Speaker 1: Well. Our next guest was recently named Vanderbilt University's first
Speaker 1: female athletic director and the first African American woman to
Speaker 1: head an SEC athletics program. We're talking about Candice story Lee,
Speaker 1: well known to the Vanderbilt organization as both the student
Speaker 1: athlete and as a sports administrator at the school, and
Speaker 1: we are delighted to have with us. There's so much
Speaker 1: more I could talk to you about her background, but
Speaker 1: we do want to get into our conversation. Um, Candice,
Speaker 1: welcome to Bloomberg Business Week Radio. Thank you so much
Speaker 1: for being with us. Oh, thank you, thank you very
Speaker 1: much for having me. And I have to say congratulations
Speaker 1: on your appointment, and we do want to talk to
Speaker 1: you about your plans and hopes for sports at Vanderbilt.
Speaker 1: I've got to, though, ask you about what happened in Minneapolis.
Speaker 1: When you first heard about it, you saw the video
Speaker 1: with George Floyd, What did you think? Oh? Man, UM,
Speaker 1: I thought, what and what what a tragedy that could
Speaker 1: have been and should have been avoided? And um, it
Speaker 1: was heart breaking. It was very difficult to watch. I
Speaker 1: will admit that I have not been able to watch all.
Speaker 1: I know it's seven or eight minutes long. I have
Speaker 1: not made it through that entire video. I mean I've
Speaker 1: seen I've seen clips, and um it's traumatizing. So I
Speaker 1: would say that, Um. I mean my reaction was the
Speaker 1: reaction of I think so many of us that, um,
Speaker 1: it was unnecessary. It was unnecessary. And Candice, you know
Speaker 1: you have a responsibility as so many do to you know,
Speaker 1: young people who are ultimately in your care. You know
Speaker 1: you were catching them at an incredibly important and informative age.
Speaker 1: How do you take what's going on in the country
Speaker 1: and you think about your role being as important as
Speaker 1: it ever was, more important maybe than it ever was,
Speaker 1: as as you think about the young folks that that
Speaker 1: you're trying to to counsel through all of this. We're
Speaker 1: all thinking about it as parents, I know, and and
Speaker 1: obviously you see it through a different lens than I do.
Speaker 1: I like how you phrase the question, because you're right then,
Speaker 1: um it is it is the care of our student
Speaker 1: athletes that is our priority. And I think that in
Speaker 1: some ways, you know, you feel helpless when you see
Speaker 1: a situation like this and you you start wrapping your
Speaker 1: brain and you it stirs up a lot of emotions
Speaker 1: and then I start thinking about how not that I
Speaker 1: have a ton of experience, but if you if you
Speaker 1: imagine being a college student and trying to process that
Speaker 1: and makes sense of it, how intimidating and overwhelming that
Speaker 1: must be. And I think the thing that we have
Speaker 1: to do is just start with transparency and opthenticity. Those
Speaker 1: are the things I talked with our student athletes about
Speaker 1: UM over the weekend, and same with our staff. You know,
Speaker 1: it's a it's a chance to to really be vulnerable
Speaker 1: and wrestle with this together. I don't have all the answers,
Speaker 1: and I'm real clear about that, but I we want
Speaker 1: our student athletes to understand that we can provide them
Speaker 1: with a safe space to explore how they're feeling, and
Speaker 1: we want to equip them with I mean, it's it's
Speaker 1: it's hard to make sense of something that's just tragic.
Speaker 1: It's hard to make sense of that. But what I
Speaker 1: hope is that our student athletes will feel like they
Speaker 1: can make a difference, Like if they're convicted about this
Speaker 1: topic or anything that they're passionate about, that they'll use
Speaker 1: their platform to really affect change and do it in
Speaker 1: a healthy way. The thing I think that many of
Speaker 1: us wrestle with for many people wrestle with when you're
Speaker 1: just so heartbroken over something and it's hard to understand
Speaker 1: why people do certain things. How can you mobilize people
Speaker 1: to want to make a change, but but not be
Speaker 1: so frustrated that you paralyzed or you know, not have
Speaker 1: a hard heart and and and that's um I think
Speaker 1: that's a challenge for all of us. But I know
Speaker 1: that's a challenge when you're eighteen, nineteen, and twenty years old,
Speaker 1: and and you know, it's a privilege to be able
Speaker 1: to be with with with folks when they're developing their
Speaker 1: ideas and they're building a foundation. But it's also a
Speaker 1: huge responsibility, you know, because they looked to us. You
Speaker 1: talked about the care, They looked us for that guidance,
Speaker 1: So you know, we need to do it in the
Speaker 1: most healthy and balanced way. Well, we've got about a
Speaker 1: minute and then we're going to come back and continue
Speaker 1: our conversation because I am also curious, Candida, and we
Speaker 1: do want to get into what your plans are at
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt and your hopes and expectations. But I do wonder
Speaker 1: about what is the role and responsibility of sports as
Speaker 1: an activist and agent for change, especially coming off of
Speaker 1: the last few years Colin Kaepernack and you know, so
Speaker 1: many professional athletes who were who were I feel like
Speaker 1: UM reined in no doubt about it, or penalized for
Speaker 1: kind of speaking out. So we're going to continue our
Speaker 1: conversation with us as Vanderbilt Athletic Director Candice Lee, she's
Speaker 1: joining us on the phone from Nashville, Tennessee, and so
Speaker 1: Jason will get back to that conversation. But it's been
Speaker 1: I think about some of the things that we've done
Speaker 1: that NBA, I'll Star Tech Summit and you know, being
Speaker 1: at the Super Bowl. We've talked about this a lot
Speaker 1: and what the responsibility is for something, you know, whether
Speaker 1: it's sports or entertainment, in terms of being an agent
Speaker 1: for change. And I think being in Nashville is an
Speaker 1: important UH note to and it takes me back to
Speaker 1: what John Hope Bryant was saying about Atlanta, and you know,
Speaker 1: Nashville in many ways is a very similar city. It's
Speaker 1: a boomtown. There's a huge amount of economic opportunity, and
Speaker 1: how do you ensure that you are sort of growing
Speaker 1: and caring for a generation of leaders who are willing,
Speaker 1: UH and enthusiastic to take all that one. We're going
Speaker 1: to get into that and much more in just a minute.
Speaker 1: Our guests at this hour is Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Lee.
Speaker 1: She joins us on the phone from Nashville, Tennessee. We
Speaker 1: want to pivot, UH to your plans at Vanderbilt, But
Speaker 1: I have one last question, and I do wonder, Candice,
Speaker 1: what you think is the role and responsibility of sports
Speaker 1: professional or collegiate in terms of being an agent for change. Well,
Speaker 1: I think when you when you look at the athletics platform, Um,
Speaker 1: I saw I actually saw a tweet yesterday that and
Speaker 1: I'm sure I'm sure you all saw this or other
Speaker 1: people are saying something similar. But it talked about if
Speaker 1: the world would treat each other the way people treat
Speaker 1: each other in a locker room, where they're folks from
Speaker 1: all walks of life and um different perspectives, what they're
Speaker 1: working towards a common goal. And that really struck me
Speaker 1: because I think that when you when you look at
Speaker 1: athletics and you get on a team, I don't know
Speaker 1: that people are focused on race or geographical area or
Speaker 1: sexual orientation, or they're they're working together to try to win,
Speaker 1: right there, competing on the same team with a common goal.
Speaker 1: And when I think about that and all the opportunities
Speaker 1: that have been created. Now, don't get me wrong, athletics
Speaker 1: has not been perfect in this space, so I'm certainly
Speaker 1: not saying that, but I do think that given the
Speaker 1: great widespread interests that there is an athletics and and
Speaker 1: the way that it allows you to cheer for the
Speaker 1: same thing without regard to those things that that that
Speaker 1: make us different, then I think it's kind of a
Speaker 1: natural thing to look at athletics in terms of leadership
Speaker 1: when it comes to opportunities and and to this equality
Speaker 1: and fairness, because that's what sport is. Sport is about
Speaker 1: fairness and and and I I think you've got to
Speaker 1: be careful here because I know that that doesn't mean
Speaker 1: that every athlete as a social activist. I understand that.
Speaker 1: But the fact that sports is something that ties a
Speaker 1: lot of us together and brings people to common spaces
Speaker 1: and allows them to interact where these same people might
Speaker 1: not might not be together if if it were not
Speaker 1: for a football game or soccer match. And I think
Speaker 1: that that shows us that sport has the ability to
Speaker 1: be far reaching. So I think with that there's expectations,
Speaker 1: right that maybe you can change people's minds or you
Speaker 1: can raise awareness about something. Well. In Candice, for all
Speaker 1: of those reasons that you just described, we are so
Speaker 1: collectively interested in seeing sports come back, especially college sports
Speaker 1: come back. I grew up town South, have a lot
Speaker 1: of friends who went to Vanderbilt and other SEC schools,
Speaker 1: And there is nothing I don't have to tell you.
Speaker 1: There is nothing like SEC sports, and there's nothing like
Speaker 1: SEC college football. What's right? What's your best guess for
Speaker 1: for what we see this fall? I've been really intentional
Speaker 1: about about not trying to guess and tell you that
Speaker 1: we're preparing to come back in the fall as scheduled.
Speaker 1: And and I'm and I'm not trying to to dodge
Speaker 1: your question. I think the reality is that this pandemic
Speaker 1: has taught us that, um, as much as we think
Speaker 1: we're in control of things, we're we're very vulnerable and
Speaker 1: and and that's humbling, especially in athletics, because you know,
Speaker 1: we're we're very focused, we're very regimented, we're very structured,
Speaker 1: and and I think there's a lot of humility that
Speaker 1: comes with knowing that you really don't know what the
Speaker 1: future holes. Having said that, I was on a call
Speaker 1: earlier today and the point was made. I had not
Speaker 1: thought about this, But you know, we've been in this
Speaker 1: mode for you know, roughly ninety days. We still have
Speaker 1: a decent amount of time before we have to play
Speaker 1: our first football game, and and and time is is
Speaker 1: really important here because with each passing day and with
Speaker 1: each passing week, we learn a little bit more and
Speaker 1: with more data, you know, you feel armed to make
Speaker 1: better decisions. And I think that all of us desperately
Speaker 1: want sports back. It's a rallying cry. It ties communities together.
Speaker 1: We all we all want something to cheer for. We
Speaker 1: all want to feel united, and sports is a great
Speaker 1: way to do that. And I just think we just
Speaker 1: have to be diligent about trying to resume activity in
Speaker 1: the safest way possible. You know. That's part of the
Speaker 1: care for the student athletes that you all were talking
Speaker 1: about earlier. That's part of it, right, It's fundamental their
Speaker 1: health and safety and the health and safety of our community.
Speaker 1: So and um, it's challenging, right sure, well, And and Candice,
Speaker 1: it also feels like one of the challenges is going
Speaker 1: to be protecting so many of the sports beyond college football,
Speaker 1: given the economic headwinds that UH that athletic departments are
Speaker 1: going to face. I have to think you're thinking about
Speaker 1: that as well, given the upside down world we're living
Speaker 1: in potentially. And I'm not asking you to guess about this.
Speaker 1: You know, if we have you know, spectator list games,
Speaker 1: how are you sort of thinking about different ways that
Speaker 1: you can ensure that many UH cauge college athletes still
Speaker 1: get a chance to to play at a time when
Speaker 1: a lot of schools or canceling programs. You're right, we're very,
Speaker 1: very dependent on the revenue that's tied to football. There's
Speaker 1: no question about that. There's no debating that. I think
Speaker 1: that you have to look at each individual situation in
Speaker 1: terms of like how much particular athletics department depends on
Speaker 1: revenue that's tied to tickets or concessions or you know,
Speaker 1: it varies by institution. What doesn't vary, though, is that
Speaker 1: we all need football. We all we all need it
Speaker 1: to It's the financial engine that drives everything, you know,
Speaker 1: and that's that's just the way that it's structured. We
Speaker 1: don't currently have we have no plans to discontinue any
Speaker 1: of our sports. But you know, when I get asked
Speaker 1: about all the different models that we're looking at, I
Speaker 1: don't know if any of us are looking at a
Speaker 1: model that includes no football at all, because that you
Speaker 1: don't really need to sketch that out right, because the
Speaker 1: outcomes are pretty grim there. But I think it is
Speaker 1: an opportunity for us to creatively think about how do
Speaker 1: we how do we how do we try to get
Speaker 1: to whatever normal is in the safest way possible. But
Speaker 1: we're it's an understatement to say that we have to
Speaker 1: be flexible. You know, we all keep talking about the
Speaker 1: new normal, but there's there's not going to be anything
Speaker 1: normal about the next few months. That is so true. Hey, listen,
Speaker 1: we just have about a minute left here. You know,
Speaker 1: you come to this very familiar with Vanderbilt. You were
Speaker 1: students there, you're an athlete there. Um, what do you
Speaker 1: think that how does that help you in this in
Speaker 1: this job? I think there, I think it's it's it's
Speaker 1: clear that the relationships that I have and the awareness
Speaker 1: about the landscape and who we are as an institution
Speaker 1: and and how we get things done, that's very very helpful.
Speaker 1: But I want to be clear that, um, just because
Speaker 1: I've been at Vanderbilt and just because I've been a
Speaker 1: student athlete there, I don't come in thinking that I
Speaker 1: have all of the answers. And I think that that
Speaker 1: that that would not be a healthy way to approach it,
Speaker 1: because as there are still many things that you have
Speaker 1: to learn from the seat. Right, you can do, you can,
Speaker 1: you can do everything sort of around it, but until
Speaker 1: you sit in the seat, there are certain things that
Speaker 1: you haven't had to contemplate. And I actually think that
Speaker 1: that's refreshing, because you know, one could look at being
Speaker 1: at the same institution um as as perhaps the challenge
Speaker 1: because you don't you don't have the diversity of experiences
Speaker 1: in other places. Right. I've been really fortunate to have
Speaker 1: um a network of folks that are all over the
Speaker 1: country that I've always happened to, so I could make
Speaker 1: sure that I'm learning and understanding, and I think that
Speaker 1: that's going to be really helpful here. But there's no
Speaker 1: doubt having been at Vanderbilt, it's a it's a positive. Right, Well,
Speaker 1: we wish you well, Vanderbilt's athletic director can as Late