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From NFL culture shifts to the road to the Super Bowl, this conversation spotlights the voices reshaping football and breaking barriers.
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00:00We're going to go even deeper into having a good time.
00:02How many folks like sports, right?
00:04Oh, I know you like it.
00:05They were just talking about the Knicks and everything winning basketball,
00:08but we are fast forwarding on our road to the Super Bowl,
00:11and we are about to talk about how football is shaping not just the game,
00:15but its culture, its music, its all of that.
00:17So let's get ready to bring out our dynamic panelists.
00:20We have ESPN NFL reporter Kimberly A. Martin and Sheila Matthews from Anscape.
00:27Welcome, ladies.
00:30Y'all can do better than that.
00:34That's right.
00:34We got company.
00:35Act like y'all got some sense.
00:37Okay, so our panel today, we're going to be talking about how you all are telling the stories
00:41because you are defining the story.
00:43Black women are telling the story about culture and music and the intersection of sports.
00:47But before we get into it and before we dive and have a great time,
00:50talk to us about yourselves.
00:52Kimberly, give us some info about who you are and what you do.
00:55For those of you who don't know, Kimberly Martin, I cover the NFL.
00:58I cover all 32 teams.
01:00Every Sunday, I'm at a different stadium.
01:02But people know me best for telling Stephen A. to be quiet on TV.
01:07Come on, somebody's got to do it.
01:10And what about you, Sheila?
01:12Hi, I'm Sheila Matthews.
01:13I'm D.C. born and raised.
01:14It's a proud graduate of an HBCU Bowie State University.
01:18Come on.
01:19So I'm going to be my sorors of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in here today.
01:24Hi, sorors.
01:25They're in the building.
01:26Yes, hi, sorors.
01:26They're in the building.
01:28All right, ladies.
01:28And I am an on-camera correspondent for ESPN's Anscape.
01:33She's also a correspondent for ESPN's Anscape.
01:35Come on, round of applause for that.
01:37Matter of fact, when I went there, it said something about Sheila Matthews' picks for such and such and such.
01:41They were talking all about you, front line, by line.
01:43Come on, sis.
01:44Okay, so wait.
01:45Let's go and talk right now.
01:46I have a question.
01:47In one sentence, what makes football culture so powerful?
01:52Sheila, start us off.
01:54I think it's the understanding of what we've always known, right, is that black people are the drivers of culture.
02:00We're the drivers of conversations.
02:01And when you think about football, it's so layered and it's so storied, right, from the traditions of, you know,
02:07all of us getting together for a Super Bowl party.
02:09Even if your auntie doesn't like football, she's going to want to watch the show.
02:12And we're all going to be at someone's house and eating and drinking and talking and having a great time.
02:16And also, when you think about the HBCU culture of it and the pipeline and the visibility, and black culture
02:21is football culture and vice versa.
02:24So for me, I have the privilege of covering these athletes up close and personal.
02:29So for Mental Health Awareness Month, I did a feature on ESPN about players struggling with that, the suicides that
02:37we're seeing.
02:38As a black woman, I love covering football because I'm covering young men who could be my brother, who could
02:46be my coaches, could be my uncles.
02:48And I think the stories that resonate with me resonate with me because I am covering people who look like
02:55me.
02:55And I don't think there are enough reporters, unfortunately, who see football players as three-dimensional, very smart, intelligent, complicated,
03:06complex, regular human beings.
03:08And that's what I try to bring with my coverage every Sunday.
03:12And when you're doing that coverage, how has that relationship with the culture, how has that changed in the last
03:17decade or so?
03:18What do you see that's different now?
03:19Well, I think players are showing more of who they are.
03:23Yeah.
03:23But the intersection of sports and politics and race and all that, that's always been a thing.
03:29Those landscapes are always interconnected.
03:32But I think now that players are on social media, they're able to tell their stories.
03:38They're able to sit down and do one-on-one features with me and sort of talk about things that
03:42are important to them beyond just the game itself, which is very important.
03:46For example, when I was a columnist when President Trump was first elected and he didn't want players to kneel,
03:52he said, if you're protesting, get out of the country.
03:55And a lot of the stories I did was about players' reaction to that.
03:59So the intersection of sports, all the things, I love what I do because we get to tell different stories,
04:05not just what's between the lines.
04:07And do you think they feel more comfortable, they have more freedom to share their stories, Sheila?
04:12Yeah, absolutely.
04:13And that's something that I love about Anscape is we take it beyond the stat line and we tell the
04:17fuller story of who the athlete is off the court, off the field.
04:21What are they interested in?
04:22Are they interested in philanthropy, politics, mental health?
04:26We touch on everything.
04:27So they feel more comfortable now, like, showing who they are because they understand that people care and all of
04:31you care as well.
04:32And let's talk about the HBCU of it all because you were just talking about you went there to, what
04:36was it, Bowie?
04:37Yes.
04:37Yes, and I went to Norfolk State.
04:39Shouts out to those Spartans.
04:40How has the HBCU impacted the league and how do we see it being impacted now even by what we're
04:46sharing as stories from these athletes?
04:48The HBCU football scene culture has put the league on notice.
04:53There's so many great players in HBCUs.
04:56Yes.
04:57And it's so great to also see former players go back as coaches and go back as advisors and go
05:02back as ADs to help pull up the students because often we do get overlooked at HBCUs for a variety
05:08of reasons.
05:08And I think we all know.
05:10But it's really good just to see that pipeline and that come to fruition.
05:12Can I just say, even at ESPN, when a first take, they'll have multiple days going to HBCU campuses.
05:20Yes.
05:20Disney going to HBCU campuses.
05:23I think that's why I like working for our company because we do provide that sort of spotlight on HBCUs.
05:30Now, in football, I would love to see more players get drafted.
05:34But I think it's from HBCUs, of course.
05:36From the HBCU classes of colleges, yeah.
05:37But I think the times that we're seeing those games on TV, on ESPN, there has been a push internally
05:43to spotlight more HBCU players and rivalry games as well.
05:48I think that's a great thing.
05:49So we're headed in the right direction.
05:50Now, as we're continuing on, on our way to Super Bowl 61 in 2027, how has all this become like
05:56a year-round thing and not just for the fall?
05:58We're all talking about it.
05:59It's summer and we're already pushing towards going towards the Super Bowl.
06:03Can I just tell you, we have in Bristol, Connecticut, which is home to our headquarters, there was a clock
06:10starting at the end of last year's Super Bowl, the minute that was over.
06:14That clock was up and running.
06:16So when I tell you this ESPN, ABC, Disney Super Bowl will be bigger and better, that's the goal because
06:23we have had a countdown for the last year.
06:26Yeah, and it's been so cool to see within the company as well, so many black women leading the charge
06:32of Super Bowl.
06:32The show that you all are going to see, a lot of it is produced by black women, ideated by
06:36black women, and also reported on by black women.
06:38So it's really cool and a great time to work here.
06:40We are handling business.
06:42As a matter of fact, we're handling business with all the collaborations.
06:45Let's take a look and see what we have.
06:50Hey, you're not packing your toys for the Super Bowl?
06:52Nah, they got to hold out on the fort while we're in L.A.
06:55Like Toy Story?
06:56Toy Story.
06:58The whole company's going.
07:01Let's roll.
07:02Let's roll!
07:24We're never going to make it!
07:26It would take some kind of unbelievable, miraculous Super Bowl Hail Mary!
07:31That's not funny, Eli!
07:38To Super Bowl 61 and beyond!
07:46Yes, we're going to the Super Bowl, ESPN, ABC, Disney, and we'll tell you how you can go there as
07:52well.
07:52But Kimberly, can you tell us some of the stories we might not see, some of the things that are
07:56happening behind the scenes,
07:57and your vantage point and sharing those stories that we see on the way to Super Bowl?
08:02I think for me, it's more about the players being able to share who they are.
08:08And so, every time on a Sunday, like I am there at 7.30 in the morning, even if the
08:14game is at 1 o'clock,
08:15I am talking with not just refs, I'm talking with coaches, I'm talking with players,
08:20and getting a sense, you always want to get a sense of who they are.
08:24And I think because when you watch a game, you're just seeing helmets.
08:27And that's the thing about football players that I need people to understand.
08:31You may recognize the quarterbacks, but there is a, you know, backup running back who's just as important,
08:36who's got a family that he's trying to provide for, that has a story.
08:40And I think where Sheila and I connect, though our jobs are different, we're storytellers by any means necessary.
08:46And I think this Super Bowl, you will get to see from the commercials to the type of projects that
08:52are being done,
08:52to the type of stories written in on TV that get to tell those stories about players.
08:57Is there anything that's resonated with you that you've seen throughout the years as you were going to a Super
09:02Bowl game
09:02or heading up with some of the players? Anything in particular?
09:06That's a good question. I think, honestly, just the branding of the athletes and the branding of the football players.
09:13Like, yes, the business has always been who you are on the field, but now the business is who you
09:17are off the field as well.
09:18There's podcasts, there's fashion brands.
09:20And also, I think my favorite thing that I always see going in is, like, you'll see the agents running
09:25around and the managers.
09:26And when you see these black quarterbacks out here and their moms are in the room because their moms are
09:32the managers,
09:32their moms are the agents, and they're creating generational wealth in such a different way now,
09:37for me, that's always so exciting to see.
09:39And it makes me be like, yes, look at us out here doing it.
09:41You know what the flip side of that is?
09:43Because it's been interesting now that players are able to tell their own stories.
09:47It makes it interesting as journalists how you're able to get them to still sit down with you.
09:55Because they may say, oh, no, no, no, I got my own production company.
09:58I can tell my story.
09:59You know, my agency can tell my story for me.
10:03So the story that I'm sort of watching over the next few years is as players become more autonomous
10:09and become a business unto themselves, what that relationship between journalists who got it out the mud,
10:17whose job is about storytelling, how do they still, how do you still create those relationships
10:22where they'll say, you know what, based off your reputation, I'm going to sit down with you
10:26because I know you'll tell my story accurately.
10:29Exactly.
10:29Because it's one thing for someone to tell their own story, but to have someone else put it into words
10:34because I can go on and do all this myself, but you might be able to draw something out of
10:37me
10:37that I might not be able to do it right off the top of my head
10:40because you're trained and you were taught that way.
10:43And matter of fact, we're seeing a story from a Super Bowl celebrity this weekend,
10:46Travis Kelsey allegedly tying the knot.
10:49Now we're all in his business and everything.
10:50How has that, with social media, though, we're seeing a lot of that.
10:53How has that impacted the stories that you all tell and the way that you shape their stories?
10:58I mean, I think that it's also, it's a double-edged sword, right?
11:02It's like, I know what people are interested in now because I see what everyone's putting on threads
11:06and what everyone's putting on Instagram and making reels about.
11:09But at the same time, I think that in a world where everything you do is so public
11:14and privacy is valued and overvalued in some ways, too, it makes it a little bit difficult
11:19because it's also like, I want to get in your business, but I don't want to get in your business.
11:23Like, I want people to know things about you, but also be able to help you protect
11:26that little slither that you do have of your own autonomy in this type of world.
11:31It's tough because players, because of social media, they may feel that everybody is coming
11:37at me, everybody's saying this.
11:39And I think even in our own lives, it might feel like that.
11:42Listen, I'm on TV.
11:43I'm a black woman on TV.
11:44Like, you will hear criticisms left and right.
11:46And I think trying to get athletes to understand that that tiny piece of the internet isn't all
11:53of us, and so you have to, you can still let your guard down and not think that everybody
11:59is take, take, take.
12:01Sometimes as journalists, we want to amplify what it is that you are doing.
12:05How has the landscape changed since you began your careers reporting in sports?
12:11Let's talk about it.
12:13First of all, I remember a time where I was the only black woman who was a beat writer
12:19covering football for a major newspaper in the United States.
12:24I'm not that old.
12:26The fact that I was the only always blew my mind.
12:29Yeah.
12:29So now that there are so many other black women in the space and not just, not just in
12:35TV, but like who want to ride, who want to produce, who want to be content creators, but
12:39also social media, like the whole industry is different, but just the participation of women
12:46who look like me is the biggest thing, because I remember constantly being the only.
12:51Yeah.
12:51And for me, it was like, I would be in spaces and I would be in rooms and I would
12:55look around
12:55and I was like the only, to your point, the only and the only like younger person too.
13:01And that was always, you know, dealing with imposter syndrome.
13:04I started when I was like 24, 25 and I'm like, oh my God, like everyone's already looking
13:08at me because I'm one of the only black women.
13:10And then I'm also so young, like do I belong here?
13:12But what I love also about the social media of it all is social media is becoming, you're
13:17real in real time.
13:18So people are posting their own interviews, they're posting their own credentials and
13:21they're getting into the spaces and there's more and more young black women in there.
13:25And that makes my heart so happy because we have stories to tell that we could only tell
13:29because we live these lives and experiences.
13:30Can I just piggyback though?
13:32Just because you have a mic does not make you a journalist.
13:35Yeah.
13:35Come on, somebody say it again for the people in the back.
13:37Just because you have a mic.
13:40Does not mean you're a journalist.
13:42Now, I think it's great that so many people love sports and want to get into it.
13:47But I do think what the difference of being like a journalist who came up studying the craft,
13:54perfecting the craft, working on the craft is different than, oh, let me put this mic right
14:00here and let me tell you this about this.
14:03You know, I do think there is a difference.
14:04And what would you advise a young woman who's trying to get into sports reporting right now?
14:09What's that one thing that you wish you had known that someone had said, hey, sis, you might want to
14:13do that?
14:14Is there any particular?
14:15So two things for me.
14:16I wish I had known from the jump, be yourself.
14:20Because the minute it took me a year of being around all these other middle-aged white men
14:25and wanting to be one of the guys in the locker room, realizing my superpower is the fact that
14:30I'm a black girl from Brooklyn with West Indian parents.
14:34You know what I mean?
14:35So big Knicks fan, Knicks in five.
14:36So that, but also, but also work on your craft.
14:42A pretty face, it's not going to get you as far as you think.
14:45You have to work on your craft to have longevity.
14:48That is the most important thing in this business.
14:51Absolutely.
14:52I would say connections.
14:53Like, I'm big on shoot your professional shot.
14:56DM people.
14:56Get on LinkedIn.
14:58Send a message.
14:58Because if they're not looking, someone on their team is looking.
15:00And someone will reach back and help you and help you at the table and open the doors.
15:04And also, have your business together.
15:06Because once you do get your opportunity, the business moves fast.
15:10Have your talent coach.
15:12Have the people who can help you keep your appearance up.
15:14Have your agent.
15:15Have your accountant.
15:16Have all the people in line.
15:17Because you want to capitalize off your moment and make it more than a moment, but your lifestyle
15:21and your career.
15:22That is so good.
15:24Are y'all taking notes?
15:25Tell everybody who wants to be in sports and reporting to make sure you are true to who you
15:30are.
15:30And of course, to continue to make sure your business is together.
15:33Ladies, let's leave on one good note here.
15:36How does it affect you when you're dealing with all the stuff that's going on around you?
15:42How do you stay true and authentic to you and the story you're telling without having
15:46to sacrifice your soul for these stories?
15:49I think in my job of being, again, a black woman who is on morning television on popular
15:57shows like First Take or Get Up or SportsCenter or NFL Live, you have to have a tough skin.
16:03And trust me, after six years of being at ESPN, the skin cannot be any tougher because people
16:10will try to tell you about yourself when they don't know you.
16:12So I think you've got to just be, you've got to be comfortable.
16:15And you mentioned imposter syndrome.
16:17You've got to understand that every day you're evolving and growing and you will be better,
16:21but you're human.
16:22And that's okay.
16:23So sometimes on air, I won't be the skinniest.
16:26I won't be the prettiest.
16:27Come on.
16:27But I know I'll be the most prepared and I'll do my job.
16:31And to go off of that, y'all, the internet is a very mean place, okay?
16:36The internet is so mean.
16:37And you have to know when to put the phone down.
16:38You have to know when to not check the comments.
16:40Like, of course, you know, you want to look, you want feedback, you want to get better.
16:43But it's having that true sense of you that at the end of the day, you know, when you log
16:47off, you turn it all off, you know who you are, who you aren't, and whose you are.
16:51And I think that's the thing that's cut me grounded through all of this.
16:58And I think that's the thing that's cut me grounded through all of this.
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