He was one of the nation's top-ranked high school football recruits who decided to take his talents to Stanford University where the trajectory of his life took turn when he was cut from the team his senior year. The President of his class was tipped off by one of his professors to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship, where Senator Cory Booker tells us, "when God closes one door, he sometimes opens up the side of a building."
The Senator of New Jersey is one of only a few Mayors to be elected directly to the Senate in American history, and 1 of only 11 African Americans who have served in the US Senate.
Among dozens of bills Senator Booker is on the leadership team for, he's currently championing the College Athletes Bill of Rights, legislation that would bring significant changes to the distribution of money in college sports. The positive changes for the student-athlete would create a profit-sharing model for revenue-generating sports (after scholarship deduction), provide lifetime academic scholarships, government oversight of health and safety standards, and alleviate transfer restrictions, among other changes.
To get to college sports, Senator Booker and I discuss the state of youth sports, including ways to help more niche, equipment-based sports like lacrosse, secure better funding for growth across all geographies in the US.
Senator Booker talks about the importance of unity – from the gridiron to Congress. He's a true leader with a track record of working across the aisle, keeping close relationships with his colleagues in the Senate, like Whitaker, Moran and Scott.
He tells us, "if you want extraordinary results, you must put in extraordinary effort." I can't thank Senator Booker and each of my 15 guests enough for their extraordinary work and willingness to share such fantastic wisdom with us during this Season 3 of Suiting Up Podcast.
I'm grateful for each of you, the PLL Podcasts team, and our presenting sponsors, Public.com and Outsystems. It was an honor.
Enjoy the show.