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Speaker 1: That first game, fans yelling I was in the bag,

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Speaker 1: like wooh, pull it together. You gotta go out here

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Speaker 1: and be a beast, like come on, and can't be crying.

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Speaker 2: Britney Grinder is a basketball icon and three time Olympic

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Speaker 2: gold medalists. We made history as the first openly gay

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Speaker 2: athlete to sign with Nike, and then in February twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty two, she became a prisoner.

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Speaker 1: Terrified because I'm like, I'm gonna.

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Speaker 2: Die, sentenced to nine years in a Russian labor camp,

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Speaker 2: stripped of everything.

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Speaker 1: I felt less than a human, felt less than animal, honestly,

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Speaker 1: and I thought about, you know, I thought about ended it.

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Speaker 2: In their first ever interview together, Britney and her wife,

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Speaker 2: Cherrelle revealed those heartbreaking two hundred and ninety three days

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Speaker 2: and what it took to survive.

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Speaker 1: Anybody that knows me know how much I love this

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Speaker 1: woman is sitting next to me right now, and for

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Speaker 1: me to sit there and ask her to wait nine

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Speaker 1: years when I know all her dreams. So I wrote

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Speaker 1: her and I basically just gave her out.

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Speaker 2: But Cherrelle wasn't waiting.

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Speaker 3: She was fighting because if silence got them nowhere, then

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Speaker 3: we would be as loud as it take.

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Speaker 2: Join hosts Martine for King, the Third, Andrea Waters King,

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Speaker 2: Mark Kilberger and Craig Kilberger were a raw, unforgettable conversation

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Speaker 2: about resilience, courage, and the unbreakable bond between two people

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Speaker 2: who lived through the unthinkable.

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Speaker 1: And this is where I was in front of like

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Speaker 1: eight or nine men. They had me stripped down old way,

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Speaker 1: so one more attempt.

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Speaker 4: To welcome to my legacy. Today we're joined by one

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Speaker 4: of the most accomplished athletes of her generation, w NBA

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Speaker 4: star Britney Griner. Thank you so much for being with

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Speaker 4: us here today and on my legacy. As all of

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Speaker 4: our listeners and audience know, we not only have extraordinary individuals,

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Speaker 4: but they let us into their lives by bringing someone

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Speaker 4: who knows them so well, someone who's been with them

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Speaker 4: on the journeys, the ups, the downs, the person who

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Speaker 4: they've chosen to spend their life with, which you do

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Speaker 4: us the honor of introducing your plus one today.

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Speaker 1: Oh man, this is such a honor to introduce my amazing,

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Speaker 1: lovely wife, Cherrelle Griner.

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Speaker 4: Well, because I understand this is the first interview the

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Speaker 4: two of you have done.

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Speaker 1: We've done a full interview like this, and I'm just

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Speaker 1: honored to have her here because a lot of people

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Speaker 1: don't get to see the background and don't a lot

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Speaker 1: of people don't get to see, you know, my backbone

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Speaker 1: all the time. And I mean, I wouldn't be here

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Speaker 1: and doing what I'm doing without her in so many

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Speaker 1: different ways.

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Speaker 4: By the way, I love to smile on that one.

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Speaker 5: You're like, just chloing, this is awesome.

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Speaker 6: We're all thrilled to have both of you here today.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, happy to be here.

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Speaker 6: We're going to start with your career, Brittany, and because

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Speaker 6: the world has witnessed your incredible success on the court

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Speaker 6: and you're inspiring resilience off the court as well. But

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Speaker 6: before we talk about that, I want to go back

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Speaker 6: to childhood and what ultimately made you powerful on the

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Speaker 6: court came from some pretty painful experiences. There's so many

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Speaker 6: kids that have experienced bullying, and in so many ways,

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Speaker 6: you were bullied by classmates growing up. But can you

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Speaker 6: share a bit about that struggle.

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Speaker 1: Especially when you look a little different. You know, I

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Speaker 1: was slightly taller than everybody growing up, maybe more than slightly,

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Speaker 1: but yeah, I mean I was taller a little bit

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Speaker 1: deeper voice. I vividly remember there was a time where

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Speaker 1: these girls came up to me and literally put their

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Speaker 1: hands on me, like touched my chest and was like see, no,

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Speaker 1: she's not a girl, she's a boy. And I'm just

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Speaker 1: standing there like all right, like what do I do now,

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Speaker 1: and everybody's just staring at me, and I'm like, oh, okay,

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Speaker 1: so I'm the butt end of this joke. Now. I

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Speaker 1: didn't really tell my parents anything at all. I hid

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Speaker 1: at all what I was going through, what I was

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Speaker 1: dealing with, and I would write, so I would use

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Speaker 1: journaling and I would write little stories about someone and

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Speaker 1: I'm using air quotations, but it was about me. And

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Speaker 1: then of course I would destroy it and hide it

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Speaker 1: because I didn't want my parents to find out. So

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Speaker 1: it was just a tough time. But I found a

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Speaker 1: teacher and I was able to talk to him and

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Speaker 1: share with him, and another lady at my school as well,

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Speaker 1: and they helped me, you know, with it a lot,

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Speaker 1: and I was just able to kind of have somebody

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Speaker 1: to confine in. But it just taught me to kind

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Speaker 1: of like, you know, just be strong. In an indirect way,

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Speaker 1: I wanted to crumble so much. But I was like,

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Speaker 1: I really didn't have any choice. I'm a kid. I

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Speaker 1: was like, I got to keep going to school. I

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Speaker 1: got to keep doing, you know, what I'm supposed to do.

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Speaker 1: So just I guess it taught me to kind of

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Speaker 1: endure and buckle down.

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Speaker 6: And there were two teachers that you said were a

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Speaker 6: safe space for you. Yes, who are their two teachers.

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Speaker 1: Mister KINGU he was like a criminal, mister King? Oh yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think I want to say he's a principal now

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Speaker 1: at a school in Houston. But yeah, no, I was.

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Speaker 1: I was able to just go to his class. My

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Speaker 1: other teachers kind of knew what was going on, and

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Speaker 1: I was just able to kind of escape to his

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Speaker 1: class and just had a safe, safe place. I actually

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Speaker 1: had a coach, JB. Coach that was instrumental in my

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Speaker 1: high school years because I ended up leaving home for

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Speaker 1: just a little bit. I had left and I went

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Speaker 1: and stay with her. I think you're gonna like her

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Speaker 1: name to her name was missus Kan.

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Speaker 6: Coach relation, no relationship.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, I just I was really lucky. Like I said,

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Speaker 1: I was just really lucky for them to be there.

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Speaker 1: Not overstep, you know, but just be somebody that could

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Speaker 1: give me a safe place to be beautiful, pretty.

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Speaker 5: I just want to make sure that's right, because your

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Speaker 5: accolades are absolutely remarkable. You're one of the few athletes

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Speaker 5: we can say won an NCAA championship, a w NBA championship,

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Speaker 5: and three Olympic gold medals. Thank you, But you also

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Speaker 5: made history as the first openly gay athlete ever endorsed

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Speaker 5: by Nike. What did that moment mean to you, not

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Speaker 5: just as an athlete but somebody who also struggled to

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Speaker 5: feel fully accepted.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, coming out of college, I knew that, you know,

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Speaker 1: I was going to be completely open with my sexuality

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Speaker 1: and who I was. And then for Nike to come

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Speaker 1: in and sign me, knowing that with me being open,

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Speaker 1: one of the first to be openly out like that,

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Speaker 1: it meant a lot. I felt safe, secure. I felt like,

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Speaker 1: you know, I would be with an employer that would

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Speaker 1: celebrate me in a way and promote me in a

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Speaker 1: way that was authentic to myself. And yeah, it felt good.

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Speaker 1: And then I knew I was given a model to

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Speaker 1: you know, younger girls that I, you know, didn't really

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Speaker 1: have growing up. You know, I didn't have somebody just

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Speaker 1: saying that they were, you know, openly gay and and

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Speaker 1: out like that. So I just wanted somebody to be

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Speaker 1: able to look up and be like, Okay, I can

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Speaker 1: do this because I have people telling me like, oh,

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Speaker 1: you're not gonna be able to you know, get deals,

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Speaker 1: You're not gonna be able to go pro and like

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Speaker 1: telling me all these things because it was a different

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Speaker 1: it was a little bit different time. Not to sound

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Speaker 1: a little bit over, but it was it was different,

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Speaker 1: you know, and the look on it was, oh, just

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Speaker 1: be quiet, And I was like, I want to break that.

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Speaker 6: Did you ever consider being quiet? Did you even?

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Speaker 1: No, not for someone, but I was quiet for me

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Speaker 1: in certain stages like high school. I was quiet until

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Speaker 1: I came out to my friends. College, I was somewhat quiet,

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Speaker 1: but a little bit more open because I felt a

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Speaker 1: little bit more independent being in college. And then once

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Speaker 1: I got to the pros, I was like, yeah, no,

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Speaker 1: like it's time. I want to look in a mirror

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Speaker 1: and be happy every time.

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Speaker 4: So and I love that through it all, as tested

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Speaker 4: as you've been, you're sitting here together, and I know

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Speaker 4: we know the end of the story, but we also

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Speaker 4: know in between a lot has happened.

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Speaker 5: Brittain.

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Speaker 4: If I can jump ahead and no to February twenty

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Speaker 4: twenty two. You both have been married for about four years.

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Speaker 4: You just finished your regular season with the WNBA, and

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Speaker 4: you were returning to Russia. I'd been eight years, eight

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Speaker 4: years in a row you'd play in Russian. I don't

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Speaker 4: think most people appreciated this, because you know, this was

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Speaker 4: something almost ordinary for you.

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Speaker 1: At this stage. You go through.

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Speaker 4: Customs by an accident, you have a small amount of

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Speaker 4: medically prescribed cannabis with you. You probably thought, oh, this

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Speaker 4: is inconvenient, but nothing more than an envenience. Was there

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Speaker 4: that moment we realized this is this is just out

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Speaker 4: of control. Like, no, what was the moment that that

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Speaker 4: flipped in your head?

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Speaker 1: I mean, when they took my passport right there, I

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Speaker 1: already felt like, okay, you're detained because they took you know,

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Speaker 1: any they took my form ID that I could leave with,

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Speaker 1: so right then I was like, okay, this is getting

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Speaker 1: a little bit more serious. But when they moved me

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Speaker 1: from the airport to the custom building and then the

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Speaker 1: arm guard and the full blue camo came and sat

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Speaker 1: down to guard me and my every movement, I was

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Speaker 1: like Okay, yeah, no, this is this is this is

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Speaker 1: intense because this isn't just a regular, you know, police officer,

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Speaker 1: like this is military because it's a camo you know,

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Speaker 1: and assault rifle on the them. I'm like, oh okay,

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Speaker 1: like like I am, this is going to be a

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Speaker 1: long haul. And what really made it click was once

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Speaker 1: they took me those next probably forty eight hours. I

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Speaker 1: mean they drove me all around Moscow and a regular

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Speaker 1: car too, like not a police car. It was. It was.

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Speaker 1: It was pretty crazy. Crabbing in the back of a

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Speaker 1: anybody knows what a Honda like CRV is that hatch

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Speaker 1: back like kind of weird. Yeah, I was crammed in

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Speaker 1: the back of one of those. They took me one

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Speaker 1: hospital for a COVID test, took me to another hospital

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Speaker 1: for a drug test, took me back to another hospital

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Speaker 1: for a TV test that I didn't even know what

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Speaker 1: a TV test was. I just knew that they were injecting,

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Speaker 1: you know, something into my body, and I'm like terrified

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Speaker 1: because I'm like I'm gonna die. Yeah, all that kind

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Speaker 1: of just let me know that this was going to

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Speaker 1: be an experience that I never.

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Speaker 4: Thought well, and I can only imagine that moment because frankly,

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Speaker 4: the part that I imagine just even here you say this,

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Speaker 4: it's the feeling of powerless.

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Speaker 1: Yes, oh yeah, super powerlessness. I mean just sitting in

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Speaker 1: the cell and seeing how they unlocked the doors. It's

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Speaker 1: not like, you know, there's a garden, you know, control

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Speaker 1: center hitting a button and you hear click it unlocks. No,

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Speaker 1: these are it's double doors. Old skeleton keys think like

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Speaker 1: green Moule or something like that, like old school, you know,

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Speaker 1: and the keys don't always work. They got to go

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Speaker 1: get another guard because their keys not working. I'm like, well,

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Speaker 1: if there's a fire, oh, there's probably about six hundred

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Speaker 1: people in this building, two doors for each cell. Oh

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Speaker 1: we're going to burn up. I'm gonna die. Like so,

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Speaker 1: like it was just constant fear the whole time. Wow.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, and you were sentenced to nine years nine years.

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Speaker 6: Well one of the things that you did is that

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Speaker 6: you did you sent the letter to Cherrell, basically giving

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Speaker 6: her an out.

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Speaker 1: I did. Like, when you're sitting in the cell and

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Speaker 1: you just have a lot of time, you're just thinking,

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Speaker 1: and honestly, that's kind of like your worst your worst enemy.

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Speaker 1: Anybody knows me, know, how much I love this woman

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Speaker 1: sitting next to me right now, and for me to

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Speaker 1: sit here, sit there and ask her to wait nine

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Speaker 1: years when I know all her dreams, aspirations and everything

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Speaker 1: that she wanted to do family lawyer, on her own

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Speaker 1: law firm. I was just like, that's this is gonna

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Speaker 1: be a lot, It's gonna be hard. She didn't ask

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Speaker 1: for this. So I wrote her and I basically just

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Speaker 1: gave her out, gave her out and I told her.

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Speaker 1: I was like, I just asked, like, just be my friend,

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Speaker 1: you know, just talk to me, write me. But yeah, and.

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Speaker 6: Then Cheryl, the world witnessed you fighting so publicly, all

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Speaker 6: while grieving privately, and as Brittany was just saying, I

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Speaker 6: don't think a lot of us knew that you were

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Speaker 6: finishing up law school during your final year. I think

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Speaker 6: of law school during that time, so one of the

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Speaker 6: things already we can feel your strength and your resilience,

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Speaker 6: not only knowing the story but just what you emanate.

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Speaker 6: But was there anything that surprised you during that time

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Speaker 6: about your strength?

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Speaker 3: I never in a million years thought that I would

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Speaker 3: have the capacity to handle multiple things at the same

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Speaker 3: time that carried that much weight and so I have

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Speaker 3: a mentor. She was my juvenile law professor, and she

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Speaker 3: had just ran for judge ship and she wanted and

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Speaker 3: so I just remember texting her and I was like,

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Speaker 3: Judge Mitchell, I'm about to come to your like you know, chambers.

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Speaker 3: And she's like, okay, you know, she's not thinking anything

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Speaker 3: of it because I've been toil this point. No one knows,

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Speaker 3: so I'm still going to school. So I went in

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Speaker 3: her office and I told her, I said, this isn't

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Speaker 3: public knowledge yet, and I knew I could trust her

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Speaker 3: with it. And I told her what had happened with BG.

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Speaker 3: And at that point it had only been like a

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Speaker 3: couple of days. And I was like, I don't know

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Speaker 3: the gravity of what's about to happen, but I think

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Speaker 3: they're keeping her. And I was crying in her office

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Speaker 3: won her chambers, and she looked at me and she

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Speaker 3: was just like, well, I want you to stop saying

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Speaker 3: you don't have the capacity. And she told me, she said,

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Speaker 3: do you have the capacity? She was like, but she

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Speaker 3: was like, it's your decision on the choice of what

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Speaker 3: you're going to do, what the capacity you have. She

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Speaker 3: was like, so if you choose to do both finish

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Speaker 3: law school and fight for BG. She was like, you can.

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Speaker 3: She was like, if you choose to just do one

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Speaker 3: of them, you can. She was like, but don't limit

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Speaker 3: yourself and just say you don't have the capacity. And

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Speaker 3: at that point I was like, girl, you don't work

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Speaker 3: your butt off, like you gotta finish law school. And

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Speaker 3: then I thought about it more and I'm like, you

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Speaker 3: love beg down, like we gotta get her back, and

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Speaker 3: so it became a no brainer. I was like, we're

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Speaker 3: about to do this, like you know, and at that point,

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Speaker 3: you know, I kind of, you know, I crumbled a

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Speaker 3: little bit, but eventually, you know, I had another mentor.

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Speaker 3: She was an attorney at a I was working at

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Speaker 3: a criminal homicide firm and my attorney at the time, Adrian.

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Speaker 3: She told me, she said, it's okay to go down Grainer.

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Speaker 3: She was like, but I'll call you in a couple

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Speaker 3: of days because you can't stay there.

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Speaker 7: I was like, okay, and so we hung up and

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Speaker 7: I literally was in that bed and she called me

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Speaker 7: forty eight hours later and she was just like, it's

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Speaker 7: time to get up.

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Speaker 3: And you know, I'm just grateful for people like that

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Speaker 3: in my life. At the time, They helped me realize

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Speaker 3: that I could do it. And once I tell myself

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Speaker 3: I'm doing something, I'm doing it.

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Speaker 6: Because it became such a public case and it was

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Speaker 6: based on your advocacy, did you intentionally decide to make

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Speaker 6: it as public? Was that a strategy or did it

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Speaker 6: kind of snowball in and of itself.

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Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely was a strategy. The first thing we did

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Speaker 3: was really really really strategic by doing nothing, because when

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Speaker 3: something is that big, and you know, something is at

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Speaker 3: risks that big as well, because the situation was big,

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Speaker 3: but also the risk management was Begi's life. You know,

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Speaker 3: that's huge to me, and so we're not just going

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Speaker 3: to go in there swinging. We had no idea what

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Speaker 3: we were dealing with, and so we sat back silent

305
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Speaker 3: for a couple of weeks because we really wanted to

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Speaker 3: see the trajectory of what we were dealing with. Because

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Speaker 3: sometimes big things, if you know the right people, can

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Speaker 3: become really small things.

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Speaker 6: You know.

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Speaker 3: So we are just silent, making really powerful phone calls

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Speaker 3: to try and see, you know, is this really what

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Speaker 3: we think it is? Or can we take this medical

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Speaker 3: marijuana cartage and really treated what it is a really

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Speaker 3: small thing, you know, because she's declarated she's very distinguished

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Speaker 3: in Russia, like her footprint is good, you know. So

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Speaker 3: we were really trying to do that route first while

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Speaker 3: we sat back and at the same time, you know,

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Speaker 3: I like to say Parallelaine's. We were trying this route,

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Speaker 3: but we were also strategically trying to figure out, if

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Speaker 3: this gets us nowhere, what do we do next? And

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Speaker 3: so I'm grateful to the other families that were already

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Speaker 3: experiencing one of their loved ones being wrongfully detained. And

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Speaker 3: I got to meet a few of them at the

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Speaker 3: James Foley Foundation dinner like two weeks after PG was detained,

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Speaker 3: and that changed everything for me because I met daughter's wives, sisters, mothers, brothers,

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Speaker 3: all of the above, and they all told me something

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Speaker 3: that hit my soul so hard. They said, I can't

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Speaker 3: believe you're here. They were like, when it happened to us,

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Speaker 3: we were just in bed for months. They were like,

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Speaker 3: and everyone told us to be quiet, and they were like,

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Speaker 3: and we did that and three years past and at

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Speaker 3: that point, my wait what he said? How many ys?

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Speaker 3: And I'm in my brain, I'm like, I'm not prepared

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Speaker 3: for three years. I'm not prepared for at that point,

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Speaker 3: I wasn't prepared for a month, you know. And so

336
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Speaker 3: I went back and I talked to BG's agent and

337
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Speaker 3: I'm like, hey, everyone's telling me that they were quiet first,

338
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Speaker 3: and we're right now quiet first. We need to change that.

339
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Speaker 3: We cannot do whatever they did because it didn't work.

340
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Speaker 3: We have to do something different. And so that's when

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Speaker 3: we were just like, okay, like you know, let's start

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Speaker 3: getting all the collective hands together. Let's start, you know,

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Speaker 3: making this a movement. I want to say, at first

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Speaker 3: they were like love BG. I was like, hate it. No,

345
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Speaker 3: can't do it. We don't relate because they don't all

346
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Speaker 3: just love BG. Okay. I was like, no, we need

347
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Speaker 3: something better. And finally they brought me we are BG,

348
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Speaker 3: and I was like that's it. I was like that's

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Speaker 3: the one. And I'm like, let's get it going, you know, like,

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Speaker 3: let's get this ball rolling. And I'm like, we're just

351
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Speaker 3: you know, we're just gonna keep it going because two

352
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Speaker 3: seconds I knew that we weren't going to stay quiet,

353
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Speaker 3: because if silence got them nowhere, then we would be

354
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Speaker 3: as loud as it take. It's kind of how my

355
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Speaker 3: mind said.

356
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Speaker 4: Was at the time.

357
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Speaker 8: Let me ask something different. Was there a fan presence

358
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Speaker 8: in Russia that were saying something even though I'm I

359
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Speaker 8: imagine people are just used to being restricted because how

360
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Speaker 8: the government is run. But were there fans who were

361
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Speaker 8: saying wait a minute, wait a minute in Russia?

362
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Speaker 1: Oh? Yeah no. And I was actually shocked that I

363
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,680
Speaker 1: got letters from fans all over Russia asking if they

364
00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,480
Speaker 1: could like send me stuff that word Russian living in Russia,

365
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Speaker 1: saying that they were sorry for what was happening to me.

366
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,080
Speaker 1: I had them telling me, I mean, I had guards

367
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Speaker 1: telling me at times, you know, different things like there

368
00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,399
Speaker 1: was some angels. There was definitely some hidden angels along

369
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Speaker 1: the way. Don't worry, You're you're your country is going

370
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Speaker 1: to get you like you You're going to go home

371
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Speaker 1: like and I'm just like, I hope. So my salemates

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Speaker 1: would tell me all the time too. I kind of

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Speaker 1: got a little bit of a crash. Course. I guess

374
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Speaker 1: they're way of life, not by you know, school or anything,

375
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Speaker 1: but by just living it. And I could see that

376
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Speaker 1: they had no hope for them for themselves, but they

377
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Speaker 1: they had a lot of hope you know, through me,

378
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Speaker 1: for me to go home and I think that kind

379
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Speaker 1: of became like a little thing, especially in my room

380
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Speaker 1: at least, you know, you.

381
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Speaker 8: Know my my dad and one of his speeches said,

382
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Speaker 8: only in the darkness can you see the stars. So

383
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Speaker 8: what was your lowest moment and how did you find

384
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Speaker 8: the strength to keep going when everything in you wanted

385
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Speaker 8: to give up?

386
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Speaker 1: Lowest moment for me, I was in isolation for a

387
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Speaker 1: little bit over a week, and uh, this is when

388
00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:17,920
Speaker 1: I first got to like their like their county. I

389
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,080
Speaker 1: guess you would call it jail. I hadn't seen my

390
00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,080
Speaker 1: lawyer yet. He was still trying to find me because

391
00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:25,800
Speaker 1: last he told me he would have to find me

392
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Speaker 1: because they're not going to just tell them where I went.

393
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Speaker 1: So I had nothing. I had three shirts, I had

394
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Speaker 1: my shoes, my Nike Duck boot shoes on. I had

395
00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:41,600
Speaker 1: a Parker jacket, no toothbrush, no soap, no food, no nothing.

396
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Speaker 1: So I had to take a shirt, found a rough

397
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,800
Speaker 1: piece of metal, ripped it and that was what I

398
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:53,800
Speaker 1: used to clean myself with. And uh, it was just

399
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,600
Speaker 1: a really low I felt dirty, I felt not like

400
00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:58,720
Speaker 1: a human. I felt less than a human, felt less

401
00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,760
Speaker 1: than animal, honestly, and I thought about you know, I

402
00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:07,240
Speaker 1: thought about ending it. I saw some metal where I

403
00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,119
Speaker 1: could break it off, thought about it. But then I

404
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,960
Speaker 1: also thought about my family. I thought about my wife,

405
00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:17,560
Speaker 1: thought about my mom, my dad, my siblings. Like, I mean,

406
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:19,760
Speaker 1: they're holding me now, Like who's to say they were

407
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,760
Speaker 1: going to release my body? And now you know, my

408
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:23,720
Speaker 1: family's trying to fight to get me my body home

409
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:25,960
Speaker 1: and all that kind of went through my mind and

410
00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,040
Speaker 1: I was like, I can't do that to them. I

411
00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:30,600
Speaker 1: have to be strong. And I thought about my dad

412
00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,520
Speaker 1: being in Vietnam and you know, stories that he shared

413
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:36,360
Speaker 1: with me, and you know, he shared a lot with

414
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Speaker 1: me and his resilience to get through that, to make

415
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Speaker 1: it through that and get back home. I was like,

416
00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:44,840
Speaker 1: I can do the same thing. So that was my

417
00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:46,840
Speaker 1: my fight, my you know, I just got to make

418
00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:48,639
Speaker 1: it back home so that everybody can lay eyes on

419
00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,840
Speaker 1: me and find that strengthen my pops had over there.

420
00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,320
Speaker 5: Wow. Pretty What were some of the insights from your

421
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,520
Speaker 5: dad and his experience being a veteran that shared and

422
00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,480
Speaker 5: shaped you in your insights in terms of when you

423
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:02,520
Speaker 5: needed that strength the most.

424
00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:04,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, not giving away too much, because you know, I

425
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,199
Speaker 1: really I really value those those stories that he that

426
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:11,479
Speaker 1: he shared with me and only me. But you know,

427
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,280
Speaker 1: he he did talk about, you know, just front lines,

428
00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,360
Speaker 1: being walking through the jungle, watching his his his friends

429
00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:20,080
Speaker 1: that he had made over there, falling, you know, traps

430
00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:22,520
Speaker 1: and seeing their bodies the way they are, and you know,

431
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:28,000
Speaker 1: some very grewsome stories from war and he had to

432
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,159
Speaker 1: go through that. And I see how he went through that.

433
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:35,280
Speaker 1: He came back and still had a family, still you know,

434
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,160
Speaker 1: went to work, still endured and did what he needed

435
00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,600
Speaker 1: to do and just kept going forward in the face

436
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:46,919
Speaker 1: of a lot of things. Also where he grew up to.

437
00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:49,000
Speaker 1: My dad grew up in Jasper, Texas. Anybody that knows

438
00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:51,520
Speaker 1: anything about Jasper, Texas, it was not the best in

439
00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,240
Speaker 1: the South. The Jamesburg Junior Dragon and.

440
00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,240
Speaker 6: We investigated that. I don't know if you all heard

441
00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,880
Speaker 6: about that. This was a black man that was put

442
00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:04,640
Speaker 6: on the back of a truck and was dragged, dragged

443
00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,640
Speaker 6: until he was decapitated. When I used to monitor hate

444
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:10,920
Speaker 6: groups and hate crimes, that was one of the cases

445
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:11,720
Speaker 6: that I worked on.

446
00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,120
Speaker 1: Yep, it was down Hull Creek Road. Yes, my whole

447
00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:16,879
Speaker 1: family is buried down that road cemetery. So we have

448
00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,840
Speaker 1: a lot of ties to that, But I know he

449
00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:22,480
Speaker 1: went through all this and I still can see this man.

450
00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:25,879
Speaker 1: And he had his flaws everybody does, but I still

451
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,560
Speaker 1: see a strong man providing for his family and his kids.

452
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:32,760
Speaker 1: And I'm like, oh, that that's gonna be me. I'm

453
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:34,359
Speaker 1: going to do the same thing, and I can. I

454
00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:34,919
Speaker 1: can be that.

455
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:41,359
Speaker 8: So Sharil, what image or memory kept coming back to

456
00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,560
Speaker 8: you as you were not going to lose hope? But

457
00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:50,040
Speaker 8: yet some days we all sort of feel like hopeless?

458
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:51,840
Speaker 8: What is it that kept you going?

459
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:56,679
Speaker 3: I would say, just who BG is, and like we

460
00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:01,360
Speaker 3: have a really good think on here. You know, my

461
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,600
Speaker 3: life immediately got harder without her, and so you know,

462
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,320
Speaker 3: you chose right at that point, you know, because the

463
00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:09,680
Speaker 3: things that BG does, like on a day to day

464
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,800
Speaker 3: were instantly missed, you know. And so for me, it's like, Okay,

465
00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,080
Speaker 3: I definitely need her back because this ship doesn't really

466
00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:19,040
Speaker 3: ship the way it needs to, Like we are a

467
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,320
Speaker 3: cold like we we co do this, you know, And

468
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,760
Speaker 3: so adding on all the things BG do on top

469
00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:28,280
Speaker 3: of the things I do was insane to me. You know.

470
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:30,719
Speaker 3: I was like absolutely not insign up for this, Like

471
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,080
Speaker 3: I want to co ship again, Like I want to

472
00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:35,439
Speaker 3: co captain this thing. I do not want to be

473
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,960
Speaker 3: the only captain of this ship because this is the

474
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,840
Speaker 3: type of person where I'm like, hey, I have an

475
00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:45,720
Speaker 3: exam Friday, and I kid you not maybe Thursday, Wednesday,

476
00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,679
Speaker 3: I have roses and and food sent. She's like, I

477
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:52,359
Speaker 3: know you're studying, like you know.

478
00:24:52,560 --> 00:25:00,080
Speaker 1: So she's like yeah, yeah, well.

479
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:04,000
Speaker 6: Wait wait, I'm sorry, let's go back. Yeah you sent

480
00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:05,880
Speaker 6: you had flowers sent from.

481
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,160
Speaker 1: Yourself as a whole like a tinerary thing.

482
00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:13,119
Speaker 3: Yeah, for our anniversary. So yeah, like she wrote, yeah,

483
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,879
Speaker 3: she wrote somebody on the team or whoever, I know

484
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:18,560
Speaker 3: who she talked to on the saw. But it was

485
00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 3: a shock for me because I was not expecting that.

486
00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,320
Speaker 3: But I was accustomed to things like that. But I

487
00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:25,240
Speaker 3: was like, okay, sure these these are going to stop,

488
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,960
Speaker 3: and she's told him. I was okay with that, but yeah,

489
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,679
Speaker 3: she totally surprised me. It was like a thick, really

490
00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:35,879
Speaker 3: nice just like nine by ten like paper, and it

491
00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,600
Speaker 3: just had picture of us on it and just the

492
00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,480
Speaker 3: whole day's worth for me to do on our anniversary.

493
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,840
Speaker 6: I'm sorry, like okay, like there is no excuses, I thought.

494
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:55,280
Speaker 1: Prison, Yes, I set the bar kind of high. Sorry guys, sorry.

495
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:56,560
Speaker 5: Coming up.

496
00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:58,520
Speaker 2: What do you say to the love of your life

497
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,040
Speaker 2: after almost three hundred days he in a Russian prison?

498
00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:02,680
Speaker 2: Brittany takes us there.

499
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:07,520
Speaker 6: Now back to my legacy.

500
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:09,240
Speaker 4: So can I post a question to each of you

501
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,920
Speaker 4: the moments in two different countries. I assume you weren't

502
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,920
Speaker 4: talking at this moment live when each of you heard

503
00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:20,640
Speaker 4: that you were going to be freed. Can you take

504
00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:23,400
Speaker 4: us to that moment when each of you heard that news?

505
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,560
Speaker 4: What was running through mine? After ten months of fearless

506
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,639
Speaker 4: fighting and advocacy. And to all of our listeners and

507
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,040
Speaker 4: audience members, we see you know you're laughing, you're joking.

508
00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:34,960
Speaker 4: But I remember watching the story as we all did,

509
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:39,919
Speaker 4: and the narrative could have played out just as easily. Know.

510
00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:42,840
Speaker 4: The war hasn't ended in This could have gone on

511
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,360
Speaker 4: for years to the present day. This was far from

512
00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:50,359
Speaker 4: a foregone conclusion. Yes, and so just for each of you,

513
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:51,520
Speaker 4: what was that moment.

514
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:54,560
Speaker 1: I was working I was at IK two, I was

515
00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:57,399
Speaker 1: at the actual penal colony at this point, I was

516
00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:02,600
Speaker 1: working in fabric with the second offenders and the lady

517
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,000
Speaker 1: that was basically like kind of over me helping me.

518
00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:08,040
Speaker 1: She was also locked up as well. She worked in

519
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,240
Speaker 1: the kitchen, but she came to me and was like,

520
00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:12,080
Speaker 1: get your stuff, Harry up. I was like, what do

521
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:13,840
Speaker 1: you mean? She was like, no, we have to go

522
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:18,760
Speaker 1: like check you out, like you're you're there's some people

523
00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,480
Speaker 1: here you have to talk to, and I think you're

524
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:26,440
Speaker 1: you're going home. I got extremely happy, but then I

525
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:30,679
Speaker 1: immediately went back to the cold, just stone face and

526
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:32,679
Speaker 1: I was like, I'm not gonna believe it until my

527
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,080
Speaker 1: feet are on us oil. I was like, anything can

528
00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:40,560
Speaker 1: fall through, not make it there signature, a period wasn't somewhere,

529
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:45,320
Speaker 1: and you know it's all messed up. So uh, I

530
00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:49,120
Speaker 1: did check out, got gave away all my stuff to

531
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:53,199
Speaker 1: the to the girls because when I say, they had nothing, nothing,

532
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,080
Speaker 1: so I gave them everything I had and I got

533
00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:01,280
Speaker 1: transported maybe the next day after that to the men's

534
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:05,359
Speaker 1: prison down in Moscow. Stayed there a couple of days.

535
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:07,879
Speaker 1: Thought I was getting checked back in. This is where

536
00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:10,360
Speaker 1: I was in front of like eight or nine men.

537
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:15,080
Speaker 1: They had me stripped down all the way, camera had

538
00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:18,560
Speaker 1: me spinning, and I was just like, I'm not gonna

539
00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,000
Speaker 1: give you a reaction because I know that that's what

540
00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:24,720
Speaker 1: you're looking for, so one more attempt to humiliate me,

541
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:33,000
Speaker 1: I guess. But the next day, about five mask guards

542
00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,000
Speaker 1: they come get me, put me in a van. They

543
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,080
Speaker 1: take me around Moscow one last loop. They asked me,

544
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,920
Speaker 1: you know who lives there. I'm like, no, they're talking

545
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:46,240
Speaker 1: about Putin. They were like our great leader. I was

546
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,520
Speaker 1: just like, oh, okay, I said okay, and then they

547
00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,120
Speaker 1: took me to the airport. I got on that plane

548
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,280
Speaker 1: and immediately I could just feel it in my stomach,

549
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 1: just the butterflies of like the anxiousness, but still until

550
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:01,959
Speaker 1: I get on that US soil. And it wasn't until

551
00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:05,719
Speaker 1: I saw her in that US flag that I felt like, Okay,

552
00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:08,880
Speaker 1: it's happening, Like I can I can be relieved now.

553
00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,600
Speaker 1: And yeah, I couldn't wait for that warm embrace.

554
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:15,920
Speaker 4: Yeah.

555
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:18,760
Speaker 3: And for me, I didn't know because they do really

556
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:27,760
Speaker 3: phone calls from a sitting US president or extremely extremely discreet,

557
00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,920
Speaker 3: and so this was not my first time President bideny

558
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:35,040
Speaker 3: had called me, and so I mean, in my mind,

559
00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:38,640
Speaker 3: I'm like, I don't think that it's because BG's coming home.

560
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,880
Speaker 3: So I knew it was going to be some news.

561
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:45,680
Speaker 3: And normally if he's calling me and wants to see me.

562
00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:49,240
Speaker 3: It's something he can't say over the phone. He wants

563
00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:53,160
Speaker 3: to say in the over office. And I was excited

564
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,760
Speaker 3: because I'm like, you're not gonna waste my time, Like

565
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,560
Speaker 3: we have a good relationship, you know, like he knows

566
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:00,479
Speaker 3: I'm grieving. He's not just at see me to come

567
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,640
Speaker 3: there for no reason. So I'm like, Okay, it must

568
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:04,920
Speaker 3: be something good. So I was expecting to go there

569
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,880
Speaker 3: to hear good news, but I'm thinking it's good news

570
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,480
Speaker 3: as of like, hey, like the channel to give BG back.

571
00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:15,040
Speaker 3: I think it's working. I think we're getting close, you know,

572
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:18,920
Speaker 3: because we had had one of those conversations before and

573
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:20,760
Speaker 3: it had to be in person. So in my brain,

574
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:22,960
Speaker 3: that's what I'm going there for. So I pack a

575
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,280
Speaker 3: bag for me to go to DC so that I can,

576
00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 3: you know, meet President Biden the next morning and just

577
00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,120
Speaker 3: you know, hear whatever it is he has to tell me.

578
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,080
Speaker 3: And I get a phone call from BG's agent and

579
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:38,720
Speaker 3: she's like schreyl. She was like, did you pack a

580
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:41,840
Speaker 3: bag for BG as well? And I was like, why

581
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,320
Speaker 3: would I do that? No, because that's torture for me.

582
00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:47,000
Speaker 3: You want me to go in there and touch her

583
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,600
Speaker 3: clothes and pack a bag that you know she may

584
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,160
Speaker 3: not need. Like that's insane. No, I'm not doing that.

585
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:54,720
Speaker 3: Did he tell you I should? And she's like no,

586
00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:58,320
Speaker 3: but I mean, like I'm feeling really good, and I'm like, okay, well,

587
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:00,720
Speaker 3: I'm not that optimistic to go in there and pack

588
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,680
Speaker 3: this bag because it's gonna crush me, like literally crush

589
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:05,680
Speaker 3: me if I can't give it to her, you know.

590
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:06,120
Speaker 1: And so.

591
00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,160
Speaker 3: She's like, I would still like you to just pack one.

592
00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:11,600
Speaker 8: Just in case.

593
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,760
Speaker 3: Okay, Lindsey, I'll pack the bag. And the next day

594
00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:19,360
Speaker 3: I gets to the White House and I go in

595
00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:23,760
Speaker 3: the over office, and you know, I think I knew

596
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:25,840
Speaker 3: the minute I saw his face what he was about

597
00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,960
Speaker 3: to say, because he's such a nice person. But he

598
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,160
Speaker 3: doesn't get up that early, like our meeting was a

599
00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,600
Speaker 3: treatment early, and so everybody kept saying like, hey, he

600
00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:37,080
Speaker 3: must love you, and I'm like, what are y'all talking about?

601
00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,040
Speaker 3: Like everyone in the Oval office networks there. It's just

602
00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,200
Speaker 3: like president body is not up at seven am for anybody.

603
00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:45,960
Speaker 3: And I'm like, okay, well I feel great about this.

604
00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:48,840
Speaker 3: And yeah, so he came in, he looked at me,

605
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,600
Speaker 3: and he grabbed my hands like this, and he busted

606
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:53,280
Speaker 3: a smile that big, and I knew what he was

607
00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:55,920
Speaker 3: about to say, and he said, we got her. And

608
00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:59,160
Speaker 3: I just started crying and he was like, we got her.

609
00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:02,160
Speaker 3: And he went and grabbed the phone and he was

610
00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:06,320
Speaker 3: just like, my people will be calling this phone soon,

611
00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:10,920
Speaker 3: and he was just like, we got her. And I

612
00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,240
Speaker 3: mean my entire just everything changed at that point, And.

613
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:15,840
Speaker 5: What was going through your heart at that point.

614
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:19,120
Speaker 3: I couldn't believe it. I was utterly in shock, like

615
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:22,920
Speaker 3: utterly in shock. I could not believe that he was

616
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:26,920
Speaker 3: able to to do it, especially at that speed. I

617
00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,479
Speaker 3: don't think a lot of people understand the trajectory of

618
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,200
Speaker 3: what he did in the time that he did that

619
00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:36,080
Speaker 3: in it was unheard of, like no one has ever

620
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:37,280
Speaker 3: come home in ten months.

621
00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:38,680
Speaker 5: And then take us to the moment when you guys

622
00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:41,320
Speaker 5: saw each other for that first time getting off the plane.

623
00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:44,040
Speaker 4: I'm allowed to ask, what did you guys say to

624
00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:44,560
Speaker 4: each other?

625
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,560
Speaker 1: I mean, I broke down Crown on the plane. I

626
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,360
Speaker 1: switched seats so I could see her pulling in. I'm bawling,

627
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,080
Speaker 1: but in my mind, and I use I use humor

628
00:32:56,760 --> 00:33:01,360
Speaker 1: a lot as a mechanism, like for everything bad situations,

629
00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:03,560
Speaker 1: good situations, all that. In my mind, I was like,

630
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,680
Speaker 1: do not fall down these stairs. You went through all this,

631
00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,680
Speaker 1: don't ruin it by falling down the stairs in front

632
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,880
Speaker 1: of everybody. So I was nervous for that. But I

633
00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:17,200
Speaker 1: got down them stairs. I ran over to her big hug,

634
00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:21,400
Speaker 1: whispered in her ear, I'm so sorry. I know you're

635
00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:25,680
Speaker 1: gonna kill me, but I have to. You know, hand

636
00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:27,680
Speaker 1: just let's just say, hand, little squeeze.

637
00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:31,080
Speaker 3: Just mind you is so many people in that room.

638
00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:32,640
Speaker 3: I'm like, if you don't get your little hands off

639
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:40,720
Speaker 3: me so embarrassed, I'm like, no.

640
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:46,200
Speaker 6: This also though this, yes, this has never happened this fast,

641
00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:50,680
Speaker 6: and the trajectory was unusual. But let's also give credit

642
00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:53,080
Speaker 6: where credit is due. And one of the things that

643
00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:55,720
Speaker 6: I was just thinking about, there's this famous story that

644
00:33:55,960 --> 00:34:00,480
Speaker 6: when your father went to see President Johnson, when he

645
00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:02,240
Speaker 6: was saying, look, you know, doctor King, I really want

646
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:04,959
Speaker 6: to support this bill, but you know, I really just

647
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,560
Speaker 6: don't have the power. You know that we don't have

648
00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:09,799
Speaker 6: the power to get this done. And so when they

649
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:13,200
Speaker 6: were walking out of the Oval office, your father said

650
00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:16,360
Speaker 6: to his lieutenants, well, let's go get the president some power.

651
00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:20,920
Speaker 6: So what you did, and and you know, we certainly

652
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:24,640
Speaker 6: should give the president, you know, all of his credits

653
00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:27,960
Speaker 6: for doing what he did, but also let's be clear

654
00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:33,279
Speaker 6: that it took a determined, strong woman to give the

655
00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:36,840
Speaker 6: president the power to get this done.

656
00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:41,000
Speaker 1: I like that you.

657
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,359
Speaker 5: So pretty. So you get back and just tell us

658
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:47,160
Speaker 5: about what that transition was like. And you've spoken openly

659
00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:53,359
Speaker 5: about anxiety and trauma following your return, and how did

660
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:55,440
Speaker 5: you get back to a point where you were mentally

661
00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:59,120
Speaker 5: be able to refocus on all that you needed to

662
00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,239
Speaker 5: focus on back in the end, States.

663
00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:05,279
Speaker 1: A lot of great people, I'll say that, too many

664
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:08,799
Speaker 1: people to name, but so many great people. I got

665
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,040
Speaker 1: to give my wife a lot of the credit because

666
00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:13,560
Speaker 1: she knew when I was good, she knew when I wasn't.

667
00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:16,360
Speaker 1: She knew when I was lying to myself saying I

668
00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:18,719
Speaker 1: was good and I really wasn't. She gave me the

669
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:22,640
Speaker 1: space to not be okay, because there was there was

670
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:26,520
Speaker 1: that initial your home. Oh my god, I'm so happy.

671
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:29,480
Speaker 1: Everything's great, Like we're just going to fall right back

672
00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:33,520
Speaker 1: into everything being normal, and it's like, no, like I've changed,

673
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:38,040
Speaker 1: She's changed, Like things have changed, and not for the bad,

674
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:41,920
Speaker 1: but just things have changed and there's healing now, and

675
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:45,960
Speaker 1: then there's different times where I'll hear something, see something,

676
00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:48,920
Speaker 1: or something will remind me and it'll kind of like

677
00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,279
Speaker 1: throw me back. And then sometimes it won't throw me back,

678
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,279
Speaker 1: but I just want to talk about it. So there

679
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:57,920
Speaker 1: was a it was just an up and down flux,

680
00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:02,160
Speaker 1: but I just knew I needed her beside me. One

681
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:04,239
Speaker 1: little quick story. We were in the hospital when I

682
00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,000
Speaker 1: came back. There was a program that I went into

683
00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:09,880
Speaker 1: to get reimmersed back in went to the army base,

684
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:14,000
Speaker 1: an amazing program and amazing people at that military base

685
00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:18,799
Speaker 1: down in San Antonio that I met, but they kind

686
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,799
Speaker 1: of wanted us separate just because of you know, you

687
00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:25,640
Speaker 1: never know how somebody's going to reaccliment being back, night terrors,

688
00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:28,880
Speaker 1: anything can go, anything happened. But I was like, no,

689
00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,680
Speaker 1: I need her with me in this room. I want

690
00:36:31,719 --> 00:36:35,560
Speaker 1: to just start talking and telling her everything. And I

691
00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:38,319
Speaker 1: was away from her this whole time, isolated. I don't

692
00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:42,000
Speaker 1: want to be isolated anymore, like absolutely not. So after

693
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,000
Speaker 1: a couple of phone calls and a couple more phone calls,

694
00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:48,719
Speaker 1: they were like okay, you know, and she came and

695
00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:50,399
Speaker 1: because I was watching the news. They were like, wait,

696
00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:51,879
Speaker 1: you're doing what. I was like, I'm watching the news.

697
00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:54,040
Speaker 1: I want to know everything that was said, what was done.

698
00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:57,200
Speaker 1: They were like, hey, like, don't do that. I was like, well,

699
00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:58,880
Speaker 1: I need her, then I'm gonna watch this.

700
00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:00,799
Speaker 4: Yeah.

701
00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:03,839
Speaker 3: I was really shocked when they called because they told

702
00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:05,920
Speaker 3: us like we got to see each other maybe for

703
00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:09,400
Speaker 3: like an hour at the bunker. They had like a

704
00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:12,040
Speaker 3: little room with snacks and things, and we talked and

705
00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:13,960
Speaker 3: then they were like, okay, Schroll, you're gonna go back

706
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:16,480
Speaker 3: to the house on the base. Beg'll meet you at

707
00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:18,279
Speaker 3: the house like in like two days or something. They

708
00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:20,279
Speaker 3: said like we were supposed to go like almost forty

709
00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:22,440
Speaker 3: eight hours not seeing each other as she went through

710
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:27,360
Speaker 3: testing and conversations and different things like that, and I

711
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:31,160
Speaker 3: get a phone call. We separated maybe for I don't know,

712
00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:33,240
Speaker 3: like when they told you were going to the hospital

713
00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:35,759
Speaker 3: and I went back to the house. We weren't a

714
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:37,960
Speaker 3: part that long before I got a phone call and

715
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:39,320
Speaker 3: they're like, we're coming to get you and bring you

716
00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:41,239
Speaker 3: to the hospital. I'm like, but I thought you, guys, said,

717
00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:45,880
Speaker 3: and they're like no, BGI said, And I was like okay.

718
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:51,000
Speaker 1: I was gonna check myself out, but yeah, I just

719
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:53,400
Speaker 1: needed her. And it was like and I do understand,

720
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:55,680
Speaker 1: but I did understand what they were saying because as

721
00:37:55,719 --> 00:37:57,319
Speaker 1: much as I wanted to see the rest of my

722
00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:01,279
Speaker 1: immediate family, it was just kind of because like I

723
00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:04,400
Speaker 1: could see the ten months of grief, I can see

724
00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:08,120
Speaker 1: the aging, I can see the you know. It was

725
00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:10,399
Speaker 1: just it was good to see them, but I needed

726
00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:13,120
Speaker 1: to see them in doses, you know, because it was

727
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:15,560
Speaker 1: just like it was a lot for me because every

728
00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:18,320
Speaker 1: time they cry cry, I felt like I felt like

729
00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:20,360
Speaker 1: I let my dad down, felt like, you know, it

730
00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:23,960
Speaker 1: was just all these little things, these little things that

731
00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:26,480
Speaker 1: you just hold on to, and I was like, yeah, no,

732
00:38:26,719 --> 00:38:28,160
Speaker 1: I just need my wife right now.

733
00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:33,600
Speaker 5: So if you're looking for stories that move you, insights

734
00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:36,560
Speaker 5: that shift you, in conversations that stay deeply within you,

735
00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:38,880
Speaker 5: do us a favor and do yourself a favor it

736
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:40,520
Speaker 5: hit the subscribe.

737
00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:40,839
Speaker 1: Button right now.

738
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:43,760
Speaker 5: It's the best way to support this podcast and support

739
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:44,400
Speaker 5: your journey.

740
00:38:44,719 --> 00:38:46,520
Speaker 1: New episodes drop every week.

741
00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:50,439
Speaker 6: Now.

742
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:54,239
Speaker 9: Back to my legacy, prit me it five months since

743
00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:57,839
Speaker 9: you got back and that you first walked on the

744
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:03,680
Speaker 9: court again with your Phoenix Mercury team, What was that moment?

745
00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:08,000
Speaker 1: Like that was challenging. That was tough. I've never been

746
00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:12,239
Speaker 1: challenged like that in my professional career ever. It's never

747
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,719
Speaker 1: been that hard either. My body went through a toll,

748
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,120
Speaker 1: so you know, I'm trying to get back muscle mass.

749
00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:21,080
Speaker 1: I'm trying to put weight, good weight back on, take

750
00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:25,799
Speaker 1: off the bad weight. I mean that first. I think

751
00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:28,799
Speaker 1: the first time I worked out, I definitely cried, like

752
00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,400
Speaker 1: I broke down. I think I was asking you. I

753
00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:33,560
Speaker 1: was like do you I was like do I Should

754
00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:36,080
Speaker 1: I just stop? Like should I just not do this?

755
00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:41,360
Speaker 1: So it was tough, but I will give credit to

756
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:44,319
Speaker 1: my team at the time, the Phoenix Mercury. You know,

757
00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:48,560
Speaker 1: they were very understanding with just giving me the time,

758
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:51,800
Speaker 1: giving me the space, making sure I had an outlet,

759
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:55,319
Speaker 1: and I didn't feel like I was rushed back into

760
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,160
Speaker 1: it at all. It was definitely definitely my my doing

761
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:00,960
Speaker 1: just you know, throw back in the fire and let's

762
00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:03,839
Speaker 1: let's get it going. But it was tough getting back

763
00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:06,239
Speaker 1: into it, but I loved every moment of it. That

764
00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:10,319
Speaker 1: first game, bands Yelling had a little video. It was

765
00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:13,359
Speaker 1: definitely emotional. I was in the back like woo, pull

766
00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:15,680
Speaker 1: it together. You gotta go out here and be a beast, like,

767
00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:19,360
Speaker 1: come on, we can't be crying. But it was just

768
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:24,960
Speaker 1: it felt good, like having that warm welcome back from everybody,

769
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:28,320
Speaker 1: because I mean, honestly, I didn't know, like not everybody

770
00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:30,239
Speaker 1: was happy I came back, you know, I'll say that.

771
00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:32,919
Speaker 1: So I didn't know going into some of these arenas

772
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,920
Speaker 1: like am I gonna get booed? You know, like you

773
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:40,640
Speaker 1: know so, but it was it was all positive from

774
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:44,239
Speaker 1: you know, the fans and every arena and every organization

775
00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:46,480
Speaker 1: that you know, we visited. The play.

776
00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:51,960
Speaker 5: And the WNBA has taken off. You know, we're seeing

777
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:56,799
Speaker 5: incredible engagements, leadership, talent, dunks, everything. But you know, one

778
00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:58,719
Speaker 5: of the things to note again is why you were

779
00:40:58,760 --> 00:41:00,759
Speaker 5: in Russia in the first place is because the pay

780
00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:05,520
Speaker 5: disparity between what was going on for the male NBA

781
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:07,920
Speaker 5: players and then the w n b A. Can you

782
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:11,160
Speaker 5: speak to that pay disparity issue in your mind and

783
00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:13,400
Speaker 5: what needs to be done to help address it?

784
00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:17,080
Speaker 1: Uh? Well, one, I'm just I'm so glad to be

785
00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:21,640
Speaker 1: a part of the league that with the players that

786
00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:23,960
Speaker 1: step up and we use our voices and we use

787
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:28,040
Speaker 1: our platforms to advocate for ourselves. And for others and

788
00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:31,520
Speaker 1: then yeah, no, I mean I was going I went

789
00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:33,560
Speaker 1: to China first. My first year was actually in China.

790
00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:35,239
Speaker 1: My first year was in China, and then after that

791
00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:37,080
Speaker 1: I was first two years in China, and then I

792
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:39,000
Speaker 1: was in Russia the rest of the time. And like

793
00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:41,200
Speaker 1: I said, it was for the pay, the pay gap

794
00:41:41,239 --> 00:41:45,320
Speaker 1: in between the male and the female. You know, athletes

795
00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:48,319
Speaker 1: a lot of times they like to throw numbers at you.

796
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:52,040
Speaker 1: They like to throw you know, ratings and viewership and

797
00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:56,040
Speaker 1: we're not bringing in enough ticket sale. And we have

798
00:41:56,160 --> 00:41:58,880
Speaker 1: put in the work, the product has put in the work,

799
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:01,560
Speaker 1: and we have changed that. You see it across the

800
00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:07,560
Speaker 1: board in college and in our sport All Star, the tournament.

801
00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:10,960
Speaker 1: We have the viewership, we have the numbers now and

802
00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:16,560
Speaker 1: the demand is there and we're just you know telling them, hey,

803
00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:18,880
Speaker 1: you know, like we are the product. There is no

804
00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:22,440
Speaker 1: there is no league without us, and you have to

805
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:27,000
Speaker 1: respect us and pay us the right way for us

806
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,600
Speaker 1: to continue doing what we're doing, so we don't have

807
00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:33,160
Speaker 1: to go into these other countries, be away from our

808
00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:38,160
Speaker 1: families for six months at a time, putting off starting families.

809
00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:40,680
Speaker 1: I mean, it's a lot that goes into it. So

810
00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:43,120
Speaker 1: I think we're in a good spot thought right now,

811
00:42:43,239 --> 00:42:46,759
Speaker 1: and I just hope we just keep making this progress.

812
00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:50,600
Speaker 3: It's not the argument that I always see, which is

813
00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:53,560
Speaker 3: there say we want to make the exact same dollar

814
00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:56,880
Speaker 3: that our NBA counterparts of making. That is not it.

815
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:00,600
Speaker 3: I think the biggest takeaway that they're asked sking for

816
00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:03,200
Speaker 3: is that they want what BG said, They want to

817
00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:06,279
Speaker 3: be paid the right way, meaning they want the right percentage.

818
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:10,120
Speaker 3: So the reason why the n b A are making

819
00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:13,120
Speaker 3: X amount of dollars just because they're getting X amount

820
00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:16,280
Speaker 3: of percentage from all the money that is being made.

821
00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:19,640
Speaker 3: So the w b A players are saying, Hey, we

822
00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:24,160
Speaker 3: just want X percentage of everything that's made, and if

823
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:28,560
Speaker 3: everything that we bring in, if you give us this

824
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:31,600
Speaker 3: percentage and the mac salary is one hundred thousand dollars,

825
00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:37,520
Speaker 3: will shut up. And that's what they're saying. God saying,

826
00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:41,000
Speaker 3: like what y'all saying is he we just want the

827
00:43:41,040 --> 00:43:43,880
Speaker 3: percentage and we don't we won't say anything about the

828
00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:46,520
Speaker 3: dollar value at that point, and that what they're arguing

829
00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:48,879
Speaker 3: is right, and it's just and it needs to be

830
00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:52,279
Speaker 3: very clear because I see so much people they don't

831
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:54,480
Speaker 3: deserve that that type of money. That's not what they're saying.

832
00:43:54,760 --> 00:44:01,279
Speaker 5: They need a high power lawyer working with them to

833
00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:02,680
Speaker 5: create another movie.

834
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:06,919
Speaker 6: Yeah, exactly, now we see where this is going. That's

835
00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:09,919
Speaker 6: exactly because you just made it playing. You just made

836
00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:13,000
Speaker 6: it playing. So I think everyone understands.

837
00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:15,120
Speaker 4: And I think we've all loved watching the two of you.

838
00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:19,040
Speaker 4: The fact that this entire interview for the audience who

839
00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:21,200
Speaker 4: doesn't see this, you have not let go of each

840
00:44:21,239 --> 00:44:23,360
Speaker 4: other's hands. Nobody we want to shut that out. You

841
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:25,880
Speaker 4: have literally not let go of each other's hands this

842
00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:29,400
Speaker 4: entire time. And just the vulnerability, the openness, the journey

843
00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:33,200
Speaker 4: from childhood to love. I love the quote It's okay

844
00:44:33,280 --> 00:44:36,800
Speaker 4: to go down, but you cannot stay there. And Brittany,

845
00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:38,840
Speaker 4: I love the quote everyone deserves to look in the

846
00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:43,759
Speaker 4: mirror and be happy, and that the greatest wins are

847
00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:47,960
Speaker 4: how hard you fight for someone you just love. So

848
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:51,520
Speaker 4: thank you both for giving us this great privilege and

849
00:44:51,560 --> 00:44:54,280
Speaker 4: honor for your first interview together in this way.

850
00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:57,200
Speaker 6: Thank you both, And I think that is that's your theme,

851
00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:02,000
Speaker 6: never letting each other's hands go so literally, how you

852
00:45:02,040 --> 00:45:07,080
Speaker 6: all physically held hands. You all have held hands throughout

853
00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:10,600
Speaker 6: the decades and like that is your your thing, holding

854
00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:12,600
Speaker 6: each other's hand.

855
00:45:11,719 --> 00:45:17,240
Speaker 1: I'm taking it like you heard it right here.

856
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:24,040
Speaker 2: Thank you for joining us. If you enjoy today's conversation, subscribe, share,

857
00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:27,240
Speaker 2: and follow us on at my Legacy Movement on social

858
00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:32,600
Speaker 2: media and YouTube. New episodes drop every Tuesday. At its core,

859
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:37,000
Speaker 2: this podcast honors doctor King's vision of the beloved community

860
00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:40,840
Speaker 2: and the power of connection. A Legacy Plus studio production

861
00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:45,799
Speaker 2: distributed by iHeartMedia creator and executive producer Susanne Hayward Come

862
00:45:45,840 --> 00:45:49,600
Speaker 2: executive producer Lisa Lyle. Listen on the iHeartRadio app or

863
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:51,080
Speaker 2: wherever you get your podcasts.