pound or two
Speaker 1: from all the food I eat, and it tends to
Speaker 1: stay with me.
Speaker 2: Very relatable. At Funky Old.
Speaker 1: Medina, we usually just collect credit card debt for a
Speaker 1: hot sec. Also relatable at the oh Man Dan, I
Speaker 1: like to pick up a different form of food poisoning.
Speaker 1: Whenever I travel, I could really close my eyes and
Speaker 1: remember each place and the aftermath. And finally, at que Bruby,
Speaker 1: my wife and I collect photos of our kids, holding
Speaker 1: up pictures of all the places we could have traveled
Speaker 1: if we didn't have kids. Well que Bruby, as the
Speaker 1: meme says, I have dogs, not kids. I'd rather ruin
Speaker 1: my carpet than my life. Wink wink. Thanks to your
Speaker 1: great comments and photos everyone, and that Magnet collection photo
Speaker 1: Michelle Wow, and thanks as always forgetting in the game.
Speaker 1: Now here's today's good gameplay of the day. I have
Speaker 1: to assume none of you were planning to do this,
Speaker 1: but just in case, please do not show up to
Speaker 1: your Thanksgiving dinner in an Indian headdress properly known as
Speaker 1: a Native American war bonnet. Instead, look up what native
Speaker 1: land you live on. Learn about the history of your area,
Speaker 1: the good, the bad, and the ugly. We'll link to
Speaker 1: a site in our show notes where you can search
Speaker 1: your location and find out who lived there before you.
Speaker 1: We always love to hear from you, so hit us
Speaker 1: up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
Speaker 1: leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two o
Speaker 1: four fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe. Rate and
Speaker 1: review It's easy Watch Surviving Thanksgiving with a stressful family
Speaker 1: Dynamic rating five out of five therapist recommendations. Review Number one.
Speaker 1: Know your triggers and plan ahead for how not to
Speaker 1: get derailed or set off. Number two. Come with topics
Speaker 1: of conversation so you're ready to pivot to something pleasant.
Speaker 2: Number three.
Speaker 1: Set healthy boundaries and accept what's not in your control.
Speaker 2: Number four.
Speaker 1: If you feel yourself getting stressed, just take a break.
Speaker 1: Find some busy work to do by yourself. Or just
Speaker 1: hide in the bathroom for a couple of minutes, take
Speaker 1: some deep breaths to get regulated, and finally number five,
Speaker 1: try to find the positive about the people around you,
Speaker 1: the meal you're eating, the safe home you're in, whatever
Speaker 1: you got to do, and one in doubt watch the
Speaker 1: snl adele Thanksgiving sketch together never fails. Now it's your turn,
Speaker 1: rate and review and thanks for listening. See you next week.
Speaker 1: Happy Thanksgiving and happy Native American Heritage Day on Friday.
Speaker 2: Good Game, Lauren, Good Game, a.
Speaker 1: Couple much needed days off, few Thanksgiving tables without creamed corn.
Speaker 2: What are you doing with your lives? People?
Speaker 1: Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
Speaker 1: can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
Speaker 1: our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones.
Speaker 2: Our executive producers are.
Speaker 1: Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, Emily Rutter. Our editors
Speaker 1: are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and Lindsay Craterwell.
Speaker 1: Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm your Host Sarah
Speaker 1: Spain