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Speaker 1: Renee, you got me hyped. I'm gonna be watching your team.

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Speaker 1: I might have to adopt Charlestonce Sparks be tripping. I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna make it out my second favorite time. We'll take

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Speaker 1: number two in this case. Hey y'all, we gotta get one.

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Speaker 1: Former w n B A star, Renee Montgomery is on

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Speaker 1: neked more from her after the break. Every champion and

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Speaker 1: carey champion is to be a champion of Champion and

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Speaker 1: carry Champion and carry chapion. A champion and carry Champion

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Speaker 1: and carry champion. Rateis ratius and sports and entertainment connected

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Speaker 1: work in the world of vulnerable considered. We come and

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Speaker 1: remove the vail from entertainment elite. It's a difference between

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Speaker 1: what it's real and with the public season. So here's

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Speaker 1: your favorite celebrities behind the scenes. It's refreshing up. Then

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Speaker 1: the whole story specific life alto rennivents to check the

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Speaker 1: person that you here. We gotta champion. They carry Champion

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Speaker 1: and it's the greatest of sports. And then the tameing

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Speaker 1: connaked with Harry Chappion. They carry Chappion is Champion, the

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Speaker 1: Champion they carry Chappion. Chappion, they carry Chappion. They carry

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Speaker 1: Chappi and the Taming Cannaked Warmer. Shout out to us Virginia. UM.

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Speaker 1: The reason why I say shout out to West Virginia

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Speaker 1: obviously our next guest, Renee Montgomery, is from West Virginia,

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Speaker 1: the smallest state in the Union, I believe. However, that

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Speaker 1: was my very very very first job in TV. That's

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Speaker 1: where it started for me, West Virginia. I've told the

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Speaker 1: story a few times, but that's interesting because immediately I

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Speaker 1: thought to myself, I don't remember meeting many people like

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Speaker 1: Renee when I lived there. But whatever, I was only

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Speaker 1: there for a minute. But I want to tell you

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Speaker 1: the story of a retired American basketball player, now broadcaster,

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Speaker 1: currently part owner of the Lanta dream Well. She is

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Speaker 1: a champion in more ways than one, all pun intended.

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Speaker 1: She has one on every level, high school level, collegiate level.

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Speaker 1: She went to Yukon arguably one of the most if

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Speaker 1: not historical programs for women's collegiate collegiate basketball, right but

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Speaker 1: playing under Gina r Ema too, who she adores. I

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Speaker 1: talked to her a little bit about that. We'll get

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Speaker 1: into that. UM, there are programs down that are challenging Yukon,

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Speaker 1: which I appreciate. Shout out to Stanford for going far

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Speaker 1: when it at all. If you don't know college basketball,

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Speaker 1: I'm speaking mumbo jumbo to you. But you know where

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Speaker 1: I'm going. And now she won. She won when she

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Speaker 1: was in the pros, when she played for the Minnesota

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Speaker 1: Links seventeen. But Renee then retired abruptly. Everyone at least

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Speaker 1: thought it was abrupt but y'all remember what happened in

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Speaker 1: There was so much going on, and I remember talking

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Speaker 1: to Renee off the record, and she's like, look, I

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Speaker 1: can't I can't continue to play basketball while all of

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Speaker 1: this is happening in the world. Um, people are angry

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Speaker 1: and sad and suffering, and we're tired of seeing her

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Speaker 1: people being murdered by police and there being no justice

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Speaker 1: and no accountability. And so I'm going to take a

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Speaker 1: minute and take um a pivot, if you will, and

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna start being an activist. I'm gonna start protesting. Now.

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Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure she knew she was going to retire.

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Speaker 1: She didn't say that right off the bat, but she did.

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Speaker 1: She started to protest. She walked away from the game,

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Speaker 1: and she's saying no thanks, I'm opting out. I don't

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Speaker 1: want to play anymore. All the while, though, here is

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Speaker 1: the crazy story. The owner of the Atlanta Dream when

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Speaker 1: Renee was a player. Boy, was this crazy woman. And

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Speaker 1: I'm calling her crazy because she was so disrespectful, um

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Speaker 1: senator and that when she was a senator, you know whatever,

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Speaker 1: Senator Kelly Loffler. And she started some trouble because when

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Speaker 1: she was asked because she was the owner of the

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Speaker 1: Atlanta Dream, a basketball team primarily consisting of minorities black

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Speaker 1: and brown women, when they asked her what she thought

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Speaker 1: about Black Lives Matter, she simply said that she felt

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Speaker 1: that it was disrespectful. She did not like what it

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Speaker 1: was about. She said, no one should be promoting Black

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Speaker 1: lives matter. Way a minute. You are the owner of

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Speaker 1: a team, a w NBA team that consists primarily of

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Speaker 1: black and brown women, and you don't support Black Lives matter,

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Speaker 1: and you say it publicly, and you're a senator in

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Speaker 1: the state of Georgia. Girl, get out of here. You

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Speaker 1: sound crazy. So I remember saying this. I was like,

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Speaker 1: when this is all said and downe, that woman's gonna

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Speaker 1: have to sell that team. There is no way on

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Speaker 1: God's green Earth, she can continue to own a team

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Speaker 1: in the w n b A which is still with

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Speaker 1: the NBA, and come out and say she don't support

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Speaker 1: Black Lives matter. She thinks it's in a front to

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Speaker 1: society and actually our system. What paraphrasing? You know what, Kelly?

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Speaker 1: You have here? So I I remember asking Renee, who

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Speaker 1: then played for the Atlanta Dream under this woman the

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Speaker 1: quote unquote owner. I hate that name. I remember asking Renee,

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Speaker 1: how do you feel about this woman? She she is

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Speaker 1: your quote unquote boss air quotes and she hates the

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Speaker 1: idea of black lives matter? How is that possible? Right?

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Speaker 1: Renee was very PC about it, But I tell you

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Speaker 1: what wasn't PC the way that the entire w NBA

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Speaker 1: went after her. I remember so many people protesting against

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Speaker 1: this particular woman, and in fact starting the movement to

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Speaker 1: endorse a candidate by the name of Rafael Warnock. Now,

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Speaker 1: if you know your politics, you know that Rafael Warnock

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Speaker 1: is now the Senator in Georgia. He took her spot.

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Speaker 1: We got her ask about the paint, but I remember

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Speaker 1: Renee was so politically correct about it. So not only

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Speaker 1: does she decide to walk away from the team, arguably

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Speaker 1: probably already knowing that the owner was on some bullshit.

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Speaker 1: She then starts to protest and she finds her, if

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Speaker 1: you will, she finds her place what she's supposed to

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Speaker 1: be doing. She said, it was just a new level

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Speaker 1: of what it meant to be a part of the movement.

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Speaker 1: And then she going by the team. Y'all, this story

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Speaker 1: is crazy. The senator who said, I adamantly opposed the

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Speaker 1: Black Lives Matter political movement, which has advocated for the

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Speaker 1: defunding of police, called for the removal of Jesus from churches,

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Speaker 1: and the disruption of the nuclear family structure. What the

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Speaker 1: hell is she talking about? She's stupid? So could you imagine? No,

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Speaker 1: we can't imagine. But here's the beauty. Instead of protesting her,

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Speaker 1: they got her ask about the paint, and the player

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Speaker 1: then became the owner and it is Renee Montgomery. It

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Speaker 1: all began in West Virginia. Take a listen. Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and the community

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Speaker 1: felt and did not look like me. You know, there

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Speaker 1: was I think in elementary school there might have been.

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Speaker 1: There were no, I don't think there are any of

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Speaker 1: the black children in elementary school. And then in junior

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Speaker 1: high there was one other black students, so things looked

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Speaker 1: a lot different than it does for me. Now Here

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Speaker 1: in Atlanta, it was different. I worked in West Virginia, Oakley, Yeah, Bluefield, Bluefield,

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Speaker 1: West Virginia. How how close was that to where you

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Speaker 1: where you grew up? I would say, I think blue

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Speaker 1: Fields like an hour and some change away from me. Okay.

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Speaker 1: I my experience, and that was in two thousand, was

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Speaker 1: was great, but I know that it was very um

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Speaker 1: it was a very comfortable place with racism and calling

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Speaker 1: people colored. Did you experience that growing up? I actually didn't. Um.

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Speaker 1: I think that I experienced people thinking that I was

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Speaker 1: cool because I was different, almost like oh, she's the

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Speaker 1: black kid. Like you know, it was like I was

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Speaker 1: the black kid because there was only one and so

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Speaker 1: I didn't really like experienced that. But I think I

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Speaker 1: experienced it more when it came to newspapers and how

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Speaker 1: things were framed, when it came to who was the

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Speaker 1: star of the game who wasn't. You could see it there.

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Speaker 1: What do you mean? Give me an example, Like you

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Speaker 1: could be balling out and they would highlight someone else

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Speaker 1: who got like two points. Yes, I could be I

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Speaker 1: could be balling out, and it would it would be

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Speaker 1: just not even in the news like it would be

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Speaker 1: in the statuet or in the score part of it.

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Speaker 1: You would see that that portion of me, but it

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Speaker 1: wouldn't be the headlines. The headlines could be someone of

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Speaker 1: the team that lost. So we kind of experienced that

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Speaker 1: pretty early on and knew that was a norm. Well,

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Speaker 1: if that was a norm, how were you able to

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Speaker 1: get to a point where you outshined everyone? It was

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Speaker 1: just they checked the box, they checked the state, they

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Speaker 1: check the stats, or because I would think you would

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Speaker 1: need to be written about in order to go on

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Speaker 1: and have a successful career. So I don't see how

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Speaker 1: you were able to do that and not have any

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Speaker 1: type of any type of shine or pup. It's interesting

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Speaker 1: because that's we started to play AU And so for

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Speaker 1: people that don't know what AU is is traveling basketball.

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Speaker 1: So you travel around, you get your team from your state,

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Speaker 1: and you travel around to different states. That's where we

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Speaker 1: got on the map. You know, our team, the West

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Speaker 1: Virginia Tornadoes that remember candis actually we talked about it

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Speaker 1: on the Arena Canada's played for the West Virginia Tornadoes

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Speaker 1: and that our team was pretty good, and so we

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Speaker 1: were traveling around to different places and we had a

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Speaker 1: nice squad, and that's how we started to get seen,

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Speaker 1: and that's how coaches started to be like, you know,

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Speaker 1: who are these girls on this West Virginia team. That's

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Speaker 1: fascinating because you two are arguably one of the most

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Speaker 1: here's a handful of well known n b W NBA

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Speaker 1: players outside of just the league, right, those two crossover

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Speaker 1: and you two are arguably among that that that handful,

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Speaker 1: that too handful group of people. And it started with

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Speaker 1: that a AU team. Did that make you feel a

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Speaker 1: type of way because you generally have a great disposition,

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Speaker 1: but the competitor in you, I think would feel some

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Speaker 1: type of way if you're not writing about me and

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Speaker 1: you're writing about somebody else, you know, I kind of

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Speaker 1: just I just was like, it'll wash itself out. My

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Speaker 1: family they didn't like it. You know, my family they're

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Speaker 1: the ones to read it. So for me, it's like

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Speaker 1: when I'm playing against somebody in West Virginia, they know

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Speaker 1: they know when they played South Charleston that we were

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Speaker 1: going to be turned up. And so the players. Amongst

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Speaker 1: the players, there was a certain level of respect, but

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Speaker 1: it just didn't happen in the media, and so for me,

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Speaker 1: that pushed us. Like me and my teammates when we

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Speaker 1: played those AU games, we knew that that was our chance,

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Speaker 1: and so we treated that like, all right, when all

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Speaker 1: the college coaches are sitting around the game, this is

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Speaker 1: when we got to put on a show because we

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Speaker 1: know how it's going to be in West Virginia and

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Speaker 1: maybe people won't hear about us. So why what quality

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Speaker 1: is that in you? You know, people like to always

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Speaker 1: refer to zodiac signs, if you're this or that. I'm

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Speaker 1: a Sagittarius. Yeah, okay, well I just I don't really

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Speaker 1: believe too much of that. But since you said that,

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Speaker 1: every sage I know is pretty mellow, like everybody just

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Speaker 1: get you're everybody's best friend, you get along. However, um,

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Speaker 1: what quality is that in you that didn't necessarily need

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Speaker 1: to feel a type of way knowing that if you're good,

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Speaker 1: you're good and you're gonna last. I don't know. I

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Speaker 1: think I'm a pretty confident person. I don't talk about

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Speaker 1: my confidence, but I think I'm always just be like,

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Speaker 1: all right, I'll figure it out. So if they don't

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Speaker 1: want to write about me, then we gotta make some

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Speaker 1: noise on another stage. Like that's just always my thought

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Speaker 1: process even now. You know when something's going wrong, I don't.

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Speaker 1: I'm not the type that's gonna go on Twitter and

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Speaker 1: throw a rant. I'm gonna figure out a way to

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Speaker 1: to change that situation. I'm gonna figure out a way.

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Speaker 1: If I'm not in a good situation, I'm gonna figure

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Speaker 1: out a way out. So I don't know, I just

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Speaker 1: always have to. I think just the pivot, the ability

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Speaker 1: to pivot, has been something that I learned young. I'm

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Speaker 1: writing down things that are striking, striking me as your

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Speaker 1: your naked quality. UM, and I have to talk to

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Speaker 1: you about after you leave you, after you leave West Virginia,

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Speaker 1: you get recruited by UM the most decorated program for

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Speaker 1: women's basketball in the history of the game. That's the

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Speaker 1: University of Connecticut Gina. Ari Emma is a Hall of Famer. UM.

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Speaker 1: More than likely everyone who plays with him who's won

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Speaker 1: a chip in which what is what you did, will

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Speaker 1: win that chip and become a Hall of famer. A

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Speaker 1: Hall of Famer yet, right, I want to make sure, okay,

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Speaker 1: if you're trying to miss that in my notes here

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Speaker 1: how how was it playing for Gino. Yeah, you know,

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Speaker 1: it's it's everyone sees the coach ari Emma on the outside,

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Speaker 1: but I mean, honestly, he's somebody that he's gonna get

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Speaker 1: on you, so that's a given, but no one else

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Speaker 1: is going to get on you. You know that. It's

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Speaker 1: like that that when you have family and you can

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Speaker 1: make fun of your family, but hey, nobody else make

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Speaker 1: fun of your family. Type. Feel that's him. So he

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Speaker 1: will get on to us, he'll yell at us. But

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Speaker 1: if the media ever does it or someone else ever comes,

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Speaker 1: you know, he has your back. And so for me,

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Speaker 1: I love it. Like that's that's and the reason you know,

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Speaker 1: talking about West Virginia, the reason that I went with

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Speaker 1: Uknor is because I felt like his his approach was

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Speaker 1: different all the other college coaches that would recruiting me.

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Speaker 1: They told me I would be starting point guard. I

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Speaker 1: would be the star of the show. I would be

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Speaker 1: everything that I ever wanted to be in Coach or

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Speaker 1: Amy was like, yeah, you're good, you know, yeah, but

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Speaker 1: we we got good players here too. You can start,

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Speaker 1: you can do this, but it's all on you. And

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Speaker 1: so I'm like, that's what's up? Like I like people

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Speaker 1: that shoot it to me straight. So um playing for

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Speaker 1: him was exactly what I thought it would be when

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Speaker 1: he was recruiting me. He's not gonna sugarcoat anything. He's

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Speaker 1: gonna tell you like it is. Yet that that's to me.

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Speaker 1: Any coach, basketball coach, any code, that's what it is.

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Speaker 1: They are consistently um letting people know whether they're winning

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Speaker 1: or not winning. Like I feel like being a coach

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Speaker 1: is a life of stress, Like it's so stressful, you're

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Speaker 1: always angry, Like I wouldn't want to do it. That's

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Speaker 1: what I never wanted to be a coach. Yeah, you're

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Speaker 1: working to get fired like I'm on set. However, what

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Speaker 1: I do want to say about General Gino r E

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Speaker 1: m A. I do not know him, and you did

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Speaker 1: point out how people treat him and talk about him

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Speaker 1: on camera. He has an incredible arrogance. Does he deserve

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Speaker 1: to be that arrogant? I mean, see arrogance, people have

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Speaker 1: a certain way about that. Arrogance isn't arrogant if it's true.

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Speaker 1: So that that's what I have to like put out

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Speaker 1: there because a lot of the stuff he says. I

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Speaker 1: remember when Donna Tarasci was on his team, and everybody

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Speaker 1: was really mad because he made a statement, like they said,

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Speaker 1: why do you think you're gonna win a national championship

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Speaker 1: and he's like, because we have Diana and you don't.

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Speaker 1: And people really thought that that was like oh, wow,

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Speaker 1: like you like, you know, I don't think that's bad.

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Speaker 1: Oh it got a lot of attention, So I think

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Speaker 1: it's not so people could consider that arrogant, But they

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Speaker 1: went on to win a championship and it was a fact.

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Speaker 1: So I'm just curious if I don't know if he's

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Speaker 1: arrogant or if he's just a fact teller and people

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Speaker 1: don't like how he's saying it. I think I think

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Speaker 1: outside looking in the way the way that we want

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Speaker 1: the world to be, right, especially if he was a woman,

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Speaker 1: he couldn't get away with that. He would not be liked.

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Speaker 1: So I'm pointing out what I believe is arrogant, and

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Speaker 1: I don't necessarily agree with his his approach or his style.

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Speaker 1: It works apparently, but if he was a woman, he

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Speaker 1: could never do that. Till That's where I get interesting.

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Speaker 1: But should you be mad at him or mad at

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Speaker 1: the system that wouldn't allow to do it? Both both

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Speaker 1: you should and don't you think we should hold everybody accountable?

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Speaker 1: Like if I because I get labeled arrogant, and I, yes,

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Speaker 1: it's true, Like, but what's your like why the arrogance

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Speaker 1: will be she thinks she'll all that she knows everything

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Speaker 1: she's talking over people this end the third or she

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Speaker 1: demands too much. Right, Gina and I are cut from

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Speaker 1: the same cloth. But I'm okay with understanding that I'm

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Speaker 1: those things. But I tell you what I don't do

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Speaker 1: is that I don't talk to people like they don't matter.

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Speaker 1: Do you think he does that? Yes? And that's that

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Speaker 1: arrogance that I don't like. You could be as tough

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Speaker 1: as you want to be, but you can't treat people

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Speaker 1: like they don't matter. And that is his approach. Um,

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Speaker 1: and perhaps it works. But you, being who you are

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Speaker 1: Sagittarius at all, you know problem solver ability to pivot.

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Speaker 1: You don't mind that or you probably didn't receive it

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Speaker 1: that way, correct, right? I didn't receive it that way. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: but I usually don't receive things. I usually always receive

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Speaker 1: things the right way because I try to assume people

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Speaker 1: like people have to really do something. Wow, So I'd

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Speaker 1: be like, wait, I think they wild and like I

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Speaker 1: have to. Like usually my friends tell me somebody's disrespecting me,

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Speaker 1: and I'm like, oh, for real and then like my

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Speaker 1: friends be like, yeah, no, I don't like that. Like

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Speaker 1: my friends or family are the ones that have to

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Speaker 1: let me know when somebody's doing some crazy stuff. And

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Speaker 1: that's a beautiful quality. So somebody's trying to play you

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Speaker 1: and you don't really know it. Well't no, because I think,

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Speaker 1: why why deal with that? Why have Because at the

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Speaker 1: end of the day, some of the circumstances don't really matter.

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Speaker 1: It's insignificant. Who cares if somebody talk to me crazy?

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Speaker 1: Who cares if, like I'm being honest, who cares if

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Speaker 1: is that going to affect my paycheck? Does that affect

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Speaker 1: my money? Does that affect my future? Once we start

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Speaker 1: affecting things that really matter to us and we care about,

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Speaker 1: why why focus on people being like and I'm talking

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Speaker 1: about myself. That's what I'm still working on. That's why

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Speaker 1: I think, truly, you've been so successful because you do

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Speaker 1: have this las a fair approach. One of my really

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Speaker 1: good friends is the Sagittarius, and she's very las fair,

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Speaker 1: meaning very few things bother her. It has to be.

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Speaker 1: It has to be humongous in order for her to

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Speaker 1: jump out of her her skin, right, Yeah, it has

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Speaker 1: to that's who you are. It has to be really

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Speaker 1: big or I really won't care. I'm like, all right,

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Speaker 1: so what were we doing? Like, I just won't just like, so,

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Speaker 1: so what we're doing? I know everybody, man, but what

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Speaker 1: we're doing, which is great, which is why you were

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Speaker 1: able to then leave this program with the chip. I mean,

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Speaker 1: and I ain't knocking it. It is the best. If

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Speaker 1: I had a daughter to play ball and she said

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Speaker 1: I wanted to go to Connecticut, I'd like you go

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Speaker 1: play for that. Man. I don't like you know, so

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to knock that. What I what I

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Speaker 1: think is something that goes not talked about enough is

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Speaker 1: the type of people he recruits. Your character is outstanding.

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Speaker 1: So is the others that he has recruited in the

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Speaker 1: past that I've always admired and liked off court as

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Speaker 1: well as on court. So you get to the w

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Speaker 1: n b A, you start playing, that was always a

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Speaker 1: dream for you, kind of The w n b A

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Speaker 1: became a thing when I was tinned. So I started.

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Speaker 1: When I very first started playing, I was just trying

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Speaker 1: to get a college scholarship, like that was the way

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Speaker 1: out of West Virginia to me. I'm like, let me

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Speaker 1: try to get a school to want me to go there,

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Speaker 1: and then I go there and get a free education.

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Speaker 1: That was the first thoughts, and so at in Yeah,

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Speaker 1: then everything became about going to the league, but also

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Speaker 1: getting a college scholarship because my mom is a college

357
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Speaker 1: professor and my dad's an engineer. So school was the

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Speaker 1: thing to me. So then now you're playing at this level,

359
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Speaker 1: You're like, I can get drafted. Yeah, I can get drafted. Yeah, okay,

360
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Speaker 1: talk to me about draft night. Oh. Draft Knight was

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Speaker 1: scary because I'm five six. I lift myself at five seven.

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Speaker 1: That's just what we do. Uh. And everyone was talking

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Speaker 1: about how they didn't know if my game would translate

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Speaker 1: over to the pro style. So I'm coming off of

365
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Speaker 1: a high. We went thirty nine and oh and everyone's

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Speaker 1: talking about, yeah, every now you had a great season,

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Speaker 1: but is she too small to play in the league.

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Speaker 1: So I was hearing things and just so people understand,

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Speaker 1: the w NBA draft is like three days after our

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Speaker 1: championship games, so there's not much time in between. So

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Speaker 1: I'm still literally on the high from winning a championship,

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Speaker 1: and now I'm hearing that I could go anywhere from

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Speaker 1: like number one to number him, and I'm like, oh

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Speaker 1: my gosh. Like it was like so I just didn't

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Speaker 1: want to be left sitting in the room. I know

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Speaker 1: everyone has seen the athletes sitting in the room waiting

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Speaker 1: on their name to be called. I did not want

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Speaker 1: to be that one. So that was my fear. So

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Speaker 1: you were not tell us about drafting, like when you

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Speaker 1: when they called your name and they said this is

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Speaker 1: the team walked me through that night. Who are you

382
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Speaker 1: with family friends or did you feel I was with

383
00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,040
Speaker 1: my parents and my parents Um. They went to the

384
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Speaker 1: Final four game and then they flew to New York

385
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Speaker 1: because that's where it was. So they were at the

386
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Speaker 1: table Coach Oriyama, who had told me he's not gonna

387
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Speaker 1: be able to make it. I didn't really think none

388
00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:40,000
Speaker 1: of it because he literally is a rock star, and

389
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Speaker 1: so I'm like, he's probably doing rock star things. He

390
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,240
Speaker 1: popped up on me. He pulled up on me in

391
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Speaker 1: New York, so he was there, so you couldn't tell

392
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Speaker 1: me nothing. Sitting at my table. I was hyped. Um

393
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Speaker 1: and the first went. The first went by Angel mccatry,

394
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,119
Speaker 1: the second pick Christy Tolliver, the third pick Rissa Coleman,

395
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Speaker 1: and then I'm like, oh my gosh, I really got

396
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Speaker 1: scared after them because you don't know what is going

397
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Speaker 1: to happen. And then I heard the fourth pick, Minnesota

398
00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,639
Speaker 1: Links chose me, and like that's I kind of like

399
00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:07,639
Speaker 1: just blacked out there, if I'm being honest, Like it

400
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,320
Speaker 1: was kind of like the motions. I'm sure I hugged everyone,

401
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,880
Speaker 1: but it was relief. I was like, Okay, I don't

402
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Speaker 1: know anything about Minnesota, but that's where we're going. Like

403
00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:17,080
Speaker 1: that's kind of how I felt. That's how I felt

404
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Speaker 1: about it. The beauty about the w n b A

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Speaker 1: and and and for for all the things that we

406
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Speaker 1: have yet to see and all the strides we still

407
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,320
Speaker 1: want to make. The beauty about the w n b

408
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,120
Speaker 1: A is watching you ladies literally go from the college

409
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Speaker 1: game if you're in the championship game, to getting drafted

410
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,399
Speaker 1: and then watching you play not soon there after, and

411
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,359
Speaker 1: I think or soon thereafter, and I think to me,

412
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Speaker 1: I love that. I love because you were watching this

413
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,600
Speaker 1: process happened so quickly, and you guys are transitioning overnight.

414
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Speaker 1: You get to the league. For look, and I'm gonna

415
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Speaker 1: be very clear because you know, I grew up in

416
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Speaker 1: l A. So you know I was a Sparks fan.

417
00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,080
Speaker 1: So you get to you get to the league, and

418
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:03,000
Speaker 1: Minnesota is the business, like you guys are the business.

419
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Speaker 1: How many tips you want with them too? I want to.

420
00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,240
Speaker 1: But when I got there, we were not the business.

421
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Speaker 1: Talk to me about that tough we went. I told

422
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Speaker 1: you my senior year we went thirty nine o So

423
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Speaker 1: I literally went a full year without losing a game. Um,

424
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:18,760
Speaker 1: and then I got to the league and had a

425
00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:21,480
Speaker 1: wake up call. We we were like the worst team

426
00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,000
Speaker 1: for a while. Actually, let me Actually I'm lying. The

427
00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:26,560
Speaker 1: first half of the season we were all right and

428
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:31,080
Speaker 1: then Simone Augustus got hurt and that's where it went bad.

429
00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,440
Speaker 1: And it went bad and it wasn't like the team

430
00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:35,000
Speaker 1: was bad and we were yelling at each other. It

431
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,159
Speaker 1: was just like we were losing and I was not

432
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,080
Speaker 1: accustomed to that. I mean, a bad year for Yukon.

433
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,960
Speaker 1: You you lose five games West, Yeah, we lost like

434
00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:45,680
Speaker 1: five games in two weeks, And I'm like, what is

435
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,199
Speaker 1: happening with my life? And my good at basketball. I

436
00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:50,920
Speaker 1: tried to really like it makes you really like, wow,

437
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:53,359
Speaker 1: am I can I carry this team? And I you know,

438
00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,639
Speaker 1: because I found the Yukon that I could use my

439
00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,840
Speaker 1: positivity energy and we could we could figure it out.

440
00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,399
Speaker 1: But in the pro you gotta have talent. Like talent

441
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:06,439
Speaker 1: wins in the pros. That's it. That's it. What you

442
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,240
Speaker 1: also have in the w n b A. Outside of talent,

443
00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:13,480
Speaker 1: extremely talented women, you have leadership on a scale in

444
00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:17,199
Speaker 1: a league that I have yet to see expressed so freely.

445
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:22,400
Speaker 1: Not always highlighted, but definitely leadership in the sense of

446
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:25,800
Speaker 1: what's going on in the world today. I would argue

447
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,199
Speaker 1: that the w n b A and its players were

448
00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:32,760
Speaker 1: the first to lead the charge on social justice. Your

449
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,960
Speaker 1: take on that, Yeah, definitely. I mean the summer before

450
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,720
Speaker 1: Colin Kaepernick took the knee, I was on that Minnesota

451
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,040
Speaker 1: Links team where we wore shirts that said change starts

452
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,400
Speaker 1: with Us. Again, it was the summer before Colin Kaepernick

453
00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:46,760
Speaker 1: took the knee, so people were definitely not ready to

454
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,479
Speaker 1: see that. They Minnesota Police Department, they walked out on us.

455
00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:52,720
Speaker 1: They said they won't be security for our games anymore.

456
00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,439
Speaker 1: They didn't like our messaging. Yeah, it was. It was

457
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,120
Speaker 1: a whole thing. People were writing us letters. Um. One

458
00:23:58,119 --> 00:23:59,919
Speaker 1: of the letters someone wrote me was like, Renee, I'm

459
00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:03,000
Speaker 1: so torn. I have family that's in the military, have

460
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,320
Speaker 1: family that are police officers, and I love you, so

461
00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:07,800
Speaker 1: what can we do? And I'm like, we got family

462
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 1: that's in the military, we got family that's in the

463
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,320
Speaker 1: police department. That's not what we're saying. Where we're protesting

464
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,439
Speaker 1: in justice, we're not protesting those particular places. And so people,

465
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,480
Speaker 1: you know, racism has been such a big part of

466
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,480
Speaker 1: America that when we started to protest racism, people thought

467
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:26,720
Speaker 1: we were protesting America. They thought that, oh wow, so

468
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,240
Speaker 1: they're not patriotic. Patriotic and I'm like, no, we're just

469
00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:32,639
Speaker 1: saying we didn't like what happened with Philando cast Steele,

470
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,200
Speaker 1: we don't like what's going on around here right now,

471
00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,240
Speaker 1: and change starts with us. It was not received well,

472
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,880
Speaker 1: but to that point in we saw what happened. So

473
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:44,960
Speaker 1: I could have clear markers of the growth in the

474
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,359
Speaker 1: league because we actually got fined for wearing those shirts.

475
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,639
Speaker 1: The League was talking us through, talk us through started

476
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,080
Speaker 1: the moment you all started, and at the time, I

477
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:57,880
Speaker 1: think it was Lisa. Wasn't Lisa the commissioner at the time. Yeah, yeah,

478
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:01,520
Speaker 1: talk us through the moment where there were specific teams.

479
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:03,320
Speaker 1: I remember the police saying that I helping you guys,

480
00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:05,359
Speaker 1: and I thought we were protesting America. We'll talk us

481
00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:07,199
Speaker 1: to the moment, the year that you all decided to

482
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,400
Speaker 1: do that, how it all came about, and then what happened,

483
00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,240
Speaker 1: uh consequently year after year after year, until finally everybody

484
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,320
Speaker 1: got on board. Yeah. So a lot of other teams

485
00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,560
Speaker 1: started to wear shirts. Um, and so the w n

486
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,680
Speaker 1: b A had released like a memo saying players got

487
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,159
Speaker 1: to wear a team issued gear period, like we get it,

488
00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,600
Speaker 1: whatever yell are doing, but we wear a team issued

489
00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:31,320
Speaker 1: gear one game, events and stuff. So then it became

490
00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:33,000
Speaker 1: a problem because we were like, now we're still wearing

491
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,160
Speaker 1: our shirts. And so I remember New York they put

492
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,000
Speaker 1: their shirts on inside out and just different things to

493
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,840
Speaker 1: make a statement. And I'm pretty sure people were getting

494
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:42,840
Speaker 1: fined left and right just because the w n b A.

495
00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:45,240
Speaker 1: They were trying to get a hold on what was happening.

496
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,800
Speaker 1: Because we like when we asked permission, we asked permission

497
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,120
Speaker 1: from our coaching staff and our management, like knowing that

498
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,639
Speaker 1: this would affect them. We didn't really go to the

499
00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:56,679
Speaker 1: w n B A maybe we did, but we were

500
00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,640
Speaker 1: going to wear them regardless and we did. And so

501
00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:01,120
Speaker 1: we just were we were about it. We're like, we're

502
00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:02,720
Speaker 1: gonna pay the fines if it is what it is.

503
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,199
Speaker 1: I even think Minnesota, I think they said they were

504
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,600
Speaker 1: gonna pay our fins for us. And so that was

505
00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,640
Speaker 1: empowering as a player to see that, Okay, they got us,

506
00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,439
Speaker 1: our team has us. And then you fast forward to

507
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,800
Speaker 1: where we're sitting in the year where we're gonna have

508
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,280
Speaker 1: to bubble up. Players are emotional, what's going on, their

509
00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,840
Speaker 1: civil unrest, and so the league had to there had

510
00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:24,639
Speaker 1: to be some give and take if we were going

511
00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,800
Speaker 1: to do this season. And the league was basically like, Okay,

512
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,320
Speaker 1: you guys will be able to control your own narrative.

513
00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:32,840
Speaker 1: And so if you if anyone knows anything about someone

514
00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,399
Speaker 1: trying to have their their voice heard, you want to

515
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,200
Speaker 1: control your own narrative. And basically the league was like, well,

516
00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,399
Speaker 1: we're gonna dedicate the season to social justice. There was

517
00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,600
Speaker 1: a say her Name campaign every single week to spotlight

518
00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:49,040
Speaker 1: women that were killed from police balance. I mean, it

519
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:51,399
Speaker 1: was so many things done that the w n b A,

520
00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:54,040
Speaker 1: they let us know that they're on board. And and

521
00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:56,639
Speaker 1: for me, that was a long way they came because

522
00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:59,080
Speaker 1: in it was just not it wasn't it wasn't even

523
00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,879
Speaker 1: a conversation. It was us a no. I call that

524
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:07,040
Speaker 1: corporate social justice. But but after our our what our

525
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:11,879
Speaker 1: racial reckoning in corporate corporate, corporate America had to get

526
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:15,680
Speaker 1: on board. They could not ignore what was happening anymore

527
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:17,560
Speaker 1: any longer because we were at home and we were

528
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:19,200
Speaker 1: all watching it. So if you were a black, white,

529
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:20,960
Speaker 1: purple green, you had to get on board with the

530
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 1: lack of humanity that was displayed against black people. So

531
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:30,200
Speaker 1: you in season decided to do what while the league

532
00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,439
Speaker 1: seems to be on board and all and and instead

533
00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:35,800
Speaker 1: of a no, yes, we're gonna be in this bubble,

534
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,080
Speaker 1: we're gonna do to say her name campaign and honor

535
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:43,679
Speaker 1: of Brianna Taylor, what are you thinking? I was thinking

536
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,160
Speaker 1: that we need to turn things up. So for me,

537
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,680
Speaker 1: I was looking outside. I live in Atlanta, so there

538
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,080
Speaker 1: are protests happening outside of my How's there were protests

539
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:56,679
Speaker 1: happening all over the city. I'm looking out my window

540
00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:58,280
Speaker 1: and I'm looking at the news and I'm seeing the

541
00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,359
Speaker 1: exact same thing. So I'm like, we gotta do something

542
00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:03,359
Speaker 1: that I called Actually, I called my snook and Ditty,

543
00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:05,440
Speaker 1: and this is what really happened. I was a little

544
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:07,920
Speaker 1: nervous because I had never seen protests like that. I've

545
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:09,800
Speaker 1: never seen anything that was happening here in Atlanta. So

546
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:11,520
Speaker 1: I was nervous, like, should I leave, I go home

547
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:14,040
Speaker 1: to West Virginia, Like what should I do while things

548
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,199
Speaker 1: are turned up? So I called my snook and she

549
00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:18,280
Speaker 1: was just like, oh, no, you're good. And she was

550
00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:20,359
Speaker 1: so calm, and I'm like, I'm good. I just told

551
00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:23,040
Speaker 1: you what's going on right outside my door. And she's like, no,

552
00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:25,639
Speaker 1: they're not they're not worried about you. You're good. She

553
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:27,160
Speaker 1: was like, this is what people do when they don't

554
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,639
Speaker 1: feel that their voices are heard. They gotta make it felt.

555
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:31,840
Speaker 1: And so when she said that, I was just like

556
00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,480
Speaker 1: like because usually, and to give people context, I'm the

557
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:38,320
Speaker 1: youngest in the family, so if I have a high energy,

558
00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 1: everybody in my family is alarmed, because I don't even like,

559
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:43,560
Speaker 1: I don't even get a high energy about anything. So

560
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:45,360
Speaker 1: when I was like, yo, what should I do? Maybe

561
00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:47,840
Speaker 1: I should come home to West Virginia and they're like, no,

562
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:49,719
Speaker 1: You're good right where you at. And I was just

563
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,600
Speaker 1: like wow. So that to me, like was heavy because

564
00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 1: my parents are usually like, yeah, I come home, baby,

565
00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:58,680
Speaker 1: And I was like, so, if they're doing this to

566
00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:00,800
Speaker 1: be felt, what am I do want to be felt?

567
00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,239
Speaker 1: And that's kind of how the thought process started. It

568
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,680
Speaker 1: was it took two months, two weeks. Like I didn't

569
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,640
Speaker 1: just decide overnight that I was going to opt out

570
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:09,200
Speaker 1: of the w n b A. I mean I talked

571
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:11,320
Speaker 1: about I've been playing since I was five, I've been

572
00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:13,960
Speaker 1: trying to get there since I was ten, So opting

573
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,800
Speaker 1: out was just not like a quick, easy thought. I

574
00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,479
Speaker 1: started to weigh the pros the cons. Am I gonna like,

575
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,560
Speaker 1: am I gonna go into debt trying to not have

576
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,000
Speaker 1: a job, like quit the job that I have right now?

577
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,400
Speaker 1: So there was a lot that went into that. But

578
00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:30,640
Speaker 1: just everybody I talked to, they just was like, yeah,

579
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,080
Speaker 1: you're doing the right thing. Like if this is how

580
00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,719
Speaker 1: you feel, you're doing the right thing. And so I

581
00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:37,680
Speaker 1: just rolled with it. And then I was also stuck

582
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:39,600
Speaker 1: with the decision of do I just say for personal

583
00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:42,480
Speaker 1: reasons because some WBA players did that like, I'm not

584
00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,560
Speaker 1: playing this year for personal reasons. So I was having

585
00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:47,640
Speaker 1: to decide do I say personal reasons that I really

586
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,280
Speaker 1: say what's up? Um? But I just, as you know,

587
00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,200
Speaker 1: I'm pretty transparent blunt, so I was just like, look y'all,

588
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,760
Speaker 1: I'm not feeling what's going on. I want to do something.

589
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,520
Speaker 1: I'm hearing Atlanta what's up? And and I through a

590
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:02,239
Speaker 1: June Team pop up block party that next day. It

591
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:06,640
Speaker 1: was like, what's up, what's up? I told him Commune.

592
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:08,960
Speaker 1: I literally tweeted out, yo, what's up on bed Centennial

593
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,240
Speaker 1: Olympic Park at five o'clock tomorrow, Come, eat, come dance.

594
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,200
Speaker 1: I had a step team there, Serena Gray saying, um,

595
00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:17,440
Speaker 1: I had a lot going on, and we did it

596
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:20,280
Speaker 1: over It was crazy how it came together. So yeah,

597
00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:22,479
Speaker 1: and the community turned up like there was a lot

598
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,080
Speaker 1: of people there because the protests were already happening there

599
00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:27,040
Speaker 1: at that time. So yeah, it was it was pretty little,

600
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,040
Speaker 1: don't go anywhere, we gotta pay these bills. But when

601
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,440
Speaker 1: we come back on the other side of this break,

602
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,120
Speaker 1: we're talking about how the young lady from West Virginia

603
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,360
Speaker 1: went from the player on a team to the owner

604
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,760
Speaker 1: of the team. That's heavy. You don't want to miss it.

605
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,200
Speaker 1: Back in a moment. Every Champion and Carvery Champion is

606
00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:49,800
Speaker 1: to be a champion on a champion and carry Champion,

607
00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:54,560
Speaker 1: and carry Champion Champion, and carry Chapion and carry Champion sports.

608
00:30:54,560 --> 00:31:01,280
Speaker 1: And then the team making Naked Work Chapion and Carrie

609
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:12,320
Speaker 1: Cheppion Champion, they carry Chappion, chap they carry Champion. The Hey, y'all,

610
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:14,160
Speaker 1: welcome back to Naked Um. This is a good one,

611
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,760
Speaker 1: right uh. I love the story because I was watching

612
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,000
Speaker 1: it happen in real time, and I think a lot

613
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:21,920
Speaker 1: of us can relate to what has happened within this

614
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:25,280
Speaker 1: last two years, the pandemic, post pandemic, wherever you, wherever

615
00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,560
Speaker 1: you at, COVID, however you discuss it um, you have

616
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:32,680
Speaker 1: seen literally an evolution of people and in some cases,

617
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,240
Speaker 1: probably in a lot of cases, the devolving of people.

618
00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:37,239
Speaker 1: In the sense that this has been hard, it has

619
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:40,640
Speaker 1: been a tough time, but the stories of overcoming, the

620
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:45,400
Speaker 1: stories of rising up, they are plenty and beautiful. Renee,

621
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:48,360
Speaker 1: when we left you a moment ago before we had

622
00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:51,160
Speaker 1: to pay the bills, talked about why she decided to

623
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,720
Speaker 1: opt out and how that didn't happen overnight. That was

624
00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,360
Speaker 1: just such um an arduous process, obviously because it is

625
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,200
Speaker 1: her love and what am I going to do? This

626
00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:02,400
Speaker 1: is all I've been. You know, when you've been something

627
00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:05,320
Speaker 1: since you were a kid, and then now here you are. However,

628
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:08,120
Speaker 1: many years later, twenty years later, you're like, Okay, I'm

629
00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:09,920
Speaker 1: gonna do something else. Well, what is that? How do

630
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,360
Speaker 1: you pivot? And her pivot was a beautiful one. And

631
00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:15,960
Speaker 1: I explained to you at the very beginning, because I

632
00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:20,760
Speaker 1: know you heard what was up. As Renee is finding

633
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:24,520
Speaker 1: her footing as an advocate um, as she is protesting

634
00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:27,680
Speaker 1: in Atlanta, as she is gathering the people to be heard,

635
00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:32,920
Speaker 1: as she is finding her voice, she's also realizing there's

636
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,760
Speaker 1: more to be done. Shout out to her fiance who said,

637
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,640
Speaker 1: guess what, you should own the team. It was a

638
00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:43,600
Speaker 1: no brainer that Kelly Loffler, the former senator who owned

639
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,000
Speaker 1: the Atlanta Dream, wasn't going to be able to keep

640
00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,960
Speaker 1: her Job's just a no brainer, um, because she didn't

641
00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,800
Speaker 1: have no brains. However, it was a no brainer that

642
00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:54,480
Speaker 1: she would have to put that team up for sale.

643
00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:57,160
Speaker 1: I remember discussing this on my shell stick to sports

644
00:32:57,560 --> 00:32:59,320
Speaker 1: with Jamale, and Jamale was like, you think they're putting

645
00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:00,880
Speaker 1: that team out for see, I said, they have to.

646
00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,360
Speaker 1: She can no longer be an owner. It's a bad

647
00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:09,200
Speaker 1: look in a state. They flipped the Senate shout out

648
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:12,640
Speaker 1: to the w n b A for supporting Raphael Warnock.

649
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:15,600
Speaker 1: I know people don't know that story, but it started there.

650
00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:18,440
Speaker 1: The players in the w n b A were so

651
00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,960
Speaker 1: furious with this woman who said that she did not

652
00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,720
Speaker 1: support Black Lives Matter. I was reading a quote earlier

653
00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,720
Speaker 1: and she literally said the reason why she opposed it

654
00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:30,640
Speaker 1: was because they called for the removal of Jesus from

655
00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:33,800
Speaker 1: churches and the disruption of the nuclear family structure. They

656
00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:38,360
Speaker 1: harbored anti Semitic views, promoted violence and destruction across the country.

657
00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,560
Speaker 1: What Black Lives Matters she talking about? I believe it

658
00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:46,400
Speaker 1: is totally maligned, with the values misaligned, rather with the

659
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,880
Speaker 1: values and goals of the w n b A and

660
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:53,040
Speaker 1: the Atlanta Dream where we support tolerance and inclusion. Girl

661
00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,920
Speaker 1: by like, what what what black Lives Matter entity is

662
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,880
Speaker 1: she discussing? And there are people who believe that well

663
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,080
Speaker 1: was all lies. But as soon as she put that

664
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,440
Speaker 1: on record and said a lot of other things that

665
00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:08,160
Speaker 1: were not true. It was only a matter of time

666
00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:10,279
Speaker 1: before they told her she had to get about the pain.

667
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:12,520
Speaker 1: And it was quiet, right, it was. It was done quietly.

668
00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:15,239
Speaker 1: Adam shout out to Adam, and you know, you said

669
00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:18,360
Speaker 1: Adam Silver, commissioner the NBA. He probably just you know,

670
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:20,839
Speaker 1: sent her a quick little email like yo, yo, yo, yo,

671
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,839
Speaker 1: check this out. You gotta get up out of here,

672
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:29,000
Speaker 1: and let's just do this quietly. So Renee is trying

673
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:33,920
Speaker 1: to figure out, is this lofty idea that her fiance

674
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:36,440
Speaker 1: throws out at her, is that is this even really possible?

675
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:39,440
Speaker 1: Can I own or at least be part owner of

676
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:41,879
Speaker 1: the Atlanta Dream? And the way it's done, folks, because

677
00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,239
Speaker 1: she broke it down for me, Thank you, Renee. The

678
00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,600
Speaker 1: way it's done is not like, hey, you put up

679
00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:48,279
Speaker 1: all this money. Yes, it's done that way, but you

680
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:50,480
Speaker 1: also get in with investment groups you put it. You

681
00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:52,520
Speaker 1: have to put up a certain percentage, and you get

682
00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:55,920
Speaker 1: in with other investors who who look good on paper,

683
00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:58,799
Speaker 1: if you will, who meet all the checks and balances

684
00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:02,759
Speaker 1: to be a part of this exclusive ownership group. Um.

685
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:06,840
Speaker 1: And according to Renee, it was not easy. In fact,

686
00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:09,920
Speaker 1: she was asking everybody, how can I do it? How

687
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,040
Speaker 1: can I do it? And no one took her seriously.

688
00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:14,759
Speaker 1: This little black girl who played for the team a

689
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:17,800
Speaker 1: few months ago now wants to own it. Nah, it

690
00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:21,040
Speaker 1: don't work like that. Now, I'll tell you why they tried.

691
00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:24,239
Speaker 1: They with a capital T e y. They tried to

692
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:27,239
Speaker 1: say it didn't work that way because of who she

693
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,719
Speaker 1: was and what she looked like and what she supported.

694
00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,000
Speaker 1: And I love when a good plan comes together. Because

695
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,560
Speaker 1: they could not stop her. It was destined, it was

696
00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:41,800
Speaker 1: meant to be, I earlier said, I love when I

697
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:45,680
Speaker 1: see these stories of people finding their voice, their purpose,

698
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:50,759
Speaker 1: especially especially during these last two years. This racial renaissance

699
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:55,880
Speaker 1: has given people a renewed sense of life, a bigger platform,

700
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,360
Speaker 1: a place to put all of their hopes and dreams,

701
00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:02,360
Speaker 1: and turning this world into a better place, forcing America

702
00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:04,560
Speaker 1: to live up to its promise. How come this little

703
00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:07,480
Speaker 1: black girlfriend West Virginia can't own the team she used

704
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,759
Speaker 1: to play for. You sure can rite, because that's the

705
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:16,040
Speaker 1: American dream. Enjoy So how do you go from protesting

706
00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:18,880
Speaker 1: against the owner of your team to being part owner

707
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,440
Speaker 1: of the team? Like? How how we boss everybody else?

708
00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,920
Speaker 1: Like that? Listen? You know, I'm usually the problem solver,

709
00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:28,000
Speaker 1: but for me, me solving the problem was like I'm

710
00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:31,440
Speaker 1: opting out and I'm gonna create positive change. But my fiance,

711
00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:34,080
Speaker 1: she was just like, you need to you need to

712
00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:36,680
Speaker 1: own the team, and I'm like, what are you talking about?

713
00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:38,520
Speaker 1: Like so I have to give her credit because when

714
00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:40,640
Speaker 1: I when she first said it to me, I thought

715
00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:42,480
Speaker 1: that was the wildest thing I ever heard because I'm

716
00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,000
Speaker 1: in player mode. I'm in a I was still trying

717
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:47,520
Speaker 1: to win some championships mode. And then I'm like, what

718
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:49,520
Speaker 1: are you talking about? And she was like, you keep

719
00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:51,520
Speaker 1: talking about you want to create change. You don't like

720
00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:54,880
Speaker 1: how people are hiring. You don't like the representation going on,

721
00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:57,879
Speaker 1: like who hires all these people? Who controls that? She's

722
00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:01,120
Speaker 1: like the owners. And the more she talked, I'm like, damgn,

723
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:05,160
Speaker 1: she's onto something. And so then you know, I remember

724
00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:07,640
Speaker 1: the moment where I was like, you know what, I

725
00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:09,520
Speaker 1: do need to own the team. Like that's the moment

726
00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:11,960
Speaker 1: where it became real because she would say it to

727
00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:14,680
Speaker 1: me multiple times, like you really need to try to

728
00:37:14,719 --> 00:37:17,200
Speaker 1: do this, Renee like in Serena. That's just how she is,

729
00:37:17,239 --> 00:37:19,200
Speaker 1: like once she gets onto something she's not letting it go.

730
00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:21,840
Speaker 1: And so I'm like okay, like okay, and I'm always

731
00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,000
Speaker 1: like the okay, okay in due time, like maybe later,

732
00:37:24,239 --> 00:37:25,640
Speaker 1: and she's like, no, you need to start now, Like

733
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,919
Speaker 1: what do you mean later? And so once I made

734
00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:32,480
Speaker 1: my mind up, once she fully helped convince me in

735
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:35,120
Speaker 1: a sense of this is the thing to do, I

736
00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:37,480
Speaker 1: started to see. You know, I'm a Hamilton's fan, I'm

737
00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:40,000
Speaker 1: into Broadway and you know the room where it happened.

738
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:41,680
Speaker 1: She was trying to get me in the room where

739
00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:44,439
Speaker 1: it happens, and I was I was, I was trying

740
00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:47,440
Speaker 1: to I was trying to just micro do things that

741
00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:49,320
Speaker 1: she was like, no, you need to think bigger. And

742
00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:57,680
Speaker 1: so that's that's how everything started for me. Congratulations, you

743
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:00,880
Speaker 1: you do something that you be in the room and

744
00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:03,320
Speaker 1: you were encouraged by your fiance, which I love. But

745
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,040
Speaker 1: then you do it so gangster, that's like, that's the move.

746
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:08,439
Speaker 1: I like, you had the nerve to be on TV

747
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:11,759
Speaker 1: with me the day before and then how dare you?

748
00:38:12,239 --> 00:38:15,799
Speaker 1: How dare you? But by the way, that's a little

749
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,840
Speaker 1: Wayne said, real gangsters moving silence. So so tell me

750
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:22,440
Speaker 1: how it all came about. How the ownership. Part ownership

751
00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:25,239
Speaker 1: of the Atlanta Dream came about for you. Yeah, it was.

752
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,000
Speaker 1: It was a long process and so yeah, you're right

753
00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:31,480
Speaker 1: there at the arena. I knew it was coming down

754
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:33,800
Speaker 1: the pipe tomorrow, but you know how press releases happened

755
00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:39,919
Speaker 1: to say something. So it was crazy though. I will

756
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:42,520
Speaker 1: say the conversation we were having on the arena, because

757
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:47,920
Speaker 1: you and Candice were really hitting on everything that was

758
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:51,240
Speaker 1: already in Like y'all were speaking to my soul basically,

759
00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:54,040
Speaker 1: and I'm like, hey, this we were talking about ownership.

760
00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:57,440
Speaker 1: I'm writing down because you know this is a heavily

761
00:38:57,520 --> 00:38:59,800
Speaker 1: produced podcast. I'm like, I gotta get these arena clips

762
00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:04,040
Speaker 1: in year two because I remember and I was sitting there, like,

763
00:39:04,719 --> 00:39:09,719
Speaker 1: are you talking that top women got an own stuff? Yeah? Yeah, yeah,

764
00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:13,120
Speaker 1: And I was like, Honestly, for me, it was like

765
00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:15,719
Speaker 1: I didn't need confirmation. But when you hear things like that,

766
00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,440
Speaker 1: it's like, this is exactly why I wanted to do it.

767
00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,399
Speaker 1: Like a lot of people, yeah, a lot of people

768
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:23,279
Speaker 1: saw it as a boss up and oh yes, get back,

769
00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:25,719
Speaker 1: But for me, I was I was thinking of what

770
00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:27,879
Speaker 1: we just did? You know, we just hiring all black

771
00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:34,240
Speaker 1: women broadcast crew. China, Angel Tabitha Autumn all black women.

772
00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:37,480
Speaker 1: So that's not normal. That's not normal in sports. Then

773
00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:40,760
Speaker 1: we went and hired a black lead agency ad agency.

774
00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:43,279
Speaker 1: So that's the things I was thinking about. But I

775
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,520
Speaker 1: love that people, you know, like it's women empowerment, it's

776
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:48,359
Speaker 1: all of those things. But for me, like we were

777
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,879
Speaker 1: changing things here in Atlanta. You know, you don't see

778
00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:53,839
Speaker 1: what's what we're about to do. We're like, you don't

779
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:55,799
Speaker 1: see it in sports, but we're trying to make things

780
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:57,719
Speaker 1: a new normal. And it's not just me, you know,

781
00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,360
Speaker 1: it's the other the other two owners who Zan a

782
00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:02,440
Speaker 1: Bear and Larry g And let me go back to

783
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:04,719
Speaker 1: how I got to them. So I had to tell

784
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:08,480
Speaker 1: Kathy Engelbert that I was serious basically, and Kathy Engelbert

785
00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:12,080
Speaker 1: is the commissioner of the w n B A Okay, yep,

786
00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:16,800
Speaker 1: Kathy's the commissioner. So like the question that you're asking me,

787
00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:19,120
Speaker 1: we were literally asking ourselves in the house, like so

788
00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:20,600
Speaker 1: how do you go about trying to get a team?

789
00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:22,520
Speaker 1: Like I didn't even know where to start. So where

790
00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:25,719
Speaker 1: I started was Kathy, Like, you know, okay, Kathy, she's

791
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:28,839
Speaker 1: the commissioner. Surely she has the connections and it didn't

792
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:31,200
Speaker 1: really start there, but that's like, let's give you the

793
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:34,240
Speaker 1: heavy hitter pieces. So I hit Kathy and make you Kathy,

794
00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:36,759
Speaker 1: I'm actually really serious about trying to be a part

795
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:39,239
Speaker 1: of the ownership group for the Dream. And to let

796
00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:41,600
Speaker 1: you know how serious I am, I'm about to retire,

797
00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:43,440
Speaker 1: you know, like I'm a teller, like because I know

798
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:45,759
Speaker 1: you can't be you can't be an active player and

799
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,080
Speaker 1: being an owner at the same time. So I was like,

800
00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:50,000
Speaker 1: and I know that you have you can't be that,

801
00:40:50,239 --> 00:40:53,200
Speaker 1: So I'm about to retire in a couple of weeks months.

802
00:40:53,239 --> 00:40:56,000
Speaker 1: It was that time frame. She's like, oh wow, so okay,

803
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:58,920
Speaker 1: so you're serious, and I'm like dead serious, and so

804
00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:02,239
Speaker 1: then she was like basically all right, let me circle back.

805
00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:04,640
Speaker 1: So she went and reached out to the bidders and

806
00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:08,000
Speaker 1: basically Suzanne A Bear Larry G We're gonna be the

807
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,800
Speaker 1: winning bid and she connected us. So I hopped on

808
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:14,080
Speaker 1: zoom with them and it was wild. I'm not gonna

809
00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:17,360
Speaker 1: lie like, it was wild to hear how we instantly

810
00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:19,879
Speaker 1: clicked because I was nervous. I didn't want to get

811
00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:23,279
Speaker 1: into a situation where I'm with an ownership group that

812
00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:25,680
Speaker 1: doesn't have the same views as me, because I'm very

813
00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:29,080
Speaker 1: a very dead set on if I don't if I'm

814
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:31,400
Speaker 1: not with that kind of energy, I'm just not with it,

815
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:33,520
Speaker 1: Like I'll just removed myself. So I was like, I

816
00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:35,719
Speaker 1: was nervous that they wouldn't have the right energy, but

817
00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:38,040
Speaker 1: they were like all in, like they are about that

818
00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:40,560
Speaker 1: life and so to me it was a no brainer.

819
00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:42,440
Speaker 1: I was like, so we're doing this, and they're like,

820
00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:44,200
Speaker 1: I think we're doing this, so let's do that. It

821
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:47,600
Speaker 1: really happened like that on we had one zoom like

822
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:51,680
Speaker 1: it's just crazy like and it was just clicked. Wow.

823
00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:55,480
Speaker 1: So then you hang out basically knowing you're the owner

824
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:58,880
Speaker 1: or what not quite yet. So we hang up and

825
00:41:59,360 --> 00:42:01,200
Speaker 1: my whole Fani was going in my line, how did

826
00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:04,560
Speaker 1: it go? Like what was it like? And who is

827
00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:09,680
Speaker 1: my snook? Snook is my mom? Yeah, Snooker is my mom.

828
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:13,239
Speaker 1: She's actually right now, but yeah, okay, I just want

829
00:42:13,239 --> 00:42:14,360
Speaker 1: to make sure I say that right, so I have

830
00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:15,840
Speaker 1: to not to my snook And I'm like, okay, I

831
00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:19,120
Speaker 1: think that's her mom either. Yeah, it's look Booker is

832
00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:23,440
Speaker 1: my mom. So and I was just telling them like, yo,

833
00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:26,480
Speaker 1: I think it went great, um, and then it was

834
00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:29,319
Speaker 1: actually a little silent for a while. And imagine those days,

835
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:31,320
Speaker 1: like you know, I had some long days just like

836
00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:34,600
Speaker 1: waiting on the phone to ring or waiting on a text. Um.

837
00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:38,000
Speaker 1: But then you know, Cathy reached out. I think it's

838
00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:39,279
Speaker 1: gonna be a go. It was a lot of back

839
00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:40,400
Speaker 1: and forth. That's why I said. So, it was a

840
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:42,319
Speaker 1: lot of back and forth. But long story short, then

841
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:44,040
Speaker 1: we had to we had to talk to like the

842
00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:47,120
Speaker 1: board of governors you had. There's there's different there's levels

843
00:42:47,160 --> 00:42:49,040
Speaker 1: to owning a team. It ain't just about signing the

844
00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:51,520
Speaker 1: paper just so people know. You have to get accepted.

845
00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:54,080
Speaker 1: You have to, you know, talk to people, let them

846
00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:56,040
Speaker 1: know what's your vision. Are you going to be good

847
00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:58,120
Speaker 1: for the league? Because at the end of the day,

848
00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:00,600
Speaker 1: they don't want a group to come in and basically

849
00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:03,400
Speaker 1: run a team to the ground and just leave. So

850
00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:06,320
Speaker 1: it was a lot, but to me, it was it

851
00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:09,359
Speaker 1: was crazy to go through that process. Um. I had

852
00:43:09,360 --> 00:43:11,719
Speaker 1: already done a little bit of that process before when

853
00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:14,400
Speaker 1: I became part owner of the FCF team. The beast

854
00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:17,000
Speaker 1: was Marshawn Lynch and Miro, so I already kind of

855
00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:20,000
Speaker 1: new little steps, but this was this, this was on

856
00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:23,600
Speaker 1: a way different scale. So so now you're sitting in

857
00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:25,840
Speaker 1: the seat where you're in your fancy that says be

858
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:28,560
Speaker 1: in the room, being the room, and you're sitting in

859
00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:31,600
Speaker 1: the seat, and it makes sense to me on the

860
00:43:31,640 --> 00:43:34,440
Speaker 1: outside looking in, And it was just I just love

861
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:36,080
Speaker 1: the whole process of it. I do have to tell

862
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:37,880
Speaker 1: you that I was like, Okay, did Genn tell us

863
00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:40,799
Speaker 1: nothing but tell us everything? Like that's how you move?

864
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:42,239
Speaker 1: You know. Oh, by the way, let me just drop

865
00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:45,319
Speaker 1: this on you. UM. But you're now in the room

866
00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:48,120
Speaker 1: with these what I think is a natural skill set

867
00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:51,200
Speaker 1: to to help pivot, to help solve problems. And you

868
00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:54,799
Speaker 1: look at the w n b A, the entire landscape, UM,

869
00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:59,920
Speaker 1: the inequity and pay, the lack of sometimes sponsorship, UM,

870
00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:05,960
Speaker 1: the the definite need for more support UM from the NBA.

871
00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:10,279
Speaker 1: What are your outside of being the change you want

872
00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:13,840
Speaker 1: to see? Because we know that you are an activist

873
00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:16,960
Speaker 1: and you are activated, what are you hoping to do

874
00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:20,480
Speaker 1: if you could give me your elevator pitch as an

875
00:44:20,719 --> 00:44:22,640
Speaker 1: as a part owner of the Atlanta Dream, what are

876
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:25,800
Speaker 1: you hoping to do? I'm hoping to make the Atlanta

877
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:29,680
Speaker 1: Dream look like Atlanta so diverse represented. There's a lot

878
00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:33,480
Speaker 1: of women leaders in Atlanta. Mayor Keisha Lan's bottom Stacey Abrams.

879
00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:36,480
Speaker 1: I want Atlanta Dream to look like the city of Atlanta,

880
00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:40,160
Speaker 1: the community, everything about it. So if that's the vendors

881
00:44:40,239 --> 00:44:43,640
Speaker 1: were hiring, if that's our all black women broadcast team,

882
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,440
Speaker 1: that it should be normal were in Atlanta, you know,

883
00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:49,239
Speaker 1: if it's the music that's playing in our gym, if

884
00:44:49,280 --> 00:44:52,240
Speaker 1: it's I can't wait for people to see our intro video,

885
00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:54,960
Speaker 1: it's lit. When they see that, they're gonna really get it.

886
00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:57,520
Speaker 1: I'm telling I don't think I need to be a

887
00:44:57,600 --> 00:45:00,600
Speaker 1: part of all things that you guys are doing where

888
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:02,640
Speaker 1: we're talking about empowering black women, So you can make

889
00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:04,000
Speaker 1: sure you put me on the list. I'm dare to

890
00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:06,759
Speaker 1: do it. Okay, Okay, good, all right, So that the

891
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:09,840
Speaker 1: opening videos going back, Hey, the opening video is that

892
00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:11,520
Speaker 1: you guys are going hard in the paint, like you

893
00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:13,840
Speaker 1: guys are being very clear about what you plan to

894
00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:18,600
Speaker 1: do your your particular franchise. Right, yeah, it's okay and

895
00:45:18,719 --> 00:45:20,840
Speaker 1: so and to that point, it's not and it's not

896
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,520
Speaker 1: even like a we hate y'all and it's now it's

897
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:27,120
Speaker 1: like a very empowering way. We're trying to do it.

898
00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:31,760
Speaker 1: When we made the broadcast team, it wasn't that there's

899
00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:33,839
Speaker 1: no other better candidates, but we know these are great

900
00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:36,120
Speaker 1: candidates for us. Like you know, it's not it's and

901
00:45:36,239 --> 00:45:40,279
Speaker 1: and just so people understand, it's about empowering and so

902
00:45:40,480 --> 00:45:43,080
Speaker 1: everything we do our players, you know, I think w

903
00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:46,120
Speaker 1: NBA players in general, they need to be empowered more

904
00:45:46,239 --> 00:45:50,320
Speaker 1: by brands, by sponsors, by corporate sponsorship, by media partners.

905
00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:52,759
Speaker 1: You can see it happening now with the Amazon Prime

906
00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:56,600
Speaker 1: deal and the Prime Video, Twitter has games, NBA TV,

907
00:45:56,840 --> 00:45:59,799
Speaker 1: there's there's it's happening more and more, but we could

908
00:46:00,360 --> 00:46:03,239
Speaker 1: there's never enough. So I think that this empowerment the

909
00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:06,040
Speaker 1: future is female movement. Yeah, we're with it over here.

910
00:46:06,880 --> 00:46:09,279
Speaker 1: And and you also pointed out something that I love.

911
00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:11,279
Speaker 1: When I saw the Amazon deal go across and that's

912
00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:13,400
Speaker 1: the other day, I said, that's smart. I don't and

913
00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:15,239
Speaker 1: I don't want to give one person credit for that.

914
00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:16,920
Speaker 1: I don't want to say, oh, Cathy's in charge, that's

915
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:18,719
Speaker 1: what happened, Adam did it. I don't know who did

916
00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:21,279
Speaker 1: it or what I do know is that there is

917
00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:23,640
Speaker 1: much more forward thinking from people I know that work

918
00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:25,960
Speaker 1: at Amazon. There's much more forward thinking and much more

919
00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:29,880
Speaker 1: commitment to women in sports, um more specifically a w

920
00:46:30,160 --> 00:46:33,279
Speaker 1: n B A. But as a player, what did you

921
00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:38,359
Speaker 1: bemoan and you want to change lifestyle? To me, as

922
00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:41,320
Speaker 1: a player, there needs to be some lifestyle changes with

923
00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:44,000
Speaker 1: how the players are treated. A lot of times teams

924
00:46:44,080 --> 00:46:46,960
Speaker 1: try to see how can we get by on the

925
00:46:47,040 --> 00:46:50,000
Speaker 1: least amount of money possible. We feel that as players,

926
00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:52,000
Speaker 1: we feel that there's corners cut. We feel that this

927
00:46:52,120 --> 00:46:54,640
Speaker 1: is a little jankie like we know that stuff. And

928
00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:57,279
Speaker 1: so that's one of the things that I've really you know,

929
00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:00,560
Speaker 1: I had a player, Monique Billings. She she text me

930
00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:03,239
Speaker 1: after media day and was like, yeah, I see what

931
00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:12,000
Speaker 1: you're doing, because yes, yes, okay. So Moby hit me

932
00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:14,480
Speaker 1: after media day and she was like, yo, I see

933
00:47:14,520 --> 00:47:16,279
Speaker 1: what you're trying to do. And that that to me

934
00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:20,160
Speaker 1: was everything because we wanted them to feel like celebrities.

935
00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:23,280
Speaker 1: We want them to feel like they are professional athletes.

936
00:47:23,360 --> 00:47:25,839
Speaker 1: And so our media day what we did it big.

937
00:47:26,040 --> 00:47:28,239
Speaker 1: You know, we had the lights, the fog machine, like,

938
00:47:28,560 --> 00:47:30,960
Speaker 1: we made it feel professional. And so that's what I

939
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:33,120
Speaker 1: want to do. I want lifestyle changes for the players.

940
00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:36,440
Speaker 1: Lifestyle includes how you travel, how you eat, how you

941
00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:41,440
Speaker 1: are treated with the apartment, how you guys are housed, hotels,

942
00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:44,640
Speaker 1: the whole nine. That's what you want. The gift everything,

943
00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:46,600
Speaker 1: you know, Like the players don't know yet, but we

944
00:47:46,760 --> 00:47:49,279
Speaker 1: have some some pretty lit gifts for them, you know,

945
00:47:49,480 --> 00:47:51,600
Speaker 1: for making the team type of gifts. They don't know

946
00:47:51,719 --> 00:47:53,480
Speaker 1: that yet, but that's it needs to be there. There

947
00:47:53,560 --> 00:47:56,440
Speaker 1: needs to be a standard that no one goes below

948
00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:58,879
Speaker 1: in any aspect of the Atlanta Dream and whatever we're doing.

949
00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:06,800
Speaker 1: Lifestyle change. That actually is a beautiful sentiment because that

950
00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:10,399
Speaker 1: is exactly what happened her lifestyle Renee specifically, because that's

951
00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:13,880
Speaker 1: who we're interviewing, has changed, Um, the way that she

952
00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:17,680
Speaker 1: has approached the game, the way that she's going to

953
00:48:17,960 --> 00:48:21,520
Speaker 1: change the game for the players. UM. I think that's

954
00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:28,720
Speaker 1: a beautiful sentiment, lifestyle change. Her name Montgomery is special.

955
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,520
Speaker 1: Don't y'all love that story? Do you not love what

956
00:48:31,719 --> 00:48:36,759
Speaker 1: we just talked about. I couldn't imagine, but I can

957
00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:41,360
Speaker 1: now me working for ESPN one day and then the

958
00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:44,239
Speaker 1: next day saying I think I'll own it and it

959
00:48:44,440 --> 00:48:47,960
Speaker 1: being real, let me be a part owner. We need

960
00:48:48,040 --> 00:48:50,879
Speaker 1: to start thinking that big. You can roll your eyes

961
00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:52,560
Speaker 1: at the thought process of that, but that's how we

962
00:48:52,640 --> 00:48:56,640
Speaker 1: need to think, because that's how they think. Those dreams

963
00:48:56,680 --> 00:49:00,560
Speaker 1: are big. Your little, tiny dreams. Make them bigger. Make

964
00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:03,240
Speaker 1: your dreams so big. As you've seen this said before

965
00:49:03,320 --> 00:49:06,200
Speaker 1: and written before. Make people uncomfortable if they ask you

966
00:49:07,080 --> 00:49:09,200
Speaker 1: uncomfortable in this sencially, I don't know if that can happen,

967
00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:11,360
Speaker 1: are you damn right? You don't know, but I do,

968
00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:16,799
Speaker 1: because her first thought was to say, no, right, that's

969
00:49:16,840 --> 00:49:21,680
Speaker 1: just how we live. Open your eyes, dream big. Renee

970
00:49:22,160 --> 00:49:28,759
Speaker 1: Danielle Montgomery, West Virginia born always thought she could play ball,

971
00:49:29,680 --> 00:49:32,640
Speaker 1: got to the pros, not necessarily what she thought it

972
00:49:32,640 --> 00:49:35,920
Speaker 1: would be right away. But as her career is starting

973
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:39,480
Speaker 1: to wind down, unbeknownst to her, because she still can play, y'all,

974
00:49:39,640 --> 00:49:42,399
Speaker 1: she's still gotta handled. She still got it, she thought,

975
00:49:42,440 --> 00:49:46,879
Speaker 1: why not let's do something for the people. That's really

976
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:49,120
Speaker 1: truly what this platform is that I have been given.

977
00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,920
Speaker 1: It is for the people. She just started he foundation,

978
00:49:52,960 --> 00:49:55,600
Speaker 1: shout out to my boo. I'm here for all of this.

979
00:49:56,600 --> 00:50:03,439
Speaker 1: But more importantly, she's taking dreams, her dreams and really

980
00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:07,000
Speaker 1: making them a reality. If you don't believe in this story.

981
00:50:07,160 --> 00:50:08,520
Speaker 1: If you don't believe that you can do whatever the

982
00:50:08,560 --> 00:50:09,920
Speaker 1: hell you want, I don't know what to tell you.

983
00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:15,959
Speaker 1: And he goes back to her naked quality. She's even.

984
00:50:17,280 --> 00:50:19,359
Speaker 1: People like to do business with people who are even,

985
00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:23,440
Speaker 1: people who wear their emotions on their sleeves. Yeah, okay,

986
00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:25,680
Speaker 1: that's fine. I do enjoy passion because that might be me.

987
00:50:26,719 --> 00:50:29,000
Speaker 1: I don't enjoy people who are just angry. Right, Well,

988
00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:31,480
Speaker 1: so you're mad now and you're making everybody uncomfortable with

989
00:50:31,560 --> 00:50:34,719
Speaker 1: your anger. What does that do? That gets that gets

990
00:50:34,760 --> 00:50:38,480
Speaker 1: us nowhere? If I could say anything about her, what

991
00:50:38,600 --> 00:50:41,040
Speaker 1: I envy the most, as I said earlier, is her evenness.

992
00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:43,680
Speaker 1: It takes you so far. It puts you in rooms

993
00:50:43,719 --> 00:50:45,560
Speaker 1: that you would never dream that you could be in,

994
00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:48,959
Speaker 1: and it allows you to work and prosper and move

995
00:50:49,080 --> 00:50:52,360
Speaker 1: in a way that you never thought you could. People

996
00:50:53,080 --> 00:50:57,839
Speaker 1: enjoy even people. They appear more intelligent, They come across more,

997
00:50:58,200 --> 00:51:01,760
Speaker 1: they come across as if they're more savvy, business savvy

998
00:51:02,360 --> 00:51:06,600
Speaker 1: savvy and life savvy and love. If you can't press

999
00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:10,960
Speaker 1: my buttons like another person respects that. Business people will

1000
00:51:11,040 --> 00:51:15,359
Speaker 1: respect that, A smart person will respect that. And that's

1001
00:51:15,400 --> 00:51:20,960
Speaker 1: my boot Renee. She's even, man, don't I wish I

1002
00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:24,320
Speaker 1: had it. I'm sitting here, as you know, I do,

1003
00:51:24,960 --> 00:51:27,600
Speaker 1: being in my thought for my ponder process at the

1004
00:51:27,680 --> 00:51:31,879
Speaker 1: end of the podcast, and I'm thinking that girl, get

1005
00:51:31,920 --> 00:51:38,320
Speaker 1: it together, be even changes your life, lifestyle change, change

1006
00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:41,640
Speaker 1: your life. And side note before I get about of here,

1007
00:51:43,040 --> 00:51:46,759
Speaker 1: everybody go back inside. Everybody's out like it ain't. No

1008
00:51:46,840 --> 00:51:50,800
Speaker 1: COVID that's a little too jarring. That delta variant is serious.

1009
00:51:51,320 --> 00:51:53,080
Speaker 1: I'm saying this to myself too, because I was out

1010
00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:56,000
Speaker 1: in the streets. I'm like, wait, hold on it, how

1011
00:51:56,120 --> 00:51:58,759
Speaker 1: how was I just locked down? Now I'm out even

1012
00:51:58,840 --> 00:52:04,880
Speaker 1: too close? No mask on. We laughing, we're hugging. Everybody

1013
00:52:04,920 --> 00:52:08,520
Speaker 1: don't have the vaccine. They don't care. I think this

1014
00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:11,160
Speaker 1: might be my new sign off. Get back in the

1015
00:52:11,239 --> 00:52:15,880
Speaker 1: house and go outside cautiously. Still wear a mask in

1016
00:52:16,080 --> 00:52:20,880
Speaker 1: uncertain environments. That's some sage advice. You're welcome. That was

1017
00:52:20,960 --> 00:52:24,239
Speaker 1: even advice. Thank you all for listening. Talk next week.

1018
00:52:26,280 --> 00:52:26,320
Speaker 1: M