May 6, 2026 • 37 mins
LA Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts joins Sarah to talk about her early impressions of this year’s Sparks squad, the lessons she’s learned from mentor Tara VanDerveer, and how she had to change her coaching style for the WNBA after spending 27 years in the college system. Then, with Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, Roberts talks about how being a mom made her a better coach, changes to the CBA that will help moms in the league, and the skills she uses both at home and on the court. Plus, your daily reminder that the U.S. is the worst — and this time we’ve got data to prove it.
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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 we're trying
not to do the math on how many more cuts
our favorite w teams are going to have to make
ahead of tomorrow's roster deadline.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Some of these are going to hurt. It's Wednesday, May sixth.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Then on today's show, we're skipping the need to know
and getting straight to the conversation I had last week
with La Sparks head coach Lynn Roberts.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, we wanted to
talk to.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
A mom who's also leading other moms in addition to
raising her own kiddos. Lyn's got two moms on her
Sparks roster, so we talked about how being a mother
made her a better coach, changes to the CBA that
will help moms in the league, and the skills she
uses both at home and on the court. Plus her
early impressions of this year's Spark squad, the lessons she
learned from mentor Tara Vanderveer, and how she had to
(00:43):
change her coaching style for the W after spending twenty
seven years in the college system. Plus your daily reminder
that the US is the worst and this time we've
got data to prove it.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
It's all coming up right after this joining us.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Now, she's the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks.
A California native, she hooped for Enterprise High in Redding
and Seattle Pacific University, where she set a school record
for three pointers made in the season. After coaching stops
with Chico State, University at the Pacific and Utah, where
she was the twenty twenty three pac twelve Coach of
the Year, she was hired by the Sparks ahead of
last season. She lives in one of my happy places,
(01:23):
Manhattan Beach, and she's taken up beach tennis.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
She's the mom of twin boys, and like me, she
grew up with Michael Jordan. Posters on her walls it's
Lynn Robert Sailinn.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Hey there, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I'm so jealous you live in Manhattan Beach.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I used to live in LA when I was the
early twenties, and I was like, one day, I'm going
to get to live in Romosa, Manhattan, and one of
my besties does live there, so I get back there
often and I just think, well, what if my day
just started with walking on the strand and looking at
the ocean and eating healthy food.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
It's a different lights suck.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
It doesn't suck. It's feel very lucky to have landed here.
I had heard of it being a California kid, but
really had experienced it. So we're actually right on the
border for most in Manhattan, so we get both perfect.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Ugh, just going to Martha's for breakfast and all the
good stuff.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yes see, you.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Know, yeah, I do.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I get there as often as I can. Well, we're
so excited to have you on just a few days.
I had a mother's day, So we're definitely going to
talk about the perspective that you have on life as
a mom and a coach and the coach of players
who are mothers themselves. But before we get to that,
there is a lot going on in basketball that we
need to talk about first, because you've got a whole
new look roster after a pretty wild and.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Very short free agency period.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
You lose Julia Alamand to Toronto Asrae Stevens back to Chicago.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
After she had a career year for you.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
You swapped out Wrakia Jackson for Ariel Atkins in a
trade with Chicago. But you do bring in some exciting
new folks, neck Ogu McCain and Erica Wheeler from Seattle.
You bring back great talent Dereka Hanby and Kelsey Plumb.
You've got young talent like Cameron Brink. So when you
look at this year's team, it's early, but how do
you think it's going to differ in style from last year?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah? I really like our roster. Think this last offseason
was bananas. Uh. It was a lot of prep and
trying to get things organized, and then once we kind
of got the green light that the CBA had been
a prooved you know, handshake deal, it was. It was
absolutely crazy. But you know, I think we had prepped
well and and uh, you know, got our targets. So
(03:22):
we ended up, I think doing exactly what we'd hope
to do. You know, I think last year we led
the league in pace, We were top three in every
offensive category, you know, first and second and a lot
of the key ones. But we you know, it's no
secret we needed to get better defensively, and so you
know that's we did that, uh in theory with with
(03:47):
personnel changes and all the things. But we want to win.
LA is a winning market and it's a place that
players want to be and so we you know, we
swung for the fences in that regard hard. So there's
no secret I'm not shy of saying it. We want
to win. Does that mean it's going to happen. No.
Does that mean it's going to be easy. No, But
we're gonna We're gonna die trying. And I think this
(04:10):
is a place that you know, the Sparks are one
of the three OG franchises, and you know we've won
some championships and we want to get back to that.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah, there's some cool stuff around those original franchises. With
it being the thirtieth season, that's going to be fun
to get into some of that stuff you mentioned. Wanting
to be a winner, wanting to contend. What needs to
go right for your team in order for that to happen.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Well, I think we have the pieces we need, whether
it's staff, players. You know, the ORG is growing in
real time. The w is kind of going through this
major shift where it's it used to be kind of
this part time situation and now it's going to full time.
And you know, the investments are the ownership is investing.
You know, across the league, ownership groups are investing in
(04:54):
different ways. So I think for us, you know, we
we've got the right people on the bus, I believe,
and in the right seats. But you know, any sports
team at this point, everybody is feeling optimistic because you
haven't hit in the university yet. But we, you know,
this group, we need to stay together, which I don't
anticipate being an issue. And then we we've got to
(05:16):
just stay healthy. And some of that is luck and
some of that is you know, you can try to
avoid it as much as you can and prepare for things,
train to try to avoid it, but at the end
of the day, health is health. So but I do
think that if we can stay healthy and stay together,
we've got a great shot.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
You got to just a couple of weeks of camp
so far, a little bit of preseason action. Has anything
surprised you about some of your new players or about
how the players are playing together?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Well, I think the buy in is really high right now.
You know, everybody that chose to come here, You know,
everybody on our roster wants to be here, and they
want to be here because they want to win. And
you know, I have not been shy about saying what
our intentions are and I say that with humility and
knowing that it is not easy. Just because you say
(06:04):
it doesn't mean it's going to happen. But that's what
we're striving to do.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
And so what has I don't know if it's surprised me,
but what has pleasantly been amazing to see is just
the buy in from you know, vets that have been
in the league a long time to rookies. Everybody's on
the same page right now. So that's something as a coach,
it's exciting. We're very you know, player driven, player led. Again,
(06:29):
when you've got voices like Mecca Kelsey, Deerica e edub Aeriel,
you know, those guys are all All Stars, champions, Olympians,
so when they when they have something to say, people listen.
But they're all here to win and there's a collective
buy in on that and how we're going to play
and all those things. So that's been really fun to see.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
You mentioned the investments.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
One of the things across the league that we're seeing
is these new facilities. The Sparks are building one hundred
and fifty million dollar practice facility in Eldo, which is
close to home for you.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
So that'll be nice.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Yeah, you could evenstop a California Chicken Cafe that just
open a new spot in El Segundo on the way
and get the greatest salad of all time, which is
the first thing I do every time I land in
La I put on my KD and I go to
California Chicken Cafe.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Man, I love I do.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
But it's this facility.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
This is the largest investment in the history of women's
sports for a single team. Obviously, these facilities are super
important for drawing players in free agency and you know,
showing off the investment in care you have, but also
really meaningful for basketball, for the health of players, for
their ability to be their best. So how meaningful is
it to you that the w step up when it
comes to these training centers in part because of what
(07:42):
you said, which is this is the main thing.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Now, it's not a side thing, it's not just a
summer thing.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
The financial investment and the care for this league is
making it the priority.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Yes, exactly, and that is spot on. And I think
you know the Sparks were part of the TWG ownership.
They owned the Dodgers, they just acquired the Lakers, the Commanders,
the f one Cadillac team, Like these guys are, they
know what they're doing. And I think there's been a
you know, a real consciousness of like we've got up
(08:14):
our game with the Sparks and let's get back to
you know, we're LA. We don't mess around. And so
the facility is unbelievable and there's I don't know how
when the last time you were here, but you know
it's going up. So it's not a plan, it's not
a someday. You know, there's there's steel in the ground
and it's going up quick. So we should be in
there in less than a year, which is amazing. But
(08:36):
it's it's an incredible place. Nothing was spared, there was
no cutting corners anywhere. It's going to be state of
the art. And and like you mentioned, it's all about
making sure, you know, we want LA the Sparks to
be the franchise that takes the best care of their players,
and so much of that is just in the rehab
(08:58):
space and you know, all all the things that they
need to be at their best and recover and all
the things. So I'm excited about that and it certainly
will help.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
And free agency, Yeah, you get to call the legendary
Tara Vanderveer A mentor what are one or two of
the lessons that she's imparted on you that have stuck.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
She is my all time favorite. She's just I don't
know if you know her, but just an incredible person.
And for whatever reason, when I was coaching at Utah
and she was at Stanford and I was new there,
she kind of took me under her wing a little
bit and would give me some advice. And you know,
I tell this story and it's the truth. The COVID year,
(09:42):
Remember it was such a weird year. And my team
at Utah we were not very good. And you know,
I don't think we played twenty I don't know how
many games you played, like eighteen or something like that.
But we played Stanford at home in front of no fans,
you know, that whole weird thing. And we were bad
and we got drudged. And I'm home with my family
(10:02):
after the game and just like h and my phone
rings and I look down in it's Tara, and I
was like, oh, so I pick up and you know,
she's like Lynn, and you know, I don't want to
see a new coat. You got to get your s
h I t together, and you know, like she was
brutally honest with me, and it was but I think
(10:23):
you're honest with people you care about, and it it
kind of shook my cage a little bit in the
in the best way, and I you know, I hung
up and I thought she's right, and uh, it kind
of propelled me in a different direction with how I
was doing things. And so I credit a lot to her.
And she's just I mean, the goat. She's the best
(10:43):
to ever do it in my opinion, and so much
respect and love for her.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Still a go to call if you've got basketballer.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Oh, yes, she's She's great. And you know, I'm not
alone in that. She is such a champion of women.
And you know, I I respect and I've learned from
her as to you can empower the others that you're
competing against, and you can encourage and empower and be
honest and all the things and help and still want
(11:13):
to kick their ass when you plan them. Like two
things can be true. And that was her, So was
she is to so many of us that phone a
friend and she you know, like, I'm just very very
grateful that I got into that circle.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yeah, yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
You know, you had twenty seven seasons coaching collegiate players,
so lots of time there.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Just a year in the pros under your belt.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Now, where do you feel like you've wanted to or
needed to change your style or your approach as you're
leading adult women as opposed to student athletes.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
You know, I have to be honest, like that was
the one thing coming into the w that I was
most maybe not sure how it would translate my coaching style,
my personality, like wondering like am I going to have
to really change? And I really haven't had to change
too much. I love coaching pros. I think it's, uh,
they're just so dang good and so you don't have
(12:07):
to spend time teaching little things. They already know it,
and so you can advance to the more nuanced stuff.
The more you know basketball nerd stuff, and when you're
coaching great players, it's just, you know, as a basketball
dork like I love.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
It, really get to nerd out a little more.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Totally and kind of take things to the next level.
I think another thing that's different is, you know, in college,
a lot of the focuses on like the coach and
then you have the players and then the pros. It's
the players, and and I like it like that. I
don't want to about me, it's I really don't like
I enjoy that part. I also love that pros are
(12:49):
you know, they've played a lot, They're really good at
what they do. It's their job, it's their craft. They
have opinions. And so if I come and say, hey,
we're gonna do ABC in this game, I better know why,
because they're going to ask why, and so they'll challenge,
but not in like a you know, in a disrespectful way,
(13:09):
just so they want to understand, like this is their world.
And so it's made me sharper, which I really appreciate
and I love it.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
We got to take a break more with Lynn Roberts
right after this. Do you think the financial stakes changing
so drastically will impact anything in terms of that relationship,
because on the one hand, you do have players that
are going to want it even more to stick on
(13:36):
a roster because it will change their lives financially. On
the other hand, you do have different stakes when it
comes to both the money coming out of college already
with nil, but sponsorships, salaries, everything else going up. So
much that there may be some players that you have
to remind to keep the main thing, the main thing,
like basketballs, which got you here, and you better stick
to it and not be too focused on all the
(13:58):
things that having a little bit more financial freedom can
offer you. Do you worry about that at all, or
how your relationship changes with the players at all as
they're in this new tax bracket.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
It's a good question. No, I don't worry about it.
I do think they keep the main thing, the main thing,
you know, one thing that blew me away and I
knew it, but I didn't really know it. Like how
just badass these women are, and how you know, they
weren't getting paid very much and so they made you know,
water into wine, like they they figured out how to
(14:29):
leverage themselves and market themselves as their own brands. Just
entrepreneurs in that regard. Incredibly impressive, Like just how they
manage it all. And I'm just taught, you know, like
it's at every across and every team, like these these
guys are just impressive. So now I think actually it's
going to free them up to keep the main thing,
(14:50):
the main thing a little bit more. Yeah, where they
don't have to go out and try to peddle their
name to to get more money. I think they're you know,
they can do that if want, if there's something they're
passionate about, but they don't have to do it to
pay their mortgage, which I think is incredible. So I
don't anticipate a change in terms of how they act
or how they you know, the demands. I think you've
(15:14):
got to find the right fit that fit your coaches,
don't fit your culture, of your of your franchise, and
I think we've done a good job of that. You know,
not all players you know would love playing for me,
just like I wouldn't love to coach all play like
that's just part of sports. Yeah, So it's all about fit,
and if we get the players that fit, I don't
think there's gonna be any issue with that.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
To your point about the side hustles, I remember, I
think it was Ali Sha Gray was posting some sort
of like she was like eating something and talking about it,
and someone hopped in her mentions and.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Was like, CBA is done. We don't need you to
talk about what you're eating anymore.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
You're getting exactly exactly. I mean, there is some of that,
so it might be old habits die hard for some
of these guys, but.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Still get some of that extra cash, but in a
way that doesn't get in the way of the hoops.
You know, last season you had four players who were
also moms on the roster. Yeah, you have two of
them still, dear Oka Hamby and I'm a cannon.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Did I miss anyone? Did you acquire any new moms? Okay?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
So how do you try to accommodate needs of a
mom while still getting the most out of them as
players and as teammates?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Well, I think in this holds true for me too,
Like being a mom and being in sports. It's such
a unique job, right, Like it's not a nine to five,
it's not a you know, it's it's just it's bizarre
and so my whole you know, once we had kids,
it was like the whole concept of like work life balance.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
What is that?
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, my friend was talking about that. She's like, I've
been working on the weekends. I'm like, what's a weekend?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Girl?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Like I know exactly, So like the whole like, oh,
you got to have work life balance, Like Okay, in theory, yes,
that's great, it doesn't work for you know, for especially
professional sports. But my approach has always been work life mouth,
but work life integration. And so I have my boys
(17:05):
around a lot. I want them to grow up seeing
these badass women. You know, they're gonna have a high
bar for for who they end up with, which I love.
And I think it normalizes and humanizes me for players
to see that I'm not any different than them, as
crazy as I may seem on the court, Like I'm
a mom when I come home and make dinner and
make lunches and clean up shoes everywhere, and with boys
(17:29):
other feral things that I won't even get into here
on the show. So I'm just a normal mom, you know.
And so with our players that have kids, I want
them to you know, that's the most important thing to
me in my life is my family and my kids.
You know, this is it's a high profile job, but
at the end of the day, it's still work. You know,
it's a job, and so I'm never going to lose
sight of my family for my job. Well it's no
(17:52):
different for the players, right Like I know Emma and
I know Deerica would say that's the most important thing
in their lives is their children and their family, and
so I would not ask them to do anything other
than to integrate their kids into what we're doing. So
I love it when the kids are on the road
with us. I love it and my kids travel. Sometimes
(18:12):
I don't do it all the time because I get
fatigued by it, but when it works, they come. But
I love that. I think that's what women's sports brings too.
It's just a different vibe. We have a couple guys
on our GM staff, two assistant gms that have come
from the NBA, both with young kids, and they're like,
it's just so different on the women's side because there
(18:34):
seems to be just an appreciation and respect for having kids,
Like that's part of it. And I want d and
I want Emma to know that their kids are their
priority and I support that and encourage that. So whatever
that looks like for them, we got to make it happen.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You know, Deerka came to the Sparks after a contentious
end to her time with the Aces, and that included
filing a lawsuit against the team in the league about
alleged retaliation for getting pregnant. How did you and the
Sparks work to make sure that she felt like she
would be supported and what did that experience of watching
that maybe from Afar before the trade happened, tell the
team about being proactive instead of reactive when it comes
(19:11):
to having moms as a part of the staff or
as players.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Well, I wasn't here when all that went down, and
so I don't know that. You know, that's Dereka's story
to tell. I don't know a lot, but I think
it's a lesson. And you know, these are women in
the prime of their lives and the time when you
do have kids, and we as a league, and I
know the CBA, the Players Association, it's a big it
(19:36):
was a big point of you know, of emphasis for
them to make sure that these these women, these young women,
if they want to have children, they can. You know,
you don't have to wait till you're forty, when you're
done playing. Like so, the support systems are in place,
and you know, like I said, it's their job and
(19:57):
at the end of the day, their human beings. If
they want to have a kid, they should be able
to and be supported in that.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Is there anything in the new CBA that you've noticed
that you think will be particularly helpful for you?
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Or for players that are moms.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
I don't know how different it is, but I know
that they're you know, in terms of the support you're allowed.
So if you have your kids on a road trip,
you know you can bring a caretaker. We have to
pay the org has to pay for that. There's just
a lot more things to make it so that if
you do have children, where you decide to have children,
that that you're supported and the and the organizations are
(20:33):
required to provide you the resources you need. I don't
know how different that is than before, but I know
that's in the new one.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Well, and I know there's the what they're calling it
the de Erka Hanby roll. But basically, like if you're
pregnant or I think maybe are recovering from a pregnancy,
you have to agree to a trade so a team
can't potentially move you as a result.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Of Yes, and that's a great catch, right, Like that's
that's a good one for you know, there's nothing that
teams can do or like oh that doesn't fit into
our basketball plans, so we're going to move you.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Yeah, And I think as the finances go up. I
come from a family of lawyer, so I find myself
often playing devil's advocate to things. Even if I think
that prioritizing and centering the players and their family planning
makes sense, I also do understand that as numbers go
up and investment goes up, there's an intention with each season.
And if one of your stars is suddenly out for
the whole season and financially you don't get reimbursed to
(21:28):
get another player or otherwise, it's complicated.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
So I do think there needs to be.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Policy in place that serves everyone so that the player
also doesn't feel guilty being out and the team doesn't
feel like they need to be punitive in their response
because everybody can work together to make sure that it
isn't a super deleterious impact on, you know, the end
goal of winning completely.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
And I actually I do think, just don't quote me
on it. I do think that if a player is pregnant,
get whatever, any of that, like their salary doesn't hit
your cap, so you're able to get somebody else.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
I'm always like trying to keep up to date because
you can't always access the full CBA and find the language.
But yeah, there is something in there about like player
hardship I think is what they call it, which is
also what I call having kids.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
But preach, girl, preach.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
I don't have.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Them, but I can only you do so far, watching
my nephew and nieces, when I do, I understand that
it is it is hardship. So you've got these two
boys at home to nurture, You've got this whole team
of women to nurture. What are your non negotiables in
both roles? Are there things that you say, I will
absolutely not do this as a mom because I'm a coach,
or I'll absolutely not do this as a coach just
because I'm a mom.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Wow, I've never been asked that. I just I think
I don't know if this really answers your question. But
I think you know your choices reflect your priorities and
the decisions you make, the things you do that they're
direct reflection of what matters. And so I will never
sacrifice what my boys need for work. And I tried.
(22:57):
You know, when I come home dan the day, like
I'm done with work, and so I try to be
extremely efficient, or I wait till after they go to
bed and then I'll watch film. But when I'm home,
I try to be present. When I'm at work, I
try to, you know, I'm present, I'm not, you know,
so I don't know if there's any non negotiables. It's
a feel yeah, And I just I feel like my
(23:20):
choices need to match. It's a non negotiable for me.
My choices need to match my priorities.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Yeah, you don't have to answer this if the answer
will be incriminating to anyone or get you in trouble.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
But I wonder if when you interviewed for the.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Job, if you were able to say that, and you
felt comfortable telling them that and still saying, listen, I'm
worth hiring. Even if when I go home my priority
might be my boys, or even if I'm not willing
to not meet what my boys need because of coaching,
it will still be the outcome that you're looking for.
Because I think that one of the things that slows
down women in really tough gigs like professional coaching is
(23:54):
a fear from the people doing the hiring that they
won't get enough out of them and it won't be
the only thing that they're caring about. And we've heard
somebody say that this coach slept overnight under his desk.
To make sure that that doesn't mean he was the best.
And it also doesn't mean that the players respected him
or thought that that was a cool thing to do,
or thought that that was good leadership. But it's like
that performative dedication that isn't able to be done if
(24:17):
you have kids.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
You just can't do that, you know.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
And coaches that are sleeping under their desk tells me
that they're not very efficient with their time and or
they don't want to go home, exactly two of those things.
Both those things aren't true for me. So I'm incredibly
efficient and I want to come home and I want
to be with my family and enjoy it. That doesn't
mean that it's Disneyland every day like it's hard. It's
(24:40):
not an easy gig. But again, I'm very intentional with
how I use my time. But I yeah, I think
the whole adage that coaches need to you know, you
got to work twenty four to seven is no, no,
you don't.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
And you felt confident telling the folks that.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yeah, I mean yeah, And the sparks have been unbelievable.
And I think I've become a better coach when I
became a mom. I think because I was kind of
forced to, you know, It puts perspective on things. And
when I'm talking to a player, you know, there's that
awareness of like, this is somebody's daughter, like you know,
(25:18):
and how would I want my sons to be treated
by a coach? And you know, this is somebody's daughter.
How I feel about my kids? People feel this way
about her? And it made me a better coach. It
just had a little bit more of a perspective of, like,
life's bigger than how you perform on a Saturday night.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
And you hear that a lot from players and coaches.
Speaker 4 (25:36):
Right.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
It's not that I don't want to win any less,
it's just a little bit easier to accept when something
doesn't go right, because that's not the only thing there is.
I've got these kids back home, I've got this other
stuff going on. Do you have any tricks for wrangling
your players that you take home and find work on
the boys too? And vice versa, Like you try something
in one place first and you're like.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Ooh, that's good. I think that might work in the
other space too.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Yeah I wish, I wish, But ten year old boys
are as far away from professional women athletes as I think.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
It's like, other than a lot of energy. Oh that's
where the ven diagram meets man.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
No kidding, So not a lot of overlap other than
in both worlds, I learn patients and how to continue
to be my best self when I'm frustrated or upset
or whatever.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
So yeah, I learned from working with kids for the
board that I'm on a trick where you say, make
a waterfall sound and then everyone goes.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Ssh and then the room shuts up.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
And I use that when I host galas and I
MC events and people won't trut the fuck up.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
I'm like, everybody, make.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
A waterfall sound, and I'm like, now I'm treating you
all like preschoolers.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
Because I'm going to use that at the dinner table tonight.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
It's a good one. It's a good one.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
That's a great one. Then the problem is I can
already anticipate them just doing that the whole dinner, and
then I'm a way that all they're doing is making waterfall.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
It's a real give and take.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Where do you think you feel the most pain point
of trying to be the best mom and the best coach.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
I think when you're traveling a lot, you know, it's
just hard to be gone for eight days at a time.
Sometimes that part's hard, you know. And within the w season,
you know, my busiest time is their summer, so when
they're out of school, and you know, those are the
time that most normal families do vacations. I'm you know,
so their vacations are road trips with the team. That's
(27:23):
fun though. Yeah, I was just gonna say they're not suffering.
Those will be great memories for them. I love having
them around. So the pain point, I think is just
being gone as much as I am gone.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Sure partner's job allow for them to come on those
road trips or is it too hard to have both
folks on the road.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
No, it works. So my my wife has a start
up with a business partner in fertility health, and she's
kicking ass to but she works from home for the
most part. She'll do some traveling too, but they they
travel and I bring the boys. I can't do it alone.
So either she'll come, or my mother in law or
my mom or somebody nice. Because I don't know. If
(28:09):
I've mentioned as many times as I can that they
are hyper active dudes.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
You know what I've heard about the moms.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
You know, whether it's kandas Parker or others Nei l
Ivy whose kids grew up on the court with them,
And there's a lot of lessons to be learned to
your point being surrounded by a bunch of badass women,
so all that energy hopefully will be channeled into some
cool stuff.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Okay, it seems like you've got a good handle on it.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
So do you have any advice to professional women in
whatever field they're in who maybe feel guilty if they
can't give both things one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
I used to struggle with that, feeling like I'm not
one hundred percent at either place. But I think you know,
if you're able to, if you're in a situation where
you can integrate your kids as much as you can,
that's a blessing. But I also don't think as women
we need to feel guilty about pursuing our careers. My
kids are loved, taken care of, you know, and the
(29:01):
lessons they're learning from me about working really hard and
being in a high pressure situation and how do I
handle it, I think those are just as valuable as
if I was home every day when they came home
from school with the plate of cookies that I baked,
Like there are days where I would love to do that,
but there's also like they're learning a lot for me.
(29:22):
And I think we as women have to, you know,
really fight this guilt that we feel. And I think
some of it is just the nature right of being
a mom. But I think our kids are gaining more
from us than we when we realize by pursuing what
we believe in, you know, doing hard things, you know,
(29:43):
all them, they're absorbing all that we're doing in terms
of how we manage it, how we juggle things, how
we're there for them. They're absorbing all of that. And
I don't think there's one way to do it right.
You've got to figure out what works for you and
your kids. But I would encourage them if you have
a passion, you know, there's a way, where there's a will,
there's a way.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
And are kids are resilient and they see your sacrifice
and they absorb it and they're going to carry that
forward in their own lives.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Yeah. I tell a lot of women worried about that.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
I say, of course, if you want to be a
stay at home mom, that's great, do that, But if
you want to do something else, like there were a
couple of things my mom missed because she was a
badass working lawyer. But more often than not, the person
that I am is entirely because my mom was a
badass working lawyer that I aspired to be like, as
opposed to, you know, being at some stupid one PMT
when I was like seven.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
You know, I survived. I survived that my mom wasn't
at the T.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Speaking of tea final question, big plans for Mother's Day?
I didn't even look at your schedule to see if
you were playing.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
We have a game? Yeah, we play the Aces at home.
It's the opening game. Yeah, so yes, I.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Do have plans, big plans.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
I have some big plans that day, looking forward to that.
Hopefully we can ring in Mother's Day with a win,
but fun, fun way to celebrate it.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Well, thanks so much for the time. I note it's
a very busy time getting ready for the season. We're
looking forward to tipping off and we so appreciate.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Your perspective absolutely. Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Thanks again to Lynn for chatting with us. And don't
forget you can now watch full length good Game interviews
on the Iheartwomen's Sports YouTube channel, So head on over
there and subscribe.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
We have to take another break when.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
We return, a reminder of how far the US still
has to go when it comes to maternity leave.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
We love that you're listening, but we want you to
get in the game every day too, So here's our
good game play of the day. Sickos FC is doing
a season ticket giveaway for our show side the pre
professional Squad, the Minnesota Aurora. The people behind sickos FC
heard our call for folks to become community owners a
couple of years ago and join the fun, and now
they're giving away a pair of reserved twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Six season tickets.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
We'll put the link with the info about the contest
and the link to enter to win in the show notes.
Be sure to enter before May eighth. Also, be sure
to follow Lynn on social media. We'll link to her
Instagram in the show notes. And make sure you remember
to do something nice this weekend for your mom, or
your wife or anyone else who's been a parental figure
in your life. The least you can do for all
(32:20):
their love and support is get them a card and
say thanks. We always love to hear from you, so
hit us up on email good game at Wondermedia network
dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven two,
two oh four fifty seventy and y'all have you subscribed,
rated and reviewed? It's so easy watch remembering how much
the US hates women, rating one out of seven countries review.
(32:44):
According to the latest data from the World Policy Center,
the US is just one of seven countries and the
only quote unquote rich country in the world to not
offer guaranteed paid maternity leave at the national level. The
US is on a short list, accompanied by a handful
of tiny island nations like Nauru and the Marshall Islands. Meantime,
the other one hundred and eighty five nations that the
(33:06):
World Policy Center tracks boasts at least some kind of
paid leave, ranging from countries like Saudi Arabia, which offers
twelve weeks of paid leave, to Norway, which offers forty
nine weeks of paid leave. But here in the US,
employees are at the mercy of the laws passed by
their specific state or policies issued by their employer. The
only national law that governs maternity leave in the US,
(33:28):
the Family and Medical Leave Act, just mandates that employers
provide twelve weeks of job protection leave unpaid. Now, while
some states, like usual gold star earners California and Massachusetts
have introduced their own statewide policies for paid maternity leave,
it shouldn't surprise you to learn that the states with
the worst maternity leave policies are also the states most
(33:49):
likely to restrict abortion access.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Cool.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Oh, and speaking of abortion, let's see conservatives are currently
trying to end access to abortion pills via mail, a
bill that would punish abortion patients with prison time that's
headed for a full Senate vote in South Carolina. And
US Representative Brandon Gill is pulling this bullshit on an
American university professor during a recent House Judiciary subcommittee. You're
(34:14):
an advocate for abortion, for abortion policy, what's your favorite
type of abortion?
Speaker 3 (34:20):
Now?
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Of course his question was supposed to be a gotcha,
but feminist author of the Abortion every Day substack, Jessica
Valenti has the real answer to his question.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
You can see by the shit eating grin that he's
really pleased with himself that he got his viral moment.
But since Representative Gill is so interested in what type
of abortions are our favorites. I thought that I would
share a few of mine. My favorite abortion is the
one that prevents a ten year old from breaking her
pelvis and childbirth always been a favorite. I also really
like the types of abortions that ensure women don't have
(34:49):
to walk around carrying dead fetuses for weeks on end,
like what happened in Representative Gills home state of Texas.
I also really like abortions that stock women from going septic,
like abortions that prevent twenty eight year olds from losing
both of their Filippian tubes. I like abortions that don't
force twenty one year olds in Texas to carry fetuses
that have developed without heads. My other type of favorite
(35:12):
abortion is the kind that doesn't force women to cross
state lines when they have a fatal fetal abnormality, thus
furthering their trauma forcing them away from their home. My
favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow women
to live. Maybe if Kindy Miller or Imbernicole Thurman or
Tierra Walker had an abortion, they would still be here.
My favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow
(35:33):
women to go to college. My favorite types of abortions
are the ones that allow women to leave abusive relationships.
My favorite kinds of abortions are the ones that allow
women to choose their own life path, to decide what
is best for them and if and when they want
to start a family. My favorite types of abortions are
the ones that allow people to meet the person that
(35:53):
they are supposed to be with. My favorite type of
abortion is the one that allowed me to meet my
husband and for us to have our daughter, who is
now fifteen. My favorite type of abortion is the one
that saved my life when my daughter was three and
ensured that she didn't grow up without a mother when
she was a toddler. It is really hard to choose
just one favorite type of abortion.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
Couldn't have said it better myself, Jessica. Now it's your turn,
rate and review. Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow. Good game, Lynn,
Good game, Emma, and Deerica view to the shitt eating
grid on that congressman's face.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
He really thought he had something.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
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, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you Get Your Podcasts production by Wonder Media Network.
Our producers are alex Azzi and Bianca Hillier. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rudder, Lucy Jones, Britney Martinez and
(36:53):
Gianna Palmer. Production assistants from Avery Loftus and I'm Your
Host Sarah Spain
Speaker 3 (37:00):
And
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're trying
not to do the math on how many more cuts
our favorite w teams are going to have to make
ahead of tomorrow's roster deadline.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Some of these are going to hurt. It's Wednesday, May sixth.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Then on today's show, we're skipping the need to know
and getting straight to the conversation I had last week
with La Sparks head coach Lynn Roberts.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, we wanted to
talk to.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
A mom who's also leading other moms in addition to
raising her own kiddos. Lyn's got two moms on her
Sparks roster, so we talked about how being a mother
made her a better coach, changes to the CBA that
will help moms in the league, and the skills she
uses both at home and on the court. Plus her
early impressions of this year's Spark squad, the lessons she
learned from mentor Tara Vanderveer, and how she had to
(00:43):
change her coaching style for the W after spending twenty
seven years in the college system. Plus your daily reminder
that the US is the worst and this time we've
got data to prove it.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
It's all coming up right after this joining us.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Now, she's the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks.
A California native, she hooped for Enterprise High in Redding
and Seattle Pacific University, where she set a school record
for three pointers made in the season. After coaching stops
with Chico State, University at the Pacific and Utah, where
she was the twenty twenty three pac twelve Coach of
the Year, she was hired by the Sparks ahead of
last season. She lives in one of my happy places,
(01:23):
Manhattan Beach, and she's taken up beach tennis.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
She's the mom of twin boys, and like me, she
grew up with Michael Jordan. Posters on her walls it's
Lynn Robert Sailinn.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Hey there, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I'm so jealous you live in Manhattan Beach.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I used to live in LA when I was the
early twenties, and I was like, one day, I'm going
to get to live in Romosa, Manhattan, and one of
my besties does live there, so I get back there
often and I just think, well, what if my day
just started with walking on the strand and looking at
the ocean and eating healthy food.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
It's a different lights suck.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
It doesn't suck. It's feel very lucky to have landed here.
I had heard of it being a California kid, but
really had experienced it. So we're actually right on the
border for most in Manhattan, so we get both perfect.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Ugh, just going to Martha's for breakfast and all the
good stuff.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yes see, you.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Know, yeah, I do.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I get there as often as I can. Well, we're
so excited to have you on just a few days.
I had a mother's day, So we're definitely going to
talk about the perspective that you have on life as
a mom and a coach and the coach of players
who are mothers themselves. But before we get to that,
there is a lot going on in basketball that we
need to talk about first, because you've got a whole
new look roster after a pretty wild and.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Very short free agency period.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
You lose Julia Alamand to Toronto Asrae Stevens back to Chicago.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
After she had a career year for you.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
You swapped out Wrakia Jackson for Ariel Atkins in a
trade with Chicago. But you do bring in some exciting
new folks, neck Ogu McCain and Erica Wheeler from Seattle.
You bring back great talent Dereka Hanby and Kelsey Plumb.
You've got young talent like Cameron Brink. So when you
look at this year's team, it's early, but how do
you think it's going to differ in style from last year?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yeah? I really like our roster. Think this last offseason
was bananas. Uh. It was a lot of prep and
trying to get things organized, and then once we kind
of got the green light that the CBA had been
a prooved you know, handshake deal, it was. It was
absolutely crazy. But you know, I think we had prepped
well and and uh, you know, got our targets. So
(03:22):
we ended up, I think doing exactly what we'd hope
to do. You know, I think last year we led
the league in pace, We were top three in every
offensive category, you know, first and second and a lot
of the key ones. But we you know, it's no
secret we needed to get better defensively, and so you
know that's we did that, uh in theory with with
(03:47):
personnel changes and all the things. But we want to win.
LA is a winning market and it's a place that
players want to be and so we you know, we
swung for the fences in that regard hard. So there's
no secret I'm not shy of saying it. We want
to win. Does that mean it's going to happen. No.
Does that mean it's going to be easy. No, But
we're gonna We're gonna die trying. And I think this
(04:10):
is a place that you know, the Sparks are one
of the three OG franchises, and you know we've won
some championships and we want to get back to that.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah, there's some cool stuff around those original franchises. With
it being the thirtieth season, that's going to be fun
to get into some of that stuff you mentioned. Wanting
to be a winner, wanting to contend. What needs to
go right for your team in order for that to happen.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Well, I think we have the pieces we need, whether
it's staff, players. You know, the ORG is growing in
real time. The w is kind of going through this
major shift where it's it used to be kind of
this part time situation and now it's going to full time.
And you know, the investments are the ownership is investing.
You know, across the league, ownership groups are investing in
(04:54):
different ways. So I think for us, you know, we
we've got the right people on the bus, I believe,
and in the right seats. But you know, any sports
team at this point, everybody is feeling optimistic because you
haven't hit in the university yet. But we, you know,
this group, we need to stay together, which I don't
anticipate being an issue. And then we we've got to
(05:16):
just stay healthy. And some of that is luck and
some of that is you know, you can try to
avoid it as much as you can and prepare for things,
train to try to avoid it, but at the end
of the day, health is health. So but I do
think that if we can stay healthy and stay together,
we've got a great shot.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
You got to just a couple of weeks of camp
so far, a little bit of preseason action. Has anything
surprised you about some of your new players or about
how the players are playing together?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Well, I think the buy in is really high right now.
You know, everybody that chose to come here, You know,
everybody on our roster wants to be here, and they
want to be here because they want to win. And
you know, I have not been shy about saying what
our intentions are and I say that with humility and
knowing that it is not easy. Just because you say
(06:04):
it doesn't mean it's going to happen. But that's what
we're striving to do.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
And so what has I don't know if it's surprised me,
but what has pleasantly been amazing to see is just
the buy in from you know, vets that have been
in the league a long time to rookies. Everybody's on
the same page right now. So that's something as a coach,
it's exciting. We're very you know, player driven, player led. Again,
(06:29):
when you've got voices like Mecca Kelsey, Deerica e edub Aeriel,
you know, those guys are all All Stars, champions, Olympians,
so when they when they have something to say, people listen.
But they're all here to win and there's a collective
buy in on that and how we're going to play
and all those things. So that's been really fun to see.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
You mentioned the investments.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
One of the things across the league that we're seeing
is these new facilities. The Sparks are building one hundred
and fifty million dollar practice facility in Eldo, which is
close to home for you.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
So that'll be nice.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Yeah, you could evenstop a California Chicken Cafe that just
open a new spot in El Segundo on the way
and get the greatest salad of all time, which is
the first thing I do every time I land in
La I put on my KD and I go to
California Chicken Cafe.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Man, I love I do.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
But it's this facility.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
This is the largest investment in the history of women's
sports for a single team. Obviously, these facilities are super
important for drawing players in free agency and you know,
showing off the investment in care you have, but also
really meaningful for basketball, for the health of players, for
their ability to be their best. So how meaningful is
it to you that the w step up when it
comes to these training centers in part because of what
(07:42):
you said, which is this is the main thing.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Now, it's not a side thing, it's not just a
summer thing.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
The financial investment and the care for this league is
making it the priority.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Yes, exactly, and that is spot on. And I think
you know the Sparks were part of the TWG ownership.
They owned the Dodgers, they just acquired the Lakers, the Commanders,
the f one Cadillac team, Like these guys are, they
know what they're doing. And I think there's been a
you know, a real consciousness of like we've got up
(08:14):
our game with the Sparks and let's get back to
you know, we're LA. We don't mess around. And so
the facility is unbelievable and there's I don't know how
when the last time you were here, but you know
it's going up. So it's not a plan, it's not
a someday. You know, there's there's steel in the ground
and it's going up quick. So we should be in
there in less than a year, which is amazing. But
(08:36):
it's it's an incredible place. Nothing was spared, there was
no cutting corners anywhere. It's going to be state of
the art. And and like you mentioned, it's all about
making sure, you know, we want LA the Sparks to
be the franchise that takes the best care of their players,
and so much of that is just in the rehab
(08:58):
space and you know, all all the things that they
need to be at their best and recover and all
the things. So I'm excited about that and it certainly
will help.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
And free agency, Yeah, you get to call the legendary
Tara Vanderveer A mentor what are one or two of
the lessons that she's imparted on you that have stuck.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
She is my all time favorite. She's just I don't
know if you know her, but just an incredible person.
And for whatever reason, when I was coaching at Utah
and she was at Stanford and I was new there,
she kind of took me under her wing a little
bit and would give me some advice. And you know,
I tell this story and it's the truth. The COVID year,
(09:42):
Remember it was such a weird year. And my team
at Utah we were not very good. And you know,
I don't think we played twenty I don't know how
many games you played, like eighteen or something like that.
But we played Stanford at home in front of no fans,
you know, that whole weird thing. And we were bad
and we got drudged. And I'm home with my family
(10:02):
after the game and just like h and my phone
rings and I look down in it's Tara, and I
was like, oh, so I pick up and you know,
she's like Lynn, and you know, I don't want to
see a new coat. You got to get your s
h I t together, and you know, like she was
brutally honest with me, and it was but I think
(10:23):
you're honest with people you care about, and it it
kind of shook my cage a little bit in the
in the best way, and I you know, I hung
up and I thought she's right, and uh, it kind
of propelled me in a different direction with how I
was doing things. And so I credit a lot to her.
And she's just I mean, the goat. She's the best
(10:43):
to ever do it in my opinion, and so much
respect and love for her.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Still a go to call if you've got basketballer.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Oh, yes, she's She's great. And you know, I'm not
alone in that. She is such a champion of women.
And you know, I I respect and I've learned from
her as to you can empower the others that you're
competing against, and you can encourage and empower and be
honest and all the things and help and still want
(11:13):
to kick their ass when you plan them. Like two
things can be true. And that was her, So was
she is to so many of us that phone a
friend and she you know, like, I'm just very very
grateful that I got into that circle.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yeah, yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
You know, you had twenty seven seasons coaching collegiate players,
so lots of time there.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Just a year in the pros under your belt.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Now, where do you feel like you've wanted to or
needed to change your style or your approach as you're
leading adult women as opposed to student athletes.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
You know, I have to be honest, like that was
the one thing coming into the w that I was
most maybe not sure how it would translate my coaching style,
my personality, like wondering like am I going to have
to really change? And I really haven't had to change
too much. I love coaching pros. I think it's, uh,
they're just so dang good and so you don't have
(12:07):
to spend time teaching little things. They already know it,
and so you can advance to the more nuanced stuff.
The more you know basketball nerd stuff, and when you're
coaching great players, it's just, you know, as a basketball
dork like I love.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
It, really get to nerd out a little more.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Totally and kind of take things to the next level.
I think another thing that's different is, you know, in college,
a lot of the focuses on like the coach and
then you have the players and then the pros. It's
the players, and and I like it like that. I
don't want to about me, it's I really don't like
I enjoy that part. I also love that pros are
(12:49):
you know, they've played a lot, They're really good at
what they do. It's their job, it's their craft. They
have opinions. And so if I come and say, hey,
we're gonna do ABC in this game, I better know why,
because they're going to ask why, and so they'll challenge,
but not in like a you know, in a disrespectful way,
(13:09):
just so they want to understand, like this is their world.
And so it's made me sharper, which I really appreciate
and I love it.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
We got to take a break more with Lynn Roberts
right after this. Do you think the financial stakes changing
so drastically will impact anything in terms of that relationship,
because on the one hand, you do have players that
are going to want it even more to stick on
(13:36):
a roster because it will change their lives financially. On
the other hand, you do have different stakes when it
comes to both the money coming out of college already
with nil, but sponsorships, salaries, everything else going up. So
much that there may be some players that you have
to remind to keep the main thing, the main thing,
like basketballs, which got you here, and you better stick
to it and not be too focused on all the
(13:58):
things that having a little bit more financial freedom can
offer you. Do you worry about that at all, or
how your relationship changes with the players at all as
they're in this new tax bracket.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
It's a good question. No, I don't worry about it.
I do think they keep the main thing, the main thing,
you know, one thing that blew me away and I
knew it, but I didn't really know it. Like how
just badass these women are, and how you know, they
weren't getting paid very much and so they made you know,
water into wine, like they they figured out how to
(14:29):
leverage themselves and market themselves as their own brands. Just
entrepreneurs in that regard. Incredibly impressive, Like just how they
manage it all. And I'm just taught, you know, like
it's at every across and every team, like these these
guys are just impressive. So now I think actually it's
going to free them up to keep the main thing,
(14:50):
the main thing a little bit more. Yeah, where they
don't have to go out and try to peddle their
name to to get more money. I think they're you know,
they can do that if want, if there's something they're
passionate about, but they don't have to do it to
pay their mortgage, which I think is incredible. So I
don't anticipate a change in terms of how they act
or how they you know, the demands. I think you've
(15:14):
got to find the right fit that fit your coaches,
don't fit your culture, of your of your franchise, and
I think we've done a good job of that. You know,
not all players you know would love playing for me,
just like I wouldn't love to coach all play like
that's just part of sports. Yeah, So it's all about fit,
and if we get the players that fit, I don't
think there's gonna be any issue with that.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
To your point about the side hustles, I remember, I
think it was Ali Sha Gray was posting some sort
of like she was like eating something and talking about it,
and someone hopped in her mentions and.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Was like, CBA is done. We don't need you to
talk about what you're eating anymore.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
You're getting exactly exactly. I mean, there is some of that,
so it might be old habits die hard for some
of these guys, but.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Still get some of that extra cash, but in a
way that doesn't get in the way of the hoops.
You know, last season you had four players who were
also moms on the roster. Yeah, you have two of
them still, dear Oka Hamby and I'm a cannon.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Did I miss anyone? Did you acquire any new moms? Okay?
Speaker 1 (16:11):
So how do you try to accommodate needs of a
mom while still getting the most out of them as
players and as teammates?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Well, I think in this holds true for me too,
Like being a mom and being in sports. It's such
a unique job, right, Like it's not a nine to five,
it's not a you know, it's it's just it's bizarre
and so my whole you know, once we had kids,
it was like the whole concept of like work life balance.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
What is that?
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, my friend was talking about that. She's like, I've
been working on the weekends. I'm like, what's a weekend?
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Girl?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Like I know exactly, So like the whole like, oh,
you got to have work life balance, Like Okay, in theory, yes,
that's great, it doesn't work for you know, for especially
professional sports. But my approach has always been work life mouth,
but work life integration. And so I have my boys
(17:05):
around a lot. I want them to grow up seeing
these badass women. You know, they're gonna have a high
bar for for who they end up with, which I love.
And I think it normalizes and humanizes me for players
to see that I'm not any different than them, as
crazy as I may seem on the court, Like I'm
a mom when I come home and make dinner and
make lunches and clean up shoes everywhere, and with boys
(17:29):
other feral things that I won't even get into here
on the show. So I'm just a normal mom, you know.
And so with our players that have kids, I want
them to you know, that's the most important thing to
me in my life is my family and my kids.
You know, this is it's a high profile job, but
at the end of the day, it's still work. You know,
it's a job, and so I'm never going to lose
sight of my family for my job. Well it's no
(17:52):
different for the players, right Like I know Emma and
I know Deerica would say that's the most important thing
in their lives is their children and their family, and
so I would not ask them to do anything other
than to integrate their kids into what we're doing. So
I love it when the kids are on the road
with us. I love it and my kids travel. Sometimes
(18:12):
I don't do it all the time because I get
fatigued by it, but when it works, they come. But
I love that. I think that's what women's sports brings too.
It's just a different vibe. We have a couple guys
on our GM staff, two assistant gms that have come
from the NBA, both with young kids, and they're like,
it's just so different on the women's side because there
(18:34):
seems to be just an appreciation and respect for having kids,
Like that's part of it. And I want d and
I want Emma to know that their kids are their
priority and I support that and encourage that. So whatever
that looks like for them, we got to make it happen.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You know, Deerka came to the Sparks after a contentious
end to her time with the Aces, and that included
filing a lawsuit against the team in the league about
alleged retaliation for getting pregnant. How did you and the
Sparks work to make sure that she felt like she
would be supported and what did that experience of watching
that maybe from Afar before the trade happened, tell the
team about being proactive instead of reactive when it comes
(19:11):
to having moms as a part of the staff or
as players.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Well, I wasn't here when all that went down, and
so I don't know that. You know, that's Dereka's story
to tell. I don't know a lot, but I think
it's a lesson. And you know, these are women in
the prime of their lives and the time when you
do have kids, and we as a league, and I
know the CBA, the Players Association, it's a big it
(19:36):
was a big point of you know, of emphasis for
them to make sure that these these women, these young women,
if they want to have children, they can. You know,
you don't have to wait till you're forty, when you're
done playing. Like so, the support systems are in place,
and you know, like I said, it's their job and
(19:57):
at the end of the day, their human beings. If
they want to have a kid, they should be able
to and be supported in that.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Is there anything in the new CBA that you've noticed
that you think will be particularly helpful for you?
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Or for players that are moms.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
I don't know how different it is, but I know
that they're you know, in terms of the support you're allowed.
So if you have your kids on a road trip,
you know you can bring a caretaker. We have to
pay the org has to pay for that. There's just
a lot more things to make it so that if
you do have children, where you decide to have children,
that that you're supported and the and the organizations are
(20:33):
required to provide you the resources you need. I don't
know how different that is than before, but I know
that's in the new one.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Well, and I know there's the what they're calling it
the de Erka Hanby roll. But basically, like if you're
pregnant or I think maybe are recovering from a pregnancy,
you have to agree to a trade so a team
can't potentially move you as a result.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Of Yes, and that's a great catch, right, Like that's
that's a good one for you know, there's nothing that
teams can do or like oh that doesn't fit into
our basketball plans, so we're going to move you.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Yeah, And I think as the finances go up. I
come from a family of lawyer, so I find myself
often playing devil's advocate to things. Even if I think
that prioritizing and centering the players and their family planning
makes sense, I also do understand that as numbers go
up and investment goes up, there's an intention with each season.
And if one of your stars is suddenly out for
the whole season and financially you don't get reimbursed to
(21:28):
get another player or otherwise, it's complicated.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
So I do think there needs to be.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Policy in place that serves everyone so that the player
also doesn't feel guilty being out and the team doesn't
feel like they need to be punitive in their response
because everybody can work together to make sure that it
isn't a super deleterious impact on, you know, the end
goal of winning completely.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
And I actually I do think, just don't quote me
on it. I do think that if a player is pregnant,
get whatever, any of that, like their salary doesn't hit
your cap, so you're able to get somebody else.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
I'm always like trying to keep up to date because
you can't always access the full CBA and find the language.
But yeah, there is something in there about like player
hardship I think is what they call it, which is
also what I call having kids.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
But preach, girl, preach.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
I don't have.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Them, but I can only you do so far, watching
my nephew and nieces, when I do, I understand that
it is it is hardship. So you've got these two
boys at home to nurture, You've got this whole team
of women to nurture. What are your non negotiables in
both roles? Are there things that you say, I will
absolutely not do this as a mom because I'm a coach,
or I'll absolutely not do this as a coach just
because I'm a mom.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Wow, I've never been asked that. I just I think
I don't know if this really answers your question. But
I think you know your choices reflect your priorities and
the decisions you make, the things you do that they're
direct reflection of what matters. And so I will never
sacrifice what my boys need for work. And I tried.
(22:57):
You know, when I come home dan the day, like
I'm done with work, and so I try to be
extremely efficient, or I wait till after they go to
bed and then I'll watch film. But when I'm home,
I try to be present. When I'm at work, I
try to, you know, I'm present, I'm not, you know,
so I don't know if there's any non negotiables. It's
a feel yeah, And I just I feel like my
(23:20):
choices need to match. It's a non negotiable for me.
My choices need to match my priorities.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Yeah, you don't have to answer this if the answer
will be incriminating to anyone or get you in trouble.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
But I wonder if when you interviewed for the.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Job, if you were able to say that, and you
felt comfortable telling them that and still saying, listen, I'm
worth hiring. Even if when I go home my priority
might be my boys, or even if I'm not willing
to not meet what my boys need because of coaching,
it will still be the outcome that you're looking for.
Because I think that one of the things that slows
down women in really tough gigs like professional coaching is
(23:54):
a fear from the people doing the hiring that they
won't get enough out of them and it won't be
the only thing that they're caring about. And we've heard
somebody say that this coach slept overnight under his desk.
To make sure that that doesn't mean he was the best.
And it also doesn't mean that the players respected him
or thought that that was a cool thing to do,
or thought that that was good leadership. But it's like
that performative dedication that isn't able to be done if
(24:17):
you have kids.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
You just can't do that, you know.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
And coaches that are sleeping under their desk tells me
that they're not very efficient with their time and or
they don't want to go home, exactly two of those things.
Both those things aren't true for me. So I'm incredibly
efficient and I want to come home and I want
to be with my family and enjoy it. That doesn't
mean that it's Disneyland every day like it's hard. It's
(24:40):
not an easy gig. But again, I'm very intentional with
how I use my time. But I yeah, I think
the whole adage that coaches need to you know, you
got to work twenty four to seven is no, no,
you don't.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
And you felt confident telling the folks that.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yeah, I mean yeah, And the sparks have been unbelievable.
And I think I've become a better coach when I
became a mom. I think because I was kind of
forced to, you know, It puts perspective on things. And
when I'm talking to a player, you know, there's that
awareness of like, this is somebody's daughter, like you know,
(25:18):
and how would I want my sons to be treated
by a coach? And you know, this is somebody's daughter.
How I feel about my kids? People feel this way
about her? And it made me a better coach. It
just had a little bit more of a perspective of, like,
life's bigger than how you perform on a Saturday night.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
And you hear that a lot from players and coaches.
Speaker 4 (25:36):
Right.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
It's not that I don't want to win any less,
it's just a little bit easier to accept when something
doesn't go right, because that's not the only thing there is.
I've got these kids back home, I've got this other
stuff going on. Do you have any tricks for wrangling
your players that you take home and find work on
the boys too? And vice versa, Like you try something
in one place first and you're like.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Ooh, that's good. I think that might work in the
other space too.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Yeah I wish, I wish, But ten year old boys
are as far away from professional women athletes as I think.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
It's like, other than a lot of energy. Oh that's
where the ven diagram meets man.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
No kidding, So not a lot of overlap other than
in both worlds, I learn patients and how to continue
to be my best self when I'm frustrated or upset
or whatever.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
So yeah, I learned from working with kids for the
board that I'm on a trick where you say, make
a waterfall sound and then everyone goes.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Ssh and then the room shuts up.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
And I use that when I host galas and I
MC events and people won't trut the fuck up.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
I'm like, everybody, make.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
A waterfall sound, and I'm like, now I'm treating you
all like preschoolers.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
Because I'm going to use that at the dinner table tonight.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
It's a good one. It's a good one.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
That's a great one. Then the problem is I can
already anticipate them just doing that the whole dinner, and
then I'm a way that all they're doing is making waterfall.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
It's a real give and take.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Where do you think you feel the most pain point
of trying to be the best mom and the best coach.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
I think when you're traveling a lot, you know, it's
just hard to be gone for eight days at a time.
Sometimes that part's hard, you know. And within the w season,
you know, my busiest time is their summer, so when
they're out of school, and you know, those are the
time that most normal families do vacations. I'm you know,
so their vacations are road trips with the team. That's
(27:23):
fun though. Yeah, I was just gonna say they're not suffering.
Those will be great memories for them. I love having
them around. So the pain point, I think is just
being gone as much as I am gone.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Sure partner's job allow for them to come on those
road trips or is it too hard to have both
folks on the road.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
No, it works. So my my wife has a start
up with a business partner in fertility health, and she's
kicking ass to but she works from home for the
most part. She'll do some traveling too, but they they
travel and I bring the boys. I can't do it alone.
So either she'll come, or my mother in law or
my mom or somebody nice. Because I don't know. If
(28:09):
I've mentioned as many times as I can that they
are hyper active dudes.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
You know what I've heard about the moms.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
You know, whether it's kandas Parker or others Nei l
Ivy whose kids grew up on the court with them,
And there's a lot of lessons to be learned to
your point being surrounded by a bunch of badass women,
so all that energy hopefully will be channeled into some
cool stuff.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Okay, it seems like you've got a good handle on it.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
So do you have any advice to professional women in
whatever field they're in who maybe feel guilty if they
can't give both things one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
I used to struggle with that, feeling like I'm not
one hundred percent at either place. But I think you know,
if you're able to, if you're in a situation where
you can integrate your kids as much as you can,
that's a blessing. But I also don't think as women
we need to feel guilty about pursuing our careers. My
kids are loved, taken care of, you know, and the
(29:01):
lessons they're learning from me about working really hard and
being in a high pressure situation and how do I
handle it, I think those are just as valuable as
if I was home every day when they came home
from school with the plate of cookies that I baked,
Like there are days where I would love to do that,
but there's also like they're learning a lot for me.
(29:22):
And I think we as women have to, you know,
really fight this guilt that we feel. And I think
some of it is just the nature right of being
a mom. But I think our kids are gaining more
from us than we when we realize by pursuing what
we believe in, you know, doing hard things, you know,
(29:43):
all them, they're absorbing all that we're doing in terms
of how we manage it, how we juggle things, how
we're there for them. They're absorbing all of that. And
I don't think there's one way to do it right.
You've got to figure out what works for you and
your kids. But I would encourage them if you have
a passion, you know, there's a way, where there's a will,
there's a way.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
And are kids are resilient and they see your sacrifice
and they absorb it and they're going to carry that
forward in their own lives.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Yeah. I tell a lot of women worried about that.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
I say, of course, if you want to be a
stay at home mom, that's great, do that, But if
you want to do something else, like there were a
couple of things my mom missed because she was a
badass working lawyer. But more often than not, the person
that I am is entirely because my mom was a
badass working lawyer that I aspired to be like, as
opposed to, you know, being at some stupid one PMT
when I was like seven.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
You know, I survived. I survived that my mom wasn't
at the T.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Speaking of tea final question, big plans for Mother's Day?
I didn't even look at your schedule to see if
you were playing.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
We have a game? Yeah, we play the Aces at home.
It's the opening game. Yeah, so yes, I.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Do have plans, big plans.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
I have some big plans that day, looking forward to that.
Hopefully we can ring in Mother's Day with a win,
but fun, fun way to celebrate it.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Well, thanks so much for the time. I note it's
a very busy time getting ready for the season. We're
looking forward to tipping off and we so appreciate.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Your perspective absolutely. Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Thanks again to Lynn for chatting with us. And don't
forget you can now watch full length good Game interviews
on the Iheartwomen's Sports YouTube channel, So head on over
there and subscribe.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
We have to take another break when.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
We return, a reminder of how far the US still
has to go when it comes to maternity leave.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Welcome back slices.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
We love that you're listening, but we want you to
get in the game every day too, So here's our
good game play of the day. Sickos FC is doing
a season ticket giveaway for our show side the pre
professional Squad, the Minnesota Aurora. The people behind sickos FC
heard our call for folks to become community owners a
couple of years ago and join the fun, and now
they're giving away a pair of reserved twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Six season tickets.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
We'll put the link with the info about the contest
and the link to enter to win in the show notes.
Be sure to enter before May eighth. Also, be sure
to follow Lynn on social media. We'll link to her
Instagram in the show notes. And make sure you remember
to do something nice this weekend for your mom, or
your wife or anyone else who's been a parental figure
in your life. The least you can do for all
(32:20):
their love and support is get them a card and
say thanks. We always love to hear from you, so
hit us up on email good game at Wondermedia network
dot com or leave us a voicemail at eight seven two,
two oh four fifty seventy and y'all have you subscribed,
rated and reviewed? It's so easy watch remembering how much
the US hates women, rating one out of seven countries review.
(32:44):
According to the latest data from the World Policy Center,
the US is just one of seven countries and the
only quote unquote rich country in the world to not
offer guaranteed paid maternity leave at the national level. The
US is on a short list, accompanied by a handful
of tiny island nations like Nauru and the Marshall Islands. Meantime,
the other one hundred and eighty five nations that the
(33:06):
World Policy Center tracks boasts at least some kind of
paid leave, ranging from countries like Saudi Arabia, which offers
twelve weeks of paid leave, to Norway, which offers forty
nine weeks of paid leave. But here in the US,
employees are at the mercy of the laws passed by
their specific state or policies issued by their employer. The
only national law that governs maternity leave in the US,
(33:28):
the Family and Medical Leave Act, just mandates that employers
provide twelve weeks of job protection leave unpaid. Now, while
some states, like usual gold star earners California and Massachusetts
have introduced their own statewide policies for paid maternity leave,
it shouldn't surprise you to learn that the states with
the worst maternity leave policies are also the states most
(33:49):
likely to restrict abortion access.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Cool.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Oh, and speaking of abortion, let's see conservatives are currently
trying to end access to abortion pills via mail, a
bill that would punish abortion patients with prison time that's
headed for a full Senate vote in South Carolina. And
US Representative Brandon Gill is pulling this bullshit on an
American university professor during a recent House Judiciary subcommittee. You're
(34:14):
an advocate for abortion, for abortion policy, what's your favorite
type of abortion?
Speaker 3 (34:20):
Now?
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Of course his question was supposed to be a gotcha,
but feminist author of the Abortion every Day substack, Jessica
Valenti has the real answer to his question.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
You can see by the shit eating grin that he's
really pleased with himself that he got his viral moment.
But since Representative Gill is so interested in what type
of abortions are our favorites. I thought that I would
share a few of mine. My favorite abortion is the
one that prevents a ten year old from breaking her
pelvis and childbirth always been a favorite. I also really
like the types of abortions that ensure women don't have
(34:49):
to walk around carrying dead fetuses for weeks on end,
like what happened in Representative Gills home state of Texas.
I also really like abortions that stock women from going septic,
like abortions that prevent twenty eight year olds from losing
both of their Filippian tubes. I like abortions that don't
force twenty one year olds in Texas to carry fetuses
that have developed without heads. My other type of favorite
(35:12):
abortion is the kind that doesn't force women to cross
state lines when they have a fatal fetal abnormality, thus
furthering their trauma forcing them away from their home. My
favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow women
to live. Maybe if Kindy Miller or Imbernicole Thurman or
Tierra Walker had an abortion, they would still be here.
My favorite types of abortions are the ones that allow
(35:33):
women to go to college. My favorite types of abortions
are the ones that allow women to leave abusive relationships.
My favorite kinds of abortions are the ones that allow
women to choose their own life path, to decide what
is best for them and if and when they want
to start a family. My favorite types of abortions are
the ones that allow people to meet the person that
(35:53):
they are supposed to be with. My favorite type of
abortion is the one that allowed me to meet my
husband and for us to have our daughter, who is
now fifteen. My favorite type of abortion is the one
that saved my life when my daughter was three and
ensured that she didn't grow up without a mother when
she was a toddler. It is really hard to choose
just one favorite type of abortion.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
Couldn't have said it better myself, Jessica. Now it's your turn,
rate and review. Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow. Good game, Lynn,
Good game, Emma, and Deerica view to the shitt eating
grid on that congressman's face.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
He really thought he had something.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
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, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you Get Your Podcasts production by Wonder Media Network.
Our producers are alex Azzi and Bianca Hillier. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rudder, Lucy Jones, Britney Martinez and
(36:53):
Gianna Palmer. Production assistants from Avery Loftus and I'm Your
Host Sarah Spain
Speaker 3 (37:00):
And
Host
Sarah Spain
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