WEBVTT - Cari Champion is Doing What She Wants 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:04.760 Hey pailm Hello Sunshine. 0:00:04.800 --> 0:00:08.440 Today on the bright Side, journalist and sportscaster Carrie Champion 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:11.200 is here to talk about making it to the very 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:14.000 top of her profession and then why she decided to 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:15.480 step away once she got there. 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:19.040 It's Thursday, May sixteenth. I'm Danielle Robe. 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:22.040 And I'm Simone Boyce and this is the right side 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:27.920 from Hello Sunshine. Wooh, Danielle, I'm not gonna lie. I 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:30.440 came in hot this morning. I don't feel like I 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:33.920 can talk about anything else until we address this unhinged 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.840 speech that Kansas City chiefs kicker Harrison Bucker gave over 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:40.879 the weekend at a graduation ceremony. You know which one 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:41.560 I'm talking about. 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:44.200 I'm read in the cheeks. I'm so embarrassed for him. 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:48.000 This was a mess. So, if by some miracle of God, 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:51.640 you've been spared by this speech in your algorithm, we 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:54.160 are unfortunately going to drop this bomb on you right now. 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:58.320 So he gave this commencement speech at Benedictine College on Saturday, 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:01.440 which is a Catholic school. That's important to note, I think, 0:01:02.560 --> 0:01:04.640 and there was a bunch of stuff that he railed 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:08.000 against things that he is displeased with in society. But 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:11.880 the one thing that is getting the most attention are 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:16.800 his remarks about women, about ambitious women. He says that 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:19.880 women are happiest as wives and mothers as opposed to 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:25.200 working professionals. I think, Danielle, we should probably read parts 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:27.400 of it so that people know exactly what we're talking about. 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:30.120 You go for it. You read it, simone. 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:33.120 This is a big one. He's addressing the class of 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.240 twenty twenty four, right, and he says, I think it 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:38.319 is you, the women who have had the most diabolical 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:40.800 lies told you. Some of you may go on to 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:43.080 lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:45.240 to guess that the majority of you are most excited 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:47.720 about your marriage and the children you will bring into 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:51.440 this world. He says that his wife would say that 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:54.320 her life truly started when she began living her vocation 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:57.520 as a wife and mother. Can you imagine Danielle being 0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:00.320 one of those female students in the crowd and thinking, Wow, 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:02.560 I just blew one hundred thousand dollars on my college 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:03.680 education for nothing. 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:07.240 Well, to top it all off, he got emotional giving 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:09.760 the speech, and I just think men are too emotional 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:14.200 to give commencement speeches. Honestly, Simone, his mother is a 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:18.040 renowned physicist, which is the craziest part of all of this. 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:21.040 I'm dying to know what she thinks of his speech. 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:25.880 It just is so bizarre. I actually kind of giggled 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:27.720 because I was like, Oh, this is an snl skit, 0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:31.160 this is a joke. He's a paid actor. I can't 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:34.519 believe that this is real. The year is twenty twenty four, 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:34.959 my guy. 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:37.639 You know, to me, the most telling element of all 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:40.240 this is not even the misogyny, Danielle, it's the fear. 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:41.560 Ooh, what do you mean. 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:45.760 This is a sad, scared widow man. He is very 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:49.640 afraid of how powerful women are becoming. Like we are 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:54.880 becoming very powerful. Okay, we are taking our supplements, we're investing, 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:58.480 we're healing, we're self regulating. We're touching grass out here, 0:02:59.160 --> 0:02:59.640 and we. 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:02.760 Are touching she grass all the time. Especially on the bright. 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:07.760 Side, he sees this. He sees that women are stimulating 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:10.200 the economy like it's a hot girl hobby. I mean, 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:13.280 we saw that last year with Barbie and Taylor Swift 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:17.160 concerts and Beyonce concerts. What like it's hard, Like it's 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:19.840 hard for us. You can tell that he is just 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:22.800 intimidated by the shifting balance of power in this world. 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:23.160 That's all. 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:25.160 This is all I can say, is amen. 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:29.720 Speaking of hot girl hobbies, Simone, we have a new 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:33.919 cover girl in town. Gail King is on the cover 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:38.560 of Sports Illustrated and it's their famous swimsuit issue. And 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:41.119 I'm only going to say her age because I think 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:43.520 it matters. She is sixty nine years old, she's an 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:47.160 award winning journalist, and she is on the cover of 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:49.320 Sports Illustrated. What do you think about that. 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.080 I love this. I think this is so major. I 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:56.520 think this is so huge just for women overall, because 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:59.400 here is Gail King, one of the best journalists that 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:02.360 we have right now now, one of the smartest women 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:07.600 in our society. She's brilliant, and she's also sexy, and 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:11.880 she's in a bathing suit and she's embracing her beauty. 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:15.400 And that is exactly the kind of nuance that I 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:19.360 think that is so important for everyone to see that 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:22.039 women can be multi dimensional. We don't have to just 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:22.800 be one thing. 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:28.360 I think it's super powerful and I loved seeing her 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:31.920 CBS Morning anchors celebrate her tony. 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:36.120 And Nate were like woohooing in the most respectful way. 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:38.800 It was really fun to see them celebrate the moment 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:40.200 along with everybody else. 0:04:40.640 --> 0:04:45.039 Yeah, this is definitely a new dawn for news anchors 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:49.640 and perception of news anchors, because even just a few 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:52.360 years ago, I don't think that this would be as 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:55.480 celebrated as it is. So I actually really applaud her 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:59.560 for taking the first step here because hopefully this will 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:03.360 just brought in our view of who journalists are, and 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.520 what journalists are capable of, and what a journalist looks like. 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:09.240 I sent this to you over Instagram. What did you 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:10.040 think when you saw it? 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:11.200 I'm here for it. 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:15.200 I mentioned her age earlier purposely because I think in 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:21.000 our culture we desexualize women after they're no longer able 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:26.279 to be fertile, and we particularly desexualize mothers in our culture. 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:31.880 Gail is over forty five, she's a mother, she's, like 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:35.160 you said, a journalist, and I just I think this 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:38.400 speaks to the idea that beauty is not about what 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:41.480 you look like, it's about who you become. And Gail 0:05:41.640 --> 0:05:46.400 has become such a powerhouse and she's bridging every single gap. 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:51.039 Yeah, when did we become this society that says, if 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:53.360 you are a journalist and you show up to work 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.120 wearing a suit interviewing dignitaries and politicians, that you can't 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.960 also enjoy yourself in a bathing suit on a beat. 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:02.719 A bathing suit is a functional piece of clothing, so 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:06.520 you can swim in the warm gulf of Mexico. Let's 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:08.880 be able to hold two truths at once. People. 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:11.400 I'm just going to keep saying amen to you today. 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:16.359 In other exciting news, Legally Blonde is coming to a 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:18.200 screen near you. 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:22.080 What like it's hard, guys? A Legally Blonde prequel is 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:23.920 coming our way next year. 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:29.360 Courtesy of our boss, Reese Witherspoon. Courtesy of Hello Sunshine 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:33.120 and Amazon Prime. Simon, You're not the only one screaming. 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:36.240 Screams could be heard around the internet round the world. 0:06:36.520 --> 0:06:41.479 People have been dying for more Elwoods. And this time 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:45.359 we're going to get Ellwoods in high school, long before 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:48.480 she went to Harvard. We're gonna find out how she 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:50.840 became everybody's favorite Gemini vegetarian. 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:53.919 I cannot wait to see high school el Woods. I 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:57.120 want to see did she go through any growing pains? 0:06:57.160 --> 0:06:57.280 Like? 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:00.240 What was that coming? Of age time for her, Like 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.960 you know, this movie Legally Blonde has always been a 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:07.039 cultural touchstone for me. I remember watching it with girlfriends 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:11.840 growing up and being so entertained but also impacted by 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:14.480 the depth of it too, and the ambition and determination 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.120 of this woman. But what's been really cool to see 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:21.440 Danielle is however lasting the impact of this film is, 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:24.480 it comes up all the time whenever we interview women 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:25.200 on this show. 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:28.240 I also think this speaks to exactly what we were talking 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:32.000 about a few minutes ago, which is Elle Woods was 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:39.560 multi dimensional. There's this perseverance in her character that always, 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:43.560 for like lack of a better word, just inspired me. 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:46.720 You watch that movie and you leave. 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:48.560 The theater, or you leave the airplane, or you leave 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:51.400 your bedroom wherever you're watching it, being like I can 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:55.600 do anything. I'm just excited for a new generation of 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:57.080 girls to get to feel that. 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:01.560 I also loved seeing Reese really late into the excitement 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:05.560 around this. She posted this really cute video where she 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:07.880 was dressing up in pink and putting up on the 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:10.200 pink heels, and then she walked out on stage to 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.280 give a presentation and she did the bend in the 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:17.880 snap and I appreciate a creator who understands how beloved 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:20.679 their work is, and I just love that she's leaning 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:25.320 into the excitement and enthusiasm around this project too. Do 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:27.600 we think Jennifer Coolidge is going to make a cameo? 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:32.200 She has to, She must, she must. And if you 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.040 are counting down the days to the release of this 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.880 TV series like us, we know that it's coming out 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:40.400 in twenty twenty five. We're not sure exactly when, but 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:41.520 we'll keep you posted. 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:49.160 After the break, journalist in sportscaster Carrie Champion is telling 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:52.680 us about her decades long career covering sports and why 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:54.400 she chose to leave at the top of her game. 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.480 Welcome back to the bright Side Today, we're joined by 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:11.640 journalist and sportscaster Carrie Champion. Carrie has spent decades covering 0:09:11.640 --> 0:09:14.960 the top stories in the sports world for Vice, ESPN, 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:18.200 and now Amazon. Her show, The Carrie Champion Show, is 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:22.040 a must watch for its unfiltered and straightforward look at 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:24.480 sports and the role that they play in our daily lives. 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:28.640 It features interviews with current and former athletes, celebrities, writers, 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:29.559 and analysts. 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:33.000 Carrie also hosts a podcast, Naked with Carrie Champion. Which 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:35.200 is all about getting guests to lift the veil and 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:39.040 get vulnerable about their lives and careers. Carrie, welcome to 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:39.480 the show. 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:42.080 You guys are so bright and happy and cheery, and 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:43.920 I was like, I have to wear pink. That's what 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:47.720 made me think. I was like, yes, I wore bright colors. 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:48.640 You didn't say, but. 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:54.360 You've seen our logo clearly, y, Yes, it's right bank. 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:57.040 All right, Carrie, the producers are making me tell you 0:09:57.080 --> 0:09:59.520 a very embarrassing story. Okay, I tried to get out 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:02.959 of this. Here we go. So the truth is, I've 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:05.720 been following your career for a very long time, you know, 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:07.800 all the way back to the Tennis channel days. And 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:11.800 when I first moved to Los Angeles, I worked at 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:16.560 a management and casting company editing reels, and your reels 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:18.680 was one of the reels that came across my desk. 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:20.959 So I literally have been following you from the very 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:24.240 early days. And so just watching your career, watching you 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:27.240 go on to ESPN, get your own shows. I've been 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:28.480 cheering you on from afar. 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:31.240 That's so wonderful. Don't make me cry. This is the 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:34.000 bright side. 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:34.839 Yeah. 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.360 So I'm curious, like, what were those early days like, 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:38.480 because you've been at this for. 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:40.200 A minute, and I have, and let me tell you, 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:43.319 it feels like I'm still at it. It really does sometimes. 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:45.720 First of all, thank you, that was very kind. And 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:48.520 every time I hear a story like that, I don't 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.760 hear them often, but when I do hear them, I 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:54.840 always think that I'm still on the right path and 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:57.120 doing what I was supposed to be doing. But the 0:10:57.160 --> 0:11:00.319 early days were hard for me, I must be honest, 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.280 but I didn't know they were hard because I just 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:03.920 wanted to do it. I was like a one man 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:06.520 ban I graduated from UCLA. I drove my niece on 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:10.719 Ultima to West Virginia for my very first job. That 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:14.920 was just so hungry, and I remember thinking, I'm going 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:17.439 to be Oprah. I'm gonna be Katie Couric. I wanted 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.880 to do that in such a real way, and I 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:22.559 didn't know why I wanted to do it, but it 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:25.240 felt as if it was my calling. I mean, since 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:26.839 I was seven years old, I was like, this is 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:28.599 what I'm gonna do. I saw Oprah on TV. I'm like, 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:29.959 I'm going to do that. I don't know how, but 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:34.680 I'm going to do that. And so the days were hard, 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:40.199 like a one man ban, editing, shooting, writing, doing all 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:43.400 of the things and being okay with it. So the 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:46.800 early days are, to your question, a lot of jumping around. 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:51.480 I went from West Virginia to Florida to not having 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:56.120 a job, moving back to LA working part time at 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:59.120 this Orange County place, working at E Entertainment as a producer, 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:01.040 having a minute to feel like I was going to 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:02.880 be a producer because I was like, I can't. No 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:04.360 one's hired me to be in front of the camera, 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:06.600 so I'm going to produce. Then I worked as an 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:11.360 assignment editor, and all of that, I realized helped create 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:13.320 who I am today. I was able to identify what 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:15.640 a story looks like, I can produce a story, and 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:19.679 so all of it worked really well for me, even 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.400 when I went to Atlanta, because I moved to Atlanta, 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:24.559 which is considered a top ten market, but it was 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:27.199 still local news. And I remember, you know, my photographer 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:29.560 couldn't get a shot because he had to finish editing, 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:31.760 and I took the camera out and I got the shot. 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:33.200 I was like, didn't you worry about it? I got it, 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:37.520 you know. So the early days for me were just 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:39.880 forming a foundation that I didn't know would be the 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:41.080 foundation that I have today. 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:45.240 You mentioned a few of those people that you looked at, Oprah, 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:47.800 Diane Sawyer, Katie Kurk. 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:49.880 Those are my ogs, like, those are the those are 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:53.839 the legends, the legends like, And people will say things 0:12:53.880 --> 0:12:55.480 to me about that, and I'm like, hold on, hold on, 0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:59.199 I didn't interview leaders of state and stare them down 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:02.200 and say how dear you? Like That's what Diane Sawyer did, 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.439 and that's what Barbara Walks did. And they were unafraid 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:09.000 and unapologetic, and they didn't. It was before TikTok and 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.240 social media. They were doing it to make sure they 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:13.320 told the story. 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:16.840 When I look at your Instagram, so much of it 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:20.320 is about opening a door behind you when a door 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:22.040 has been opened for you. That seems to be such 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:25.360 a common theme. Yeah, did you have people that did 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:28.200 that for you or you wanting to change that narrative? 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:29.120 You know. 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:32.920 When I arrived at ESPN, probably my second year, I 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:35.440 was inundated with emails and I was like, oh, I 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:38.760 should start helping others because I don't remember. There was 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:41.800 one lady local news here and she still works here 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:43.920 in local news. Pat Harvey. She works on the local 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:47.080 CITs station, and my mom walked up to her one 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:48.840 day when we were at church and said, my daughter 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:50.120 wants to do what you want to do. Can she 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:53.080 talk to you? And I'm like, mom, Mom, I begins 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.600 to stop. I'm embarrassed, and pat was like sure, and 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:58.400 she let me come and hang out in the studios 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:01.240 in Hollywood, and she gave me like a couple of 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:03.480 hours and she just said, I wish you luck. And 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:06.040 I remember thinking that was such an incredible couple of 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:09.040 hours of my life. It just reminded me this is 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:11.079 what I wanted to do, even though I hadn't had 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:13.560 a job, but I thought, wouldn't it be cool if 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.080 people had access to everyone? Now, you know what I mean? 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:22.000 And so that's probably why I'm I feel very obligated, 0:14:22.040 --> 0:14:24.200 and also I feel like it's a responsibility, you know, 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.000 to give back. That's arguably one of the most rewarding 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:27.920 things of what we get to do. 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:32.600 I find that the words that I'm giving other people 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:34.520 I most need to hear myself. 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:36.320 Correct, I'm talking to myself as I talked to you. 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:40.800 Yeah correct, Yeah, so interesting. And we were talking Simone 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:42.960 about her moving to New York. I'm like, move, move, 0:14:43.080 --> 0:14:45.200 do it now, do it? I support it. 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:47.960 If you haven't lived in New York yet, Danielle, I 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:51.200 think it's like a necessary rite of passage, Like you 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:51.720 got to do. 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:54.520 It, well, Carrie, just moved. Because here's what I was 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.720 interested in. You said to me you had an eat 0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:57.680 prey love moment. 0:14:57.800 --> 0:14:59.680 Yeah, and you. 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:02.920 Know, I think people look at you, Carrie Champion, and 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:06.280 they're like, she really did it. So to hear that 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:09.560 you had sort of like a crisis moment was so 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:10.480 interesting to me. 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:11.480 What were you feeling? 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:15.680 I think everyone does. I think how we present what 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:17.720 people what they see of us, and who we are 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:20.520 separate from what people see of us. Yeah, I have 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.160 always and I don't know where this comes from. I 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.040 was like, I have to travel in the direction of 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:28.240 what I fear most. And I feared moving to New 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:30.880 York and adjusting to a whole bunch of new people 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:33.880 and hanging out with folks and working at CNN, and 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:37.520 it's politics isn't necessarily my thing. I've been in sports. 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:40.240 How do I make the intersection happen between the two. 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:44.240 I'm panicking and I'm like, okay, head first, just do it. 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:46.680 Stop thinking about it and just do it now. I 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.560 don't know if that always works. I wouldn't tell everybody 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:52.000 to do what I did, but you do. I did 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:53.920 it because I wanted to, and I have no regrets 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:56.480 because I would have always thought, well, why didn't I 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.320 live in New York? And to Smolle's point, everyone, it's 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:01.360 a rite of past. Everyone must live in New York, 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:05.440 whoever's listening. If you are single or whatever your situation is, 0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:07.240 you have to move to New York at least four 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:10.080 six months just to try it, you know, just to 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:12.280 try it because the city gives you an energy that 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:13.920 you can never get from anywhere. 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:17.400 The Graduate School of Humanity, it is the Graduate School 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:20.200 of Humanity, and it forces you to understand. 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:22.200 Like that when they say if you can make it anywhere, 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:24.800 you can make if you make it in your it's true. 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:26.560 Like once you can get on the subway and yell 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:27.600 at everyone, you're all set. 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.320 Carrie, you talked about making it, and I have this 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:34.800 theory that making it doesn't actually exist. Right, what do 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:36.200 you think about my theory? Is that real? 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.360 Absolutely? It's accurate. This world as we know it is 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:42.440 ever evolving and changing quickly. Laws, the way that we 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.120 move and manifest and so I'll just use me an example. 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:47.360 I want to have this show and I want to 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:49.120 be able to tell these stories. Then you get there 0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:51.120 and you're so caught up in doing the gig you 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.440 don't even know that you've made it. And I feel 0:16:53.480 --> 0:16:58.040 like making it always just redefines itself because you work 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:00.320 so hard to present an image. I think it's actually 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:02.680 now with social media, you think everyone is doing everything 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:04.440 amazing that you want to do, and then you meet 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:06.320 them and you're like, Okay, no, we're all just figuring 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:10.240 it out. We're all just grinding it out, and it's 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:15.480 never making it. It's just it's accomplishing goals. So for 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:17.959 me now, one of my big goals would be I 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:21.800 want to be able to tell really authentic stories that 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:27.199 meet the intersection of sports and culture and activism in music. 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:33.000 But I also feel very responsible of the words that 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:35.280 I choose, the people that I interview, the things that 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:38.720 I say, and that's a whole other level of responsibility, 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:43.280 and the making it starts to subside. That doesn't become 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:46.440 the goal anymore. The goal is am I really being 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:48.840 responsible with what I have been given? 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.840 Well, okay, I want to drill into that because you 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:56.320 worked your way up at ESPN, you were there for 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:01.359 eight years and you decided to leave. I'm sort of 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:06.479 fascinated by the idea that you left this job that 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:09.400 you had always dreamed of. You talked about all those 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:11.480 moments where you were one man banding. 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:12.639 Right, and you're like, I made it. 0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:16.520 But was it that it didn't feel the way you 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:17.800 thought it would, or. 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.600 What was really really hard? It was really really hard 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:23.639 and really really rewarding. I was a rookie when I 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:26.399 first came in, so I'm working with Skip Bayless and 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:29.000 Stephen A. Smith. You have to be made of something 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:31.600 really special to sit between those two, especially on a 0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:34.560 show called First Take, which was very still very popular, 0:18:34.600 --> 0:18:37.080 still is just as popular. But it was such a 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:39.360 man's world and it was I described it this way 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:40.680 I wrote about it. Have you ever sit in the 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:44.680 middle seat on maybe a cross country flight from LA 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:46.800 to New York. You can't really lean too far to 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:48.720 your left or too far to your right because you're 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:50.840 going to be in someone's space. So you're just trying 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:53.000 to stay like this the whole time I described my 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:56.399 experience on that show, I couldn't get too comfortable on 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:58.520 my left or to my right, just because of the 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:02.320 dynamics of the show. And I remember thinking, God, this 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.560 is the hardest thing I've ever done. And there were times, 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:07.280 you know Danielle's interview, one of my one of my 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:09.840 closest friends in Jamel Hill, there were times where I 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:12.320 would college amount. I'm like, today's last day. I'm quitting. 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:13.960 She's like, what are you talking about today? I'm quitting. 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:15.320 You said I was there for eight years. I tried 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:17.960 to quit a year in and she talked one there. Yeah, Oh, 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:19.639 I got six months in and she talked me on 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:21.600 the line. She was like you. I was like, I 0:19:21.640 --> 0:19:24.879 can't do this because there was such an incredible amount 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:27.560 of pressure on the one in the middle seat. I 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:30.120 was supposed to quote unquote contain these two who can't 0:19:30.119 --> 0:19:33.680 be contained. I wasn't that familiar with sports. They didn't 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:36.199 want me there. I came from the Tennis channel. They 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:40.760 didn't know my work. I wasn't an established sports journalist 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:44.160 in their opinion. And by there, I mean the people 0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:46.359 who watched the show, the people within the building, and 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:48.399 so they made it they made it hard. But you 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:50.280 do that, you do that to Riki. So it's called 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:54.679 Ricky hazing, and I don't complain too much because it 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:56.800