00:00Jay Ellis and Aaron Bergman, they have their production company, Black Bar Mitzvah,
00:03and it was a conversation between those two and a good friend of mine, Ryan Rogo,
00:08who also grew up with Aaron.
00:09And they went to Ryan, they were like, hey, we know you're good friends with Sue,
00:13what do you think?
00:14They saw something in my story, both from the longevity aspect of it,
00:18just how long it was, how successful it was,
00:20but also that I was probably close to retiring.
00:23And then Ryan came to me and was like, hey, I got a friend,
00:26he has a production company, would you take a meeting?
00:28And for me, it was the trust aspect of having a friend be the one to vouch for it.
00:34And then once they presented, it was a no-brainer.
00:40Well, it was interesting as an athlete, and I actually don't know if this is specific to women or not,
00:46but it's something about turning 30.
00:47I've been getting asked about retirement, literally, at that point, for 10 years.
00:51So somebody thinking I might retire was not a new concept for me.
00:54I think the difference was I was now 40 years old.
00:59I had just turned 40.
01:00And it is, you know, that they say you can't beat Father Time.
01:04I always joked I was just trying to tie him anyways.
01:06But it's true, at some point, you're going to hang him up.
01:09So it wasn't, thank God, it wasn't that my play had declined or that I didn't, you know,
01:14I looked 40 out there.
01:16I think it was just, okay, she's 40 now.
01:19We had just won a championship.
01:21There was an Olympic year coming since it got moved to 2021.
01:25So I think it just, okay, if she's thinking about it, now might be the time.
01:29It was just, like I said, a little bit of an aching.
01:31When you're an athlete, a professional athlete, it's literally something you've likely been doing
01:36since you could barely walk, you know?
01:39For me, I started playing basketball at like five, six years old.
01:42I started joining teams shortly thereafter.
01:44So to let go of something that you've been doing your entire life, not only that,
01:49when you become a professional athlete, it's also embedded in your identity.
01:52So you're not just letting go of a sport, you're letting go of who you are and how people see you.
01:56So I could see how there's a mental aspect, a physical aspect.
02:00So maybe the physical has gone a little bit or declined a little bit.
02:04So you're like, I'm ready to retire, but mentally you're not ready yet.
02:07Okay, I'm on retiring, and so on and so forth.
02:10I could see how it's a juggle.
02:11And that's also why I wanted to be 100% sure when I announced my retirement.
02:18I didn't want to have to have that go back and forth.
02:21It seems like now I'm thinking about it, almost bringing on board the documentary team
02:26could help you almost like keep to your decisions too and like keep you honest
02:30and like kind of work it out as well in real time.
02:33Yeah, we did start in 2021, but I was fairly upfront.
02:36Like this could be, but it's a big, it's a big question mark.
02:41So then when I decided to come back for the 2022 season, which ended up being my last season,
02:46I think we're on the same page in that it wasn't like a shock.
02:49Everyone kind of knew that it was possible, but it did mean we had to film for another year.
02:53Had you known Jay before?
02:56No, that was the first time I was being here.
02:57Did you have any like questions for him or was there like an internal test he had to pass to?
03:03Nah, I'm like, I knew who Jay was.
03:06Yeah, that's true.
03:07I hadn't met him, but I knew he was.
03:08Had you seen him play basketball?
03:09No, I hadn't.
03:10That actually should have been the test.
03:12Have you?
03:13I should have been like, listen, let me see his free throw, and then we'll go from there.
03:16But I think for me, it's like a lot of what was required of me outside of the vulnerable aspect is not that different from what I've done through the course of my career.
03:26Cameras in my face.
03:27Hey, can we mic you for this game?
03:28Hey, can we come watch you get ready for a game?
03:30Even those types of intimate moments I'd have filmed before, albeit not for just a doc on myself.
03:36So it wasn't, there was no test they had to pass.
03:38I kind of knew what I was getting into.
03:39I think my career was, ended up being a little bit of a blueprint for younger players, just because I am, I'm not like the OG generation, like the first, first, first, but I'm like right there.
03:51And so I was able, I think, to kind of set a standard.
03:55Now players will play into their 40s, and it'll feel normal, you know?
03:59And I think what I'm seeing now and what I'd like to start in 2024 is building a business life similar to my basketball career in that I can be one of the first retired players to start to use their career as leverage, as a platform, to start other businesses while continuing to give back and kind of pave ways for other athletes that are coming behind me.
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