How These Two Women are Disrupting the Sports Industry 

Lauren Tyler:

Alright Sheryl, you’re first at lots of things; first drafted, first signed, first to have a child while playing. Good, good, good. What’s it mean to be first, all of these firsts?

Sheryl Swoops:

I remember just growing up and really trying to understand my place, like where do I fit? Where do I belong as a female athlete? And to be very honest with you, I didn’t really understand the impact that Title IX had on me back in the day, but I completely understand the impact that it had on my life and everyone else's today.

Lauren Tyler:

So, Sam, tell us a little bit about your journey in the NFL and your journey to the forum.

Sam Rapoport:

Sure. Yeah. So I've been at the NFL for 21 years, this is my 21st season. And about six/seven years ago, I looked around, I was on the sidelines, and I looked around at the NFL and I asked myself, “Where the hell are all the women?” right? It was a seemingly insurmountable challenge, but I knew I had to be the one to do it. And so this season, at the beginning of this season, we went from zeroes across the board for women in every category to 15 women in coaching positions, true coaching positions in the NFL, which was the most in any professional male sports league.

[panelists and audience applaud]

Sheryl Swoops:

Awesome. That's amazing.

Lauren Tyler:

All right. How do we encourage young girls to play sports and live their dreams or shoot for their dreams?

Sheryl Swoops:

I think the one thing I hoped to portray and the message I wanted to give to every single woman out there, and it’s not just for athletes, but even if it’s corporate…that you don’t have to sacrifice. It wasn’t easy…but that's what we do. Like we just make [bleep] happen.

Sam Rapoport:

Yup.

[panelists and audience applaud]

Sheryl Swoops:

Sorry.

Sam Rapoport:

I think that showing them powerful women, or not powerful women, who are doing incredible things in this world, so they can draw things from certain people to advance, that’s what the small part of what I’m trying to do here is to empower young girls to say, “If they can coach in the NFL, I can be the CEO of a bank,” right? Like I want them to feel that way. And so that’s, you know. I mean I had the privilege of speaking to Billie Jean King for our podcast, and I asked her specifically about the criticism that we endure and how to face that. And she said, “If you’re not getting criticized, you’re probably not doing anything.” And, like, that, yeah.

[panelists and audience applaud]

Sam Rapoport:

I can't tell you how much that flipped my reaction to the criticism.

Sheryl Swoops:

I take a lot of pride in who I am and what I've been able to do for every little girl out there who has had dreams of someday playing in the WNBA and to see that dream come to fruition, I honestly couldn't ask for anything better.

END