WEBVTT - Dawn Staley: How To Have the Courage to Compete 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:05.960 I've been a big sports fan for as long as 0:00:06.000 --> 0:00:10.879 I can remember. I remember doing homework as a little 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:15.159 boy listening to baseball games on my radio. But I 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:21.920 especially like basketball, college basketball, and March Madness. It marks 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:26.640 the real start of spring. It reminds us that hope 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:30.880 springs eternal, at least in most of our brackets, especially 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:33.839 after last year's tournaments were canceled amid the outbreak of 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:38.120 COVID nineteen. This year's edition of March Madness, it's been 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.919 a real lift to our collective spirits as we continue 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:44.360 to work together to get through these next few months 0:00:45.080 --> 0:00:48.279 to the light at the end of the tunnel. For me, 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.680 it's been especially fun to see the University of Arkansas 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.880 playing in both the men's and women's tournaments, and to 0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:59.520 see my alma mater, Georgetown make the men's brackets after 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:02.760 they're through only run in the Big East. My old 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:06.960 friend Patrick Ewing is smiling. Premier to hear looking down 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:10.200 on us is my old friend John Thompson. He's happy 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:14.399 to so. Why am I telling you this Because for 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:18.240 so many people across America around the world, sports are 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:20.959 often about much more than just playing a game. Sports 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:27.920 teach us about teamwork, self improvement, leadership, endurance, about winning 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:32.920 and losing with grace and dignity, And as we've seen 0:01:32.959 --> 0:01:37.520 over the last year, athletes can be particularly impactful when 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:41.080 they use their platform to advocate for social justice and change. 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.679 At their very best, sports lift up our common humanity, 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:50.600 help people to connect across borders, generations, gender, race, and 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:54.120 all the lines that might otherwise divide us. Today, for 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:57.600 the special March Madness edition of Why Am I telling 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.400 You This? I want to share a conversation with someone 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:05.960 I deeply admire, Don Staley. Since two thousand and eight, 0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:11.320 Don has coached the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team, 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.000 which earned a number one seed in this year's tournament. 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:18.919 This conversation was recorded in twenty and you will hear 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:22.280 how she's always been driven by a desire to make 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:26.000 a positive difference in other people's lives through her philanthropic 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:31.040 work or coaching career and her powerful example. Don Staley 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:34.040 is a remarkable woman, and I hope you'll enjoy this 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:38.480 conversation with a true Hall of Famer on and off 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:48.680 the court. I'll never forget visiting the athletes ahead of 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:53.040 the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.600 seeing men and women from countries all around the globe, 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:59.120 some of whom were bitter enemies, sitting with one another 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:02.480 in the dining hall of the Olympic Village, sharing meals 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:05.280 and slowly breaking the eyes that divided them. This was 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:09.720 opening day for the Olympic Games in Atlanta. President Clinton 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:12.800 and his family were welcomed by athletes from around the 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:16.600 world as he toured the facilities. President Clinton praised American 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:19.680 athletes at the Olympic Village. I want you to win 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:22.000 all the mods to camp, and I want you to 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.480 mop up and do great, But I want you to 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:28.320 realize that just by being what you already are, you 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:32.480 are a source of enormous pride to our country and 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:36.720 an inspiration to the world. And I hope tonight at 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:40.280 these next couple of weeks of the greatest time of 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:45.320 your life. Today, I'm joined by one of the athletes 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:48.720 who won goal thatt those ninety six Summer Games, Don Saley. 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:51.400 I first met her when she and her basketball teammates 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:54.200 came to the White House after their victory. After that, 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:56.480 she went on to win two more gold medals than 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:59.400 two thousand and two thousand four, to have an accomplished 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:02.400 career playing and the women's NBA, to become one of 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.320 the greatest coaches in the country, leading the University of 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.240 South Carolina since two thousand and eight, including winning the 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:13.040 school's first national championship in ten. But more than being 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:16.320 a great basketball player and coach, Don Staley is a 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:19.359 great person. I've had the chance to travel throughout Africa 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.479 where here visiting some of our foundations programs, and it's 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:25.000 clear that she's driven by desire to make a positive 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:28.479 difference in other people's lives, from her players to the fans, 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:32.039 to the countless people benefiting from her own philanthropic work 0:04:32.200 --> 0:04:34.919 and her powerful example. Don, it's great to talk to 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:37.680 you today. It's so great to talk to you, President Clinton. 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:40.400 You're one of the most decorated athletes and coaches of 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:42.800 all time. You're an All American, you played for the 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:45.680 American Basketball League, the w n b A, you remember 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:49.280 the Basketball Hall of Fame, an Olympic athlete and flag bearer, 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:52.800 head coach at Temple, now at South Carolina. How did 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:56.440 this happen? What does basketball meant to you, both personally 0:04:56.560 --> 0:05:01.560 as well as professionally. Well, basketball has been and incredible resource. 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:05.279 It's been my safe haven. Growing up in in North 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:09.440 Philly and the projects called the Raymond Rosen Housing Projects 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:11.920 was a place in which there wasn't a whole lot 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:16.560 to do besides sports or getting something that's that's illegal 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:19.839 or that can leave a negative impact on your life. 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:23.640 You know, I'm known for playing basketball, but if anyone 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:26.880 that knew me growing up in North Philly on Diamond Street, 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:31.240 they knew I played tackle football, I played softball, I 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:35.720 played baseball. I did everything the guys were doing. I 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:38.800 grew up with three brothers and one sister, and all 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:42.240 of us were super competitive. And if seven of us, 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:44.800 that's my my siblings and my parents lived in this 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:47.960 three bedroom house with one bathroom, so you had to 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.960 compete to go in and take a shower. I didn't 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:55.320 win very many of those battles. I had to compete 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:58.720 because I'm the youngest to you know, to get socks 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:01.680 and shoes. The one thing, the one thing that I 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:04.279 had to make sure that none of my oldest siblings 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:08.200 got to were my socks. I'm a sock fiend. I 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.719 had to have my my white, pure white sox, and 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:16.040 my seam had to line up with my toes, and 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:19.040 if any of my siblings wore any of my socks, 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:22.960 I knew. So I come from a competitive family, and 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.320 I'm very fortunate that I used sports as a vehicle 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:30.160 defeat into that competitiveness. But when I first received my 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:34.640 my college letter, just interest letter, which was somewhere between 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:38.400 the seventh and eighth grade, I knew basketball was gonna 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:41.640 be the ticket to get me to all the pages 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:45.360 and books that I read and imagined visiting. How did 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:48.919 your life affect how you coach? Um, I would say, 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:53.360 I'm probably the opposite of how I grew up and 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:57.000 how I coach. How I grew up, I was an introvert. 0:06:57.279 --> 0:07:01.720 I was extremely shy, and I wasn't verbal. I didn't 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:04.599 use a lot of my verbal skills. UM. I went 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:10.000 to the University of Virginia, where it's a predominantly white university. 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.160 I grew up in the projects. It was predominantly actually 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:15.800 not predominant. It was all black, you know. So my 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:19.720 first experiences, even with people outside of my race, all 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:23.480 happened at the University of Virginia. When I got to Virginia, 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:25.520 I didn't quite know. I didn't think I fit in 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:30.440 with Virginia. As far as what happened outside the basketball court. One, 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:34.320 it was just I was young. Two Again, I was shy, 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.880 and I was an introvert. So I wasn't easily approachable 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:40.600 because again it's the trust thing. I had to be 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:42.840 able to trust you. I had to be able to 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:45.840 allow you into my space. And I did not do 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:49.680 that very easily after University of Virginia. So for me 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:53.480 being uncomfortable, you get more comfortable because I had a 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:57.040 an experience at Virginia during my first year of college 0:07:57.040 --> 0:07:59.560 where I did not do well and something that I 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:03.520 applied myself too. Um, So it made me extremely uncomfortable. 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:05.800 I did have a dean. I had to sit down 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:08.160 with a dean and she pretty much threatened to throw 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:11.480 me out of the University of Virginia because I didn't 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:16.040 perform well. And I'm sitting across from her. Again, I'm shy, UM, 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:18.760 an introvert. You know, I didn't. I wasn't very comfortable 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:21.880 in my skin, wasn't comfortable talking to adults that I 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:25.560 didn't trust. Um. So all of these nonverbals that I 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:28.200 was giving off really didn't sit well with the dean. 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.040 So my coach really had to help me out. She 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:34.679 had to have that little pep talk with me and said, 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.360 you know, you basically gotta you know, you gotta look 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:41.599 people in their eye. You have to you have to conform. 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:45.520 And I wasn't. I wasn't big on conforming because I 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.040 you know, I wasn't one that liked to live in 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.920 a box or um. So that word really took me, 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:54.760 took me back. So I said, I'm not gonna kiss 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:57.160 anybody's but this is the way I am. I'm not 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:01.160 gonna change for anybody. And little did I know what 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:03.200 I was saying and what I was doing at the 0:09:03.280 --> 0:09:05.920 time really was one of the crossroads in my life 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:09.800 where I had to stop. I had to think about 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:12.600 what I wanted my life to be without basketball, and 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:15.400 that's when it hit me, you gotta, you have to conform. 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:18.560 This is the way that you have to exist at 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:23.160 the University of Virginia and it helped me um now 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:26.160 as a coach. I think certain things happened to me 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:29.840 throughout my life that has helped me get more comfortable 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:35.160 with dealing with you know, just across cultural lines. All 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:37.640 of those life lessons I look back on it has 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:39.840 helped me to be able to to come to a 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:46.479 place that's predominantly white and unify and reach go across 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:50.960 different ethnic backgrounds and and be able to hear people, 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:53.679 talk to people, be comfortable in my skin, and then 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:55.679 and let them see me for who I am. And 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:58.200 I you know, I always reflect on my days back 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:01.240 in Virginia know that, um I would sent there for 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:04.880 a reason other than basketball. I've heard you say before 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:07.400 that you think it's important that there'll be more black 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:10.280 coaches in your game. You still feel that way, and 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:14.000 why is it so important? Well, I absolutely do feel 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:17.640 like not not just coaches, head coaches, I feel like 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:22.280 there should be more black coaches to coach individual one basketball, 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:26.040 women's basketball, because how the makeup of our sport is 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:29.760 predominantly black. I don't know the breakdown of the numbers, 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.319 but I know it's it's more than fifty. And if 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:36.360 it's more than they need role models. And here's why, 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:39.600 because no one other than a black woman can teach 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:43.920 another black woman how to be a black woman in America. 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.600 It's quite simple. There's there's certain things that they're gonna 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:50.520 go through in their life and they're going to experience 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:53.560 throughout their life that they're gonna have to handle like 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:57.840 I've handled in my experiences, good, better and different. I 0:10:57.880 --> 0:11:01.400 think I can be a great example of showing them 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:05.360 of of giving them advice that they'll need to be 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:09.320 safe or to have an incredible career in whatever profession 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.000 they decide to go in. Thank you for making that point. 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:14.240 I think it's important that people understand that. You know 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.959 that the best coaches don't just coach their players when 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:20.400 they're on the court or a field. They coach them 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:22.440 when they're off the court, and they think about their 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:27.640 life after they're out of their one lost column. We'll 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:34.719 be right back. Well, let me ask you something. I 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:37.640 I like to watch basketball. I like to watch women's basketball, 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:40.360 and I try to watch you and your team every 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:44.520 time you're on television. I'm very interested in how various 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:47.480 coaches relate to their players, have related to the crowd, 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:51.800 relate to the referees, especially when they're intense situations. And 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:54.360 one of the things I've noticed about you is that 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:58.360 you seem to be very careful and sparing about the 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:01.760 times you jump up and down. I've seen you in 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:05.040 games that are really tight and the other coaches walking 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:08.319 up and down the sideline and you're just sitting there 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.800 staring looking at the players, trying to figure out what's 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:14.600 going on. What is is that deliberate? Do you have 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:19.000 a deliberate style when you're in the public eye about 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:21.640 how you talk to your players and how you're seen 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:24.640 by the audience and by the referees and by your 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:27.760 own players and by the other team to be conducting 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:30.760 yourself well, I think what happens to me is I 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:33.440 want to be my authentic self. I want to be 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:35.720 my authentic self when I'm coaching. I want to be 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:38.640 my authentic self when I'm off the floor and I'm 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:42.160 talking to a young person. I think I have a 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:47.800 way of being appropriate doing appropriate times. But I'm myself. 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:51.559 I want to sleep well at night knowing that by myself. 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.640 So when I'm on the sidelines, I try to figure 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:58.000 out what's the pulse of the game. So we want 0:12:58.000 --> 0:12:59.719 to we want to pick the face up. Okay, we're 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:01.720 gonna it out into the passion lines and don't let 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:04.200 them off the hook, make them work for everything. How 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:07.760 are officials calling the game? And what are my colleagues 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:11.480 doing beside me? What's the opponent and the coaching said? 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:13.040 What do they What does it look like, what does 0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:16.800 the crowd feeding off? I look at my players eyes, 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:19.280 and I want to see that fire in their eyes. 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:21.560 I want to see that they are locked into the 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:25.920 task at hands. Every opportunity you can grow, grow, every 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:30.760 opportunity you can lead, lead, Okay, and then I take 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:36.920 my place after seeing all those things. If we can't 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:41.120 get a day, sometimes I do get up and I 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:44.679 talk to officials. Sometimes I scream at them. Sometimes I 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:48.199 say some things that I probably shouldn't say, but it's 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:51.960 my authentic self. I do sometimes sit down and just 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.520 let the game come to me. Trust our players, Trust 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:57.880 our players, And I will tell you this, President Clinton. 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.719 Is that a lot of times when I'm yelling at 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:03.960 officials and I'm self assessing because this is what I do. 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:07.880 If I'm yelling at officials about a certain call, I know, 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:11.439 for me, the root of why I'm yelling at official 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:15.400 is probably because I don't trust my team in those instances. 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:18.600 And I have to do a better job at trust 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.360 of my team and putting that energy that I'm giving 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:24.480 to the officials to my team. How do you think 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:29.400 basketball women's basketball, particularly is different from when you played 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:33.160 in college. How is it changing, where's it going? Well, 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:37.440 women's basketball is a lot different from I'm not gonna 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:41.400 mention this. It's almost thirty thirty years from when I played. 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:44.440 And I know some of my old school buddies will 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:48.200 say that UH will beg to differ and that I 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:51.520 think it's better. And here's why. They're quicker, they're stronger, 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:54.560 they are more skilled, and they're more skilled than all 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:57.680 those things because of what they've been able to see. 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:00.600 The w n B A I believe, is starting their 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:04.160 twenty third year, and when the little girls have seen 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:09.320 twenty three years of women play professionally, that's the carrot 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.240 that's been dangling in front of them for all of 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:15.360 their lives. When I was growing up, we only had 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.840 the NBA, you know, and that's that was a far 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.800 gone conclusion that we weren't gonna be, you know, in 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:24.240 the in the NBA. So I would give the new 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.280 schoolers an edge on the old schoolers only because they 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:30.160 they've seen it. I think the other thing is, I 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:35.280 think the strength level of these players is expanded enormously. Yeah, 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:38.400 you know, because every everybody has a trainer. Now, you know, 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:40.640 some of them are taking care of their bodies a 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.280 lot better because they want to play longer, they want 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:45.600 to play as long as they can, and their careers 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:49.600 have been extended because of that. You know, the longevity 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:53.840 of a w NBA career, it's it's more years than previous, 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:55.840 but it's it's it's much harder to get into the 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:58.880 w n b A nowadays because there are only one 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:01.640 hundred and forty four ops. And that's not to say 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:05.480 that there's always a hundred and forty four available because 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:07.640 you have pros that that have been in the game. 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.360 I would say, and I think I talked to a 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:12.680 couple of GM to the w n b A, they're 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:17.600 only probably maybe ten to twenty new jobs available if 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:20.920 that for someone that's leaving college and going into the 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:24.000 w n b A, and that that percentage is very low. 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:27.480 So I tried to extend that percentage to our players 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:29.880 because everybody is not going to be a professional athlete. 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:33.160 So we gotta get this degree. We gotta learn how 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:36.840 to navigate through life just in case, just in case 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:46.680 it doesn't work out on the professional basketball level. Tell 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.360 me about the Olympics. How did it affect your life? 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:51.760 How is it different from all the other contests you 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:55.400 were in the Olympic Games um growing up in on 0:16:55.600 --> 0:17:00.080 those same projects. I only saw women play two times 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:03.440 on television. One was the n C Double A Final 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:06.760 Four Women's Final Four, and the other one was the 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:09.480 Summer Olympic Games. And I wanted to do both. I 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:11.240 wanted to be a national champion. I wanted to be 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:15.399 a gold medalist. So the Olympics and playing for USA 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:22.640 Basketball is basketball utopia. The culture of USA Basketball, the friendships, 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:28.080 the sisterhood that are created because we didn't care, and 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:30.879 we don't care. You know, who scores the most points, 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:34.000 who gets the most rebounds. The one goal for us 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.720 is to win basketball games, to do it together. And 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:39.520 at the end of the two week period of planning 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:42.679 Olympic Games is that we're standing on that podium and 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:46.080 we're receiving gold because there's so much pressure to win gold, 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:49.360 and we go into it knowing that it's gold or failure. 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:53.639 So the Olympic Games, the USA Basketball experience is what 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:57.840 I model my coaching after. It is that I know 0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:01.600 sometimes when you're coaching at the collegiate level, there's so 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:05.200 many external people and things that get in the way 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:09.560 of a player totally committing to that common goal. So 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:12.879 the Olympics is a lot different. And I've coached for 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:16.199 nineteen years on the collegiate level, I don't think that 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:19.000 I've ever had a team that had that same type 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.360 of culture. It's they've come close, but not that the 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:28.280 total culture of giving self to the team. We'll be 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:35.560 right back. You went to Africa with me and a 0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:39.240 group of people to see the foundation's work that Clinton 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:42.320 Foundations work to help people get AIDS medication, to help 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:45.720 farmers improve their yields, to do things to build villages 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:49.000 that are healthier and get food that's healthier. And you 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:52.560 agreed to represent and affect women's basketball and going on 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:55.560 that trip to Africa, and I just like to ask you, 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:58.280 first of all, do you think it was worth your while? 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:00.640 And what do you remember most of about the trip 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:03.320 we took together. First, I don't think I got a 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:07.240 chance to say thank you, so thank you for that 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:12.040 life changing experience. I'm a better person because of that 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:15.399 experience that I had. The people that I experienced it 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:20.760 with were incredible giving people. And I cried this, this 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:23.840 tough girl from North Philly cried on that trip. But 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:27.160 what I what I remember most about it. The hearing aids. 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:31.320 I saw someone here for the first time in their 0:19:31.400 --> 0:19:34.600 lives and it it just brought tears to my eyes. 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:38.560 My heart opened for that person. For a deaf person 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:41.879 to hear a voice they repeated the words that the 0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:45.000 doctor was saying to them, really was heart wrenching for me. 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:48.879 There are so many people around the world that are 0:19:48.920 --> 0:19:51.840 classified as death because I live in really poor countries 0:19:52.080 --> 0:19:55.439 who are capable of functionally normally if someone helps him 0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:57.320 and I agree with you, man, when you see somebody 0:19:57.320 --> 0:20:00.760 here for the first time, it's breathtaking. That was a 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:04.240 session we did with one of our c g I partners, Starkey, 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:08.000 which is basically giving a couple hundred hearing aids to 0:20:08.160 --> 0:20:12.240 people with difficulty hearing a couple hundred thousand a year. Now, mmm, 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:15.719 you know if it if it weren't for your foundation, 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:18.879 I don't think there would be as many people living. 0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:21.880 I can remember we went into the hospitals and we saw, 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:25.800 you know, people getting treated for AIDS and it was 0:20:25.880 --> 0:20:28.120 it was life changing. I came back to the University 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:32.080 of South Carolina and our team for that particular year 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:36.840 was be the Change. Be the Change, and I shared 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:39.600 with my players, what be the change meant to me? 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:42.920 And we went out into the community and I hope 0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:45.080 we were able to impact some kids and being a 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:48.040 change in their lives and our lives because it was 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:53.480 an incredible experience. When can we go back, I'd love 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:55.480 for you to go back with me. Up, you have 0:20:55.600 --> 0:21:00.600 your own philanthropic effort UH appropriately named. Since started this 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:04.080 show with the story of your childhood, Inner Soul, tell 0:21:04.160 --> 0:21:07.080 us about Inner Soul and what did it do. Inner 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:09.960 Soul was birth from a conversation I had one of 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:13.520 our partners who was doing some some spring cleaning and 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:16.280 she was gonna throw away some some new shoes that 0:21:16.400 --> 0:21:18.280 she had, and I was like, oh no, don't, don't 0:21:18.320 --> 0:21:21.399 do that, and I just kind of thought about my 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:24.800 childhood and I'm like, we need to do something. We 0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:27.320 need to do something here in the state of South 0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:29.800 Carolina that will help you know, so many because there's 0:21:29.840 --> 0:21:32.399 a lot of homelessness that's here in the state of 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:35.920 South Carolina. I said, we need to give out new 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:39.240 sneakers to homeless children and children who are in need, 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:42.200 because I know what a new pair of sneakers did 0:21:42.240 --> 0:21:44.479 from me when I was growing up. Because sneakers were 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:46.800 something that I really enjoyed, and that was the only 0:21:46.840 --> 0:21:49.120 thing that I love. I didn't care what I looked 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:51.119 like from my ankles up as long as I had 0:21:51.119 --> 0:21:53.280 a new pair of sneakers on. And I know that 0:21:53.440 --> 0:21:57.720 resonates probably all across the country, where if you feel 0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:00.240 like you have a new pair of sneakers on, would 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:02.720 pay attention a little bit more in class. So it 0:22:03.040 --> 0:22:06.880 raises your self esteem, It makes you feel a lot better. 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:10.160 It gives you so much confidence. So what we're doing 0:22:10.240 --> 0:22:14.080 now is we're going into elementary schools and we're implementing 0:22:14.119 --> 0:22:18.240 a new initiative called Educate my Soul. And Educate my 0:22:18.359 --> 0:22:22.720 Soul is an initiative that has about five variables. It 0:22:22.880 --> 0:22:27.119 is class attendance, It is behavior, It is reading, it 0:22:27.280 --> 0:22:30.600 is physical fitness and getting good grades. We go into 0:22:30.640 --> 0:22:35.120 these elementary schools and we create a competition between all 0:22:35.240 --> 0:22:37.679 of third grade, all the fourth grade, and all the 0:22:37.720 --> 0:22:41.440 fifth grade, and they compete. So after each grading period, 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:44.640 we find out what classroom scores the highest and those 0:22:44.680 --> 0:22:47.399 five variables, and we give them a new pair of 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:50.880 sneakers each grading period. And I just went to two 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:55.200 today and they open those those bags up with those 0:22:55.240 --> 0:22:59.119 sneakers in it, and again the smiles on their faces 0:22:59.160 --> 0:23:02.800 are quite incredible. So it's a partnership that we had 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:05.879 with certain schools throughout the state of South Carolina, and 0:23:05.920 --> 0:23:09.040 hopefully we could continue to grow all across this country 0:23:09.040 --> 0:23:11.480 and then hopefully we'll we'll have some sneaks to take 0:23:11.520 --> 0:23:14.560 over to Africa or wherever the Clinton Foundation is is 0:23:14.560 --> 0:23:18.200 servicing young people. I thank you for joining us down, 0:23:18.960 --> 0:23:22.359 Thank you, Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for 0:23:22.600 --> 0:23:26.399 making this young girl from North Philadelphia get a chance 0:23:26.440 --> 0:23:29.400