Episode 248: WNBA Rundown: The Latest on Brittney Griner, the CBA Prioritization Clause and Off Season Moves
**Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide.**
In this episode, Lindsay Gibbs and Amira Rose Davis are back at it with rundown of WNBA news leading up to the start of the 2022 season on May 6. But first, Amira tells Lindsay all about the latest in baseball tech inventions and does a lot of airhorn impressions. Then, they discuss the latest on Brittney Griner's detainment in Russia and how a prioritization clause in the CBA could impact how athletes play abroad as well as drastically change the WNBA in future seasons. They also talk about off-season player and coaching changes and who they are most excited to watch this season.
Following this discussion, you'll hear a preview of Shireen Ahmed's interview with basketball player and social media sensation Jamad Fiin about the importance of empowering Muslim girls to play basketball. Next, they burn the worst of sports this week on the Burn Pile. Then, they celebrate those making sports better including Torchbearers of the Week, The Athletic reporters Meg Linehan, Katie Strang, Steph Yang and Pablo Mauer who won the Associated Press Sports Editors’ award in the investigative category. They wrap up the show with What's Good in their in their lives and What We're Watching in sports this week.
This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our social media and website specialist. Burn It All Down is part of the Blue Wire podcast network.
Transcript
Lindsay: Hello and welcome to Burn It All Down, the feminist sports podcast you both want and need. I'm Lindsay Gibbs, and joining me is Dr. Amira Rose Davis. Hi, Amira.
Amira: [enthusiastic airhorn noises]
Lindsay: What just happened? What was that noise?
Amira: I was trying to make exciting siren sounds. [laughs] Like, [vocalizing airhorns] [laughs]
Lindsay: That was not what that was. That was not…
Amira: I’m happy!
Lindsay: I thought a rat was dying.
Amira: It's almost Gemini season, and it's like me, you and Tressa holding it down. I was very excited for a Monday morning.
Lindsay: I know. It’s very exciting, but I hope to never hear that sound again. [laughter] Very excited for today's show. Amira and I are going to be talking WNBA, since the season begins this week. I know the NWSL season has begun, and don't worry, friends. We will be talking NWSL soon. We wanted to wait until some of our soccer obsessed co-hosts could join us as well. But first, Amira, you texted me this week, “Can I talk to you about this baseball thing?” And I have no idea what it is. So, Amira?
Amira: [laughs] Yeah. Lindsay, let me tell you about baseball. So, right now, a lot of people are talking because they've changed the balls used in baseball once again, and some people are mad. You know, they do this every few years. There’s a pitcher who's like, “It's like throwing a cue ball!” I am not interested in the ball debate. What I'm very interested in is the new technology that catchers are wearing. Some catchers, I guess. You know how usually they signal to the pitcher down by their bollocks, you know? Everybody listening, I'm showing Lindsay the signals as if I were a catcher.
Lindsay: Yes. To signal to the pitcher which pitch they want the pitcher to do.
Amira: Exactly, which pitch to throw. So instead of doing that now, catchers are wearing this little thing on their forearm that looks like a bunch of little buttons, like a game controller. And they are just tapping in something that transmits a sound to an earpiece that the pitcher is wearing that hears apparently a voice saying “throw a fast ball” or something like that. That's how I imagine the voice to be. It's interesting, because a byproduct of that is that it's speeding up the game, but also it's hilarious to watch because you know pitchers shake their head and like change the pitch, and so each time it happens the catcher has to go back and go [button pressing noises] do do do do do and send it back. But I was watching a broadcast and they were like, I wonder if the pitcher can customize the voice in their ear. Like, you know how if you're using Siri or Alexa, sometimes you can make it like a British bloke? [Lindsay laughs] And so then I wanted to know, if we were to implement this technology on BIAD, like, if I wanted to like cue to you something and like went [button pressing noises] – what voice would you want to hear in your ear?
Lindsay: Oh my god. That is such a great question. I think it would really be like Venus Williams' voice. I would want Venus to be just telling me everything, because I will do anything Venus Williams tells me to do forever.
Amira: [laughs] You’re like, yes. Highly motivated. Yes.
Lindsay: Like, Serena? I don't know, Serena's got some bad ideas sometimes. [Amira laughs] I love Serena, but like, I don't know if I'd listen to a hundred percent of what Serena told me! [laughter] Venus, yes.
Amira: That is hilarious. I was thinking it would be hilarious to see if you could prank program it. So like, what if I put Baby Girl Lisa from 90 Day Fiancé in your ear?
Lindsay: Oh, that would be incredible.
Amira: [laughs] I’m like, I'm obsessed with the possibilities of this technology. Like, it's making baseball very interesting to me right now.
Lindsay: Now I'm just gonna be thinking about, like, disembodied voices a lot. Okay. So, the WNBA season begins this Friday night. It is hard to believe. We're going to talk about some of the biggest off-court topics happening in the WNBA right now. And then get you all caught up on some on-court things, you know, just a little recap, because who can remember even like what happened yesterday? It's very hard. But the first obviously big subject is Brittney Griner. So, Brittney Griner is still detained in Russian custody. She was detained I believe in February due to what they have said was bringing in a little bit of hashish oil into the airport. There's no proof that she actually did that. We don't know. But she's detained and kind of moving through the Russian legal system right now. The latest update is that she is safe and healthy. Her team and the US government are exploring all channels to get her back. But obviously it’s beyond devastating for the WNBA season to be beginning without her. It’s just incomprehensible.
So, this week there was news that former Marine Trevor Reed was released from Russian custody via a prisoner swap with the United States. He is one of three US citizens in custody in Russia. Paul Whelan is another. And then, of course, Griner. Reed had been there for three years, and there was a lot of talk about what this means for Griner. All the reporting I've read is that, you know, this was a moment to hope for Brittney's family that there are these channels that have been set up. I know that Brittney's wife Cherelle wrote on Instagram…She said, “As I do everything in my power to get BG home, my heart is overflowing with joy for the Reed family. I do not personally know them, but I do know the pain of having your loved one detained in a foreign country. That level of pain is constant and can only be remedied by a safe return home. For the Reed family, that day is today. Welcome home, Trevor. Sending love to you and your family.” Amira, what was your reaction when you heard about Reed, this prisoner exchange, and what are your thoughts and feelings about Griner?
Amira: Yeah. I mean, I think it's hard, right? Because a lot of us have been trying to navigate this line of listening to like BG's inner circle, including Cherelle, those who have been working on this, who indicate discretion, and then also just being very worried and trying to know when to speak and what to speak about and how to handle this. I think a lot of people are like grasping at places to put their anxiety around this. And I think that's the camp I feel like I'm in. But like, is everything the right step or the wrong step, et cetera? Now, obviously I think there has been like a shroud of questions around BG’s case, but also a way that when people are grasping at straws, they're looking for context or comparisons. I saw another headline this week that was like, if Tom Brady was here, like, X, Y, and Z…Like, a lot of what people have is only to make these comparisons, you know what I mean? And so I think we saw a lot of that too around Reed's case, right? Like, that was another place where we could say here's another American citizen who was in Russia. Like, what does this mean? I think that happens when you're grasping, you know? I think it happens when you're hoping to land on some sort of solid ground. But I know that you have thought a lot about the differences that you see between Reed and Griner. How should we be reading this moment?
Lindsay: Yeah. I’ve gotta give credit to TJ Quinn at ESPN who has done wonderful investigative reporting on this case from the beginning. He's got a great Q&A over at ESPN, which we'll link, but essentially Reed and Whelan – Whelan is the other US citizen who's been in custody in Russia for years – they were both already tried and convicted in cases which the US government has called “travesties of justice,” which then triggers the Levinson Act, which establishes criteria in the US for whether someone is being held abroad wrongfully and opens up new channels for discussing prisoner exchanges and things like that. Griner, however, has been in custody for much, much, much shorter a period of time, and her case is still working its way through the Russian legal system. So, the US government hasn't said anything about the specific charges and whether they're wrongful or not. And so far, the word we've gotten from her team – although this can always change, right? – is that they think the best thing for her is to work her way through this legal system and not become a political pawn, right?
So, Griner's next hearing is supposed to be May 19th. If that is delayed, which is likely, then I think you might hear the volume pumped up from her team and from people over in the US, because it’ll…You know, there's more case to be made that she's being treated unfairly and is not being given any sort of due process. So, it's just a little bit different. And also, Reed's health was in steep, steep decline. He had a case of tuberculosis that had gone untreated, and so there was a lot of urgency. Of course we want urgency for Griner as well. But I do think it's important. It's not an apples to apples situation. Quinn has reported that her family and friends and team seem to believe that this is hopeful news, because there is this channel of communication established for a prisoner exchange. Now, there's been some other kind of messaging we've seen this week from Griner's team. What else have we seen?
Amira: Yeah. I mean, I think the other thing that's now increasing the discussion around this is that before it was an offseason thing and then it became part of the draft storyline, like, analyzing what the Mercury was doing. You know, now we're in preseason. And so now it's also creeping into this kind of weird basketball discussion, which is an awkward one to have, because nobody wants to trivialize this and think about basketball. But then at the same time, the season is starting. Phoenix is doing a behind the scenes docu-series which is…Very awkward. [laughter]
Lindsay: I didn't actually know that. I didn't know that.
Amira: So, there's a new partnership with Bally, and basically they are doing a year long content series called For The W. They say, fans, behind the scenes looks you've never seen before, right? They had the first one that's really a lot of DT being mic’d up and talking on camera about not ever wanting to retire. [laughs] Here we go. But it is having this weird duality with what's happening with BG. And so I think one of the things that we've seen is an effort for also people to like redirect and make this about some of the ongoing systemic calls that people in the W have been advocating for. And so we saw Lindsay Colas, who is Brittney's agent, write a piece in the LA Times, and how she framed this was like, you know, this is also about resource allocation. Again, this issue about players going overseas. Like, if we think about investment – and not just pay, but like all these other things, travel, accommodations, childcare, et cetera – then we can prevent getting players into situations where they're going overseas. As it's getting into more basketball discussion, people are talking about different styles of play, and constantly worried about BG, but also broadening the conversation to have a bigger conversation about things like going overseas, which leads into this I feel like non-ending conversation about prioritization.
Lindsay: Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's frustrating I think when people who've never cared about the way women's stars are treated before are now using Griner's case to almost like grandstand in a way, when a lot of us in WNBA media are understandably taking our cues from those closest to her. But at the same time, it is an eye opening conversation to have, and it's very relevant for where the WNBA is today. Prioritization, like Amira said, is the name of the game. There's two great pieces, one from Sports Illustrated that Howard Megdal wrote, and another from a couple of weeks ago by M.A. Voepel over at espnW, and they look at the last collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in 2020. The players got increases in salaries. The max salary almost doubled, which was…You know, it had been increasing like 10% from contract to contract. So it was a huge deal. The way that players were able to get this was by adding in a prioritization clause. So it's long been the reality that WNBA players, a lot of them, are still overseas finishing up their seasons when the WNBA begins.
This is the numbers I have, that last season 35 players reported late to camp, and 12 missed games at the start of the season. But obviously that hurts teams. That hurts the WNBA’s product, and WNBA owners don't like that. So, what this CBA implemented was, starting in 2023 – which is next year – it will become punitive to miss the start of training camp, or May 1st, whichever is later. So, if you're beyond your third year in the WNBA, you will be fined if you miss a start of training camp. And if you miss a start of the regular season, you're suspended for the entire season. And starting in 2024, in two years, if you miss the start of training camp, you're suspended for the entire season. This is a huge, huge deal that could absolutely fundamentally change what the WNBA looks like. Breanna Stewart has already come forward and said she might pick overseas. Courtney Vandersloot has said she might pick overseas. They make too much money overseas for this to make sense for them financially.
At the same time, you understand why the WNBA and why owners want to implement this. It’s just the economics right now aren't there to make it worth it for the players. It's going to all come to a head, and it's obviously complicated. Once again, complicated sounds like a trivial word for what I'm talking about. But the war in Ukraine, which is impacting some…There are players who play in Ukraine and in Russian leagues, which we don't know if these Russian leagues will continue. And we don't know how Brittney Griner's detainment is going to impact players going overseas to these countries. A lot of said, Jonquel Jones, others have said that this probably will not change their calculus.
Amira: And I think it's important to think about too that when this CBA was negotiated, it was like a world ago, right? Like, it was before the pandemic. It was before a lot of things. And I think this clause of the CBA, when it was put in, it was like, well, we have time to figure this out. [laughs] You know, like Lindsay said, next year, the year after, real kind of changes are coming. And I think that the conversation about what does the funding look like, like, there's a lot of incentives baked in to try to keep people home, right? And then that kind of ever present question about, what do you sacrifice? Like, players don't necessarily love competing overseas. People actually talk about that it's hard to be away from your family. And this is not just in basketball. Like, I remember talking to a star volleyball player right when she was graduating, and she knew her success was coming overseas, and like gearing up for a few years of really not seeing your family and friends, but knowing that you are making an investment in your future.
There are people who don't play overseas because they feel isolation, they feel…You know, some people like A’ja Wilson for instance got injured, right? And didn't really have an enjoyable experience. It's like, yeah, I'm done doing that. And there's some people who are like, it's just the grind, it's the hustle, like, the price we pay for this career. And I think that anytime you're having a conversation about really disrupting the kind of status quo, it's hard, right? Because you have to assess...We know the motivations for going is largely money, but I think that it's part of a much bigger plan about allocation of resources, about the ease of having a life you want to have here. Access to training facilities – what does that look like? You have certain other possibilities cropping up. Like, we saw how Athletes Unlimited provided this wonderful spotlight on the game and this vehicle. Those salaries are $10,000, right? For a smaller season. You can get incentives up to like $10,000. But it certainly was visible. We saw many people get called into training camps because of their performance in Athletes Unlimited.
So, thinking about these other impacts, like, does that become a viable thing for people to supplement with? Is there another thing that crops up that becomes viable, other than the league just saying, hey, we're going to move money from here to here and try to keep your stars home. Because we're not just talking about the biggest names who Lindsay already said are talking about really big paychecks that they have to make a choice about. But we're talking about folks who are in the middle, right? The bulk of people who are in the middle of making these discussions. You know, maybe there's things that tip that, because not everybody’s getting paid big, big bucks overseas. The other thing to remember as we think about Russia and Ukraine and like all of these impacts is that there has always been a pattern of where people choose to play this, constricted by feelings of safety and the type of ball played there. You see a lot of bigs go to China because there's a market there, but they're not necessarily going to have the same market in Europe. And so thinking about how labor is already restricted in the global game of basketball I think helps us expand this conversation.
Lindsay: Yeah. And look, the reality is, until WNBA expansion happens, there's so, so, so many players, really good players who are going to need to go overseas just for a chance to play, right? Like, even if you're a bench player here who's down on the line, right? I talked to a lot of players who like to go overseas because that's where they get to develop their game, right? That's where they get to get better. There are only 36 games in the WNBA regular season, right? A lot of them want to play more than that, you know? Breanna Stewart has said that it's the money, it's how she's treated over there, but it's also she does enjoy getting to travel the world and playing, and she doesn't want to just play basketball a few months out of the year, you know? So, I think where there is hope is the WNBA has, for so long…It molds it schedule around the rest of the globe's schedule, whether it be FIBA basketball or Europe. It tries to accommodate that as much in its schedule. And with prioritization, if more players are thinking of coming over here, it might for some of the other leagues to mold their schedule a little bit more around the WNBA. So there's a little bit more collaboration between these different leagues, which could be really, really nice. Do you know what I mean? If they just ended a little bit earlier.
But the big thing is that in 2024 next year will be the big renegotiating of the television contract, right? And Howard Megdal in his SI piece reported that the WNBA is expecting for a contract that's at least a hundred million dollars per year for the new deal. The current deal is only $25 million per year. That's a huge, huge increase. And that, along with the $75 million capital raise the league just did, could be really pushing things forward to a point where these franchises are making money and the clause for revenue sharing is triggered and players are having the opportunity to earn a whole lot more money through the WNBA. And getting that a television contract is just going to be…I mean, so much hinges on that.
I really want to note really quickly, there are benefits for the stars to being in market longe. You know, there's more exposure. Jonquel Jones was playing in Russia and she of course had to leave early. So, she's usually not back in the States til midway during training camp. She got back a couple of months ago and is now in a nationwide State Farm campaign. It's hard to believe she would have been able to be a part of that had she been overseas. And since sponsors are starting to support women's basketball more, what we want is for them to have more options financially, right? To be able to do what works best for them. And I just hope that's coming. Let's pivot really quickly to some on-court stuff, because I'm very excited for the basketball that we're about to be able to see.
Amira: The basketball!
Lindsay: Amira, players. There was some player movement? [laughs]
Amira: Oh yeah. Let me update you on some offseason player moves. First, Tina Charles leaving the Washington Mystics. I know that's a pain in the heartlands.
Lindsay: It’s really…It’s not. [laughter]
Amira: It’s not. She's heading out to Phoenix along with Diamond DeShields who's coming from Chicago down to the Mercury. Big offseason pickups there. The Mystics will not be completely undone though, because Elizabeth Williams is moving from the Dream to the Mystics. You also have Stef Dolson going from the Sky to the Liberty, and Emma Meesseman going from the Mystics to the Sky. It kind of feels like musical basketball chairs. Angel McCoughtry is going to the Lynx. And then you have some big pickups at the Dream, getting both Teaira McCowan and Erica Wheeler. And then the Sparks made quite a splash getting Liz Cambage, who just this week said she's living her best life in LA – that is a quote – as well as Chennedy Carter, who you remember was suspended indefinitely by the Dream and then kind of not talked about it. It’s very awkward. She's going to Hollywood, and Jordin Canada also joining the Sparks. So, you see a lot of moves to change the composition of some teams.
Lindsay: We've also had some coaching moves. So, the Atlanta Dream hired Tanisha Wright. Sandy Brondello was surprisingly fired by Phoenix, but hired by the New York Liberty. So, Brondello is with the Liberty. Of course, the Las Vegas Aces hired Becky Hammon. And the Phoenix Mercury, after firing Sandy, hired Vanessa Nygaard. Just want to point out that we've seen some progress in WNBA coaching, you know, diversity increased just over the past few years. You know, the makeup is two white men, two Black men, three Black women, five white women. I think we all want to see more Black women, but we're moving in the right direction. And I think it's important to note that five of the women coaches are former WNBA players. And then you also have Marianne Stanley who would have been a WNBA player if she had played during the time of the WNBA. So, I don't know, let's celebrate some progress. Amira, what are you most excited to see?
Amira: A few, Linz. Well, you know, last year we joked about how the Dream needs its own reality show and then it got a little too real! So… [laughs]
Lindsay: So real.
Amira: It got way too real, but now it feels like LA – emoji eyes, enter them here 👀 – is primed. I mean, it's super LA, right? Like, I just feel like there's reality cameras just naturally in the Sparks facility. Like, they should be. I think it's going to be so interesting to watch the personalities in this team gel. Interesting composition, just like from a technical standpoint. I’m wondering if everybody's just hoping Nneka might reel everybody in. [Lindsay laughs] And I just think there's so many game changers on that team now, whether you're talking about Liz or Chennedy’s shot or Jordin just in her guard play. And then you have the Ogwumikes, of course. It just will be interesting to see how they piece all those pieces together.
Lindsay: Derek Fisher is their head coach, which, like, I don't know if he knows what he's in for.
Amira: Right. Right. I also am just really excited about the Aces. Obviously they remain undefeated in my eyes as like social media content. I don't know if you saw Becky Hammon dropping it down with A’ja. I'm excited to see their preseason actually. I'm hoping that like Syd and Kalani and some folks who have been out there in their training camp can make their way onto that roster. And I want to see how Becky is as a coach. So that's kinda what I'm looking at. What are you watching?
Lindsay: Yeah, I am watching everything you just mentioned. Very excited for the Aces to be modernized a little bit, you know, shooting some threes. [laughter] I think that’ll be good.
Amira: Oh my god, threes.
Lindsay: I'm obviously excited to see Elena Delle Donne back and healthy and playing. Well, fingers crossed that she's healthy and playing. So I'm really glad to see her back on the court for the Mystics this year. I want to see every single team across the league…I want the Dwayne Wade retirement tour for both Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles this year. It has to be for both of them. But I want every single team to go all out for those two. I want to see jersey swaps. I want to see…These are icons that are having their last year. I'm very excited to see Angel McCoughtry on the Lynx for some reason. I'm just glad she's back once again, back and healthy. And I'm excited to see this rookie class. Shakira Austin, Rhyne Howard, they've been great in preseason so far. And…I don't know. I'm hoping Lynn Dunn has got the…I like the Fever to be…I just feel bad for them. I'd like them to be a little bit on the right path. Oh, and I'm excited to see what the Liberty can do this year. So, I'm excited about every single thing. [Amira laughs]
For this week's interview, Shireen talked with basketball player and social media star Jamad Fiin about how she fell in love with basketball growing up in Boston, how she empowers young Muslim girls through the sport with her organization Jamal Basketball Camps, and her new fashion ambassadorship with StockX.
Jamad Fiin: Like, playing in abaya is like the peak of showing how Muslim girls can play basketball. Like, they can do sports and also rock their abaya as well. But like, outside of the abaya, I also love showing the fashion style that we can also do. Like, even though I do play basketball, the style, like the modern day style, just to show like Muslim girls can do that as well.
Lindsay: All right. It's time for the burn pile. Amira?
Amira: Yeah, I feel like I'm just burning a bunch of things that we've always burned, and that in and of itself makes me exhausted. Like, it’s an exhausted burn, you know? One, it was the NFL draft. Shoutout to my student, Jesse Luketa, who was drafted by the Cardinals. Congrats, Jesse. But also, every time it's the draft we're treated to terrible chyrons. This one was after the first round, a scrolling chyron on NBC Sports that just said “so-and-so is a specimen.” Like, literally. And I was just like, here we go again! Just like, clinging to the scientific racism. Like, it's just too much for me. Cut it out.
We also have familiar NIL brouhaha on the heels of hearing that a Miami player is publicly saying he wants more endorsement money and that will make him change schools. We've just been treated to a series of hot and terrible takes about amateurism and it's just a regurgitation of these romantic defenses of amateurism. And I wish there was a way to have actual conversations about the implementation of things without repeating, like…Everybody now is using a meme like “Dabo was right.” No, Dabo was not. Dabo’s an ass. Like, can we just cut it out?
And then once again…And I literally just burned this last week. We have another incident of a Black girl in sports being denied opportunities to play because of beads, this time in lower Bucks County, a sixth grader playing soccer. So, while they moved her up a division, she drove over an hour to play in an inter-county soccer league in Bucks County, and then was sidelined because she had beads in her braids. The ref told her it was “not safe,” calling her out quite publicly, pointing at her, telling her to get off the field. Her club coach who was there with her said she'd never seen her player cry. And that, after trying to find the exact rules, she tried to intervene at halftime, and when she approached the ref and said, “Are you really going to deny a child this opportunity?” he said, “It's a danger. What if she falls on her beads?” And the coach and the players said this is ridiculous. This is a rule that's really only targeting Black girls. So far, the Eastern Pennsylvania youth soccer association released a thing saying they're going to investigate, but referees are within their rules to deem safety.
So it sounds like he was in the rules and they literally said “but maybe his demeanor was not.” And so they have no problem with like, you know, the beads part. And I think the strikes close to home because I had that happen to me, Samari had that happen. It just feels long and it's ridiculous. The one thing that did happen is Icarus, who’s a soccer apparel company, sent the player a prototype of a wrap to secure her beads and cover them up if she wants to wear them in play. But again, like last week, these aren't feel good stories. They are kindness in the face of oppression that's systemic, and it shouldn't happen. And all of these things we've talked about before, burn them over and over again. And that's why I'm exhausted, because, you know, just one week I'd like to be like, oh, there's nothing to burn Lindsay. Just one week. One week. I'd be like, you know what? We're not burning this week. We're going to go for a picnic. I don't know! But like, here we are, again, burning the same old shit because people are still fucking annoying, and systems continue to be oppressive. So, burn.
Lindsay: Burn. Yeah, picnic would be lovely, huh? So, I want to burn former Florida women's soccer coach Tony Amato, who was fired last week less than a year after he was given a six year contract. He was fired amid an investigation into allegations that the coach made horrible comments about his players’ eating habits and body shapes. First of all, his salary was more than the salary of Becky Burleigh, who was the coach for 26 years before him. [laughs] So, that's a burn-worthy offense. But also, he was actually fired without cause, even though it seems there's plenty of cause, which means the school is still on the hook for the remaining five years of a contract that paid him about $225,000 a year. We have to give kudos to the university’s television and radio broadcasting station, WUFT, which interviewed eight current and former players and their families, and quoted several – of course anonymously, because they were afraid of their scholarship status.
His abuse was so extreme that it triggered a depressive spiral in one of the players who said that she no longer wanted to be alive because of the abuse she endured in this program. He's also the third of athletic director Scott Stricklin's first four hires in Gainesville that haven't worked out. Women's basketball coach Cam Newbauer was forced to resign amid allegations that he verbally, physically and mentally abused players and staff members. Seems to be a pattern here. And this pattern is made increasing more alarming given the fact that it seems like every week we're seeing a new NCAA athlete die by suicide, and cite part of that the pressure from athletics. And I just think that if you're an athletic director looking to hire a coach, the mental health of your athletes has to be one of your top priorities. And if you are sitting here bemoaning the transfer portal and talking about how “spoiled” kids are these days, but not taking your anger out on a system that has just perennially abused athletes, then your priorities are all messed up. So, Tony Amato and everything honestly that's happening in Florida athletics right now, onto the burn pile. Burn.
Amira: Burn.
Lindsay: Before we going into our torchbearers, I do want to offer a quick trigger warning for mental health and suicide. Of course, as I just mentioned, five NCAA student athletes in less than two months have died by suicide. Katie Meyer, Jayden Hill, Robert Martin, Sarah Shulze, and Lauren Burnett. If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, call the national suicide prevention hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) in the US. And in Canada that number is 1-833-456-4566. All right, onto our honorable mentions. Amira?
Amira: Yes, for the first time ever, two women headlined a boxing match at Madison Square Garden, long thought to be one of the best boxing venues in the entire world. Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor met in front of a sold out at capacity crowd. That’s 19,000 some odd people. It was by all accounts a completely electric venue. The capacity crowd saw Katie Taylor win over Amanda in a split decision: 97-93 and 96-93, and one judge having it at 96-94 for Serrano. Many declared it one of the best matches of the year. And I think it's really fucking cool.
Lindsay: Absolutely. Want to give kudos to Reagan Carey, who was appointed the new commissioner of the Premier Hockey Federation last week. Carey previously served as the director of women's hockey for USA Hockey from 2010 to 2018.
Amira: And congrats to Sam Kerr, who was named the FWA’s women's footballer of the year. Kerr continues to sit on top of the WSL goals table, having scored 18 times in 18 games, with four assists to boot.
Lindsay: Lots of women's soccer. We've got women's soccer players in Italy who were finally legally able to turn pro this upcoming season after years of amateur only status that limited their salaries to under $32,000 per year. I have so many questions [laughs] and I actually want to burn some of this, but for now, like, good job winning this fight. [laughter]
Amira: And also, Angel City FC made its regular season NWSL debut on Friday night in front of a sold out crowd of 22,000 in LA. They notched a 2-1 victory over the North Carolina Courage to kick off their regular season.
Lindsay: Can I get a drum roll, please? [drumroll] All right–
Amira: [vocalizing airhorns] Sorry. I got excited again.
Lindsay: Our torchbearers of the week: Meg Linehan, Katie Strang, Steph Yang and Pablo Maurer from The Athletic, who won the Associated Press sports editors award in the investigative category for their reporting on abuse, sexual coercion and institutional betrayal in the NWSL and women's soccer as a whole. Also, shoutout to Molly Hensley-Clancy and Steven Goff of the Washington Post, who finished in second for their similarly themed reporting. And Nancy Armour, Kenny Jacoby, Dan Wolken and our very own Jessica Luther of USA Today Sports, who took third place. Amira, what's good?
Amira: Um… [Lindsay laughs] It’s May. Multiverse is coming out this week. There are 25 more days until my kids are on summer vacation. So, it means we're in the end of the year whirlwind, but it also means I can see the finish line. So that makes me very excited. I think that's like my biggest things going on right now. Just like trying to get through this month. It is almost Gemini season. I almost made the sound again. I really wanted to do it, but I'm very excited.
Lindsay: Don’t, please. [laughs]
Amira: Lindsay, I'm just trying to get hyped for us. It's our time, almost. Just get these Tauruses out of the way! And we can just celebrate properly. I'm very excited.
Lindsay: I have a harder time with birthdays than Amira does, I think is a gentle way to say it. [laughs]
Amira: Well, no, to be fair, I have a really hard time with my actual birth day. But like, all the other days leading up to it are splendid.
Lindsay: I hate this time of year. I love this time of year for the weather, but I don't know how it's already May. I am feeling very behind on everything. I'm feeling like I need lots more time. But the segment is what's good. What's good is happier weather. What's good is making positive changes in my life, to take more massive actions, as my ADHD coach likes to say. Massive actions, not passive actions. And yeah. Had some family members in town over the weekend, so that was very, very good. And I'm starting to make my dream summer travel schedule, which will…Which is for work, so that involves lots of reporting. But the fun thing is I work in women's sports, so that means lots of planning, trying to get to lots of NWSL stadiums, and lots of WNBA arenas that I haven’t been to yet this year.
Amira: Coming to Houston?
Lindsay: Um, probably not, because I've been to Houston enough in the last year.
Amira: I'm just trying to see you, Lindsay Gibbs!
Lindsay: I'm going to see you. We're going to figure it out. Gotta sell some more subscriptions, gotta get some more things written.
Amira: Everybody, subscribe to Power Plays!
Lindsay: But feeling very optimistic about what I got coming this month. So, we’re going to do this thing. All right. I also have loved the NBA playoffs. They've been really good.
Amira: Yes yes. Until last night, but yes.
Lindsay: [laughs] They've been really, really fun. And I love them. Like, honestly, I don't watch the NBA season much. The NBA playoffs is like one of my favorite sports seasons. So I consider it a season, like unto itself, because it takes like three or four months. [laughter]
Amira: [vocalizing airhorns] This weekend was Martin Kessler's birthday. Martin is forever part of the BIAD family, and we all love him so very much, so happy birthday to you, Martin.
Lindsay: So, what we're watching this week. Like we said, the WNBA starts this Friday. The Challenge Cup semis are midweek, and of course NWSL regular season has already started. NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, and remember to tune into baseball to watch that weird thing Amira was talking about. [Amira laughs] That’s it for this week's episode of Burn It All Down. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our web and social media wizard. We are part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Follow Burn It All Down on Facebook, Twitter and Insta. Listen, subscribe, and please give us some good ratings, five stars on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play and TuneIn. For show links and transcripts, burnitalldownpod.com. And also at burnitalldownpod.com, you can find the link to our merch at our Bonfire store. Of course, as always, we are grateful for our patrons. Your support helps so much. If you want to become a sustaining donor and make this show possible, visit patreon.com/burnitalldown. In the words of our incomparable, indomitable Brenda Elsey – burn on, not out.