High Level Conversations: LaChina Robinson

In this episode of Levels to This, Sheryl and Tee sit down with sports analyst, LaChina Robinson to discuss the critical role of mentorship in the world of women's basketball. LaChina shares her experiences and the impactful work she’s doing through her nonprofit, Rising Media Stars. The conversation delves into the importance of representation and the evolving landscape of coverage in women's basketball. With heartfelt stories and inspiring dialogues, the three emphasize the necessity of lifting others as you rise and creating inclusive spaces in women’s sports for future generations.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Levels to This 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.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hey, what's going on? Everybody? It's Tarka Fosta Brasby.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
And your girl Cheryl Swoops.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
What's up y'all?

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hey? And this is Levels to This, the podcast, the
show where we share that it's Levels, so the ship
that women go through. We have certainly have a fun
show lined up for you today. But first, Cheryl, I
wanted to follow up on something. So remember we were
talking about New Year's resolutions getting right or whatever.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Yeah, so I'll laughing and I don't even know where
you're going with this, but I'm laughing. I'll tell you
why I'm laughing because you bucked your eyes really.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Big, and I was like, I don't share where I'm
going with this either. I don't just take off going
with this either, because I decided that I was going
to do a lifestyle change. Now, first I trying to
change my mentality by changing the words and saying lifestyle change.
But really, a bitch is on a diet and am hungry.

(01:11):
That's that's really where we are. Okay, I'm on this
new shit they out here talking about. Here's your meal player,
and I'm making all this nice little food and stuff.

Speaker 4 (01:22):
Girl.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
They got me intermittent fast and so I'm not supposed
to eat between twelve midnight and twelve noon. Now that
might not sound like a big deal for most people,
because you would think that most people are sleep between
midnight and last night.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
Good luck with that, girl.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
I'll be up until one o'clock in the morning, and
sometimes I want a sandwich.

Speaker 3 (01:41):
She want a snack, and I'm hungry. So then listen.
Then maybe you need to go to bed earlier.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
And maybe and then I wake up at ten o'clock,
nine o'clock in the morning, and I can't.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Eat until you only got a couple hours. Girl, I'm
not gonna lie to you. I couldn't do that because
I'm like you. I like even if I get in
bed at like ten or eleven, I'm still wide awake
and I usually don't fall asleep until around two am,
and then I'm up at like eight, So that shit
wouldn't work for me.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
It's barely it's barely working for me and my husband.
God bless his soul. He trying to be supportive, right,
but he come in and he say a little slick shit.
You know. He'll look on the stove and see the
food and be like, oh is this your mual portion? Like,
oh is this fully seasoned? Or is there light seasoning?

Speaker 1 (02:33):
And I just want to be right, But I can
only imagine how difficult that is, Well it would be
for me, but for you because like your husband's a chef.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
Hello, what does he be?

Speaker 3 (02:44):
But he be cooking girl, and I would want to eat.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
So the good thing is that I'm supposed to be
able to like eat whatever I want in those time
frames that they that that I'm not fasting. That's what
I'm supposed to do, right. But this is where they
trick you. Where they trick you is they give you
a calorie goal. To me, now, it's a calorie goal, right,
so you should strive to be within this in this range.

(03:11):
But I'm a I'm a I'm a fucking perfectionist, right, Like,
I don't want to be that person that is like
two hundred three hundred one Today though, fuck this, I'm
about to get a burger and some chili cheese, fris
damn and a damn beer and.

Speaker 3 (03:29):
A milk and a milkshake and a milkshop.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
I'm going all in because a sick of it.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
Okay, how how long have you been on this diet?

Speaker 2 (03:39):
I started this diet the week after the beginning of
the year, so it's going on two weeks and and
and to be fair, it's not fair to yourself, to
be fair to my to be fair to the to
the dieting plan. It's not bad like it's not it's
the it's not the diet. It is not the app
it is not what they're required. I ain't mean to do.

Speaker 4 (04:00):
It's me.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
I'm fat and I love it here and I need
to just accept that.

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Well, here's my question for you.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Are you are you doing this diet or lifestyle change?

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Lifestyle change?

Speaker 3 (04:16):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (04:16):
Are you doing this lifestyle change for you and yourself
or for someone else?

Speaker 2 (04:23):
It is that? Who the hell else would it be?
Form Just saying, listen, if my husband ever come out
of his mouth and say to me, see, you're getting
a little fam You met me fat, you proposed fat,
You're married with fat, and you love all of this.
You love this fan fat no more? Dammit, but no,
it is it is absolutely for me. I want to

(04:46):
walk into this season and I and by season, I
mean women's basketball season. When I look at myself on television,
I want to feel comfortable. I want to feel like
I look good and my outfit, you know what I mean.
Like I see these there little outfits and I'm like, damn,
I want to wear thatple girl. My gut is hanging out.
I can't do that. So it is so there with
you for me, it's for me, It's for me. My

(05:08):
goal is twenty five pounds I'm currently and I have
no problem sharing this with the worlds. It's not a secret.
I'm currently two hundred and sixteen pounds. My goal is
one hundred and ninety and according to this app, if
I stay on this track, I should meet my target
weight by May. And I think that's doable. So, yeah,

(05:29):
that's doable.

Speaker 3 (05:30):
I am.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
I'm there with you because and we've had these conversations there.
You know, there are some days I look at myself
in the mirror and I'm like, of course you've gained
weight because you don't play anymore and I don't work
out like I used to natural and I'm like, but okay,
I can live with this me. Then there are other
days I look at myself in the mirror and I'm like, damn,

(05:53):
like who is that?

Speaker 3 (05:54):
And I don't like that person I see. So I
feel you, but I ain't there what you want to
die right now?

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah? I mean I feel like I feel that. I
love It's cool.

Speaker 4 (06:04):
I love it.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
Love too.

Speaker 5 (06:06):
To eat.

Speaker 3 (06:06):
I like to eat whenever I want to eat me.

Speaker 1 (06:09):
So if I want to get up at one in
the morning and go grab me some bean dipping Fredos,
I'm gonna grab me some bean dipping friedos. I'm not
mad at that Oreo cookies and just let me do it.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
I know, I know. I'm with you there too. I
love to do that too. I'm trying to be disciplined,
so got you there it is. But you know what
I need to help me? What I need people to
continue to encourage me, support me, and to lift me up.
And that is exactly what we're going to talk about
on today's show because we have an incredible guest who
has for years done just that with other young women

(06:41):
who are looking to get into the space of journalism
and sports reporting and broadcasting. She has lifted people up.
She has continued to speak like to them and support them,
and today we are going to have a great time
chatting with none other than La China Robinson. So please
keep a lot because we're about to into the next
level chure. I know I probably say this almost every

(07:06):
time we have a guest on the show, that I'm
super excited to have the guests, so at some point
it probably starts to sound fake, but I'm really for
real every single time I say it, I know you
are today. I am incredibly excited for today's guest because
not only is this person a friend of mine to
tie into today's themes, she was a mentor for me.

(07:28):
I looked at the things she did and the way
she moved and how she interacted with people, and I
will never forget back. In twenty nineteen, we were in
Tampa for the final four. She and I used to
host the show together Around the Rim, which was an
ESPN podcast, and we were doing a live show in
Tampa for twenty nineteen and we wanted Down Stavey to
come on the show. Dawn was like, we're going through

(07:50):
workouts and some other stuff, so it's most likely that
I'm not going to be able to make it to
the live tape, and so I was like, oh, okay, cool,
no big deal. As producer, we would make it work.
About fifteen minutes into the show, I get a text
from Dawn that's like, where are y'all at again? Because
I'm on my way and I'm bringing some people with me.
I'm freaking out, like, oh my god, we gotta make

(08:11):
room for Dawn because Dawn coming. And she responses says
anything for La China.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
Of course.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
I'm trying to get on the level where all I
have to do is people mention my name and they
say anything for you the way they say anything for
La China. She is just killing the game and has
been for many years. But I'm excited to bring La
China Robinson on the show today.

Speaker 5 (08:35):
Hey girl, Hey, let me tell you what that level
is called. It is called in the trenches. That's what
that level is called. If you really want to know, There's.

Speaker 3 (08:41):
Been a lot of places, seen a lot of things,
a lot of things.

Speaker 4 (08:44):
I love you guys, Hi book here, t.

Speaker 1 (08:49):
Let me just add a little bit to that before
we get into this conversation.

Speaker 2 (08:53):
It's coming, no, but it's true. It's trying not to crack.

Speaker 4 (08:56):
It's already embarrassed.

Speaker 1 (08:59):
When La China Robinson texts you, calls you, emails you,
yodels at you.

Speaker 3 (09:06):
Whatever she does.

Speaker 1 (09:08):
You listen, you come, you do because she has been
in this woman's basketball space for a minute.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
Do you know me, I will shed a tear at
the drop of a dime.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
Lachina Robinson, whether she knows this or not, she picked
me up from a very low, dark place I was
in a couple of years ago and like really helped
me get back on my feet when everybody was like no, no, no.
Lachina reached out to me and was like, hey girl,
I need you come do this studio with me, wnba

(09:44):
all of that. And I was like, eh, okay, I
would love to, but she was like, uh, I got this,
and I kid you not. It was probably a week later,
maybe two weeks later. I was in studio with Lachina
Robinson and that's all I'll say because I am.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
Shedding a tear. You just can't see. See. I need
to say to you, La China, and I've told you.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
This, but I'm gonna tell you again, Like I just
thank you for always being true to who you are,
always keeping it real and no matter what's going on.

Speaker 3 (10:14):
You continue to just be who you are.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
I am forever indebted to you for believing in me
and my ability.

Speaker 5 (10:23):
So thank girl, my goodness, Please stop that. I am
just paying back what you have done for me and
so many people.

Speaker 4 (10:32):
You gave me a dream.

Speaker 5 (10:33):
Watching you play basketball was like, how can I be
a part of that? Well, I can't play with Cheryl.
Maybe I can cover her career and the things that
she has done. You have inspired me in so many
ways to your journey that you don't even know the
way your story has touched me. I have only done
a very small piece of what you have done by
lifting me and inspiring me, and we all owe you.

Speaker 4 (10:56):
Let me tell you this, Cheryl. I've been out here.

Speaker 5 (10:58):
I've had to restrain myself out in Ease Street, Cheryl,
because you know China knows this about me. I've never
been in a fight in my life. My friend, don't
get hurt. But I'm probably not gonna jump in the fight. Okay,
that's just I ain't never been in a fight. But
there have been times where I feel like the respect
level for you, Cheryl, just hasn't been where it needs
to be, and it has hurt me.

Speaker 4 (11:19):
I'm an impath this.

Speaker 5 (11:21):
I act real hard on the outside, but when it
comes to the people I love and care about and
even honestly strangers, when people.

Speaker 4 (11:27):
Are hurting or they're being done wrong.

Speaker 5 (11:29):
I feel it as if it's me and so Cheryl,
you don't owe me any kind of recognition.

Speaker 4 (11:36):
You have done that for me than you will ever know,
and more for all of us. It's okay, do it.

Speaker 2 (11:43):
And that's really what the basis of this entire show
is about today, because ally shit, mentorship kind of being
able to bring people along with you is something that
we don't see enough of in this industry. We have
all at some point felt like if just one person
gives me a recommendation, or if just one person speaks

(12:06):
my name, or if just one person shows me where
I'm supposed to go this arena because I've never done
this before and I don't know where the media room
is and I don't know where I'm supposed to sit,
and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Like
if just one person sees us, we kind of feel
a little bit better. And you know, the China you
said just a little piece, but Nasis, really you've been

(12:29):
doing a big piece. For a few years now, I
have been motivated every time I look on TV and
I see Isis, Andrea Carter, Dominique, Patrick, Zora Stevenson. I
look at all these women who are killing it in
the game. The common denominator between all of them is
that they were mentored by you. They were part of

(12:50):
your Rising Media Stars program. I just would love for
you to give us a little background. Where did this
want or need to give back was going to be
something that was going to be part of your legacy
in so many ways? How did it become Rising Media Stars?

Speaker 4 (13:05):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (13:06):
Well, we've all been in a place in life where
we have needed someone to just give us a hand
lift us up. I've been in some low places in
life starting out with that personal experience, I've never wanted
to miss that opportunity where God was showing me a
window to be a difference maker for someone else. One
of my biggest fears is not being there when someone
needs me. That's been the driving force for me a

(13:28):
lot in my life, even going back to my childhood.
I'm an impath, so I'm just very sensitive to people's
pain points and for me personally, coming along this journey
in sports, media and just in the world as a
black woman. I know what it's like to fill alone,
to be overlooked, to be unseen, for people to make

(13:51):
you feel like you're not needed, for your voice to
be muted, for you not to get the visibility, the
recognition you deserve. It really starts with wanting others that
are coming after me to not have to suffer those
same experiences if I can have anything.

Speaker 4 (14:07):
To do with it.

Speaker 5 (14:08):
Now, let's be honest, Andrea Zora, all the women in
our program, they were going to get to where they
are anyway. But what we try to do with rising
media stars is to create a sense of safety in
a group of women that look like them. Like when
you're making this climb and whether you're doing great and
you don't know how much money you're supposed to make,

(14:29):
but you feel like you might be getting cheated in
your contract, or you made a mistake on air. We
know that we're not allowed to make mistakes. You don't
know how to deal with it or get your foot
in the door because the young woman you graduated with,
who may be a white woman, she's already excelling right
and you're trying to figure out what it is you
have to do to get on even ground. There's so

(14:51):
many challenges, especially in this business where it's competitive, where
there already aren't enough of us. Rising Media Stars is
a nonprofit organization or a hundred percent volunteered no one
gets paid. We take five women every year, women of color,
that want to get into broadcasting, and we prepare them
for a job in sports broadcasting in all of the

(15:11):
ways I just mentioned, by creating community, by.

Speaker 4 (15:14):
Giving them reps in the field.

Speaker 5 (15:16):
We have great partners like NBC, NC double A, a
lot of sports teams here in Atlanta, the w NBA
now who give us access.

Speaker 4 (15:24):
And allow us to bring our women to games.

Speaker 5 (15:26):
They do stand ups, you know, get a chance to
feel what it's like, and then add that footage to
their reels so they can go to someone and say, Okay,
this is the work I've done because in this industry,
you know this, Cheryl, you know this well, Cheryl Ain
never had to show a reel in her life.

Speaker 4 (15:39):
She's Cheryl Food.

Speaker 5 (15:40):
But you go get a job, they say, let me
see you work. Like I don't have any work because
no one's ever hired me. We're just trying to fill
that gap in what can be a tough transition into
this industry and provide them the support, the resources, the network.
We've got incredible mentors in the program, and just try

(16:01):
to make a difference wherever we can.

Speaker 1 (16:03):
You said a lot in that and it's so powerful,
But China, what would you say to someone like again,
I'm just gonna point to myself when I played forever
right and then I retired and didn't get right in
the TV and now being older, like, what would you
say to someone like me that's saying no, I don't

(16:24):
have a real right. But maybe there's someone out there
that really wants to get into broadcasting at an older
age like myself.

Speaker 3 (16:32):
What advice would you give them?

Speaker 1 (16:33):
Could they also be a part of your Rising media Stars?

Speaker 5 (16:37):
First of all, yes, our rising media stars. The only
criteria is you have to be twenty one. So when
you come down to Atlanta, your parents ain't calling me.
Try to figure out what went down?

Speaker 4 (16:46):
Right.

Speaker 5 (16:47):
You don't have to have studied broadcasting, you don't have
to have gone to call it any of that. But Cheryl,
in your case, there is absolutely nothing you need to do.
These television executives need to open their eyes because one
thing I believe, and I have always said this, even
when it's been at my detriment. The women that played

(17:08):
in the WNBA should get priority when it comes to
covering this league, just like they should get priority when
it comes to coaching this league, just like they should
get priorty when it comes to being general managers in
this league. No one knows what it's like to be
in that space, in that situation, in that seat, in
that fourth quarter, like someone who has played the game.
People should be calling you, but it's never too late

(17:31):
to pivot. I didn't get into this career till my
late twenties. Tarika knew what she wanted to do way
and I'm gonna speak on you in a minute too,
because you call me your mentor like I'm old.

Speaker 4 (17:39):
But it's never to be late.

Speaker 5 (17:43):
It is never too late to do whatever you want
to do, whatever your dream is. I was an athletic
administration and I was like twenty seven twenty eight was
like lah, I'm not close enough to the game. I
want to do more, and was able to pivot into it.
I don't care how old you are, you can do
whatever you want to do. I'm always a believer in that.
Once I've made up my mind that I'm gonna do something,
or something's gonna happen.

Speaker 4 (18:02):
It's gonna happen.

Speaker 5 (18:03):
It may not happen today, I can't tell you when,
but it's gonna happen. But Trek, I wanted to go
back to you because you have a gift.

Speaker 4 (18:11):
Don't even point at yourself like that.

Speaker 2 (18:14):
This ain't supposed to be on me. It's supposed to be.

Speaker 4 (18:16):
And what is.

Speaker 5 (18:16):
Amazing about your gift is that you have grown so
much in this industry and it has had everything to
do with your own hard work, your ability to connect
to people, your likability.

Speaker 4 (18:29):
People are immediately disarmed when they meet you.

Speaker 5 (18:33):
And so the beauty of that story that you told
is not that Don Staley said I'll show up for
La China, is that now she would also show up
for Tarika and that was only five minutes ago. But
those are the relationships you've built and the work you've
done in this industry. So please don't say I've mentwords you.

Speaker 4 (18:48):
You did this.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
Listen on your own is being very serious, Sureyl, And
I appreciate that. I really do, honestly, and I do
love Don now she showed me love and peer or two,
and I was like, I was bringing up I got done,
Don Staley, my girl. What I think is interesting is
that even with you sure, I don't even know if
you remember this, but when China and I started around

(19:11):
the Rim, we had challenges with the co host. So
there were times where if something was going on and
the China had another obligation, I would have to fill in.
Before I was the official co host of the show,
and there was one particular episode in which you were
actually the guest of the show and China had another obligation,
and so I feel as the co host of that

(19:32):
particular episode and on my Instagram right now, like from
years ago. This is like twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen years ago,
it's you on the phone and I'm recording you as
the producer. But what you don't know a.

Speaker 4 (19:51):
KG show together.

Speaker 2 (19:52):
I remember that.

Speaker 4 (19:55):
I was like, yo, I'll here.

Speaker 3 (20:00):
The last doing that show. I so remember doing that
with you.

Speaker 4 (20:04):
KG.

Speaker 5 (20:05):
You know, was just cursing up a storm. I think
he was cursing too much. That's why his show had
to go away. But he's partly from digital and that's
one thing to that point about the way that we're
covering the w Now. I really like him and Paul
Pierce just sitting down shooting a breeze, but they are

(20:25):
telling some amazing stories, and that's what our game needs.
Our job as media and women's basketball is not easy. Okay,
It's different from any other sport you may cover, number one,
because people already make up their mind that they're not
gonna watch put resources into a league that's predominantly black women.
So we're constantly fighting for attention, for visibility, for resources,

(20:47):
all those things. But the other part is the history
of our game is so not well told. We really
need those stories from a share all from a Lisa,
from Annie Myers, all of those to be on display.

Speaker 1 (21:04):
The thing that I really love about what we're doing now,
Like myself in Tariico, this space is new for me.
So to have someone like Tarika who's been in this
space and is really good at what she does, and
whether she knows it or not, mentoring me and helping
me get better at this every single day, every episode,
I'm very grateful for that.

Speaker 3 (21:25):
China.

Speaker 1 (21:25):
When I think about you and your journey, I don't
know if you truly know how many people you have impacted.
My question for you goes back to something that Tea said.
I just saw this the other day during a game.

Speaker 3 (21:38):
When you see.

Speaker 1 (21:39):
Andrea Carter, everybody talks about Drea and what she's doing.
I think she's one of the best in the business
right now. When you see her doing this big athlet commercial,
right like, I know you were like, Drea was gonna
be good anyway, whether she came through rising media stars
or not.

Speaker 3 (21:54):
But you had a lot to do with how.

Speaker 1 (21:56):
Great she is and how confident she is. Like what
goes through your mind when you see stuff like that?

Speaker 5 (22:00):
First of all, I did not have a lot to
do with that. She's what I will say about Drea
is she is probably one of the most unique people
I have ever met in my life. Drea is very determined.
She's very resilient. I hope one day she shares her
story in its entirety, because.

Speaker 4 (22:19):
With this woman in her thirty one years of.

Speaker 5 (22:21):
Life, she has experience will blow your mind through every
step of her life where she's had challenges, where she's
had pushback, where she's had setbacks, that she has always
been able to respond with strength, with courage, with great
pride in what she does. She's very meticulous, she's very organized,

(22:43):
she sees the game. But the thing about Andrea is
that she is so kind to everyone. She means why
her star has risen the way that it has. She
has an incredibly big heart, like we could be I
don't know. Anytime she has any free time, I'm like,
what are you doing today, She's like, I'm going to
check on my granny, then I'm going to see my mom,

(23:05):
and then I'm spending time.

Speaker 4 (23:05):
With the kids.

Speaker 5 (23:06):
She is making everybody has all the things that they need,
and then she's somewhere at the end last.

Speaker 4 (23:14):
But she just makes everyone and.

Speaker 5 (23:15):
Her snake and she's a little different, but she makes
everybody feel important. And you know, if we're working with
an audio tech, doesn't matter.

Speaker 4 (23:24):
She's going to know everybody's name.

Speaker 5 (23:25):
She's going to ask them about how their family member
was doing, that was sick last week. It's just really
in her character and her being, and like she's really special.
She's young and she's already a superstar and just getting started.
Those generational talents come around. I say that about Andrea,
I say that about Monica, I say that about Maria Taylor.
Just those people that have something different in them.

Speaker 4 (23:48):
You see that with Andrea.

Speaker 2 (23:50):
I think it's so important to note that everybody has
been inspired by someone. You never know exactly who you're
touching it in what way you're touching them, which is
why it's always just so import and to be kind
and to see yourself. I would love to know who
were some of the people who inspired you, whether it
was on the basketball court when you were playing at
Wake Forest or in broadcasting, Who were some of the

(24:12):
people that were inspirational to you as you were navigating
your way through this space. Yeah, I mean it started
with those women that I first saw broadcasting on television.
You have to be able to see her to know
you can be her. So it was the Christie Winter Scott's,
the Carolyn Pex, the Robin Roberts that.

Speaker 5 (24:32):
Were especially around women's basketball that I was like, oh
my gosh, Cheryl when she was doing it at TNT,
I was like she and Cheryl was rocking her braids
and being herself.

Speaker 4 (24:42):
Like That's one thing we don't give Cheryl Miller.

Speaker 5 (24:45):
Enough credit for is that, Yeah, we out here and
we're doing our thing in the broadcast landscape and were
walking our braids and we got our natural and all
this stuff.

Speaker 4 (24:52):
But Cheryl Miller she was back when she wasn't she.

Speaker 5 (24:58):
But in terms of I mean, I've just been touched
by so many people along the way. Obviously my mother,
who is a piece of that's my girl, Kay. She
is very resilient and just very smart, very encouraging. And
my mother has been through so much in her life
too that I felt like, gosh, my mother could make
it all the way through all that, I'm gonna be fine,

(25:18):
whatever little stuff I'm going through, I'd be good. But
the women who played the game like Chryl and Lisa.
I remember watching the ninety six team and being like,
whatever they do, and that's what I want to do.
As a young teenage girl, I was on the cusp
of whether or not I was gonna be serious about basketball,
and when I saw them, I was like, so, if
I go to college and play basketball, I have a

(25:39):
chance to possibly be that athletic, that funny, that's smart,
all those things that they were. I never had a
chance to be that athletic, but I put that.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
So.

Speaker 5 (25:52):
There's just been a lot of people along the way,
you know, and people inspire me in different ways. Kay
y'all was someone that inspired me with her faith. I
remember being got to play my life where I was
at a crossroads as she was getting near the time
where she was getting ready to pass, and I was like, here,
this woman is knowing that she's going to die very soon,
and yet she is still coaching basketball. She is giving

(26:14):
all the honor to God. She is grateful for the
life and the years that He has given her. I
was blown away by her testimony and her faith. And
obviously y'all know my faith is a huge part of
who I am in my every day. People have inspired
me in different ways and there's just been a lot
of people along the way that have been willing to
put my names in different rooms and to speak for me.

Speaker 4 (26:33):
But nobody I'm gonn tell you all this.

Speaker 5 (26:34):
When it comes to the women in the WNBA, especially
the legends, they have lifted me, they have shown up
for me. I remember Lisa coming up at the Olympics
when I was in Paris. She was like, I've been
watching you. You've been doing a great job, and here
I am.

Speaker 4 (26:48):
I don't know if I'm doing a good job or not.
I'm just showing up like I'm supposed to be doing.

Speaker 5 (26:53):
And in that moment, I was like, wow, Lisa Leslie
just but that's what the women of the league have done.
They have poured into me years, whether Sheryl or Tina
Thompson or Sue Bird and Diana Tarassi, they all embraced
me and lifted me as I was on that client
because let's.

Speaker 4 (27:10):
Be honest, I didn't win a championship. I didn't even
play in the NCAA tournament. I ain't never committed for
no gold medal.

Speaker 5 (27:17):
Like the thiefs that I have sat in covering this league,
I'm really not supposed to be in and I do
give credit to God for that, but I also give
credit to the women of the league in the way
that they have given me information when I've needed it
and pulled me into circles and really validated me in a.

Speaker 4 (27:32):
Lot of ways.

Speaker 3 (27:34):
Well, Lachina, for me, it's about you being there.

Speaker 1 (27:39):
You were part of the growth right when the league
first started, and for me, it means a lot to
be able to build that relationship and in some cases
friendships with someone like you who've been there from day one,
right when shit wasn't what it is today, la China
was still there. Lachina was doing her work la China

(28:01):
was covering, Lachina was talking about us, Lachina was talking
about the gay and even today, like, you're one of
the few that won't let people forget about the past,
or you remind people.

Speaker 3 (28:14):
About the history of the league, and I think that
says a lot about who you are. So I thank
you for that.

Speaker 1 (28:19):
But we're talking about mentorship, and I want to ask you,
not just in the media, but how important do you
think it is for people to have mentors in their lives.

Speaker 5 (28:29):
It's one of the biggest difference makers, especially in women's lives,
between those that have success and reach their dreams and
those that don't. You know, my mother comes from a
generation where when I talk to her about mentors, she
was like, I don't want people in my business.

Speaker 4 (28:43):
And I'm like, that's not what it is.

Speaker 2 (28:45):
That's not what it is.

Speaker 5 (28:46):
And while I understand that and how we want to
protect ourselves and we don't necessarily want to be vulnerable,
right because when when black women have been vulnerable, it's
been weaponized against us. I understand not wanting to share,
but it is too hard to do it alone. And
I really believe people are placed along your path along
the way and it may not be a whole, blown

(29:07):
out mentorship relationship.

Speaker 4 (29:09):
It might be one quote that you read.

Speaker 5 (29:11):
Because it's a lot of people out here that I
claim is my mentor and they never met me a
day in my life.

Speaker 4 (29:18):
I listened to you on the podcast. I think you
might be my mentor. Now it really is.

Speaker 5 (29:24):
Because I talked about being in the trenches earlier today.
But in those valleys of life, it's sometimes somebody else's
story that you like.

Speaker 4 (29:32):
Okay, if somebody else can make it through this, I.

Speaker 5 (29:34):
Can make it through this. Or if someone who just
says you know what, you're doing a great job when
you think you just sucked, or someone saying, hey, I
saw you on so and so broadcast, keep it up.
When you get none of that, This journey is very lonely,
and that's the part of it I think a lot
of people don't really get and what I try to
provide for our rising media stars. When I started covering

(29:55):
women's basketball, I say I was a little bit in
the dark ages because I was after the group that
was the legends that were set in the tone that
I named earlier. But I was right before a whole
rush of young women covering the game now, which is
beautiful in that time of traveling. And again because I
wasn't a national champion, Olympic gold medal, I didn't play

(30:18):
for Hall of Fame coach the games I was getting
early in my career where I was like three or
four games a week. I was always doing HBCU games,
always doing lower level, you know, mid majors, which I
didn't care.

Speaker 4 (30:29):
You couldn't tell me.

Speaker 5 (30:30):
I thought I was doing the Final Four because I
covered basketball.

Speaker 4 (30:34):
But that was the track I was on.

Speaker 5 (30:35):
It was lonely because no one was saying, hey, you're
doing great.

Speaker 4 (30:39):
No one was even watching my games. No one knew
where I was week to week. No one knew anything
about La China.

Speaker 5 (30:45):
And so I want these women to have other women
along the way with them on those lonely journeys to
call and say, this is tough, let's talk.

Speaker 4 (30:54):
Have you ever experienced this.

Speaker 5 (30:56):
I think I'm tired and I really need a break
and I'm burnt out, but I can't taken break or
I would like to start thinking about having children now,
but I can't because you know, financially, whatever those challenges are.

Speaker 4 (31:07):
So my days along this journey.

Speaker 2 (31:10):
Have been lonely, but my hope is that the next
generation will not be I did have wnbas I was
very different, but in college basketball it was a very
lowly track. I think we all at some point have
experienced that one thing that made us be like, now, listen,
I've had my fair share of challenges, but this one
right here was the one. Right and you know, the China.

(31:31):
You know a lot of mind as it relates to
the business because you've probably seen them firsthand. Right, But
is there one thing that maybe sticks out in your
mind where you're like, girl, listen, you ain't got to
put nobody out, call no names or anything like that.
You know I would know because I'd be like, yeah
and such. But is there just a moment that you
can remember? Because I think we all, you know, I

(31:53):
asked sure of this before. Is there like that one
moment that maybe sticks out in your head or something
that you overcame where you're like, no matter what happened,
I remember that thing that's going to always keep me moving.

Speaker 4 (32:06):
Yeah. So there are two things.

Speaker 5 (32:07):
One, there was a studio show that was happening around
women's basketball, and I was like, oh my gosh. You
know this was earlier in my career. I was like,
I would love to be a part of this. So
I made a couple of phone calls and tried to
get in touch with people, and finally I got a
call back, and you know, the guy said to me, Oh,
you know, I think your work is great, and you
know you do an amazing job. But we already have

(32:31):
He didn't say another black woman, he said this woman's name.

Speaker 4 (32:34):
He said, but we already have so and so.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
So what that mean?

Speaker 5 (32:37):
And in that moment, I realized this was the mindset
of a lot of people on the TV production side.
And as long as we got the box check and
we got one black woman, we're good. We got that
box checked. And so I carried that with me my
entire career, and my goal was to one day have

(32:58):
all women of color on a studio show. And guess what,
the first time that ever happened in prime time?

Speaker 4 (33:06):
How about the television and studio was our show?

Speaker 2 (33:10):
YEP. I was just gonna say, we just saw that.

Speaker 4 (33:13):
This is a beautiful thing.

Speaker 5 (33:15):
But the reason why that impacted me so heavily is
because I knew how much was missing from the storytelling.
No one was telling the stories of women of color
who were playing basketball the way they.

Speaker 4 (33:30):
Need to be told, no offense.

Speaker 5 (33:32):
Everybody does the best they can, and we all just
trying to get along. Fast forward to the year that
the Minnesota Lynks won. Those change start with us. Remember
where all the police killing were happening, and the narratives
that came out of that weren't what they should have
been like. It wasn't Wow, Maya Moore and the women
of the Minnesota Lynks are taking a stand police violence

(33:54):
is wrong. It was you know, how dare them? Remember
the police were walking out? I was saying to myself,
what if those narratives were written differently? What if there
were more people of color in that room to tell
those stories in different ways?

Speaker 4 (34:08):
What would it look like?

Speaker 5 (34:09):
Shortly after that, I started rising media stars. But that
other one was not a great situation either. Those were
two things that I remember. The positive one was there
was a Hall of Famer that played in the WNBA
and we kind of came into the league around the
same time. After she retired, we got to spend some
time together and we were just shooting the breeze. She said,

(34:32):
I want to tell you this, She said, I never
felt like the media saw me or appreciated me until
you came along. She said, I would sit in rooms
sometimes and people in the media wouldn't even want to
speak to me. The statistics are out there about how
the WA has been covered black athletes versus the white charity.

Speaker 4 (34:51):
It's getting better, but it is what it is.

Speaker 5 (34:54):
And I'm saying to myself, this is a Hall of
Famer someone who is so talented and has an amazing story,
amazing journey, and for much of that time she felt
like she was invisible. And I'm saying to myself, if
we can create more diversity in our coverage, if we

(35:17):
can have more people in those media seeds that look
like the athletes that are playing, the stories will be diverse.
There will be more opportunity, more microphone for every athlete
that deserves it. People didn't feel like black women's stories
would deserve to be told, and they have been ignored.

(35:38):
And so for me, that was a reassuring moment that
even if one person feels like I made a difference
in their athletic journey's worth it because everyone deserves to
be seen.

Speaker 2 (35:50):
Ladies. We are going to keep this conversation going when
we come back on the other side of the break,
So stay with us. We've been having such a great
time having this great conversation with the China Robinson. And
let me tell you, guys a little something about the
China that you might not know. Right. She's very humble,

(36:12):
but she's also very shy, which is interesting for someone
who spends so much time on TV. She's very shy,
so she doesn't like to talk about herself. So I
know that Sheryl and I are making her very uncomfortable
on this show. But it's okay because we are in
the business of giving people their flowers. Yeah, deal round, Yeah,

(36:34):
helve them. We're not gonna be sitting up here crown
over the China grave talk about Lord.

Speaker 4 (36:38):
We wish we would have told her.

Speaker 2 (36:42):
All right now now, so amazing you are. And this
show being about mentorship is incredibly important because I know,
as someone who has taken a non traditional route to
get into this business, that it isn't always people who
look like us and act like us who have our back.

(37:04):
There have often been times who we find that maybe
the person who we think should be our mentor or
maybe the person we think should be an ally isn't
necessarily that ally for us. You kind of talked about
it a little bit when you said that, you know,
there have been plenty executives or networks or people who
have been in decision making roles who feel like there's

(37:27):
only room for one. I've certainly been there. You've been there,
of Cheryl, I know you've been there where it's just
like there's enough space where all of us should be
able to shine, where all of us should be able
to have a role, where all of us should be
able to have a position. And so I wonder what
are conversations like for you now that you're in a

(37:48):
different position, now that you have more of an influence.
What are those conversations that allows you to say, Hey,
I know this is the way things may have been
done in the past, but we got an opportunity here
to truly make a difference. How does those conversations usually
go for you?

Speaker 5 (38:05):
Well, now that I'm in position that I know the
people in the room that are making the decisions. It's
really trying to get people to re envision sports media
coverage like it shouldn't look.

Speaker 4 (38:16):
The same way it looked ten years ago.

Speaker 5 (38:18):
It shouldn't look the same way it looked five years ago,
because as we all know, it wasn't inclusive enough, it
wasn't diverse enough. I mean, there wasn't enough women's basketball.
The list could go on and on, and so you know,
I can't cover the gamut for every sport in terms
of women's sports, but my sport is women's basketball, and
so when I look at our sport, it's like, can

(38:41):
I talk to you about who is calling these games?

Speaker 4 (38:45):
And why I'm not gonna lie?

Speaker 5 (38:47):
I still get very frustrated when I turn on my television,
and as someone who has been in and around this
sport for a very long time, I am like, these
people don't even know these players'.

Speaker 4 (39:04):
Name, right.

Speaker 5 (39:06):
It is so frustrating for me because that's how misinformation happens,
and that's how people end up not tuning into women's basketball,
because they're not being actually educated on the product the
way they should. But because women's basketball was all the
always the lower tier assignment, an easy grab for people,

(39:28):
then often it was like, Okay, well let so and
so do the game. And that shouldn't be the case
because they wouldn't do that with men's basketball. They wouldn't
do that with football, and so it shouldn't be done
with women's basketball. And that's been another kind of focus
for me along the way is I always wanted women's
basketball to be the thing, like alonely years has been like, Okay,

(39:49):
if you want to start your career in broadcasting, you
can probably get some opportunities in women's basketball.

Speaker 4 (39:53):
Uh huh, don't send them over here. Okay, this is
what we don't need. This is the thing. This, this
needs to be the main thing.

Speaker 5 (40:01):
So I've always wanted people to look at women's basketball
as the place to be, not the stepping stone. So
those are the kind of conversations I like to have
with executives. And it's also don't just put the games on.
What kind of resources are you allocating who's producing? Because
for as few faces as we have in front of
the camera, we have even fewer faces when it comes

(40:24):
to women of color behind the camera. So like, how
can we address this? What needs to happen? And guess what.
Before we get off this call, I got about four
or five names and some reels that I'm gonna give
you of people that you can use to diversify your coverage.
So those are really the conversations that I'm trying.

Speaker 2 (40:41):
To have at this point, that makes a lot of sense, Churel.
When you were playing, was there like moments where you
looked at Probably not while you were playing, but you know,
I've heard athletes that have said, you know, I don't
want to talk to that reporter, or I don't really
want to give my story to such and such, or

(41:02):
I'm not really looking like you know, how have you,
just as a former player, looked at the way that
the coverage has evolved in are there some things that
maybe you know with women's basketball or just how women's
sports were covered in general when you were playing that
you were like, I wasn't really giving my information to them.
I didn't like the way they told my story. I
didn't like the way, you know, like whatever something like that.

Speaker 1 (41:24):
I mean, I think I think every athlete probably has
like like their favorite analyst or reporter that they're comfortable
talking to, right, And there were.

Speaker 3 (41:39):
A few when I played that I was like.

Speaker 2 (41:44):
Bitch, don't come this way negative.

Speaker 1 (41:47):
Sorry, but I did only because I tried it, right.
I sat down and had a conversation with you, and
then when it came out, I'm like, that's not what
I said, Like, that's not how that conversation went. But
to Lachina's point, though, I think it's very important that
we have reporters and we have coverage from people that,

(42:13):
you know, a few more people that look like us.
That's just natural for me to be a lot more
comfortable sitting down with La China, having a conversation with
La China, from one black woman to another one, I
just I just think it's natural, Like it's no disrespect
to any other reporter, but like, I don't know, there's
just a certain kind of way I can talk to Latina, right,

(42:34):
and she's gonna get it, Like she's gonna understand what
I'm saying without me having to like just really write
everything down for you to explain to the world.

Speaker 2 (42:44):
Right.

Speaker 1 (42:46):
And when I look at the coverage today, has it
gotten better?

Speaker 3 (42:50):
Absolutely? It has, But I still think.

Speaker 1 (42:54):
There is.

Speaker 3 (42:56):
A lot more room for growth.

Speaker 1 (43:00):
And back to La China's point that she said earlier,
and this isn't even about me, but there's a whole
lot of former players.

Speaker 3 (43:11):
That I think.

Speaker 1 (43:14):
Deserve an opportunity somewhere in this league. And maybe that's
not a reporter, right, an assistant coach, a head coach
in the front office, doing community relations.

Speaker 3 (43:24):
I just think.

Speaker 1 (43:26):
It's a lot easier for me for a former player
to be able to relate to a current player on
a lot of different topics, aspects from basketball, from off
the court, from transitioning being a player to now you're
no longer a player, What does that look like?

Speaker 3 (43:43):
How do I prepare?

Speaker 1 (43:45):
And so to me, when I look at the coverage
of the game and where the game's going, absolutely it
is in a much better place than it was when
we started back in nineteen ninety seven.

Speaker 3 (43:56):
But there, yeah, there is definitely room for growth. With
out question, there's room for growth.

Speaker 1 (44:02):
And you know, I'm not gonna call any names.

Speaker 3 (44:06):
As much as I want to, I ain't gonna do that.
It bothers me.

Speaker 1 (44:12):
When it's the same people that are getting the opportunities
and those same people continue to f up those opportunities.

Speaker 3 (44:24):
I didn't want to say the word.

Speaker 1 (44:25):
I know I could right, like you know when Latina
was just saying, you don't even know the person's name, Like,
how can you say I am an advocate of women's basketball,
I'm covering women's basketball. When on the biggest stage you
messing up players' names.

Speaker 3 (44:43):
That's don't don't be disrespectful.

Speaker 2 (44:45):
M I understand that one hundred percent, And honestly, you know,
this conversation, while we've been talking about mentorship in the industry,
it's just really allyship and mentorship in general, because to
your point, if you got the right people in the
room doing the right thing, saying the right things, and
we're talking about bringing people up as we go, then
there's no reason that former players shouldn't be mentioned in

(45:06):
conversations as it relates to head coaching positions, assistant coaching positions,
GM positions, in any other position win the sport of basketball.
Like as you said earlier, the China priority should really
go to y'all because you built this league. You know
this league. You helped to generate what we currently have
in this league, and maybe it would help to bridge
the gap between some of the disrespect that we see

(45:29):
between not just you know, fans of the game, but
it's some newer players that need to remember when they
it's you know, it's it's some newer players where you know,
I remember having conversations with players and I would ask
them on a women's basketball show, you know, who's a
player you looked up to, who did you admire and

(45:51):
I would get oh, Kevin Durant, Yeah, Kevin Durant. Wait, wait,
we're not talking about the NBA, like like, that's not
what we meant.

Speaker 1 (45:59):
And there's this happens that happens more times than not.

Speaker 2 (46:03):
I know, I know, but I think it's a combination
of many things. It's not simply that we're saying you
shouldn't watch men's basketball. Of course you can't. Like I mean,
I was huge Isaiah Thomas fan growing up. I could
never be a point guard. But still at the same time,
that's what it was. But I also think it also
means that the focus of some of our younger players

(46:25):
not to totally shift the conversation, but the focus isn't
on the history of the league and of the sport
in which you aspire to become a member of, in
which you aspire to become a player in. So I mean,
it's all these little things that really help us. I
think it'd be great for an older player, whether you
played in the league or not, but someone who this.

(46:45):
You know, some of these younger players admire or or
listen to or have influence to say, hey, you know,
you want to be in the WNBA. It may be
Hoo View to maybe check out some players or some games,
or watch some film from some and to see how
this league evolved and developed. Because you ask NBA players,
they know what happened back in nineteen seventy five. They

(47:05):
wasn't even around well.

Speaker 5 (47:06):
And a lot of it has to do with accessibility too, right,
Like our games have been buried. You don't know where
to find them, you don't know when they're coming on,
you don't know. You know, it's not as easy as
it is with some other sports. It's getting much better.
But where you got a billboard reminder and then they
got a banner flying on the drune, I'm saying it's

(47:27):
an NBA game tonight, Like we haven't had that kind
of marketing where it's currently where it's always on the
minds of these young players. I need to tune in
and watch kandas Parker, I need to tune in and
watch Asia Wilson.

Speaker 4 (47:39):
Et cetera, et cetera.

Speaker 5 (47:40):
But I want to go back to your point too,
chryl in that I think while the challenge has absolutely
been we need diversity of talent, we also need more opportunities.
Like for a long time it was like ESPN, NBC

(48:00):
and that was it. Right Now, look at all the
different people come in to the table and I say,
NBC like when you were playing, because they kind of,
you know, one of the guys.

Speaker 4 (48:08):
Got it started.

Speaker 5 (48:09):
But now it's like you got Amazon coming in, you
got you know, D and T's putting eye on.

Speaker 4 (48:16):
Like all of a sudden.

Speaker 5 (48:17):
So I think we will get to the point where
we'll have so many games on air that you could say, Okay,
my favorite broadcaster is doing this game, my favor is
doing this game. I mean even in the next few years,
other networks are going to carry the finals, other networks
are going to carry the playoffs, and so there will
absolutely be you know, more diversity in terms of talent,

(48:40):
but also more opportunities. And that's something that I think
has been even frustrating for me in this time in
this industry is people, you know, they get tired of
say me like, hey on the China again, can we
get somebody else? And I'm like, ain't nobody, Oh no, ma'am, no,
there are no way people are saying we're tired.

Speaker 1 (48:59):
We actually about it's not all the time that we are.

Speaker 3 (49:04):
It ain't China.

Speaker 2 (49:07):
Because we've got to start a petition. I sayla, China,
we're sick of you not doing play by playing.

Speaker 5 (49:13):
But literally it's like, now we're gonna have so many
more seats for for for all of us.

Speaker 4 (49:20):
To sit in, and I just hope film.

Speaker 1 (49:21):
But even in saying that, it's still the same people
that get those opportunities.

Speaker 5 (49:27):
Well, I I mean, we haven't heard who's going to
be the talent for the Amazon package coming up.

Speaker 4 (49:32):
We don't know who's going to be the talent for
NBC coming up for w n B A.

Speaker 5 (49:37):
So I mean, everybody can't do everything because even contractually,
most people can only work for one network.

Speaker 4 (49:45):
So I don't know. Tarka does not look like she
would tee what you got.

Speaker 2 (49:50):
I'm laughing in my head because you said everybody can't
do everything, and in my head, I'm like, can you.

Speaker 3 (49:54):
Tell them that?

Speaker 2 (49:55):
Okay, moving on, But usually because it's like one big platform, right,
and so all these people that may work under that umbrella,
you know, like it just that's where it's been. But
kudos to like in ESPN because they've been doing more
than everyone else, more women's sports and can do more.

(50:16):
But now you got other people coming to the table.
That will be more seats there for for Brad.

Speaker 5 (50:22):
So I I hope that that in these hiring decisions
that we definitely see the variety.

Speaker 2 (50:30):
Yes, variety is needed.

Speaker 3 (50:32):
Shot out like.

Speaker 5 (50:41):
They just made an announcement, you know what I'm saying,
Like they had.

Speaker 2 (50:45):
First off, let me shout out my homeboy, Brandon, that's
my brother.

Speaker 5 (50:49):
Hasn't been on a national Sarah doesn't have a w
NBA package consistently.

Speaker 4 (50:54):
Lisa all that.

Speaker 3 (50:55):
Okay, China, listen, let's just keep it real. Okay, great,
And then Lisa Rock like, here's my thing.

Speaker 1 (51:03):
Why is it that that we or they have to
go hire people who don't typically cover women's basketball. Yeah,
it's it's just a question like and I'm not here
to like take money out of nobody's pocket or things
like that. But I'm like, damn, are there not any
other reporters, sideline reporters, analysts, studios.

Speaker 5 (51:24):
What I'm gonna tell you what I see happening, and
I and I and I am with you, Cheryl.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
Yeah, everybody wants to be a part of women's basketball
now because it's there.

Speaker 4 (51:32):
Bingo, bingo. Let me tell you this.

Speaker 5 (51:34):
I'm not safe either. I got people coming from my job,
coming from my head. I've never let me tell you,
for the longest time, people will be like, oh, you
do women's basketball. Oh that's cute, have fun, you know,
Like that's my attitude towards you, Like, yeah, oh that's cute.
Now all of a sudden, people want want your seat.
All of a sudden, they want women's back, they want

(51:54):
w NBA, they want that spot because there's more attention
to it. And that's something that I have had to
come to grips with and to be okay with.

Speaker 4 (52:01):
And I'll tell you why. I will tell you why.

Speaker 5 (52:05):
So I had a conversation and this was at the
front office level with with someone who just started working
in the w NBA and is a brilliant mind and
was hired, you know, to to help one of the
one of the teams that's kind of you know, on
the on the on the horizon. And I said, well,
you worked in this field for so long, what made

(52:26):
you want to come and work in the w n
B A And she was very honest. She said, they
weren't gonna pay me enough money. And I have to
respect those boundaries. I have to respect. I have to
respect percent have said you know what women's sports wasn't
paying enough, but I have always wanted to be a
part of it.

Speaker 4 (52:46):
Now there are.

Speaker 5 (52:47):
Those of us that have paid our dudes not gotten
paid as much or not gotten the limelight, and we're
we're gonna grind it out with women's basketball as this
sport started to grow. But there's also people that said,
you know what, I would like to do that, but
until the money looks right, I'm not stepping in there.
And can we can we blame them right because it's

(53:10):
been Sometimes I'd be like, boy, if.

Speaker 4 (53:12):
I had done NBA, I'd be who lord.

Speaker 2 (53:16):
You know what's funny. I remember seeing the China on
an episode of First Take One Time a long time ago.
I say, this is even before I knew you. You
did an episode of First Take one time, and I
was like, I'm looking. I didn't know the China. So
it wasn't like she was my friend, so it was
it was what it was. I was like, look, I said,
who is that woman up there talking about the NFL?

Speaker 1 (53:35):
She don't know.

Speaker 2 (53:37):
Girl on me. I'm over and I'm at home, sitting
at home, hating.

Speaker 5 (53:41):
Like I want to be on First Take talking about
and I was on there one time because I was
I was a fraud and you know what, and that
space was better occupied by someone who knew what they
were talking about.

Speaker 4 (53:51):
But I that's who I am.

Speaker 5 (53:53):
I'm always going to give crops to somebody who is
the expert in the space, but rocking out and even
people who are in those seats who hire, have to
feel that same way.

Speaker 4 (54:04):
And honestly, the way that the business.

Speaker 5 (54:06):
Works is people look out for their people, people that
they trust. It doesn't matter what they know, because the
thought is you can always get caught up, you can
always learn it, but can I trust you? And we
have a relationship and that's how hires happen and that's
how the world works.

Speaker 4 (54:21):
But I'm with you.

Speaker 5 (54:22):
I get listen, people been coming out of the woodworks
with the WNBA and I'm like, this is amazing but
also just very interesting, right and like it's it's like
where are you being which it's you know, I've invited it.
I'm not a gaatekeeper whatsoever, because I understand for the
sport to grow, we have to let more people in.

(54:43):
But I just want my people to be taken care of.
And what I mean by that is I want the
people who I know have been in the trenches covering
this spot when they weren't making no money, when they
were doing it part time and had the full time
job and juggling it where they was flying out to
the smallest college town you could think of and driving
twenty miles to catch a flight, like, I want those

(55:07):
people to get their opportunities.

Speaker 4 (55:10):
I'm fine with y'all.

Speaker 5 (55:11):
Doing whatever you want to do in terms of the
people you trusted you, but make sure that the people
have a seat at the table that have earned a
seat at the table, no doubt.

Speaker 2 (55:21):
That's absolutely applidly that was That was a mic drop.
That was a mic drop. I'm with you right there
one hundred percent. So if you are out here listening
and you are a decision maker, my email is Tarika
fa Brasski at Gmail.

Speaker 4 (55:38):
You'd be crazy not to hire her.

Speaker 2 (55:41):
I think I'm.

Speaker 4 (55:44):
But again, it's the lack of it's the lack of knowledge.

Speaker 5 (55:47):
And I'll tell you this, I have wanted to do
something a little bit different with rising media stars. I
don't know what the future of it's going to look
like you're hearing it here first, but I think there's
there's space for more or advocacy from our organization and
whether that's we got the database what y'all looking for right,

(56:09):
or creating opportunities for all of us to get up
to get together, whether it's quarterly or whatever. In some way,
all the women of color who are covering sports, there
is there's something more that needs to be done to
make sure that our names are in those rooms when
they need to be. And I haven't quite figured it out,
but I'm working on it. But before twenty twenty five

(56:30):
is over, there could be an update to what we're.

Speaker 4 (56:33):
Doing with whatever.

Speaker 2 (56:34):
That's going to be very important too before we close
this interview, because there are a lot of companies now
that are shifting away from their DEI emissions. They are
really like changing their entire structure.

Speaker 5 (56:47):
And let me just let me just say this one
more thing, Like when I say this business has been
complicated for women of color, I mean it. But like
even when you look at some of the larger agencies,
right the broadcast agencies for a long time, people that
covered women's sports, there wasn't much they could do for us.
Like I didn't have an agent for the first ten,
maybe twelve years of my career. Matter of fact I

(57:09):
was freelance for the first twelve years of my career,
never had a full time contract, And part of that
was because these agents would say, well, you know, y'all
really don't make enough money in women's sports. Let's see
my cut of that hat's going to be ten percent.
And for women's basketball they pay you. It just doesn't
make any sense for me to pick you up, you

(57:31):
know what I'm saying. And not only that, but also
they didn't know any of the people who were over
women's sports because they just never had interest in it.
Never felt like it was, you know, where they wanted
to put their money or their resources, which I get it.

Speaker 4 (57:46):
The dollars have to make sense.

Speaker 5 (57:48):
So that's another aspect of representation for us that has
been missing, right for those of us that do want
to cover women's sports and those of us that just
happened to be also women of color. And I just
want to say this disclaimer too, and because I think
people get this confused before we wrap this up. When
it comes to diversity, inclusion and hiring in this field,

(58:11):
the women that I speak of, the women that I
am on this call, with those that come from our
Rising Media Stars program, they are qualified, they know what
they are talking about, they know how to do the job.
No one is ever asking you to put somebody in
a position just because of the color of their skin. Yeah,
asking for the candidatency pool to be diverse. When you

(58:33):
start making those decisions, make sure that everybody in that
pool doesn't.

Speaker 2 (58:39):
Look the same.

Speaker 4 (58:41):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (58:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (58:42):
I remember Billy Jean King, and I'll leave y'all with this,
just something that Billy Jean King said that really it
has always stuck with me. She said, you know, when
I was twelve years old, I remember going to play
tennis and I looked around and I asked.

Speaker 4 (58:56):
Myself a question, she said.

Speaker 5 (58:59):
I was starting to look around and I said, why
is everyone white? And why are we wearing white? And
why don't I see other women? And it might seem
like a very small thing, but if we all ask
those questions in the in the circles we find ourselves in,
whether that's our communities, our friend groups, whatever, But especially

(59:21):
when it comes to hiring and and when it comes
to business, if you can sit in a room and
ask yourself and say, you know what, why are there
any women here?

Speaker 4 (59:30):
Why don't we have any women of color on our roster.

Speaker 5 (59:33):
That would be the beginning of some very important conversations
that need to happen. Just look in the environment and
ask yourself, why why is there no diversity? And once
you start asking that question, you'll get to the bottom
of a lot of unconscious bias. You'll get to the
bottom of a lot of different things that could help
to diversify our world.

Speaker 4 (59:53):
So I leave it at that, But I love y'all.

Speaker 3 (59:57):
Well, no, what we're gonna what We're gonna leave it
at real quick.

Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
Tea is a big ass ring she got on her face.
Oh boy, period.

Speaker 6 (01:00:13):
Okay, period, yea, yeah, like y'all, Okay, I'm trying to
be taking care of at the house, Greg b cooking.

Speaker 2 (01:00:28):
Cheryl.

Speaker 5 (01:00:29):
I still remember you talking to me about your husband
and how it was the perfect dynamic because I can
go off and do my thing he does.

Speaker 1 (01:00:36):
You said that, you say that, she sh She ain't
like he's listen, we're talking about that ring.

Speaker 3 (01:00:44):
He's talking out nothing else, So don't be trying to
get off.

Speaker 2 (01:00:49):
The China might be the only person who cried quicker
than you did and still didn't and still didn't put
two and two together. We like the China's so slow.

Speaker 5 (01:00:58):
That is part of the gift being who I am
is that I am so naive sometimes, Like I literally
was like, oh, this.

Speaker 4 (01:01:05):
Is so great, Like what's going on?

Speaker 3 (01:01:08):
Are all of y'all here? Drea?

Speaker 1 (01:01:11):
I saw Drea a couple of weeks ago at an
event we did together.

Speaker 2 (01:01:14):
She told me the story.

Speaker 1 (01:01:16):
I was like, only Latina, But yeah, congratulations, though, thank you.

Speaker 4 (01:01:22):
I'm trying to join the club with you, guys.

Speaker 3 (01:01:25):
Let's go.

Speaker 4 (01:01:26):
I'm excited. But yeah, god, it's good.

Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
I love it. I love it. I'm trying to tant
a bachelor rad party. She won't let me, but I'm
trying to do what.

Speaker 4 (01:01:35):
Planet Lord, I don't even know.

Speaker 1 (01:01:39):
As supposed to do is show up. You just make
sure I get my invite because I'm.

Speaker 2 (01:01:45):
It's got to be months before the wedding because if
you did it days, China, I know how.

Speaker 3 (01:01:52):
Okay, just make sure I got my invite because I
am If you throw at.

Speaker 2 (01:01:59):
Y'all had to drag me to the altar, it's gonna
be Listen, I'm throwing something. I don't know what. It
ain't got to be the bechelarette, but we she gonna
be surprised again. She to go to this little dinner
with Tarika and then when she show up, it's her body.

Speaker 5 (01:02:14):
I love you guys, thank you for having me. I'm sorry,
you know, so lifeless.

Speaker 4 (01:02:22):
Yeah, yes, but I love you guys.

Speaker 5 (01:02:24):
Happy for y'all to have this platform too, because your
voices are so important.

Speaker 4 (01:02:28):
Like I get very.

Speaker 5 (01:02:30):
Agitated listening to people talk about things that they can't
really speak on. When we have qualified people like the
two of you who need to be heard. And even
if it's I know, not basketball, no matter what it is,
life like whatever, you guys are great communicators, you're authentic women,
you are well respected. So I'm happy for you and

(01:02:52):
I'm here whenever y'all need me.

Speaker 4 (01:02:53):
Thank you, Cheryl.

Speaker 2 (01:03:04):
I love the China like there's literally you know, there's
just no one, there's no one.

Speaker 3 (01:03:09):
Like her, and she's she's so humble though, Like China, China.

Speaker 2 (01:03:14):
Is that girl.

Speaker 1 (01:03:15):
She she always has been and I just appreciate how
humble she is and you know, just her willingness to
always listen, support be there, like la China's done a
whole lot of stuff for me in the TV space
and just giving me confidence to do it. And I

(01:03:38):
just I'm so grateful for her, for her love, her friendship,
her sisterhood.

Speaker 3 (01:03:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:03:43):
Same, one hundred percent same. I give all credit to
God first, but when I talk about people who have
truly helped me get here and be respected here, and
I mean, yeah, I think we all like do our
own thing and start making our own relationships. But people
would know me in this space the way they know
me if not for my connection to the China. And

(01:04:05):
I will always be thankful to her and for her
for that. So with that, Cheryl, level us on up
and we can get on out of here.

Speaker 3 (01:04:14):
I got you today, sis.

Speaker 1 (01:04:17):
And because we're talking about mentorship and uplifting each other
and really just just being there for one another, my
good says. Swing Cash posted this on ig a couple
of weeks ago and I loved it. So I am
sharing this for all the women out there. And it
says to the women who are labeled aggressive, keep being assertive, bossy,

(01:04:46):
keep on leading difficult, keep telling the truth too much,
keep taking up space, awkward, keep asking hard questions. Please
don't shrink yourself to me, people happy, be yourself. You're
beautiful that way. That's a word. Yeah, yeah, that's a word.

Speaker 2 (01:05:09):
I'm triggered.

Speaker 1 (01:05:10):
I'm triggered listen because we are labeled and call those things.

Speaker 2 (01:05:14):
All the time. Oh you're too aggressive, you're aggressive, you're.

Speaker 3 (01:05:19):
Difficult.

Speaker 2 (01:05:20):
Oh my god. Yeah, I am triggered, but I love it.
Yeah yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:05:25):
So hopefully that uplifts some of you and or all
of you, and just know how much we appreciate every
single one of you out there.

Speaker 2 (01:05:35):
Absolutely love that. Well, friends, thank you guys so much
for continuing to listen to Levels to this. We will
be back next week with more Next Level conversations and
we have a great guest next week, so I'm really
excited about these next few episodes. Man, you guys are
really gonna love them. And we are always continuing to

(01:05:57):
bring you conversations just simply about the real that we
go through as women. But remember this isn't just our show.
It's our show, so we want to hear from you.
Leave us a review in Apple Podcasts, or you can
email us at Levels Too This Podcast at gmail dot
com and tell us what you thought about this week's
show or what you may want to talk about in

(01:06:18):
a future show. You can also follow us on Instagram
at lttpod, but until then, keep your mentals ground levels
and we'll be back next week. Peace out, guys.

Speaker 1 (01:06:28):
Peace Listen to Levels to This on America's number one
podcast network, iHeart, open your free iHeart app and search
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and start listening.