August 27, 2025 • 17 mins
Loren takes your first hand into the US Open 2025! Following her attendance at the renown event in honor of HBCU’s (historically black colleges and universities)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FM
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
I'm a homegrow that knows a little bit about everything,
and everybody don't know if you don't.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Lie about that.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Right, Hey, y'all, what's up. It's Laura l Rosa. This
is the Latest with Laura l.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Rosa.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
This is your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment, news,
and all of the exclusives that shake the room. Speaking
of rooms, today I had the amazing opportunity to attend
the US Open here in New York. It was in
Queens and oh my god, what a day with a day,
with a day with a day. So first of all,
(00:36):
I just want to say I talk about it a
lot here and everywhere I go. Being a part of
the HBCU alumni conversation has not only been like an
eye opener to me, but it's been it's really been
like a life experience and like a game changer for me.
So today I was able to go to the US
Open and celebration of all things HBCU historically Black College
(00:58):
and University, but also in spirit and honor of ALTHEA.
Gibson is Authia Gibson. So Monday would have been her
ninety eighth birthday, but this week this year actually celebrates
seventy five years since Althea Gibson made her debut in
what would have been now the US Open, but it
was called something different back then. But seventy five years ago,
(01:18):
she became the first black tennis player to play in
a major tennis competition. Now, since then, of course, the
sport has grown. But if you think about, you know
what you think about when it comes to tennis and
black tennis. I think, for all of us, the first
thing we think of Venus and Serena Williams one hundred
percent their story, their trials, their tribulations, their critiques, the
(01:39):
hatred they got, the ups that we've seen them celebrate,
the barriers they've broken, all of the things. But Athia
Gibson was you know, she is the originator of black
woman on a tennis court, showing y'all how to get
it done.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Now here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So there's been a lot of coverage of the fact
that the US Open would be even paying tribute to
her because a lot of people feel like this.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Was well, well, well, well well overdo a lot.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Of people, even in the headlines and in the reporting
of this celebration or celebratory year for the US Open
and honoring Miss ALTHEA. Gibson are reporting this as they've
finally broken their silence or they've finally given just due
to a woman who literally broke down doors or broke
racks tennis racks. That is for all of the black
tennis players to come behind her. Tennis players of color,
(02:24):
to be honest with you, but of course black tennis
players to come behind her. Now, a lot of people
will say the sport of tennis, and I mean a
lot of people tone deaf enough to say this, will
say that, you know, tennis is still a sport that
is very much white. And when I say that, I
don't mean like it's only for white people. I mean
the conversations and you know, a lot of the major
(02:46):
tennis players over the years, it's been it's almost like
a I wouldn't even say it's a unicorn anymore. But
you can right now in your mind think about the
major black tennis players, both men and women, and probably
name them because we hear about the same ones all
the time. That does not mean that they're not more.
You know, young rising fire black tennis players all across
(03:07):
the nation, all across the world. Right, But what I'm
saying is when you think of mainstream tennis tournaments, people
playing in those tournaments, competing at you know, these high
levels being talked about by press. When it comes to
the competitions and things of that nature, you can literally
probably name the majors. It was such a big deal
this year that Venus Williams actually returned to the US Open.
(03:30):
She actually made history this year, returning to the US
Open as the oldest singles player in the tournament since
forty seven year old Renee Richards competed back in nineteen
eighty one. Venus Williams is forty five years old. But
I mean, no matter her age, Like you know, Venus
gets out there, she's gonna she got busy. She didn't advance,
but she did play at the top of the week.
The reason why I bring up Venus Williams, Serena Naomi
(03:52):
osaka Coco gov are because again, and I'm only bringing
up the women because y'all know, I am so like
brown girl grinding. But there's you know, there are men
as well that have been out here represented that are
also you know, very prevalent and present in the US
Open this year. But bringing them up is to make
the point that when we talk about major tournaments in tennis,
there's always just a handful of US. So this year
(04:14):
attending the US Open was such an eye opening experience
for me because there was a whole room full of
people who looked like me, very successful in their careers,
professionals across all genres from entertainment both on camera behind
the camera, to business, politics, sports, all of the things,
and we were all brought together to extend this experience.
(04:34):
Some of the people that I, you know, got to
meet today, got to see today. Monica McNutt. I didn't
get to meet her, or it was brief. I just
need to sit a bag down at the table she
was at. But Monica McNutt, she also hosted a panel
that was HBCU based and they you know, had a
conversation prior to a lot of the matches beginning. Evonna
Rigi Molly from Insecure was also there as well too.
(04:57):
Didn't get a chance to see Venus on the court
at all, but this year, in one of her opening matches,
she did pay tribute to Miss Authia Gibson. She wore
the white polo collared style shirt with the white tennis
skirt which is there's so many iconic photos of Auttha
Gibson in this outfice, So it was a nod to her,
very timely, very on brand, very you know, it made
(05:19):
sense for what this year is. But also those photos
were all around the venue today, like everywhere you turned,
you could not escape see miss Authia Gibson. It was
so black and so brilliant to that at the US Open. Lord,
I am just I'm so happy to be Gang. I
am just so happy to be Gang. Shout out to
Melissa Butler from the Lip Bar. We had talked to
(05:41):
her on Breakfast Club and then you know, so I
met her there but ran into her today. She was
also part of the HBCU Live initiative that was you know,
the They were kind of like our chaperones today. They
welcomed us into the US Open and made sure we
had a good time.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
But it was just fired.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I didn't even know that the US Open and had
an HBCU initiative at all. Number one and number two
to be there this year, celebrating and honoring seventy five
years since Athia Gibson walked onto the you know court
in the Majors with all these people who look like
me that are celebrating breaking barriers and the careers that
they are in. Man, it was just fire like it was.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
It was.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
It was amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
So upon entry coming in to the US Open, everywhere
you turned there was artwork. You had a lot of
It was like silhouette ish and I didn't know it
was like very silhouette. It was very like. There were
carve outs. There was a statue of Miss Athia Gibson.
(06:42):
Everywhere you turned there were like different quotes because the
actual theme itself was celebrating seventy five years or breaking barriers,
so there were a lot of quotes circulating. Even like
the Arthur Ash tennis area that we were in where
a lot of the main matches went down, that saying
was everywhere. It was, you know, on and all of
the boards. The jumbo trons hersilhouette was there as well too.
(07:03):
There were photos along the walls. There was like a
comic book at one point that was being given out.
There was merch as well, but I didn't know. You
can see the pictures of miss Gibson, and of course
you know it's her, but when you're seeing when you
first walk in and you're seeing all these silhouettes and
you know, all the things. I didn't really know what
I was looking at. And then I did some digging
the artists who actually made all of the artwork for
(07:26):
this year. Her name is Melissa Kobe. So Melissa Kobe.
She is the first black themed artist in the history
of the US Open.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Look when I walking.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Into the US Open today, the first area that I
went to was like an area where you could like eat,
and there were bars, and everybody was like, you know,
talking and fellowship and and vibing and taking pictures. And
I walked out was there by myself. So I literally
sat at the table with a bunch of people I
did not know. But it felt like home. It felt
like homecoming. It was out my mind blown. The last
(08:01):
time I attended the US Open, I think I was
about ten or eleven years old. I went with one
of my tennis camps. I played tennis for a couple
of years. I went with a tennis camp and I
forget which sister it was, but one of the William's
sisters were actually playing.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
That's why they took us. They wanted us to see
her on the tennis court.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
We were a tennis camp of a bunch of young
kids from the inner city, all black, of course, and
I remember what it felt like to see her on
the court and see all of the people cheering and
all of the ooh.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Like all of that, all the things. Right.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
So to be back now, thirty three years old walking
into this you know, arena with all of these other
HBCU and black because not even people that just went
to HBCUs, but just black people in general, it was
just it was deaf.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
It was it was I can't I don't even know.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
If I'm describing it to you guys well enough, but
it was such an experience. Now, one of the things
that I thought was fire today that was also laid
out was there were these comic books. So there was
books that were actually made by Marvel in celebration of ALTHEA. Gibson,
which were also things that you could purchase, and you know,
they were being giving given away at some different locations
(09:10):
as well to today. But I also got to do
the coin toss. I got to do the coin toss
on the second match. It was Taylor Fritz versus Lloyd Harris,
and this was within the Lewis Armstrong Stadium, so it
wasn't in the main stadium. It was in like a
side stadium. But that was fire as well. And then
I want to go watch some of the other matches. Now,
let me tell y'all. Amongst my coin tossed peers was
(09:33):
Gladys Knight. Now, we had been covering a story or
I'd been covering a story over on the Breakfast Club
and just following a bit the story of Gladys Knight
and her son alleging that she is being taking advantage
of mentally and physically by you know, someone that she
is currently in a relationship with, and also alleging that
(09:53):
she should not be on the road touring. Let me
tell y'all something, Okay, I didn't get a chance to
have any words with Mss Gladys Knight because I I
was watching the match that she actually came out and
through the coin toss for. But I have video of her,
so make sure you guys go check the video out.
I'll be posting it to the Brown Girl Grinding Instagram.
She looked fine to me. She was there, she did
they brought her out, she did the coin toss. She
(10:14):
was very alert, very aware, she knew what was going on.
Waving to the crowd. All of the things, Like she
walked out on her own. She didn't have like handlers
with her and stuff like that. I mean, she is
an older woman. Also she's glad at night, so she
did have handlers with her. But she walked out on
her own. It wasn't like she needed to be directed
where to go, as if she was just completely lost
and didn't know direction anymore. She you know, was interacting
(10:37):
with the tennis players. They took a photo because you
do a photo after you do your coin toss, and
on her way out, she even stopped it did a
little dance like she knew she was so well aware
of what was going on, and you know, the fans
and the audience is stopping and looking around and making
sure she got to everybody when it came to waving
to the fans. Because the way that the tennis matches
are set up, the seating kind of comes down on
(10:58):
the incline and then at the bottom of the incline
is the tennis court.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
So she's looking up at all the.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Fans and like waving in one area, making sure she
turns around the waves to another area. Working the stage,
she looked fine to me. Now, granted, you know, I
didn't get a chance to talk to her. I'm not
spending days with her. I'm not you know whatever. I'm
just telling you guys what I saw with my own eyes.
She looked good, and when I saw when I heard
them announce her, I expected to kind of be like,
(11:24):
you know, maybe like to see her be fully guided
out and not be able to understand which way she's
supposed to turn and all the things because of the reports,
because of the recent you know, documents that her son
filed down into Carolina stating that, you know, she's just
kind of being put in positions right now that aren't
fair to an older woman who's, as he alleges, like,
basically out of it and should be home relaxing. Oh baby, No,
(11:45):
Miss Gladys Knight was on point. She was not to
be played with. The day honey looked amazing as well,
but she was giving Superstar very much. So now as
we wrap this, I just want to say, the whole
point of spending the time telling you guys about today
was because as of twenty twenty three, there has been
a twenty percent rise in black people in the sport
(12:06):
of tennis per NBC News, right, And what I want
us to do is I want us to take more
time to like I'm guilty of this as well. Like
I got a chance to go and watch Cocoa Golf
on one of the practice courts, and I was probably
watching her for about maybe like all of ten to
fifteen minutes. I just wanted to see her with my
own eyes in person because I report on her so much.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I report on nam yo Osaka so much.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
But what I realize is that you know every now
and then, you know, you report like the big wins
that they do, right, so when they're making these history
breaking wins and all the things. But I'm like, Yo,
I might really in tune with their game for real
and following their game for real. And I think anytime
you see a person that is breaking barriers, whether it's
(12:52):
a black person, person of color, you know, a woman
no matter what her skin color is, but a woman
anybody who is you know, at a deficit or perceived
because these we we are not a deficite baby. We
are showing up and showing out, but we sometimes are
perceived that way. I'm always rooting for, you know, people
that are that are put in a position where people
underestimate what they can do because of whatsoever, and a
(13:14):
lot of times it's because of race and what all
of the microaggressions that come with that, especially black women, right.
I mean black men have their thing too, but I
personally can only speak to as a Black woman with
those are because I've experienced them. But I was sitting
there and I'm just thinking, like I know so much
about their personal lives, all their business, all their tea,
but I don't really know much about their game.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
I don't know much.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Like I couldn't run down what Coco technique is, where
she's strong at on the court and all those things.
And I'm like, hmm, I don't know if that's really fair,
laur Like, if you're seeing you out here and you
support in and you repping and it's you know, us
open HBCU, all things black, and you know all the things.
Imagine if someone only ever talked about miss Althea Gibson
(13:57):
because of the drama she experienced and all the great
things she did, not all of the you know, matches
she won, not all of the barriers she broke. Where
would that leave space for any of these black women
or black players that you were here so excited to
see and support today. So I'm challenging, challenging us to
do better. I'm challenging myself to do better. I even
told myself, like, you know, next year, you know when
(14:18):
the US Open comes, especially when it comes to supporting
all of the black athletes, and I'm unapologetically always rooting
for everybody black. I want to spend more time at
the US Open actually diving into the matches. I was
so in and out today because I, you know, worked
this morning. But I want to do more, do better.
But I want you guys to take a listen really
quick as we wrap to Venus Williams talking about miss
(14:40):
Althia Gibson and the impact that she had on her life.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
I had an opportunity to feel proud who who I was,
who I am because of people like Altha. Of course,
there's different kinds of ways you're perceived or sometimes treated
because of the color of your skin, but it never
stopped me.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And I also want you guys to take a listen
to Coco go Off talking about the Agipson and the
impact their.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
First three tennis players are new for Serena and Venus
and Anthia Gibson. You know, my dad always looked up
to Althea. It was important for him to educate me
as a black woman. She had to face like real
pressure of just brutal like racism, and I'm very grateful
for her.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
After matches, I do get.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Some some crazy stuff, but mine. Yeah, online, did Venus
or Serena ever give you advice on how to deal
with some of the vitriol? Yeah? Venus always. I played
doubles with her once and you know, she just said,
be authentically yourself and.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Keeping you representation matters. And I know that that it
sounds so cliche, but I literally to this day, sometimes randomly,
whenever I hear any of the Williams sisters' names, remember
being a kid sitting in the stands and watching them
play at the US Open and looking around at the
crowd and realizing, like, I don't know exactly what I
(15:57):
want to do. Maybe tennis is not it, but the
way that they are captivating and entertaining and you know,
and being like, you know, they got their braids, like
they're black girls doing it.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
I want to do this.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And now years later, I'm here, I'm at the US Open,
and you know, we're celebrating breaking barriers and you know
all the things. So cheers to you know, seventy five
years since ms Athia Gibson walked on that court in
that tennis match and showed the world it's not about
your skin color. But if we're gonna talk about it,
(16:31):
I'm gonna give you guys something to talk about. I'm
Laura la Rosa. This is the latest with Laurnoza. This
has been a special episode straight from the US Open
and all of the things. I also did an interview
with the US Open. We're trying to track that down now.
It was live, so it was love to tape, so
we're trying to get that. When I get that, I'll
make that a bonus episode for you guys. And yeah,
(16:52):
I'll be back our next episode with all of the
news run down.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
I'll see you guys in the next episode.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
At the end of the day, y'all know, there's always
a lot that's talk about and y'all could be anywhere
with anybody talking about it, but you choose to be
right here daily, my lowriders.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I appreciate you guys for that. See you in my
next episode.
I'm a homegrow that knows a little bit about everything,
and everybody don't know if you don't.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Lie about that.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Right, Hey, y'all, what's up. It's Laura l Rosa. This
is the Latest with Laura l.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Rosa.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
This is your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment, news,
and all of the exclusives that shake the room. Speaking
of rooms, today I had the amazing opportunity to attend
the US Open here in New York. It was in
Queens and oh my god, what a day with a day,
with a day with a day. So first of all,
(00:36):
I just want to say I talk about it a
lot here and everywhere I go. Being a part of
the HBCU alumni conversation has not only been like an
eye opener to me, but it's been it's really been
like a life experience and like a game changer for me.
So today I was able to go to the US
Open and celebration of all things HBCU historically Black College
(00:58):
and University, but also in spirit and honor of ALTHEA.
Gibson is Authia Gibson. So Monday would have been her
ninety eighth birthday, but this week this year actually celebrates
seventy five years since Althea Gibson made her debut in
what would have been now the US Open, but it
was called something different back then. But seventy five years ago,
(01:18):
she became the first black tennis player to play in
a major tennis competition. Now, since then, of course, the
sport has grown. But if you think about, you know
what you think about when it comes to tennis and
black tennis. I think, for all of us, the first
thing we think of Venus and Serena Williams one hundred
percent their story, their trials, their tribulations, their critiques, the
(01:39):
hatred they got, the ups that we've seen them celebrate,
the barriers they've broken, all of the things. But Athia
Gibson was you know, she is the originator of black
woman on a tennis court, showing y'all how to get
it done.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Now here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So there's been a lot of coverage of the fact
that the US Open would be even paying tribute to
her because a lot of people feel like this.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Was well, well, well, well well overdo a lot.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Of people, even in the headlines and in the reporting
of this celebration or celebratory year for the US Open
and honoring Miss ALTHEA. Gibson are reporting this as they've
finally broken their silence or they've finally given just due
to a woman who literally broke down doors or broke
racks tennis racks. That is for all of the black
tennis players to come behind her. Tennis players of color,
(02:24):
to be honest with you, but of course black tennis
players to come behind her. Now, a lot of people
will say the sport of tennis, and I mean a
lot of people tone deaf enough to say this, will
say that, you know, tennis is still a sport that
is very much white. And when I say that, I
don't mean like it's only for white people. I mean
the conversations and you know, a lot of the major
(02:46):
tennis players over the years, it's been it's almost like
a I wouldn't even say it's a unicorn anymore. But
you can right now in your mind think about the
major black tennis players, both men and women, and probably
name them because we hear about the same ones all
the time. That does not mean that they're not more.
You know, young rising fire black tennis players all across
(03:07):
the nation, all across the world. Right, But what I'm
saying is when you think of mainstream tennis tournaments, people
playing in those tournaments, competing at you know, these high
levels being talked about by press. When it comes to
the competitions and things of that nature, you can literally
probably name the majors. It was such a big deal
this year that Venus Williams actually returned to the US Open.
(03:30):
She actually made history this year, returning to the US
Open as the oldest singles player in the tournament since
forty seven year old Renee Richards competed back in nineteen
eighty one. Venus Williams is forty five years old. But
I mean, no matter her age, Like you know, Venus
gets out there, she's gonna she got busy. She didn't advance,
but she did play at the top of the week.
The reason why I bring up Venus Williams, Serena Naomi
(03:52):
osaka Coco gov are because again, and I'm only bringing
up the women because y'all know, I am so like
brown girl grinding. But there's you know, there are men
as well that have been out here represented that are
also you know, very prevalent and present in the US
Open this year. But bringing them up is to make
the point that when we talk about major tournaments in tennis,
there's always just a handful of US. So this year
(04:14):
attending the US Open was such an eye opening experience
for me because there was a whole room full of
people who looked like me, very successful in their careers,
professionals across all genres from entertainment both on camera behind
the camera, to business, politics, sports, all of the things,
and we were all brought together to extend this experience.
(04:34):
Some of the people that I, you know, got to
meet today, got to see today. Monica McNutt. I didn't
get to meet her, or it was brief. I just
need to sit a bag down at the table she
was at. But Monica McNutt, she also hosted a panel
that was HBCU based and they you know, had a
conversation prior to a lot of the matches beginning. Evonna
Rigi Molly from Insecure was also there as well too.
(04:57):
Didn't get a chance to see Venus on the court
at all, but this year, in one of her opening matches,
she did pay tribute to Miss Authia Gibson. She wore
the white polo collared style shirt with the white tennis
skirt which is there's so many iconic photos of Auttha
Gibson in this outfice, So it was a nod to her,
very timely, very on brand, very you know, it made
(05:19):
sense for what this year is. But also those photos
were all around the venue today, like everywhere you turned,
you could not escape see miss Authia Gibson. It was
so black and so brilliant to that at the US Open. Lord,
I am just I'm so happy to be Gang. I
am just so happy to be Gang. Shout out to
Melissa Butler from the Lip Bar. We had talked to
(05:41):
her on Breakfast Club and then you know, so I
met her there but ran into her today. She was
also part of the HBCU Live initiative that was you know,
the They were kind of like our chaperones today. They
welcomed us into the US Open and made sure we
had a good time.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
But it was just fired.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I didn't even know that the US Open and had
an HBCU initiative at all. Number one and number two
to be there this year, celebrating and honoring seventy five
years since Athia Gibson walked onto the you know court
in the Majors with all these people who look like
me that are celebrating breaking barriers and the careers that
they are in. Man, it was just fire like it was.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
It was.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
It was amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
So upon entry coming in to the US Open, everywhere
you turned there was artwork. You had a lot of
It was like silhouette ish and I didn't know it
was like very silhouette. It was very like. There were
carve outs. There was a statue of Miss Athia Gibson.
(06:42):
Everywhere you turned there were like different quotes because the
actual theme itself was celebrating seventy five years or breaking barriers,
so there were a lot of quotes circulating. Even like
the Arthur Ash tennis area that we were in where
a lot of the main matches went down, that saying
was everywhere. It was, you know, on and all of
the boards. The jumbo trons hersilhouette was there as well too.
(07:03):
There were photos along the walls. There was like a
comic book at one point that was being given out.
There was merch as well, but I didn't know. You
can see the pictures of miss Gibson, and of course
you know it's her, but when you're seeing when you
first walk in and you're seeing all these silhouettes and
you know, all the things. I didn't really know what
I was looking at. And then I did some digging
the artists who actually made all of the artwork for
(07:26):
this year. Her name is Melissa Kobe. So Melissa Kobe.
She is the first black themed artist in the history
of the US Open.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Look when I walking.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Into the US Open today, the first area that I
went to was like an area where you could like eat,
and there were bars, and everybody was like, you know,
talking and fellowship and and vibing and taking pictures. And
I walked out was there by myself. So I literally
sat at the table with a bunch of people I
did not know. But it felt like home. It felt
like homecoming. It was out my mind blown. The last
(08:01):
time I attended the US Open, I think I was
about ten or eleven years old. I went with one
of my tennis camps. I played tennis for a couple
of years. I went with a tennis camp and I
forget which sister it was, but one of the William's
sisters were actually playing.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
That's why they took us. They wanted us to see
her on the tennis court.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
We were a tennis camp of a bunch of young
kids from the inner city, all black, of course, and
I remember what it felt like to see her on
the court and see all of the people cheering and
all of the ooh.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Like all of that, all the things. Right.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
So to be back now, thirty three years old walking
into this you know, arena with all of these other
HBCU and black because not even people that just went
to HBCUs, but just black people in general, it was
just it was deaf.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
It was it was I can't I don't even know.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
If I'm describing it to you guys well enough, but
it was such an experience. Now, one of the things
that I thought was fire today that was also laid
out was there were these comic books. So there was
books that were actually made by Marvel in celebration of ALTHEA. Gibson,
which were also things that you could purchase, and you know,
they were being giving given away at some different locations
(09:10):
as well to today. But I also got to do
the coin toss. I got to do the coin toss
on the second match. It was Taylor Fritz versus Lloyd Harris,
and this was within the Lewis Armstrong Stadium, so it
wasn't in the main stadium. It was in like a
side stadium. But that was fire as well. And then
I want to go watch some of the other matches. Now,
let me tell y'all. Amongst my coin tossed peers was
(09:33):
Gladys Knight. Now, we had been covering a story or
I'd been covering a story over on the Breakfast Club
and just following a bit the story of Gladys Knight
and her son alleging that she is being taking advantage
of mentally and physically by you know, someone that she
is currently in a relationship with, and also alleging that
(09:53):
she should not be on the road touring. Let me
tell y'all something, Okay, I didn't get a chance to
have any words with Mss Gladys Knight because I I
was watching the match that she actually came out and
through the coin toss for. But I have video of her,
so make sure you guys go check the video out.
I'll be posting it to the Brown Girl Grinding Instagram.
She looked fine to me. She was there, she did
they brought her out, she did the coin toss. She
(10:14):
was very alert, very aware, she knew what was going on.
Waving to the crowd. All of the things, Like she
walked out on her own. She didn't have like handlers
with her and stuff like that. I mean, she is
an older woman. Also she's glad at night, so she
did have handlers with her. But she walked out on
her own. It wasn't like she needed to be directed
where to go, as if she was just completely lost
and didn't know direction anymore. She you know, was interacting
(10:37):
with the tennis players. They took a photo because you
do a photo after you do your coin toss, and
on her way out, she even stopped it did a
little dance like she knew she was so well aware
of what was going on, and you know, the fans
and the audience is stopping and looking around and making
sure she got to everybody when it came to waving
to the fans. Because the way that the tennis matches
are set up, the seating kind of comes down on
(10:58):
the incline and then at the bottom of the incline
is the tennis court.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
So she's looking up at all the.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Fans and like waving in one area, making sure she
turns around the waves to another area. Working the stage,
she looked fine to me. Now, granted, you know, I
didn't get a chance to talk to her. I'm not
spending days with her. I'm not you know whatever. I'm
just telling you guys what I saw with my own eyes.
She looked good, and when I saw when I heard
them announce her, I expected to kind of be like,
(11:24):
you know, maybe like to see her be fully guided
out and not be able to understand which way she's
supposed to turn and all the things because of the reports,
because of the recent you know, documents that her son
filed down into Carolina stating that, you know, she's just
kind of being put in positions right now that aren't
fair to an older woman who's, as he alleges, like,
basically out of it and should be home relaxing. Oh baby, No,
(11:45):
Miss Gladys Knight was on point. She was not to
be played with. The day honey looked amazing as well,
but she was giving Superstar very much. So now as
we wrap this, I just want to say, the whole
point of spending the time telling you guys about today
was because as of twenty twenty three, there has been
a twenty percent rise in black people in the sport
(12:06):
of tennis per NBC News, right, And what I want
us to do is I want us to take more
time to like I'm guilty of this as well. Like
I got a chance to go and watch Cocoa Golf
on one of the practice courts, and I was probably
watching her for about maybe like all of ten to
fifteen minutes. I just wanted to see her with my
own eyes in person because I report on her so much.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I report on nam yo Osaka so much.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
But what I realize is that you know every now
and then, you know, you report like the big wins
that they do, right, so when they're making these history
breaking wins and all the things. But I'm like, Yo,
I might really in tune with their game for real
and following their game for real. And I think anytime
you see a person that is breaking barriers, whether it's
(12:52):
a black person, person of color, you know, a woman
no matter what her skin color is, but a woman
anybody who is you know, at a deficit or perceived
because these we we are not a deficite baby. We
are showing up and showing out, but we sometimes are
perceived that way. I'm always rooting for, you know, people
that are that are put in a position where people
underestimate what they can do because of whatsoever, and a
(13:14):
lot of times it's because of race and what all
of the microaggressions that come with that, especially black women, right.
I mean black men have their thing too, but I
personally can only speak to as a Black woman with
those are because I've experienced them. But I was sitting
there and I'm just thinking, like I know so much
about their personal lives, all their business, all their tea,
but I don't really know much about their game.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
I don't know much.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Like I couldn't run down what Coco technique is, where
she's strong at on the court and all those things.
And I'm like, hmm, I don't know if that's really fair,
laur Like, if you're seeing you out here and you
support in and you repping and it's you know, us
open HBCU, all things black, and you know all the things.
Imagine if someone only ever talked about miss Althea Gibson
(13:57):
because of the drama she experienced and all the great
things she did, not all of the you know, matches
she won, not all of the barriers she broke. Where
would that leave space for any of these black women
or black players that you were here so excited to
see and support today. So I'm challenging, challenging us to
do better. I'm challenging myself to do better. I even
told myself, like, you know, next year, you know when
(14:18):
the US Open comes, especially when it comes to supporting
all of the black athletes, and I'm unapologetically always rooting
for everybody black. I want to spend more time at
the US Open actually diving into the matches. I was
so in and out today because I, you know, worked
this morning. But I want to do more, do better.
But I want you guys to take a listen really
quick as we wrap to Venus Williams talking about miss
(14:40):
Althia Gibson and the impact that she had on her life.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
I had an opportunity to feel proud who who I was,
who I am because of people like Altha. Of course,
there's different kinds of ways you're perceived or sometimes treated
because of the color of your skin, but it never
stopped me.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
And I also want you guys to take a listen
to Coco go Off talking about the Agipson and the
impact their.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
First three tennis players are new for Serena and Venus
and Anthia Gibson. You know, my dad always looked up
to Althea. It was important for him to educate me
as a black woman. She had to face like real
pressure of just brutal like racism, and I'm very grateful
for her.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
After matches, I do get.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Some some crazy stuff, but mine. Yeah, online, did Venus
or Serena ever give you advice on how to deal
with some of the vitriol? Yeah? Venus always. I played
doubles with her once and you know, she just said,
be authentically yourself and.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Keeping you representation matters. And I know that that it
sounds so cliche, but I literally to this day, sometimes randomly,
whenever I hear any of the Williams sisters' names, remember
being a kid sitting in the stands and watching them
play at the US Open and looking around at the
crowd and realizing, like, I don't know exactly what I
(15:57):
want to do. Maybe tennis is not it, but the
way that they are captivating and entertaining and you know,
and being like, you know, they got their braids, like
they're black girls doing it.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
I want to do this.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And now years later, I'm here, I'm at the US Open,
and you know, we're celebrating breaking barriers and you know
all the things. So cheers to you know, seventy five
years since ms Athia Gibson walked on that court in
that tennis match and showed the world it's not about
your skin color. But if we're gonna talk about it,
(16:31):
I'm gonna give you guys something to talk about. I'm
Laura la Rosa. This is the latest with Laurnoza. This
has been a special episode straight from the US Open
and all of the things. I also did an interview
with the US Open. We're trying to track that down now.
It was live, so it was love to tape, so
we're trying to get that. When I get that, I'll
make that a bonus episode for you guys. And yeah,
(16:52):
I'll be back our next episode with all of the
news run down.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
I'll see you guys in the next episode.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
At the end of the day, y'all know, there's always
a lot that's talk about and y'all could be anywhere
with anybody talking about it, but you choose to be
right here daily, my lowriders.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I appreciate you guys for that. See you in my
next episode.
The Breakfast Club News
Hosts And Creators
Charlamagne Tha God
DJ Envy
Jess Hilarious
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.