WEBVTT - Clara Wu Tsai 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:05.960 Traditionally, sports teams in the professional world have been owned 0:00:06.019 --> 0:00:09.680 by men. But now, increasingly, women are owning these teams 0:00:09.740 --> 0:00:12.120 as well. One of the most influential of these owners 0:00:12.500 --> 0:00:14.940 is Clara Wu Tsai, who is a co-owner of the 0:00:14.980 --> 0:00:16.989 Brooklyn Nets and a co-owner of the New York Liberty. 0:00:17.430 --> 0:00:19.029 And she helped the New York Liberty get to a 0:00:19.130 --> 0:00:22.369 championship in the WNBA not long ago. I had a 0:00:22.410 --> 0:00:24.750 chance to sit down with Clara recently to talk about 0:00:24.910 --> 0:00:28.150 her journey from Kansas to the professional sports world. We 0:00:28.250 --> 0:00:30.610 are in Brooklyn doing this, and we're at a Brooklyn 0:00:30.650 --> 0:00:31.470 basketball center. 0:00:31.510 --> 0:00:32.330 What is this center? 0:00:32.740 --> 0:00:38.140 I think it's so important what sports can teach you. Teamwork, 0:00:38.300 --> 0:00:42.810 discipline for kids, for their own physical and mental well-being, 0:00:43.210 --> 0:00:45.430 and also for learning leadership skills to be able to 0:00:45.470 --> 0:00:46.010 have a place. 0:00:46.050 --> 0:00:48.370 And it should be equitable. 0:00:48.830 --> 0:00:52.150 So we have this here and we make it available 0:00:52.250 --> 0:00:56.010 to everybody in the community. And it's also a way 0:00:56.110 --> 0:00:58.140 to develop a pipeline of fans, of course. 0:00:58.340 --> 0:01:01.480 Did you ever expect growing up in Kansas as the 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:05.150 daughter of academics in Kansas at the University of Kansas, 0:01:05.490 --> 0:01:07.750 that one day you would be a major sports owner. 0:01:08.030 --> 0:01:10.839 Absolutely not. It was could never have dreamed it. 0:01:12.530 --> 0:01:14.410 Well, first of all, whoever thinks that they're going to 0:01:14.450 --> 0:01:17.660 have enough money to, you know, to buy an NBA team. 0:01:18.260 --> 0:01:21.259 But especially me, because I was the daughter of immigrants, 0:01:21.620 --> 0:01:25.540 professors from Taiwan. So it never crossed my mind. 0:01:26.110 --> 0:01:28.150 What is the life of a sports owner like? I mean, 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:29.979 is it more fun than you thought it would be 0:01:30.100 --> 0:01:31.740 or is it more aggravation than you thought. 0:01:31.580 --> 0:01:31.940 It would be? 0:01:32.260 --> 0:01:37.280 I can't think of anything more fun than owning a 0:01:37.300 --> 0:01:39.860 sports team when your team is winning. People come up 0:01:39.900 --> 0:01:42.310 to you, they thank you, they tell you how much 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:44.810 the team means to them and their family and they're 0:01:44.830 --> 0:01:48.190 really grateful and you realize when they do that that 0:01:48.310 --> 0:01:51.110 you're bringing people together and you're helping people create memories 0:01:51.150 --> 0:01:52.290 that are going to last a long time. 0:01:52.450 --> 0:01:54.090 There's nothing more gratifying than that. 0:01:54.310 --> 0:01:56.360 How did you compare the challenges of being in the 0:01:56.400 --> 0:01:59.380 business world with the challenges of being a sports owner? 0:01:59.700 --> 0:02:03.900 You know, in a traditional business, you're focused on quarterly earnings. 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:09.240 And I think for sports team owners, you're thinking about 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.520 decades and you're thinking about generations. And instead of thinking 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:16.600 about earnings, you're really thinking about increasing the value of 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:18.640 this institution. 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.840 The Brooklyn Nets were owned at the time, your husband 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.590 and you bought it by a Russian businessman. 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:24.710 Right. 0:02:25.419 --> 0:02:27.720 And he, I guess, decided to maybe sell a piece 0:02:27.780 --> 0:02:30.660 of it. Ultimately, you have a chance to maybe buy 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:34.490 a sports team. And one that came available was a 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:39.329 partial interest in the Brooklyn Nets basketball team in the NBA. 0:02:39.910 --> 0:02:42.190 And why did he want to sell a partial interest, 0:02:42.210 --> 0:02:42.550 the owner? 0:02:42.710 --> 0:02:45.209 I don't know how much of it was, you know, 0:02:45.270 --> 0:02:49.850 his own business. decisions or decisions that he felt were inevitable. 0:02:50.650 --> 0:02:54.019 But the fact that there was a path to majority 0:02:54.060 --> 0:02:56.060 control and a path to be able to own an 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:59.960 arena made the Brooklyn Nets particularly attractive to us. Let 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:03.320 me tell you why it was so important to us 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:07.600 to have majority control. It goes back to being a decision-maker. 0:03:08.590 --> 0:03:13.429 And I think that for us, when you have majority control, 0:03:13.590 --> 0:03:16.489 you can make decisions and you can set the direction and. 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:20.440 Set a vision for the company. 0:03:20.660 --> 0:03:23.900 And for us, that meant how it played out was 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:25.520 we were able to get. 0:03:25.419 --> 0:03:28.580 Into women's sports and buy a WNBA team. 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:32.010 Now, at some point, the NBA came to you and 0:03:32.030 --> 0:03:36.170 your husband and said, we have a WNBA team called 0:03:36.190 --> 0:03:40.540 the New York Liberty. And languishing a bit. Why don't 0:03:40.590 --> 0:03:43.330 you buy that? Did you consider that from the start 0:03:43.350 --> 0:03:44.450 as a good idea or not? 0:03:44.950 --> 0:03:48.290 I think we were a little wary because we knew 0:03:48.350 --> 0:03:51.210 that it had somewhat been orphaned in a way. It 0:03:51.650 --> 0:03:54.010 had been moved to Westchester County and we knew that 0:03:54.030 --> 0:03:57.020 the numbers had been, all the business metrics were declining 0:03:57.500 --> 0:04:00.500 naturally since it moved out to Westchester and lost a 0:04:00.540 --> 0:04:02.380 lot of the fan base. You know, as I started 0:04:02.420 --> 0:04:04.740 to get to know the players and I also produced 0:04:05.020 --> 0:04:09.630 a movie, a documentary called Unfinished Business, which looked back 0:04:09.670 --> 0:04:13.010 at that time, the 25-year history of the WNBA, and 0:04:13.030 --> 0:04:17.990 then it followed the young players of 2021 in their 0:04:18.010 --> 0:04:20.659 first year at Barclays Center. And through that experience of 0:04:20.700 --> 0:04:24.380 making the documentary, I learned a lot about these women 0:04:25.060 --> 0:04:30.320 and found them really impressive. And I realized that the 0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:32.710 talent was there and the heart was there, the competitive 0:04:32.730 --> 0:04:35.150 fire was there, but there really wasn't enough visibility. 0:04:35.860 --> 0:04:38.479 Now, did you say to your husband, look, you can 0:04:38.540 --> 0:04:41.500 focus more on the Brooklyn Nets, let me focus more 0:04:41.540 --> 0:04:42.280 on the New York Liberty? 0:04:42.420 --> 0:04:43.860 Is that how you divided it up or not? 0:04:44.020 --> 0:04:48.920 No, I think at one point it just naturally seemed 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:51.820 that I would take the lead on the New York Liberty. 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:55.340 There was a point when I realized that owning the team, 0:04:55.420 --> 0:04:58.780 it meant to me it was more than basketball. It 0:04:58.820 --> 0:05:04.260 was also about increasing the visibility of women and giving 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:07.950 women more opportunity. And so it was something that I 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:10.919 felt a personal connection to and I could tell that 0:05:10.980 --> 0:05:14.380 story authentically. So we just decided that was a pretty 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:15.360 good division of labor. 0:05:15.620 --> 0:05:18.640 Now, when you bought the New York Liberty, you personally 0:05:18.690 --> 0:05:21.729 got involved in helping to turn the team around. What 0:05:21.750 --> 0:05:24.130 were the steps you took to really enhance the team? 0:05:24.490 --> 0:05:27.280 People do ask, what were the moves we made to 0:05:27.620 --> 0:05:30.300 improve the team and to take it to a championship level? 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:33.020 Because it happened pretty quickly. Like within five years, we 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:36.200 won a championship. The most important and first move that 0:05:36.220 --> 0:05:39.110 we made was to move the team from Westchester County 0:05:39.150 --> 0:05:42.490 Center to Barclays Center. After that, we started to invest. 0:05:43.350 --> 0:05:47.530 And we invested in player health and performance. We invested 0:05:47.890 --> 0:05:53.200 in management talent. And we invested in facilities. Then we 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:57.700 recruited a team that could compete. And that started with 0:05:58.300 --> 0:06:01.740 recruiting the top free agent in 2023, Brianna Stewart. And 0:06:02.020 --> 0:06:05.380 at the same time that this was happening, the marketing 0:06:05.430 --> 0:06:07.830 team was busy thinking about the fan experience. 0:06:08.350 --> 0:06:09.910 And so we built an experience in. 0:06:09.850 --> 0:06:14.810 The arena that was frankly rooted in the culture of Brooklyn. 0:06:15.370 --> 0:06:18.530 So all of the fan experience and the music and 0:06:18.589 --> 0:06:21.589 the dance and the art around what goes on in 0:06:21.610 --> 0:06:23.750 the fan experience was really Brooklyn related. And since Brooklyn 0:06:23.790 --> 0:06:27.990 is so artsy, it naturally sort of had a cool factor. 0:06:28.070 --> 0:06:32.469 And the players themselves are not obviously as highly compensated 0:06:32.490 --> 0:06:35.120 as I think the men's teams are, but there's been 0:06:35.130 --> 0:06:37.480 a challenge about that. And has that been resolved in 0:06:37.540 --> 0:06:38.960 terms of compensation and so forth? 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:45.220 Yes, we just signed a historic collective bargaining agreement a 0:06:45.380 --> 0:06:50.740 really large step change in player compensation. And the WNBA 0:06:50.820 --> 0:06:55.600 salary cap went from 1.4 million to 7 million in 0:06:55.740 --> 0:06:58.960 one year, with a path to 10 million by the 0:06:58.980 --> 0:07:02.940 end of the term of the agreement. So now the 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:07.040 players are well paid, as they should be, because it's 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:11.220 what they do that on the court that makes fans 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:14.060 want to buy tickets and why sponsors want to invest 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:16.239 and why media companies want to acquire rights. 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:20.040 So they got a big step change. And what that 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:22.380 means is the WNBA. 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:24.740 Players can now make a career out of playing in 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:28.060 the WNBA and they won't have to go overseas to 0:07:28.100 --> 0:07:31.200 make a living. I think this agreement is so important 0:07:31.380 --> 0:07:37.210 is it reflects an incredible confidence in the commercial potential. 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:41.160 of this business. And the story isn't written, right? That 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:43.620 we know that there's a lot to do, that economics 0:07:43.670 --> 0:07:48.970 need to mature. But if things continue to proceed along 0:07:49.010 --> 0:07:51.850 the trajectory that we think that it will, it could 0:07:51.910 --> 0:07:55.610 be a really powerful proof of concept for other women's sports. Meaning, 0:07:56.550 --> 0:07:59.070 you know, you can sustain a business and you can 0:07:59.130 --> 0:08:03.340 also sustain player compensation at a rate that allows them 0:08:03.380 --> 0:08:03.760 to make. 0:08:03.660 --> 0:08:04.060 A good living. 0:08:04.610 --> 0:08:07.380 So you put a lot of time and energy into it. 0:08:07.410 --> 0:08:09.770 You got to know the players pretty well and you 0:08:09.810 --> 0:08:11.070 won a championship. 0:08:11.130 --> 0:08:13.630 Yeah. So what was it like winning a championship? 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:18.200 I think a joy that makes any other business success 0:08:18.220 --> 0:08:22.000 that I've had, you know, pale in comparison. I think 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:26.380 you experience, you taste it. It is so sweet that 0:08:26.940 --> 0:08:28.830 you automatically feel like you want to do it again. 0:08:29.290 --> 0:08:32.830 Now, the WNBA players sometimes, like the NBA players, are 0:08:32.870 --> 0:08:37.540 very public about their positions on political or other economic issues. 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:40.439 Has that been a challenge for you as a WNBA 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:43.540 owner to kind of deal with players who are publicly 0:08:43.580 --> 0:08:45.520 visible on certain issues that may or may not be 0:08:45.780 --> 0:08:46.420 similar to yours? 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:52.750 We've been very clear that we support our players and 0:08:52.830 --> 0:08:56.970 their ability to express themselves. But we do in New York, 0:08:57.010 --> 0:08:59.310 you know, we live in a very diverse community. community 0:08:59.809 --> 0:09:02.910 with very many different points of view. We want players 0:09:02.950 --> 0:09:06.320 to be able to express themselves, but we also want 0:09:06.340 --> 0:09:13.220 to set an environment where we encourage dialogue, conversation, and 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:16.459 really respectful conversation if there are differing points of view. 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:20.640 You are pretty involved in player selection or other kinds 0:09:20.660 --> 0:09:22.800 of things now with the team? 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:25.200 It's very important when you're an owner to. 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:30.780 Hire the best executive talent that you can on the 0:09:31.020 --> 0:09:34.320 business side and also on the business operations side. So 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:37.870 your CEO and your general manager. I think for an owner, 0:09:37.910 --> 0:09:42.370 it's really important to create an environment where players want 0:09:42.390 --> 0:09:43.950 to be. And players want to be at a place 0:09:44.010 --> 0:09:46.510 where they feel valued and where they think they can win. 0:09:47.250 --> 0:09:49.849 So that's my job, is to just create an environment 0:09:49.929 --> 0:09:53.300 where players can be the best basketball players they can be. 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:55.180 And how close do you get to the players? 0:09:55.220 --> 0:09:57.280 I know it is said that sometimes owners think they 0:09:57.330 --> 0:09:59.589 shouldn't get too close because they might trade these players. 0:10:00.020 --> 0:10:02.320 and it's difficult to become too close to them socially. 0:10:02.980 --> 0:10:04.680 Do you get to know the players or how close 0:10:04.700 --> 0:10:07.059 do you get to these players on your WNBA team? 0:10:07.460 --> 0:10:10.439 You know, in sports, it is true. Your roster is 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:13.330 always changing. So it actually limits how close you can 0:10:13.470 --> 0:10:17.910 get to a player. We're very fortunate that in this 0:10:18.250 --> 0:10:21.880 last year, our core team, decided to stay together with us. 0:10:22.420 --> 0:10:29.470 So it's a blessing and a joy for our staff, 0:10:29.530 --> 0:10:31.910 but also our fans, to be able to have that 0:10:31.970 --> 0:10:36.240 continuity because we know them and love those players so much. 0:10:36.270 --> 0:10:38.160 I think you want to make sure that they know 0:10:38.300 --> 0:10:42.040 that you value them and you. 0:10:41.580 --> 0:10:42.680 Are there to support them. 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:47.140 But you also aren't there to be a part of 0:10:47.600 --> 0:10:49.040 every aspect of their daily lives. 0:10:49.390 --> 0:10:52.309 So let's talk about your background for a moment. You 0:10:52.350 --> 0:10:56.150 grew up in Kansas. Your parents were both academics at 0:10:56.170 --> 0:10:57.070 the University of Kansas? 0:10:57.370 --> 0:11:01.640 No, my dad was a professor of econometrics at the 0:11:01.660 --> 0:11:05.080 University of Kansas. My mom got a master's in math 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:09.260 at the University of Wisconsin, but she sacrificed her career. 0:11:08.940 --> 0:11:10.020 For the family. 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:11.920 So you grew up in what city then? 0:11:12.020 --> 0:11:14.470 I grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, home of the Kansas Jayhawks. 0:11:15.070 --> 0:11:16.910 And were you a basketball fan as a girl? 0:11:17.050 --> 0:11:17.790 A huge fan. 0:11:18.370 --> 0:11:22.120 And that was also what brought the community together. So 0:11:22.170 --> 0:11:26.020 early on, I recognized the impact that sports can have 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:28.280 on a community. And I think that influences the way 0:11:28.340 --> 0:11:30.579 that I think about what it means to be a 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:33.660 sports owner today. But yeah, I think, you know, you 0:11:33.700 --> 0:11:36.900 remember because, you know, your alma mater Duke is also 0:11:36.980 --> 0:11:43.400 a perennial contender in the championships for the NCAA basketball tournament. 0:11:43.740 --> 0:11:48.350 But Kansas when I was growing up. I was making 0:11:48.370 --> 0:11:50.370 it to the Final Four pretty regularly. I went to 0:11:50.410 --> 0:11:53.910 school with Danny Manning and just was such a great 0:11:54.050 --> 0:11:55.650 fan of the Jayhawk. 0:11:55.870 --> 0:11:57.390 So when you were growing up, I assume you were 0:11:57.410 --> 0:12:00.130 a reasonably good student. Your parents were academics. You did 0:12:00.170 --> 0:12:02.340 well enough to go to Stanford. What did you major in? 0:12:02.820 --> 0:12:07.700 I majored in international relations because it was an interdisciplinary 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:11.660 degree and it gave me the flexibility to study politics 0:12:11.700 --> 0:12:14.940 and economics, history, international affairs, and I could pretty much 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:15.480 create my. 0:12:15.460 --> 0:12:16.320 Own course of study. 0:12:16.580 --> 0:12:18.140 And what did you do after you graduated? 0:12:18.780 --> 0:12:22.179 So I went to a consulting firm called Windermere Associates. 0:12:22.380 --> 0:12:25.030 It was in San Francisco, and it was started by 0:12:25.050 --> 0:12:30.670 a McKinsey partner. And this consulting firm specialized in consulting 0:12:30.750 --> 0:12:34.630 to companies in industries in overcapacity. 0:12:34.870 --> 0:12:35.250 And then? 0:12:35.330 --> 0:12:36.650 And then I went to Harvard Business School. 0:12:36.770 --> 0:12:39.890 When I graduated, I went to New York, and I 0:12:40.290 --> 0:12:42.459 worked for the New York Times, and then I worked 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.709 for American Express. It felt like another good place to 0:12:46.190 --> 0:12:49.790 be a training ground. And I quickly learned, though, that 0:12:49.830 --> 0:12:53.250 corporate culture wasn't really that interesting to me and that 0:12:53.330 --> 0:12:55.650 I was a lot happier when I was building something 0:12:55.690 --> 0:12:58.670 and creating something new even within the organization. 0:12:58.980 --> 0:12:59.920 So I. 0:13:01.460 --> 0:13:03.980 Just felt like I was a lot more entrepreneurial, and 0:13:04.700 --> 0:13:09.240 that led me to go work for Taobao, which is 0:13:09.340 --> 0:13:14.190 the C2C e-commerce site that was started by Alibaba. And 0:13:14.250 --> 0:13:17.510 when I went there, I started the first cross-border sales 0:13:17.570 --> 0:13:21.990 channel and enlisted Hong Kong sellers to sell to mainland consumers. 0:13:22.450 --> 0:13:25.110 And that was highly entrepreneurial, and you could see your 0:13:25.150 --> 0:13:27.750 results in real time because if you made a single change, 0:13:28.150 --> 0:13:30.370 you could see what the result was on your gross 0:13:30.390 --> 0:13:33.510 merchandise volume. And I found that really liberating and exciting. 0:13:34.010 --> 0:13:36.109 Now, did your parents live to see your success? I 0:13:36.150 --> 0:13:38.610 realize your father passed away not too long ago, but 0:13:38.730 --> 0:13:41.070 for a while, both of them saw your success. 0:13:41.910 --> 0:13:42.610 What did they tell you? 0:13:42.830 --> 0:13:43.450 My father. 0:13:44.460 --> 0:13:47.380 was alive when we won the championship and he was, 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:50.400 he watched the finals on TV and he, he, I 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:53.520 know he saw me hoist that trophy. And I, so 0:13:53.540 --> 0:13:55.540 I think they were very, they're, they're very proud. 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:58.100 So are you interested in buying other sports teams? 0:13:58.420 --> 0:14:02.939 I would say yes, but selectively, as you know, sports 0:14:02.980 --> 0:14:07.160 has become like a, you know, a legit, a legitimate 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:11.040 asset class and they've become very good investments. And, you know, 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:15.060 it Who knew that we needed to develop an anti-AI? 0:14:15.620 --> 0:14:20.260 And who knew that live experiences would become so valuable? 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:25.580 Who knew that something that was unscripted and unpredictable and 0:14:25.900 --> 0:14:28.720 was something that caused people to come together in a 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:33.020 shared experience would be something that was monetizable and also 0:14:33.060 --> 0:14:36.660 really valued? But that, in fact, has happened. And live 0:14:36.710 --> 0:14:41.070 sports is a place where that can all be manifested. 0:14:41.700 --> 0:14:44.620 And did your children say to you, mom and dad, 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.580 don't do anything bad to the team because we want 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:49.300 to inherit the team and we want to run it 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:51.720 ourselves and make sure you keep it for a long 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:53.520 time and make sure you keep it successful? 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:55.220 So do you intend to keep it in your family? 0:14:55.540 --> 0:15:02.400 Yeah, we intend to have this asset be with our family, yes, 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:05.600 for generations. And so we are stewards of it and 0:15:06.100 --> 0:15:07.580 we try to take care of it and we tell 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.020 them that they need to take care of it as well. 0:15:11.110 --> 0:15:14.090 But what I say to them, if they want to 0:15:14.150 --> 0:15:18.330 be a part of the sports organization, that they need 0:15:18.430 --> 0:15:23.340 to learn a skill that's valued in the sports business. 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:32.750 So whether that's data analytics or media rights or negotiation 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:41.270 or deal structuring, they should learn that because Sports is 0:15:41.570 --> 0:15:44.650 an emotional business. It is for fans, at least. But 0:15:44.730 --> 0:15:48.489 on the business side, it really requires and rewards expertise. 0:15:48.970 --> 0:15:51.760 Can you explain what you've done to Barclays Arena? 0:15:51.780 --> 0:15:53.280 Well, it's really the software. 0:15:54.100 --> 0:15:56.840 The hardware, it's the same arena where the Nets play 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:01.320 and where other events are held. It's sort of a 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:03.880 black box in that way. It can be configured in 0:16:04.100 --> 0:16:06.890 multiple different ways. Let me first step back and tell 0:16:06.910 --> 0:16:08.810 you why the arena was created. 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.120 Important. It's an operating company, right? 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:15.430 And it generates cash flow because there are hundreds of 0:16:16.030 --> 0:16:19.710 events going on a year. And so it was attractive 0:16:19.750 --> 0:16:23.220 from that standpoint. If you don't own an arena and 0:16:23.300 --> 0:16:26.460 you have a team, then you're a tenant. And if 0:16:26.540 --> 0:16:30.460 you own the arena, you can control scheduling. You can 0:16:31.100 --> 0:16:36.710 oversee hospitality, including developing premium hospitality. So we felt that 0:16:36.890 --> 0:16:40.330 owning the team and the arena together, the combination of 0:16:40.390 --> 0:16:44.030 the two were more valuable than them standalone. You know, 0:16:44.070 --> 0:16:47.150 when you think about fans and what brings fans to 0:16:47.210 --> 0:16:50.270 a game, but then also what makes fans come back, 0:16:51.500 --> 0:16:53.940 it's now, you know, whereas before you might think, well, 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:56.100 they're just coming to watch the competition on the court. 0:16:56.500 --> 0:16:57.060 That's true. 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:00.900 That's the main draw. But what keeps fans coming back, 0:17:00.940 --> 0:17:04.580 which what really creates loyalty is you need your fans 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:06.300 to feel like they're a part of it, that they're 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:08.439 a part of the game and a part of the 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:09.240 whole experience. 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:11.550 As you look back on your life, what are you 0:17:11.590 --> 0:17:12.469 most amazed at? 0:17:13.530 --> 0:17:16.530 That all of this happened. I could never have imagined it. 0:17:16.910 --> 0:17:18.710 You have to be very curious. You have to be 0:17:18.810 --> 0:17:21.490 very open to opportunities. You have to see things in 0:17:21.570 --> 0:17:24.270 front of you and think where you might be able 0:17:24.310 --> 0:17:28.290 to make your own individual difference in the opportunity set 0:17:28.330 --> 0:17:29.310 that's presented to you. 0:17:29.950 --> 0:17:33.070 Yeah, you and your husband, who I also know, you know, 0:17:33.090 --> 0:17:36.030 seem to retain your humility, which is often when you 0:17:36.050 --> 0:17:37.990 have the kind of wealth that you have and the success, 0:17:38.430 --> 0:17:40.740 very often you see people in that situation not be 0:17:40.780 --> 0:17:43.680 that humble. So how do you retain humility? Is that 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:46.100 part because of your background and the way you were 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:46.960 raised by your parents? 0:17:47.780 --> 0:17:48.280 Absolutely. 0:17:48.580 --> 0:17:51.260 My parents... It was pretty hard. 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:53.540 You know, they left Taiwan to come to a country 0:17:53.580 --> 0:17:55.770 where they didn't speak the language very well. And back 0:17:55.830 --> 0:17:58.850 in the 60s, just imagine the kind of perhaps discrimination 0:17:58.890 --> 0:18:01.470 that they might have faced. Because the kids grew up 0:18:01.490 --> 0:18:04.590 in San Diego, we were living in quite close proximity 0:18:05.270 --> 0:18:08.230 to my parents. And so my kids were very aware 0:18:08.390 --> 0:18:11.590 of the way my parents lived and still live. 0:18:11.750 --> 0:18:15.359 Talk about your own, I'd say, philanthropic activities. Which are 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:16.260 the principal ones? 0:18:16.460 --> 0:18:20.740 Well, there's three main pillars. I would say science. art 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:26.109 and culture, and social justice. And my general approach across 0:18:26.170 --> 0:18:30.290 the board is to find some sort of unmet need 0:18:30.790 --> 0:18:36.030 and apply an innovative, evidence-based solution that's very impact-oriented. 0:18:36.170 --> 0:18:38.470 And you do it in the New York metropolitan area 0:18:38.510 --> 0:18:40.129 or all parts of the country? 0:18:40.430 --> 0:18:44.750 The social justice work is... concentrated in Brooklyn. 0:18:44.890 --> 0:18:46.770 And by the way, that was one of the reasons 0:18:46.830 --> 0:18:50.110 that Brooklyn was attractive to us. Soon after we bought 0:18:50.130 --> 0:18:53.750 the teams, we committed to a social justice fund, which 0:18:53.830 --> 0:19:01.270 was a $ 50 million 10-year commitment to economic mobility in Brooklyn. 0:19:01.970 --> 0:19:05.119 And now we're five years through that 10-year commitment, and 0:19:05.130 --> 0:19:09.820 we've supported hundreds of businesses, small businesses and entrepreneurs through 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:15.720 access to capital. So grants, loans, tech accelerators, equity investments. 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:29.149 We've used every tool of capital that's available to support 0:19:29.210 --> 0:19:33.090 these entrepreneurs and founders. And we've also, you know, we 0:19:33.130 --> 0:19:38.260 run We've refurbished basketball courts in areas with high rates 0:19:38.300 --> 0:19:39.020 of gun violence. 0:19:39.220 --> 0:19:42.290 So in your philanthropy, you've done a lot of work 0:19:42.350 --> 0:19:45.750 with human performance. What are you interested in and why 0:19:45.770 --> 0:19:47.010 do you give money to that area? 0:19:47.270 --> 0:19:52.090 So the Human Performance Alliance is a scientific research initiative 0:19:52.730 --> 0:20:00.879 that is focused on understanding performance. So how the body moves, adapts, fatigues, 0:20:00.910 --> 0:20:06.200 and recovers over time. And the reason that we started 0:20:06.260 --> 0:20:10.229 this is because as sports team owners, we realize that 0:20:10.250 --> 0:20:13.709 there is so little that we understand about the human body, 0:20:14.250 --> 0:20:18.020 even at the highest levels. Most health research is focused 0:20:18.100 --> 0:20:22.780 on disease, and we study performance. And that is how 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:27.220 the body operates when it's at its very best. So 0:20:27.340 --> 0:20:33.520 the goal is not just scientific discovery, but it's also translation. 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:37.209 So what you know, what can the science tell us 0:20:37.310 --> 0:20:42.250 and what kind of tools and therapies and techniques and 0:20:42.290 --> 0:20:45.070 training protocols can we learn from the science that will 0:20:45.150 --> 0:20:49.669 not only help athletes perform better and recover faster and 0:20:49.730 --> 0:20:52.320 extend their careers, but what can we learn that will 0:20:52.340 --> 0:20:55.380 help them but will also help all of us eventually. 0:20:55.500 --> 0:20:58.760 The main opportunities that we are focused on right now 0:20:58.940 --> 0:21:02.940 in the Human Performance Alliance are injury prevention, so preventing 0:21:03.050 --> 0:21:08.350 injuries before they happen, and personalized training and recovery. So 0:21:08.450 --> 0:21:13.750 personalized according to your individual biology and also closing the 0:21:13.890 --> 0:21:17.980 data gap on female athlete physiology. Because for the past 0:21:18.020 --> 0:21:22.100 few decades, most of the research in sports science has 0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:28.240 been conducted on men. Prevention, prediction, and women's health. Those 0:21:28.340 --> 0:21:30.460 are the frontiers of human performance. 0:21:30.950 --> 0:21:33.950 What gives you the greatest pleasure now, being a successful parent, 0:21:34.490 --> 0:21:38.780 owning a successful sports team, being a successful philanthropist. What 0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:41.600 gives you the greatest pleasure and what's the greatest challenge 0:21:41.619 --> 0:21:42.399 in life for you now? 0:21:42.940 --> 0:21:46.260 I can't choose one of the three because they all 0:21:46.300 --> 0:21:50.070 give me immense joy. And I do think variety is 0:21:50.109 --> 0:21:52.490 the spice of life. And I think it's wonderful to 0:21:52.550 --> 0:21:55.810 have a breadth of things in your life that are 0:21:55.850 --> 0:21:58.750 giving you joy. I would say for the New York Liberty, 0:21:59.670 --> 0:22:02.930 we won one championship, but I would like the team 0:22:03.650 --> 0:22:07.780 to have some enduring success. So I would like to 0:22:08.420 --> 0:22:16.260 win another championship and set a culture of excellence that. 0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:16.820