March 7, 2023 • 33 mins
Michelle and Sydney are changing the game! Sydney shares her journey as a basketball coach and the importance of maintaining her individuality as a woman. She also discusses the mental impact of having to retire unexpectedly. CHECK IN to this episode for the inspiration to own what makes you, YOU!
Follow Sydney on Instagram: @CoachSydCarter
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Instagram: @MichelleWilliams
Twitter: @RealMichelleW
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams, a production of
iHeartRadio and The Black Effect. Hey, everybody, welcome to another
(00:21):
amazing episode of Checking In. It's gonna be fired. Yep,
it's fired before I've even asked the first question because
simply of who we have the pleasure of having, y'all.
She's an amazing, amazing woman. I have yet to meet her,
but I can just feel she's amazing, not just through
her work on the court, but the strength that she has.
(00:44):
And we're going to get into that, but she is
a retired professional basketball player from the w NBA and
she is now the director of player Development at the
University of Texas in Austin, which, by the way, I've
gone to some of those tech relays and it's always
been fun, y'all. Welcome to Checking In, Sitney Carter, Hi,
(01:08):
thank you for having me. You are so welcome. Now
I must say that, unfortunately didn't I get a chance
to meet you while you were with the Chicago Sky.
I don't say it a lot minority owner in that
franchise because it was one place in the area. Yeah,
so I didn't get a chance to meet you because
(01:31):
I started with them and like, now I'm telling my
age two thousand and five. Okay, so I was there,
but year it was that was my first year out.
So I was there in twenty twelve. But I started
there and I did my career, my career there wasn't
you started there? Yep? Yeah, so that was that was
my start, yes, y'all. So she definitely definitely started there.
(01:55):
She was selected by the Chicago Sky, played for the
Connecticut Son, the Indiana Fever, and also the Atlanta Dream. Yes.
I got to say this though, teams would play that
Connecticut Son and I'd be like, whomade Connecticut Son? Don't
(02:17):
be no job? Yeah, I got to play with some
amazing people. I mean you're talking about like Tina Charles
renee Montgomery, who is also part owner now of the
Atlanta Dream, Kara Lawson, who's the coach at Dude. Now,
So I got to play with some amazing people in Connecticut.
Were really come on, come on, come on. Well, it's
(02:40):
Women's History months, so we are happy to have you
joining us. We love to celebrate ambitious women and learn
from their journey. Can you share with us, like an
unexpected obstacle that you faced when you were first named
this amazing position at University of Texas an unexpected obstacle.
(03:06):
It's kind of hard, just because this is not my
first school, and so I've prided myself on at my
first university, you know, making sure that I knew how
to do everything. So there wasn't like I never wanted
to be one dimensional. I've never been one dimensional. And
so when I was at my last university, I worked
for the guy that I played for in college, in
(03:27):
Gary Blair. And you know, that's one thing he said,
he said, whenever you leave a job, make sure that
they regret losing you. And so here I haven't had
an unexpected obstacle. But I think when I first got
to my first my first place in A and M,
everything was unexpected. Like I had no idea what I
(03:49):
was getting myself into when it came from retiring to
the next thing in life. And that's okay, this is
a job now. And there's so many other things behind
the scenes that you don't know about, Like, yeah, coaching
is so much more than just drawing up a play.
You know, there's so many different things we're about with
like kids' mental health these days, they're housing setting that
(04:10):
up for them or you know, just all the background
stuff that a lot of people don't see. You're kind
of like a parent away from their parents, and so
I think that was the most unexpected thing is it's
not just okay, game day, take a nap, eat, go
play a game. It's a full production to kind of
get ready and make sure you're prepared so that your
team is so good, so good. You were born in Dallas, Texas.
(04:35):
You stayed in Texas, right, you know, because some of us,
you know, when we grew up in Illinois, but I
went to university in Illinois, and so some folks be
wanting to get far away from home. What made you
stay in Texas? Well, I have a really big family.
I am the fifth of seven, and I'm a big
(04:56):
mommy's girl. I know, she's my everything. And so when
I decided to go to A and M I knew
that my mom was gonna be at every game. And
she traveled with my sisters and my brothers even to
games and we played at like Missouri anywhere else she
was traveling. And so I knew that if I stayed
(05:16):
in the conference that we were in, and if I
stayed in Texas, my mom could come and support me,
and so I wanted the support from my family. Amazing
as Texas A and M coaching. Right, how has this
journey been. It's been I opening, I think, is the
(05:36):
first word that comes to mind, just because I started
as a video coordinator, Like, my journey has just gone.
My path has gone up and up and up ever
since I started, and I'm grateful to kind of be
on the fast track, I guess is what people say.
So I've been blessed to work with some really good people.
But I think, you know, the initial shock of this
(05:56):
being this not a nine five job, but it's it's
just been so so good because I know that I'm
walking in my purpose every day. There's never been a
day that I have said, Okay, maybe this is not
what I want to do. My passion is to continue
to be around the game of basketball, to share what
I've learned. And then it just so happens to be
(06:17):
that I, you know, I turned basketball into a place
that I can also look nice and put my clothes
on on the sideline and show women that you don't
have to be one dimensional. You can yeah do your
job well and you can also look fantastic doing it
only reason why I didn't start off with that because
I didn't know if people do that to you like
(06:38):
all the time. She's so much more than that. Although
as a lady, I love what you give on that
chord to you, but I want to get to know
the woman out and y'all, if y'all were to see
her right now, she is fresh faced, hoodie, nails are done,
lashes are poppy, are fresh from yours, are fully fully sculptured,
(07:05):
an amazing hair in a bun. She's looking beautiful right
So I don't want people to get a mixed up
either that she just has to be glam all day
every day. I was preparing for her to be a
little left, y'all through a hat on, you know, let
you know what I mean, a little something something. So
it's good to know, y'all. I knew she had balance,
(07:28):
but she is still beautiful no matter what. Now do
you think because you as far as all around amazing
basketball player and to go pro, you gotta be good, Okay? Now,
do you find that you're tougher on your players because
you know what it takes, especially you know what it
(07:48):
takes to bring on my championship? Absolutely, I don't think
I'm tougher because my standards. My standards are high and
so I know what type of athletes we have. But
I'm also very realistic in knowing that the generations as
we continue to go, they're different and so everybody has
to be led a different type of way. So my
(08:09):
standards will never change, but my approach to certain people
are different. And so that's the only thing is that
I'm gonna I'm gonna continue to have. I know the
bar of success, I know where each one of these
athletes want to get to, and so I'm never going
to lower that standard. I'm just going to raise the
stakes as far as what I'm asking of them. So
(08:31):
do you find yourself I don't know. Do you watch
multiple teams that got the college TV for the I
got the actual college for college television for college basketball,
then I got this over here for the w NBA.
How are you like separating the two? So I watch
a lot of basketball, obviously on TV. But I think
(08:51):
the thing I do the most is I will go
back like I'm watching something and I won't do two screens.
I'm not that much of a fanatic because I need
to focus because I'm I'm very particular with detail, and
so I'll go back and I'll watch a game on
my computer, and for days, I'm sitting on my computer
going back, all right, that game was played, this team
is good at such and such, and so I'm going
(09:14):
back and I'm looking back as i go day by day.
And so I can't. I'm not one of those that
can focus on two three games at the time. I
need to make sure I get every detail. Yes, Now,
are you allowed to bring w NBA stuff to collegiate
as far as like the detail or like plays and
(09:36):
stuff like, Oh yeah, I mean in the game of basketball,
everybody steals everybody's stuff, Like that's that's the thing. Okay,
And so okay, you know you'll you'll use drills that
you that you knew when you were a professional player.
You'll take stuff from people that are doing stuff in
high school. So it's just a matter of like what
your philosophy is and what you're wanting to do it.
(09:57):
And I guess that's the advantage of one played pro.
And then you're going back reaching back to the girls
that are in college and then by the time they
go pro. Shit, they choose to go pro, they gon'll
be like, we ran some of this already, coach Coroner,
you gotta be right, Okay, amazing. Now do you feel
(10:20):
like there's something that women bring to the game that
could be an advantage over a male coach. I think
women bring so many different things, but I will touch
on just the fundamentals of everything. Like we are so
meticulous with the detail. This is not a not to
the men's game at all, but like a lot of
the men's game you'll see is they are so athletic
(10:44):
and quick, and so a lot of it is like,
all right, just gotta get to the rim. I'm playing
one on one. You know. It's kind of like get
Lebron the ball and watch him work because that's what
he does. And the women's game, you know, we have
to bring a Okay, we're running this set when we
come down, so everything is obviously slowed down, but the
detail is what's important and the women's game and so
(11:05):
you'll see a lot of stuff. A lot of men
appreciate that part of the women's game, and so on
top of that, we bring our individuality, like we're you know,
we're gonna bring so many different things to the table
because women always have to do more with less facts.
And when you talk about detail, I saw this thing.
It wasn't to insult us or even men, but it
(11:27):
was this thing where men's their very compartmentalized kind of
like see their brains like an ice tray. But then
somebody said, a woman's brain is like a pot of
like macaron I mean, spaghetti noodles. Because I'm like, I
can talk to you, but I can still text and
(11:50):
still ear hustle and hear what's going on in the
next room, Like we really are the bomb, We really
are amazing. Do you feel like pull back? Because sometimes
black women we could be called aggressive when we're really
just assertive, Like you know what I mean, Like some
of the same plays that somebody else calls maybe you
(12:12):
called it in the same way. But have you ever
been said, no, she was a little mean or she
was a little over the top. Yeah, you know, you
get that all the time. It's like people ask me
check your tone or things like that, But it's like
I'm not saying it any kind of way. I'm just
passionate about what I'm saying. And so maybe we gotta
(12:33):
figure out a way that you can accept it. How
I'm really saying it instead of me always changing what
I'm saying because I'm not saying it any kind of way.
And so women just we get that, we get that
we're the angry woman or the angry black woman, and
we're not just like you said, We're just assertive and
we're confident in what we're saying. It's like you got
to walk around with the mission statement on your chest
(12:55):
so that you can understand even though her tone might
be considered tough, but what's the mission? Yeah? Right, what's
the posture of my heart as I'm coaching you? Because
I don't always want it sweet sometimes just tell me
the truth. Did your brush thing today? Your brush things today?
But I think you're an awesome speaker, Michelle, I think
(13:15):
you're great. Okay, Now, they have only been about sixteen
women coaches in the NBA. Any interested ever making that
lane change. I thought about it. It would be a
fantastic step in my career. It's just it's another barrier
to kind of kick down as a woman, because it
(13:38):
is a good time for women to be presented the
opportunity to cross over into the NBA and learn. So,
I mean, it would it would be great. I know,
you know Neil Ivy, she's at Notre Dame right now.
She was in the NBA Memphis Green and now she's
come back to be the head coach at No. Dame. Fantastic.
She's doing a great job of Her team is in
the top ten I believe in the country. And so
(14:01):
you know, she's a great example of you know, going
into the NBA and then coming back and then bringing
that knowledge that she learned the men's game to the
women's right. I love it. As you're talking, I'm also
having a flashback. I was in like the fourth grade
and I remember shooting a basket in the gym and
I was like, did I just make this basket? And
(14:25):
I think I wanted to go into like you know,
the kids wrecked team, but never stayed with it. So
I was always in church and so I just never
but I just as that little girl was this always
a dream of yours? Absolutely? I. So when I was
in elementary school, I was fortunate enough to see the
Houston comments. They had Cynthia Cooper Shell swoops team and
(14:49):
Thompson like that was their team. And I got to
grow up and see that, and so for my Black
History months school, program. When I was in elementary school,
I did an outfit change. Okay, I had on the
Cheryl Swoop's jersey and then I changed into the Cynthia
Cooper jersey for my program, and say, y'all, she's alwaysn't
been a game changer. In fact, the wardrobe changes forever,
(15:12):
so you cut her some slack. So that was always
my dream, is that I was able to see that
so I could be that, and I you know, that
was always my goal was to go to the w NBA,
and I was blessed enough to be able to be
presented that opportunity. Come on, come on. So it's awesome
because first of all, it's never too late for you
(15:35):
to see yourself somewhere and go forward. Although some people
might be like Michelle, don't be selling people no false street,
but I'll say, it's never too early. You're never too
young to also see yourself where you want to be.
And not only when you see yourself, be doing the
things to get there. She just didn't see herself, but
(15:55):
she got to. She was adorning herself in the jerseys.
And that's a reason why Cindy I took the opportunity
to invest with the Chicago Sky because I saw what
how little girls would feel being able to touch other
female players, you know, and say I can be that too,
(16:19):
especially in the city of Chicago. Was so much going
on that they've got some positive that they had something
positive to look So wait, wait, wait, wait, way back
at five, I said, I've got to make this investment
for that reason. Like you said, you saw yourself in
the w NBA, you know, and you write Houston comments
that the group of women that you just named, oh
(16:42):
my gosh, you couldn't mess with them. You couldn't, you
could not, you could not. So you mentioned you were
doing these wardrobe changes. So yes, we've seen headlines which
I don't care about, you know, because I'm like, yo,
she's into fashion, let her be right. And then you
appeared on in my Explorer page and I hit that
(17:03):
follow and I just started scrolling. I was like, first
of all, does she style herself? What is going on?
And I don't think you make your page about fashion,
but I love seeing you in various angles, various moments
looking absolutely fly. Y'all. You don't have to just wear
a solid color, boring suit that ain't been tailored to
(17:29):
work at those ear ring zone, put that makeup on,
put those nails on. Miss Tina always tells us, always
have on a red lip if you ain't go right
now having you know, so I get that from her.
You've worn sequence, the bubble gum, pink Latex. You get
(17:49):
you a line of Latex leggings or something and really
make everybody mad. Well, I will tell you I tried
to put those on again just for giggles and I
couldn't fiddle and could, but maybe I'm gonna can't give
me another pair in black, and I'm bigger side, come on,
come on. And of course the heels, because the heels
(18:10):
on those hardwood floors, but you do it every time.
Or you know, you said you all might wearing sneakers
as well, but the heels on the court. The statement
that you're making about the power that fashion gives you
on the court, tell us about that. And I loved
your statement. You was like, um, and I mean it
(18:32):
on period. I'm not compromising. Save what you want to say.
I'm wearing what I want to wear. God blessed. Yeah
that was pretty much it. Um. But yeah, so I
do style myself. I've never had a stylist. Um. So
That's that's one thing I'm I pride myself on because
that that's always been me. I've always I've had my
first pair of boots when I was in third grade. Texas,
(18:54):
y'all she gonna dress Yeah, um, But I think the
power of that. I mean, I dressed for success. I
dressed in and so when I step on the court,
it wouldn't matter to me what anybody has to say.
Like there's there's so much criticism and negativity in the
world that I'm not going to give my time to ever,
(19:18):
because I'm not going to allow somebody to box me
in and say what used to be normal back in
the day or when whenever they can remember, those standards
are not going to be placed on me. Ever. I'm
sorry that. I'm not sorry for that, but there's never
gonna be anybody to tell me that I'm not dressing professionally.
(19:38):
That I am exactly who I think I am, and
and that's always going to be the case because I
was raised by a very independent, strong woman and my
mother who always taught me to be confident in the
talents that I was gifted by God with that the
beauty that I was given, the gifts that I was
given in that favor is not fair, and so that's
(20:01):
gonna stick with me forever. Y'all. Hear this, This is
almost what a mic drop's gonna sound like. So you
know that's that's where it comes from. And you're right.
I'm not changing for nobody. I'm not going to stop
posting any of my pictures, my videos or anything because
at the end of the day, that's my lane that
I want to continue to drive in and nobody's gonna
(20:21):
bump me out of that lane, y'all. I hope y'all
take this for every factor in your life, not to
let anybody box you in the favor on your life.
Sometimes it is just not fair. Favor can come by proximity.
Favor can also come by the work that you put in, right, y'all.
(20:43):
Her statement, so let me tell you what that happened
was there were some fashion choices that coach Sidney Carter,
you know, I had been making on the court and
people were complaining, and so she wrote a statement that
said thank you to everyone for your supporting kind words
over the last few days. Representation matters. As a black
woman in coaching, I take pride in showing that people
(21:04):
who look like me don't have to diminish our light
to appeal to others whose opinions never mattered anyway. I
will continue to unapologetically be myself, apply pressure, and show
that black women can express our individuality while doing our
jobs at a high level. I think I need to
(21:25):
frame this just for like words of affirmation during the
day that is absolutely amazing. Thank you. You know, have
you seen other female coaches kind of you know, say
you gave me the courage to pull my heels out
(21:46):
or to wear a tighter skirt. I for sure have.
I've seen so many women that have come out and
have had the confidence to wear what they feel that
they are comfortable in. And it has just been coaches.
It's been there's somebody in the Navy that sent me
her TikTok or that tagged me in it. You know,
There's a little girl named Rose who I want to
(22:07):
highlight here. She's dressed up as me twice. She she
wore some pink pants and a turtleneck last year, and
then this year I've wore some brown cowprint pants and
a turtleneck, and she put that outfit on this year.
And so it's people that are all ages, all colors,
different professions. I mean, so many people have been inspired
(22:30):
by just the fact that I've you know, I've worn
something and they wanted to do the same. Listen, I'm
sitting up here thinking, I was, like, man, she should
have like a limited edition like capsule collection. I don't know,
like how Amazon lets people like curate their own like
collection or something. Now, I don't know if that goes
against regulations and cold and sports, I don't know, but
(22:54):
I'm like, she's loved fashion all her life. I just
want to see you. I'll a coach carter suit. Oh well,
I can't say very vaguely. I got some things coming,
so say what but I got I think people are
gonna be happy with with Say but I got some
(23:14):
things in the works. Okay, you can put it in
the zoom chat or D and me and Nina. Okay,
I got you. You're gonna be fun. Well, I'll say this.
I love suits now. I love how you do separate.
You'll wear a blazer with some jeans or a separate
pant that don't necessarily match. But I love a good suit.
But that's feminine, you know. And the boxing stuff I
(23:38):
don't that's not my thing either. I like form, I
like form fitting. I like my jacket if I'm wearing
a jacket to kind of curve around the waist, and
I like my pants to be fitted. So for the
month of March, the first time people hands for the
month of March, it's power since all March. Yeah, come on, now,
come on, well, I am so excited about that and
(24:01):
how you are inspiring people in all facets of life
do not stop at all. Sometimes disruptors or the people
that could be considered troublemakers. I don't know. I wouldn't
say you're you're considered a troublemaker, but definitely a disruptor
as far as what stuff is supposed to look like.
But disruptors often are trailblazers and they lead you, blaze
(24:25):
the trails and before you know what, you look behind
you and you've inspired a crew of other folks to
do what it is that you do. Just been having
a great time talking with you. I've had several I
guess athletes come on here on checking in who have
(24:47):
shared the importance of mental health practices that they usually
address stuff like anxiety depression after they've retired. But it
seems like you've been able to make a singless transition
from retire into coaching. And the foundation of checking in
my podcast is about mental health. But as you can see,
(25:07):
we talk about so much. We try to keep the
topic light, but shed light on the topic of mental
health even making the transition. How was that for you
as it relates to your mental health or maybe not?
Don't make me make you. I love this question. Yeah,
So it's not a lot of people that ask, even
(25:28):
because they see something on socials and they just assumed that, Okay,
she used to play and now she's coaching. That was
easy for her. When I retired from basketball, it was
about a year before I got into coaching because the
transition was so hard having something. I mean, I started
playing basketball ops four and I got injured and I
(25:51):
did not in my career the way I wanted to.
And so I can remember being close to thirty. I
had to be about twenty twenty eight, maybe twenty. I
think it was about five years ago that I retired,
so how to be about twenty eight, And I can
remember being in my mom's had I had just you know,
had my own place for a while, was traveling the world,
(26:13):
playing basketball droom I love, and now I'm in a
position where I'm forced to retire because my body can't
do it anymore. And I'm at my mom's house and
tears every day, not knowing what's next. I knew that
I wanted to coach, but you never know how you're
going to get into it, and you just can't let
go that now I don't have something that I've always had.
I'm not waking up and I'm going to the gym
(26:35):
and I'm working on my game. I'm not completing anymore,
so I'm not having the competitive edge and factor anymore.
Put me in such a the lowest part of my
life I think so far. I'm still still young, but
that was one of my lowest moments, was the transition,
because I didn't know what was next and I didn't
know how it was going to look, but something had
(26:55):
been taken. So I'm glad that you asked, because a
lot of people. I hope That's one of the things
that I can share with student athletes is that it's
never too early to start thinking about other things you're
passionate about, because I don't want people to deal with
with the same thing that I dealt with not knowing,
like dang, like what is really next even though you
know for sure, like, okay, I want to do this.
(27:17):
What are you truly passionate about? What are the other
things in life that you want to do? And I
didn't know at that time? So I want to be
able to help other athletes or you know, just young
women in general. Start thinking now, like what are the
other things you're passionate about, and how can you start
to build on those? Right now? That's so good and
thank you for sharing. Transition is never fun, right, and
(27:40):
your identity can be so sold into the ball that
she carried. Yea, some people might even get offended. What
you mean, plan B? What you mean? Basketball is my life?
I'm ever gonna do this? Well? Well, studies have show
I don't know, like be like, well basketball all, it's
still your life, Sitney, but just in a different way.
(28:04):
But even if you didn't coach, even if you decided
after you retired to become a counselor yeah, you might be.
I don't know. This ain't a job, y'all. I don't
know a horse wrangler. I don't know. Well, first of all,
you do what you want to do. But what I'm saying.
It's never like an easy transition, and you do have
(28:26):
to kind of start thinking, you know, thank God for
someone like me that was in music. We had shows
like Behind the Music or where are They Now? That
like shook me, like, yep, I never want to be
on a show like this. You know. Well, tell me
about that from the time where you made the decision
(28:46):
to coach. Did you have a dream one night and
say I'm gonna culture? Did somebody approach you? How did
that happen? No, So I had to start praying. That
was the first thing I went to because I was
such in a low moment that only God could get
me out of. And so I realized when I asked
for guidance that was something he put on my heart,
was that I always knew I wanted to coach, and
(29:07):
so he led me to reach out to my college coach.
And then a piece came over me that I still
can't explain to this day about retiring, and so I
did what I had to do. I went and I
was actually practicing with the team the year before I
took the job, just kind of like playing basketball and
being able to be an example on the court at
(29:28):
that time and putting myself in a position to learn
about that transition from playing to coaching. But I think
even still people don't understand with the transition. Maybe I
would have gone into who knew if I would have
gone into a low point saying now I'm in coaching
and I'm back involved in basketball after a year of tragedy,
(29:51):
I guess, and getting injured and having to retire, how
am I going to know if I'm going to be
good at this job. Because I had plenty of days
where I'm like, because my first year at working there,
I was also still practicing with the team. It was
during the COVID year, and so we needed practice players
to go against our team, and I said, okay, I'll
do it. And so you know, I had times even
(30:12):
when I was on staff as a coach, that I
was practicing and I was like, I can still play,
Like what am I doing? And so so many times
I teetered the line of going back and forth, maybe
I should come out of retirement, maybe I should stick
to coaching. But prayer fixed all it for me. I
was like, all right, now I still got it. I
ain't gonna lose it, but I'm gonna stick to coaching. Yeah, yeah, Well,
(30:37):
we're so thankful that you know you are here showing
us another side of you that is still part of you. Right.
I love Jennifer Lopez or Queen Latifa. Queen Latifa for sure,
because she was known as a rapperer actress, a jazz singer,
doing voiceovers for like Pizza Hut or during Gambol. And
(31:01):
it's like, you don't let anybody make you feel like
you can't have It's like when you see a wheel
on a tire. There's multiple spokes, but it still makes
that tire turn, It goes around, and it's all it
all makes sense. So I am so looking forward. Everybody
that is listening to checking in. We are behind you.
We are looking forward to everything that you got going on.
(31:26):
Thankful for your heart and your spirit. Hopefully one day
I'll meet you in person. Tell me when your birthday is.
I have to send you some shoe since I know
you shoe girl like me sizing all that good stuff.
So thank you so much, and thank you for sharing
your story about transition and encouraging people. I promise you
(31:48):
you can have a smooth transition into what's next. Yeah,
thank you thank you for asking a lot of people
don't ask, and so I hope that when people hear this,
a lot of people do check on people and ask
this a simple question of okay, how I just I'm
doing a mental health check on you, Jay, how are you?
That's good? That's good. But I'll be doing the same
(32:10):
for you. I'll be checking in on you. Thank you, right,
all right, Sydney, thank you for being here today. Thank
you for having me. I enjoyed it. You got it. Wow.
This interview has definitely left me making sure that I
(32:33):
don't coward to how other people think I should be
a nor should you. That takes some courage and that,
and it's kind of risky because you don't know. And hey,
if I decide to go against the grain, will people
continue to support? Will they follow? Heck, well they cancel you,
you know what I mean. So, yeah, this was an
(32:54):
amazing conversation and I just loved how she says she'd
been playing bassketball since the age of four years old
and it's truly her passion. It's still her passion. So
I hope y'all were inspired today just as much as
I have been. Y'all inspire me as well. Thank you
for always checking in with your lovely messages, your dms,
(33:17):
your comments, your downloads, y'all. I can't have a season
three without the continuous downloads of checking in. All Right,
I'll see y'all soon. Wait, I'll talk to y'all soon.
Do y'all know what I mean by checking in? With
(33:45):
Michelle Williams is a production of iHeartRadio and The Black Effect.
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams, a production of
iHeartRadio and The Black Effect. Hey, everybody, welcome to another
(00:21):
amazing episode of Checking In. It's gonna be fired. Yep,
it's fired before I've even asked the first question because
simply of who we have the pleasure of having, y'all.
She's an amazing, amazing woman. I have yet to meet her,
but I can just feel she's amazing, not just through
her work on the court, but the strength that she has.
(00:44):
And we're going to get into that, but she is
a retired professional basketball player from the w NBA and
she is now the director of player Development at the
University of Texas in Austin, which, by the way, I've
gone to some of those tech relays and it's always
been fun, y'all. Welcome to Checking In, Sitney Carter, Hi,
(01:08):
thank you for having me. You are so welcome. Now
I must say that, unfortunately didn't I get a chance
to meet you while you were with the Chicago Sky.
I don't say it a lot minority owner in that
franchise because it was one place in the area. Yeah,
so I didn't get a chance to meet you because
(01:31):
I started with them and like, now I'm telling my
age two thousand and five. Okay, so I was there,
but year it was that was my first year out.
So I was there in twenty twelve. But I started
there and I did my career, my career there wasn't
you started there? Yep? Yeah, so that was that was
my start, yes, y'all. So she definitely definitely started there.
(01:55):
She was selected by the Chicago Sky, played for the
Connecticut Son, the Indiana Fever, and also the Atlanta Dream. Yes.
I got to say this though, teams would play that
Connecticut Son and I'd be like, whomade Connecticut Son? Don't
(02:17):
be no job? Yeah, I got to play with some
amazing people. I mean you're talking about like Tina Charles
renee Montgomery, who is also part owner now of the
Atlanta Dream, Kara Lawson, who's the coach at Dude. Now,
So I got to play with some amazing people in Connecticut.
Were really come on, come on, come on. Well, it's
(02:40):
Women's History months, so we are happy to have you
joining us. We love to celebrate ambitious women and learn
from their journey. Can you share with us, like an
unexpected obstacle that you faced when you were first named
this amazing position at University of Texas an unexpected obstacle.
(03:06):
It's kind of hard, just because this is not my
first school, and so I've prided myself on at my
first university, you know, making sure that I knew how
to do everything. So there wasn't like I never wanted
to be one dimensional. I've never been one dimensional. And
so when I was at my last university, I worked
for the guy that I played for in college, in
(03:27):
Gary Blair. And you know, that's one thing he said,
he said, whenever you leave a job, make sure that
they regret losing you. And so here I haven't had
an unexpected obstacle. But I think when I first got
to my first my first place in A and M,
everything was unexpected. Like I had no idea what I
(03:49):
was getting myself into when it came from retiring to
the next thing in life. And that's okay, this is
a job now. And there's so many other things behind
the scenes that you don't know about, Like, yeah, coaching
is so much more than just drawing up a play.
You know, there's so many different things we're about with
like kids' mental health these days, they're housing setting that
(04:10):
up for them or you know, just all the background
stuff that a lot of people don't see. You're kind
of like a parent away from their parents, and so
I think that was the most unexpected thing is it's
not just okay, game day, take a nap, eat, go
play a game. It's a full production to kind of
get ready and make sure you're prepared so that your
team is so good, so good. You were born in Dallas, Texas.
(04:35):
You stayed in Texas, right, you know, because some of us,
you know, when we grew up in Illinois, but I
went to university in Illinois, and so some folks be
wanting to get far away from home. What made you
stay in Texas? Well, I have a really big family.
I am the fifth of seven, and I'm a big
(04:56):
mommy's girl. I know, she's my everything. And so when
I decided to go to A and M I knew
that my mom was gonna be at every game. And
she traveled with my sisters and my brothers even to
games and we played at like Missouri anywhere else she
was traveling. And so I knew that if I stayed
(05:16):
in the conference that we were in, and if I
stayed in Texas, my mom could come and support me,
and so I wanted the support from my family. Amazing
as Texas A and M coaching. Right, how has this
journey been. It's been I opening, I think, is the
(05:36):
first word that comes to mind, just because I started
as a video coordinator, Like, my journey has just gone.
My path has gone up and up and up ever
since I started, and I'm grateful to kind of be
on the fast track, I guess is what people say.
So I've been blessed to work with some really good people.
But I think, you know, the initial shock of this
(05:56):
being this not a nine five job, but it's it's
just been so so good because I know that I'm
walking in my purpose every day. There's never been a
day that I have said, Okay, maybe this is not
what I want to do. My passion is to continue
to be around the game of basketball, to share what
I've learned. And then it just so happens to be
(06:17):
that I, you know, I turned basketball into a place
that I can also look nice and put my clothes
on on the sideline and show women that you don't
have to be one dimensional. You can yeah do your
job well and you can also look fantastic doing it
only reason why I didn't start off with that because
I didn't know if people do that to you like
(06:38):
all the time. She's so much more than that. Although
as a lady, I love what you give on that
chord to you, but I want to get to know
the woman out and y'all, if y'all were to see
her right now, she is fresh faced, hoodie, nails are done,
lashes are poppy, are fresh from yours, are fully fully sculptured,
(07:05):
an amazing hair in a bun. She's looking beautiful right
So I don't want people to get a mixed up
either that she just has to be glam all day
every day. I was preparing for her to be a
little left, y'all through a hat on, you know, let
you know what I mean, a little something something. So
it's good to know, y'all. I knew she had balance,
(07:28):
but she is still beautiful no matter what. Now do
you think because you as far as all around amazing
basketball player and to go pro, you gotta be good, Okay? Now,
do you find that you're tougher on your players because
you know what it takes, especially you know what it
(07:48):
takes to bring on my championship? Absolutely, I don't think
I'm tougher because my standards. My standards are high and
so I know what type of athletes we have. But
I'm also very realistic in knowing that the generations as
we continue to go, they're different and so everybody has
to be led a different type of way. So my
(08:09):
standards will never change, but my approach to certain people
are different. And so that's the only thing is that
I'm gonna I'm gonna continue to have. I know the
bar of success, I know where each one of these
athletes want to get to, and so I'm never going
to lower that standard. I'm just going to raise the
stakes as far as what I'm asking of them. So
(08:31):
do you find yourself I don't know. Do you watch
multiple teams that got the college TV for the I
got the actual college for college television for college basketball,
then I got this over here for the w NBA.
How are you like separating the two? So I watch
a lot of basketball, obviously on TV. But I think
(08:51):
the thing I do the most is I will go
back like I'm watching something and I won't do two screens.
I'm not that much of a fanatic because I need
to focus because I'm I'm very particular with detail, and
so I'll go back and I'll watch a game on
my computer, and for days, I'm sitting on my computer
going back, all right, that game was played, this team
is good at such and such, and so I'm going
(09:14):
back and I'm looking back as i go day by day.
And so I can't. I'm not one of those that
can focus on two three games at the time. I
need to make sure I get every detail. Yes, Now,
are you allowed to bring w NBA stuff to collegiate
as far as like the detail or like plays and
(09:36):
stuff like, Oh yeah, I mean in the game of basketball,
everybody steals everybody's stuff, Like that's that's the thing. Okay,
And so okay, you know you'll you'll use drills that
you that you knew when you were a professional player.
You'll take stuff from people that are doing stuff in
high school. So it's just a matter of like what
your philosophy is and what you're wanting to do it.
(09:57):
And I guess that's the advantage of one played pro.
And then you're going back reaching back to the girls
that are in college and then by the time they
go pro. Shit, they choose to go pro, they gon'll
be like, we ran some of this already, coach Coroner,
you gotta be right, Okay, amazing. Now do you feel
(10:20):
like there's something that women bring to the game that
could be an advantage over a male coach. I think
women bring so many different things, but I will touch
on just the fundamentals of everything. Like we are so
meticulous with the detail. This is not a not to
the men's game at all, but like a lot of
the men's game you'll see is they are so athletic
(10:44):
and quick, and so a lot of it is like,
all right, just gotta get to the rim. I'm playing
one on one. You know. It's kind of like get
Lebron the ball and watch him work because that's what
he does. And the women's game, you know, we have
to bring a Okay, we're running this set when we
come down, so everything is obviously slowed down, but the
detail is what's important and the women's game and so
(11:05):
you'll see a lot of stuff. A lot of men
appreciate that part of the women's game, and so on
top of that, we bring our individuality, like we're you know,
we're gonna bring so many different things to the table
because women always have to do more with less facts.
And when you talk about detail, I saw this thing.
It wasn't to insult us or even men, but it
(11:27):
was this thing where men's their very compartmentalized kind of
like see their brains like an ice tray. But then
somebody said, a woman's brain is like a pot of
like macaron I mean, spaghetti noodles. Because I'm like, I
can talk to you, but I can still text and
(11:50):
still ear hustle and hear what's going on in the
next room, Like we really are the bomb, We really
are amazing. Do you feel like pull back? Because sometimes
black women we could be called aggressive when we're really
just assertive, Like you know what I mean, Like some
of the same plays that somebody else calls maybe you
(12:12):
called it in the same way. But have you ever
been said, no, she was a little mean or she
was a little over the top. Yeah, you know, you
get that all the time. It's like people ask me
check your tone or things like that, But it's like
I'm not saying it any kind of way. I'm just
passionate about what I'm saying. And so maybe we gotta
(12:33):
figure out a way that you can accept it. How
I'm really saying it instead of me always changing what
I'm saying because I'm not saying it any kind of way.
And so women just we get that, we get that
we're the angry woman or the angry black woman, and
we're not just like you said, We're just assertive and
we're confident in what we're saying. It's like you got
to walk around with the mission statement on your chest
(12:55):
so that you can understand even though her tone might
be considered tough, but what's the mission? Yeah? Right, what's
the posture of my heart as I'm coaching you? Because
I don't always want it sweet sometimes just tell me
the truth. Did your brush thing today? Your brush things today?
But I think you're an awesome speaker, Michelle, I think
(13:15):
you're great. Okay, Now, they have only been about sixteen
women coaches in the NBA. Any interested ever making that
lane change. I thought about it. It would be a
fantastic step in my career. It's just it's another barrier
to kind of kick down as a woman, because it
(13:38):
is a good time for women to be presented the
opportunity to cross over into the NBA and learn. So,
I mean, it would it would be great. I know,
you know Neil Ivy, she's at Notre Dame right now.
She was in the NBA Memphis Green and now she's
come back to be the head coach at No. Dame. Fantastic.
She's doing a great job of Her team is in
the top ten I believe in the country. And so
(14:01):
you know, she's a great example of you know, going
into the NBA and then coming back and then bringing
that knowledge that she learned the men's game to the
women's right. I love it. As you're talking, I'm also
having a flashback. I was in like the fourth grade
and I remember shooting a basket in the gym and
I was like, did I just make this basket? And
(14:25):
I think I wanted to go into like you know,
the kids wrecked team, but never stayed with it. So
I was always in church and so I just never
but I just as that little girl was this always
a dream of yours? Absolutely? I. So when I was
in elementary school, I was fortunate enough to see the
Houston comments. They had Cynthia Cooper Shell swoops team and
(14:49):
Thompson like that was their team. And I got to
grow up and see that, and so for my Black
History months school, program. When I was in elementary school,
I did an outfit change. Okay, I had on the
Cheryl Swoop's jersey and then I changed into the Cynthia
Cooper jersey for my program, and say, y'all, she's alwaysn't
been a game changer. In fact, the wardrobe changes forever,
(15:12):
so you cut her some slack. So that was always
my dream, is that I was able to see that
so I could be that, and I you know, that
was always my goal was to go to the w NBA,
and I was blessed enough to be able to be
presented that opportunity. Come on, come on. So it's awesome
because first of all, it's never too late for you
(15:35):
to see yourself somewhere and go forward. Although some people
might be like Michelle, don't be selling people no false street,
but I'll say, it's never too early. You're never too
young to also see yourself where you want to be.
And not only when you see yourself, be doing the
things to get there. She just didn't see herself, but
(15:55):
she got to. She was adorning herself in the jerseys.
And that's a reason why Cindy I took the opportunity
to invest with the Chicago Sky because I saw what
how little girls would feel being able to touch other
female players, you know, and say I can be that too,
(16:19):
especially in the city of Chicago. Was so much going
on that they've got some positive that they had something
positive to look So wait, wait, wait, wait, way back
at five, I said, I've got to make this investment
for that reason. Like you said, you saw yourself in
the w NBA, you know, and you write Houston comments
that the group of women that you just named, oh
(16:42):
my gosh, you couldn't mess with them. You couldn't, you
could not, you could not. So you mentioned you were
doing these wardrobe changes. So yes, we've seen headlines which
I don't care about, you know, because I'm like, yo,
she's into fashion, let her be right. And then you
appeared on in my Explorer page and I hit that
(17:03):
follow and I just started scrolling. I was like, first
of all, does she style herself? What is going on?
And I don't think you make your page about fashion,
but I love seeing you in various angles, various moments
looking absolutely fly. Y'all. You don't have to just wear
a solid color, boring suit that ain't been tailored to
(17:29):
work at those ear ring zone, put that makeup on,
put those nails on. Miss Tina always tells us, always
have on a red lip if you ain't go right
now having you know, so I get that from her.
You've worn sequence, the bubble gum, pink Latex. You get
(17:49):
you a line of Latex leggings or something and really
make everybody mad. Well, I will tell you I tried
to put those on again just for giggles and I
couldn't fiddle and could, but maybe I'm gonna can't give
me another pair in black, and I'm bigger side, come on,
come on. And of course the heels, because the heels
(18:10):
on those hardwood floors, but you do it every time.
Or you know, you said you all might wearing sneakers
as well, but the heels on the court. The statement
that you're making about the power that fashion gives you
on the court, tell us about that. And I loved
your statement. You was like, um, and I mean it
(18:32):
on period. I'm not compromising. Save what you want to say.
I'm wearing what I want to wear. God blessed. Yeah
that was pretty much it. Um. But yeah, so I
do style myself. I've never had a stylist. Um. So
That's that's one thing I'm I pride myself on because
that that's always been me. I've always I've had my
first pair of boots when I was in third grade. Texas,
(18:54):
y'all she gonna dress Yeah, um, But I think the
power of that. I mean, I dressed for success. I
dressed in and so when I step on the court,
it wouldn't matter to me what anybody has to say.
Like there's there's so much criticism and negativity in the
world that I'm not going to give my time to ever,
(19:18):
because I'm not going to allow somebody to box me
in and say what used to be normal back in
the day or when whenever they can remember, those standards
are not going to be placed on me. Ever. I'm
sorry that. I'm not sorry for that, but there's never
gonna be anybody to tell me that I'm not dressing professionally.
(19:38):
That I am exactly who I think I am, and
and that's always going to be the case because I
was raised by a very independent, strong woman and my
mother who always taught me to be confident in the
talents that I was gifted by God with that the
beauty that I was given, the gifts that I was
given in that favor is not fair, and so that's
(20:01):
gonna stick with me forever. Y'all. Hear this, This is
almost what a mic drop's gonna sound like. So you
know that's that's where it comes from. And you're right.
I'm not changing for nobody. I'm not going to stop
posting any of my pictures, my videos or anything because
at the end of the day, that's my lane that
I want to continue to drive in and nobody's gonna
(20:21):
bump me out of that lane, y'all. I hope y'all
take this for every factor in your life, not to
let anybody box you in the favor on your life.
Sometimes it is just not fair. Favor can come by proximity.
Favor can also come by the work that you put in, right, y'all.
(20:43):
Her statement, so let me tell you what that happened
was there were some fashion choices that coach Sidney Carter,
you know, I had been making on the court and
people were complaining, and so she wrote a statement that
said thank you to everyone for your supporting kind words
over the last few days. Representation matters. As a black
woman in coaching, I take pride in showing that people
(21:04):
who look like me don't have to diminish our light
to appeal to others whose opinions never mattered anyway. I
will continue to unapologetically be myself, apply pressure, and show
that black women can express our individuality while doing our
jobs at a high level. I think I need to
(21:25):
frame this just for like words of affirmation during the
day that is absolutely amazing. Thank you. You know, have
you seen other female coaches kind of you know, say
you gave me the courage to pull my heels out
(21:46):
or to wear a tighter skirt. I for sure have.
I've seen so many women that have come out and
have had the confidence to wear what they feel that
they are comfortable in. And it has just been coaches.
It's been there's somebody in the Navy that sent me
her TikTok or that tagged me in it. You know,
There's a little girl named Rose who I want to
(22:07):
highlight here. She's dressed up as me twice. She she
wore some pink pants and a turtleneck last year, and
then this year I've wore some brown cowprint pants and
a turtleneck, and she put that outfit on this year.
And so it's people that are all ages, all colors,
different professions. I mean, so many people have been inspired
(22:30):
by just the fact that I've you know, I've worn
something and they wanted to do the same. Listen, I'm
sitting up here thinking, I was, like, man, she should
have like a limited edition like capsule collection. I don't know,
like how Amazon lets people like curate their own like
collection or something. Now, I don't know if that goes
against regulations and cold and sports, I don't know, but
(22:54):
I'm like, she's loved fashion all her life. I just
want to see you. I'll a coach carter suit. Oh well,
I can't say very vaguely. I got some things coming,
so say what but I got I think people are
gonna be happy with with Say but I got some
(23:14):
things in the works. Okay, you can put it in
the zoom chat or D and me and Nina. Okay,
I got you. You're gonna be fun. Well, I'll say this.
I love suits now. I love how you do separate.
You'll wear a blazer with some jeans or a separate
pant that don't necessarily match. But I love a good suit.
But that's feminine, you know. And the boxing stuff I
(23:38):
don't that's not my thing either. I like form, I
like form fitting. I like my jacket if I'm wearing
a jacket to kind of curve around the waist, and
I like my pants to be fitted. So for the
month of March, the first time people hands for the
month of March, it's power since all March. Yeah, come on, now,
come on, well, I am so excited about that and
(24:01):
how you are inspiring people in all facets of life
do not stop at all. Sometimes disruptors or the people
that could be considered troublemakers. I don't know. I wouldn't
say you're you're considered a troublemaker, but definitely a disruptor
as far as what stuff is supposed to look like.
But disruptors often are trailblazers and they lead you, blaze
(24:25):
the trails and before you know what, you look behind
you and you've inspired a crew of other folks to
do what it is that you do. Just been having
a great time talking with you. I've had several I
guess athletes come on here on checking in who have
(24:47):
shared the importance of mental health practices that they usually
address stuff like anxiety depression after they've retired. But it
seems like you've been able to make a singless transition
from retire into coaching. And the foundation of checking in
my podcast is about mental health. But as you can see,
(25:07):
we talk about so much. We try to keep the
topic light, but shed light on the topic of mental
health even making the transition. How was that for you
as it relates to your mental health or maybe not?
Don't make me make you. I love this question. Yeah,
So it's not a lot of people that ask, even
(25:28):
because they see something on socials and they just assumed that, Okay,
she used to play and now she's coaching. That was
easy for her. When I retired from basketball, it was
about a year before I got into coaching because the
transition was so hard having something. I mean, I started
playing basketball ops four and I got injured and I
(25:51):
did not in my career the way I wanted to.
And so I can remember being close to thirty. I
had to be about twenty twenty eight, maybe twenty. I
think it was about five years ago that I retired,
so how to be about twenty eight, And I can
remember being in my mom's had I had just you know,
had my own place for a while, was traveling the world,
(26:13):
playing basketball droom I love, and now I'm in a
position where I'm forced to retire because my body can't
do it anymore. And I'm at my mom's house and
tears every day, not knowing what's next. I knew that
I wanted to coach, but you never know how you're
going to get into it, and you just can't let
go that now I don't have something that I've always had.
I'm not waking up and I'm going to the gym
(26:35):
and I'm working on my game. I'm not completing anymore,
so I'm not having the competitive edge and factor anymore.
Put me in such a the lowest part of my
life I think so far. I'm still still young, but
that was one of my lowest moments, was the transition,
because I didn't know what was next and I didn't
know how it was going to look, but something had
(26:55):
been taken. So I'm glad that you asked, because a
lot of people. I hope That's one of the things
that I can share with student athletes is that it's
never too early to start thinking about other things you're
passionate about, because I don't want people to deal with
with the same thing that I dealt with not knowing,
like dang, like what is really next even though you
know for sure, like, okay, I want to do this.
(27:17):
What are you truly passionate about? What are the other
things in life that you want to do? And I
didn't know at that time? So I want to be
able to help other athletes or you know, just young
women in general. Start thinking now, like what are the
other things you're passionate about, and how can you start
to build on those? Right now? That's so good and
thank you for sharing. Transition is never fun, right, and
(27:40):
your identity can be so sold into the ball that
she carried. Yea, some people might even get offended. What
you mean, plan B? What you mean? Basketball is my life?
I'm ever gonna do this? Well? Well, studies have show
I don't know, like be like, well basketball all, it's
still your life, Sitney, but just in a different way.
(28:04):
But even if you didn't coach, even if you decided
after you retired to become a counselor yeah, you might be.
I don't know. This ain't a job, y'all. I don't
know a horse wrangler. I don't know. Well, first of all,
you do what you want to do. But what I'm saying.
It's never like an easy transition, and you do have
(28:26):
to kind of start thinking, you know, thank God for
someone like me that was in music. We had shows
like Behind the Music or where are They Now? That
like shook me, like, yep, I never want to be
on a show like this. You know. Well, tell me
about that from the time where you made the decision
(28:46):
to coach. Did you have a dream one night and
say I'm gonna culture? Did somebody approach you? How did
that happen? No, So I had to start praying. That
was the first thing I went to because I was
such in a low moment that only God could get
me out of. And so I realized when I asked
for guidance that was something he put on my heart,
was that I always knew I wanted to coach, and
(29:07):
so he led me to reach out to my college coach.
And then a piece came over me that I still
can't explain to this day about retiring, and so I
did what I had to do. I went and I
was actually practicing with the team the year before I
took the job, just kind of like playing basketball and
being able to be an example on the court at
(29:28):
that time and putting myself in a position to learn
about that transition from playing to coaching. But I think
even still people don't understand with the transition. Maybe I
would have gone into who knew if I would have
gone into a low point saying now I'm in coaching
and I'm back involved in basketball after a year of tragedy,
(29:51):
I guess, and getting injured and having to retire, how
am I going to know if I'm going to be
good at this job. Because I had plenty of days
where I'm like, because my first year at working there,
I was also still practicing with the team. It was
during the COVID year, and so we needed practice players
to go against our team, and I said, okay, I'll
do it. And so you know, I had times even
(30:12):
when I was on staff as a coach, that I
was practicing and I was like, I can still play,
Like what am I doing? And so so many times
I teetered the line of going back and forth, maybe
I should come out of retirement, maybe I should stick
to coaching. But prayer fixed all it for me. I
was like, all right, now I still got it. I
ain't gonna lose it, but I'm gonna stick to coaching. Yeah, yeah, Well,
(30:37):
we're so thankful that you know you are here showing
us another side of you that is still part of you. Right.
I love Jennifer Lopez or Queen Latifa. Queen Latifa for sure,
because she was known as a rapperer actress, a jazz singer,
doing voiceovers for like Pizza Hut or during Gambol. And
(31:01):
it's like, you don't let anybody make you feel like
you can't have It's like when you see a wheel
on a tire. There's multiple spokes, but it still makes
that tire turn, It goes around, and it's all it
all makes sense. So I am so looking forward. Everybody
that is listening to checking in. We are behind you.
We are looking forward to everything that you got going on.
(31:26):
Thankful for your heart and your spirit. Hopefully one day
I'll meet you in person. Tell me when your birthday is.
I have to send you some shoe since I know
you shoe girl like me sizing all that good stuff.
So thank you so much, and thank you for sharing
your story about transition and encouraging people. I promise you
(31:48):
you can have a smooth transition into what's next. Yeah,
thank you thank you for asking a lot of people
don't ask, and so I hope that when people hear this,
a lot of people do check on people and ask
this a simple question of okay, how I just I'm
doing a mental health check on you, Jay, how are you?
That's good? That's good. But I'll be doing the same
(32:10):
for you. I'll be checking in on you. Thank you, right,
all right, Sydney, thank you for being here today. Thank
you for having me. I enjoyed it. You got it. Wow.
This interview has definitely left me making sure that I
(32:33):
don't coward to how other people think I should be
a nor should you. That takes some courage and that,
and it's kind of risky because you don't know. And hey,
if I decide to go against the grain, will people
continue to support? Will they follow? Heck, well they cancel you,
you know what I mean. So, yeah, this was an
(32:54):
amazing conversation and I just loved how she says she'd
been playing bassketball since the age of four years old
and it's truly her passion. It's still her passion. So
I hope y'all were inspired today just as much as
I have been. Y'all inspire me as well. Thank you
for always checking in with your lovely messages, your dms,
(33:17):
your comments, your downloads, y'all. I can't have a season
three without the continuous downloads of checking in. All Right,
I'll see y'all soon. Wait, I'll talk to y'all soon.
Do y'all know what I mean by checking in? With
(33:45):
Michelle Williams is a production of iHeartRadio and The Black Effect.
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