WEBVTT - Women in the Game 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.600 This is cut to It with Steve Smith Senior at 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:08.879 production of The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. I'm 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:11.880 Steve Smith Senior and I'm Little John and this is 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:16.279 cut to It. Good do It, Good do It. That's 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:19.880 getting down to do it, Good do It. We asked 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.120 the questions you always want to know, but no one 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:29.200 ever asked, let's cut to it. You ain't heard am 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:34.720 about it? Then we're about to let you know. It's 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:41.280 all coming up to the cut to It podcast. Paige Demarcos. 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:45.280 She's the chief operating officer of the Draft Network. She's 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:48.720 a co host of the TV in Fantasy podcast, and 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:53.000 she makes a mean Greek chicken, pays DeMarcus on cut 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:57.240 to a Podcast. Were there any particular sports that you 0:00:57.360 --> 0:00:59.640 fell in love with and also, you know, fell in 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:02.959 love with that you went out and participated in all 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:08.440 sports rather than just being observer. Yeah. So I played 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.120 basketball my whole life, and I grew up in a 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:14.560 neighborhood with all boys, so we had like a little courtyard. 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:17.600 I had a brother obviously my brotherhood mentioned um. And 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:19.639 then I grew up in a neighborhood of all boys, 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:22.800 so with this courtyard and in the courtyard it was 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:25.839 kind of like the area that was Our parents were 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:27.520 like cool with us going in there because it was 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:29.920 safe and it was gated off from the regular street 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:33.000 from one Row Street. So we would go there and 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:35.560 we played every sport like I was all time QB. 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:38.399 Like I'm still all time QB with my family, Like 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:41.800 I could throw every route like I was jokingly over 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:43.560 the weekend was like they're like, what's your favorite route 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:44.680 to throw? And I was like a wheel route and 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:47.080 they were like, oh that's awesome and freaking out about 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:50.280 that on social media. But um, I played every sport 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:53.000 growing up because I wanted to play with the boys. 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:56.160 Yeah you could, what would you what would you throw 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:59.080 to Steve Smith? Run on a wheel roud? I'm gonna 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:02.400 tell you right, you know why? Why why are you 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:04.480 not running a wheel out? It's such a lazy and 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.800 sloppy route? Oh my god, here we go. Only if 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:10.600 the wide receiver runs it lazy? Come on now, Like, 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.520 what's your favorite route to run? Okay, well I'll break 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:20.959 it down generally? Why sis don't? Yeah that's pretty generally ends? 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:24.079 Yeah I was gonna say slow tight ends. Yeah. See 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:27.640 that's why I'm I'm saying it more in their regards 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.160 of if YO go to route as a wire was 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:34.760 a wheel route. Yeah, like he didn't mind. I'm throwing 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.120 the ball to a really really slow dad, right, So 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:40.360 that's why it's fun for me because I'm like, my 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:42.960 dad is the slow tight end, Like that's the dude 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:48.359 that I'm throwing the ball too. So exactly right, who's 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:53.400 covering slow dad? Slow uncle? Slow Dad's getting slow if 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:56.160 I can't cover by slow uncle. So that's why this works. 0:02:56.200 --> 0:03:02.480 Guys like push dad into the good night to that, 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:08.400 and I get excited too, because you sound like you 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:12.000 will overthrow somebody. But it's not your faults. Quarterback, Oh, 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:15.640 you better believe. I'm I'm I'm I'm looking. I'm looking. 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:17.400 I'm Tom Brady. I'm looking at you and I'm going. 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.200 I've got my hands out. I'm yelling at you. I'm going, 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.920 that was the catchable ball? You just slow? He run 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:28.440 four He's definitely, yeah, that might be. That might be kind. 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:30.480 I don't even know if he's hitting that. So it's 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:32.760 that's why he can run the wheel roud. He's not. 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:35.520 I'm not throwing him a fade. He's not getting there fast. 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:40.360 Like it's he's he's still no. Dad is definitely not 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:42.920 running a slant. There is no chance that's happening. I'm not. 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:50.240 Uh yeah, I think you're overestimating how athletic my brother. Yes, right, 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:52.640 I can. That's that's I get the whole where the 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:55.360 whole wheel, every route's in the tree for my brother 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.480 because he's six six and super athletic, but not for 0:03:58.600 --> 0:04:01.800 not for especially not for my uncle. He's short and slow. 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:05.320 My dad's at least semi tall and not that slow. 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:09.880 He's just average, right, He's average. You go from Chicago Nebraska, 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:13.680 that had to be a culture shock to some degree. Yeah, 0:04:13.720 --> 0:04:17.480 it was a It was a huge culture shock, almost 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:20.120 as so much of a culture shock that I transferred. 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:24.760 So when I was a freshman my first weekend at school, 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:28.480 I was way overwhelmed. I was like, this is so different. 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:32.120 Everybody's for the most part, now Lincoln and Omaha has 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:34.039 a lot of this is really cool, but like a 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:37.159 lot of people were from small town. That started to 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:39.440 freak me out a little bit. It was totally different. 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:40.800 I was like, all right, I'm a city kid. I 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:44.240 dressed different than everybody here. I'm walking around in Jordan's. 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:46.520 These girls were making fun of me for wearing Jordan's 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:48.680 I was like, this isn't cool. I don't like this, 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:51.640 Like this is not this might not be my people, 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:54.880 but I ended up loving it. I had my best 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:58.080 friends in my whole life. Uh. Then I had an 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:01.719 unbelievable college experience. But my my first quarter of the 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:06.000 year of my freshman year almost almost took me out 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:08.520 of there. But I ended up kind of my My 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:11.400 dad was like, you gotta stick with it, you gotta scholarship, Like, 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:14.560 you gotta stay there, do your thing, You'll be fine, 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:17.760 And he was right, you know, and and change is different. 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:19.640 And I was away from my family for the first 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:23.120 time ever, so I got used to it. But uh, 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:26.480 it was definitely a culture shock. Nebraska is not Chicago. 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:29.640 So you at the University of Nebraska, You're nineteen years old, 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:32.440 you start your first company, seeing an opportunity to cover 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:36.400 sports using Twitter. Why decide to do that at at 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:38.480 that young age? What what was in you too to 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:42.040 want to want to build that up? Yeah, it was. 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:44.440 It was very much. I'm sitting in a you know, 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:47.040 kind of intro class. It's a journalism one on one 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:49.760 and I'm sitting in a class and Joe Starrita is 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:52.279 the one of my favorite professors. He's sitting up at 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:54.520 the frontal class and he asked the class he goes 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:58.160 who is currently on Twitter? And I raised my hand 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:00.680 and I'm the only one you got. They're talking. There's 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:04.840 at least two kids, probably more in this class. Nobody 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.040 raises her hand. And at the time, I was like, 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:09.320 I didn't care about Facebook, and that was like just 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:12.159 two thousand nine, like everybody was on Facebook. It was 0:06:12.240 --> 0:06:13.880 that was the thing you got, you wanted to do. 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:16.000 And I was like, no, no, no, I'm on Twitter 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:18.279 and like I think it's a huge opportunity to cover sports. 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:20.800 And about half the class kind of started laughing at me, 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:23.440 and I was like, all right, all right, cool, Like 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:25.720 I'm I'm that person. I like being the underdog. I 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:27.919 like being told that I can't do something. So that 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:30.279 was kind of the first thing was like, oh, you 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:32.520 guys think this is a joke, I'll show you right 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:36.279 like you'll see. And so I started meeting up with 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:40.000 UM had a sorority sister who her boyfriend was a 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:43.800 really really good UM was really into web development. So 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:46.240 we just started meeting and we would have we have 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:50.360 coffee meetings at this place called the Mill, and um, 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:53.320 that's we just started talking about starting corn Fed Sports. 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.400 And that's why we started it because there wasn't really 0:06:56.440 --> 0:07:01.000 any coverage, um that we liked covering the Aska sports 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:03.440 and Nebraska football, so we were like, why don't we 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:05.160 just start our own thing. And I'm sure this doesn't 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:08.120 surprise you guys, but like, obviously I wanted to cover football, 0:07:08.520 --> 0:07:11.000 but I also wanted to cover all the other sports, 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:16.000 like Nebraska has a phenomenal volleyball team like the nineties. 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:21.040 Nebraska football is the current Nebraska volleyball team like badass, 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:23.680 really really good, so I wanted to cover them. I 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:26.320 wanted to cover our basketball team. I wanted to like 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:28.840 I wanted to cover every sport, like I literally love 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:32.520 all sports. Enough people kept telling me that I either 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.120 couldn't do it, or I shouldn't do it, or it 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:38.920 was stupid. And then as that started to happen, it 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:42.360 just sparked in me like if this is making people 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:46.800 feel uncomfortable, especially older people, Like it was mostly older 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:50.040 professors and older journalists that were like, that's not a 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:53.040 thing newspapers, like you should go right for the newspaper 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:55.679 and I was, like, nobody reads the newspaper that's eighteen 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.880 or nineteen years old, Like there's an entire generation that's 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:01.200 gonna make this obsolete. Like else me, it's social and 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:03.840 it just they you know, I think they were afraid 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:05.800 of the change, and so I just wanted to kind 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:08.280 of embrace it and take the risk because I could. 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:10.000 I was in college and I could take the risk, 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.120 and I did and it and it definitely paid off. 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:15.240 But it was it was people telling me that it 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:17.560 wasn't a good idea over and over and over again 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:21.520 that inspired me to think, if I'm making people uncomfortable, 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.559 it's probably for a reason, and I should lean into 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:26.680 this and pay attention to this. And that's that's why 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:29.640 I did it. It's already hard to break into sports 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:34.040 in general as general. Then you add on top whether 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:37.600 you're a minority and whether you're you're a woman. Not 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:39.600 only do you breaking into sports media, but you're also 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:42.760 on an entrepreneurial journey. What are what's been some of 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:46.199 the challenges you've had to face with with going down 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:49.679 both of those paths. Yeah, being a woman in sports 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:52.520 and stuff, guys like that, it takes a certain level 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:56.600 of toughness to just be able to do it in general, 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:00.120 like constantly. And it took toughness in two thousand in 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.320 two thousand nine of the freshman in college, and it 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.680 takes toughness now is an executive in sports media in 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:10.920 like it's there's a lot of the same bs going 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:13.800 on now that there was going on then. I'm just 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:16.079 in a different position now and I've worked my way 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:19.240 into a position where i can call the shots as 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:21.120 far as who I'm hiring and who I'm bringing in 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:23.200 and who's a part of the conversations. And I think 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:26.040 that's that's how it changes. Like, that's how it changes 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:30.120 is you get more diversity from minorities and from women 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:32.760 in jobs where they can hire people and they can 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.120 be focused on that and making sure that there are 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.200 people that are like me that have a say in 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:41.880 the rooms that matter, because that's what That's what sucks 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:45.400 then and it sucks even now. But it's it's better 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:47.880 now for me because of the because of what I've 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:51.080 been able to achieve. But you know, having people call 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:53.480 the shot for you and not believe in you, and 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:57.360 even after you you do, I could have one mistake, right, 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:00.840 I could make one mistake and it was still so 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.839 like prolific the mistake to them, where I could watch 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:08.120 my colleague make mistakes and it was like, well he 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:10.640 played so like it doesn't matter right, like he knows 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:12.880 the game like and it was like, no, he doesn't, 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:14.920 Like he doesn't study like me, he doesn't talk to 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:17.040 the coaches like me, he doesn't talk to the players 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:20.320 like me, like I out hustle him NonStop. And I 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:24.520 can remember that being so frustrating and just almost not 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:28.640 pursuing sports because of that, but then just deciding. One day, 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:31.000 I just had this total breakdown and I talked to 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:33.480 my dad and my dad was like, listen, like you 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:36.439 love sports, like this is your passion. You're not gonna 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:39.520 give up because some jerk calls you sweet cheets in 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:41.400 a locker room, like you're gonna get over it, Like 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:43.640 you're gonna get over it. You're gonna get tough, and 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:46.360 you're gonna realize like next time he said something like 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:48.840 that to you, you better have something to say back. 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:51.920 And I was like, all right, Dad, And that's that's 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:54.760 pretty much like what I did from then on, Like 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:57.280 I was like, Okay, dudes are gonna say stuff to 0:10:57.280 --> 0:10:59.280 me and I'm just gonna say something back and guess what, 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.920 every time it happens, they're like totally checked themselves. They're 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.280 like whoa, because they're not used to getting it back. 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:07.240 They're used to just saying it's saying it's saying it 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:09.520 and nobody checks them. So when you check them and 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:12.920 it's like, oh, okay, I want them to do. For 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:16.120 the most part, there's a couple, you know, extreme cases, 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:19.440 but that's that's what it's like to be a woman 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:22.040 in sports. Like it's and it's like, as I said, 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:25.120 there's still a lot of challenges now that I face, 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:28.200 but I'm in a different position. And that's why as 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:32.199 an executive, I've I've been very conscientious of who I'm hiring, 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.120 who I'm bringing in, what the culture is like within 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:39.439 the company, to make sure that we have diverse voices 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:43.280 and that that can change the game. Uh. If more 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:46.640 people have that attitude, how do you not fall into 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:50.800 the narrative of now being in charge of well, I'm 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:54.520 only gonna hire women, or I'm only going to hire 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:57.440 people who did not play right. Where you don't all 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:00.160 of a sudden it spend it so far like to 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:05.520 spend spirits are to where now you're instead of part 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:09.360 of the solution, now you've just created a different narrative 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.000 that you're part of the problem too. Listen, it's a 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:15.800 really important question, guys, because it's I feel like this 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:19.319 is where you can start to have that understanding of Okay, 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:21.720 this is how you how you do things. And I'm not, 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.040 by any means the person that's ever not going to 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:26.800 make mistakes. But what I can say is I'm always 0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:31.160 gonna hire the best person for the job. The difference 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:33.800 between what your guys are alluding to, and I get 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:35.400 it all the time, like you're gonna look for women, 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.280 you're gonna look for minorities, you're gonna look the I 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:40.960 Every and I mean that in the nicest way I 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:44.319 can possibly say it. Every Tom Dick and Harry White 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:47.439 guy applies for a job that they do not deserve, 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:51.160 they're not entitled to, they don't have the qualifications for. 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.360 But they show up their nineteen years old, they're not 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:56.640 in journalism school, and they hit me up and they 0:12:56.679 --> 0:12:59.240 think they deserve a full time writing job. Straight up. 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:02.800 It happened all the time, you know who. I don't 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:06.920 hear from women and minorities, but neither one. I have 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:09.840 had to seek out every minority that I have hired, 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:11.920 and I've had to seek out every female that I 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:14.600 have hired. Why do you think that? Because I know 0:13:15.000 --> 0:13:20.760 for me, I'm I'm that's exactly right. I'm a black 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:24.439 male that worked in sports for for quite some time, 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:28.400 and from from my own personal experience, you have to 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:33.400 be not even better than average, not even better, way 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:36.600 better exceptional, And that's just to get a foot in 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:39.280 the door, right. So to your point, every time Dack 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:42.760 and Harry applies, but it is hard to stand out. 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:45.800 So because you know why a lot of the times 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:48.360 and Harrys get the job, that's true. But then also 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:52.720 how do you how do you make the opportunities not 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:55.840 even just available, but just highlighted in awareness to to 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.840 other people. You can make the opportunities available, you have 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:02.160 to be consciential of of making this a part of 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:04.640 what you're doing as you're hiring it. Because I mean, 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.800 it's it's like it is if you sat in a room, 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:10.600 I would venture to say that the white guys in 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:12.800 the room are more often than not going to think 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:15.959 they deserve the opportunity, whereas the girls are going to 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:18.200 talk themselves out of it. They're gonna give you ten 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:20.800 reasons why they don't deserve it. And the black guys 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:22.640 don't are going to talk themselves out of it as well, 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:24.440 or they're just not going to speak up because it's 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:28.200 it's a conditional thing, like we've been conditioned to think 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:31.360 that we don't deserve these things because we haven't seen it, 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:34.640 Whereas if you're a white guy in this country, you've 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:39.080 seen you can think you think you walked it, and 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.560 that's the that is the time. That is you're talking 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:45.240 about a lot of learned behavior, a lot of watching 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:49.120 and seeing and and not thinking that you deserve it. 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:53.760 And that that only changes when people that have the 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:58.240 ability to hire people are conscientious of that and say, okay, 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:01.480 if I have a job name right at the end 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:03.920 of the day. You guys talked about it earlier. Sports 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.840 is so competitive that if I don't have a reference 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:09.320 that I know about you, you're not going to get 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:11.600 the job because I know enough people in sports that 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:15.280 I can call and say, hey, tell me about this person. Right. 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:18.200 So that's the first part, is the networking part, and 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:20.800 how that plays a part in this, and and reaching 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:24.120 out to people and saying, Hey, I want to hire somebody, 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:27.840 and I'm looking for you know this, these are the qualifications. 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:30.640 Do you have anybody that you can send my way? Right? 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:33.120 Do you know anybody? Have you heard from anybody? Because 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.280 that's what that's what's happening. Like, that's what you have 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:39.560 to do. Because the guys who send me their resumes 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:41.680 all the time. I mean it, If I went through 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:44.800 and I probably have four hundred resumes saved in my email, 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:48.560 I would venture to say three nine, if not all 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:51.280 four hundred are all white guys, and and most of 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:54.040 them are not qualified, and they all ask for jobs. 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:56.680 And it's because they've been conditioned to think that they 0:15:57.280 --> 0:16:01.280 can have it and and I don't. There's there's only 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:03.640 so much one individual can do, right, Like what can 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.760 I do for my company? I can make I can 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:10.240 make sure that I am present in how I am hiring, 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:12.280 who I am hiring, and making sure I'm doing my 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:15.120 due diligence to reach out and try and find people, 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:18.800 versus just sitting back and saying, well the best people 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:22.320 will find me. Um, that's just I think my attitude. 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:24.080 I can't speak to what anybody else is doing, but 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:28.360 that's that's how I've approached it. Let's talk ball, all right, 0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:34.320 So you've done you're doing Draft Network, you've done fantasy 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:37.480 you do a little bit of fantasy football, correct, yep, 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:41.120 As a former athlete, I hate fantasy football. Why you 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:46.680 hate fantasy man, I hate fantasy football because fantasy football 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:54.640 has financially has been great. But now for everybody involved 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:59.480 in fantasy and football, right, fantasy love it, football, love it. 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:01.520 You come by on a fantasy football and it brings 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:05.600 in more revenue dollars. But now you have the fan 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:10.240 who may not necessarily watch the games, but now they're 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:16.199 only watching because the impacts fantasy football. But sometimes you 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:20.719 have people they can look at a guy. Let's just say, hypothetically, 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:24.879 guy has ten thousand yards, a billion I'm exaggera and 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:28.480 a billion touchdowns, but if he doesn't perform that week 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:36.080 on fantasy, you trash you trashy. Never I've never I 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:38.879 have never met a guy who's played in the league 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:42.439 that like fantasy football. I don't because I and I 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:47.080 totally understand why you would feel that way. Because if 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:50.840 I'm Steve or if I'm I've seen it in an 0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:53.080 interview in a post game right where you've got Travis 0:17:53.119 --> 0:17:56.680 Kelsey getting interviewed post game and he's he didn't have 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:59.960 a big game, and somebody's yelling at him from the stands, like, dude, 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.800 your trash, You're terrible today. You're tweeting at somebody and 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:04.639 you're telling them that you you know, you've lost me 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:08.639 my fantasy matchup. Like I can imagine that as a competitor, 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:11.760 especially if you win the football game. Like if you 0:18:11.800 --> 0:18:13.800 go out there and you win the game and then 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:16.000 people are tweeting at you about how you didn't win fantasy, 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.879 You've gotta be like, who the hell cares? Right, Like 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:20.520 I tell I tell people that all the time that 0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:23.480 play fantasy, Like you have what you want to happen 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:26.320 in your head, and then here's what reality is. Because 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:30.520 the head coach doesn't care about giving Clyde Edwards Hilaire 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:33.320 that's many touches because that's what's good for your fantasy team, 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:35.840 Like he's gonna do what's best for the matchup to 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:38.320 play that in the game, and that's what he's gonna do. 0:18:38.480 --> 0:18:40.920 So you might want this to happen, but it ain't 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:43.280 gonna happen because that's not the game plan. And if 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:45.760 you don't. That's why. That's why I can see why 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:47.800 you hate it. So I understand why you hate it. 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:53.640 It's not like I woke up today and said, Gerard 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:56.160 starting me on this fantasy team, I gotta show out 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:00.400 screw him, Like that's not what you're doing. You don't 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:04.160 get the call your own play yes, to the point 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:07.520 of where when you hear that, you're like, really and 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.200 then now and then I play fantasy a little bit 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:13.720 when I was done. You don't know the game plan, right, 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:16.879 you really don't. You don't understand or the matchups' not. 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:21.119 Just like this is terrible, right, So I literally hate 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:24.480 fancy football. If everybody could just chill and be nice, 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:26.520 then we'll be fine, right, because then you wouldn't have 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:29.000 fans screaming at you or tweeting at You're like, yo, bro, 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:31.639 you suck your garbage because you didn't have three catches 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:34.240 for him, and you're like, yeah, okay, cool, Like if 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:38.120 people just didn't. People doing that to athletes in general 0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:41.680 has always made me upset, Like whether it's fantasy related 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:43.600 or it's like you have a bad game and the 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:47.360 team loses, and people feel this sense of ownership where 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:50.080 they can come over and tell you like like you 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:52.160 guys are saying, like you don't walk up to somebody, 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:54.000 you don't go outside to the garbage man and you 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:55.800 yell at the garbage man because there's one piece of 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:57.560 garbage that fell out, and you're like, you stuck at 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:00.240 your job, like nobody does that, Like people you got 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:03.960 in sport. We have to take a break and the 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:06.960 morning thing. We gotta pay some bills. You got checks. 0:20:11.280 --> 0:20:14.280 I love cut to It, and I love it even 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:18.719 more when you download us and subscribe and you can 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:21.240 follow us on social media too, Smithie where where at? 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:26.120 That's at? Cut to It on Instagram? What about Twitter? At? 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:30.280 Cut to It Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr? 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:33.840 What about online? And you can follow us at cut 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:36.960 to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:40.360 and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. 0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:44.440 I got all my answers questions. Um, yeah, I got 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:47.800 all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother, 0:20:48.240 --> 0:20:54.159 cut to a Podcast dot Com. Coming up on the 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:57.960 cut to It Podcast, We've got Odessa Jenkins, CEO of 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:02.159 the Women's National Football Conference, a former NFL coaching intern 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:05.680 with Atlanta Falcons, and she's a two time USA National 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:08.520 Women's football champion. Odesse and Jenkins coming up and cut 0:21:08.520 --> 0:21:13.440 to a podcast playing football with the boys in the league, 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:18.080 growing up in middle school where your coach told you 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:23.040 that you had to quit because there was no place 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:28.520 for you to play in high school? Now the word 0:21:28.520 --> 0:21:32.800 I highlighted, and I've just been sitting on for the 0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:36.560 last couple of days prepping for this is no place. 0:21:37.680 --> 0:21:40.600 And as a dad of one daughter and then I 0:21:40.680 --> 0:21:44.680