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Speaker 1: Welcome to playmakers everyone. I'm Kailee Yelwood. It is weep ten.

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Speaker 1: The Minnesota Vikings are coming to town to take on

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Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Chargers. But we're gonna do a little

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Speaker 1: different show today. As per usual, Playmakers, we highlight amazing

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Speaker 1: women in this league and one is joining me today,

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Speaker 1: Natia Holloway. She is the NFL Vice President of Business

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Speaker 1: Operations and Strategy for Football Operations. Natia, thank you so

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Speaker 1: much for coming on. Thank you for having me. I

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Speaker 1: love it. I'm so excited to have you. One of

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Speaker 1: the big things that you do with your role at

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Speaker 1: the NFL concerns pipeline development, and so how would you

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Speaker 1: explain necessarily what that is and maybe what it is

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Speaker 1: that you're doing to help diversify roles in this league. Sure, again,

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Speaker 1: thank you for having me. Thank you for allowing us

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Speaker 1: to have this platform. I think pipeline development is a

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Speaker 1: huge part of NFL right now. It's unfortunate that we

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Speaker 1: always make the news for the things that people don't see,

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Speaker 1: but we are hard at work, and what we do

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Speaker 1: in pipeline development is making sure that we're removing obstacle

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Speaker 1: obstacles for diverse folks, making sure that we're paying attention

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Speaker 1: to football mobility, making sure that people are aware of

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Speaker 1: all of the career paths within football operations as well

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Speaker 1: as the greater at football space. We are making sure

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Speaker 1: that we're identifying in equities, We're making sure that we

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Speaker 1: are identifying challenges that people have in movement in football.

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Speaker 1: So it's it's it's kind of a cool place where

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Speaker 1: we get to really see people evolve around their career

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Speaker 1: and help them in spaces where they may not necessarily

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Speaker 1: it's not the xs and os that they're they're really

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Speaker 1: challenged with, but it's all the stuff that's around the

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Speaker 1: xs and o's and getting that pathway to whatever position,

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Speaker 1: whether it's head coach or GM or marketing intern, anything

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Speaker 1: really under the sun. And we'll talk about some of

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Speaker 1: those roles in a little bit. I'm sure there's no

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Speaker 1: one answer to this, but in your best estimation or

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Speaker 1: from your experience, what's maybe the key to advancing diversity

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Speaker 1: in the NFL. I think it's intention It's really really

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Speaker 1: one word. It's good intentional. It's around making sure you're

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Speaker 1: just not saying, you know, we'll put these programs together

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Speaker 1: and it'll happen or well, you know, we'll rely on

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Speaker 1: people to use really processes that have been around for

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Speaker 1: years and not necessarily been effective to come out with

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Speaker 1: the outcomes that we want to have. Where we're having

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Speaker 1: an inclusive process, you have to be intentional to have

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Speaker 1: an inclusive process. You have to be intentional to make

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Speaker 1: sure that your pool is wide enough to cast a

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Speaker 1: net around getting candidates that may not necessarily be in

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Speaker 1: your sphere of influence or in your sphere of knowing.

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Speaker 1: This is a highly trusted business, it's a highly networked business,

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Speaker 1: and if you're not networked or in that know with individuals,

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Speaker 1: you shouldn't be excluded from the process. And so that's

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Speaker 1: what we're trying to or we are doing not trying.

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Speaker 1: We are doing is making sure that we can get

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Speaker 1: individuals who are who are qualified to be in the

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Speaker 1: process into the process along with those that are already

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Speaker 1: in the process. A couple of those roles that you

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Speaker 1: talked about coaching and general managers. The NFL has the

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Speaker 1: QB Coaching Summit. Just this year, you guys started the

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Speaker 1: ausing new some general manager forum. I actually got to

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Speaker 1: sit behind the scenes watched that watch the QB Coaching Summit,

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Speaker 1: A couple charters. Front office members sat in on the

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Speaker 1: GM forum as well. I was so interested in it,

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Speaker 1: and I thought it was just a really interesting just day,

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Speaker 1: you know, those couple days in general. But why was

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Speaker 1: it so important to create that forum? Sure, so, the

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Speaker 1: the actual QB summit, it stemmed from individuals saying that

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Speaker 1: there were not enough minorities on the offensive side of

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Speaker 1: the ball, not enough and minorities that were identified who

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Speaker 1: worked with quarterbacks. That generally, when we did our analytics,

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Speaker 1: we are heavily analytical around where people are coming from.

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Speaker 1: How do you progress to a head coaching position? How

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Speaker 1: do you progress to a GM position? And when we

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Speaker 1: looked at the statistics, it said that, you know, QB

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Speaker 1: coaches offensive coordinators, those are the positions that matriculate to

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Speaker 1: to head coach most often in this current time, defensive

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Speaker 1: coordinators at one time currently on the offensive side of

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Speaker 1: the ball. So when individuals were saying we can't find

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Speaker 1: minorities on the offensive side of the ball, we were like,

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Speaker 1: that's curious because we have lots of them. And so

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Speaker 1: were We actually partner on this event with the Black

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Speaker 1: College Football Hall of Fame and they came up with

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Speaker 1: it and we partner with them, and it was around

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Speaker 1: just showcasing that's talent that's out there. The first year

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Speaker 1: that we worked with them, it was I mean, I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's it's as we're does it sounds in football. It

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Speaker 1: was an emotional forum we were in Atlanta because it

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Speaker 1: was just like how how could anyone not say that

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Speaker 1: these individuals are qualified or not there or not present.

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Speaker 1: It was just so much talent in one room. And

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Speaker 1: because of COVID, we obviously had to go virtual over

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Speaker 1: the last two years and that expansion has been just

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Speaker 1: phenomenal and we've had owners that have now participated, We've

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Speaker 1: had gms, we've had club presidents that have participated, paid it.

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Speaker 1: We have every single club participate. That was one of

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Speaker 1: the criticisms of the first year was like, where are

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Speaker 1: the clubs, Well, we didn't know what we were actually

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Speaker 1: you know, getting into. But now that everybody hears about

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Speaker 1: it and knows about it all, thirty two were represented

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Speaker 1: in some manner and then beyond that, this year, as

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Speaker 1: you just mentioned, we started the AUSSI Newsom GM form

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Speaker 1: because the GM candidates were involved with the QB summit,

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Speaker 1: but they need they have different needs, they have different

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Speaker 1: developmental needs. They have different developmental and networking opportunities as well,

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Speaker 1: so wanted it to separate that and make sure that

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Speaker 1: we were serving the needs of those individuals who are

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Speaker 1: on that different track. So that's where the AUSI Newsom

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Speaker 1: in honor of Asianism Forum came from. And we're just

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Speaker 1: going to continue to get better in both of those events.

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Speaker 1: I love that you mentioned how COVID actually made it

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Speaker 1: almost better in a sense because you got more of

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Speaker 1: an input. And I remember talking with um. There's a

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Speaker 1: woman in terms of the women's careers in Football Forum,

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Speaker 1: a coach actually at Hawthorne High School. She's a defensive

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Speaker 1: line coach there. She lives all the way out here

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Speaker 1: in Los Angeles, but was able to participate virtually. And

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Speaker 1: so it's a silver lining to this whole. Like if

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Speaker 1: you will, and I literally just did the did a

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Speaker 1: presentation today on the limitations of virtual When you think

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Speaker 1: about virtual, you know, it allows us to have speakers

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Speaker 1: that we typically wouldn't wouldn't have, just like you said,

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Speaker 1: and it allows people who are very far to come

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Speaker 1: who who are who normally wouldn't be able to fly

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Speaker 1: across the country for that kind of thing. So those

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Speaker 1: are the good positive things about virtual The limitations when

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Speaker 1: you talk about like the QB Summit and you talk

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Speaker 1: about the inforum, is that the networking is so key.

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Speaker 1: Can I get in front of you and have a

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Speaker 1: conversation not about football, not about my scheme, but just

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Speaker 1: a conversation so that you know who I am, because again,

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Speaker 1: this is a highly networked sport. So one of the

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Speaker 1: things that we were able to do in lieu of

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Speaker 1: that in person is we also had these networking sessions

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Speaker 1: after they were all virtual networking sessions, and those were

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Speaker 1: fuh noomenal. They don't replace in person, but we still

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Speaker 1: use what we had to make sure that we were

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Speaker 1: still forwarding the progress. And I think I can't wait

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Speaker 1: to get it back in person when people can actually

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Speaker 1: take that and build the relationships that they built virtually

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Speaker 1: and put it in person. Absolutely. Besides that, what was

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Speaker 1: sort of the reception after the GM forum this year

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Speaker 1: and why was that ownership guidance so key to it? Well,

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Speaker 1: the biggest part of the ownership guidance is they're the

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Speaker 1: ones that make the decisions right, and they are also

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Speaker 1: the ones that unfortunately get all of the blame for

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Speaker 1: whatever the results or the outcomes are within the hiring season,

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Speaker 1: and so it's important for them to be on the

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Speaker 1: front line. It's important for them to meet individuals that

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Speaker 1: they're having to defend to the media or they're having

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Speaker 1: to discuss in the media. Very very important for them

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Speaker 1: to be a part of this because it is so

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Speaker 1: important and we are so intentional about diversity within the

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Speaker 1: coaching and the head coaching. I'm sorry the head coaching

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Speaker 1: and the GM ranks that if you're not having ownership

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Speaker 1: representation at the table and they're the ones making that decision,

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Speaker 1: then it's kind of are you really intentional? But they

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Speaker 1: really proved We had an owner that on the entire time,

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Speaker 1: including at the networking session, and so that when you

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Speaker 1: see ownerships saying, I'm this is important to me, whether

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Speaker 1: I'm hiring somebody or not right now, this is important

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Speaker 1: to me. I want to participate, I want to get

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Speaker 1: to know individual. That's what sends the message that we

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Speaker 1: are making progress in this league despite the headlines that

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Speaker 1: you see. Yeah, and then in terms of the reception,

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Speaker 1: just how warm was it? What kind of feedback did

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Speaker 1: you guys get? We so the beauty of the QB summit,

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Speaker 1: and the GM form is that it's not a one

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Speaker 1: time punch, so we're in constant conversation with individuals that

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Speaker 1: participated in both events, and so we got a lot

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Speaker 1: of great feedback from both sides, individuals who were with

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Speaker 1: the clubs as well as those participants, and then we're

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Speaker 1: in ongoing conversations with them, whether it's through mentorship, more development,

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Speaker 1: other opportunities to network throughout the season. And then now

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Speaker 1: that we're going back in person Fingerous Cross, we're now

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Speaker 1: looking forward to being able to actually have people to

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Speaker 1: a network in person. So we're getting lots of great

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Speaker 1: feedback and lots of anticipation of in person events. That

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Speaker 1: is awesome for short. Now let's kind of ship to

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Speaker 1: women in the NFL. I'd mentioned the women's careers in

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Speaker 1: Football Forum. Sam Rappaport, Jane Goodell, Roger Goodell do such

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Speaker 1: a great job with that. But we've seen tremendous growth

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Speaker 1: in terms of women's roles in the league from coaches.

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Speaker 1: You know, I've worked the last two Super Bowls, and

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Speaker 1: you know, we're talking about Katie Sours one year and

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Speaker 1: then we double it the next year. Women on the

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Speaker 1: Caampa Bay Buccaneers staff, officiating, front office. What do you

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Speaker 1: think is next for women in the NFL? I just

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Speaker 1: think it's limitless. And I think one of the things

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Speaker 1: is similar to when you talked about black quarterback and

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Speaker 1: when you talk about where we're wanting to go with

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Speaker 1: black coaches, is the one day when you're not having

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Speaker 1: to separate. These are how many women and these are

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Speaker 1: how many men? But these are how many people are

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Speaker 1: really doing their thing and they're qualifying. They happen to

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Speaker 1: be women because that's where what we're talking about. These

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Speaker 1: are trailblazers in spaces where they are so good and

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Speaker 1: it's not that they're women that got them to the table.

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Speaker 1: It's it's one of those things where their talent and

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Speaker 1: their tenacity and their dedication to this game is what

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Speaker 1: got them to the table. And the fact that they

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Speaker 1: were women in these programs allowed it to allowed us

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Speaker 1: to make sure that we're actually recognizing and seeing Wait

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Speaker 1: a minute, this group that we overlooked has allowed you know,

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Speaker 1: he has been growing this talent and we need to

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Speaker 1: tap into that pool. People are not asking to have

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Speaker 1: women on their staff just to have women who this

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Speaker 1: is football. We're very competitive sports. We want to have

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Speaker 1: the best of the best. They're looking at this pool

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Speaker 1: of talent is saying, oh, that is the best of best.

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Speaker 1: I want her. I want her on my team. And

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Speaker 1: so that's what I think is exciting, is that it's

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Speaker 1: just limitless women are doing their things. When you look

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Speaker 1: at other leagues and you've got women who are vuying

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Speaker 1: for head coaching positions, why not us. I love that.

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Speaker 1: I love that so much, and it will probably happen

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Speaker 1: one day. It's just like you said, it's just I

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Speaker 1: would take there probably out it will happen better. You've

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Speaker 1: been with the NFL for nearly two decades. One of

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Speaker 1: your roles prior to where you are now, you're the

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Speaker 1: VP of youth and high school football. We have seen

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Speaker 1: that grow tremendously as well, But how have you actually

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Speaker 1: seen it grow having been in there and experienced it

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Speaker 1: during your time in the league. Sure, I'm trying to

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Speaker 1: get Tom Brady to retire so that I can have

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Speaker 1: the longest career at the NFL now to totally kidding,

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Speaker 1: totally kidding. Yes, I've been there for nearly two decades

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Speaker 1: and and I actually spent right before I moved to

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Speaker 1: youth in high school football. I spent all of my

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Speaker 1: years twelve years at the time on the business side,

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Speaker 1: and it was about how do we look at new

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Speaker 1: opportunities to engage with fans, how do we look at

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Speaker 1: new business opportunities, things of that in nature um and

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Speaker 1: then when I moved to youth football one, I was like,

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Speaker 1: I'm a food side of water here. I was like,

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Speaker 1: what are we what are we doing here? But it

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Speaker 1: was the best job that I had in my then

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Speaker 1: twelve years because it was at the core of the game,

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Speaker 1: the reason why we do what we do. How do

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Speaker 1: you use this platform one to encourage kids and to

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Speaker 1: reach kids in neighborhoods that are under resource for in

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Speaker 1: neighborhoods that were football is king and they're using it

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Speaker 1: as a way to develop their their young people. How

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Speaker 1: do you develop one of one of my price initiatives,

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Speaker 1: or when we started putting girls flag football in high

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Speaker 1: schools as a as a letter sport. It's one of

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Speaker 1: those things that how do you use this sport for

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Speaker 1: so much good? And that's what youth football provides us

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Speaker 1: is it's a it's a direct connection to the heartbeat

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Speaker 1: beat of this game that is the future of this

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Speaker 1: game when when we have a great experience, and research

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Speaker 1: will tell you when kids have great experiences with the game,

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Speaker 1: that will go on to either play or they will

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Speaker 1: go on to be fans, avid fans. They are the

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Speaker 1: health of this game. So paying attention to that demographic

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Speaker 1: is so key to the future of this game. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: you talk about pipeline, that's it right there. The Chargers

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Speaker 1: just a few months ago over the summer, actually held

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Speaker 1: a girls youth flag football event with local girl Scouts,

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Speaker 1: local chapters in southern CALIFORNAI Chargers jam Tom Tolesco was there.

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Speaker 1: He's the father of a daughter, and he talked about

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Speaker 1: the importance of Hey, you might get out here and

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Speaker 1: play this game today and you might love it, but

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Speaker 1: you might catch the bug in other instances, kind of

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Speaker 1: like you working in football in different experiences, different areas. So,

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Speaker 1: like you said, you tap in young and you hope

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Speaker 1: they grow with it as the game grows as well. Absolutely,

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Speaker 1: and flag is such a great entry point into the game. Uh.

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Speaker 1: It's an easy way for girls to get to the

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Speaker 1: to the ball, and it's a great way for individuals

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Speaker 1: who might not necessarily they have their scale and the

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Speaker 1: talent to get into tackle. But this is a good

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Speaker 1: way to learn the fundamentals of the game. Um and.

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Speaker 1: So I just love it because it's a great equalizer.

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Speaker 1: We even on the pro level, we've we've done partnerships

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Speaker 1: with companies that have have done pros versus the the

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Speaker 1: Flag folks and and the and the flag. The flag

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Speaker 1: teams won and so it's it's just it's a great equalizer.

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Speaker 1: I love flag. I love the way that it helps

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Speaker 1: people to get introduced to the game, and it keeps

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Speaker 1: people engaged with the game, um and And like I said,

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Speaker 1: it all starts with that youth. And it's I mean,

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Speaker 1: there's nothing better than to see kids running around playing

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Speaker 1: playing a game of football and having a ball and

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Speaker 1: then bonding with their their um with their teammates. I

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Speaker 1: went to a game, a high school game too long ago,

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Speaker 1: was a homecoming and this young man he was he

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Speaker 1: was a little shorter and smaller than the other team,

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Speaker 1: but his and his mom had said maybe he shouldn't

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Speaker 1: play that year, but he was allowed to be out

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Speaker 1: there with the team. And when I tell you, he

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Speaker 1: was the most active team member that they had. Because

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Speaker 1: it's just it just unifies kids at their school. It

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Speaker 1: is such a great opportunity for kids to be socialized

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Speaker 1: and teach teamwork and discipline, all the things that any

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Speaker 1: parent would want their children to learn through the game,

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Speaker 1: and you can do that through the game of football. School.

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Speaker 1: I loved that job, loved, loved, loved that job. That

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Speaker 1: is awesome. So just to kind of wrap things up here,

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Speaker 1: I know you mentioned the hopeful return of in person events,

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Speaker 1: but what's on deck next for maybe twenty twenty two

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Speaker 1: in terms of continuing these conversations before the next GM

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Speaker 1: Forum and QB Summit kicks off, or maybe anything else

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Speaker 1: that you guys have gone on. Absolutely, So, as I mentioned,

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Speaker 1: that's just one point on our on our calendar. We

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Speaker 1: have things that we do in the HBCUs so not

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Speaker 1: only from a head coach in the GM, but all

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Speaker 1: the way from entry level positions. We work with historically

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Speaker 1: black colleges and universities on the Battle of the Brains.

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Speaker 1: It's another one of our great events. And then we're

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Speaker 1: doing a Maddened tournament this at Super Bowl, so that

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Speaker 1: we can introduce individuals to the big wide world of

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Speaker 1: esports and how that is integrated with football. And so

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Speaker 1: there are a number of things that we're doing from

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Speaker 1: a football mobility space because we want people to understand

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Speaker 1: that playing football is amazing. It is amazing and allows

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Speaker 1: us to be the most competitive sport in this world.

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Speaker 1: But when you are behind the scenes as I have

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Speaker 1: been for almost eighteen years, there are also many many

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Speaker 1: careers that you can have in this billion dollar business,

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Speaker 1: and we want people that are going to come with

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Speaker 1: different perspectives and different thoughts and different from different backgrounds,

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Speaker 1: and that inclusion is going to make us and keep

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Speaker 1: us at being the most competitive sport in the world.

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Speaker 1: This was an awesome conversation. I still appreciate you coming on.

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Speaker 1: We'll see you out here in a cap for her sex.

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Speaker 1: Thank I know, thank you for having me