WEBVTT - Adding to the Bag with Dearica Hamby 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:02.800 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're muting 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:06.280 the words Diana Tarasi and retire just like ex user 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:09.119 Phoenix Sun twenty five. Don't want to get hit with 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:12.320 retirement news while scroll in the timeline. Our emotions cannot 0:00:12.320 --> 0:00:14.680 handle that Right now. On today's show, we're gonna be 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.440 chatting with Los Angeles Sparks forward Derek Hamby about her 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:19.919 team season and the backlash she's gotten since filing a 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:23.040 lawsuit against the Las Vegas Aces and the WNBA. Plus 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:25.239 we've got another entry into the Good Game Hall of 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:28.440 Fame and how a long line derailed my date with 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:31.440 a dairy field delicacy. It's all coming up right after this. 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:45.280 Welcome back, my little slices. Here's what you need to 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:51.280 know today in NWSL news, ESPN's Jeff Casoof conducted a 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:54.040 one on one anonymous phone survey of gms from each 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:57.360 of the league's fourteen teams and found that some believe 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.000 that league reforms have quote gone too far. One GM 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:03.760 told the SPN quote, there's a fear amongst staff about 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:06.200 what you can say, what you can't say, what you 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:08.920 have to ask players permission for what you don't if 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:10.920 you're going to get in trouble for this, and that 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:15.240 means it's gone too far end quote. Others described apprehension 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:17.600 about holding one on one meetings with players about their 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:21.800 performance and expressed worries about player complaints doing disproportionate damage 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:26.760 to staff members' reputations over misunderstandings, and WSL Players Association 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:28.840 chief Megan Burke, who we had on good Game not 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:32.000 too long ago push back. She told the ESPN quote 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.760 I flatly reject that there is evidentiary or factual basis 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:39.120 for the narrative that players have too much power end quote, 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:42.880 and that it's quote disingenuous to simultaneously agree that the 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:46.480 league has been completely transformed and we've created a healthier, 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:49.960 better work environment and culture, and to simultaneously claim that 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:52.440 players have too much power, because you can't have one 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.320 without the other. The players did the work of transforming 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:58.080 the league. There was no savior, no league, no team, 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:00.880 no one else who is going to come in and TRANSFORMSL. 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:04.280 It was the players themselves. End quote. Burke added that 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:06.720 in her view and he, concerns about holding meetings with 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:10.640 players are due to quote misinterpretations of band conduct. The 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:13.040 survey also found that GMS are concerned about the league 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.240 spending too much money too quickly, that seventy nine percent 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:18.760 of respondents believe teams don't follow league rules when it 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:22.080 comes to discovery, which is basically calling DIBs on certain players, 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:25.600 and that many teams frequently pay off the record additional 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:28.480 compensation to cheat the salary cap. We'll link to that 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:32.160 ESPN story in our notes. Two women's basketball. The twenty 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:35.239 twenty four national champions South Carolina game Cocks basketball team 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.640 made their trip to the White House yesterday, led by 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.000 head coach Don Staley. In his opening remarks, President Biden 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:43.520 said of the program, quote, I know why you're so good. 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:46.359 You've got a girl from Philly running this team. I'm 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.760 married to Philly girl. You don't screw around with a 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:53.000 Philly girl. Man, They're tough Jilly from Philly. End quote. 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:55.519 We love the super cute chaut out to first Lady 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:58.519 Joe Biden, but we got to say that nickname's already taken, 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:01.600 and it's taken by in comp singer and actress Jill Scott. 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.320 And while we're on Jill Scott, I advise you to 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:06.240 look up the live version of the Roots. You got 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:09.520 me with Jill Scott. Hits different and it was on 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.160 my pregame mix for every game and every track meet 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:14.560 from senior year of high school all the way through college. 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:17.600 I promise you won't be sorry you got me roots 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:21.160 Jill Scott do it In any event, it was an 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:24.600 incredible celebration for a team that accomplished amazing things last season. 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:28.040 Led by Camila Cardoso, the crew from Columbia South Carolina 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:31.560 finished with a dazzling thirty eight to oh record, becoming 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:34.200 just the tenth Division one women's team in history to 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:37.320 finish the season undefeated, and they did it after losing 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:40.880 all five starters from the year prior. This year, they'll 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:43.800 have four of their five starters back, which is frankly 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:46.400 scary hours I can't wait to see what the Cox 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:49.520 cook up in twenty four to twenty five. More college hoops. 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:52.720 Four time Team Canada Olympia Natalie Chanwall is headed to 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:54.840 the University of Michigan to serve as assistant coach for 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:57.520 player development. It's a new adventure for her following her 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:00.960 retirement from international basketball after the Paris olymp but it's 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:02.920 not her first dip into the off court side of 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:05.400 college ball. She spent some time as interim director of 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:08.080 operations at her alma mater, Notre Dame. In twenty fourteen, 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:11.000 She'll joined Kim Barnes Arico's staff in ann Arbor after 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:13.240 the Wolverines finished the twenty twenty three to twenty twenty 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:15.880 four season with a twenty and fourteen record, losing in 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.919 the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Achanwa brings a 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.800 ton of hoops experience to this role. Obviously, in two 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:24.039 thousand and nine, she was the youngest player ever selected 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:26.320 to the Canadian senior national team, and she's got more 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:29.800 Olympic appearances than any other team Canada basketball player. She 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:31.960 spent eight years in the w starting her career with 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:34.440 the Fever and concluding it with the Lynks, and she 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:37.400 helped the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to three national championship 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.680 appearances during her time as a player. Michigan's getting a 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:44.120 good one there to the WNBA. With less than two 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:46.800 weeks remaining in the regular season, the playoff picture is 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:50.200 nearly complete. Seven teams have clinched a postseason birth, while 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:53.320 the Chicago Sky, the Atlanta Dream, and the Washington Mystics 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:56.239 are all still battling for the eighth and final spot. 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:59.200 The Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks have been officially 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:03.560 eliminated from playoff contention. Three games tonight, including a consequential 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:06.440 matchup between the number eight Sky and the number ten Mystics. 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:09.560 Those teams are only separated by two games in the standings, 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:11.600 and with the win, the Sticks could close the gap 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:14.120 to one. This will be the Sky's second matchup without 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.839 Angel Rees, who's out for the season, but their third 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:19.760 with explosive score Kennedy carter Back in the lineup. A 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:22.520 loss would definitely loosen Chicago's grip on the last seed 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:24.960 in the playoffs, and it would be their eighth loss 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:27.560 in the last ten games. We'll link to the full 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:30.960 schedule of w games in our show notes. Finally, in 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:34.799 w News, WNBA Commissioner Kathy Engelbert went on CNBC's Power 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:38.159 Lunch on Monday, and CNBC anchor Tyler Matheson brought up 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:41.000 the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, how it 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:44.039 began in college but became something altogether different in the 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:46.200 W Here's a bit of their exchange. 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:49.640 Now, it seems on some social media channels to have 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:52.720 taken a darker turn, a more menacing turn, where race 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:57.320 has been introduced into the conversation, where sexuality is sometimes 0:05:57.800 --> 0:05:59.320 introduced into the conversation. 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:00.520 How do you. 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:06.920 Try and stay ahead of that, try and tamp it 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:11.760 down or act as a league when two of your 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:16.200 most visible players are involved, not personally, it would seem, 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:20.000 but their fan bases are involved in saying some very 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:21.360 uncharitable things. 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:23.640 Well, the one thing that's great about the league right now, 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:26.960 we do sit at this intersection of culture and sport 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:30.000 and fashion and music. Like the WNBA players are really 0:06:30.040 --> 0:06:33.120 looked at now as kind of cultural icons. True, and 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:35.160 when you have that, you have a lot of attention 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:37.000 on you. There's no more apathy. 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:38.000 Everybody cares. 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:40.479 It is a little that bird magic moment if you 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.400 recall from nineteen seventy nine when those two rookies came 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:46.080 in from a big college rivalry, one white, one black, 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.320 and so we have that moment with these two. But 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:50.400 the one thing I know about sports, you need rivalry. 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:53.160 That's what makes people watch. They want to watch games 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:57.039 of consequence between rivals. They don't want everybody being nice 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:00.120 to one another. So social media is different today and 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:02.159 it was in nineteen seventy nine when it didn't exist. 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:04.560 But you know, I always tell the players, you know, 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:06.960 I was told a long time ago. If someone's typing 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:08.320 something in and you wouldn't. 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:09.320 Ask their advice, ignore it. 0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:12.600 So it's it's a balance, but certainly from a marketing dollars, 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.720 But corporate partners are stepping up to endorse these players 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:18.680 much much more so than they were five years ago 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.640 because they see the benefit of having women and diverse 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:23.000 women representing their brand. 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:25.600 So plenty to say about this, and plenty of folks 0:07:25.640 --> 0:07:27.720 are talking about this. We're going to get into it 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:30.440 more on Friday's show, but I want to say quickly, 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:35.800 Engelbert isn't wrong. Nothing she said there was inaccurate, but 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:40.320 it was incomplete, and it sounded like someone who prioritizes 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:43.240 capitalism and the business side of her job over the 0:07:43.280 --> 0:07:47.240 empathy and leadership side. Obviously, when she talks about social 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.120 media and the idea of you know, you wouldn't ask 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:51.880 them for advice, to don't listen to them, it sounds simple, 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.920 but when so much of your economic opportunity as a league, 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:57.200 so much of the conversation around the league, and frankly, 0:07:57.480 --> 0:07:59.960 so much of life for young people takes place online 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:02.720 and to simply say, don't read the comments, which I 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:04.360 do have a key chain that says that and tries 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:07.320 to remind me of that. Simply saying that is not enough, 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:10.239 and it doesn't acknowledge how much business actually gets done 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:13.840 on social media. And it reminded me of the way 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.800 the league never really worked to get ahead of this problem. 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:20.480 We saw this bubbling, and as the anchor on CNBC remarks, 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:24.000 through the college rivalry, there were hints that this was 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:26.240 going to take a darker turn, and the league really 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:29.680 could have had a more concerted effort when the season 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:32.640 started to combat some of the conversations, to make sure 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:35.400 informed people were leading the conversations. And I even look 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:36.959 at the way this league and its players have come 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:40.280 together in the past around issues as serious as trying 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:44.920 to elect people into prominent political positions in the US. 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:47.480 When they work together and they act together, they get 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:51.160 shit done. And it feels like there wasn't that collective 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:54.360 effort in this case to prioritize not just the experience 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:56.839 of the rookies, but the way the league was entering 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:00.599 this new era of attention. And I think Kathy Engelbert, 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:02.760 perhaps as a leader. If this is the way she'd 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:06.479 used this problem is part of the issue there. Claire Watkins, 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:09.160 a Great women's sports reporter, asked on Twitter, this is 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:11.280 a real question. Is there anyone in the league office 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.080 who has shown Engelbert what it is exactly a player 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:16.800 like Ree sees on her social media every day. It's 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:19.520 a great point if Engelbert is too distanced from the 0:09:19.559 --> 0:09:22.800 actual experience of the players to recognize the severity of this, 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:25.480 which includes death threats and I know where you live 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:29.320 and here's your address, and awful, racist and homophobic and 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:31.640 every other kind of comment that these players are getting. 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:35.680 She might feel like her answer was comprehensive enough. It 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:38.640 clearly wasn't. This isn't just a dog on Kathy, but 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:40.640 it is to say that as the league increases in 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:45.160 popularity and attention, so too must it acknowledge the responsibility 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:47.640 that it has to handle big issues like this. This 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:50.880 answer was a fail. It was incomplete. We're going to 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:53.480 talk about this more later, and by then we probably 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:55.840 will hear from players too. In fact, some of them 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.880 are already out there very clearly speaking their mind about 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:01.839 what they saw from Kathy. I haven't seen many full 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:04.000 on say this is what she should have said or 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:06.120 I disagree with that, but there are some pretty obvious ones. 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:09.480 Brianna Turner, for example, wrote, I stand against all forms 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.800 of discrimination, hatred, and bias, especially in reference to sports. 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:15.720 The intersection of racism and sports should always be rejected. 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:17.880 No platform is too big or too small to stand 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:20.600 for the right thing, no excuses. She posted that to 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:23.679 social no context. I think it's pretty clear that she 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:26.120 was suggesting that that's something Kathy Engelbert should have said. 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.280 I agree, although I'll say that the simplistic idea of 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:34.400 like denouncing racism, homophobia, sexism, yeah, absolutely start with that. 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:36.960 But ultimately the question here for Kathy, and the larger 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:38.760 question for the league is what do you plan to 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:40.840 do about this? How do you get ahead of it? 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:42.760 Not just how do you respond to it, but how 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:45.600 are you preventative or how are you collective in your 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:49.120 efforts to make sure that it doesn't get fostered by 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:52.360 anyone in the media, by fan bases, by groups that 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:55.160 allege to support you, your team, or your league. I 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:56.480 know a lot of people are going to call for 0:10:56.559 --> 0:11:00.720 Kathy to explicitly face this issue head on and that's accurate, 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:02.960 Like you have an opportunity there to speak head on 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:04.960 to an issue that has plagued this league since its 0:11:05.000 --> 0:11:08.199 beginnings and very clearly has taken on an even darker 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:11.199 turn this year, and she didn't do it. And criticism 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:13.440 for that is completely fair. But to be honest, at 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:16.040 this point, I think we're so beyond needing to just 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:19.439 say racism bad that I want to hear more definitive 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:21.640 ways that she wants to respond. It feels like this 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:25.079 league is very aware of the homophobian racism that plagues 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.600 women's sports par particularly the w and the coaches are 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:31.640 and probably most of the front office. I just don't 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:33.560 know if Kathy wants it to be part of her job, 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:35.400 and I don't want to speak out a turn. I 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:37.720 don't know how much she does behind the scenes, and frankly, 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:40.040 I haven't done reporting on whether behind the scenes she 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:42.400 is active in this, but that answer certainly led me 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:44.760 to believe that she isn't. She's more focused on the 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:47.160 business side and props to the business of the W 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.600 going the direction that's going in. But Kathy needs to 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:51.320 care as much about this issue, and she needs to 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:53.360 make that clear when she does interviews like this and 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:56.680 when she's making decisions about the league moving forward. Finally, 0:11:57.000 --> 0:11:59.280 there's a new research report from the Women's Sports Foundation 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:02.400 titled Play to Lead The Generational Impact of Sports on 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:06.160 Women's Leadership, and this breakthrough study reveals the profound cross 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:10.760 generational impact youth sport participation has on women's leadership development. 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:13.360 It's a survey of multiple generations of women, from those 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:15.000 in their twenties all the way up to their eighties, 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:18.520 exploring the effects of policy driven changes, most notably the 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:21.520 passage of Title nine in nineteen seventy two, and diving 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:24.120 into the barriers that have impeded full and sustained sport 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:26.960 participation across the decades. Now, some of this reporting is 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:29.280 stuff that I've been talking about people in this industry 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:31.880 have been talking about for a really long time. We 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:35.000 know that early access to sport and youth participation tied 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:38.200 directly to leadership at the highest levels. You've likely heard 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:41.640 that longsighted Ernst and Young report ninety four percent of 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:45.280 C suite women played sports, a staggering number. But there's 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:47.800 new takeaways from this research that I found surprising to 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:50.800 including the fact that the youngest group of women interviewed. 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:54.480 Those in their twenties have escalating concerns around barriers to 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:57.240 full and safe participation as a component of youth sports. 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.440 That means those who most recently participated in youth sports 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:05.160 see problems and see those problems getting worse. The report 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:08.120 recommends all sorts of potential policy action, like advocating for 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.439 Title nine to be enforced at all levels of education, 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:14.000 starting even younger, expanding the Equity and Athletics Disclosure Act 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:17.680 to include second education programs, and advocating for US Congress 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:19.960 to pass the Fair Play for Women Act. It also 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:24.480 suggests other solutions, including elevating youth sport coaching training, expanding 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:27.360 the number of women coaches through training and active recruitment, 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.880 and prioritizing mental health and wellness support. There's a ton 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:33.240 of good stuff in this report, and the most important 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:35.560 part might be that it gives us the hard data 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:38.760 on the impact of sport for women on future leaders 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:41.400 and women's success in the workplace, and the effect it 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.400 has on our economy as a whole. And we know 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.840 how much people are moved by the business case for things, 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:50.040 by the economics of things. We understand how important it 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:51.880 is to keep putting this data in front of decision 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.760 makers and having them see the direct correlation between girls 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.320 and women in sport and what that means for our economy. 0:13:57.640 --> 0:13:59.719 We should care a whole lot about whether we're helping 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.319 the next generation, and that includes all of them, regardless 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:06.120 of economic status, race ability. How to get all of 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:08.480 them access to sport so that we can ensure that 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:11.720 the future includes more women in those leadership positions. You 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:13.599 can find the full Women's Sports Foundation report in the 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:15.640 show notes, and I highly recommend a lot of you 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:19.960 checking it out. It's good stuff, all right, my little 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:22.080 orange slices. I got to give you a little context 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:24.920 here ahead of my interview with La sparkstar Derika Hamby. 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:28.640 So last month, Hanby filed a federal lawsuit against her 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:31.080 former team, the Las Vegas Aces, as well as the 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:34.400 WNBA itself. She claimed that she was discriminated against on 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:35.560 the basis of pregnancy. 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:35.880 So. 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:37.840 She was a member of the Aces from twenty eighteen 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:40.120 through twenty twenty two, and she signed a two year 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:43.560 contract extension in June of twenty two. She says that 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:47.120 to sweeten that extension offer, the Aces made specific assurances 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:50.560 outside the contract, including allegedly promising to pay the private 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:53.760 school tuition of her daughter through a school quote unquote donation, 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:57.880 and to supply both assistance with childcare and housing accommodations. 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:00.560 Just days after Hamby and the a has won the 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.000 twenty twenty two WNBA title, she announced that she was 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:06.320 pregnant with her second child. According to her lawsuit, Hamby 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:09.440 says that following that pregnancy announcement, she experienced changes in 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:12.360 how she was treated. She alleges that Ace's head coach, 0:15:12.400 --> 0:15:16.280 Becky Hammond, made hostile and discriminatory remarks about her pregnancy, 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:18.920 and she says Hammond accused her of signing her contract 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:22.520 extension while knowingly pregnant, not taking proper precautions to avoid 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:25.360 another pregnancy, and more. Now, if you remember, this isn't 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:27.400 the first time the topic has come up. On the 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:29.840 day that Hamby was traded to the Sparks, she took 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:32.760 to social media to publicly accuse the Aces of misconduct, 0:15:33.000 --> 0:15:35.440 and in February of last year, the WNBA announced that 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:38.840 it was investigating her allegations. The league ultimately stripped the 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:40.960 Aces of a first round draft pick as punishment for 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:45.920 quote impermissible player benefits since those aforementioned assurances about the 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:49.520 school tuition and the childcare payments violate the WNBA standard 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:52.560 player contract. The league also suspended Hammond for two games 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:55.479 for violating league and team respect in the Workplace policies, 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.120 but Hamby's federal lawsuit takes the case to a new level. 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:01.640 Details in the law lawsuit alleged that the Aces directed 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:04.480 players to stop communicating with her, and that the team 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.880 didn't invite her to the team's WNBA title white House 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:09.920 ceremony with Vice president Kamala Harris, among other things. She 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:12.880 also says the WNBA refused to extend a marketing contract 0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:16.480 that paid her in addition to her player salary. WNBA 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:19.400 has said it's reviewing the complaint, and Hamminis denied wrongdoing 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:23.080 on multiple occasions, but while the legal process unfolds, Hambias 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:26.400 had to deal with harassment, including from Las Vegas Aces fans. 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:28.800 When the Sparks played the Aces in Vegas last month, 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.160 she was booed just about every time she touched the ball, 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:33.920 despite helping that team to its first title just two 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:37.320 seasons ago. Deerica is limited on what she's allowed to 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:39.640 say about the case given that it's still ongoing. But 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:41.400 I did get her thoughts on what it's been like 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:43.640 playing under so much pressure and how she handled the 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:46.520 hostile response from the Aces fans, plus a whole lot more. 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:55.480 That conversation's coming up next stick Around. She's a WNBA champion, 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:57.840 a three time All Star at two times sixth Woman 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:00.400 of the Year, and an Olympic bronze medalist three x 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:02.840 three at the Paris Games. She's the mother of two, 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:06.440 and she broke my Sky fan heart with her insane 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.399 last second half court game winner against Chicago in the 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:11.960 second round of the twenty nineteen playoffs. It's the Los 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:14.600 Angeles Sparks, Dereka Hanby, what's up, Dereka? 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:15.840 You haven't healed from that. 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:19.440 No, that was a terrible play on all accounts by 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:21.680 the Sky. But you also had to make the shot 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:22.320 to make. 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:24.399 It hurt, and you did, which was meant to be 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:25.120 a lot of. 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:26.920 Was it for who? 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:28.199 For who? For me? 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:30.520 Who was in charge of that kind of destiny? 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:32.640 Referee? 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:36.320 That's right. I want to start with the most important thing, 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:38.840 which is your cute little babies. I want to know 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:42.040 where the names came from. Amaya and legend Marie. 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:44.080 Uh So, Amya. 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:46.480 She's actually in the shooting basketball right now, but I 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:48.240 just wanted to stick with an a name. Her father's 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.080 names Alonso, so I was trying to kind of keep 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:56.240 that thing going. And Marie is my family's like middle name, 0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:59.359 my mom's middle name, my grandmoms, my sister, so felt 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:01.119 I wanted to keep that going. And then when I 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:03.560 had a son, I was like, he can't be Murray, 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:07.280 so he'll be like Mari and so r e E 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:11.879 and his name just kind of just kind of crazy 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:13.880 how it came about. I was at All Star weekend 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.000 and I had to bracelet on my wrists and at 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.600 the time I didn't know, but uh like I was pregnant, 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:21.879 and the bracest said legend, and I was talking to 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:23.960 Kelsey Plum and I was like, I'm gonna name my 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:28.359 next kid this like legend And then sure enough, Yeah. 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:32.160 Wow, I'm not gonna lie as a person whose name 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:34.800 is better than my siblings, because just Sarah Spain, the 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:38.040 alliteration is better than Katie Spain. I've always wondered if 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:39.919 she's like, why didn't I get the cool name? And 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:42.399 I feel like Amaya might be like, I'm just a 0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:46.840 Maya and my legend but I can't honestly might inspire 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:48.920 her to greatness, I would just like spite. 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:49.520 Oh she's on it. 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:53.120 She's she works already, Like she's in there working out 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:57.280 right now and play. So I'm hoping she likes tennis 0:18:57.320 --> 0:19:00.520 and she's really picked up on it, So hoping she's 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:01.600 gonna stay with that. 0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:04.160 Okay, you might have inspired her with those name choices. 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:07.119 What's been the best part of adding the job of 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:08.919 mom to your job of basketball player? 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:12.119 Just having like a little mini me, you know, she's 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:14.840 just the life I get to experience is one thing, 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:16.320 Like you know, your parents are like, oh, I got 0:19:16.320 --> 0:19:17.920 to do this and do that, And I think it's 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:20.240 pretty cool. Me and my mom were really close growing up. 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:23.320 She had me at seventeen, so we've always had a really. 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:24.720