'Sue Bird: In the Clutch' Director Sarah Dowland, basketball star Sue Bird and producer Emily Chapman stop by The Hollywood Reporter's Park City studio during the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary follows Bird's legendary 21-year professional career, which includes winning five Olympic gold medals, four WNBA championships and more. Bird tells THR the moment she decided it was time for her to retire and what it was like filming this documentary.
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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