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Speaker 1: Welcome the Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we followed

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Speaker 1: Azy Fud's lead and cut our fingernails.

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Speaker 2: I'm about to play the best part of my life, y'all.

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Speaker 1: It's Friday, March twenty seventh, and on today's show will

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Speaker 1: be speaking with vice President of Sporting for the NWSL

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Speaker 1: and former New Zealand national team player, Sarah Gregorius. We

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Speaker 1: talk about the natural tension between sport and business, the

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Speaker 1: role the US is playing in global women soccer, how

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Speaker 1: she's working to fix the narrative that the league doesn't

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Speaker 1: center the sport of soccer enough, and how her lifelong

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Speaker 1: tendency to be a troublemaker and agitator serves her on

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Speaker 1: the job. Plus, the Olympics are doing a dangerous backstroke

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Speaker 1: a record climbed to the summit and put on your

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Speaker 1: party dresses. You're all invited to my super Sweet sixteen.

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Speaker 1: It's all coming up right after this. Welcome Backslaicays, Happy Friday.

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Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know today, starting with college hoops.

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Speaker 1: It's sweet sixteen time and today my schedule is practically

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Speaker 1: begging you to duck out of work a little early,

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Speaker 1: kicking things.

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Speaker 2: Off at two thirty pm Eastern.

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Speaker 1: It's Hannah Hidalgo and number six Notre Dame versus MICHAELA.

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Speaker 2: Blake's and number two Vanderbilt. What a matchup.

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Speaker 1: Friend of the Show, Blake says, already set a Vanderbilt

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Speaker 1: single scoring record in the first round game. She surpassed

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Speaker 1: Wendy Schulten's eight hundred and fifty five points. Schulten's record

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Speaker 1: had stood since the nineteen eighty nine to ninety season.

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Speaker 1: At five pm Eastern today, number four UNC takes on

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Speaker 1: number one Yukon, who are coming off in absolute beatdown

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Speaker 1: of Syracuse in the second round. Ezy Fudd had thirty

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Speaker 1: four points and eight threes, both matched career highs in

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Speaker 1: her final game at Gamble Pavilion, and the Huskies literally

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Speaker 1: made Syracuse cry, holding the Orange to twelve points at

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Speaker 1: the half.

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Speaker 2: Tough.

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Speaker 1: This will mark Yukon's thirty second straight Sweet sixteen appearance,

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Speaker 1: the longest in Division one history. At seven thirty Eastern tonight,

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Speaker 1: it's number four Minnesota versus number one UCLA Bruin Senior

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Speaker 1: Laura Betts also capped off her home career in style,

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Speaker 1: putting up a career high thirty five points in her

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Speaker 1: last game. At Polly Pavilion. The night cap tonight, we'll

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Speaker 1: see number three Duke take on number two LSU. That's

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Speaker 1: a ten pm Eastern tip off. Second half of the

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Speaker 1: Sweet sixteen matchups go down tomorrow. We'll link to that

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Speaker 1: schedule in the show notes. Be sure you don't miss

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Speaker 1: the seven thirty pm Eastern matchup between this year Cinderella,

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Speaker 1: Number ten Virginia and number three TCU. Virginia is the

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Speaker 1: first ever team to play in the First four and

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Speaker 1: make it to the Sweet sixteen. The first pair of

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Speaker 1: Elite Eight games will be Sunday afternoon, and if you

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Speaker 1: still haven't gotten your fill of women's hoops after that,

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Speaker 1: tune into the Celebrating Pat Summit Live Reunion Special seven

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Speaker 1: pm Eastern Sunday on ESPN two to see Friend of

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Speaker 1: the Show Holly rochat with former Lady Vols stars Kandice Parker,

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Speaker 1: Nikki Fargas, and Andrea Carter, as well as South Carolina

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Speaker 1: head coach John Staley as they share memories of Summit's

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Speaker 1: career even more college hoops. On Wednesday, the finalists for

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Speaker 1: the Naysmith Women's Player of the Year were announced. UCLA

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Speaker 1: senior Lauren Betts Vanderbilt sophomore michaeleb Blake's, Yukon graduate guard

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Speaker 1: Asyfudd and Yukon sophomore center Sarah Strong. A lot of

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Speaker 1: friends of the show in the mix there. We're not

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Speaker 1: going to pick favorites to the NWSL. After an ugly

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Speaker 1: loss in Week two, the Seattle Rain enjoyed a bounce

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Speaker 1: back win Wednesday night, besting last year's NWSL Shield winners

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Speaker 1: the Kansas City Current three nil in Spokane. Meantime, expansion

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Speaker 1: side Denver Summit are in the first win in franchise

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Speaker 1: history Wednesday, defeating defending champions got the FC two nil

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Speaker 1: behind goals from Melissa Custler and Natasha Flint. Custler is

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Speaker 1: now the second ever NWSL player to score in each

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Speaker 1: of her club's first three regular season matches. The Summit

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Speaker 1: will play the first home game in franchise history tomorrow,

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Speaker 1: a two pm Eastern kickoff against the Washington Spirit. Over

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Speaker 1: fifty thousand tickets have been sold for the opener at

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Speaker 1: Mile High Stadium, home to the NFL's Denver Broncos, setting

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Speaker 1: the game up to break the NWSL's inaugural home game

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Speaker 1: attendance record and.

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Speaker 2: The all time single match attendance record.

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Speaker 1: So, just like we did with the Austin Legacy, we

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Speaker 1: reached out to the Summit for a little hype minute

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Speaker 1: ahead of their big day.

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Speaker 2: Here's Jordan Angelie.

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Speaker 3: What's up, good game. I am here to introduce you

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Speaker 3: to one of NWSL's new kids on the block, Denver

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Speaker 3: Summit FC. I'm Jordan Ageley, former WPS and NWSL midfielder,

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Speaker 3: current commentator in NWSL, and one of the founders of

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Speaker 3: the movement to bring NWSL to Denver. The past three

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Speaker 3: years for me, as a lake with Colorado native, have

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Speaker 3: been a whirlwind to see a dream become reality and

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Speaker 3: watch Denver Summit take the pitch in twenty twenty six.

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Speaker 3: On the field, the Summit have already proven in their

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Speaker 3: first three games that they are going to play an

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Speaker 3: exciting brand of soccer under Nick Kushing. They're led by

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Speaker 3: Colorado native Janine Sonis and have internationals like Tosh Plint, who,

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Speaker 3: with her English flair, has a little extra cheekiness under pressure,

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Speaker 3: and Melissa Cussler, a German international who has three goals

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Speaker 3: in three games and is putting the league on notice.

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Speaker 3: Denver Summit's colors are an homage to the landscape in

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Speaker 3: colorful Colorado, and I am keen on the green kit,

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Speaker 3: a little ode to the big, beautiful evergreens we have

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Speaker 3: all over the state. The home opener for the Summit

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Speaker 3: is March twenty eighth at empower Field at Mile High,

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Speaker 3: and it looks like Colorado is going to show up

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Speaker 3: in a big way, not just breaking a single game

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Speaker 3: NWSL attendance record, but smashing it. Denver Summit is the

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Speaker 3: first ever women's professional soccer team in Colorado, and Colorado

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Speaker 3: is showing up for it, and that alone is something

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Speaker 3: to get excited about.

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Speaker 2: New kids on the block. That's Boston's account, ma'am.

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Speaker 1: But thank you Jordan, and thanks to Shelby with the

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Speaker 1: Summit for your help too. Also, Damn, the more I

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Speaker 1: hear about this first home game, the more I'm bummed

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Speaker 1: that I didn't book my flight. That is going to

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Speaker 1: be a scene more soccer. We'll link to the full

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Speaker 1: NWSL schedule in the show notes, but wanted to shout

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Speaker 1: out tomorrow's match between the Boston Legacy and Utah Royals

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Speaker 1: FC at twelve Eastern home game for Boston in which

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Speaker 1: you know doesn't mean it's in Boston because of all

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Speaker 1: those stadium problems, but I digress. The Legacy are hosting

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Speaker 1: a pregame celebration of women in Sports at Gillette Stadium,

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Speaker 1: and after the too Many Balls fiasco, we love to

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Speaker 1: see that the team is honoring some of Boston's female athletes.

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Speaker 1: The event includes a pregame panel with Olympic rower Christy Wagner,

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Speaker 1: soccer legend Christine Lilly, and Paralympic swimmer Anna Johannes, plus

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Speaker 1: autograph sessions with friend at the show, Lacks star Charlotte

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Speaker 1: North and her Boston Guard teammate Rachel Hall, and some

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Speaker 1: members of the Boston Banshees of the Women's Elite Rugby League.

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Speaker 2: If you're in the ariat, the event starts at ten am.

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Speaker 1: Also at halftime, the team is celebrating Irish Heritage Day

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Speaker 1: with quote unquote viral bagpiping sensation Ali the Piper, so

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Speaker 1: BYOCB bring your own corned beef.

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Speaker 2: More soccer news.

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Speaker 1: A British Man who admitted to writing racially abusive messages

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Speaker 1: on social media about England and Gotham FC defender Jess

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Speaker 1: Carter was given a suspended jail sentence, assigned ten days

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Speaker 1: community work, banned from football map for four years, given

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Speaker 1: a three month curfew and find about.

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Speaker 2: Three hundred and twenty dollars.

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Speaker 1: The man made the comments under an anonymous account during

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Speaker 1: the Women's Euros last year.

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Speaker 2: Carter, who has over fifty caps.

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Speaker 1: For England, has previously said the online abuse cost her

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Speaker 1: to step away from social media, and she since started

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Speaker 1: using her platform to speak out against racism in soccer.

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Speaker 1: We'll link to an interview in the Show Notes that

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Speaker 1: Carter did with the Line Show talking about how her

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Speaker 1: team empowered her to speak out to the Olympics. On Thursday,

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Speaker 1: the International Olympic Committee announced a new policy banning trans

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Speaker 1: women from the Games, writing in part quote eligibility for

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Speaker 1: any female category event at the Olympic Games or any

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Speaker 1: other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now

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Speaker 1: limited to biological females determined on the basis of a

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Speaker 1: one time srwide gene screening end quote.

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Speaker 2: More on that sroy Thing in a.

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Speaker 1: Sec The policy also restricts female athletes with medical conditions

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Speaker 1: known as differences in sex development or DSD, and that

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Speaker 1: includes two time Olympic champion on the track castor semena.

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Speaker 1: While forcing athletes to endure genetic tests is a massive

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Speaker 1: step backwards. Frankly, it's not all that surprising. IOC President

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Speaker 1: Kirsty Coventry made it clear early in her tenure that

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Speaker 1: quote unquote, protecting the female category was a priority for her,

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Speaker 1: and she quickly created a working group to tackle the

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Speaker 1: supposed problem after taking the helm of the organization.

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Speaker 2: The IOC set on Thursday.

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Speaker 1: It was the working group that decided on this new

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Speaker 1: policy based on quote unquote scientific evidence, which they did

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Speaker 1: not cite.

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Speaker 2: Or detail in any way.

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Speaker 1: The policy also aligns with President Trump's Executive Order on

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Speaker 1: Women's Sports ahead of the twenty twenty eight Los Angeles

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Speaker 1: Games and at Mirrors World Athletics Sry gene testing policy

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Speaker 1: put in place last year. Now, what is the sroy gene?

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Speaker 1: While we're going to get into it in more detail

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Speaker 1: in an upcoming episode, but the IOC argues that the

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Speaker 1: presence or absence of the Sroy gene is a reliable

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Speaker 1: proxy for determining biological sex aka, if an athlete has

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Speaker 1: the gene, they should be banned from competing with women.

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Speaker 1: Medical experts and geneticists have long argued, though, that that's

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Speaker 1: a far too simplistic take with seriously damaging consequences for

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Speaker 1: athletes mentally, physically, and financially. This is also not the

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Speaker 1: first time the IOC IS implemented s RY testing at

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Speaker 1: the Games. It was used throughout the nineties before medical

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Speaker 1: experts persuaded the IOC to drop it for the two

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Speaker 1: thousand Sydney Olympics. Now it's back rearing its ugly head again.

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Speaker 1: We're going to talk a lot more about this in

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Speaker 1: an upcoming episode, but in the meantime, we'll remind you

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Speaker 1: of that fantastic pod Tested, which covers the history of

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Speaker 1: these kinds of policies. You remember we discussed it in

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Speaker 1: detail with producer Rio Evelyth back in twenty twenty four.

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Speaker 1: Worth going back now to listen to understand why these

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Speaker 1: quote unquote gender tests are so problematic to the WNBA.

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Speaker 1: The league announced Wednesday they'll hold the expansion Draft for

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Speaker 1: new franchises, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo on April third,

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Speaker 1: just one week from today. The process starts tomorrow, though

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Speaker 1: the expansion side that wins a coin toss will choose

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Speaker 1: either the first pick in the expansion Draft or the

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Speaker 1: number six pick in the college Draft. Existing teams have

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Speaker 1: until Sunday to submit a list of five protected players

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Speaker 1: that won't be eligible for selection players they had the

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Speaker 1: rights to on the final day of the twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: five regular season. Any player who has five or more

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Speaker 1: years of service after the twenty twenty five season must

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Speaker 1: be listed as an unrestricted free agent or left unprotected.

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Speaker 1: The new teams will pick from the unprotected players, with

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Speaker 1: no more than one player per existing team getting chosen.

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Speaker 1: Each new team may also select one player who's a

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Speaker 1: potential unrestricted free agent, and would then be allowed to

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Speaker 1: negotiate a supermax contract with those players. Now, obviously it's

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Speaker 1: a different sport, but even just saying the word protected

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Speaker 1: player still gives me PTSD from the Hillary Knight Boston

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Speaker 1: Fleet debacle. Speaking of the PWHL, let's go back to

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Speaker 1: Wednesday night, when I took a pack of twenty to

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Speaker 1: the Takeover Tour game just outside Chicago. It was a

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Speaker 1: big night for the struggling Seattle Torrent as the league's

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Speaker 1: worst team bested the New York Sirens four to one.

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Speaker 1: Teresa Schoffsaal scored her first goal since being traded to

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Speaker 1: the Torrent and added two assists for a three point night.

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Speaker 1: Though it wasn't a sell out. The crowd was big

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Speaker 1: and louder than the December Chicago stop, which is good news,

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Speaker 1: as rumor has it the PWHL's looking at adding an

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Speaker 1: expansion team here in Chicago. Fingers crossed signs and chants

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Speaker 1: of we want a team were met with roars from

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Speaker 1: the crowd all night, a crowd that officially got the

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Speaker 1: PWHL passed the two million fans all time mark. The

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Speaker 1: next Takeover Tour stop in Detroit on Saturday, marks another

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Speaker 1: milestone for the PWHL. Ally Financial and Script Sports partnered

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Speaker 1: with the league to broadcast its first ever game on

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Speaker 1: national linear television in the US. The one pm Eastern

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Speaker 1: game between the New York Sirens and the Montreal Victoire

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Speaker 1: at Little Caesar's.

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Speaker 2: Arena will air on Ion.

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Speaker 1: Now you remember, Friend of the Show Andrea Brimmer, who's

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Speaker 1: the CMO of Ally, told us about using the brand's

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Speaker 1: power and purse to move the NWSL Championship game to

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Speaker 1: prime time for the first time in.

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Speaker 2: Twenty twenty two.

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Speaker 1: While she's added again, this time helping take the PWHL

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Speaker 1: to TVs across America to tennis, where the competition is

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Speaker 1: heating up at the Miami Open. Tuesday and Wednesday's quarter

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Speaker 1: finals had a strong US showing, with three of the

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Speaker 1: four matches featuring an American player, Coco Golf, Hailey Baptiste

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Speaker 1: and Jessica Pagoula. After all was said and done, though

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Speaker 1: just one of those players made it to Thursday's SEMIS,

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Speaker 1: reigning French Open champ Golf. We're recording this before Thursday Semis,

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Speaker 1: where Golf will play Carolina Muhova. The other semi and

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Speaker 1: Australian Open finals rematch between Arena Sebalnka and Elena Rebakina.

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Speaker 1: We'll link to the results in the show notes and

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Speaker 1: you can watch the finals Saturday at twelve thirty pm

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Speaker 1: Eastern on the Tennis Channel.

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Speaker 2: All right, selice this, We're going to take a break

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Speaker 2: when we come back.

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Speaker 1: A fascinating and super thoughtful convo with the NWSL.

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Speaker 2: Sarah Gregorius joining US now.

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Speaker 1: She's the vice president of Sporting for the NWSL and

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Speaker 1: a former player for the New Zealand national team, earning

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Speaker 1: one hundred caps, playing in all of the Ferns matches

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Speaker 1: in the twenty eleven and twenty fifteen World Cups, and

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Speaker 1: playing in the twenty twelve and twenty sixteen Olympics in

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Speaker 1: twenty nineteen World Cup. She worked in global strategy and

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Speaker 1: policy leadership at fIF Pro before joining the NWSL in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty four. She loves a cheesy Christmas sweater and

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Speaker 1: our names are spelled the same. But I'm Sarah and

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Speaker 1: she's Siah. It's Sarah Gregorious. How is my Kiwi accent?

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Speaker 4: You know what?

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Speaker 5: Pretty good? I've definitely heard worse.

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Speaker 1: Well, I mean, New Zealand is my opt out plan

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Speaker 1: if America continues on the path that's on.

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Speaker 2: So I need to ingratiate myself to the Kiwis. I

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Speaker 2: love it. There's so much.

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Speaker 4: I'm a little bit biased, b because it's definitely the

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Speaker 4: best place in the world.

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Speaker 2: In the whole world. It's so beautiful.

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Speaker 5: I love it so much.

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Speaker 1: And yet you're here in the US to help make

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Speaker 1: our league the best in the world. So thanks for

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Speaker 1: joining us. Congrats on your promotion named VP of Sporting

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Speaker 1: just a few weeks ago, and you, just as we

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Speaker 1: were getting ready for the show, told us how you

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Speaker 1: were welcomed into your new position by your staff.

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Speaker 2: Can you share that story?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, of course they'll be thrilled that they've made the podcast. No,

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Speaker 4: I took right before the start of the NWSL season.

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Speaker 5: It took a couple of weeks to go to New Zealand.

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Speaker 4: Hadn't been home in a couple of years and wanted

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Speaker 4: to take the opportunity to do that. And while I

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Speaker 4: was away, my team got one hundred and forty tiny

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Speaker 4: little ducks and they decorated my new office, put them everywhere,

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Speaker 4: and i'm mean everywhere, like they were on my desk

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Speaker 4: of course, but there's also some on the ceiling, in

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Speaker 4: drawers everywhere. And I had a little sticky note on

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Speaker 4: my desk when I got back and I said, welcome back, Buffs.

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Speaker 5: While you're away, we got all of your ducks.

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Speaker 4: In a row, which I think was not only creative

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Speaker 4: but also a little bit endearing.

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Speaker 5: I'm glad that they felt that they could do that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it seems like you must have a great relationship.

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Speaker 1: Hard to say whether they were decorating or pranking you,

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Speaker 1: but I appreciate the thought.

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Speaker 2: Nonetheless, what part of New Zealand did you get back?

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Speaker 5: To Wellington?

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Speaker 4: I grew up in Wellington and my parents are still

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Speaker 4: there with still quite a few of my friends, so

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Speaker 4: that's home for me.

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Speaker 1: Cool I got to go to Wellington for some of

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Speaker 1: the World Cup matches when I was out there, so

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Speaker 1: I got to see your home.

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Speaker 2: It's very cute.

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Speaker 4: Were there for the Pan Spain game that was in Wellington?

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Speaker 4: Remember that one in the group stage?

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Speaker 2: No, I think I can't remember who I was watching.

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Speaker 1: Can I tell you that I made the mistake of

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Speaker 1: leaving my sunglasses at home and that stadium I literally

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Speaker 1: was basically getting like a reflection from the surface of

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Speaker 1: the sun directly into my eyes. So I think I've

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Speaker 1: blacked out most of what I was watching. Yeah, what

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Speaker 1: were you going to point out about that one?

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Speaker 5: No?

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Speaker 4: I just said it was a brilliant game. It was

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Speaker 4: one of the games of the group stage. Yeah, and

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Speaker 4: it was in Wellington. I was there as well.

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Speaker 1: I think i'd remember if I saw my Spain team

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Speaker 1: that I claimed just due to my last name and

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Speaker 1: no other connection whatsoever.

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Speaker 2: So I don't think I've had that one.

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Speaker 1: But what a cool stadium, what a cool place. So

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Speaker 1: let's talk about this new VP of Sporting role. What

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Speaker 1: excites you most about the job?

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Speaker 4: Well, it is a very interesting job because the remit

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Speaker 4: is basically to be the caretaker and the person who

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Speaker 4: was tasked with managing the sporting health of the league,

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Speaker 4: which is really the on field product. So for someone

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Speaker 4: like myself, you're mentioned it with my background and my

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Speaker 4: experience as a player, to be in a position to

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Speaker 4: really affect and impact that is huge. I take that

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Speaker 4: responsibility very seriously, and I also really enjoy it.

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Speaker 5: It's been a ton of fun so far.

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Speaker 4: It means that I can work with all of the

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Speaker 4: clubs across the NWSL, all of our partners stakeholders, work

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Speaker 4: with the team internally to make sure that we're looking

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Speaker 4: at the right things, coming up with the right initiatives,

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Speaker 4: the right programming.

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Speaker 5: To support like the on field health of the league.

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Speaker 4: And it is really just a great opportunity to enhance

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Speaker 4: the role that this league plays, not only within the

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Speaker 4: US sports ecosystem, but also the global women's football ecosystem,

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Speaker 4: which you know, the US, whether it's the national team

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Speaker 4: or the NWSL or the leagues that have been here

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Speaker 4: in the past, has always played such a leadership role

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Speaker 4: in the game. So to be in this position, to

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Speaker 4: be in this seat, is this brilliant. I'm really enjoying it.

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Speaker 4: There's so many things about it that excite me.

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Speaker 1: I think a lot of folks might not even be

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Speaker 1: entirely clear on what a sporting role is at a team,

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Speaker 1: but certainly not what it really entails at the league level.

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Speaker 1: So can you tell us a little bit more about

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Speaker 1: the specific responsibilities.

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Speaker 4: Sure, within our group, we look after everything from medical

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Speaker 4: and high performance all the way through to officiating. We

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Speaker 4: play a role in helping manage the talent pipeline, so

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Speaker 4: player development, sporting staff support so head coaches, the sporting

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Speaker 4: executives all the way through to the data analysts and

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Speaker 4: the performance staff at the clubs. We play a governance

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Speaker 4: role in and across all of that. So it's a

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Speaker 4: really broad space. There's so many different ways that you

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Speaker 4: can impact and affect that. And one of the other

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Speaker 4: things that I do which is very interesting is you

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Speaker 4: know that what is unique perhaps about women's soccer and

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Speaker 4: women's football is it's a global game. Some of the

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Speaker 4: other American sports don't have that particular context. So a

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Speaker 4: lot of my work is also around like how we

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Speaker 4: interact with global football, the global football governance frame work,

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Speaker 4: and making sure that our interests and our needs are

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Speaker 4: represented on that stage as well, and that we're advocating

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Speaker 4: for the things that makes sense for our players and

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Speaker 4: our clubs to really thrive. So it's a I mean,

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Speaker 4: we can go into a whole bunch of different areas,

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Speaker 4: but I think what's really important to remember is, you know,

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Speaker 4: the NWSL is a sports league, so it is really

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Speaker 4: at the center of everything that we're doing, and trying

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Speaker 4: to progress and promote and protect the game is really

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Speaker 4: what it's about. But it does it touches really like

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Speaker 4: a number of different areas.

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Speaker 1: You got a big job, and more so than ever

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Speaker 1: of late in the last couple of years, the relationship

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Speaker 1: between the NWSL and Global women's Soccer has changed, just

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Speaker 1: with the amount of players going back and forth coming

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Speaker 1: to the league and going to other leagues. The questions

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Speaker 1: about the footprint and the schedule and how it interacts

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Speaker 1: with the rest of the world of sport is much

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Speaker 1: more complicated than in other sports, where the US declares

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Speaker 1: itself champions of the world when we win, even if

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Speaker 1: we're not playing the world. The soccer world is very

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Speaker 1: different and there's a lot.

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Speaker 2: Of that communication that needs to go on. You know,

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Speaker 2: you just mentioned it.

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Speaker 1: Sport is at the center of everything you do, and

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Speaker 1: you know, one criticism of the NWSL's front office in

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Speaker 1: the past has been what sometimes can feel like a

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Speaker 1: disconnect between the league and the actual product of soccer.

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Speaker 2: It feels like you can play a really big.

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Speaker 1: Role in making sure that the front office feels informed

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Speaker 1: and educated and passionate about the sport itself.

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Speaker 2: Is that a priority for you in this job?

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Speaker 5: Totally? It really is.

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Speaker 4: And we're sort of operating now with this virtuous cycle,

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Speaker 4: in this flywheel where you have a great sporting product,

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Speaker 4: which means bigger audiences, which means greater revenue, which circles

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Speaker 4: back around to you know, a better sporting product because

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Speaker 4: it can all be reinvested into the game. So that

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Speaker 4: is hugely critically important that we keep that focus.

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Speaker 5: And of course there's.

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Speaker 4: An element of you know, mainstreaming sporting insights and sporting

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Speaker 4: conversations into the broader business because there is and I

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Speaker 4: actually think this is really healthy, a natural tension between

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Speaker 4: sporting and business, right like you even for the sake

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Speaker 4: of and we know this occurs in other sports as well,

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Speaker 4: Like how do you build the game in a way

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Speaker 4: that makes sense for not only the in Stadia experience

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Speaker 4: but also the TV experience. How do you make sure

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Speaker 4: that the players can still thrive in that environment and

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Speaker 4: perform at their peak.

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Speaker 5: So those conversations are really ongoing.

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Speaker 4: But I actually really enjoy that part of it as well,

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Speaker 4: and I do think that that past criticism has probably

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Speaker 4: been very fair. The NWSLF had its first chief Sporting

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Speaker 4: director only begin in January of twenty and twenty three,

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Speaker 4: for example, in the league has existed for a lot

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Speaker 4: longer than that, so I never want to shy away

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Speaker 4: from the history in the past. I think there's huge

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Speaker 4: learnings to be taken, and the league is actively decided

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Speaker 4: to not have that repeat itself by having people sitting

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Speaker 4: in the type of position that I have now that

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Speaker 4: really managed that not only from like an internal mainstreaming

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Speaker 4: of the right topics across the board, but also to

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Speaker 4: make sure that we are proactively planning on how we

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Speaker 4: build on the product that we have and future proof

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Speaker 4: against what's to come in the industry, but also in

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Speaker 4: a really exciting and innovative way as well.

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Speaker 1: Yeah so smart, And yeah, I mean centering the soccer

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Speaker 1: being played in the marketing and promotion and selling of

439
00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:17,560
Speaker 1: the league is a huge part of it too, and

440
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,600
Speaker 1: that'll only be easier for the NWSL to do when

441
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,239
Speaker 1: it's supported by all the work that you're doing. The

442
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,080
Speaker 1: insights that you're coming up with American fans are interesting.

443
00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,719
Speaker 1: There are a lot of less informed American fans when

444
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:30,639
Speaker 1: it comes to the game of footy because it hasn't

445
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,879
Speaker 1: always been traditionally our go to and yet the ones

446
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:38,000
Speaker 1: that are informed are so passionate and outspoken that they're

447
00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,080
Speaker 1: demand for the league to share the insights and to

448
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:43,760
Speaker 1: reveal what it's working on. When it comes to centering,

449
00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:47,440
Speaker 1: the sport can seem outsized and louder than maybe even

450
00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:49,800
Speaker 1: the number of people calling for it. But when you

451
00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:51,560
Speaker 1: can answer that and say here's all the things we're

452
00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:53,760
Speaker 1: doing and here's the job that I have, it's great.

453
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:54,720
Speaker 2: It's really fantastic.

454
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:56,160
Speaker 1: And you haven't been with the league long, just since

455
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,399
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four, but there's been a lot of growth

456
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,359
Speaker 1: and change even in that short What are some of

457
00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:03,840
Speaker 1: the areas where you've really noticed it most that the

458
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:04,719
Speaker 1: league is changing.

459
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:05,840
Speaker 5: Well, great question.

460
00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:12,479
Speaker 4: I think there's been a really interesting pervot towards wanting

461
00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,080
Speaker 4: to focus more on play health and innovation around that

462
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:21,280
Speaker 4: and looking I obviously acknowledge like, particularly given what my

463
00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,960
Speaker 4: role was prior to coming too. The NWSL obviously acknowledged

464
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,000
Speaker 4: that player care was near the front and center for

465
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,119
Speaker 4: the NWSL for a long time, and I think going

466
00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,080
Speaker 4: through what the league and what the players and the

467
00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:34,240
Speaker 4: clubs went through, and then arriving now at a point

468
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:39,000
Speaker 4: where the conversation, parts of the conversation is certainly now

469
00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:41,399
Speaker 4: about like how can we do more? How can we

470
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,199
Speaker 4: do more for the players? How can we invest in

471
00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,600
Speaker 4: their health? How can we invest in And the term

472
00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,440
Speaker 4: that I like to use, rather than injury prevention or

473
00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,160
Speaker 4: anything like that, is how do we increase player availability?

474
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:57,280
Speaker 4: And that obviously goes into wanting to mitigate and prevent injury,

475
00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:00,719
Speaker 4: but it also goes into career longevity. How can we

476
00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,760
Speaker 4: have great players playing brilliant football over a longer period

477
00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:07,840
Speaker 4: of time. And I think there's been a really exciting

478
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,320
Speaker 4: and interesting pivot in Narrogard and I'm hugely passionate personally

479
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:13,600
Speaker 4: about that particular area, and I'm really proud that the

480
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:16,320
Speaker 4: league is taking steps to invest in it. I also

481
00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,560
Speaker 4: think the league is working really hard and we're obviously

482
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,439
Speaker 4: at the forefront of this, and it's critically important if

483
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:26,480
Speaker 4: you're evaluating sporting performance, is better understanding data and having

484
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,920
Speaker 4: an infrastructure that can support the ingestion of data from

485
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:33,600
Speaker 4: multiple sources, and then being in a position to really

486
00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:38,760
Speaker 4: churn out meaningful individualized insights. And I don't mean individualized

487
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:42,399
Speaker 4: insights from like an individual player perspective, but individual to

488
00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:43,280
Speaker 4: the sport.

489
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:43,840
Speaker 5: Of women's football.

490
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:45,960
Speaker 4: And we know that there just is not enough research

491
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,800
Speaker 4: and not enough understanding about that particular, particularly from the

492
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,040
Speaker 4: lens of the athlete. So I'm really looking forward to

493
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:58,200
Speaker 4: continuing network and We've done some great foundational movements over

494
00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,399
Speaker 4: the past, like at months, I think in particular, and

495
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,119
Speaker 4: I'm excited for that to grow further and for us

496
00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,919
Speaker 4: to then pivot into really driving some innovations in that

497
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:12,200
Speaker 4: space and not just you know, like I've said before,

498
00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:15,840
Speaker 4: individualized towards individual players, but you know, we have to

499
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:17,840
Speaker 4: wrap our arms around the people that take care of

500
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,600
Speaker 4: the players, the support staff that are working in the clubs.

501
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:23,760
Speaker 4: I think we're also taking like a number of really

502
00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,679
Speaker 4: positive steps to better support the technical and sporting staffs

503
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,119
Speaker 4: that the league's knowing how much influence they have on

504
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,520
Speaker 4: the players and therefore on the sporting product. So those

505
00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:36,120
Speaker 4: are areas that I'm really excited about. But I mean,

506
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:38,399
Speaker 4: I could just talk about so many other things. I mean,

507
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,240
Speaker 4: you talked about you talked about the American fan, and

508
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 4: I think the attitude towards women's soccer here is actually

509
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,560
Speaker 4: in general, whether it's from fans to the boardroom, is

510
00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:52,560
Speaker 4: actually so interesting and so exciting. There's passion and ambition

511
00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,520
Speaker 4: that I haven't seen replicated really in other parts of

512
00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,000
Speaker 4: the world. And I don't care what people's entry point

513
00:24:58,320 --> 00:24:59,160
Speaker 4: is into the game.

514
00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:02,520
Speaker 5: I think here people really fall in love with it.

515
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:04,760
Speaker 4: They fall in love with the success, they fall in

516
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,240
Speaker 4: love with the players, they fall in love with the atmosphere,

517
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:08,960
Speaker 4: the inclusion, the.

518
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:10,040
Speaker 5: Vibes that it creates.

519
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,000
Speaker 4: And it's the same with then turning that into you know,

520
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,320
Speaker 4: meaningful and impactful investment as well, whether that's as a

521
00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,480
Speaker 4: fan or as an owner or investor. So I just

522
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:23,240
Speaker 4: wanted to acknowledge that because I think it's it's kind

523
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:25,560
Speaker 4: of the other side of the coin to that whole

524
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,960
Speaker 4: fan conversation, as I've never seen passion like it, and

525
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,720
Speaker 4: it's so so interesting but so exciting and fun to

526
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:34,199
Speaker 4: be part of.

527
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,479
Speaker 1: Yeah, we get spoiled over here, and then athletes from

528
00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:39,840
Speaker 1: other countries come over and talk about the different level

529
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:43,040
Speaker 1: of investment and care and training facility and everything else,

530
00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:45,560
Speaker 1: and it's really something to be proud of.

531
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:46,920
Speaker 2: And you know, I will say.

532
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:51,040
Speaker 1: The greater the investment into this league and the teams,

533
00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:54,760
Speaker 1: the more it allows the league to focus on and

534
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,159
Speaker 1: have the bandwidth to care about players in ways that

535
00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,840
Speaker 1: I think. You have to understand it's your product. And

536
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,680
Speaker 1: also folks have to understand that when you have a

537
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,639
Speaker 1: league that is just starting out, you are pulled in

538
00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,040
Speaker 1: eight million directions at once, and so trying to figure

539
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,080
Speaker 1: out how to stay afloat market pay people do the

540
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 1: things like you wouldn't think that the player would fall

541
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:15,840
Speaker 1: through the cracks, But sometimes the simplest thing, which is

542
00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:17,840
Speaker 1: the product on the field, feels like the thing you

543
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,760
Speaker 1: don't have to pay as much attention to as everything

544
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,720
Speaker 1: behind the scenes that's falling apart. And now I think

545
00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,000
Speaker 1: with all the research being done into women's sports and

546
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:27,359
Speaker 1: women athletes in particular, you can marry that with the

547
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:30,119
Speaker 1: investment into these teams and really start to create these

548
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:34,000
Speaker 1: incredibly stellar environments for people to thrive and to be

549
00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:36,120
Speaker 1: their best players, which is so exciting.

550
00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:37,560
Speaker 2: You know, you said you.

551
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,280
Speaker 1: Care particularly about advocating for athletes, and in your previous

552
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,000
Speaker 1: job at fIF Pro that was a big part of it.

553
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:44,840
Speaker 1: And I think that that goes way way back because

554
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:46,720
Speaker 1: I've heard you say in interviews that you grew up

555
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 1: as like a bit of a troublemaker and always willing

556
00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:51,760
Speaker 1: to push back a little bit. So before we even

557
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,800
Speaker 1: get to how that manifest in your career, I wonder

558
00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:55,959
Speaker 1: if you have a good example, you know, maybe one

559
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,200
Speaker 1: of those stories that the family likes to retell over

560
00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:00,960
Speaker 1: and over about naughty young Sarah.

561
00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:05,080
Speaker 4: Yeah, I have few, to be honest, I am a

562
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,639
Speaker 4: metal child and I grew up between two brothers, an

563
00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,840
Speaker 4: older brother and a younger brother. And you can't really

564
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,399
Speaker 4: see it on this interview, but I'm not very big.

565
00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:18,679
Speaker 4: I'm about five foot nothing. You know, I don't have

566
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:20,400
Speaker 4: a lot of a lot of size, and it became

567
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:22,560
Speaker 4: very apparent when I was growing up that I couldn't

568
00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,919
Speaker 4: compete with my brothers physically, so I had to outsmart

569
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,080
Speaker 4: them and out with them. The story that my mum

570
00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:33,480
Speaker 4: likes to tell us there was there was a bike

571
00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,159
Speaker 4: in the backyard and the three of us wanted to

572
00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,560
Speaker 4: ride it, and my older brothers were really fighting about

573
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,080
Speaker 4: it and rather than engaging in the fight. While they

574
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:46,560
Speaker 4: were preoccupied like sort of attempting to throw punches and

575
00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,720
Speaker 4: really have it out. I just snuck around the side,

576
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:53,159
Speaker 4: picked up the bike and went off and I found

577
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:53,800
Speaker 4: a way to.

578
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,040
Speaker 5: Like have my little play on it return it.

579
00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,240
Speaker 4: They hadn't even noticed, and they continued to fight about it.

580
00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:02,400
Speaker 4: And the reason why I think that translates a little

581
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:07,080
Speaker 4: bit into my what's ended up becoming my career is

582
00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,600
Speaker 4: there's always a way forwards, and there's always a way

583
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:14,560
Speaker 4: to get positive outcomes and to get positive momentum. Sometimes

584
00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,400
Speaker 4: it just doesn't look like the most obvious way forwards,

585
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,440
Speaker 4: but it is. I think growing up in that environment

586
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:22,960
Speaker 4: taught me how to think a little bit laterally and

587
00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,280
Speaker 4: to rather than spend all of my time raging against

588
00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:28,879
Speaker 4: the system, it's actually working really hard to understand it

589
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,359
Speaker 4: and find ways to maneuver within it, because otherwise I

590
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:34,400
Speaker 4: could have spent a lot of energy trying to fight

591
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:36,760
Speaker 4: my two brothers, who are much bigger than me. My

592
00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,600
Speaker 4: younger brother was a professional rugby player, which gives you

593
00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,360
Speaker 4: an understanding of how big he was. But you know,

594
00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:46,360
Speaker 4: it's about taking a moment and taking the opportunity to

595
00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,400
Speaker 4: get something that you desire.

596
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,920
Speaker 1: Well, what that anecdote also made me think of is

597
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:57,560
Speaker 1: not always but stereotypical male versus female leadership, right, and

598
00:28:57,640 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 1: you went, you went and fixed the problem instead of

599
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:02,840
Speaker 1: over the problem. This coming from a country of New

600
00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:06,240
Speaker 1: Zealand that has multiple female prime ministers that have been

601
00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,800
Speaker 1: at the head of the country, while we hear toil

602
00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,320
Speaker 1: away without ever having handed over the reins to a

603
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:16,040
Speaker 1: woman to see how that might go. But I digress

604
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:19,440
Speaker 1: back to you being a troublemaker with an intentional nature

605
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,000
Speaker 1: to you. Your teammates kind of figured out pretty early

606
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 1: that you were willing to speak up for players and

607
00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:27,160
Speaker 1: fight for resources and respect and stuff. When did you

608
00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,400
Speaker 1: first realize that advocacy was something that came sort of

609
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:31,280
Speaker 1: naturally for you.

610
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,680
Speaker 4: Probably when I was already doing it.

611
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,040
Speaker 5: Was not really something that I ever sought out.

612
00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:40,800
Speaker 4: I think, you know, when you're in a team environment,

613
00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,480
Speaker 4: you play the role that not so much is handed

614
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:45,800
Speaker 4: to you, but the one that is going to be

615
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,520
Speaker 4: most effective, whether it's on the field or off the field.

616
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,760
Speaker 4: As a teammate and as a person who was also

617
00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,480
Speaker 4: interested and I think, at times to be honest, somewhat

618
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:56,600
Speaker 4: confused by our treatment.

619
00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,040
Speaker 5: I wanted to solve it.

620
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:01,080
Speaker 4: And I was always part of those discussions that we

621
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,400
Speaker 4: would have as like a team or a leadership group

622
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:05,840
Speaker 4: on how to address certain things, you know, to better

623
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,080
Speaker 4: support us and to better support our performance.

624
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:10,960
Speaker 5: And probably in those conversations they.

625
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,880
Speaker 4: Just decided that, you know what, you're talking a lot,

626
00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:15,800
Speaker 4: and here, why don't you talk a lot out there?

627
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:19,680
Speaker 4: And ten take this conversation forwards for us. And actually,

628
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:23,800
Speaker 4: as I sort of said earlier, I didn't mind doing it.

629
00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,880
Speaker 4: I wanted to follow the breadcrumbs and figure out actually

630
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:29,840
Speaker 4: like what was really going on and if we could

631
00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:34,840
Speaker 4: find like workable solutions to improve things. Most of the

632
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,920
Speaker 4: time people don't have bad and tin they just have

633
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,400
Speaker 4: a lack of understanding as well. So I don't want

634
00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:44,440
Speaker 4: to give the impression that I was like kicking down

635
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:48,280
Speaker 4: doors or like, you know, putting my foot on anybody's

636
00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,160
Speaker 4: throat in order to get things done. It was it

637
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,600
Speaker 4: was actually really about like that advocacy, but also trying

638
00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:55,600
Speaker 4: to sit down and figure out solutions.

639
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:56,800
Speaker 5: And you know, I got a lot of.

640
00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:00,680
Speaker 4: Experience as I was playing, particularly for my national team,

641
00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:05,720
Speaker 4: about like collective baggaining and negotiations and labor relations and

642
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:09,400
Speaker 4: the role that employers and employees can play in improving

643
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:11,760
Speaker 4: that by those stretches in and around the game and

644
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:12,600
Speaker 4: in and around.

645
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:13,200
Speaker 5: A football team.

646
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:17,560
Speaker 4: So it was hugely interesting, and I think as I

647
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,760
Speaker 4: went through my football career and then retired and ended

648
00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:21,760
Speaker 4: up working at fief Pro, it also gave me a

649
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,720
Speaker 4: great insight into the world of governance, the world of

650
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,719
Speaker 4: football governance, which is actually like a really complex I

651
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:31,560
Speaker 4: find it interesting other people may not really interesting part

652
00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:33,840
Speaker 4: of football and a unique part of football, as you

653
00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:35,000
Speaker 4: already said earlier.

654
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:38,160
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think there are people myself included, that have

655
00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:41,160
Speaker 1: a natural interest in understanding why things are the way

656
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:43,760
Speaker 1: they are, especially if they're not equal or fair, and

657
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:47,240
Speaker 1: being really driven by a desire to see justice across

658
00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:49,320
Speaker 1: either your own life or the lives of others, and

659
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,440
Speaker 1: that takes you down a path of like better understanding

660
00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:53,000
Speaker 1: why things ended up the way they are and how you.

661
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:54,320
Speaker 2: Can change them.

662
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:56,560
Speaker 1: You know, you mentioned fIF Pro you were there kind

663
00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:58,080
Speaker 1: of while you were still playing and then right after

664
00:31:58,120 --> 00:31:59,960
Speaker 1: you were retired. I wonder what some of the big

665
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,200
Speaker 1: things you learned from your time there was. Because you're

666
00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:05,080
Speaker 1: representing players across the globe sort of like the Worldwide

667
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,520
Speaker 1: Union for Footballers, and you take a lot of that

668
00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:12,600
Speaker 1: role and dilute it down to just the NWSL in

669
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:14,360
Speaker 1: the role that you have now trying to figure out

670
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:16,760
Speaker 1: how to serve the players that make up the sport.

671
00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:22,360
Speaker 4: Working at Thief Pro, it's a global international organization, So

672
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:27,840
Speaker 4: that was already like really interesting, really fascinating, really challenging.

673
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,280
Speaker 4: Was working cross culturally, but I also worked across the

674
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:35,120
Speaker 4: whole spectrum of the football industry. So we still like

675
00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:40,480
Speaker 4: supported some of the leading countries and the leading federations,

676
00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:45,240
Speaker 4: leading leagues with their collective agreements, with their representation, but

677
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,400
Speaker 4: you also had some really difficult positions and some really

678
00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:52,120
Speaker 4: difficult situations that we also dealt with the players at

679
00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,320
Speaker 4: the total other end of the spectrum. So day to day,

680
00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:57,920
Speaker 4: week to week, it was fascinating, it always looked different.

681
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:00,840
Speaker 5: It was also very.

682
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:04,840
Speaker 4: Hard emotionally at times to be faced with some of

683
00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:07,600
Speaker 4: those challenges. I mean, some things made it into the

684
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,920
Speaker 4: public domain and others didn't. And then the other piece

685
00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:13,560
Speaker 4: of it, which is what I'm bringing to the NWSL

686
00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,360
Speaker 4: as well as just understanding the International Football Governance Framework,

687
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,080
Speaker 4: what it means to work with the confederations and with

688
00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:24,160
Speaker 4: FIFA and with the other representative collective bodies, whether that's

689
00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:27,479
Speaker 4: what used to be the European Club Association and all

690
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,520
Speaker 4: of those organizations, to try and figure out, Okay, collectively, how.

691
00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:33,600
Speaker 5: Do we progress this game, how do we move it forwards?

692
00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:36,160
Speaker 4: How do I make sure that players are right at

693
00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:37,800
Speaker 4: the heart of those decisions?

694
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,480
Speaker 5: What are the positions, what's the research that we need

695
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:42,719
Speaker 5: to do in order to underpin it. So it was

696
00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:44,240
Speaker 5: a little bit like this role.

697
00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:48,360
Speaker 4: It was hugely diverse, working across the spectrum of people,

698
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:53,000
Speaker 4: organizations and challenges, but it was a great introduction to

699
00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:56,080
Speaker 4: the world of football governance and I'm really proud of

700
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:58,960
Speaker 4: the progress that we were able to make and the

701
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,160
Speaker 4: impact that we had on half of the players. And

702
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,760
Speaker 4: I think FIFA is such a brilliant organization and so

703
00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:04,720
Speaker 4: important for the game.

704
00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:06,880
Speaker 1: You know, you mentioned your work at fIF Pro in

705
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:10,840
Speaker 1: a previous interview sort of felt akin to social justice

706
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:12,760
Speaker 1: work at times in the way that you were advocating

707
00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:14,960
Speaker 1: for athletes. Do you see that you're able to still

708
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,640
Speaker 1: apply that filter to your work with the NWSL and

709
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:22,200
Speaker 1: potentially even helping give the league itself a voice and

710
00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:25,759
Speaker 1: a perspective that isn't just soccer, but is about more

711
00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,040
Speaker 1: than just that, particularly in the way it represents women

712
00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:30,480
Speaker 1: at a time like this in our country.

713
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:36,279
Speaker 4: Definitely, sometimes I don't I think it's maybe underestimated, and

714
00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:41,520
Speaker 4: I don't think it can be overstated how important America,

715
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,880
Speaker 4: the United States of America, is to women's football, and

716
00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:48,120
Speaker 4: is to the ongoing progress and professionalization of the game,

717
00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:51,120
Speaker 4: whether that's the legacy that's been created by the US

718
00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:54,360
Speaker 4: Women's National Team and the equal pay agreement that they reached,

719
00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:59,319
Speaker 4: whether it's the NWSL and groundbreaking CBAS. But also you know,

720
00:35:00,239 --> 00:35:03,520
Speaker 4: a lot of records, whether it's attendance or sponsorship, revenue,

721
00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:07,560
Speaker 4: whatever media deals, whatever it may be. It pulls the

722
00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:11,200
Speaker 4: rest of the industry along. And I do think it's

723
00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:14,160
Speaker 4: really important to always remind ourselves of the role that

724
00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:18,080
Speaker 4: we play, rather than getting to insulate it and just

725
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:20,960
Speaker 4: thinking about it in the context of our own backyard

726
00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:21,800
Speaker 4: here in the US.

727
00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:25,239
Speaker 5: So and that actually, I know that the.

728
00:35:25,239 --> 00:35:29,880
Speaker 4: NWSL provides inspiration to other players around the world, whether

729
00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,200
Speaker 4: that's to play here, whether that's to have the types

730
00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:35,520
Speaker 4: of rights afforded to players here. So it maybe it

731
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,719
Speaker 4: doesn't feel like it's consistently social justice work. But I

732
00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:42,680
Speaker 4: think the impact in the example that the NWSL can

733
00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:46,399
Speaker 4: set should not be taken for granted and should be factored.

734
00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:49,240
Speaker 5: In too, how we innovate and how we therefore lead

735
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:50,280
Speaker 5: the game forwards.

736
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:55,120
Speaker 1: I think women athletes and women's leagues, particularly right now

737
00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:58,600
Speaker 1: in our current state, have an incredible amount of power

738
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:02,279
Speaker 1: in showing representation of women that are in opposition to

739
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,640
Speaker 1: where some folks would like us to be forced back

740
00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:07,960
Speaker 1: into the lanes and the spaces that they believe in

741
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:08,640
Speaker 1: which we belong.

742
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:10,040
Speaker 2: You know, when I.

743
00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:12,239
Speaker 1: Joined the ownership group for the Chicago Stars, which I

744
00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:13,640
Speaker 1: was part of for a couple of years, it occurred

745
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:14,120
Speaker 1: to me that I.

746
00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:17,640
Speaker 2: Was suddenly quote unquote the man. And I spent so.

747
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:19,880
Speaker 1: Much of my career pushing back on the man and

748
00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,719
Speaker 1: demanding better for athletes and asking for accountability from higher

749
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:25,000
Speaker 1: ups when they failed or didn't do what I thought

750
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:26,719
Speaker 1: was right. And I wonder how you consider your role

751
00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,600
Speaker 1: representing kind of the man now instead of fighting against

752
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:32,879
Speaker 1: the you know, larger hymn with a capital.

753
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:33,400
Speaker 2: H I am.

754
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,719
Speaker 4: I had a few comments when I made the decision

755
00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:40,200
Speaker 4: to join the league, which is the employer side of

756
00:36:40,239 --> 00:36:43,560
Speaker 4: things that I'd gone to the dark side, and my

757
00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:48,240
Speaker 4: response to that was, like, I mean, how good create

758
00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,400
Speaker 4: chaos and create change from within?

759
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,920
Speaker 5: Right, It's essentially a very effective path.

760
00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 4: Not that I'm here if my boss is listening, not

761
00:36:56,600 --> 00:37:00,279
Speaker 4: that I need to create chaos by any stretch. But again,

762
00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:02,440
Speaker 4: as I said earlier, if you have the attitude of

763
00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,400
Speaker 4: wanting to follow the bread crumbs and understand how decisions

764
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:07,319
Speaker 4: are being made and therefore like where you can be

765
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:10,800
Speaker 4: to be impactful, it does lead you to a league

766
00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:14,839
Speaker 4: governance role. And so it's not like I personally don't

767
00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,279
Speaker 4: think being on this side of things means that my

768
00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:19,480
Speaker 4: mission or my values has to change.

769
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:22,240
Speaker 5: It's just a different operating environment.

770
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:24,280
Speaker 2: And the perspective you might need to get it done better.

771
00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:27,920
Speaker 4: Exactly, or like, what's the language that makes sense to

772
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,400
Speaker 4: people working in this space, because it's different to the

773
00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,640
Speaker 4: language that you might use with players or with player

774
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:36,040
Speaker 4: associations or player representatives.

775
00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:38,719
Speaker 5: So it's also like adapting and.

776
00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:43,760
Speaker 4: Changing, like how I approach things the narrative that I present,

777
00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:47,160
Speaker 4: but not not to fundamentally change who I am or

778
00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:50,239
Speaker 4: what the goals or what the needs of the industry are.

779
00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,200
Speaker 4: So it's it's at a very personal level. It's also

780
00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:57,239
Speaker 4: part of the extension of my growth and my development

781
00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:01,120
Speaker 4: as a person within my career as well. So it's

782
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:05,160
Speaker 4: it doesn't feel like I'm working for the man. It

783
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:09,000
Speaker 4: just feels like I'm in another environment where I'm learning

784
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:12,759
Speaker 4: how to grow this game and how to progress it sustainably.

785
00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:17,040
Speaker 4: And I certainly feel with this role and being in

786
00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:21,080
Speaker 4: this position that I'm well suited to do so. But

787
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:25,200
Speaker 4: I also, like, I really hope that others will continue

788
00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:28,720
Speaker 4: to challenge the league too. I think that's so critically important.

789
00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:31,160
Speaker 4: I think there always needs to be healthy tension if

790
00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:33,040
Speaker 4: you want to make progress well.

791
00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:35,000
Speaker 1: And from what I've gathered from you here and what

792
00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:36,880
Speaker 1: I've heard about you from others and write about you, like,

793
00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:39,200
Speaker 1: I'm just extremely excited to see what you do in

794
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:41,520
Speaker 1: this role and the ways that you can help make

795
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:44,360
Speaker 1: this league, you know, the best in the world. The

796
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:46,280
Speaker 1: last question I want to ask you is about competition,

797
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:48,480
Speaker 1: because I know part of your role is improving competition

798
00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:50,000
Speaker 1: and player experience and performance.

799
00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:51,799
Speaker 2: What do you make of the first couple weeks of

800
00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:52,280
Speaker 2: the season.

801
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:57,880
Speaker 4: What's really interesting is, like we've hired within the sporting

802
00:38:57,880 --> 00:39:01,319
Speaker 4: team just recently the very first scene manager of officiating,

803
00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:04,120
Speaker 4: and he's been busy so far, a.

804
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:08,080
Speaker 1: Couple more than the half of last year's total in

805
00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:09,120
Speaker 1: the first two weeks.

806
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:10,600
Speaker 5: Yeah, which I think.

807
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:13,719
Speaker 4: I mean, this league talks off a lot about like

808
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:17,280
Speaker 4: how competitive it all is, and I think you're.

809
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:20,000
Speaker 5: Seeing players are certainly leaving it all out there.

810
00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,960
Speaker 4: What I'm really interested in seeing the development across this

811
00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:28,280
Speaker 4: year in particular, is, you know, we've got so many

812
00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:31,080
Speaker 4: coaches from all over the world playing in the league now,

813
00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:34,359
Speaker 4: on top of some really exciting players, and I think

814
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,920
Speaker 4: with a couple of teams in particularly, starting to see

815
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,760
Speaker 4: more diversity in the style of play because these coaches

816
00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:42,719
Speaker 4: have come in and they've had time to work with

817
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:46,239
Speaker 4: their players, And to me, that's really interesting and I

818
00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:48,359
Speaker 4: think it's great for the league as a global league

819
00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:51,320
Speaker 4: and as a destination league that there are different styles

820
00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:54,520
Speaker 4: of play emerging. There are clubs that are working really

821
00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:58,279
Speaker 4: hard on their identity and they're playing philosophy as well,

822
00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:02,279
Speaker 4: and that's coming through. Not to mention like there's there's

823
00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,640
Speaker 4: the maybe it seems obvious to me, but it's.

824
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:06,480
Speaker 5: Probably worth saying.

825
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:09,399
Speaker 4: We're a year out from the women's World Cup all

826
00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:11,400
Speaker 4: of the players, and I've certainly seen this in the

827
00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:15,319
Speaker 4: individual performances of some players are trying to get you know,

828
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:19,120
Speaker 4: their catch the eye. Yeah, Butt's on a seat to

829
00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:21,120
Speaker 4: go to Brazil next year and be part of that.

830
00:40:21,239 --> 00:40:23,399
Speaker 4: So I think as the season goes on, we're also

831
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:26,799
Speaker 4: going to see some players working so hard to find form.

832
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:28,720
Speaker 5: And I think that's really exciting.

833
00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:31,920
Speaker 4: Yeah, if I was a national team coach, I would

834
00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:35,080
Speaker 4: be both excited and probably a little bit dismayed at

835
00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:37,319
Speaker 4: how difficult my decisions are going to have to be

836
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:40,600
Speaker 4: like leading into that competition, because we know, we know

837
00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:44,000
Speaker 4: as qualification wraps up that you know, all eyes are

838
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,320
Speaker 4: going to be on Brazil next year and this league's

839
00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:50,000
Speaker 4: role in developing players and being a place where players

840
00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,399
Speaker 4: are playing well, so not only pushed to get into

841
00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:54,720
Speaker 4: national teams, but then to perform on the world stage.

842
00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:56,960
Speaker 5: That that's another thing that I'm really looking forward to.

843
00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:00,000
Speaker 5: And it's always unique the year before a Women's World Cup.

844
00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:02,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, my eyes are also on Brazil, and I

845
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:05,640
Speaker 1: would like about in the seat covering it. So sponsors,

846
00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:07,359
Speaker 1: I hope you've got your eye on the work we're

847
00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:10,160
Speaker 1: doing here and the ways we're really pushing our performance

848
00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:12,560
Speaker 1: to make sure we've got a spot. I've still never

849
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:14,880
Speaker 1: been to South America, so which sponsor will be the

850
00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:18,560
Speaker 1: one that helps open my horizons and send me on

851
00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:21,799
Speaker 1: a plane. Sarah was so great to talk to you.

852
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:24,719
Speaker 1: I'm genuinely so enthusiastic for what you're going to do

853
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:26,919
Speaker 1: with the league and really appreciate you giving us some time.

854
00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:30,120
Speaker 4: No, thank you for the conversation, great questions. I hope

855
00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:33,680
Speaker 4: you get a sponsor and we see you in Brazil

856
00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:34,319
Speaker 4: next year.

857
00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:35,240
Speaker 5: It's going to be massive.

858
00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:40,160
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Sarah for chatting with us. We have

859
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:43,000
Speaker 1: to take another break when we return. It's Slice madness,

860
00:41:43,080 --> 00:41:47,280
Speaker 1: y'all or is it March sliceness? Either way, stick around

861
00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:56,839
Speaker 1: Welcome back Slics. In honor of Women's History Month. Every

862
00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:58,960
Speaker 1: Friday this month, we're doing a special edition of Take

863
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:02,719
Speaker 1: It Back that looks back at legendary games, athletes, or

864
00:42:02,719 --> 00:42:05,920
Speaker 1: origin stories. This week, in honor of the Denver Summits

865
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:08,600
Speaker 1: record breaking home opener at Mile High, let's take it

866
00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:12,520
Speaker 1: back to two noteworthy moments in attendance at women's soccer games.

867
00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:16,080
Speaker 1: Let's begin in England in nineteen twenty, the popular women's

868
00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:18,680
Speaker 1: soccer team, the dick Kerr Ladies, were playing a Boxing

869
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:22,320
Speaker 1: day match against rivals Saint Helen's at Goodison Park in Liverpool,

870
00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:24,760
Speaker 1: with money raised going to men wounded.

871
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:24,839
Speaker 2: In the war.

872
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:29,080
Speaker 1: Fifty three thousand fans attended, with even more turned away.

873
00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:31,840
Speaker 1: With the stadium at capacity. It was one of many

874
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:35,839
Speaker 1: women's soccer games drawing huge crowds around that time. Well

875
00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:38,520
Speaker 1: one year later, angry that the women's games made money

876
00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:41,759
Speaker 1: they couldn't control and alleging that not all funds from

877
00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:45,760
Speaker 1: charity games went appropriately to charities, the sports governing body,

878
00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:49,280
Speaker 1: the FA, voted to ban women's football, ruling that women's

879
00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:52,000
Speaker 1: games were barred from FA affiliated football grounds.

880
00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:53,880
Speaker 2: Their ruling stated in part.

881
00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:56,640
Speaker 1: Quote, complaints having been made as to football being played

882
00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:59,960
Speaker 1: by women, Council felt impelled to express the strong opinion

883
00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:02,640
Speaker 1: that the game of football is quite unsuitable for females

884
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:06,160
Speaker 1: and should not be encouraged end quote. Women's teams were

885
00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:09,360
Speaker 1: forced to play in small venues and small fields, extinguishing

886
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:13,720
Speaker 1: their crowds and delegitimizing their efforts. The ban lasted fifty

887
00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:18,160
Speaker 1: one years. Fast forward to nineteen seventy one and the

888
00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:21,440
Speaker 1: all but forgotten unofficial Women's World Cup held in Mexico

889
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:25,880
Speaker 1: City and Guadalajara. Teams came from Argentina, Denmark, England, France,

890
00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:28,839
Speaker 1: Italy and Mexico and played in front of over one

891
00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:34,040
Speaker 1: hundred thousand fans in Azteca Stadium, Yes one hundred thousand,

892
00:43:34,719 --> 00:43:37,960
Speaker 1: and yet FIFA wouldn't officially recognize a Women's World Cup

893
00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:42,000
Speaker 1: until nineteen ninety one, a full twenty years later, because

894
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:44,560
Speaker 1: it wasn't a true World Cup. That nineteen seventy one

895
00:43:44,600 --> 00:43:47,520
Speaker 1: tournament went all but forgotten until the folks behind the

896
00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:51,160
Speaker 1: incredible documentary COPA seventy one unearthed the footage and told

897
00:43:51,160 --> 00:43:53,600
Speaker 1: the story. Go watch that doc and prepare to be

898
00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:57,440
Speaker 1: enraged and inspired by the nearly lost history of that

899
00:43:57,520 --> 00:44:00,560
Speaker 1: incredible event. Now I bring these two up because it's

900
00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:04,280
Speaker 1: worth remembering as we celebrate massive moments like the Summits Opener,

901
00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:07,759
Speaker 1: that rejecting and stunting the growth of women's sports has

902
00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:10,680
Speaker 1: been just as intentional as the building of it. So

903
00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:12,960
Speaker 1: we can't let our foot off the gas, and we

904
00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:14,919
Speaker 1: have to be willing to take it back to those

905
00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:17,360
Speaker 1: moments in history and tell the true story of what

906
00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:21,000
Speaker 1: came before. So false narratives that no one cared or

907
00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:25,360
Speaker 1: the product wasn't deserving can be rightly shouted down. We

908
00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:26,920
Speaker 1: love that you're listening, but we want you to get

909
00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:28,759
Speaker 1: in the game every day too. So here's our good

910
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:31,600
Speaker 1: game play the day Slices. We want to shout out

911
00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:34,520
Speaker 1: the duo sitting atop our March Sliceness bracket heading into

912
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:37,879
Speaker 1: the weekends games, tied with five hundred ninety points each.

913
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:41,799
Speaker 1: It's Raw Pick one perhaps Super Slice Aaron Raw and

914
00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:46,879
Speaker 1: the cleverly named go Away Kim Geaux surely a nod

915
00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:50,840
Speaker 1: to LSU coach Kim Moulkey. Seven slices are right behind

916
00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:53,800
Speaker 1: those two at five hundred and eighty points. Yours truly

917
00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:57,520
Speaker 1: bracket name Orange you Glad. Spain one is still in

918
00:44:57,560 --> 00:44:59,960
Speaker 1: the mix, tied for fifteenth with five hundred and sixty

919
00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:02,520
Speaker 1: and the good game producers are Neck and Neck. Alex

920
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:06,439
Speaker 1: Asi's Loan bracket and Bianca's b Hillier six' one four

921
00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:09,360
Speaker 1: bracket are both tied for forty first at five hundred

922
00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:09,640
Speaker 1: and forty.

923
00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:11,759
Speaker 2: Points, now thank goodness for all of.

924
00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:15,200
Speaker 1: Us fourteen year Old Otto shellhammer isn't a, slice or

925
00:45:15,239 --> 00:45:18,839
Speaker 1: we'd all be chasing. Perfection The pittsburgh eighth grader has

926
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:21,480
Speaker 1: the only perfect bracket left after the opening weekend in

927
00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:24,360
Speaker 1: the men's and women's, tournaments a perfect so far women's

928
00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:27,520
Speaker 1: bracket that Has texas winning it. All shellhammer told THE

929
00:45:27,520 --> 00:45:30,160
Speaker 1: ap quote it was one hundred percent. LUCK i know

930
00:45:30,280 --> 00:45:32,120
Speaker 1: basically nothing about any type.

931
00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:33,120
Speaker 2: Of basketball end.

932
00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:35,440
Speaker 1: Quote we'll link to the story about Shell hammer in

933
00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:38,400
Speaker 1: the show notes also. Slices just a heads up if

934
00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:40,799
Speaker 1: you're headed To phoenix for The final, four plan on

935
00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:42,680
Speaker 1: coming to see a live episode Of Good game With

936
00:45:42,719 --> 00:45:46,080
Speaker 1: Sarah Spain, Saturday april, fourth at one Pm eastern at

937
00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:50,440
Speaker 1: The Capitol One Tourney town With Sue bird And Diana. Tarassi,

938
00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:53,319
Speaker 1: yep we had so much fun last year and had

939
00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:55,759
Speaker 1: the most attended session in years per The Tourney town,

940
00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:58,719
Speaker 1: folks so we're running it. BACK i can't wait to

941
00:45:58,719 --> 00:46:01,359
Speaker 1: See diana's reaction to THE us from Her Door county bench,

942
00:46:01,440 --> 00:46:04,120
Speaker 1: dedication Especially nato The goat wearing her.

943
00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:06,520
Speaker 2: Jersey we always love to hear from.

944
00:46:06,520 --> 00:46:08,239
Speaker 1: You to hit us up on, Email Good game at

945
00:46:08,239 --> 00:46:11,000
Speaker 1: wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight

946
00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:14,880
Speaker 1: seven two two oh four fifty seventy and don't forget to,

947
00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:18,680
Speaker 1: subscribe rate and, review just Like carissa From, florida who

948
00:46:18,719 --> 00:46:20,520
Speaker 1: called in with her review and left us this.

949
00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:24,720
Speaker 6: Voicemail, Hi I'm carissa From, florida and i just wanted

950
00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:27,680
Speaker 6: to say thank you Because i've been listening to you

951
00:46:27,719 --> 00:46:32,280
Speaker 6: guys every day before the, news BEFORE i do, ANYTHING

952
00:46:32,600 --> 00:46:34,560
Speaker 6: i listen to you While i'm getting, ready and it's

953
00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:38,959
Speaker 6: just the light of my, day makes things start off.

954
00:46:39,040 --> 00:46:42,960
Speaker 6: Happier and especially want to thank you for yesterday's, Guest.

955
00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:48,319
Speaker 6: Cheryl i've been training for a triathlon and it has

956
00:46:48,360 --> 00:46:50,960
Speaker 6: gotten to the point Where i'm, LIKE i just have

957
00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:53,840
Speaker 6: to get through this workout And i'm so tired of

958
00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:57,959
Speaker 6: it AND i just want to get. Through but every

959
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:01,239
Speaker 6: now and then you have a guest on that really it's,

960
00:47:01,280 --> 00:47:04,680
Speaker 6: home and listening to, HER i was, like, No i'm

961
00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:07,319
Speaker 6: going to be present in my, body AND i just

962
00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:09,680
Speaker 6: want you to know that WHEN i finished my first

963
00:47:09,719 --> 00:47:15,520
Speaker 6: triathlon In, june that you and your podcast and your crew.

964
00:47:15,680 --> 00:47:16,640
Speaker 5: All had a lot to do with.

965
00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:18,000
Speaker 6: That thank.

966
00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:20,840
Speaker 2: You, yes, yes, yes we love this so.

967
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:21,160
Speaker 6: Much.

968
00:47:21,239 --> 00:47:24,440
Speaker 1: Carissa keep being, present keep thinking about that goal and

969
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:27,200
Speaker 1: the satisfaction of having trained and worked toward that, goal

970
00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:30,560
Speaker 1: and selfishly from this busted old former athlete who really

971
00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:34,319
Speaker 1: misses training for. Competitions enjoyed that your body allows you

972
00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:35,919
Speaker 1: to wake up and, swim bike.

973
00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:38,719
Speaker 2: Run we're rooting for. You can't wait for your.

974
00:47:38,680 --> 00:47:41,840
Speaker 1: Post race review. Too now it's your, turn y'all rate and.

975
00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:45,359
Speaker 1: Review thanks for, Listening see you next. Week Good, Game,

976
00:47:45,600 --> 00:47:49,520
Speaker 1: Sierra Good Game, raw pick one and go, away kim

977
00:47:49,840 --> 00:47:56,400
Speaker 1: you so called gender. Testing Good game With Sarah spain

978
00:47:56,480 --> 00:47:59,319
Speaker 1: is an iheartwomen's sports production in partnership With Deep Blue

979
00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:02,359
Speaker 1: sports And. Energy you can find us on The iHeartRadio,

980
00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:05,880
Speaker 1: App Apple, podcasts or wherever you get your. Podcasts production

981
00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:08,239
Speaker 1: By Wonder Media, network our producers Are.

982
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:09,440
Speaker 2: Alex azzi And Bianca.

983
00:48:09,520 --> 00:48:13,160
Speaker 1: Hillier our executive producers Are Christina, Everett Jesse, Katz Jenny

984
00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:16,279
Speaker 1: kaplan And Emily. Rudder our editors Are Emily, Rutterer Lucy,

985
00:48:16,360 --> 00:48:19,920
Speaker 1: Jones Britney martinez And Gianna. Palmer production assistants From Avery

986
00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:22,200
Speaker 1: loftus And I'm Your Host Sarah spain