February 13, 2025 • 48 mins
Massachusetts Congresswoman Lori Trahan joins Sarah to talk about reintroducing the Fair Play for Women Act, the dangerous ways H.R. 28 could be enforced, who is most qualified to make rules about fairness and safety in sport, and how she draws strength and perspective from her lived experience as a former college athlete. Plus, things get icy on the slopes, Big Citrus dishes on Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament, and we stan a man who stans a woman.
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The AU Pro Hoops schedule is here
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Read the Fair Play for Women Act here
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where our unrivaled
one v one brackets are totally busted. Should have been
on more bigs and fewer ball handlers. It's Thursday, February thirteenth,
and on today's show, we'll be talking to Congresswoman Laurie Trehan,
who represents Massachusetts third District in the US House of Representatives.
We'll discuss the bill she just reintroduced, how she's helping
lead the fight for the actual issues impacting women's sports,
(00:23):
and what it's like being the only former Division one
woman athlete currently in Congress. Plus Big Citrus weighs in
on the Unrivaled one v one tourney, a US Women's
a national team player who's finally Feeline Fine, and a
battle of ballers in SoCal.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's all coming up right after this welcome back. Here's
what you need to know today.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Let's start with Unrivaled, where the semi finals of the
one v one tournament are set. In one semi we've
got eight seed Aliah Edwards taking on number one seed
aric He Goombuale. Edwards advanced after pulling off the biggest
upset of round one, shutting out fellow Husky Miss BC
teammate and top turny seed Brianna Stewart on Monday Night
twelve nothing before she went on to defeat Ali Chagra
(01:14):
in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Semi finals are nearly an
all Yukon party because Edwards is moving on alongside fellow
Connecticut alums DEFEASTA. Collier and Azare Stevens, who will meet
in the other semi Call your A one seed Stevens
a six. Now you know Arik wants to win it
all for Notre Dame and for all the other Husky
haters out there. All four players already guaranteed twenty five
(01:34):
thousand dollars by reaching the semifinal round.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
The runner up we'll get fifty K.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
And the winner two hundred thousand dollars, plus the winners
Club teammates will each get a cool ten K. Both
the semifinals and the finals are Tomorrow night, beginning at
seven thirty pm Eastern on True TV. More on Unrivaled
a little bit later in the show to Soccer, where
the US women's national team roster for the upcoming she
believes Cup dropped on Wednesday, The highlight is the return
(01:59):
of Katerina mccar, whose time with Team USA has unfortunately
been highlighted by a string of injuries. Her most recent
US women's national team call up came last June during
Emma Hayes's first match as head coach, and Macario was
then named to the twenty twenty four US Olympic roster
before getting ruled out due to persistent knee injuries. Those
date back to a torn acl in twenty twenty two.
(02:20):
We're glad to see you back, cat Mio. Stay healthy.
In total, Hayes named twelve members of that gold medal
winning Olympic team to the She Believes roster, but there
are a lot of notable absences too, including all three
members of Triple Espresso still being out. That's Sophia Wilson
formerly Smith, Trinity Rodman, and Mallory Swanson now per US Soccer.
Both Wilson and Rodman are in the process of rehabbing injuries,
(02:42):
while Swanson is out due to personal commitments. The She
Beliefs Cup will be held from February twentieth to the
twenty sixth, with games in Houston, San Diego, and Glendale, Arizona.
The three other participating teams are Japan, Columbia and Australia.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
More footy news.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Australian national team star Sam Kerr was found not guilty
of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer following a
seven day trial. Now, if you haven't followed this saga,
we'll give you some context and be warned it's a
bit of a doozy.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So this dates back to January of twenty twenty three.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Kerr and partner Christy Lewis were at a taxi heading
home after a night out when they had a dispute
with the driver. Now, the driver alleged that they refused
to pay for the cost of cleaning up vomit in
the cab, and that he called the cops after Mewis
smashed the rear window of the car.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Kerr claims that the.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Driver began behaving erradically after she felt ill and spat
out of the window, and she and Fiancemwis both said
when it was clear he wasn't driving toward their home,
they believed they were being held hostage. Mewis claims she
kicked out the window trying to escape. The driver brought
them to the police station, where Kerr was recorded via
an officer's body camp, saying quote, you guys are fucking
stupid and white end quote multiple times. While the charges
(03:50):
for criminal damage to the taxi were dropped because Kerr
paid for the reported damages, the charge for racially motivated
harassment was not. During the trial, Kerr told the jury
that she felt she'd been treated differently by the police
based on quote what they perceived to be the color
of my skin end quote. Kerr said she identifies as
a white Anglo Indian and that she had witnessed racism
directed toward members of her family, including her father, who
(04:12):
is Anglo Indian. Following the jury's verdict, which came after
four hours of deliberation, Curly's to a statement thanking her family,
friends and supporters and expressing gratitude to be able to
put the incident behind her quote. While I apologize for
expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening, I
have always maintained that I did not intend to insult
or harm anyone, and I'm thankful that the jury unanimously agreed.
(04:34):
I'm fully focused on getting back onto the pitch and
look forward to an exciting year ahead for.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Me and my family.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
End quote to college hoops, where we've got a few
big top twenty five matchups. Tonight, First up, number three
Texas travels to number eight Kentucky for an SEC showdown.
The twenty four and two Longhorns are aiming to give
Kentucky its first home loss of the season. That game
tipse at seven pm on ESPN two. Then, for those
of on the East Coast, it's going to be a
late night, but worth staying up. Number one UCLA heads
(05:03):
down the road to face off against so Cal rival
Number six usc.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Juju versus Kiki Other Kiki versus Lauren can't wait. That
game tips off at ten pm Eastern on Peacock.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
We'll link to the full college hoops schedule in the
show notes More hoops. The first week of Athletes Unlimited
basketball action has been a good one. On Tuesday, the
folks at AU announced that opening weekend ticket sales were
up one hundred and twenty five percent over last year
and ninety three percent higher than any other opening week
in AU history. Crystal Bradford sat at the top of
the leaderboard at the end of week one, while Week
(05:36):
two games continued tonight. We'll link to that schedule in
the show notes as well, and even more pro hoops news.
WNBA vet Erica Wheeler will join the Seattle Storm this
upcoming season. She announced her intentions to sign with the
team via Instagram post on The Easy Bucket Shows Instagram,
a show she co hosts on the Player's TV network,
and Seattle later made it official. Wheeler is a ten
(05:57):
year WNBA vet out of Rutgers who's made stops in Atlanta,
New York, and Los Angeles throughout her career. She played
the last two seasons with the Indiana Fever as a
veteran point guard presence for the squad, coming off the
bench in twenty twenty four to spell the dynamic duo
of two time All Star Kelsey Mitchell and Rookie of
the Year Caitlin Clark. Now she'll join a Seattle team
that just resigned nine time All Star neck oguom Mackay,
Gabby Williams, and Alicia Clark, who won two championships with
(06:21):
the Storm earlier in her career. Add those pieces to Skyler,
Digg and Smith and the rest of the talent on
that roster. At the risk of sounding corny, y'all, it
feels like a Storm's a bruin to hockey and the
p WHL, where last season's MVP Toronto forward Natalie Spooner
is officially back. Spooner made her return on Tuesday night,
tallying one assist in the Scepter's three to two overtime
(06:43):
win over the Minnesota Frost. Still not all good news
for Toronto. While Spooner is back nine months after tearing
her ACL, the team is now without fellow Canadian national
team standout Sarah Nurse. She suffered a lower body entry
during a rivalry series game against the US last week.
There are games every night this week in the PWHL
and this weekend, so we'll put the schedule in our
show notes to the Women's Lacross League, where action continues
(07:04):
tonight between the Maryland Charm and Boston Guard. Maryland is
coming off of fourteen to thirteen loss to New York
during the league opener on Monday. Following the conclusion of
round robin action on Saturday, the number one seed will
earn a bye to next Monday's championship, while the second
and third ranked teams will meet in Sunday's semi final round.
We'll link to that schedule in our show notes to
alpine skiing, where US athletes Mikaela Schiffrin and Breezy Johnson
(07:27):
teamed up to win gold in the new team combined
event at this week's World Championships in Austria.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
The event works like this.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Each team has two athletes, one to compete in the downhill,
the other to compete in the slalom, and their times
from each run are combined. The team with the lowest
combined time wins. With the win, Johnson won her second
gold medal of the week, following her downhill victory over
the weekend. While this is Shiffrin's fifteenth World Championship medal
of her career, extending her run as the most decorated
World Championship skier of the modern era, worth noting there
(07:56):
was a little bit of drama heading into this event
so each can enter multiple teams, and in the lead
up to Worlds Lindsay Vaughn had campaigned to race with
Schiffrin in the event, calling them a quote dream team
that's not hyperbole. Schiffrin, in addition to owning the most
World Cup victories in history with ninety nine, is also
the winningest slalom skier in history.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
With sixty two.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Vaughn meanwhile holds many records of her own, including the
most World Cup downhill victories with forty three, so clearly
Von and Schiffrin racing together would have been fun, but
Schiffrin had initially announced she wouldn't be entering the team
event in order to focus on Giant slalom, then, citing
PTSD following a November crash, she opted out of the
Giant slalom and instead added in the team event. After
(08:36):
Shiffern announced on social media that she'd be racing with Johnson,
Von tweeted why am I not surprised?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
With a shrug emoji now.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Vaughn quickly deleted that tweet, and she acknowledged that she
hadn't helped her own case by reacting on Twitter. She said, quote,
maybe I didn't help myself or the team by having
my Twitter fingers out, But at the same time, I'm
a human being and I was disappointed in the communication,
and I let my feelings be known. I'm a human,
I have feelings, so shoot me end quote. US Ski
and Snowboard said the pairings were determined based on seasoned
(09:05):
best results in downhill and slalom, and Von later acknowledged
that she believed that Shiffern and Johnson were the best pair,
but her frustration stem from how the decision was communicated.
Vaughn ended up pairing with aj Hurt and they went
on to finish sixteenth in the event. All right, Selice's
quick fix from a previous show. I want to shout
out lis Alo on Blue Sky who told me that
summer Side, not summer Dale, was the site of the
(09:27):
final Canada USA Rivalry Series hockey game.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
We got to work on.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Our Prince Edward Island knowledge down here. It looks lovely
in summer Side. Thanks for keeping us honest up there
in Pei. Speaking of being honest, my unrival Brackett is
a mess. I still have my winner and if you said,
call Year and she's looking good, But the rest of
my final.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Four all got bounced. So see Yaklia copper by Skyler,
Digg and Smith.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
So long, Jewel Lloyd. Let's check in with the rest
of the big Citrus in their brackets. See how they're doing.
Alex is yours as ugly as mine.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I am absolutely not sharing any details about my bracket.
It's real ugly. I mean I do have fee winning
so okay, good, I have one final straw I can
hold on to, but we're in.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
The same place.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah. Any big takeaways on the tournament from watching one.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
I think the post game interviews are very fun when
they are extremely out of breath. I don't think I've
ever heard basketball players sound like four hundred meter runners before,
and it's just a real fun change. But I mostly
have one question that I wanted to pick Misha's brain about,
which is unrivaled. Is using a make it take it
rule where if you score, you get to keep the ball.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Is that what it's like.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
On the playgrounds growing up?
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Like?
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Where does this rule come from? And do we think
it's fair?
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Now?
Speaker 5 (10:41):
Origin story, I can't help you with that.
Speaker 6 (10:43):
People when playing one on one a long time, much
longer than I've been here, but I will say growing up,
that was always the rule. Personally, I hear a lot
of people say that it feels unfair that one person
could just get hot and the whole game is over.
But to me, I think that's part of why like
that rule. It forces the opponent or whoever's playing to
be honest defensively, to actually play defense.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
If you don't play both sides of the ball, there's
no way you're gonna win.
Speaker 6 (11:09):
And so those mainly offensively minded players, they don't get
the benefit of the doubt in that situation. But I
like that they have adopted it. I hope that that
kind of illuminates why a little bit more.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
But yeah, it's pretty it's pretty standard.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Interesting me, show's your bracket looking huh?
Speaker 6 (11:26):
So I had a sleeper pick to win it all.
I had Rakia Jackson and Rakiya just went up against
feet and I thought she had a chance in that matchup.
She ended up bullying her straight like that thunder showed
why she's the best probably player in the world TVD
by the end of this tournament. But I had Rakia
and the rest of my bracket is just jacked up
for a bunch of other reasons.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Injuries, by it's just you got nobody left.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
We're out, You're out.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Feliks insane, Like I want to. I want to put
a futures bet on her winning MVP in the w
NBA season this year, like she was this close last year.
And I know I'm talking that's mess. Wall Asia Wilson
still exists in the world, but damn it, feel looks
so good.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
Imagine Asia in this one on one tournament and.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
What I have and I'm sad it's not happening.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You got any takeaways, meche, Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
First of all, nothing to do with the x's and o's.
I love this walk up music thing they've got going
on when the players are introduced before they play. I
think that's gotta be one of the coolest aspects of it.
To me and Courtney Williams. If we're in talian who's winning.
She's winning? Because if you walk out to Teddy Pendergrass
right when somebody loves you back in Valentine's Day week.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, but the vibes are funny because it hits until
the next song starts right, and then once the beat
takes over, you're like, yeah, I mean sorry Teddy, but
like this beat is getting it's getting me moving a
little more than you are.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Did you, by the way, did you see the whole
Lexi Hall thing?
Speaker 5 (12:54):
I did not oh about her about her music?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Right, So, Angel Reese alleges that she picked her music,
but there was also a thousand dollars bet on the
line that Lexi wouldn't use the music.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Oh Lexie about that life. I don't know.
Speaker 6 (13:07):
Lex kind of goes with the flow. She's just there
to hoop, so I don't know why you bet against her.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So Haul walked out to set it off by boozy badass,
and Angel Reese, who's her teammate on her unrivaled squad, said,
you know, you know who chose that for her? And
then Kalia Copper said we bet one k So I
think Kalia owes Lexi Hall one thousand dollars because she
actually went and did it and walked out to Tozie,
so I know it's money on the line.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
There's money on the line everywhere.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
It seems like it. Right, all right, me, we got
to go. What other takeaways?
Speaker 1 (13:36):
You got?
Speaker 6 (13:37):
My other biggest takeaway, Elia Edwards putting everybody unnoticed that
she is really her.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
She might be young, but she's really her.
Speaker 6 (13:45):
And you know why that makes me happy, Sarah, because
my mistakes. I want her to bring that to my
mystics in her second season in the WNBA. I just
I really want this confidence to translate because she's showing
offensively and defensively how deep the bag really goes and
how tough she is, Like I do not want to
understate how hard it is to.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
Go out there.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
All eyes are on you and one other person. There's
nowhere to hide. And she's gone up against Alicia Gray,
who a lot of people might have had winning this tournament.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Not to mention blowing.
Speaker 6 (14:16):
Stuwie out, I think that's the only shutout we've seen
in this entire tournament, was Elia Edwards versus Stewie.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
So I just want to see that translate to the
w next season.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Anything else.
Speaker 6 (14:27):
There's a couple of rule changes I think that they
should consider for the next season of this tournament. First
up being a foul limit, because I understand the strategy
that the little guards are using against the bigs to
foul them when they get into the paint and keep
them getting tired and keep them from scoring points. But
I also think it would be more of a challenge
if you had a limit. And then I think a
(14:48):
reason this was a question I had. I assumed that
there must be some sort of foul limit.
Speaker 5 (14:52):
I don't think there is. I actually don't think there is.
Speaker 6 (14:54):
I didn't see anything about a foul limit, and Skyler,
Digg and Smith would.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
Have passed it.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
She would have then passed she was using them.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
She was using them.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
And then the only other rule change I think that
would be cool was a reset clock, so after a
made basket, or after a stoppage and play, or after
they passed to one of the kind of guys who
stand off to the side to help them. I think
it'd be cool to have a reset clock so they
kind of know how much time they can take to breathe,
but also so people can't stall.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
I think that would just make it a little bit
more challenging.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, that relates to one of my takeaways the strategy.
You know, the timeout use that you could use in
the quarters to take a rest, and then the sort
of injury slash shoe tying slash. We're both breathing heavy
and it seems like neither of us needs to get
this going right away kind of thing, where you were
definitely seeing players use that for rest. And then, like
you said, the fouls, like the really smart fouls of
(15:44):
when someone knew they got beat, they would just foul
because there's no harm in doing it, especially if there's
no limit, which is something I wanted to ask about.
That was a really big part of strategy, and players
who didn't figure that, I think were hurt by it
and then Fee off the backboard to herself crazy crazy
some of those moments, I was just like, it's not
just skill, it's like, what do you bring into this
(16:04):
in terms of brains. Also, like I mentioned with my bracket,
the unicorns versus the ball handlers, I just thought the
folks with the ball handling skills and the playground type
skills would be too fast on the first step for
the bigs to catch up, and that the bigs would
get tired. And what we saw was that these bigs
(16:24):
are not sure average bigs. The conditioning is insane, and
the unicorns are just faster than you expect. Like I
have Fee winning it. Sophie is a different category for me.
But as a Ray Stevens, when you and I were
picking our un rival league teams, I was like, she's
a little too deliberate. When I saw her with the sky,
I didn't see her a lot in space. She would post,
she would spot up for threes, and she would be inside.
(16:45):
But watching her play with that speed, my apologies, I
was not familiar with your game. My apologies, Aleah Edwards.
In space to your point, like absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Blew my mind. Ray Burrell beating Jewel did not see that.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
With that in mind, like a special respect to Courtney
Williams and Arik forgetting as far as they did. Arik
Stillnett Corny's out. But those those smaller players, you know
that they have to have insane moves, especially Arik's fadeaway
threes to get beyond those reaches of the bigs. It
was just even more impressive to see the little ones
get that far. And then my final takeaway is just
(17:22):
I want them to make up the players that are watching. Yeah,
I first thought I want to make up the players playing,
but they're two damn winded. There's nothing good's gonna happen,
but the players watching. If you guys saw djon A
Carrington roaming the sideline just screaming at the officials for
her missed teammate while she was like out and done,
(17:43):
she is like getting up in the face like a
like a as somebody on Twitter said, non evil Kim Mulkey,
just all over those officials. I want to hear their reactions.
I wanted to hear their reactions to Brianna Stewart getting
absolutely smoked because you saw them in the background like, oh,
(18:03):
like we need Mike's.
Speaker 6 (18:05):
I want to hear Courtney Williams dad's peen talk that
he gave her yet her time out before she got
that final ill against Fee.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I want it, yeah, but I'm enjoying it so much.
I cannot wait for next year already. And I want
everyone to be healthy. I just I want to see
a couple more folks in there. I want to see Asia.
I want to see John Quell. I want to see
Alyssa Thomas. There's players I want to see that we
are not seeing, and my bracket will look a little different.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
My apologies to the bigs. That's a big myself. I
feel bad. I should have known. I should have known.
All right, we got to take a quick break.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
When we come back, we remind ourselves how a bill
becomes a law. With Congresswoman Laurie Trehan, we caught up
with her yesterday, come on back.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Joining us now.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
The US representative for the third Congressional District of Massachusetts
since twenty nineteen. She's a member of the House Committee
on Energy and Commerce, co chair of the Democratic Policy
and Communications Committee, Senior Whip, and member of the Democratic
Steering and Policy Committee. A college volleyball player at Georgetown University,
the only former Division one woman athlete in Congress. She
earned a scholarship there and became the first person in
her family to graduate from college. She somehow does all
(19:15):
of that while raising two daughters, three step sons, and
a husband. Just kidding, Dave, it's Congresswoman Laurie Trahan. Hi, Laurie, Hi.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
How are you doing, Sarah good?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
We're all kind of raising a husband. Well, not all
of us, those with agree about you. Yes, okay, most
important things. First, as a former college volleyball player, the
youngsters are now calling it vibes.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Are you down with that?
Speaker 7 (19:35):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Wow?
Speaker 7 (19:36):
I hadn't heard that, and my daughter just started playing volleyball.
Huh yeah, it's fine.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
I mean I think you have to be open to
the evolution.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
That's right of all things, not just vibes. I'm sure
you'll hear it from your daughter. Then, before we get
into the Fair Play for Women Act, I want to
talk about the Women's Sports.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Bill that already passed in Congress.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
We think inaccurately named Protection of Women and Girls in
Sports Act HR twenty eight. You spoke out against it
before the vote, and you said, in part quote, I
wish I was talking about a bill that will lower
costs for hard working families or help more Americans buy
a home, you know, the issues that so many people
told us mattered most in the twenty four election. But instead,
in just their second week of Powerhouse Republicans have chosen
(20:17):
to vote on a federal takeover.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Of sports at all levels. End quote.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Tell us about that day and about speaking out in
opposition to that bill.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Yeah, well it is true.
Speaker 7 (20:27):
I mean, here, we come off this election where it
was pretty clear what people wanted us to get to
work on. In fact, you know, many of my Republican
colleagues campaigned on inflation and lowering the cost of living,
and we found ourselves on the House floor debating an
issue that they basically created by putting hundreds of millions
of dollars behind it, and you know, scaring people around
(20:51):
transgender athletes. I mean, I think one thing that you know,
I want to make I wanted to make clear that
day was, you know, fewer than ten I know, this
is a point you've made. Fewer than men of the
half a million athletes who are playing college sports today
are transgender. And there's really not a single parent that
I've talked to back home, who like stopped me in
(21:15):
the supermarket to say.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
You must do something about this right there.
Speaker 7 (21:20):
And then you know, they also don't think politicians should
be making all of these, you know, decisions. We have
governing bodies of sports. They're experts, they're dedicated to you know,
their their sports and creating fair and responsible rules for participation.
Many of them have already implemented changes right to ensure
(21:42):
fairness and safety. So I think that's where the decisions,
you know, we should be made. But it doesn't stop
my you know, Republican colleagues from you know, weaponizing this issue,
and it has a lot of consequence as a as
a result.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So yeah, yeah, I mean, I think you pointed out
smartly in your speaking out that day that there are
tons of organizations that have rules and are using science
and you know, the things that we should use to
make these decisions, crafting evidence based rules that allow for participation,
inclusion and also fairness. And I wonder as the only
(22:19):
division one female member of Congress, as the only person
who played at the collegiate level at the highest level,
some people might assume that you would side for the
opposing view that oh I someone would have taken my spot.
People sometimes say that to me as a former Division
one athlete, and I think the experience of playing offers
me the perspective to understand the importance of inclusion at
(22:40):
lower levels and for as long as it feels fair,
and we can talk about it Olympic levels and everything
else and hormones and how long and all the other things.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
But none of that nuance ever seems to be in
play here.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
It always seems to be this like one fell swoop
trying to limit everything in everyone.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
Yeah, And I think that is that's the problem when
Paul Titians sort of take hold of an issue and
they use it as a cudgel.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Right.
Speaker 7 (23:04):
I mean, this is just a federal takeover of all sports, right,
It's not just college sports or you know, high school
sports or Olympic sports. I mean I think of my
own daughters, who like literally played soccer when they were
like three, four or five years old, right like in
those elementary school years, in those early middle school years,
whatever it is, and like we're gonna say no to
(23:27):
all those trans kids, like you can't be part of
a team, you can't like sort of learn the just
the camaraderie and be a part of your community and
feel a sense of belonging and it's just cool because
you know, Marjorie Taylor Green says so. So, I just
I think that is what people have to be reminded of.
(23:49):
I mean, the reason why we have these organizations, these
sports governing authorities, which we have at every level of
play is to make you know, these decisions, and they
have over the course of time, they've sports enhancement drugs
like you just name, they've always sort of kept pace
and to just take that away and then look at
(24:09):
one of the things that you know, we also talked
about when that bill came to the floor, was how
are you going to implement this? Like there are a
lot of creeps out there, So now someone gets to accuse, uh,
you know, a girl who doesn't look feminine enough or
doesn't have like pigtails in her hair or something as
not being a girl.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
And then and then what like then how does she
have to prove that? Yeah, it's just it, It just is.
Speaker 7 (24:35):
It's poor policy making, and I think it's it's uh,
it's politics, I think at its worst.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Yeah, to your point, it feels rushed through when you
don't have any implementation for how you're going to follow through,
and you know there is the worst case scenario to
what you point to is you know, some four year
old who has to somehow prove their gender. But I
think some people haven't even spoken about how that would
even unravel further because you don't need to ask permission
(25:04):
in a lot of those situations. We're imagining a situation
where there's someone put in charge of regulating gender, and
the reality is at every single level, from kindergarten through college,
there could be a physical therapist, a trainer, a coach
assistant who says to a player, I suspect you, and
if you don't show me otherwise, I'm going to tell everyone.
(25:25):
And whether or not they have any authority to do
so doesn't matter, because that already happens. We already know
that there are so many bad actors in women's and girls'
sports that have violated the trust and have violated the
position that they're in, and the fact that that could
happen here because a player is just scared of someone
telling everyone they're a boy, even if they aren't, the
fear of that judgment, the fear of that stigma, could
(25:48):
cause them to feel like they're in a position where
they have to act or allow someone to abuse them,
and that's.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Terrifying to me.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
I wonder for you if you have a sense how
many of your Republican colleagues genuinely believe trans women are
a threat to women's sports, Like they really aren't aware
of how few there are, or the policies that exist,
or how many of them really understand it's not an
issue and are using it just for political points.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (26:12):
I mean you can't ignore the facts, you know, the
when you say you know less than ten college athletes, right,
I think you can't ignore that data.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
But it doesn't stop them.
Speaker 7 (26:24):
They think it's a it's a political winner for them,
and they've gone like so much further in their attacks
on trans people that you know, I think whether they
believe it or not, it doesn't even matter. They have
set such a dangerous narrative in our country around denying
the existence of trans people. And then, you know, in
(26:45):
terms of just trying to take over you know, sports,
it's there's just no limits that they'll they'll go to,
and I'm sure they're not done.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
So I think it is it is politics at its work.
Speaker 7 (27:00):
This is what people hate about, you know, and I
do think that there's some folks out there that have
common sense and they have maybe concerns or they've been
alerted to that there are concerns and they don't come
from a place of hate, but they've injected a really
hateful narrative in all of this that is really going
to take years to fix.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
The fear mongering and the scare tactics are really what's
pushing so much of this.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
How do we get the real numbers out?
Speaker 1 (27:27):
How do we get out that there are ten NC
double athletes, that there were four athletes in Utah when
the Republican governor they're actually vetoed a similar state level band,
noting that we only have four athletes that would be affected.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
By I'm not doing this.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
How do we get that out and their stories so
that people don't think of them statistics but understand these
are just human beings and kids who want to play.
Speaker 7 (27:48):
You know, we just need to hear more from people
who play in these arenas, who are able to use
their position and their platform and really they're you know,
the respect that they've sort of built as a as
a leader in sport, and I get like, not everybody
wants to get pulled into like the political vortex of
us against them, and it can get so just hateful
(28:11):
really fast, especially when you're in you know, on digital media.
One of the places where I sort of draw my
strength is in my lived experience and in having kids
who are athletes and being on the bleachers every weekend
and sort of you know, painting the full picture. And
I've had conversations with people who are just like, I'm.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Just like you.
Speaker 7 (28:30):
I played collegiate soccer. But I'm hearing over and over
that this is becoming in you know.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
An issue.
Speaker 7 (28:37):
And the second you tell them the numbers, and then
you remind them, look, we have an NCAA, you have
a state board, there's the Olympic International Committee, right like
then they're reminded like, oh yeah, like we've always we
have these bodies for a reason. Why would politicians insert
themselves into it?
Speaker 4 (28:56):
It's not just for political reasons. So I do think.
Speaker 7 (28:59):
Having more voices on the side of credibility if that matters.
So yeah, I encourage people all the time to get
off the sidelines and do that.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
One of the most frustrating things is how this focus
on this as distracted away from the real issues around
women's sport.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
And I want to.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Throw back to a hearing in March of twenty twenty
three you pressed the ad at Washington State on his
department's exploitation of Title nine loophools.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Let's take a listen to a little bit of that.
Speaker 7 (29:26):
You must be aware that last year an investigative report
from USA Today found that your university overcounted your women's
rowing roster by twenty one athletes and counted eight male
practice players as women's roster spots to show compliance with
Title nine on paper, Yes, and it sounds like, just
(29:46):
from your direct and truthful answers, that you understand that
by overcounting or misrepresenting the number of women athletes at
your university, that you're essentially depriving, in this case, twenty
nine women of the chance to continue athletic career.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Yeah, assuming those numbers are correct. Yes.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
So I bring this up because many of my colleagues
on the committee may not be aware that the Department
of Education allows colleges to exploit loopholes like overcounting women athletes,
double or triple counting them, or even counting male athletes
as women to comply with Title nine on paper.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
So I'm listening to that, and it just reminds me
yet again that the kind of outright exclusion of thousands
of women and girls that's currently happening across the country
seems to be of less interest to folks than trying
to motivate people using imagined situations, where in a trans
athlete is you know, quote unquote stealing one spot from
assist gender women at the collegiate level, so college women
(30:43):
still have sixty thousand fewer athletic opportunities than men. High
school girls have about a million fewer opportunities to play
sports than high school boys. And this is all despite
the fact that Title nine is supposed to be regulating that.
So this brings me to a bill that you've reintroduced
several times, including last February and just this week, the
Fair Play for Women Act. It actually seeks to solve
the biggest issues that are facing girls and women in sports,
(31:03):
the real issues.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
So tell us what this bill would do.
Speaker 7 (31:06):
Yeah, so this is going to close the Title nine
loopholes that we know exist, and as you so eloquantly said,
it basically closes off opportunities for and I wouldn't just say,
thousands or tens of thousands, like millions of women, because.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
It goes all the way to high schools.
Speaker 7 (31:22):
Right when you have these loopholes, I think that putting
it at that scale, it begs the question, why the
hell is Congress, you know, using women's sports as a
political weapon in their culture.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
War when we literally have you know, a.
Speaker 7 (31:37):
Million fewer opportunities for girls than boys to participate in
high school sports. And despite you know, women comprising a
majority of undergraduate students in our colleges, they only represent
forty four percent of all college athletes. So the Fair
Play for Women Act fixes that by holding schools and
(31:59):
athletic stations accountable for discriminatory treatment. It expands reporting requirements
for college and K through twelve athletics data so that
we have the transparency.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
That we need.
Speaker 7 (32:12):
And its strengths It strengthens Title nine rights for athletes themselves,
So no more double or triple counting women athletes in college,
no more counting men's practice players as women athletes. The
other ones we saw counting roster spots at Triumphs before
cutting dozens of athletes, and we've seen this in colleges
(32:33):
all across the country. Right. I mean that's I meet
with a lot of a lot of colleges, you know,
over the course of you know, the debate on sports
and college athletics, and I always look up when they
leave the office and I'm like, oh, yep, they're in
They're not in compliance either, So I think being up
our enforcement, having more transparency.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
And just making sure that we're strengthening.
Speaker 7 (32:57):
Title nine, you know, you know us year when we
celebrated the fiftieth anniversary, and I think, wow, I never
would have been able to go to Georgetown without Title nine.
It changed the course of my life, as it has
for so many women. And like, why are we not
thinking about the next fifty years at a time when
women's sports is like so exciting doing it all on
(33:21):
their own, by the way, But it's just it's incredible
that we haven't harnessed the excitement around women's sports and
used it to like propel us into the next one
hundred years. Rather we're like, we're making up these issues
going backwards.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
Yeah, and we're going.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
Backwards you know, opportunities for women.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
So we're just trying to make sure we still have
a vote after the you know, bills go through where
we can't use our married name and whatever else I would.
I mean, it feels like at every single turn, moves
are being made to suppress us, as opposed to celebrate
or build off the strength of some of the organic
growth that's happening in the sports space or anywhere else
in women's spaces. What's the purpose of reintroducing bills? Is
(34:02):
there a limit on how many times you can do that,
or why do you need to reintroduce it.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
It's a great question.
Speaker 7 (34:07):
And I was just so surprised that you knew about
the attacks on women voting, Like you're so politically Oh,
I know.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
All this shit. It's killing me every day. It's just
like I got to.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
End my day watching dog videos there. Also, I'm like,
I'm out of here going to news.
Speaker 7 (34:24):
That was impressive because not many know that that one's coming.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
But it's a great question.
Speaker 7 (34:29):
Every time we introduce legislation, we basically have the Congress,
which is a two calendar years. Is how long a
Congress lasts to pass that bill? And at the end
of the session, the bill if it hasn't been passed,
even if you pass it in the House and it
dies in the Senate because they don't take it up
unless it's signed by the president, the bill dies and
you've basically start over the next Congress. So we have
(34:52):
not gotten fair play for women across the finish line.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
And so you know, we re introduce it every Congress
on it.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
So I got to watch Schoolhouse Rock again, I think,
And that's that's how I'll be reminded how many times
you could.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Do it and where it needs to go.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
And there's no limit. We'll keep We'll keep introducing it
until we pass it.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Good.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
How can folks who support the message behind the bill
get involved in like raising awareness? Can we help get
it passed in any way?
Speaker 4 (35:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (35:20):
I mean, look, any time like a piece of legislation
gets uplifted by athletes, it's really helpful because people really
respect and you think of all the fans out there,
they watch because of the athletes, and they follow them
their personalities, like I know, my girls, Like they know
so much more about women athletes to you know, at
(35:42):
the collegiate level, at the pro level finally than I
ever did. And it's really important. Like what how they
the things they support, the things they speak out on,
the things that they you know, just talk about really
matter so whenever we can put a bill that you know,
just is right in the wheelhouse of players, getting them
(36:04):
to chat about it.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Yeah, it's really smart.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
And you know, we had Stepstrack from Voice and Sport,
and she has her VIZ advocates across the colleges and
spaces across the country, which is really, to your point,
necessary to have the people actually having the lived experience
of who would be affected by this speaking out and
supporting things.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
I also think it's interesting you had in my brain.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
I'm like, yeah, there's such loud opponents on the other side,
and I was like, Riley Gaines is everywhere, and.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
Then I was like, oh yeah, because she's not doing
anything else.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
And the professional athletes who are competing are busy being
professional athletes, and they're the ones who support trans inclusion,
and they don't have as much time to sell their
soul to Oan and Fox News in order to get
the word out about their bullshit. So I guess we
need to get some retired athletes who are enjoying vacations
and fruity drinks to get their ass down to DC
and start supporting things and going on all the shows
(36:53):
the same way people without souls.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Are doing okay.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
So last month you joined a couple other members of
Congress to applaud the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights,
which I think still exists but hard to say, for
releasing a new fact sheet that was clarifying how colleges
were obliged under Title nine to work with the changing
landscape and still you know, pay attention to things like name,
(37:16):
image and likeness and direct payments and how the changing
space would still be regulated by Title nine. You helped
push for this update, you were excited when it happened.
And then, to quote jay Z grand opening, grand closing
earlier today, the Department of Education now just like two
weeks later, announced Title nine doesn't apply to NIO Trump
pushing for it not to be regulated.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
So what can you say about this?
Speaker 7 (37:38):
There's been a lot of talk about college sports post
house settlement, right, but almost none of that conversation has
been focused on how women athletes will be impacted. Right
as we speak, and this isn't finally yet, but you know,
colleges and universities are are you know, sort of plotting
to circumvent Title nine and direct most of their revenue
(37:59):
share to football and men's basketball and they're openly talking
about it. So anyway, I teamed up with a few
members of the Democratic Women's Caucus so that we could
just get the Department of Education to weigh in on
how Title nine would apply to potential revenue share funds
if the settlement's approved, because right now, the settlement's like
ninety ten.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Yeah, for those who don't know, this, House versus NCAA
essentially calls for backpay to college athletes now that we
recognize that they were the unpaid labor making people billions.
But it feels like it will end up getting paid
out predominantly to men and not abide at all by
Title nine.
Speaker 7 (38:36):
So many of these things are like precedent setting, right,
So we wanted a Department of Education, even though this
is in the courts right now, to weigh in on
Title nine. And I mean I will come to know
as no shock to you, but of course Title nine
absolutely applies. College sports may change, but the law remains
(38:56):
the same, and so does the obligation that schools have
to sure.
Speaker 4 (39:00):
That the equality for men and women's sports.
Speaker 7 (39:03):
It also said that schools can be liable for Title
nine violations if they invest more heavily in the promotion,
the facilities, the games, even the scheduling.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
Of men's sports versus women's and.
Speaker 7 (39:17):
Those are huge factors for those of us who have
long said that, you know, the appetite for women's sports
is there, we just need the promotion, right. I mean,
you watch the Super Bowl and you saw the Nike ad.
I mean, the sports is going to come from women.
And here we've been like the like Cornhusker Stadium, the
(39:37):
women's softball tournament, the basketball tournament, the pro soccer league,
and hockey leagues. Now they've got pro volleyball. I mean
we've been doing this so without a dime of like
promotion or a media deal, doing it all on their own.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
And without taxpayer subsidies for their stadiums, which people love
to ignore men have been benefiting from for like one
hundred plus years.
Speaker 4 (39:59):
That's exactly right.
Speaker 7 (40:00):
And so I mean this is a moment I think
when people are if they're not playing women's sports, they're
watching women's sports, and I think it's just time for
just an acknowledgment of you know, the precipice that we're
on on the you know, how we're going to you know,
fund these media deals, how we're going to you know,
(40:22):
we can't talk about fair market value because we don't
have a fair market value, right women.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
I know, it didn't change the law that there was
the guidance sheet. Does it change the law that the
guidance sheet doesn't exist anymore? It feels like ultimately it
should all still apply to the law that is Title nine,
which is difficult to enforce already. But what does it
really mean in terms of every day activity? When Donald
Trump says we're not going to allow that to apply.
Speaker 4 (40:48):
Well, they're going to come up with their own version.
Speaker 7 (40:50):
But like mind you, this is the same administrations that
is thinking of wiping out the Department of Education, which
is exactly where enforcement of Title nine sits. So I
think there's a lot of things that play, I mean,
don't I'm not very optimistic that they're going to come
up with a guidance that was as pro woman athlete
as Biden administration. There's a reason why they rescinded it.
(41:12):
They don't agree with it, but we don't know what
they're going to do. But if they think that they're
going to stop it, it's going to be decided by
the courts. And that's sort of been our recourse just
these first six weeks of this administration is when they
try to roll us back, or when they try to
(41:32):
undo statute that's been on the books in this case
over fifty years.
Speaker 4 (41:37):
We're going to fight that in court.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
And you're doing that in a number of ways, including
a pro NIL Build a College Athlete Economic Freedom Act
that has provisions targeting collectives like when a school has
just a football collective to help raise NIL or a
men's basketball only, and also require that goods and services
offered by those collective be equitable across sports and genders.
Speaker 2 (41:57):
So you're doing this in ways.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
That aren't just our ways, which is like screaming on
social media about how screwed up everything is. You're actually
introducing these bills and these opportunities for it to go
through the court system, for it to go through the
proper places to be decided. And it's so necessary to
have folks like you doing that. It is so necessary
to believe that there are people in there fighting against
all this stuff. It is so overwhelming to be on
(42:19):
the outside looking in and wondering where the folks are
that can get in the way and muck things up.
As they're trying to undo all these policies and laws
and statutes that have been in existence for so long.
I know we have to let you go, but I
have to ask you one non work related question because
of your d one volleyball background. You mentioned we've got
these pro leagues now NCAA women's volleyball is bigger than ever.
(42:40):
Watching this growth, watching these like football stadiums sold out
for volleyball.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
What does it mean to you? How do you watch it?
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Is?
Speaker 4 (42:48):
It is the best?
Speaker 7 (42:49):
I mean, it wasn't something that I could have ever
fathomed when I was playing in front of you know,
maybe like eighty people right on a good day.
Speaker 4 (43:01):
It is. It is really like I'm so proud.
Speaker 7 (43:06):
I know it's volleyball is like the one of the
fastest growing sport.
Speaker 4 (43:09):
It's the largest AAU sport.
Speaker 7 (43:11):
You know, my daughter just started playing, so it's a
lot of fun to just see how it's taken off.
Speaker 4 (43:17):
And like, you know, I tell her and it makes
me sound like I'm a hundred.
Speaker 7 (43:22):
Like I will tell her like when I played, there
was one club that traveled in all of New England.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Was made of cotton. My mom sowed it or something.
Speaker 4 (43:36):
But it's true, Like.
Speaker 7 (43:36):
There was only one club and now there's like hundreds,
so it's it's pretty cool.
Speaker 4 (43:41):
You know.
Speaker 7 (43:42):
I have to say, every time I see the clip
of corn Husch Stadium and.
Speaker 4 (43:45):
People just like pouring in, it just gives me goosebumps.
Speaker 7 (43:49):
And you're right the I I didn't I wasn't able
to go to the tournament this year because it's so
close to Christmas and we barely get out in time
for Christmas.
Speaker 4 (43:59):
But it's on the list.
Speaker 7 (44:01):
I've got to bring my girls because it's just such
an exciting time.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
All right.
Speaker 1 (44:05):
Last thing, you got me thinking about sending athletes down
to help you push for this stuff. And I love
being a connector. I know a lot of athletes. Give
me your dream team. Name a couple of folks. Do you
want to come down there with you and lobby because
I guarantee some of them would want to come down
there and put their money where their mouth is.
Speaker 7 (44:19):
Oh you know, so if because we're so proximate to Yukon,
I mean, I have page buckers, it's like such a pagebackers.
Speaker 1 (44:28):
What about I mean you probably want all the old
ones and if you Saklier and Sue Ber to just
get all those books.
Speaker 4 (44:33):
I am, Send them all.
Speaker 7 (44:35):
Send anybody I don't here, if you're well known or
if no one knows who you are, I have to say.
And I'll just make this point because it's worth repeating
over and over. When I go into these meetings where
we're talking about college sports, I'm the only woman.
Speaker 4 (44:49):
I am. Men. This is their favorite topic. They want
to they love it.
Speaker 7 (44:53):
Their fans, they they often they've played themselves. But no
one is pounding on the table for title nine and
women athletes and so all the while, like these guys kids,
their sons are watching, you know, these women play, and
so I think it's.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
And their daughters are watching them, not fight for them, right, But.
Speaker 7 (45:18):
Yes, any and all women like coming down and just
you know, standing shoulder to shoulder and how important this
is and how they've had enough of you know, their
sports and their programs being underfunded or overlooked or allowed
for loopholes to set in.
Speaker 4 (45:32):
It just helps the It helps the cause.
Speaker 7 (45:34):
That's how these things get done is seeing you know,
the real people who are impacted by it.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
Agreed, I hope that buzzing isn't a warning. Ever since
January sixth, I'm worried about like a qan non shaman
coming into your office.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Thank you so much for the time.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
Sorry for swearing, Honorable Congresswoman, you just got me all
fired up.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
Thanks again to Laurie for joining us.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
Truly, truly like makes me feel better deep in my
soul that there are people like her in there fighting.
We got to take another break when we come back.
A quick fit check for an MNBA.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
Player, stick around slices, Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
We love that you're listening, but we want you to
get in the game every day too, So here's our
good gameplay of the day.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
You heard Louri.
Speaker 1 (46:19):
If you are a professional athlete, a coach, an administrator,
or even remotely involved in the sports space, hit me up.
I can get you connected with LORII so you can
join the fight against HR twenty eight and for the
Fair Play for Women Act down in DC. As someone
who's actually gone down to DC to lobby in the past,
in my case for an assault weapons ban, it is
an incredible lesson in how our government works, and it's
(46:40):
not nearly as scary as you might think. You don't
have to be an expert in anything. You don't have
to be perfectly versed in every law. You just need
a care So hit me up and let's get you
connected to Lourie and let's make some shit happen. We
love to hear from you, so you can always hit
us up on email, good game at wondermediaetwork dot com,
or leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two
four fifty seventy and you guessed it. Don't forget subscribe,
(47:02):
rate and review, It's so easy. Watch Tyrese Halliburton of
the MNBA Indiana Pacers Rocket and and Myers Drysdale Pacers
Jersey to his game on Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (47:12):
Night, rating ten out of ten.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
We stand a man who stands a Woman Review PACER's
star point guard. Tyrese Haliburton's tunnel fit was a tribute
to the first woman ever to sign an NBA contract,
the legendary and Myers Drysdale, the former UCLA star who
was also the first woman signed to a four year
college athletic scholarship, signed a deal with Indiana Pacers back
in nineteen seventy nine, earning fifty thousand dollars to try
(47:37):
out with the team. Now, she didn't make the final roster,
but she did become a color analyst for the team,
helping break barriers for women in the broadcast space, and
years later, she's still kicking ass in broadcasting, front office rolls,
board positions, and more.
Speaker 2 (47:50):
Shout out to you and and to Tyres for.
Speaker 1 (47:53):
Knowing your history. Now it's your turn rate and review.
Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow. Good Game, Lori, Good Game,
Cap Maccario Hugh Politicians who care more about political points
than serving their constituents. Good Game with Sarah Spain is
an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue
Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app,
(48:14):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by
Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones.
Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan
and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez,
and Grace Lynch. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and
I'm your host, Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where our unrivaled
one v one brackets are totally busted. Should have been
on more bigs and fewer ball handlers. It's Thursday, February thirteenth,
and on today's show, we'll be talking to Congresswoman Laurie Trehan,
who represents Massachusetts third District in the US House of Representatives.
We'll discuss the bill she just reintroduced, how she's helping
lead the fight for the actual issues impacting women's sports,
(00:23):
and what it's like being the only former Division one
woman athlete currently in Congress. Plus Big Citrus weighs in
on the Unrivaled one v one tourney, a US Women's
a national team player who's finally Feeline Fine, and a
battle of ballers in SoCal.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's all coming up right after this welcome back. Here's
what you need to know today.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Let's start with Unrivaled, where the semi finals of the
one v one tournament are set. In one semi we've
got eight seed Aliah Edwards taking on number one seed
aric He Goombuale. Edwards advanced after pulling off the biggest
upset of round one, shutting out fellow Husky Miss BC
teammate and top turny seed Brianna Stewart on Monday Night
twelve nothing before she went on to defeat Ali Chagra
(01:14):
in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Semi finals are nearly an
all Yukon party because Edwards is moving on alongside fellow
Connecticut alums DEFEASTA. Collier and Azare Stevens, who will meet
in the other semi Call your A one seed Stevens
a six. Now you know Arik wants to win it
all for Notre Dame and for all the other Husky
haters out there. All four players already guaranteed twenty five
(01:34):
thousand dollars by reaching the semifinal round.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
The runner up we'll get fifty K.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
And the winner two hundred thousand dollars, plus the winners
Club teammates will each get a cool ten K. Both
the semifinals and the finals are Tomorrow night, beginning at
seven thirty pm Eastern on True TV. More on Unrivaled
a little bit later in the show to Soccer, where
the US women's national team roster for the upcoming she
believes Cup dropped on Wednesday, The highlight is the return
(01:59):
of Katerina mccar, whose time with Team USA has unfortunately
been highlighted by a string of injuries. Her most recent
US women's national team call up came last June during
Emma Hayes's first match as head coach, and Macario was
then named to the twenty twenty four US Olympic roster
before getting ruled out due to persistent knee injuries. Those
date back to a torn acl in twenty twenty two.
(02:20):
We're glad to see you back, cat Mio. Stay healthy.
In total, Hayes named twelve members of that gold medal
winning Olympic team to the She Believes roster, but there
are a lot of notable absences too, including all three
members of Triple Espresso still being out. That's Sophia Wilson
formerly Smith, Trinity Rodman, and Mallory Swanson now per US Soccer.
Both Wilson and Rodman are in the process of rehabbing injuries,
(02:42):
while Swanson is out due to personal commitments. The She
Beliefs Cup will be held from February twentieth to the
twenty sixth, with games in Houston, San Diego, and Glendale, Arizona.
The three other participating teams are Japan, Columbia and Australia.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
More footy news.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Australian national team star Sam Kerr was found not guilty
of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer following a
seven day trial. Now, if you haven't followed this saga,
we'll give you some context and be warned it's a
bit of a doozy.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So this dates back to January of twenty twenty three.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Kerr and partner Christy Lewis were at a taxi heading
home after a night out when they had a dispute
with the driver. Now, the driver alleged that they refused
to pay for the cost of cleaning up vomit in
the cab, and that he called the cops after Mewis
smashed the rear window of the car.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Kerr claims that the.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Driver began behaving erradically after she felt ill and spat
out of the window, and she and Fiancemwis both said
when it was clear he wasn't driving toward their home,
they believed they were being held hostage. Mewis claims she
kicked out the window trying to escape. The driver brought
them to the police station, where Kerr was recorded via
an officer's body camp, saying quote, you guys are fucking
stupid and white end quote multiple times. While the charges
(03:50):
for criminal damage to the taxi were dropped because Kerr
paid for the reported damages, the charge for racially motivated
harassment was not. During the trial, Kerr told the jury
that she felt she'd been treated differently by the police
based on quote what they perceived to be the color
of my skin end quote. Kerr said she identifies as
a white Anglo Indian and that she had witnessed racism
directed toward members of her family, including her father, who
(04:12):
is Anglo Indian. Following the jury's verdict, which came after
four hours of deliberation, Curly's to a statement thanking her family,
friends and supporters and expressing gratitude to be able to
put the incident behind her quote. While I apologize for
expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening, I
have always maintained that I did not intend to insult
or harm anyone, and I'm thankful that the jury unanimously agreed.
(04:34):
I'm fully focused on getting back onto the pitch and
look forward to an exciting year ahead for.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Me and my family.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
End quote to college hoops, where we've got a few
big top twenty five matchups. Tonight, First up, number three
Texas travels to number eight Kentucky for an SEC showdown.
The twenty four and two Longhorns are aiming to give
Kentucky its first home loss of the season. That game
tipse at seven pm on ESPN two. Then, for those
of on the East Coast, it's going to be a
late night, but worth staying up. Number one UCLA heads
(05:03):
down the road to face off against so Cal rival
Number six usc.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Juju versus Kiki Other Kiki versus Lauren can't wait. That
game tips off at ten pm Eastern on Peacock.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
We'll link to the full college hoops schedule in the
show notes More hoops. The first week of Athletes Unlimited
basketball action has been a good one. On Tuesday, the
folks at AU announced that opening weekend ticket sales were
up one hundred and twenty five percent over last year
and ninety three percent higher than any other opening week
in AU history. Crystal Bradford sat at the top of
the leaderboard at the end of week one, while Week
(05:36):
two games continued tonight. We'll link to that schedule in
the show notes as well, and even more pro hoops news.
WNBA vet Erica Wheeler will join the Seattle Storm this
upcoming season. She announced her intentions to sign with the
team via Instagram post on The Easy Bucket Shows Instagram,
a show she co hosts on the Player's TV network,
and Seattle later made it official. Wheeler is a ten
(05:57):
year WNBA vet out of Rutgers who's made stops in Atlanta,
New York, and Los Angeles throughout her career. She played
the last two seasons with the Indiana Fever as a
veteran point guard presence for the squad, coming off the
bench in twenty twenty four to spell the dynamic duo
of two time All Star Kelsey Mitchell and Rookie of
the Year Caitlin Clark. Now she'll join a Seattle team
that just resigned nine time All Star neck oguom Mackay,
Gabby Williams, and Alicia Clark, who won two championships with
(06:21):
the Storm earlier in her career. Add those pieces to Skyler,
Digg and Smith and the rest of the talent on
that roster. At the risk of sounding corny, y'all, it
feels like a Storm's a bruin to hockey and the
p WHL, where last season's MVP Toronto forward Natalie Spooner
is officially back. Spooner made her return on Tuesday night,
tallying one assist in the Scepter's three to two overtime
(06:43):
win over the Minnesota Frost. Still not all good news
for Toronto. While Spooner is back nine months after tearing
her ACL, the team is now without fellow Canadian national
team standout Sarah Nurse. She suffered a lower body entry
during a rivalry series game against the US last week.
There are games every night this week in the PWHL
and this weekend, so we'll put the schedule in our
show notes to the Women's Lacross League, where action continues
(07:04):
tonight between the Maryland Charm and Boston Guard. Maryland is
coming off of fourteen to thirteen loss to New York
during the league opener on Monday. Following the conclusion of
round robin action on Saturday, the number one seed will
earn a bye to next Monday's championship, while the second
and third ranked teams will meet in Sunday's semi final round.
We'll link to that schedule in our show notes to
alpine skiing, where US athletes Mikaela Schiffrin and Breezy Johnson
(07:27):
teamed up to win gold in the new team combined
event at this week's World Championships in Austria.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
The event works like this.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Each team has two athletes, one to compete in the downhill,
the other to compete in the slalom, and their times
from each run are combined. The team with the lowest
combined time wins. With the win, Johnson won her second
gold medal of the week, following her downhill victory over
the weekend. While this is Shiffrin's fifteenth World Championship medal
of her career, extending her run as the most decorated
World Championship skier of the modern era, worth noting there
(07:56):
was a little bit of drama heading into this event
so each can enter multiple teams, and in the lead
up to Worlds Lindsay Vaughn had campaigned to race with
Schiffrin in the event, calling them a quote dream team
that's not hyperbole. Schiffrin, in addition to owning the most
World Cup victories in history with ninety nine, is also
the winningest slalom skier in history.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
With sixty two.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Vaughn meanwhile holds many records of her own, including the
most World Cup downhill victories with forty three, so clearly
Von and Schiffrin racing together would have been fun, but
Schiffrin had initially announced she wouldn't be entering the team
event in order to focus on Giant slalom, then, citing
PTSD following a November crash, she opted out of the
Giant slalom and instead added in the team event. After
(08:36):
Shiffern announced on social media that she'd be racing with Johnson,
Von tweeted why am I not surprised?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
With a shrug emoji now.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Vaughn quickly deleted that tweet, and she acknowledged that she
hadn't helped her own case by reacting on Twitter. She said, quote,
maybe I didn't help myself or the team by having
my Twitter fingers out, But at the same time, I'm
a human being and I was disappointed in the communication,
and I let my feelings be known. I'm a human,
I have feelings, so shoot me end quote. US Ski
and Snowboard said the pairings were determined based on seasoned
(09:05):
best results in downhill and slalom, and Von later acknowledged
that she believed that Shiffern and Johnson were the best pair,
but her frustration stem from how the decision was communicated.
Vaughn ended up pairing with aj Hurt and they went
on to finish sixteenth in the event. All right, Selice's
quick fix from a previous show. I want to shout
out lis Alo on Blue Sky who told me that
summer Side, not summer Dale, was the site of the
(09:27):
final Canada USA Rivalry Series hockey game.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
We got to work on.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Our Prince Edward Island knowledge down here. It looks lovely
in summer Side. Thanks for keeping us honest up there
in Pei. Speaking of being honest, my unrival Brackett is
a mess. I still have my winner and if you said,
call Year and she's looking good, But the rest of
my final.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Four all got bounced. So see Yaklia copper by Skyler,
Digg and Smith.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
So long, Jewel Lloyd. Let's check in with the rest
of the big Citrus in their brackets. See how they're doing.
Alex is yours as ugly as mine.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I am absolutely not sharing any details about my bracket.
It's real ugly. I mean I do have fee winning
so okay, good, I have one final straw I can
hold on to, but we're in.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
The same place.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah. Any big takeaways on the tournament from watching one.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
I think the post game interviews are very fun when
they are extremely out of breath. I don't think I've
ever heard basketball players sound like four hundred meter runners before,
and it's just a real fun change. But I mostly
have one question that I wanted to pick Misha's brain about,
which is unrivaled. Is using a make it take it
rule where if you score, you get to keep the ball.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Is that what it's like.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
On the playgrounds growing up?
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Like?
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Where does this rule come from? And do we think
it's fair?
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Now?
Speaker 5 (10:41):
Origin story, I can't help you with that.
Speaker 6 (10:43):
People when playing one on one a long time, much
longer than I've been here, but I will say growing up,
that was always the rule. Personally, I hear a lot
of people say that it feels unfair that one person
could just get hot and the whole game is over.
But to me, I think that's part of why like
that rule. It forces the opponent or whoever's playing to
be honest defensively, to actually play defense.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
If you don't play both sides of the ball, there's
no way you're gonna win.
Speaker 6 (11:09):
And so those mainly offensively minded players, they don't get
the benefit of the doubt in that situation. But I
like that they have adopted it. I hope that that
kind of illuminates why a little bit more.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
But yeah, it's pretty it's pretty standard.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Interesting me, show's your bracket looking huh?
Speaker 6 (11:26):
So I had a sleeper pick to win it all.
I had Rakia Jackson and Rakiya just went up against
feet and I thought she had a chance in that matchup.
She ended up bullying her straight like that thunder showed
why she's the best probably player in the world TVD
by the end of this tournament. But I had Rakia
and the rest of my bracket is just jacked up
for a bunch of other reasons.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Injuries, by it's just you got nobody left.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
We're out, You're out.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Feliks insane, Like I want to. I want to put
a futures bet on her winning MVP in the w
NBA season this year, like she was this close last year.
And I know I'm talking that's mess. Wall Asia Wilson
still exists in the world, but damn it, feel looks
so good.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
Imagine Asia in this one on one tournament and.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
What I have and I'm sad it's not happening.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You got any takeaways, meche, Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
First of all, nothing to do with the x's and o's.
I love this walk up music thing they've got going
on when the players are introduced before they play. I
think that's gotta be one of the coolest aspects of it.
To me and Courtney Williams. If we're in talian who's winning.
She's winning? Because if you walk out to Teddy Pendergrass
right when somebody loves you back in Valentine's Day week.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, but the vibes are funny because it hits until
the next song starts right, and then once the beat
takes over, you're like, yeah, I mean sorry Teddy, but
like this beat is getting it's getting me moving a
little more than you are.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Did you, by the way, did you see the whole
Lexi Hall thing?
Speaker 5 (12:54):
I did not oh about her about her music?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Right, So, Angel Reese alleges that she picked her music,
but there was also a thousand dollars bet on the
line that Lexi wouldn't use the music.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Oh Lexie about that life. I don't know.
Speaker 6 (13:07):
Lex kind of goes with the flow. She's just there
to hoop, so I don't know why you bet against her.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So Haul walked out to set it off by boozy badass,
and Angel Reese, who's her teammate on her unrivaled squad, said,
you know, you know who chose that for her? And
then Kalia Copper said we bet one k So I
think Kalia owes Lexi Hall one thousand dollars because she
actually went and did it and walked out to Tozie,
so I know it's money on the line.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
There's money on the line everywhere.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
It seems like it. Right, all right, me, we got
to go. What other takeaways?
Speaker 1 (13:36):
You got?
Speaker 6 (13:37):
My other biggest takeaway, Elia Edwards putting everybody unnoticed that
she is really her.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
She might be young, but she's really her.
Speaker 6 (13:45):
And you know why that makes me happy, Sarah, because
my mistakes. I want her to bring that to my
mystics in her second season in the WNBA. I just
I really want this confidence to translate because she's showing
offensively and defensively how deep the bag really goes and
how tough she is, Like I do not want to
understate how hard it is to.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
Go out there.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
All eyes are on you and one other person. There's
nowhere to hide. And she's gone up against Alicia Gray,
who a lot of people might have had winning this tournament.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Not to mention blowing.
Speaker 6 (14:16):
Stuwie out, I think that's the only shutout we've seen
in this entire tournament, was Elia Edwards versus Stewie.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
So I just want to see that translate to the
w next season.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Anything else.
Speaker 6 (14:27):
There's a couple of rule changes I think that they
should consider for the next season of this tournament. First
up being a foul limit, because I understand the strategy
that the little guards are using against the bigs to
foul them when they get into the paint and keep
them getting tired and keep them from scoring points. But
I also think it would be more of a challenge
if you had a limit. And then I think a
(14:48):
reason this was a question I had. I assumed that
there must be some sort of foul limit.
Speaker 5 (14:52):
I don't think there is. I actually don't think there is.
Speaker 6 (14:54):
I didn't see anything about a foul limit, and Skyler,
Digg and Smith would.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
Have passed it.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
She would have then passed she was using them.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
She was using them.
Speaker 6 (15:01):
And then the only other rule change I think that
would be cool was a reset clock, so after a
made basket, or after a stoppage and play, or after
they passed to one of the kind of guys who
stand off to the side to help them. I think
it'd be cool to have a reset clock so they
kind of know how much time they can take to breathe,
but also so people can't stall.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
I think that would just make it a little bit
more challenging.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, that relates to one of my takeaways the strategy.
You know, the timeout use that you could use in
the quarters to take a rest, and then the sort
of injury slash shoe tying slash. We're both breathing heavy
and it seems like neither of us needs to get
this going right away kind of thing, where you were
definitely seeing players use that for rest. And then, like
you said, the fouls, like the really smart fouls of
(15:44):
when someone knew they got beat, they would just foul
because there's no harm in doing it, especially if there's
no limit, which is something I wanted to ask about.
That was a really big part of strategy, and players
who didn't figure that, I think were hurt by it
and then Fee off the backboard to herself crazy crazy
some of those moments, I was just like, it's not
just skill, it's like, what do you bring into this
(16:04):
in terms of brains. Also, like I mentioned with my bracket,
the unicorns versus the ball handlers, I just thought the
folks with the ball handling skills and the playground type
skills would be too fast on the first step for
the bigs to catch up, and that the bigs would
get tired. And what we saw was that these bigs
(16:24):
are not sure average bigs. The conditioning is insane, and
the unicorns are just faster than you expect. Like I
have Fee winning it. Sophie is a different category for me.
But as a Ray Stevens, when you and I were
picking our un rival league teams, I was like, she's
a little too deliberate. When I saw her with the sky,
I didn't see her a lot in space. She would post,
she would spot up for threes, and she would be inside.
(16:45):
But watching her play with that speed, my apologies, I
was not familiar with your game. My apologies, Aleah Edwards.
In space to your point, like absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Blew my mind. Ray Burrell beating Jewel did not see that.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
With that in mind, like a special respect to Courtney
Williams and Arik forgetting as far as they did. Arik
Stillnett Corny's out. But those those smaller players, you know
that they have to have insane moves, especially Arik's fadeaway
threes to get beyond those reaches of the bigs. It
was just even more impressive to see the little ones
get that far. And then my final takeaway is just
(17:22):
I want them to make up the players that are watching. Yeah,
I first thought I want to make up the players playing,
but they're two damn winded. There's nothing good's gonna happen,
but the players watching. If you guys saw djon A
Carrington roaming the sideline just screaming at the officials for
her missed teammate while she was like out and done,
(17:43):
she is like getting up in the face like a
like a as somebody on Twitter said, non evil Kim Mulkey,
just all over those officials. I want to hear their reactions.
I wanted to hear their reactions to Brianna Stewart getting
absolutely smoked because you saw them in the background like, oh,
(18:03):
like we need Mike's.
Speaker 6 (18:05):
I want to hear Courtney Williams dad's peen talk that
he gave her yet her time out before she got
that final ill against Fee.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I want it, yeah, but I'm enjoying it so much.
I cannot wait for next year already. And I want
everyone to be healthy. I just I want to see
a couple more folks in there. I want to see Asia.
I want to see John Quell. I want to see
Alyssa Thomas. There's players I want to see that we
are not seeing, and my bracket will look a little different.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
My apologies to the bigs. That's a big myself. I
feel bad. I should have known. I should have known.
All right, we got to take a quick break.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
When we come back, we remind ourselves how a bill
becomes a law. With Congresswoman Laurie Trehan, we caught up
with her yesterday, come on back.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Joining us now.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
The US representative for the third Congressional District of Massachusetts
since twenty nineteen. She's a member of the House Committee
on Energy and Commerce, co chair of the Democratic Policy
and Communications Committee, Senior Whip, and member of the Democratic
Steering and Policy Committee. A college volleyball player at Georgetown University,
the only former Division one woman athlete in Congress. She
earned a scholarship there and became the first person in
her family to graduate from college. She somehow does all
(19:15):
of that while raising two daughters, three step sons, and
a husband. Just kidding, Dave, it's Congresswoman Laurie Trahan. Hi, Laurie, Hi.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
How are you doing, Sarah good?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
We're all kind of raising a husband. Well, not all
of us, those with agree about you. Yes, okay, most
important things. First, as a former college volleyball player, the
youngsters are now calling it vibes.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Are you down with that?
Speaker 7 (19:35):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Wow?
Speaker 7 (19:36):
I hadn't heard that, and my daughter just started playing volleyball.
Huh yeah, it's fine.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
I mean I think you have to be open to
the evolution.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
That's right of all things, not just vibes. I'm sure
you'll hear it from your daughter. Then, before we get
into the Fair Play for Women Act, I want to
talk about the Women's Sports.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Bill that already passed in Congress.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
We think inaccurately named Protection of Women and Girls in
Sports Act HR twenty eight. You spoke out against it
before the vote, and you said, in part quote, I
wish I was talking about a bill that will lower
costs for hard working families or help more Americans buy
a home, you know, the issues that so many people
told us mattered most in the twenty four election. But instead,
in just their second week of Powerhouse Republicans have chosen
(20:17):
to vote on a federal takeover.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Of sports at all levels. End quote.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Tell us about that day and about speaking out in
opposition to that bill.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Yeah, well it is true.
Speaker 7 (20:27):
I mean, here, we come off this election where it
was pretty clear what people wanted us to get to
work on. In fact, you know, many of my Republican
colleagues campaigned on inflation and lowering the cost of living,
and we found ourselves on the House floor debating an
issue that they basically created by putting hundreds of millions
of dollars behind it, and you know, scaring people around
(20:51):
transgender athletes. I mean, I think one thing that you know,
I want to make I wanted to make clear that
day was, you know, fewer than ten I know, this
is a point you've made. Fewer than men of the
half a million athletes who are playing college sports today
are transgender. And there's really not a single parent that
I've talked to back home, who like stopped me in
(21:15):
the supermarket to say.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
You must do something about this right there.
Speaker 7 (21:20):
And then you know, they also don't think politicians should
be making all of these, you know, decisions. We have
governing bodies of sports. They're experts, they're dedicated to you know,
their their sports and creating fair and responsible rules for participation.
Many of them have already implemented changes right to ensure
(21:42):
fairness and safety. So I think that's where the decisions,
you know, we should be made. But it doesn't stop
my you know, Republican colleagues from you know, weaponizing this issue,
and it has a lot of consequence as a as
a result.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So yeah, yeah, I mean, I think you pointed out
smartly in your speaking out that day that there are
tons of organizations that have rules and are using science
and you know, the things that we should use to
make these decisions, crafting evidence based rules that allow for participation,
inclusion and also fairness. And I wonder as the only
(22:19):
division one female member of Congress, as the only person
who played at the collegiate level at the highest level,
some people might assume that you would side for the
opposing view that oh I someone would have taken my spot.
People sometimes say that to me as a former Division
one athlete, and I think the experience of playing offers
me the perspective to understand the importance of inclusion at
(22:40):
lower levels and for as long as it feels fair,
and we can talk about it Olympic levels and everything
else and hormones and how long and all the other things.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
But none of that nuance ever seems to be in
play here.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
It always seems to be this like one fell swoop
trying to limit everything in everyone.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
Yeah, And I think that is that's the problem when
Paul Titians sort of take hold of an issue and
they use it as a cudgel.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Right.
Speaker 7 (23:04):
I mean, this is just a federal takeover of all sports, right,
It's not just college sports or you know, high school
sports or Olympic sports. I mean I think of my
own daughters, who like literally played soccer when they were
like three, four or five years old, right like in
those elementary school years, in those early middle school years,
whatever it is, and like we're gonna say no to
(23:27):
all those trans kids, like you can't be part of
a team, you can't like sort of learn the just
the camaraderie and be a part of your community and
feel a sense of belonging and it's just cool because
you know, Marjorie Taylor Green says so. So, I just
I think that is what people have to be reminded of.
(23:49):
I mean, the reason why we have these organizations, these
sports governing authorities, which we have at every level of
play is to make you know, these decisions, and they
have over the course of time, they've sports enhancement drugs
like you just name, they've always sort of kept pace
and to just take that away and then look at
(24:09):
one of the things that you know, we also talked
about when that bill came to the floor, was how
are you going to implement this? Like there are a
lot of creeps out there, So now someone gets to accuse, uh,
you know, a girl who doesn't look feminine enough or
doesn't have like pigtails in her hair or something as
not being a girl.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
And then and then what like then how does she
have to prove that? Yeah, it's just it, It just is.
Speaker 7 (24:35):
It's poor policy making, and I think it's it's uh,
it's politics, I think at its worst.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Yeah, to your point, it feels rushed through when you
don't have any implementation for how you're going to follow through,
and you know there is the worst case scenario to
what you point to is you know, some four year
old who has to somehow prove their gender. But I
think some people haven't even spoken about how that would
even unravel further because you don't need to ask permission
(25:04):
in a lot of those situations. We're imagining a situation
where there's someone put in charge of regulating gender, and
the reality is at every single level, from kindergarten through college,
there could be a physical therapist, a trainer, a coach
assistant who says to a player, I suspect you, and
if you don't show me otherwise, I'm going to tell everyone.
(25:25):
And whether or not they have any authority to do
so doesn't matter, because that already happens. We already know
that there are so many bad actors in women's and girls'
sports that have violated the trust and have violated the
position that they're in, and the fact that that could
happen here because a player is just scared of someone
telling everyone they're a boy, even if they aren't, the
fear of that judgment, the fear of that stigma, could
(25:48):
cause them to feel like they're in a position where
they have to act or allow someone to abuse them,
and that's.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Terrifying to me.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
I wonder for you if you have a sense how
many of your Republican colleagues genuinely believe trans women are
a threat to women's sports, Like they really aren't aware
of how few there are, or the policies that exist,
or how many of them really understand it's not an
issue and are using it just for political points.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (26:12):
I mean you can't ignore the facts, you know, the
when you say you know less than ten college athletes, right,
I think you can't ignore that data.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
But it doesn't stop them.
Speaker 7 (26:24):
They think it's a it's a political winner for them,
and they've gone like so much further in their attacks
on trans people that you know, I think whether they
believe it or not, it doesn't even matter. They have
set such a dangerous narrative in our country around denying
the existence of trans people. And then, you know, in
(26:45):
terms of just trying to take over you know, sports,
it's there's just no limits that they'll they'll go to,
and I'm sure they're not done.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
So I think it is it is politics at its work.
Speaker 7 (27:00):
This is what people hate about, you know, and I
do think that there's some folks out there that have
common sense and they have maybe concerns or they've been
alerted to that there are concerns and they don't come
from a place of hate, but they've injected a really
hateful narrative in all of this that is really going
to take years to fix.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
The fear mongering and the scare tactics are really what's
pushing so much of this.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
How do we get the real numbers out?
Speaker 1 (27:27):
How do we get out that there are ten NC
double athletes, that there were four athletes in Utah when
the Republican governor they're actually vetoed a similar state level band,
noting that we only have four athletes that would be affected.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
By I'm not doing this.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
How do we get that out and their stories so
that people don't think of them statistics but understand these
are just human beings and kids who want to play.
Speaker 7 (27:48):
You know, we just need to hear more from people
who play in these arenas, who are able to use
their position and their platform and really they're you know,
the respect that they've sort of built as a as
a leader in sport, and I get like, not everybody
wants to get pulled into like the political vortex of
us against them, and it can get so just hateful
(28:11):
really fast, especially when you're in you know, on digital media.
One of the places where I sort of draw my
strength is in my lived experience and in having kids
who are athletes and being on the bleachers every weekend
and sort of you know, painting the full picture. And
I've had conversations with people who are just like, I'm.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Just like you.
Speaker 7 (28:30):
I played collegiate soccer. But I'm hearing over and over
that this is becoming in you know.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
An issue.
Speaker 7 (28:37):
And the second you tell them the numbers, and then
you remind them, look, we have an NCAA, you have
a state board, there's the Olympic International Committee, right like
then they're reminded like, oh yeah, like we've always we
have these bodies for a reason. Why would politicians insert
themselves into it?
Speaker 4 (28:56):
It's not just for political reasons. So I do think.
Speaker 7 (28:59):
Having more voices on the side of credibility if that matters.
So yeah, I encourage people all the time to get
off the sidelines and do that.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
One of the most frustrating things is how this focus
on this as distracted away from the real issues around
women's sport.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
And I want to.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Throw back to a hearing in March of twenty twenty
three you pressed the ad at Washington State on his
department's exploitation of Title nine loophools.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Let's take a listen to a little bit of that.
Speaker 7 (29:26):
You must be aware that last year an investigative report
from USA Today found that your university overcounted your women's
rowing roster by twenty one athletes and counted eight male
practice players as women's roster spots to show compliance with
Title nine on paper, Yes, and it sounds like, just
(29:46):
from your direct and truthful answers, that you understand that
by overcounting or misrepresenting the number of women athletes at
your university, that you're essentially depriving, in this case, twenty
nine women of the chance to continue athletic career.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Yeah, assuming those numbers are correct. Yes.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
So I bring this up because many of my colleagues
on the committee may not be aware that the Department
of Education allows colleges to exploit loopholes like overcounting women athletes,
double or triple counting them, or even counting male athletes
as women to comply with Title nine on paper.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
So I'm listening to that, and it just reminds me
yet again that the kind of outright exclusion of thousands
of women and girls that's currently happening across the country
seems to be of less interest to folks than trying
to motivate people using imagined situations, where in a trans
athlete is you know, quote unquote stealing one spot from
assist gender women at the collegiate level, so college women
(30:43):
still have sixty thousand fewer athletic opportunities than men. High
school girls have about a million fewer opportunities to play
sports than high school boys. And this is all despite
the fact that Title nine is supposed to be regulating that.
So this brings me to a bill that you've reintroduced
several times, including last February and just this week, the
Fair Play for Women Act. It actually seeks to solve
the biggest issues that are facing girls and women in sports,
(31:03):
the real issues.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
So tell us what this bill would do.
Speaker 7 (31:06):
Yeah, so this is going to close the Title nine
loopholes that we know exist, and as you so eloquantly said,
it basically closes off opportunities for and I wouldn't just say,
thousands or tens of thousands, like millions of women, because.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
It goes all the way to high schools.
Speaker 7 (31:22):
Right when you have these loopholes, I think that putting
it at that scale, it begs the question, why the
hell is Congress, you know, using women's sports as a
political weapon in their culture.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
War when we literally have you know, a.
Speaker 7 (31:37):
Million fewer opportunities for girls than boys to participate in
high school sports. And despite you know, women comprising a
majority of undergraduate students in our colleges, they only represent
forty four percent of all college athletes. So the Fair
Play for Women Act fixes that by holding schools and
(31:59):
athletic stations accountable for discriminatory treatment. It expands reporting requirements
for college and K through twelve athletics data so that
we have the transparency.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
That we need.
Speaker 7 (32:12):
And its strengths It strengthens Title nine rights for athletes themselves,
So no more double or triple counting women athletes in college,
no more counting men's practice players as women athletes. The
other ones we saw counting roster spots at Triumphs before
cutting dozens of athletes, and we've seen this in colleges
(32:33):
all across the country. Right. I mean that's I meet
with a lot of a lot of colleges, you know,
over the course of you know, the debate on sports
and college athletics, and I always look up when they
leave the office and I'm like, oh, yep, they're in
They're not in compliance either, So I think being up
our enforcement, having more transparency.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
And just making sure that we're strengthening.
Speaker 7 (32:57):
Title nine, you know, you know us year when we
celebrated the fiftieth anniversary, and I think, wow, I never
would have been able to go to Georgetown without Title nine.
It changed the course of my life, as it has
for so many women. And like, why are we not
thinking about the next fifty years at a time when
women's sports is like so exciting doing it all on
(33:21):
their own, by the way, But it's just it's incredible
that we haven't harnessed the excitement around women's sports and
used it to like propel us into the next one
hundred years. Rather we're like, we're making up these issues
going backwards.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
Yeah, and we're going.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
Backwards you know, opportunities for women.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
So we're just trying to make sure we still have
a vote after the you know, bills go through where
we can't use our married name and whatever else I would.
I mean, it feels like at every single turn, moves
are being made to suppress us, as opposed to celebrate
or build off the strength of some of the organic
growth that's happening in the sports space or anywhere else
in women's spaces. What's the purpose of reintroducing bills? Is
(34:02):
there a limit on how many times you can do that,
or why do you need to reintroduce it.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
It's a great question.
Speaker 7 (34:07):
And I was just so surprised that you knew about
the attacks on women voting, Like you're so politically Oh,
I know.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
All this shit. It's killing me every day. It's just
like I got to.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
End my day watching dog videos there. Also, I'm like,
I'm out of here going to news.
Speaker 7 (34:24):
That was impressive because not many know that that one's coming.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
But it's a great question.
Speaker 7 (34:29):
Every time we introduce legislation, we basically have the Congress,
which is a two calendar years. Is how long a
Congress lasts to pass that bill? And at the end
of the session, the bill if it hasn't been passed,
even if you pass it in the House and it
dies in the Senate because they don't take it up
unless it's signed by the president, the bill dies and
you've basically start over the next Congress. So we have
(34:52):
not gotten fair play for women across the finish line.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
And so you know, we re introduce it every Congress
on it.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
So I got to watch Schoolhouse Rock again, I think,
And that's that's how I'll be reminded how many times
you could.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Do it and where it needs to go.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
And there's no limit. We'll keep We'll keep introducing it
until we pass it.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Good.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
How can folks who support the message behind the bill
get involved in like raising awareness? Can we help get
it passed in any way?
Speaker 4 (35:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (35:20):
I mean, look, any time like a piece of legislation
gets uplifted by athletes, it's really helpful because people really
respect and you think of all the fans out there,
they watch because of the athletes, and they follow them
their personalities, like I know, my girls, Like they know
so much more about women athletes to you know, at
(35:42):
the collegiate level, at the pro level finally than I
ever did. And it's really important. Like what how they
the things they support, the things they speak out on,
the things that they you know, just talk about really
matter so whenever we can put a bill that you know,
just is right in the wheelhouse of players, getting them
(36:04):
to chat about it.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Yeah, it's really smart.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
And you know, we had Stepstrack from Voice and Sport,
and she has her VIZ advocates across the colleges and
spaces across the country, which is really, to your point,
necessary to have the people actually having the lived experience
of who would be affected by this speaking out and
supporting things.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
I also think it's interesting you had in my brain.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
I'm like, yeah, there's such loud opponents on the other side,
and I was like, Riley Gaines is everywhere, and.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
Then I was like, oh yeah, because she's not doing
anything else.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
And the professional athletes who are competing are busy being
professional athletes, and they're the ones who support trans inclusion,
and they don't have as much time to sell their
soul to Oan and Fox News in order to get
the word out about their bullshit. So I guess we
need to get some retired athletes who are enjoying vacations
and fruity drinks to get their ass down to DC
and start supporting things and going on all the shows
(36:53):
the same way people without souls.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Are doing okay.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
So last month you joined a couple other members of
Congress to applaud the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights,
which I think still exists but hard to say, for
releasing a new fact sheet that was clarifying how colleges
were obliged under Title nine to work with the changing
landscape and still you know, pay attention to things like name,
(37:16):
image and likeness and direct payments and how the changing
space would still be regulated by Title nine. You helped
push for this update, you were excited when it happened.
And then, to quote jay Z grand opening, grand closing
earlier today, the Department of Education now just like two
weeks later, announced Title nine doesn't apply to NIO Trump
pushing for it not to be regulated.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
So what can you say about this?
Speaker 7 (37:38):
There's been a lot of talk about college sports post
house settlement, right, but almost none of that conversation has
been focused on how women athletes will be impacted. Right
as we speak, and this isn't finally yet, but you know,
colleges and universities are are you know, sort of plotting
to circumvent Title nine and direct most of their revenue
(37:59):
share to football and men's basketball and they're openly talking
about it. So anyway, I teamed up with a few
members of the Democratic Women's Caucus so that we could
just get the Department of Education to weigh in on
how Title nine would apply to potential revenue share funds
if the settlement's approved, because right now, the settlement's like
ninety ten.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Yeah, for those who don't know, this, House versus NCAA
essentially calls for backpay to college athletes now that we
recognize that they were the unpaid labor making people billions.
But it feels like it will end up getting paid
out predominantly to men and not abide at all by
Title nine.
Speaker 7 (38:36):
So many of these things are like precedent setting, right,
So we wanted a Department of Education, even though this
is in the courts right now, to weigh in on
Title nine. And I mean I will come to know
as no shock to you, but of course Title nine
absolutely applies. College sports may change, but the law remains
(38:56):
the same, and so does the obligation that schools have
to sure.
Speaker 4 (39:00):
That the equality for men and women's sports.
Speaker 7 (39:03):
It also said that schools can be liable for Title
nine violations if they invest more heavily in the promotion,
the facilities, the games, even the scheduling.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
Of men's sports versus women's and.
Speaker 7 (39:17):
Those are huge factors for those of us who have
long said that, you know, the appetite for women's sports
is there, we just need the promotion, right. I mean,
you watch the Super Bowl and you saw the Nike ad.
I mean, the sports is going to come from women.
And here we've been like the like Cornhusker Stadium, the
(39:37):
women's softball tournament, the basketball tournament, the pro soccer league,
and hockey leagues. Now they've got pro volleyball. I mean
we've been doing this so without a dime of like
promotion or a media deal, doing it all on their own.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
And without taxpayer subsidies for their stadiums, which people love
to ignore men have been benefiting from for like one
hundred plus years.
Speaker 4 (39:59):
That's exactly right.
Speaker 7 (40:00):
And so I mean this is a moment I think
when people are if they're not playing women's sports, they're
watching women's sports, and I think it's just time for
just an acknowledgment of you know, the precipice that we're
on on the you know, how we're going to you know,
fund these media deals, how we're going to you know,
(40:22):
we can't talk about fair market value because we don't
have a fair market value, right women.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
I know, it didn't change the law that there was
the guidance sheet. Does it change the law that the
guidance sheet doesn't exist anymore? It feels like ultimately it
should all still apply to the law that is Title nine,
which is difficult to enforce already. But what does it
really mean in terms of every day activity? When Donald
Trump says we're not going to allow that to apply.
Speaker 4 (40:48):
Well, they're going to come up with their own version.
Speaker 7 (40:50):
But like mind you, this is the same administrations that
is thinking of wiping out the Department of Education, which
is exactly where enforcement of Title nine sits. So I
think there's a lot of things that play, I mean,
don't I'm not very optimistic that they're going to come
up with a guidance that was as pro woman athlete
as Biden administration. There's a reason why they rescinded it.
(41:12):
They don't agree with it, but we don't know what
they're going to do. But if they think that they're
going to stop it, it's going to be decided by
the courts. And that's sort of been our recourse just
these first six weeks of this administration is when they
try to roll us back, or when they try to
(41:32):
undo statute that's been on the books in this case
over fifty years.
Speaker 4 (41:37):
We're going to fight that in court.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
And you're doing that in a number of ways, including
a pro NIL Build a College Athlete Economic Freedom Act
that has provisions targeting collectives like when a school has
just a football collective to help raise NIL or a
men's basketball only, and also require that goods and services
offered by those collective be equitable across sports and genders.
Speaker 2 (41:57):
So you're doing this in ways.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
That aren't just our ways, which is like screaming on
social media about how screwed up everything is. You're actually
introducing these bills and these opportunities for it to go
through the court system, for it to go through the
proper places to be decided. And it's so necessary to
have folks like you doing that. It is so necessary
to believe that there are people in there fighting against
all this stuff. It is so overwhelming to be on
(42:19):
the outside looking in and wondering where the folks are
that can get in the way and muck things up.
As they're trying to undo all these policies and laws
and statutes that have been in existence for so long.
I know we have to let you go, but I
have to ask you one non work related question because
of your d one volleyball background. You mentioned we've got
these pro leagues now NCAA women's volleyball is bigger than ever.
(42:40):
Watching this growth, watching these like football stadiums sold out
for volleyball.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
What does it mean to you? How do you watch it?
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Is?
Speaker 4 (42:48):
It is the best?
Speaker 7 (42:49):
I mean, it wasn't something that I could have ever
fathomed when I was playing in front of you know,
maybe like eighty people right on a good day.
Speaker 4 (43:01):
It is. It is really like I'm so proud.
Speaker 7 (43:06):
I know it's volleyball is like the one of the
fastest growing sport.
Speaker 4 (43:09):
It's the largest AAU sport.
Speaker 7 (43:11):
You know, my daughter just started playing, so it's a
lot of fun to just see how it's taken off.
Speaker 4 (43:17):
And like, you know, I tell her and it makes
me sound like I'm a hundred.
Speaker 7 (43:22):
Like I will tell her like when I played, there
was one club that traveled in all of New England.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
Was made of cotton. My mom sowed it or something.
Speaker 4 (43:36):
But it's true, Like.
Speaker 7 (43:36):
There was only one club and now there's like hundreds,
so it's it's pretty cool.
Speaker 4 (43:41):
You know.
Speaker 7 (43:42):
I have to say, every time I see the clip
of corn Husch Stadium and.
Speaker 4 (43:45):
People just like pouring in, it just gives me goosebumps.
Speaker 7 (43:49):
And you're right the I I didn't I wasn't able
to go to the tournament this year because it's so
close to Christmas and we barely get out in time
for Christmas.
Speaker 4 (43:59):
But it's on the list.
Speaker 7 (44:01):
I've got to bring my girls because it's just such
an exciting time.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
All right.
Speaker 1 (44:05):
Last thing, you got me thinking about sending athletes down
to help you push for this stuff. And I love
being a connector. I know a lot of athletes. Give
me your dream team. Name a couple of folks. Do you
want to come down there with you and lobby because
I guarantee some of them would want to come down
there and put their money where their mouth is.
Speaker 7 (44:19):
Oh you know, so if because we're so proximate to Yukon,
I mean, I have page buckers, it's like such a pagebackers.
Speaker 1 (44:28):
What about I mean you probably want all the old
ones and if you Saklier and Sue Ber to just
get all those books.
Speaker 4 (44:33):
I am, Send them all.
Speaker 7 (44:35):
Send anybody I don't here, if you're well known or
if no one knows who you are, I have to say.
And I'll just make this point because it's worth repeating
over and over. When I go into these meetings where
we're talking about college sports, I'm the only woman.
Speaker 4 (44:49):
I am. Men. This is their favorite topic. They want
to they love it.
Speaker 7 (44:53):
Their fans, they they often they've played themselves. But no
one is pounding on the table for title nine and
women athletes and so all the while, like these guys kids,
their sons are watching, you know, these women play, and
so I think it's.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
And their daughters are watching them, not fight for them, right, But.
Speaker 7 (45:18):
Yes, any and all women like coming down and just
you know, standing shoulder to shoulder and how important this
is and how they've had enough of you know, their
sports and their programs being underfunded or overlooked or allowed
for loopholes to set in.
Speaker 4 (45:32):
It just helps the It helps the cause.
Speaker 7 (45:34):
That's how these things get done is seeing you know,
the real people who are impacted by it.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
Agreed, I hope that buzzing isn't a warning. Ever since
January sixth, I'm worried about like a qan non shaman
coming into your office.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Thank you so much for the time.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
Sorry for swearing, Honorable Congresswoman, you just got me all
fired up.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
Thanks again to Laurie for joining us.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
Truly, truly like makes me feel better deep in my
soul that there are people like her in there fighting.
We got to take another break when we come back.
A quick fit check for an MNBA.
Speaker 2 (46:03):
Player, stick around slices, Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
We love that you're listening, but we want you to
get in the game every day too, So here's our
good gameplay of the day.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
You heard Louri.
Speaker 1 (46:19):
If you are a professional athlete, a coach, an administrator,
or even remotely involved in the sports space, hit me up.
I can get you connected with LORII so you can
join the fight against HR twenty eight and for the
Fair Play for Women Act down in DC. As someone
who's actually gone down to DC to lobby in the past,
in my case for an assault weapons ban, it is
an incredible lesson in how our government works, and it's
(46:40):
not nearly as scary as you might think. You don't
have to be an expert in anything. You don't have
to be perfectly versed in every law. You just need
a care So hit me up and let's get you
connected to Lourie and let's make some shit happen. We
love to hear from you, so you can always hit
us up on email, good game at wondermediaetwork dot com,
or leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two
four fifty seventy and you guessed it. Don't forget subscribe,
(47:02):
rate and review, It's so easy. Watch Tyrese Halliburton of
the MNBA Indiana Pacers Rocket and and Myers Drysdale Pacers
Jersey to his game on Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (47:12):
Night, rating ten out of ten.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
We stand a man who stands a Woman Review PACER's
star point guard. Tyrese Haliburton's tunnel fit was a tribute
to the first woman ever to sign an NBA contract,
the legendary and Myers Drysdale, the former UCLA star who
was also the first woman signed to a four year
college athletic scholarship, signed a deal with Indiana Pacers back
in nineteen seventy nine, earning fifty thousand dollars to try
(47:37):
out with the team. Now, she didn't make the final roster,
but she did become a color analyst for the team,
helping break barriers for women in the broadcast space, and
years later, she's still kicking ass in broadcasting, front office rolls,
board positions, and more.
Speaker 2 (47:50):
Shout out to you and and to Tyres for.
Speaker 1 (47:53):
Knowing your history. Now it's your turn rate and review.
Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow. Good Game, Lori, Good Game,
Cap Maccario Hugh Politicians who care more about political points
than serving their constituents. Good Game with Sarah Spain is
an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue
Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app,
(48:14):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by
Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones.
Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan
and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez,
and Grace Lynch. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and
I'm your host, Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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