WEBVTT - CARI CHAMPION! 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.000 I hope you guys enjoyed the first few months of 0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:05.519 All the Smoke. We begin tremendous love and support responses. 0:00:05.680 --> 0:00:08.760 Me and Jack couldn't be happier. Man, We appreciate you, guys. Man. 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:11.040 Before the new Year, we got a chance to chop 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:14.080 it up with Carrie Champion, the Queen of Smoke, the 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:17.200 first Lady of SMO. And since then she's announce she's 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:20.640 leaving ESPN, which was kind of shook everybody. She look 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:22.680 at me, but we're happy for. We're happy for because 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:24.720 I told her personally, she's never hotter than she's you know, 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:26.560 she she's on fire right now. So for her to 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.320 venture out and do whatever she can do take over 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:31.400 the world. So we wanted to give you guys that 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:42.280 intro to the situation. We hope you guys enjoyed this episode. 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:50.160 Welcome back, Episode twelve, All the Smoke, My brother, my god, 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.920 we're back. Some powder on your hands. We got the amazing, 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:59.800 amazing Carrie Champion, thank you for yours, your our first 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:04.880 female guests. I know, okay, how how'd that happen? You 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.920 had an eye for you? Okay, now to keep it real, 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:10.039 I mean, we just love what you've been doing, you 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:11.480 know what I mean, the fact that you're you know, 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:14.120 you're heading Sports Center, and that's only one of the 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:16.760 many things you're doing. You know, with the success from 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:19.119 television obviously in the sports world, that's open a lot 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:20.880 of doors. Tell some of the other stuff you're doing. 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:23.600 First off, I have to say, I'm so happy to 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:25.880 be here because I work with you guys both. And 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:27.920 I don't know if people know this because they sit 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:29.200 here and they see you guys, and they're like, oh, 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:31.640 they just talk and they have such fun and they're 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:33.880 cool and they know people in the league. But you 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:37.360 guys have really transition. That ship's hard to do, right. So, like, 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.120 as an athlete to become a broadcaster, you have a 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:43.200 voice that people respect. Obviously they respect you, but you 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:45.640 do it so effortlessly both y'all. And I just I 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:48.680 think that nobody acknowledges that, Like, the ship is not easy. 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:50.240 We get appear and we talk and they think it's 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.760 easy and all these so many athletes, I me, especially 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.600 while players, they want to transition. They want to. Basketball 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:58.280 players want to do this. They want to And you 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:00.080 can't just sit up here and just start talking and 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:05.680 think it's gonna work because it doesn't work right. You appreciate. Yeah, No, 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:07.720 I have a lot of jobs I have. I work 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:10.600 on a show with the Rock called Titan Games that 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:13.440 hears on NBC. So I host that show, which I 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:16.120 love because it lets me. Do I have more personality? 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:18.480 You guys both know off camera I have more personality. 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.799 I think people feel like I'm really like elegant and 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:24.120 up time, and that's not me. So let's be a 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:27.960 little more comfortable. And then, um, I host a lot 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:29.440 of different things where I just try to, you know, 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:31.160 have a little bag and keep it aside for myself. 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:32.920 I like to make all my money. I don't have 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:34.880 to wait on nobody give me no money, all my 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:36.680 little change. And then I have a foundation that I 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:41.880 run what's called Brown Girl's Dream where I I um 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:44.760 it's so many like dope. Young ladies would always hit 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:47.480 me up in my my inbox and say, carry how 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:49.120 do you do this? Or how did you do that? 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:51.200 Or can you help me? Whether it be in front 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:53.040 of the camera behind the scenes, they just want to 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:55.080 they want some help. And I know when I was 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:57.040 coming up, there was nobody like I just had to 0:02:57.080 --> 0:02:59.480 figure it out on my own, and so I created 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:03.160 this really formal mentorship where I help young girls who 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:05.280 in the age is very right, it could be anywhere 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:08.880 from twenty to thirty, but I helped them get into 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:12.160 a world where otherwise people just overlooked them because so 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:14.400 many women, especially if you are a woman of color, 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:17.120 you're overlooked. You might be qualified, but you're overlooked. So 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:18.519 I'm just taking them to the front of the line 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:20.880 and I'm like, here you go, here's somebody who's great. 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:23.720 You may have overlooked her. She deserves an opportunity. Just 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:27.160 having so important for sure, that's that's the biggest thing, 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:30.000 especially for the young youth, just to have a resource 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:31.880 and nowhere to go. I think that's that's huge on 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:34.440 your point. Thank you, I appreciate it. There's a handful 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:36.560 of you guys are really in the space women of 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:39.680 color who are opening doors and letting women know. You 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:41.640 know what I mean, This isn't this is a platform 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.120 you can utilize now. Before it was unheard of to 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:47.680 have a black woman, it was a voice on television, 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:49.720 it was on the outside of Oprah has been doing 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:53.960 it for some years. That's why I love Oprah, Like 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:55.840 I that's what I was a kid. I saw Oprah. 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:57.400 I was like, Mom, I want to do what this 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:00.080 lady is doing because she looks like my auntie or 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:01.760 like somebody to be in the house like you would 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:04.440 watch her AND's just like wow, she's she's fascinating and 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.360 she just obviously she was. If you see it, you 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:10.400 can believe it. And I think when I started at UM, 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:12.920 like I have been, I was a journalist for a minute. 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:15.320 But when I started at ESPN, which was like seven 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:17.680 years ago, I was hosting a show called First Take 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.040 with Steven had him on here and Skip Bayless at 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:22.320 the time, and I remember I could count in my 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:24.440 hands how many women I thought looked like me that 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:26.279 I saw on TV all the time. Was only seven 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:28.279 years ago. Yeah, I know, it feels like forever, right, 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:33.360 it feels like forever. UM. But they had just became partners, 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:35.520 like Skipped and Steven A had just became partners. They 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:38.680 weren't they weren't always. They had just started that relationship 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:40.800 and then they wanted somebody just to sit in the 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:42.200 middle and kind of tee it up. And it was 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.360 just a real simple role. I wasn't supposed to really 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.400 like get into it or get into the debates or 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:48.359 any of that stuff, which was cool, which was fine. 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:51.280 I didn't care. I just like the opportunity. But at 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:53.560 the time, there was no at ESPN, there was no 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:56.200 black woman working Monday through Friday sitting at a desk, 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:59.400 and especially on that show. That show was like high visibility. 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:01.039 I didn't have to you know, it wasn't tough, but 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.719 it was high visibility. And at the time I did 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:08.040 not know that I was working with those two personalities. 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:10.800 You just don't have had no idea. And I remember 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:13.080 Jamal Hill pulled me aside one day and was like, girl, 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:15.080 so let me just put you on some game real 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:16.680 quick and try to tell me what it would be. 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:18.760 She was like, I was supposed to get this gig. 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:23.080 They told me it was mine. Um, in so many words, 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:26.240 they gave it to you. People may want us not 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:29.080 to like one another, right because you got it and 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.200 not me. She was like, but I will not let 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:33.279 that narrative live. She was like, I have your back 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:37.760 from day one to tear me. That's tell me that's 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.920 not that's she I'm a big fan of her Man 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:43.840 in the space. I know Jack has a good relationship 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:47.800 with her, she's been she's always kept it real. Who 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:49.960 does that and speaks your mind? I mean I think, 0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:51.600 like I said, for you, we spoke a little bit off. 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:53.520 Cameron will get into Gabby as well, but you know, 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:55.800 for you, you're someone who speaks your mind. She's someone 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:57.640 who speaks her mind and is refreshing, you know what 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:00.080 I mean. Because it's always the pictures, always paying it 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.560 as you know, an angry black women or you know, 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:06.520 hard to work with. The stereotypes and the labels get 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:08.280 pushed around. But it's good to see that you guys 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:09.919 have made it through. Although it's you know, it's a 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:12.800 it's an ongoing battle, but you're at a place where 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:16.200 you can, you know, you freely speak for the most part. Well, 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:18.680 I think that that those labels will always be there, 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.400 which is why I started the foundation because I feel like, 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:23.080 and you guys know what it is like you you 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.039 come on TV and you don't look like the rest 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:27.440 of the analyst, you don't talk like the rest of 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:29.840 the analysts, and so if people don't understand who you are, 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:34.560 they judge you or they're uncomfortable. And so I got 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:36.560 to the point where I'm like, why does your the 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:39.200 level of your uncomfortable. Why does that have to affect me? 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:41.960 You're uncomfortable, you have to get comfortable, Like, that's not 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:45.040 my situation. So I feel like, you know, with Jay, 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:46.640 and Jay taught me this a lot. I'll tell you 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:49.080 she was really my mentor, Like she schooled me on 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:51.240 a lot at ESPN and how to move and make 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:53.880 sure you have people who have your back or have 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:57.520 an advocate because those closed door meetings, watch the motherfucker's 0:06:57.960 --> 0:07:01.240 watch the motherfucker's right, so many words what she was saying, 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.680 watch your back, watch hi, because if you ain't got 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.440 nobody you you're in trouble because people can say yes 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:08.280 or no, and that can affect your career, not be 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:11.400 the end of it. Um. So I think that that's 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:12.960 what I'm trying to do with my foundation. And I 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:15.920 think that I've gotten to a point where like Jamal 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:17.680 will always be like or some of the people that 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:19.240 we have in common will be like and I'll just 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:21.520 say at work will be like, you know, the athletes funk, 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:24.200 would you carry you? Like? They get you, They get it, 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:26.320 they get it like they know it's not easy. I'm 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:28.600 not sitting up here just pretending and and and and 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:30.640 moving through life like there's no care. They know how 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:33.040 hard it is, behind it, behind you know, behind the doors, 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:36.520 behind closed doors. Where did all this begin? Like your 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:41.680 your love of sports and your aspirations to take this? Um, 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.480 I worked, Okay, So I wasn't kidding when I told you. 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:46.080 When I was a kid, I saw Oprah and I 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:47.880 was like, I'm gonna do whatever that is. Mom. Okay, 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:53.640 it wasn't. It wasn't wasn't saying it wasn't nothing. Well, 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:56.520 I ran track in high school and I wasn't good enough. 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:59.080 I played. I ran track and play basketball in high school, 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:00.840 but I wasn't good enough. And knew that. I was like, 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:02.360 all right, so what else can I do? But I 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:04.560 always talk. Teachers would be like, I always be the student. 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:06.720 I was talking too much? Can you get your daughter? 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.440 She talked to damn much. You're right at nothing chance 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:12.800 talk running my mouth with the back of class not 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:16.280 paying attention. Um. And then and I mean, I'm not 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:20.040 gonna lie. Like of course I had, you know, modeling moments, 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:22.040 and I wanted to be in videos and stuff growing 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:23.720 up here in l A. Because I grew up, I 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:24.920 went to U C. L A. I went to passing 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:29.600 in high school. So yeah, for the best. No, we 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:33.880 haven't been very good lately, but yeah, just the family. Family. 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:37.840 The family is dope. So um. Then I got my 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:40.440 first job in West Virginia. So I drove my little 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:43.960 Nissan ultimately West Virginia to be a reporter. And I 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:45.560 was a one man band. So you see how like 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.720 they got their cameras in tripod. That's what I was doing, 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:52.160 running around West Virginia film and stories. Hello, racist, people 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:54.520 will call me the colored lady, but I love what 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:56.880 I was doing. I didn't care like you didn't care 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:58.600 that you was making two dollars an hour and you 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:01.120 look crazy on TV. I was telling stories that I 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:03.840 was living my best life, and I was like, look, 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:05.839 this is what I this is what I've always wanted 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:10.440 to do. Was a complimentary hi, I was, I'll take it. 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:12.680 I wasn't mad at I was just loving life. And 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:14.600 then what you do is when you work in local news, 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:17.000 you just work your way up. And then I got 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:20.000 fired in Atlanta. That was like market. I think there's 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:22.120 like two D markets, right, So Atlanta was like top 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:23.719 ten market. And I got fired when I was there 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.679 because I was just being me and what that means 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:29.120 is I have a lot of fire in my family, 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:32.920 so as and so you. But there's a way you 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:35.840 go about it right. Because I had never lived outside 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:37.880 of l A. So really living in Atlanta and you 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:41.320 know how right, I was like, wait, oh this is 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:44.040 this is what this is. It's totally different. I had 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:46.679 to learn. It was on the job training, um, and 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:47.880 it was the best thing that ever happened to me. 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:49.760 Because I had to I had to reboot. I had 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:52.040 to change my trajectory and I went into sports and 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:54.280 I started working in tennis, and I saw she wrote, 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:56.520 I flew myself out to ESPN Like every job, I 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:58.320 get a hustle, and nobody's been like you know what, 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:00.560 brown girl, let me fool with you so heavy, like 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:03.040 you're so bad, let me No one does that now. 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:05.880 But everything I've ever gotten literally has been on my own. 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:08.360 And I flew myself at the ESPN. I was just 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:10.319 knocking on doors and then they were like, okay, we'll 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:12.079 get back to you. And then I would just keep 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:14.720 calling and keep calling. I just check in, said my resume, 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:16.480 reel check in. And one day they called and they 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:18.800 were like, you want to host this show called first take, 0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:21.000 and I was like, yeah, bullshit and they were like no, 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:23.280 like do you want to host this show? And I'm 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:26.080 like what about the guy who? You know? Jay Crawford 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:28.079 was the host at the time in Data And I 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:29.720 was like, wait, we're and they're like, oh, they're moving on, 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:31.760 Da da da da, And I was like okay. So 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:34.760 I go out do the audition, literally auditioning with skim 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:37.600 and steaping the outside of me. So I'm I'm nervous, 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:41.079 but I'm pretending like I'm not nervous. But in general, 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:42.920 I don't know them. I know nothing about it. But 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:44.960 they were in the show. They're yelling back and forth, 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:46.640 and I'm like, dare they're gonna yell at me? And 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:50.199 what's forth? So I'm reading the prompter and so they 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:52.360 do a series of things right just to throw me off. 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:54.720 So I'm reading the prompter and I'm taking teaking them 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:57.640 both up with questions and stuff, and then the prompter 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.240 just goes off and then they say they me to 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.040 go from the script from memory. They just turned the 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:03.840 prompter off, like to see if she can can she 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:06.000 add it? Can she freest out? Can she do it 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:07.600 on her own? And I kept my cool and it 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:11.800 was a wrap. So, um, I killed that ship, and 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:13.880 I swear on my life, I was like, I killed it. 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:17.840 Then I remember talking to a friend of mine and 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:20.600 I said, I did great, but I'm black. I'm not 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:23.240 gonna get it. And she was like what. I was like, 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:25.120 They're not looking for no black girl to host that show. 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:27.079 They're looking for a blonde. Like what are you talking about. 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.680 I remember just having this honest conversation like I might 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:33.920 be freelancing and be working for the Lakers or something like. 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.160 This is just my thought process. I said, if they 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:39.040 call me by a certain time, which was like two 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:41.360 weeks later, because I was going to I was working 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:42.839 at the Tennis Channel, and I said, if they called 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:44.640 me by the US Open and say, hey, you're gonna 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:46.079 be here in New York, can you come up? I 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:50.160 got the job. So no call, no call, spent two 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:52.680 weeks no call. Um, you already know how the story 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:55.360 go obviously. So then like I was flying out on 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:57.120 Monday and they called me on Saturday and said can 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:00.760 you come and one meet Jamie who was hiring at 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:03.920 the time at the US Open, and then two can 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:05.800 you come up to the studio one more time? And 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:08.160 do an audition again. And I was like, okay, and 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:10.440 I saw she wrote it was a rap. It's done. 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:13.959 Can you believe that? Ship? But that's why I always 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:16.320 held people like just hustle, like nothing comes to you. 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:19.480 I can't stand at people want nothing. I flew myself 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:22.840 out there. I stayed in a little broke down brust 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:24.600 the hotel, not the nice one that they got nowt 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:26.040 of the Double Tree, but it was even more broke 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:29.280 down than that. I probably have no money, like I was, 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:31.640 just I had whatever I had, and I just paid 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:33.120 for myself to go there and back. And I was 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:35.440 there for two days, just sitting in the lobby waiting 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:37.559 for people to beat me. No, I had no planned meetings. 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:39.160 I was like, okay, whoever wont to come see me? 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:41.240 I wait, I wait? And then I was at and 0:12:41.280 --> 0:12:44.240 I got the job, and then my entire life change, 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.079 Like I was like, wait, why is it? Why is 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:48.160 everybody tweeting me? Why? Why? Because you know it was 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:50.800 aggressive as fans and they were so mean. They were 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:53.200 like I was like, what, what's what's happened? And then 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.640 it was exactly exactly what we talked a little bit 0:12:56.679 --> 0:12:58.640 the other day when I was able to host Sports Center, 0:12:58.679 --> 0:12:59.920 and that was one of the things you told me, 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:01.920 you know, because you know, I just signed a deal 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:04.040 with ESPN and I'm going to start being doing it more. 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:05.360 She's like, you need to go to prestil, you need 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:06.920 to sit down and knock on these doors. You need 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:08.679 to take these lunches, you need to take these dinners. 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:10.520 And she was kind of laying it out, and I 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:11.840 think it was dope, you know what I mean, because 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:13.959 I think, you know, once they let us in and 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:16.520 they're kind of scared because we're you know, we're good 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:19.000 at it, you know what I mean, they're like, uh, 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:21.400 They're like, wait a minute, what's happening. Where'd you come from? 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.480 Going on? What's going on? Tell me some of the 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.760 difficulties you faced first and almost being a woman, but 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.280 then being a woman of color on on your journey 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:33.800 to the top. I think just the obvious stuff. I 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:35.600 think I'm always in a room and I'm the only 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:38.400 one like now right, it's always just in this a 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:40.920 lot of male energy. And if it's a lot of 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:44.200 male energy, and if you're not comfortable, that's intimidating. And 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.680 it takes a long time to be yourself I think 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.880 working especially, I have so many lessons just from first take. 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:52.560 When I was on first I'd be the only one 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:53.880 in the room and then they'd be like, here are 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:57.040 your thoughts, and I'm like nervous, aren't pits wet? And 0:13:57.080 --> 0:14:01.080 then I just finally was you get so y'all know 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:02.760 how it feels. I don't know what how it was 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:04.960 translating basketball. You get to the point where you just 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:07.200 don't care anymore and you just yourself and you just 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:09.280 so like take it to leave it. And it got 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:11.880 to the point where I was there were so many 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:14.719 nose and that doesn't make sense. And don't get me wrong, 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:16.559 I wasn't. I didn't know much about a lot of 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:19.320 different sports. I knew basketball, but I had to learn football. 0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:20.680 I had to learn a lot of different things. And 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:23.280 it was on the job training and I would you know, 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:25.480 they would look past you like a lot of the 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:27.520 times when I was you know, first take people who 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.600 look past you like or or there would be people 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:34.440 who didn't address you, they just addressed them. It's I mean, 0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:36.840 I can count so many times I was embarrassed daily. 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:40.200 I was daily embarrassed or humbled, and and I'm not 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:45.320 gonna lie. I remember picking up I remember picking up 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:47.120 Jamale one day. I keep throwing her back because that 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:51.280 was my dog and I had um I had some 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:53.640 champagne in my cup. You're not supposed to drink and 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:55.680 drive guys. And so I picked her up and I'm like, 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.160 I quit and she was like what. I had been 0:14:58.200 --> 0:14:59.720 there like a year. She's like, what else? I quit? 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:02.520 I'm done. I said, I'm telling my Monday. And she 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:05.000 was like, what's wrong with you? And I was like, 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:07.440 I can't do it. It's breaking my spirit. And I 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:11.920 was like, it's cold, it's miserable. I ain't got no friends, 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:14.360 no family, and she wasn't living there at the time. 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:16.760 I was like, it's just hard because it's ship's hard. 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:20.080 And I just every day you get up, you get dressed, 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.000 you do your best, and somebody's telling you you're not 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:23.600 doing your best. How do you how do you deal 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:25.320 with that? You know? How do you how do you 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:28.480 keep finding your encouragement? And then I just had to 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:30.680 dig deep because I'm not a quitter, but I but 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.600 I tell you, it was it was close. It's hard 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:36.680 when stacked against it's hard. It's hard. It's hard to 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:39.880 find your motivation. It's hard to trust anybody because you 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:43.480 can't trust anybody right, And then you find yourself in 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:45.840 this situation where you're like, how do I keep getting 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:48.280 up dealing with this every day being told? And at 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:50.600 that time you have to understand like that show was 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.000 like off the It's still popular, but it was off 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:55.280 the charge with those two. And then I had people 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.840 telling me on social I wasn't nothing, and I got 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:00.400 you know, and I'm sitting in this cold he's trying 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.160 to find my footing, like I want to do something 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:04.160 else because I can't really talk on the show like 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:08.160 it was this tough um and then I just it's preseverance. 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:09.880 You just pushed through. I was determined that I was 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:12.080 like after I had my little, my little breakdown, my 0:16:12.120 --> 0:16:15.720 little emotional breakdown, and um, I just was like I 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:18.080 gotta figure this shoot out. And I did and it 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.000 ended up working in my favor. And none of it 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:22.440 has been easy. But when you know, when you get 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:24.280 to a certain level, none of it's supposed to be easy. 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:26.560 None of it's supposed to be easy. All of it's 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:28.600 supposed to be hard. And if it's not hard, you're 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:31.360 not working enough. So I'm okay with all of that. 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:33.400 Tell me what it was like having to pay your 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.760 dues in Bristol and then finally being coming back to 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:40.760 California where you're from and now you're I was, you 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:42.360 know what, it was weird. I didn't even know I 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:44.600 was coming back. They they were like, hey, I think 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:46.320 we're going to create a show called Close to Coast. 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:47.800 You want to go back home? I was like, I 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:50.200 thought there was planning. I was like, y'all, y'all being funny, 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:52.600 and they're like, no, I'm serious. And it was great 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:55.920 because when I here's the thing Michael Smith told me 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:57.920 this a long time ago, when I started shout out 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:00.560 to Mike, that's my dog, right, we love him. So 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:04.040 when I first got to I'll just give you all 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:06.120 the business. When I first got there, I had been 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:08.120 there for about maybe a year and a half, maybe two, 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:10.040 and we were going to maybe it was a Super Bowl. 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.240 Was traveling somewhere and I was walking around with Mike 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:16.960