Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're still
Speaker 1: recovering from hearing Brandi Carlile sing Alanis Morissette's Uninvited live.
Speaker 1: Full body chills, y'all. It's Friday, August 28th, and on
Speaker 1: today's show, longtime WVET and Seattle Storm Center Steph Dolson
Speaker 1: joins us to discuss what she wants to get out
Speaker 1: of her final years in the league, why it's so
Speaker 1: important to have WNBA fans who actually know and love
Speaker 1: the game, the type of leadership she wants to see
Speaker 1: from Kathy Engelbert and Adam Silver moving forward, and how
Speaker 1: she handles talking to teammates about contentious issues. Plus, bench pointers,
Speaker 1: dreaming of another chip, and bracing for the lead. It's
Speaker 1: all coming up right after this. Welcome back, Slices. Here's
Speaker 1: what you need to know today. Let's start with the WNBA.
Speaker 1: On Thursday, it was confirmed that Dawana Bonner will sign
Speaker 1: with the Atlanta Dream for the conclusion of the WNBA
Speaker 1: regular season and playoffs. The move comes after Bonner and
Speaker 1: the Phoenix Mercury reached a buyout agreement earlier this week
Speaker 1: in order for the 17-year vet to sign with a
Speaker 1: playoff-bound team in what could be her final season in
Speaker 1: the league. Bonner cleared waivers on Wednesday evening, and per ESPN,
Speaker 1: her deal will be at the prorated maximum, equivalent to
Speaker 1: about $ 116, 000. Shout out to friend of the show Richard
Speaker 1: Cohen for doing the math, or as he would say, maths,
Speaker 1: explaining on Blue Sky that the prorated salary is based
Speaker 1: on the number of days remaining in the regular season.
Speaker 1: We'll link to his post in the show notes if
Speaker 1: you want to check it out. More WNBA. The Golden
Speaker 1: State Valkyries set a new franchise record on Wednesday with
Speaker 1: bench players scoring 54 points in the team's 89-64 win
Speaker 1: over the Connecticut Sun. Per StatMuse, the New York Liberty
Speaker 1: still hold the league-wide record for most points by a
Speaker 1: team off the bench in a game with 69 against
Speaker 1: the Mystics back in 2016. Leading from the bench for
Speaker 1: the Valks was Janelle Salon, who hit four three-pointers and
Speaker 1: finished the night with 15 points. Fellow bench players Kayla
Speaker 1: Charles and Kaitlyn Chen added 14 points and 10 points, respectively.
Speaker 1: No surprise that Salon was leading the way, by the way.
Speaker 1: She set a new WNBA record for points scored off
Speaker 1: the bench in a single season on Monday, with seven
Speaker 1: games still left to play. Heading into Thursday's game against
Speaker 1: the Liberty, Salon had put up 485 points off the bench.
Speaker 1: And just for reference, next closest this season, teammate Tiffany
Speaker 1: Hayes with just 310. All of this talk of the
Speaker 1: Valks bench reminded me of something Veronica Burton said during
Speaker 1: my interview with her earlier this month. Take a listen.
Speaker 2: I think there's this idea that players on the end
Speaker 2: of a WNBA team or at the end of the
Speaker 2: bench like can't compete. And I think that's like one
Speaker 2: of the oldest lies in the book because you give
Speaker 2: people opportunity and the skill set is there. It is
Speaker 2: so hard to make this league. It is so hard
Speaker 2: to play in the WNBA. like people that don't play
Speaker 2: are still very good basketball players. And so when you
Speaker 2: give them a chance and a lot of those players
Speaker 2: have honestly been out working a lot of starters, you know,
Speaker 2: they want it.
Speaker 1: Love that. More WNBA. Sunday's game between the Indiana Fever
Speaker 1: and Chicago Sky averaged 3.31 million viewers on NBC and Peacock,
Speaker 1: making it the most watched regular season WNBA game since
Speaker 1: the league's inaugural season in 1997. It's also the third
Speaker 1: most watched regular season game ever. behind only two opening
Speaker 1: weekend games from June of 97, which also aired on NBC. Now,
Speaker 1: the Fever won Sunday's contest 113-90, with Kaitlyn Clark making
Speaker 1: a career-high eight three-pointers and scoring 37 points in the victory.
Speaker 1: The game was highly anticipated in part because it marked
Speaker 1: the first time Chicago's Dejanay Carrington and Indiana's Sophie Cunningham
Speaker 1: went head-to-head since Carrington fouled Cunningham and was ejected from
Speaker 1: a game earlier this month. No major fireworks between those two,
Speaker 1: but of course this was the Ennis Cantor freedom game.
Speaker 1: How nice that a near-record number of WNBA fans were
Speaker 1: forced to watch his dumb shittery. More WNBA. All 15
Speaker 1: teams are in action this weekend before the FIBA World
Speaker 1: Cup break officially begins on Monday. And while every WNBA
Speaker 1: team has now either officially clinched or been eliminated from
Speaker 1: playoff contention, there's still a lot on the line when
Speaker 1: it comes to seeding possibilities. Action gets underway tonight with
Speaker 1: four games, including what will likely be DeJuan and Bonner's
Speaker 1: debut in an Atlanta Dream jersey. The Dream are currently
Speaker 1: in fourth place and are hosting the Portland Fire in
Speaker 1: a game that tips off at 7.30 p.m. Eastern. To
Speaker 1: the NWSL. North Carolina's Ashley Sanchez had a big night
Speaker 1: on Wednesday, scoring a brace in the Courage's 2-0 win
Speaker 1: over Angel City and extending her lead in the NWSL's
Speaker 1: Golden Boot Race. Sanchez now has 15 goals on the season,
Speaker 1: followed by Orlando's Barbara Banda with 12 and Washington's Trinity
Speaker 1: Rodman with 10. Sanchez's two goals also helped her tie
Speaker 1: and then break North Carolina's franchise record for most goals
Speaker 1: in a season. Lynn Biandolo held the previous record of 14,
Speaker 1: which she set in 2019. More NWSL. This weekend's slate
Speaker 1: of games kicks off with Gotham FC hosting the Portland
Speaker 1: Thorns tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern. And get this, tonight's
Speaker 1: game marks both Gotham and Portland's 300th regular season game
Speaker 1: in club history. They're the first of the five remaining
Speaker 1: original NWSL franchises to hit the mark. Shout out to
Speaker 1: the always incredible Jen Cooper for that fun fact. Also tonight,
Speaker 1: the San Diego Wave is hosting Racing Louisville, with that
Speaker 1: match getting underway at 10 p.m. Eastern. San Diego's coming
Speaker 1: off a 4-2 win against Utah last weekend, in which
Speaker 1: Trinity Byers contributed to all four goals, two goals and
Speaker 1: two assists. Looking ahead to Saturday, the Kansas City Current
Speaker 1: are hosting the North Carolina Courage, starting at 6.30 Eastern.
Speaker 1: The Current, as always when playing at CPKC Stadium, will
Speaker 1: be looking to maintain their home undefeated regular season streak,
Speaker 1: which dates back to July 6, 2024. Speaking of CPKC,
Speaker 1: did you see that they lit the stadium up bright
Speaker 1: pink for Dolly on Wednesday? So good. Looking ahead, the
Speaker 1: NWSL is about to lose a bunch of players to
Speaker 1: the upcoming U-20 Women's World Cup. Twelve players across the
Speaker 1: league will be traveling to Poland for the tournament, which
Speaker 1: kicks off on September 5th. But not every player who
Speaker 1: was selected by their national team was released by their club.
Speaker 1: After naming the U-20 roster earlier this month, manager Vicky
Speaker 1: Jepsen said it was upsetting that multiple teams— both in
Speaker 1: the NWSL and overseas, refused to allow certain players to
Speaker 1: miss time for the tournament. As a result, the U.S.
Speaker 1: squad will be without top stars like Claire Hutton and
Speaker 1: Alex Piper, who both play for Bay FC, along with
Speaker 1: San Diego's Kimi Escanio and Seattle's Jordan Bugg. So Bugg
Speaker 1: has to stay, but Seattle will still see an impact,
Speaker 1: as the team is losing the most players of any
Speaker 1: NWSL team to the tournament. Emery Adamas, Ainsley McCammon, and
Speaker 1: Evan Osteen were all named to the U.S. team and
Speaker 1: released to play. To tennis and the U.S. Open. Czech
Speaker 1: duo Karolina Muhova and Jakub Menchik won the mixed doubles
Speaker 1: title on Wednesday night, defeating Belinda Bencic and Flavio Caboli
Speaker 1: in the championship on a tiebreaker. Earlier in the night
Speaker 1: during their semifinal match, which also finished with a tiebreaker,
Speaker 1: Muhova and Menchik were a point away from being ousted,
Speaker 1: but they put up a comeback, erasing two match points
Speaker 1: and then winning four points in a row to nab
Speaker 1: a spot in the championship match. Also worth noting... Just
Speaker 1: how close married couple Alina Svitolina and Gael Monfils were
Speaker 1: to winning their first U.S. Open trophies. Individually, they've each
Speaker 1: made it to the semis in the U.S. Open singles,
Speaker 1: but they've never won. And they once again came up
Speaker 1: short in the mixed doubles, falling to Bencic and Caboli.
Speaker 1: Monfils has announced this as his last U.S. Open since
Speaker 1: he's retiring. Would have been such a fairytale story for
Speaker 1: them to go out on top. We got to take
Speaker 1: a break. When we come back, it's Steph Dolson. I
Speaker 1: caught up with her earlier this week. Joining us now,
Speaker 1: she plays for the Seattle Storm and played for the
Speaker 1: Laces and unrivaled in season one. She led UConn to
Speaker 1: a 144-11 record over her four-year career, which included four
Speaker 1: Final Four appearances and back-to-back national championships. Her senior year,
Speaker 1: she grabbed 371 rebounds, second most in school history and
Speaker 1: 93 blocks, third most in a single season. Before she
Speaker 1: was drafted sixth overall by the Washington Mystics in the
Speaker 1: 2014 WNBA draft, a gold medalist in 3x3 basketball at
Speaker 1: the 2020 Summer Olympics. She helped the Chicago Sky to
Speaker 1: their first and so far only title in 2021, a
Speaker 1: descendant of a 17th century beaver pelt trader. Back in 2014,
Speaker 1: I served her breakfast on the set of Numbers Never
Speaker 1: Lie at ESPN headquarters in Bristol. It's Steph Dolson. Hi, Steph.
Speaker 3: Hi, how are you? That was a long list.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you probably don't even remember, but it was I.
Speaker 1: along with Trey Wingo, that served you and Shabazz Napier
Speaker 1: breakfast at Numbers Never Lie, which I believe was a
Speaker 1: callback to him complaining about going to bed hungry because
Speaker 1: of NCAA's antiquated rules about meals.
Speaker 3: I don't remember that, but I do remember being at
Speaker 3: ESPN with Shabazz, so that I do remember, but it
Speaker 3: was a long time ago.
Speaker 1: It was a long time ago. I was filling in
Speaker 1: for Jamel, so that was the first time we met,
Speaker 1: and you were such a blast. You had such a great,
Speaker 1: fun personality, and that has been the case ever since.
Speaker 1: you know, we had two of your teammates on recently
Speaker 1: and I was thinking about you while interviewing them. We
Speaker 1: had Dom Malanga and Awafam and you've got a big
Speaker 1: role as a veteran center, helping those to kind of
Speaker 1: learn the ropes. How's that been for you?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's been really fun. Those two especially are just like,
Speaker 3: they're overjoyed about playing basketball and being here and, Um,
Speaker 3: I've enjoyed just being their vet, teaching them, um, trying
Speaker 3: to let them learn a little bit, you know, um,
Speaker 3: with what they're doing, but I try to just sneak
Speaker 3: in some information every now and then.
Speaker 1: Yeah. They seem joyful and they seem, um, I guess
Speaker 1: they have to be uniquely open to everything because it's
Speaker 1: not just a new league. It's a new country and
Speaker 1: new culture and everything else. Have you had a little
Speaker 1: fun with the culture shock for them? Have you been
Speaker 1: able to have them try weird foods or introduce them
Speaker 1: to things about the U S that maybe they weren't
Speaker 1: familiar with?
Speaker 3: Not particularly. I think I'm so old that I'm not
Speaker 3: sure that we do. I wouldn't say that we do
Speaker 3: much together. Okay. You know, it's not like a 34
Speaker 3: year old going to hang out with a 29 year old.
Speaker 3: The two of them are what, 20?
Speaker 1: Literally children.
Speaker 3: 19 and 20.
Speaker 4: Yeah. So.
Speaker 3: I think that's the biggest culture shock if you will
Speaker 3: it's just the different ages every time i'm with them
Speaker 3: i'm like you guys are really 20 years old um
Speaker 3: so yeah not much in terms of culture that.
Speaker 1: Way that's fair just a couple tiktok dances which i've
Speaker 1: seen and you rightly assuming your place at the end
Speaker 1: to really break it down um You know, it's always
Speaker 1: tough to be on a team three building. You want
Speaker 1: to win every night, of course, but you can find
Speaker 1: the things that you want to learn or take away
Speaker 1: from this season personally or professionally. And what is that
Speaker 1: for you throughout this year?
Speaker 3: For me personally, I think it's just being a vet.
Speaker 3: I think every team has taught me something new. Um,
Speaker 3: and the older I get, the more I'm learning, um,
Speaker 3: and hopefully transitioning into my next phase of life and
Speaker 3: my career, um, is just learning how to be a
Speaker 3: good vet, a leader, um, teaching them my experience again,
Speaker 3: watching them grow and seeing where I can help, but
Speaker 3: where I can let them learn themselves. Um, and with
Speaker 3: this group, because it's so young, uh, it's obviously been
Speaker 3: a tough season, but we've kept a really positive attitude
Speaker 3: and it's been a joy to be around these people.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it seems like it. Not just on the court
Speaker 1: putting up a fight, even in losing efforts, but the
Speaker 1: fun extracurriculars, whether that's, you know, Flage making fun of
Speaker 1: Awa for saying mayonnaise or it's Natisha Heideman's run club.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of ways that you're interacting with the
Speaker 1: community and building a team that will be better and
Speaker 1: stronger in the future. Are you going to make it
Speaker 1: to a run club? Is that your vibe?
Speaker 3: Uh, not my vibe. I neither like running nor a
Speaker 3: lot of people. Large crowds is not my thing. So
Speaker 3: I have told her that I will support from afar,
Speaker 3: but I'm very happy for her. She, um, you know,
Speaker 3: she's such a huge part of this community and they
Speaker 3: love her. Um, so I'm just happy that she kind
Speaker 3: of found another outlet that she's able to do and, um,
Speaker 3: enjoy the city with, with these people.
Speaker 1: Yeah, she's putting everybody to shame who's like, I don't
Speaker 1: have time. She's like, I'm a full-time WNBA player and
Speaker 1: I still have a run club mid-season. We're all like, oh,
Speaker 1: we can't get that Pilates in. You're on your fourth team,
Speaker 1: fifth stop in the WNBA in more than a dozen years.
Speaker 1: You're in your 13th season, which is wild. I'm so
Speaker 1: grateful to have you on in this pivotal moment, this
Speaker 1: moment in the history of the league, because you've been
Speaker 1: a part of it for almost half of its existence.
Speaker 1: What does 30 years of the WNBA mean to you?
Speaker 3: It means everything. I mean, when I was in high school,
Speaker 3: I didn't even know if I would be in the WNBA.
Speaker 3: Wasn't sure where I'd play in college. And once Gino
Speaker 3: hit me up, hit me up. Once Gino recruited.
Speaker 1: Me.
Speaker 3: No, once he recruited me, I was like, oh, OK,
Speaker 3: like I actually have a chance to play professionally. So
Speaker 3: for me, it's just an opportunity to do something that
Speaker 3: I love every day. The more it's grown, the more
Speaker 3: fun it's been. All these arenas that we get to
Speaker 3: play in now with the how packed they are. It's just,
Speaker 3: it's such a fun environment and I'm just excited and
Speaker 3: happy and proud of myself that I'm able to still
Speaker 3: be playing and still be a part of this league.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it is a hard league to make, hard league
Speaker 1: to stick in and you're still at it. You know,
Speaker 1: there's so much enthusiasm for the league this year. There's
Speaker 1: so much investment in Team facilities, cool merch, marketing, more
Speaker 1: media coverage, and of course a new CBA that really
Speaker 1: fundamentally changes the economic realities of players in the league.
Speaker 1: Another great reason to want to stick around for as
Speaker 1: long as you can. Does this year feel really different
Speaker 1: to you from even just last year?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's just grown more. I mean, I
Speaker 3: think the visibility, the fan bases, the money, of course,
Speaker 3: is great. But for me, I've never done anything for money. Like,
Speaker 3: that's not my driving force. I just continue to play
Speaker 3: because I love it and I love to learn and
Speaker 3: I love to teach. And so I want to do
Speaker 3: it as long as I can. But I also would
Speaker 3: never take spots from younger girls coming in to be
Speaker 3: a part of this league for the future. But this year, yeah,
Speaker 3: it's been different for sure. There's been so much buzz
Speaker 3: and excitement and it's been a great time.
Speaker 1: It sounds like you're sort of thinking about when you're
Speaker 1: going to be done. Do you have a time set?
Speaker 1: Do you have a goal? Do you have like a
Speaker 1: number of years you want to be in the league?
Speaker 3: Uh, not necessarily. I think like two years ago I
Speaker 3: kept saying three years. And so I'm on that third year. Um,
Speaker 3: but I definitely would love to do another year. Um,
Speaker 3: I think my body feels great. I mean, I had
Speaker 3: a full healthy season this year. Um, and I feel like, yes,
Speaker 3: I'm getting older, but I'm getting stronger and I feel
Speaker 3: really good. Uh, so, you know, if the opportunity is there,
Speaker 3: I would love it. Um, but yeah, definitely not too
Speaker 3: many years. My body is 13 is pushing it. So yeah, that's,
Speaker 3: that's a long time.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Um, What about coaching? It sounds like you like
Speaker 1: the teaching aspect.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm hoping to get into coaching after I'm done.
Speaker 3: I feel like I'm already kind of a coach half
Speaker 3: the time on these teams because I can't keep my
Speaker 3: mouth shut. I just always have to say something, which
Speaker 3: I think makes for a good coach. So hopefully that
Speaker 3: will be my transition to the next part of my life.
Speaker 1: Oh, that's awesome. You know, with all this increased excitement
Speaker 1: around the league, there's some bad, too. And the WNBA
Speaker 1: has always been at the center of political and social
Speaker 1: issues since the very beginning. I believe that if you're
Speaker 1: a woman in a patriarchal society, your mere existence is political,
Speaker 1: even when you haven't said or done anything. And W
Speaker 1: players do say and do things. They stand for things.
Speaker 1: W players stand for a particular kind of woman that
Speaker 1: is the kind that sometimes pisses off people who would
Speaker 1: prefer we stay in our quote-unquote lane. So... Before we
Speaker 1: get into the specifics of it, I wonder how you
Speaker 1: read the timing of the latest interruptions to play. The
Speaker 1: sex toys, the anti-trans rallies and displays, using the league
Speaker 1: for political gain. Why is this happening now?
Speaker 3: I don't know. I think it's just how visible we are, maybe.
Speaker 3: I think we've grown so fast and have gotten a
Speaker 3: lot of new fans that don't really know the game
Speaker 3: as much. I think they're not necessarily fans for the
Speaker 3: right reasons sometimes. And I think they just want to
Speaker 3: poke and prod and get a reaction out of players
Speaker 3: and things to become relevant or to cause chaos. And
Speaker 3: so for us, it's like, you know, we love the visibility.
Speaker 3: We love more fans, but we want fans who love
Speaker 3: women's basketball and who love women's sports. and who genuinely
Speaker 3: want to watch us play and not just tear us
Speaker 3: down or nitpick every little thing that we do. And
Speaker 3: I feel like we have a really good amount of
Speaker 3: those fans, but there's still going to be those few
Speaker 3: that just kind of find something to start or complain about.
Speaker 3: And it's kind of a lose-lose sometimes. But I mean,
Speaker 3: for me personally, I try to just not even think
Speaker 3: about it. I just go out and play and focus
Speaker 3: on being happy.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think sometimes, too, there's so much conversation that's stirred
Speaker 1: up simply because of a lack of information. You know,
Speaker 1: Steph White having to explain what she said about Dejanay
Speaker 1: Carrington when most of the people complaining had no idea
Speaker 1: she coached Dejanay Carrington the season before. And just that
Speaker 1: little bit of information does change your perspective on why
Speaker 1: she would say that about her as opposed to feeling
Speaker 1: like she's defending the opponent. Well, they were just on
Speaker 1: the same team as of, you know, a year or
Speaker 1: two ago. So you understand and... that context is so
Speaker 1: often missing in the conversation around women's sports. And I
Speaker 1: think part of that is because so much of it
Speaker 1: is online and people don't know what to trust and
Speaker 1: what's real. And there's not enough coverage from major journalistically
Speaker 1: sound outlets and people rely on, you know, an Instagram
Speaker 1: post that they see. And when it comes to the
Speaker 1: latest interruptions, it does feel like they're all to your point,
Speaker 1: intending to provoke as opposed to educate or otherwise. And,
Speaker 1: you know, you've been outspoken in your support of the
Speaker 1: trans community and You wore a t-shirt to the game
Speaker 1: against Indiana Fever where those anti-trans rallies first started up
Speaker 1: in Seattle. Why is it important for you to be
Speaker 1: public and vocal with that stance?
Speaker 3: I think for me, it's just they are a community
Speaker 3: that has so much hate on them for no reason.
Speaker 3: And I think for me, when I saw that there
Speaker 3: was the anti-trans rallies, I'm like, why are we doing this?
Speaker 3: Women's sports and coming to these games, you're supposed to
Speaker 3: feel protected and safe and We as a league, I think,
Speaker 3: have tried to do our best at keeping that. So
Speaker 3: when I saw that they were going to have these
Speaker 3: anti-trans rallies, I just wanted to make sure that the
Speaker 3: trans community knew where I stood and knew that, as
Speaker 3: Tosh Cloud said the other day, like I see them,
Speaker 3: I love them and I will always support them because
Speaker 3: they belong in sports. They belong in women's sports. And
Speaker 3: so for me, it was just important to kind of
Speaker 3: show that. And that was really the best way I
Speaker 3: could in that moment.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think there's such a sadness to the idea
Speaker 1: that these spaces that have been historically wonderful places for
Speaker 1: not just LGBTQ fans or marginalized groups, but just women,
Speaker 1: just any woman of any kind who wants to go
Speaker 1: somewhere and feel safe and included and loved and surrounded
Speaker 1: by joy and empowerment and embodiment and watching women thrive.
Speaker 1: It's so special and it's so unique to women's sports.
Speaker 1: There are so few spaces that we get to feel
Speaker 1: that way. And The fact that they would be tainted
Speaker 1: by this is really upsetting to me. And the first
Speaker 1: time I really thought about last year was when some
Speaker 1: woman wore these fake paper nails to a game to
Speaker 1: protest Dejanay Carrington, who didn't even have long nails. It
Speaker 1: was just a total dog whistle. And I thought about
Speaker 1: all the people around her section that must be thinking, oh,
Speaker 1: this is usually this place I go for just joy,
Speaker 1: and instead there's this. And I wonder if you think
Speaker 1: the league, whether that's Adam Silver and Kathy Engelberg or
Speaker 1: anyone else at the top, have done enough to respond
Speaker 1: to these agitators and disruptors or are handling this recent
Speaker 1: rash in the right way?
Speaker 3: I think they could do more, for sure. I know
Speaker 3: people say it's hard to be at the top, but
Speaker 3: I think there's so many moments that are missed for
Speaker 3: Cathy or Adam to just say something, you know, have
Speaker 3: a stance, have our backs, have as players, you know,
Speaker 3: we can only do so much with our words and
Speaker 3: our actions. And I think it means more when it
Speaker 3: comes from the top. So I think that they've definitely
Speaker 3: stayed quiet on a lot of issues. And I think
Speaker 3: that they could do a lot better job.
Speaker 1: You know, in sports, there's a lot of calling in
Speaker 1: instead of calling out, making a team full of different folks,
Speaker 1: who are all in pursuit of the same goal, feel
Speaker 1: connected and getting them to gel. It's one of the
Speaker 1: most special things about sports, actually, is how much people
Speaker 1: can be united despite differences and come together and actually,
Speaker 1: you know, chop it up and get to the heart
Speaker 1: of things. But that's not without its complications. And it's
Speaker 1: even more complicated when you consider coalescing as a league
Speaker 1: in support of things, something that the W has done
Speaker 1: over and over again, sometimes at the highest levels, like
Speaker 1: flipping the Senate or advocating for marginalized groups. But reaching
Speaker 1: across to different teams and across locker rooms can be tough.
Speaker 1: And I wonder if your teammates have conversations about how
Speaker 1: you want to handle players who have different political beliefs or,
Speaker 1: you know, in the case of Sophie Cunningham, in particular,
Speaker 1: a player who has inspired the kinds of pre- and
Speaker 1: in-game displays that we've seen. How do you discuss, like,
Speaker 1: I don't know, the sisterhood versus things that seem to
Speaker 1: be interrupting that unity?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's tough, you know, things that are
Speaker 3: said in the locker room, definitely stay in the locker room. Um,
Speaker 3: but I think, uh, for our group, again, we're such
Speaker 3: a young group that I'm not sure, you know, I
Speaker 3: have this space where, you know, I don't want to
Speaker 3: persuade people to feel a certain way. You know, my,
Speaker 3: if I'm, if I have a perspective on something and
Speaker 3: I say it, I don't want them to feel like, oh,
Speaker 3: they have to agree with me, but I feel like
Speaker 3: our team, we have a lot of young guys and
Speaker 3: they're very outspoken and in the locker room or on
Speaker 3: the sidelines, like we'll talk about stuff and everyone will
Speaker 3: express their feelings of what they think is right and wrong.
Speaker 3: And I think we have a really respectful way of
Speaker 3: going about it. Obviously everyone has their opinions. And as
Speaker 3: Sophie said, like people can have different opinions, but I
Speaker 3: think it's the way that we approach the conversation. And
Speaker 3: as long as we're doing it with love and we're
Speaker 3: not sparking the hate for the other side, like that's
Speaker 3: where it just misses. That's where it just doesn't make
Speaker 3: sense to me. So I always try to lead with
Speaker 3: that and make sure that, Even in the locker room,
Speaker 3: you know, everyone's comfortable and everyone can feel like they
Speaker 3: can speak up and say what they feel.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think ultimately, if your outcomes continue to
Speaker 1: not match your intentions and you actually care about your outcomes,
Speaker 1: then you change your behavior. It's pretty hard to hide behind,
Speaker 1: I just wanted this or I just wanted to say
Speaker 1: this or I want to believe this, if then you
Speaker 1: see the deleterious outcomes of that. And if you don't
Speaker 1: agree with what's happening as a result of what you're
Speaker 1: saying or how you're acting, then you change it. And
Speaker 1: if you don't, then you're kind of telling us how
Speaker 1: you want things to go. You know, you've been outspoken
Speaker 1: since college, probably since birth, actually. Have you just been
Speaker 1: like at what age? Because I know I at a
Speaker 1: very young age was like it was clear I was
Speaker 1: not going to follow. I would follow the rules for
Speaker 1: life and legally, but not for like girls or ladies.
Speaker 1: It's never going to be ladylike. What about you?
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, same. From a very young age, I talked
Speaker 3: a lot. You know, in college, I asked CD if
Speaker 3: I could shave half my head, and she said no.
Speaker 3: I would be off the team.
Speaker 1: That's a longtime assistant at UConn, who I believe has
Speaker 1: some pretty strict rules around pantyhose and stuff.
Speaker 3: Everything, yeah. Yeah, you had to wear stockings to everything,
Speaker 3: so then I chose to wear colored stockings everywhere. I
Speaker 3: had purple, blue. She was like, what are you wearing?
Speaker 3: And I'm like, you said it had to be stockings.
Speaker 3: You didn't say it had to be sheer. Um, you know,
Speaker 3: once I got a Yukon, I got some tattoos, um,
Speaker 3: dyed my hair purple. Uh, so yeah, there's definitely some
Speaker 3: strict rules that I had to follow at Yukon, but
Speaker 3: I feel like overall in my life, I try to
Speaker 3: do something fun, something different. You know, I just bleached
Speaker 3: my hair white this past off season. Cause I had
Speaker 3: like a midlife crisis. I'm like, wow, I'm really old
Speaker 3: and kind of boring. Like I need to do something.
Speaker 1: So you went white, which is exactly what I've been
Speaker 1: dying against happening. As I'm getting actually old.
Speaker 3: That's fair. But if you like, you know, make it cool.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, you did it punk.
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you. Going superhero.
Speaker 1: Well, you are super outspoken. I remember in 2016, you
Speaker 1: did a magazine article with ESPN where you came out
Speaker 1: and you said, not everyone in WNBA needs to be out,
Speaker 1: but I feel called to lead an authentic life in
Speaker 1: the open. I know who I am and I don't
Speaker 1: care if people judge me. I'm 6'5. I dye my
Speaker 1: hair purple and experiment a lot with fashion. My motto
Speaker 1: is if they're going to stare, they might as well
Speaker 1: stare at something fun, which as a fellow tall who
Speaker 1: is only 6 feet, not even 6'5, I feel the
Speaker 1: same way. I feel like no matter how, even if
Speaker 1: I wanted to be small, which I don't, like I can't.
Speaker 1: So figure out if everyone's going to look at you,
Speaker 1: better make it fun if they're going to look or
Speaker 1: make sure they're enjoying it. But you also said that
Speaker 1: there's a lot of girls who struggle being who they
Speaker 1: are and that there are people who, who need to
Speaker 1: take the role of being out there so girls know
Speaker 1: it's okay, regardless of, you know, stereotypes or something else.
Speaker 1: So I wonder if it always was your nature to
Speaker 1: be a role model, not just to be empowered in yourself,
Speaker 1: but to care about giving that gift to others, or
Speaker 1: if that's something you tried to learn.
Speaker 3: I think a little bit of both. I think it
Speaker 3: comes a little bit naturally, like a very small example is,
Speaker 3: you know, I grew up with two sisters, older sisters,
Speaker 3: and it was always like, I always wanted to be
Speaker 3: so different from them. So it being different just came naturally.
Speaker 3: Like I always said, if there was an outfit that
Speaker 3: they didn't like, then I liked it. Like it was
Speaker 3: perfect then.
Speaker 1: Where'd that come from?
Speaker 3: I don't know. I think, well, they're both redheads. So,
Speaker 3: and I, I'm a brunette. So I think it just
Speaker 3: naturally happened. Like I already stood out because I was
Speaker 3: the odd one out from a whole ginger family. So
Speaker 3: I kind of just grew into always wanting to stand out.
Speaker 3: And then once I got into the league and I
Speaker 3: realized I had this platform, it kind of felt like
Speaker 3: a natural thing. fit to just speak up about how
Speaker 3: I feel, um, who I am to show girls that
Speaker 3: they can, you know, also feel comfortable in their own
Speaker 3: skin and be true to themselves. Um, and not really
Speaker 3: worry about what other people said, because as much as
Speaker 3: I do care, sometimes what people say, I also could
Speaker 3: care less. Um, you know, it's inevitable to feel something
Speaker 3: when someone says it, but I've gotten so comfortable in
Speaker 3: who I am now, the older I've gotten, um, it
Speaker 3: kind of comes easier to me. So yeah, I just
Speaker 3: want to inspire young girls to feel the same way.
Speaker 3: And obviously they're not going to feel it right away,
Speaker 3: but as long as they can grow into it and
Speaker 3: grow into who they truly feel they are is all
Speaker 3: that matters.
Speaker 1: It's kind of wild to think about in 2016 being like,
Speaker 1: I'm going to come out now and I'm going to
Speaker 1: do an interview about it. And then you look around
Speaker 1: the league or just the world now and it's like, ah,
Speaker 1: you don't even have to really figure it out. You
Speaker 1: can just like mess around and see what you like.
Speaker 1: And then, I don't know, you could change your mind
Speaker 1: and change it again and tell someone this and then
Speaker 1: be like, I don't know, maybe not. Do you feel
Speaker 1: like you need to still be that role model or
Speaker 1: how does it feel different to be an elder queer?
Speaker 1: You're not really, there's, you know, that's more of like
Speaker 1: the 60 year olds that fought the battles, but to
Speaker 1: be someone in the league where now it's not, it's
Speaker 1: not a thing.
Speaker 3: I don't know. That's a good question.
Speaker 4: Actually.
Speaker 3: I've never really thought about it. I feel like because
Speaker 3: I came out at such, I wouldn't say at such
Speaker 3: a young age, but so early in my career, um,
Speaker 3: I feel like now it's so natural. And it's funny
Speaker 3: because I posted a picture of my girlfriend and I,
Speaker 3: and someone was like, she's one of us. And then
Speaker 3: a bunch of other fans were like, girl, she's been
Speaker 3: one of us. So it's just like this ongoing thing
Speaker 3: of the new fans don't really know who I am.
Speaker 3: So I kind of continue to be like, no, this
Speaker 3: is who I am. And this is the community that
Speaker 3: I'm part of. And I think that's why I continue
Speaker 3: to show where I stand and who I support because
Speaker 3: I We keep having new fans come in, and I
Speaker 3: want them to learn as much about me as the
Speaker 3: fans who have been here since 2016.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I have some new fans too, except they're like,
Speaker 1: you're straight when I post with my husband. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm like, yep, still sadly, still straight.
Speaker 3: Still straight.
Speaker 1: Speaking of your girlfriend, back in March, you posted about
Speaker 1: going to a wedding together and you said celebrating love
Speaker 1: while secretly planning our own. And then in May, you
Speaker 1: wished your lady a happy anniversary and you said, I
Speaker 1: can't wait to be your wife one day. Time to
Speaker 1: put a ring on it. This is a very public
Speaker 1: campaign to get wifed up stuff. Is it working? What's
Speaker 1: any progress we should know about?
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, it's for sure working. I wouldn't post things
Speaker 3: like that if I didn't know it was happening. No,
Speaker 3: I've designed the ring. I know the ring is being made.
Speaker 3: I just don't know when it'll happen. But I'm a
Speaker 3: control freak a little bit. So there was no way
Speaker 3: Getting engaged wasn't going to happen unless I knew what
Speaker 3: ring it was going to be so that I could
Speaker 3: be happy about it. So I wouldn't campaign it if
Speaker 3: I didn't know it was happening.
Speaker 1: Very smart. Very smart. Do you have big plans for
Speaker 1: the FIBA break? Do you get to have some time
Speaker 1: off and hang out with your girlfriend or otherwise?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm just going to go home to New York.
Speaker 3: I think for me, being in Seattle has been fun,
Speaker 3: but it is the opposite side of the country. So
Speaker 3: a vacation for me is just going home and being
Speaker 3: in my own house and being happy in New York,
Speaker 3: feel the fall, autumn vibes. So I'm excited for that.
Speaker 1: Okay, we're not quite there yet. We don't need to
Speaker 1: rush fall.
Speaker 3: Starbucks just came out with their autumn menu.
Speaker 1: Okay, and I passed a spirit Halloween, but we can
Speaker 1: reject those capitalistic pushes toward A time we do not
Speaker 1: yet need to embrace. I'm in Chicago and it's like
Speaker 1: warm through October, basically. So I want to hold on
Speaker 1: to that before I start wearing my coat that goes
Speaker 1: to my ankles and running indoors.
Speaker 3: Not me. I accept it. I want all I want
Speaker 3: the leaves to change. I want a nice autumn breeze.
Speaker 3: I love the fall.
Speaker 1: I love the fall in a couple months, in a
Speaker 1: couple months. Steph, thanks so much for the time. Congrats
Speaker 1: on the continued success. And we look forward to watching
Speaker 1: the rest of the season and hopefully a few more. Yes.
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Steph for hanging out with us. And
Speaker 1: don't forget, you can now watch full length Good Game
Speaker 1: interviews on the I Heart Women's Sports YouTube channel. We
Speaker 1: got to take another break. When we come back, it's
Speaker 1: time to hand out another bouquet. Welcome back, Slices. Time
Speaker 1: to send you into the weekend on a high note
Speaker 1: with a new segment called Friday Flowers. This is our
Speaker 1: chance to give an athlete, team, league, exec or fan
Speaker 1: a little bit of well-deserved love. Today, producer Bianca is
Speaker 1: handing them out.
Speaker 4: And I'm sending a big, beautiful bouquet of Friday flowers
Speaker 4: to professional trail runner Lauren Gregory, who on Thursday became
Speaker 4: the first American woman to win the OCC race at UTMB,
Speaker 4: which we talked about on yesterday's show as being the
Speaker 4: biggest trail running competition of the year. Lauren ran the
Speaker 4: 38-mile race in six hours, eight minutes, and seven seconds,
Speaker 4: covering nearly 11,000 feet of elevation gain along the way.
Speaker 4: It all came down to the wire, though, to make
Speaker 4: for an instant classic of a race. Because with just
Speaker 4: a few kilometers to go, Lauren was actually in third place,
Speaker 4: behind second place Spain's Sarah Alonso and Scotland's Naomi Lang,
Speaker 4: who was in first. Lauren later said she was running
Speaker 4: on fumes and didn't think she had anything left in
Speaker 4: the tank, but she turned on the jets to pass Sarah,
Speaker 4: and with less than one kilometer to go, Lauren passed
Speaker 4: Naomi and took the lead. She ended up finishing just
Speaker 4: three seconds in front of Naomi after 38 miles. Shout
Speaker 4: out to Naomi, who put up a hell of a
Speaker 4: fight to try and hang on. And Lauren's speed at
Speaker 4: the end there didn't come out of nowhere. She was
Speaker 4: actually an NCAA track star and made the 2024 U.S.
Speaker 4: Olympic trial finals in the 5K. And she's kept creeping
Speaker 4: up in distances over the past couple of years. Last year,
Speaker 4: she won the finals of the Golden Trail World Series.
Speaker 4: which is the most competitive short course, not short at all,
Speaker 4: trail running circuit in the world. The OCC race she
Speaker 4: just won was the longest race.
Speaker 1: Of her career to date.
Speaker 4: A new high score, as we say in the distance world.
Speaker 4: When I saw the news, I was beaming because I
Speaker 4: follow Lauren's training on YouTube, and she's such a positive,
Speaker 4: down-to-earth person who I get a lot of inspiration from.
Speaker 4: We'll put a link to her YouTube channel if you
Speaker 4: want to check it out in the show notes.
Speaker 3: Congrats, Lauren.
Speaker 1: We always love to hear from you, so hit us
Speaker 1: up on email, goodgameatwondermedianetwork.com, or leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070.
Speaker 1: And don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review. It's easy, Slices. Watch.
Speaker 1: Launching your own women's sports app and website to help
Speaker 1: fill a gap.
Speaker 2: Rating.
Speaker 1: One of one new way to learn what women's games
Speaker 1: are in your area or on your TV.
Speaker 3: Review.
Speaker 1: The new Watch Women's Sports IRL website and app lets
Speaker 1: you search for women's sporting events happening near you. Hey.
Speaker 4: Hey.
Speaker 1: Sounds like a pretty good, good game play of the day. Bookmark, use,
Speaker 1: and go check out a women's sports event near you
Speaker 1: live sometime soon. Now it's your turn, Slices. Rate and review.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. See you next week. Good game, Steph.
Speaker 1: Good game, Lauren. F * * * you, people who
Speaker 1: never take accountability for the outcomes of their actions. Good
Speaker 1: Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart Women's Sports production
Speaker 1: in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can
Speaker 1: find us on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network.
Speaker 1: Our producers are Alex Azzi and Bianca Hillier. Our executive
Speaker 1: producers are Christina Everett, Jessie Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.
Speaker 1: Our editors are Emily Rudder, Lucy Jones, Brittany Martinez, and
Speaker 1: Gianna Palmer. Production assistance from Avery Loftus. And I'm your host,
Speaker 1: Sarah Spain.