WEBVTT - Odessa Jenkins 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.600 This is cut to It with Steve Smith Senior at 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:08.879 production of The Black Effect and I heart Radio. I'm 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:11.680 Steve Smith Senior and I'm a little John and this 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:16.280 is cut to it. Good do it, Good do Let's 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:19.880 getting down to do it. Good do it. We asked 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.120 the questions you always want to know, but no one 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:29.560 ever asked, let's cut to it. You heard them about it, 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:40.360 then we're about to let you know. It's all we 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:47.040 got that. We gotta get this cut to it podcast. 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:51.479 Good morning, Steve, afternoon. And it depends on when. It 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:54.560 depends on where you are geographically. Let's not limit our 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:56.560 folks just to the United States. Were trying to do 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:01.400 this thing. We gotta get international, international, different zip voice 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:06.480 sound internationally in another country that the voiceover do they 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:08.840 do a voiceover? You want the truth or you want 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:14.920 the lie? I want the lie? Oh Man. A matter 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:18.440 of fact, speaking of lies, UM, I remember like two 0:01:18.520 --> 0:01:22.600 or three years ago, right after right after you it retired, men, 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:25.760 you started taking some some boxing lessons and we were 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:30.800 fresh you, we were working, we were working out, and 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.480 I probably told myself a lot that uh I was, 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:37.559 I was in shape, but it was real tough, and 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:42.160 it got us into good conditioning and you know, built 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:44.720 up some mass and all that stuff. But one thing 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:48.320 I remember us talking about was it's starting to build 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:53.600 up that competitive spin. We literally had to stop whole turkey. 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:56.320 We really had the shot because you were starting to 0:01:56.400 --> 0:02:01.720 get back into almost football. So we started working out. 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:03.600 That was It was about a year after I was 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:05.920 done playing. I retired. I had a full year. I 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:07.520 didn't want to work out, and I told him I 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:12.440 didn't want to work out. And because of around January February, 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:15.200 late February is always in my career where I would 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:19.040 start slowly start working out, and so my body was 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:22.119 starting to get you so like, hey, this round. There's 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:25.679 times and I started boxing, I felt and you can tell. 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:29.640 And in the first time, I, oh, man, I was 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:33.640 out of shape. And the second and third time I started, 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:35.880 you was over there like and I'm over there, like 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:39.000 let's go. And I started like getting into it, and 0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:41.680 my body started waking up and my body said this 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:45.440 to me, Oh, I know time, this is, I'm familiar 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.560 with it. I love this time. And I can't even 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:53.440 tell my language how I was talking was starting to change. 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:55.160 My wife has always telling me, I know when football 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:58.960 seasons back up because you start cursing a little bit more, slipping, 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:02.360 the slip of the tongue, and I just started to 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:05.440 feel my body started. I used to have goose bunks 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.160 going in there. I started to feel like looking forward, 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:11.120 we're looking forward this ball time. This is this is 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:13.760 aging eighty nine time where it started to build that 0:03:13.840 --> 0:03:16.400 persona of that anger. And even though it's a completely 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:19.520 different sport, it didn't matter. My body said I know 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:22.120 this time, and I'm ready for this time. And I 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:25.960 have been hybrid nating and I am ready. And I 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:27.959 started and we had to stop because I was like, man, 0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:30.959 this isn't good. And I can feel myself kind of 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:35.880 asking what I mean, I could I'm possible. I mean 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:39.360 I'm feeling good. I still got the wiggle on the hips, okay. 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:43.040 And we had to stop and and it's it's real silly, 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:47.360 and somebody would be like, yeah, whatever, it really happened, 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:51.040 and I had to and and I didn't realize the 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:57.280 sixteen years of what I was training my mind and 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:02.080 body to how to respond to there. It literally I 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:06.840 was creating seasons within my body. It's just just football season. 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:10.080 We need to get ready for football season sixteen years 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:15.480 of mid February, pretty much right after Valentine's Day, I 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:17.440 would start working out with my trainer and that's when 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.240 we started, right after our bowling event for the Foundation, 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:23.000 and that's when I started to feel. So it lasted 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:24.760 probably about a month or two and I said, man, 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:28.359 I gotta stop this because I was really starting to 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:31.599 get that itch. But what's crazy is I didn't want 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:34.640 that itch. So would you say, you're just you just 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:38.719 mentally have that in YouTube where when you now, I don't. 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:41.760 Over time it faded at that point in time. It's 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:44.279 more of a mental thing to where you being a 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:47.200 professional athlete, you're just I guess ingrained or you're just 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.159 it's just it's just in you. Well that's where it called, 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:52.679 you know, mastering your craft, and so it mastering your craft. 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:54.840 It's not just learning how to run a go route, 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:58.400 running how to beat beat press coverage or beat or 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:01.680 runner slant. It's all so the psychological part of it. 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:06.320 It is the new or holistic meaning everything you know 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:10.720 you're pro in the mental yet so playing on the 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:15.200 football field, reacting is just sometimes you can just rely 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:20.560 on your shoulders down. Mitch means that athleticism my god 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:26.400 given talent. And then there's the shoulders above that you 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:30.479 have to always sharpen and always have to be uh 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:35.440 grinding through and processing. That is all year long that 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:40.920 you're always doing. And I realized that that I had 0:05:40.960 --> 0:05:45.400 started to start to spark the waste that the shoulders 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:49.480 down part, and then the shoulders up was saying, hey, bro, 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:54.000 we ain't supposed to be doing this. You know, it's 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.400 like the little It's like the good guy on the 0:05:56.520 --> 0:06:00.760 shoulders and the other guy. Yeah, eat that dope nut. 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:06.400 It's gonna be so delicious. Smith good, Smithy, Bastmithy, eat 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:11.560 that doughnut. Bassman is like, you're gonna earl in boxing tomorrow, right, 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:15.279 And I earled in boxing right, So you know. So 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:17.880 that part is good and and good and bad. But yeah, 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:21.919 that that that happened. Yeah, I mean and we number one, 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:23.800 you left a brother hanging. I ain't gonna forget that 0:06:23.839 --> 0:06:26.880 because I'm just showing. I show up and I think 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:28.560 you text me He's like, Bro, I'm done, and I'm 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:32.000 And we had that conversation before that you were thinking 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.599 about coming back, but I'm thinking you just talking now. 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:38.039 This brother was done, like done, done, stopped like I 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:40.000 think I went maybe two or three more weeks and 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:41.960 then you were literally done. You had to just shut 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:44.880 it down. I literally had to stop. I had to 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:49.440 stop working out after not working out completely for a year. 0:06:50.120 --> 0:06:52.240 Like when I say not working out, I mean not 0:06:52.400 --> 0:06:55.120 working like this brother really was thinking about coming back. 0:06:55.480 --> 0:06:57.839 I started, I thought, I started like when I was 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.320 pulling up the hair on my forearms and the back 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:05.320 of my next started crawling up like it would when 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:08.800 they were sitting singing the national and they singing for 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:13.400 me when they sung the national anthem. The next time 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:15.720 was putting in my mouth piece, putting in my helmet, 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:20.040 kick ass time, knocking on the and I was getting 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:25.040 that feeling right like, this is not a good feeling. 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:30.760 I tried. That was only I had the cold turkey right. 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:33.680 I had to stop. So, ladies and gentlemen, I almost 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:37.560 brought Steve Smith out of retirement that close you did, 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:40.640 so holds our guest. Today coming up on the cut 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:44.200 to a podcast, We've got Odessa Jenkins, the CEO of 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:48.400 the Women's National Football Conference, a former NFL coaching intern 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:51.040 with the Atlanta Falcons, and she's a two time USA 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.760 national Women's football champion Odessa Jenkins coming up on cut 0:07:54.760 --> 0:08:03.240 to a podcast. I'm jittery, I'm excited. It's like game day. 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:06.200 I can't even. I can't even. Don't don't be. Don't 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.280 get caught at a lot of scrimmage when that quick 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:11.920 jam come up on you. Oh no, I'm you're talking 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:14.400 to two hundred plus touchdowns in my career. I don't, 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:22.040 I don't get jam. What's on you? Yeah? About five 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:27.080 hundred folks. Well, Osa, you've done all that, You've done 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:29.160 all this, called all these touchdowns right now, you're about 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.600 to get iced up. It's our second where we have 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:34.000 a series of questions. They may or may not have 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:36.080 follow up. It just depends on how we feel and 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:39.440 how you answer and how you answer absolutely, and so 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:41.000 we'll get it right to us. So smart ahead and 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:43.080 give her the first one. This tells me a lot 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:47.160 about you, old Dessa, lets me know your character and 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:54.320 also can I rocks with you long term? Favorite movie 0:08:54.480 --> 0:09:01.800 of all time? M hm mm hmm works, gum, we've 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:09.800 a lot. Yeah, I'm going Forced Gump And why is 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.360 because I think it goes through um so much adversity 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:19.640 and because of where I come from. I was born 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:23.720 into adversity and and have learned to transition it. I 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:28.559 think into fuel. And I think it goes through telling, 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:31.800 you know, Bubba's story, because not just forces story is 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:35.120 bubba story, is Jenny's story. It's the story of a 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:39.480 black man, a white woman who suffered abuse to a 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:42.320 black or a white man who was disabled. Like it 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.320 just goes to the story of a mother and her child. 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:46.880 So I just think it goes through a lot of 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:49.600 different things that a lot of the world can relate to. 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:53.520 But more than anything, it it's about somebody who refused 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:57.920 to stop competing. M hm, well, I love that and WHI. 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:00.760 I always like asking someone, if you really want to 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:03.240 know someone, ask them what their favorite movie is and 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:05.600 why quick story. I had a button in the locker 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:07.800 room one time. I cannot say his name because then 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:11.280 I would lose all respect that I basically pained him 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:14.840 on our podcast, but he said, I said, man, what 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:18.240 it was when Narnia was coming out? Memory Narnia was 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:21.160 out and uh, I said, man, what do you think? 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:27.320 He said, Man? That lion he was a beast like 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:34.120 can go the jungle bro. It's a symbolism of Jesus, 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:38.920 but it's basically a symbolism of God and all he 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:43.480 took it is man. That line was a beast smooth 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:46.920 overs in. I don't ask him for a reference of 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:51.840 any movies ever. Again. Manifest himself into things that that 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:55.840 so that people can understand it. Right, But this dude 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:58.920 totally missed it. This is a pretty good one, and 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:01.240 this is gonna throw you off track, but I love 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:03.439 it and I can't wait to hear from me because 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:05.280 you sound so well rounded, just the way he gave 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:07.920 us an answer FM forced cump. You're heading off to 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.360 a desert island. Don't worry about why you're heading off. 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:12.960 Just roll with me. You're heading off to a desert island. 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:17.080 What do you pack? And why are those items essential? 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:23.160 I pack a knife, okay, pocket knife for like a switchblade? 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:28.960 Um a pocket knife? I pack? I pack a pocket knife. 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:35.680 Are you dead? Keep going? I pack uh a pot? 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:40.719 Um so something that allows me to collect water. I'm 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:42.880 a show that I'm like skinning an all clad pot, 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:46.360 like a good a good Williams Sonoma. You know, I'm 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:49.599 not as rich as Hue, So that was a privilege, 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:56.320 and that was a privilege desert Like, Hey, they're good. 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:59.320 Pause bro listen, no stick. You ain't got no margarine 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:04.720 out there saying everybody's non sticking. I'm rocking with your dads. 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:07.880 I thought the same thing, listen, you know, but yeah, 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:09.760 some gotta buy something the whole water in and then 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:15.319 something to start fire with, and definitely some good reading materials. 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:18.199 So I'm it's it's crazy because I'm e collected with that. 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:22.319 So I either go with a Bible or a sports illustrated. 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:24.800 I'm struggling. I don't know if I want to, like 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:28.600 depends on the day. Yeah, so yeah, but definitely something 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:30.679 to read. But that's what I would going with. So 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:35.480 it's just a duffel bag or carry on, Um, it 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:39.200 is a Duffel bag. Good, okay, all right, we go 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.679 with that one last one guilty pleasure? What's your guilty pleasure? 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:46.400 No one knows that you you know you enjoyed partaking 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:48.720 on as far as food that you know. It's a 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:51.360 Friday night. Ain't nobody looking. You had a great week, 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:55.400 you you you didn't have any cheap days, and you're 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:57.800 just sitting there. You're going You're going there, You're gonna 0:12:57.800 --> 0:13:00.320 refrigerate or the close at the snack bag you like 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:05.199 I need one of these honey bun. You know. So 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.280 I grew up in watts Is how central. We used 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:11.000 to go to the corner store and they had penny candy. Now, 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:13.680 might be aging myself. Yeah, you get the candy ladies. 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:17.319 Her name is Ethel. He's my mom's best friend. It's 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.840 it's always a relative to Yeah. So you go there 0:13:21.000 --> 0:13:23.679 and you get your candy, but the honey bun and 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:27.680 thrown it in the microwave for ten seconds. Your microwave 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:31.760 was it a dial where you turn it clockwise or 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:35.199 to the numbers, like you know you had just got 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:40.000 not it ain't just got just got not um maybe 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.080 back in the day. But I got a really nice 0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:44.200 microwave now and I and I eat it with a 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:47.040 fork to make it seem like I'm feeling I'm made 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:51.960 it in like you now, I'm privileged plastic Oh no 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:59.400 silverware from William and said, no, look at you. You're 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:03.280 gonna make fun to me. Let's get into it. Where 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:06.080 are you from and what is the place you call 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:13.360 your hometown? Yeah, I'm from South central Los Angeles, so California. 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:17.240 So I grew up mostly on ninety nine in San Pedro. 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:19.400 We spent most of our time there, but we moved 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:23.280 around a lot. I lived everywhere around San Pedro. Basically 0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:27.800 we've lived in every I lived in every South Central 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:31.440 housing apartment, so I lived in Nickinson Gardens, all of them, 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:38.120 the Pj's, um, you know, so Perro Courts, the Jordan Downs. Um. 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:39.600 We spent a lot of time. So I spent a 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:42.000 lot of time all over the city. Um. But yeah, 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:45.040 south Central l As is my hometown. What did you 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:51.320 experience uh growing up in South Central I you know, 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:55.560 everybody sees it differently. I had a great childhood. Um. 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:57.480 Like I said, a lot of adversity, but a lot 0:14:57.520 --> 0:15:01.760 of people who who loved me. Room where I am today. 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:05.400 I think that my parents saw something special to me. 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:11.040 My dad was a contractor, so he did construction work. 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:14.240 Didn't graduate, you know, elementary school. I don't think. I 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:16.960 think he went to the fourth grade. My mom um 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:21.960 was a hustle like. He always worked two and three jobs, 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:25.080 and my my mom and dad were always into something, uh, 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:27.800 trying to bring home money. I come from a big 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.920 family and so we had a lot of loss, a 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:37.960 lot of tragedy. So my grandmother has ten children, eight 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:44.240 girls and two boys. My sister has ten children um 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:48.080 eight girls, eight boys and two girls. My mother has four, 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:50.840 So we have a couple of hundred. We got a 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.000 lot of people in my family. It's a gigantic grandmother 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.640 had On my mom's side, my mom is one of thirteen. 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:02.280 Oh and each one of them has had so me 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:07.080 between my my mom, myself, and my children is sixty 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:11.800 five of us. Goodness gracious. And my mom was the 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:15.360 oldest of ten. My mom was the oldest of ten 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:17.600 and she had four in our own and uh, like 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:19.560 I said, so growing up, I saw I lost my 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:25.000 my my oldest brother was murdered in um to gang violence, 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:28.400 and so that was that was really tough. I recently 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:31.840 lost a nephew too, similar, So I saw a lot 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:33.960 of loss, but saw a lot of a lot of 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:36.720 gang My family has done a really great job. Now 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:40.280 we got kids graduating college, going on and traveling the world, 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:43.560 starting companies. On the phone with senior, I don't know, 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:46.880 life is life is good. How did those things that 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:50.360 you experience growing up, how did they shape you and 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:56.080 more importantly impact your your view on the world today. Yeah, 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.200 I think that going through so first, having a big 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:01.080 family as you need. You come from a big family, 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:04.639 so you know, um, you learn really fast, especially as 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:07.080 one of the younger kids, to kind of suck it up. 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.320 You know, when you fall down off of something, there 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:13.639 ain't marry nobody they're saying, oh, you know, let's go 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:16.240 all get It's like, hey, you need to get up 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:19.000 so we can keep this thing moving. Um. So I 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:21.960 think growing up and being one of the younger members 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:24.959 of the family, the youngest of my immediate family, I 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.359 learned really early that, um, you shouldn't be looking for 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:30.919 anybody to pick you up. UM. You you got to 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:34.320 do your part. You have to pull your weight, um. 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:38.359 And that that has helped me. I think through everything 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:40.919 that I've seen as an adult. You know, I'm in 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.439 women's tackle football, and so it's a market where a 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:47.240 lot of people say, there's no money, there's no interest. 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:50.160 You know, women shouldn't be playing this game. This game 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:53.120 doesn't belong to women in that way. And I think 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:56.040 that the skin that I've developed to be able to 0:17:56.119 --> 0:18:00.800 walk in the rooms and have conversations with people who 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:03.840 might not see a woman in that way because of 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:08.640 some of the ways that my family groomed me, um 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:13.080 to to not look for anybody to pick me up. Um. 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:15.360 I think I come from a very loving family as well. 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:17.399 I got a lot of love to give every I've 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:20.440 never met a stranger. Everybody I meet is a part 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:23.919 of my family until you prove otherwise. Um. And then 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:27.280 we were also ballers, we were achievers. Um as the 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:30.200 only girl running around with a bunch of cousins and brothers, 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.800 Um I had the ball or sit out. There wasn't 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:35.800 any Hey, We're gonna let her play because she's the 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:38.399 only girl and she's a smart though. You either tope 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:41.320 the rock or you keep playing with us. You can 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:44.280 either shoot the ball or be the PG, or you 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.720 can't follow us. So I think also growing up with 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:51.120 a group of guys and my cousins and my brothers 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:55.399 who made me reach their standard, help me be a 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:57.960 really good athlete as well, pull your own way and 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:03.600 suck it up does not sound very encouraging. However, that 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:06.439 that encouraged you, and it gave you your sense and 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:11.000 your purpose. But some people don't see that as characters. 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:16.840 Some people see that is knocking down and not being encouraging. 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:20.800 And so that's why I'm asking to just let's hover 0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:26.440 then that because I don't be especially being a dad, right. 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:28.880 And my and my wife is from an area she's 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:33.320 from Utah, She's from an area where, um, she believes 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:38.840 in sometimes debating with our children, and I believe in 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:42.639 dictatorship with our children. And so that is a healthy 0:19:42.640 --> 0:19:45.840 balance because there are times where if I didn't miss 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:49.400 the tour out of muck some things up. But then 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:51.439 there's times where she's like, dang baby, all right, we 0:19:51.480 --> 0:19:54.200 probably should have just told him, yeah, And so that's 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:56.199 why I'm just kind of like, I'm I'm sitting in 0:19:56.240 --> 0:20:00.119 there because I mean, you said something that's that I 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:02.360 I just want to sit on. Like, how was that 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:09.439 encouraging for you when you were told either pull your 0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:11.480 weight or sitting on the bench, And sitting on the 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:14.639 bench means you ain't playing right, You're not you're not 0:20:14.720 --> 0:20:16.920 in it's not your time, I think. So I think 0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:20.719 it was pretty simple for my parents in the village 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:24.040 around me, because there's there was all. There's also this 0:20:24.160 --> 0:20:26.840 concept in my family, and this still exists today. So 0:20:26.880 --> 0:20:29.000 some things are old school and some things are just 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:32.720 about the tradition and values of your family. One of 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:35.240 the traditions and values of my family is that we 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:39.120 have a village, right so I you know, Um, even 0:20:39.160 --> 0:20:41.560 today as a grown adult, if I walk in the 0:20:41.680 --> 0:20:45.640 room with my aunts, I'm speaking, I'm yes, ma'am, I'm no, ma'am. 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:47.720 I don't curse in front of him. If I do 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:49.840 it a slip up and I'm looking full back hand 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:54.439 or something crazy like that. But it's just that's just 0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:56.880 the way we're raised. So I think something some things 0:20:56.920 --> 0:21:00.440 about culture that you want to keep perpetuating, and then 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:03.879 other things. You're right, like the world has changed for children. 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:06.560 They have information at the at the palm of their 0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:08.640 hands that we would never think about. When I wanted 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:11.600 to learn the possibilities of the world for the first 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:13.720 half of my life, I had to go pick up 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:15.680 a dictionary or I had to go ask an a 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:18.520 dough So I just think that the possibilities of the children. 0:21:18.520 --> 0:21:20.800 So yeah, you have to evolve in your parenting, but 0:21:20.840 --> 0:21:22.679 there are still traditions that you have to keep. So 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:24.480 I go back to this. It was pretty simple for 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:27.679 my mom and dad. Um. I think that they believe 0:21:27.800 --> 0:21:31.760 that you rear children, um in the ways that you 0:21:31.800 --> 0:21:34.200 want them to be, not in the way that you are, 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:36.600 and the ways that they wanted us to be as 0:21:36.640 --> 0:21:40.800 they wanted they want, especially um as a black woman 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:44.439 growing up in the in America. My parents grew up 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:48.399 in the gym pro South, so they taught me based 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:50.800 on their perspective. Right. We live in the city in 0:21:50.920 --> 0:21:53.080 l A, but that was their perspective. So the things 0:21:53.119 --> 0:21:55.520 they never wanted me to do is to not have 0:21:55.720 --> 0:21:58.520 to They never wanted me to beg They never wanted 0:21:58.560 --> 0:22:01.440 me to have to rely on some one for when 0:22:01.440 --> 0:22:03.560 my next dollar or where my next meal was gonna 0:22:03.600 --> 0:22:05.720 come from. So I had to build. They had to 0:22:05.760 --> 0:22:09.959 help me build up callasis right in my mind, and 0:22:10.000 --> 0:22:12.399 had to help me go through experiences and learn the 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:15.760 hard way. So when the world brought me a challenge, 0:22:16.240 --> 0:22:19.199 if I didn't win, I didn't back down. So I 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:21.560 think they were just trying to teach me. And that's 0:22:21.560 --> 0:22:23.679 what I learned, at least that's what I gained from it. 0:22:24.000 --> 0:22:27.560 So that, um, you know, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, 0:22:27.880 --> 0:22:30.040 figure it out on your own, learn how to take 0:22:30.080 --> 0:22:33.440 a loss, um, so that you learn how to win. Um. 0:22:33.480 --> 0:22:36.200 And I think they taught us through a bunch of ways. Um. 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:39.160 Someone was it through study, someone was it through learning? 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:41.800 Habits and other was through learn through stories that they 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:44.840 told us. So I think that that worked for my 0:22:45.000 --> 0:22:47.399 family and continues to work for my family in a 0:22:47.400 --> 0:22:50.680 lot of ways because it's tradition. But I wouldn't say 0:22:50.720 --> 0:22:53.640 that you are raising children the same way you did 0:22:53.840 --> 0:22:56.680 thirty years ago that you do today. Let's take a 0:22:56.720 --> 0:22:58.600 little break and come back to you about two or 0:22:58.640 --> 0:23:08.240 three minutes. Yeah. I love cut to It, and I 0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:12.160 love it even more when you download us and subscribe, 0:23:12.720 --> 0:23:15.280 and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie, 0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:18.600 where where at? And that's at cut to It on Instagram? 0:23:18.600 --> 0:23:23.639 What about Twitter? At? Cut to It Facebook? Cut to 0:23:23.800 --> 0:23:27.720 It featuring Steve Smith se what about online? And you 0:23:27.720 --> 0:23:30.240 can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com 0:23:30.240 --> 0:23:33.480 where you can buy merchant and you can subscribe to 0:23:33.560 --> 0:23:36.600 us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my 0:23:36.640 --> 0:23:41.000 answers questions. Um, yeah, I got all my questions answered. 0:23:41.680 --> 0:23:43.639 That's what I'm here for. A brother, cut to a 0:23:43.760 --> 0:23:51.320 Podcast dot com. Playing football with the boys in the league, 0:23:51.320 --> 0:23:55.960