Episode 260: Fleur-de-lis, Storm v. Aces Game 3!!!, Coco and the City Girls, Important Updates on Hockey, the WNBA Playoffs and Tennis
Before we get into this episode, a content warning. We talk about mental health and suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, please call the national suicide and crisis lifeline at 988 in the United States or 1-833-456-4566 in Canada. Please take care while listening.
In this episode, Amira Rose Davis, Shireen Ahmed and Lindsay Gibbs do a fall sports round-up! But first, they talk about the devastating flooding in Pakistan and water crises in Jackson, Mississippi.
Then, they discuss the latest news from women's hockey and sled hockey, including the IIHF Women's World Championship, PHF expansion and first ever Sled Hockey Women's World Challenge. They also dive into the thrilling match-ups of the WNBA playoffs, US Open moments and Victoria Azarenka calling out exploitation and abuse in women's tennis. They end the round-up with the latest from women's international friendlies in the lead up to the World Cup.
Following this discussion, they preview a special Patreon segment about Amira Rose Davis, Jessica Luther and Brenda Elsey's trip to the US Open! Then, you'll here a preview of this week's interview with Victoria Jackson, sports historian at Arizona State University, on NIL news, college football and mental health crises for collegiate athletes. Next, they burn some of the worst in sports this summer on the Burn Pile. Then, they celebrate those shining light, including Torchbearer of the Week, Serena Williams. The GOAT. We love you forever. They wrap up the show with What's Good 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.
Links
Support the Mahwari Justice campaign for menstrual relief in flood-stricken Pakistan: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sanitary-pads-for-balochistan-flood-victims
Penny Appeal for flood relief in Pakistan: https://pennyappeal.ca/project/pakistan-flood-response
UN Refugee Agency donations for Pakistan: https://give.unhcr.ca/page/112278/donate/1?
How to Help People Affected by the Water Crisis in Jackson, Mississippi: https://time.com/6210029/water-crisis-jackson-mississippi
Transcript
Amira: Welcome to Burn It All Down, the sports podcast you need. Today on the show, I have Shireen and Lindsay with me. We will be doing a wrap up of women's sports. There is so much happening in hockey, in basketball, in tennis, in soccer. We have got you covered. Also, we have a lot of great content over on our Patreon. This week, Jess and Brenda, and I talk about our experiences going to the US Open to see Serena's last match. You don't wanna miss that conversation. But before we get into our discussion today, we wanted to take a minute to recognize two really pressing concerns around climate change that are affecting communities that we love here on the show. Shireen?
Shireen: Thanks, Amira. Pakistan has been hit with one of the worst natural disasters in its history. One third of the country is underwater – that’s larger than the size of Texas. Heavy rains in monsoon season and melting glaciers in the north of the country are due to climate change and have rigged havoc and destroyed whatever agrarian infrastructure was developed in the heart of the country. The catastrophic events have killed more than 1200 people, a number that is on the rise, including 453 children. Over 33 million people have been displaced, and the amount of damage is unfathomable, and I don't have the words to describe the anguish and horror. While witnessing this is upsetting in a way that is very hard to explain, the places you know and love and miss so much are completely destroyed, but we can offer campaigns and organizations to donate, which we will keep in the show notes, including the first ever menstrual relief campaign called Mahwari by two women in Pakistan. The concern now, or one of the main concerns, is waterborne diseases. And I think as we move forward to think about not only immediate relief efforts but ongoing help rebuilding and supporting communities as they need it.
Amira: We also wanted to raise awareness for the situation in Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi has been without running water after its main water treatment plant has left nearly 180,000 residents in the city and surrounding areas with no clean water. Now, water crisis is not new for Jackson, Mississippi, a city that is over 82% Black. They've been under a boil water notice since July. Last year, they were under a boil water alert for 225 days. It is a declared state of emergency. There continues to be no running water, no clean drinking water, especially in the poorest and Blackest areas of that community. There are really great mutual aid organizations doing the work to distribute water. The Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition is a coalition of over 30 organizations in the state. We will link in our bio to their donation page.
I also wanna shout out Operation Good, who's taking donations through CashApp under the hashtag #OperationGoodMS for Mississippi. And the Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity of Mississippi is also accepting monetary contributions via CashApp, PayPal, or Venmo, all at the same tag: IAJE of MS. Lastly, the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund on PayPal at MRFF is a reproductive justice group who is both looking out for water needs as well as continuing to do the mutual aid work towards supporting people for reproductive freedom, because all of these things are compounding. And we send all of our love to Jackson, Mississippi, to Pakistan, and to all of the communities that are feeling the brunt of these effects of not only climate change but policy decisions that are harmful and hurting people, that are being rendered disposable in the eyes of the state and of the world.
Amira: Lindsay, Shireen, I have to admit, there is so much happening in the world of women's sports, I can hardly keep up. I was barely keeping up with just the US Open and WNBA playoffs, but then women's soccer friendlies are happening. You guys told me there's hockey things going on. So I thought the best thing to do was talk about the biggest storylines. So, let's start with hockey. I assume, Shireen, you have a lot to say about hockey. I know nothing about what's happening in hockey.
Shireen: Well, in case you didn't know, Canada–
Amira: I didn't know.
Shireen: [laughs] Canada actually won gold over the USA. The IIHF championships were held in Denmark. Listen, we've been…This is not our first time at this rodeo. So I just wanna say, we love this. We love women's hockey. I don't like seeing Hilary Knight sad, but you know, silver is a great color for a lot of people. It looks good. It goes with everything. So… [laughs]
Amira: Now, I know those games can get a little, you know, zesty. Was it a zesty game? Was it a close game? Was it a walk in the park? What was the vibe like this year?
Shireen: Definitely Canada would never say it's a walk in the park to play the Americans. I mean, in a pre-game, the United States actually won in the preliminary round. Also, the Americans beat Canada.
Lindsay: 5-2. [Shireen laughs] So if you add together the scores, USA won, because Canada beat USA 2-1 in the final, but USA beat Canada 5-2 in the round robins. So, who's the real winner, is what I'm saying. [laughs]
Amira: Lindsay, I’m liking the points you're bringing.
Lindsay: It's just math. It's just math, you know? [laughs]
Shireen: It's math. Fortunately hockey doesn't actually work like that in cumulative scores.
Amira: Wouldn't it be fun if it did like soccer though?
Shireen: Absolutely not. [Amira laughs] I can only handle one at a time. I would literally…No, my gosh, I'm getting stressed just thinking about that! And again, this is a rivalry that is the best in sports, in my opinion. Like, this is incredible. And so many of the players are teammates and play either in the PHF or the PWHPA together, mostly the P-dub. But you love to see it. I mean, 2-1, it's a close game. Anyone's call. Brianne Jenner scored twice for Canada. And Kendall Coyne Schofield got player of the game. Like, they're undeniably incredibly talented. So, that's that. And for now, in the meantime, we have women's professional hockey, some things to gab about. The PHF schedule comes out early in September, but we don't have it right now. The new expansion team in Montreal, if some of you missed this news, is called the Force.
Now, PWHPA, Jayna Hefford, who is the, you know, main consultant, some would call her president of that organization. Regardless, Jayna Hefford is a legend in hockey. You know, PWHPA is laying the foundation for a viable league. There's 18 months they have been working on a business plan. I have a source that tells me there's a possible showcase in October, has yet to be announced, information not released. While traditionally the season starts in February. As far as men's hockey goes, I don't know. Like, there's a tweet that I wanna add in our show notes, and I'm gonna read it to y’all, because I literally can't stop laughing. There's a lot of buzz about transfer and everything like that. And you know, the Stanley Cup parade goes on all summer until the season starts again. So, Adam Herman on Twitter wrote, “Every women's hockey biography is like, ‘She has a masters in biochemistry and is a cancer researcher at Sloan Kettering’ and every men's bio is like, ‘his favorite cereal is Fruit Loops.’” [laughter]
Amira: It's a great tweet.
Shireen: It's so apt because, and one of the things that I think is really important to recognize, is because, you know, now women's professional hockey in North America is growing more solidly, the most convenient place and best place for so many players to play is DI, is NCAA. So they stay there, and they get educated. So women's hockey players are arguably the most educated in the world. They like have master's degrees. And in fact, Dr. Courtney Szto, friend of the show, did a paper about this with Anissa Gamble about how educated these players are.
Amira: It's a really great point because one of the things that happens, like with the WNBA and the strength of their union, is that women and athletes oftentimes aren't leaving college early. And so they are getting four years in a system, but four years of education. We're recording this right after Labor Day. I'm thinking about unions right now. I think it's really interesting to see how that shows up and manifests, and then the ability to not only unionize, but like collectively organize with ideas that have been tried out in classrooms for four years. And so I'm really interested to see how this league comes together. I have a question about Montreal Force. Do they have their team yet? Or are they going to have to do an expansion draft? Because expansion drafts are right up there as like the most stressful things to me. It’s like when you're playing Go Fish and you like misdeal or something, or in spades, and somebody's like, oh, you just take a random card…Or like UNO, whatever. When you're playing cards and there's a misdeal, and then somebody just gets to select one of your cards–
Lindsay: How do we get to Go Fish? [laughs]
Amira: I'm trying to use an inclusive card game. I was gonna say spades. Not everybody plays spades because not everyone's Black, but you know what I'm saying? Like when somebody gets to choose something from your hand and you don't really have control over that, I find it quite nerve wracking. And when the NWSL did their expansion draft, can you imagine just getting to pluck people? Oh my goodness.
Lindsay: This might be a reflection of Amira's competitive side. I'm not quite sure. [laughter]
Amira: Have you ever played the UNO where you get to write in your own rules and people like switch hands, and then they like take your whole hand–
Shireen: Yes, it’s absolute chaos.
Amira: Exactly. And that's how I feel about expansion drafts. You see the vision, Shireen.
Shireen: Well, unfortunately I won't be able to offer you that chaos in this regard. The roster is already up. [laughs]
Amira: Okay. Do we know their design yet? Is it cute?
Shireen: The logo is out. It's very much a fleur-de-lis.
Amira: A who?
Shireen: A fleur-de-lis.
Amira: A flower of the lake?
Shireen: No, fleur-de-lis is the symbol on the Quebecois flag. It's very French looking. It looks like the tip of a sword that they used to use.
Amira: Fleur-day-lis.
Shireen: De, de-lis.
Amira: De-lis.
Shireen: Not “lease.” Lis.
Amira: Lis.
Shireen: Lease is what you sign when you rent an apartment. [laughs] This is lis.
Amira: Does it mean flower at all?
Shireen: Fleur means flower.
Amira: Okay. See? Okay. Yeah. I know things.
Shireen: You're basically bilingual at this point.
Amira: Yeah. Thank you. See me.
Shireen: Their logo’s interesting. It's like an F that's swirly.
Amira: It's a curvy F. I'm looking at it now. It's like a curvy F triangle.
Shireen: But it's half of the fleur-de-lis, if you look at it.
Amira: Well, that makes more sense then, I guess.
Shireen: The colors are maroon, which I love, because my hue looks good in these type of burgundy-ish colors. I'm excited to go to a game this year. I love Montreal. It's like my favorite city in Canada, despite their absolutely horrific and xenophobic social policies. But hockey growing is good. I'm excited for the move. Big news was Brianna Decker was moving to the PHF. That was big news. I don't know if anyone heard that. That's a big move. I do have to say, Hilary Knight, I mentioned her before. Incredible player. We'll talk about it later in the show. No spoilers!
Amira: So, those updates were great. And Lindsay, you have more hockey news?
Lindsay: Yeah, a couple of updates. First, I just wanna note that the USA women's hockey team, it's somehow been five years since that like historic campaign to boycott–
Amira: Wow. What is time?
Lindsay: What is time, right? Like, yeah, it was 2017 when they did that big campaign, you know, they boycotted the world championships. They weren't gonna play until they got an equitable deal from USA Hockey. They kind of did a one year quickie deal last year. And then they were hoping to have negotiated a new contract before the world championships this year. Didn’t happen, but USA Hockey is still paying them, like, they've extended that contract until they can come up with a new deal. But I think that's an important labor fight to keep our eyes on as we are here in Labor Day. One thing to notice, like, they don't get bonuses unless they win gold, [laughs] so like, they got no bonus for winning the silver, which just, like…I bet the men get bonuses for silver! [laughs] Like, I don't know. I haven't seen that contract, but that just seems like peak women exceptionalism there. Like, unless you get gold, you get nothing.
But anyways, yeah, sled hockey, there was a big tournament going on in sled hockey. So, it was also over the last week or so, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, it was the first ever women's world challenge. US did win this, defeating Canada 5-1, and the captain Erica McKee said, “It's the greatest feeling in the world. It's like we won the Stanley Cup.” Kudos to Alex Azzi over at On Her Turf for her continual coverage of the fights in sled hockey. It's very important to note that women's sled hockey is not part of the Paralympics. And so there's an ongoing fight to get that into the Para Games.
And it's this catch 22. They say there aren't enough women's teams to be a part of the Para Games, but countries aren't gonna invest in para programs for women unless it's in the Olympics, right? So, another excuse is that it's technically a co-ed sport on the men's side. Like, women can technically be on the team, but are usually just told no. There have been three women total since para hockey debuted in the ’94 Winter Games. There's even a free roster spot that can go to a woman. So, men's only teams max out at 17 players, but the rosters can expand to 18 athletes if a woman is included. Nobody uses that extra point. So the point is, like, there's far too much sexism, and we need to be investing in the women's game.
This world championship, world challenge, I guess it was called, it included USA, a team from Canada, a team from Great Britain, and then a Team World composed of players from seven different nations. And you just gotta hope that more things like this keep coming. And just kudos to all of the women in para hockey who continue to fight for this. And one thing I really hope is labor, is that we can combine these fights. And I know that the USA women have a lot on their plate as they're fighting for, you know, basic respect. But I really hope that they can include the para team in their fight and start fighting for more for them as well. Because as we always say, solidarity, labor solidarity, it's the only way we all win. It's the only way forward.
Amira: And now all y'all know what's going on in the world of women’s hockey and beyond. Now, I wanna pivot to the WNBA. But before we get into the playoffs, I wanted to note that this past Monday marks 200 days that Brittney Griner is not home. The WNBPA using Labor Day to call attention to that fact and calling on all members of labor unions to recognize their union member who is still behind bars in Russia. Lindsay, I know you just had a great newsletter reentering Brittney in this moment. What are any updates that you might wanna share about BG?
Lindsay: Yeah, just a couple of updates, because we were off air for a lot of the summer and when a lot of the stuff with her trial was happening. So, a quick update. You know, she has been sentenced to 9 years in prison in Russia, which is fucking devastating. 10 years was the max sentence, but 4 to 5 is much more normal, and a lot of people get off with just parole. So, it was considered an extremely severe sentence. So anyone in your life who's like, well, she broke the law, you know what I mean? Like, there’s still clearly very retaliatory and political bullshit going on. It's been really hard, I think, to cover this story, because I think everyone's using it to push their own narratives. You know, everything gets conflated and convoluted a lot. And I think it's just important to keep in mind, like, the terrifying thing that an authoritarian regime is holding her hostage right now.
There's some conversation that I feel like has just been like, well, why doesn't Biden just call Putin up? And I don't think that's helpful, because Putin wants to exploit and is very skilled at exploiting tensions within the United States. And the more he sees that we are kind of attacking each other over this, the more he's going to want to exploit that for his political benefit. So, I think it's something important to keep in mind when we're talking about it. At the same time, I think it’s absolutely key that we continue to bring up Griner's name, continue to let the administration know that we will be supportive of whatever deal they end up having to make. Like, we want her to be home as soon as possible.
There is a deal that the US has proposed. It seems like they're waiting for Russia to kind of respond for a prisoner swap. The prisoner, Viktor Bout, who is in the United States, is someone that Russia really wants out. So that's hopefully motivation on their part. But they're dragging their feet. They're trying to see what else they can get. They're playing a really bad faith game right now, and it's absolutely devastating. So, I just think it's important. We're in the WNBA playoffs. It's really exciting. Everything's really great. But this season forever has an asterisk by it. Nothing will be whole until Brittney Griner’s home again. And we have to keep her at the forefront. And I think there's a responsible way to do that. And it's just by, you know, keeping the fact of the story in mind, and just keeping centering her home. I've said it before: my only hot take about all this is she needs to be home.
Amira: Amen.
Lindsay: I get really frustrated when I see people, you know, exploiting this for whatever narratives. And the most bad faith stuff is, of course, the racists who are just saying that she's getting what she deserves, she hates America. And there's plenty of that in the common sections and the bullshit trolls.
Amira: Yeah, absolutely.
Lindsay: And Amira has talked about this before, the terrible memes. Awful.
Shireen: It's also really interesting when all these policy experts emerge through TikTok.
Lindsay: Yeah.
Shireen: It’s so fascinating. [laughs]
Amira: But you know, they're like experts in everything all of a sudden. Marketing, economics, constitutional law, climate change… [Shireen laughs]
Lindsay: And then just like, I saw somebody being like, “If only we cared about Brittney Griner the way we cared about Britney Spears.” And I was just like, I just don't know that… [laughs]
Amira: Like, do you not have the capacity to care for more than one…Okay. You know what?
Lindsay: I don't know that Britney Spears is like the model that we want anyone's life to be. Like, she was in that conservatorship for like 10 years before way before anybody gave a fuck!
Amira: For way too long.
Lindsay: Like, racism and sexism are absolutely part of this. I don't wanna diminish their part of the story. But I just think there's a responsible way to talk about that. And I think the responsible way is just to center that she needs to come home.
Amira: Absolutely. And thank you for re-centering Brittney as we turn to the WNBA playoffs. We are now at the point of the playoffs where we are down to four teams, we're in the semifinals. The Las Vegas Aces and the Seattle Storm are duking it out. So are the Chicago Sky in Connecticut Sun. I don't know how we're feeling about best of five series. I always feel like they're too short, because here we are with the potential, before you even hear this, that Game 4 played on Tuesday night will have already decided these series. If not, what I'm rooting for, because I'm rooting for chaos, is that both of these series are pushed to a Game 5.
But here are where things stand now. We have seen three games apiece. Seattle took the first game over Las Vegas, and then Vegas took the next game, then Game 3, which many people are calling the most thrilling game of the playoffs, that I actually missed, but returned to my phone to absolute calamity. Like, you know when my mom is texting me about this, like, everybody is watching, because she was like, “I should have left the room when Sue hit the three!” And then Dr. M. Aziz, who we've had on this show, was at the game, and I got a million messages from them that was like, “No, conspiracy! How, with 0.2 seconds left, can you in down the ball and put the shot…” Like, everybody was in their feelings. It was great to see.
Lindsay: Game 3 was devastating for the Storm because they had it won multiple times in the last like seven seconds. And there was a complete kind of collapse in their defense by Ezi Magbegor who had had a phenomenal game. And if you're a WNBA nerd, like, you know that name. You know that potential. But she had what people are calling like a JR Smith like brain freeze at the end of that game, where she stopped playing defense on Jackie Young. Maybe she thought the game was over and she didn't wanna like foul or something. We don't know. Like, just she completely stopped playing defense against Jackie Young and allowed Jackie Young to just get that layup with like 0.8 seconds left on the clock and send the game into overtime, where the Aces just steamrolled.
Amira: And then the Sky and the Sun have also been very spicy games. Lindsay, for you watching, what has been the most surprising or exciting thing to come out of these WNBA playoffs?
Lindsay: This is the four best teams, right? There were four super elite teams all year. And how cool that we are getting to see them duke it out, right? Like, this is what you want. I do agree. We need best of seven in the semis and the finals. Like, these are too short, because it's so fun to see the adjustments that coaches make, the adjustments that players make. You learn so much about players and teams from these longer series. That's why the playoffs are so different from the regular season. To me, one of the most shocking things that's happened so far is Curt Miller kind of benching Jonquel Jones in key minutes in the Game 3 between the Connecticut Sun and the Chicago Sky. Howard Megdal over at Locked On Women's Basketball had a great podcast that came out kind of diving into that decision and the ramifications this could have for the franchise long term and what it means. I mean, if this was a men's sport, the benching of an MVP during key moments would be, like… [laughs]
Amira: News and noteworthy!
Lindsay: Like, it would be overkill, the talk. That’s a huge deal. You know, ultimately though, Candace Parker has just turned back the clock. I hope we get a couple more years of her playing at this level, because like, we're gonna be talking about her as the greatest of all time. Like, she should be in those conversations. And her play, I think, has just been like revolutionary. And I'm sitting here really wanting to see in the finals her match up against A’ja Wilson, because I think those are right now, to me…I mean, Breanna Stewart's right there. They're the three best players: A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Candace Parker. But you know, Chelsea Gray, I think she's been the best point guard by far of these playoffs. So when you're talking about who the torch gets passed to, there's been like, is it Courtney Vandersloot? Who of course is like legendary and, you know, absolutely.
But I think Chelsea Gray has established herself as the best point guard in the league, in these playoffs. And to me, A’ja Wilson on the Aces has established herself as the best player in the postseason. I still think it's neck and neck with her and Stewie for the MVP. We'll know who that is probably maybe by the time this is announced. They both had phenomenal regular seasons, but I think in the playoffs A’ja has been better. And so it's just so good for the league to have the four best players, to have the superstars really showing up and showing out. And the only thing I wish is that these games weren't back to back doubleheaders every time, that they didn't schedule it, so that we had more time to talk and to process, right? And I know in the NBA playoffs, it's like, by this point, like each game gets its own dissection. And I want that, because I think that's what we deserve at this point.
Amira: Yeah. Well, and you also tweeted a really pointed tweet that like Tuesday, today, which is the day we're recording this, we have so many things stacked up. We have Coco, the US Open’s still continuing. We have women's soccer friendlies, we have the United States in action today. And then we have both of these WNBA playoffs. And I think Lindsay tweeted something like, spread the joy around!
Lindsay: YEAH! [laughs]
Amira: Like, this is a lot for a Tuesday.
Lindsay: It’s just, it's a Tuesday! Yeah.
Amira: Lindsay has the Sky and the Aces in the final. Shireen, do you have a wager on who's emerging from the semifinals this week?
Shireen: No, I am excited to watch. I mean, I haven't been following as close. I had a bit of a chaotic summer, so I didn't get to watch as closely as I can. But for me, there's no question. The WNBA finals are legitimately probably the most exciting. It’s also the time of year. Like, we're traditionally, we don't usually get playoffs at this time. It’s hype at a different level and it's so exciting. I mean, I have been feeling some kind of way about the Sue Bird stuff, like her leaving, and you know, like the retiring of these incredible players. I also actually wanted to say that one of my favorite things about this is Lindsay's tweets, Lindsay's reactions to everything is like hilarious, between her and Ari Chambers. It's like, okay, I'm good. And then there's Howard in there with his like [deep voice] analysis, and this and that, and a lot of these guys are out here being like hysterical. [laughs]
Amira: I like the analysis voice. [deep voice] The analysis.
Shireen: That's my professional serious voice. At the end of the day, you're professional, you're a journalist, you're this, you're everything. But at the end of the day, you're like, oh my god, this game!
Lindsay: I mean, three lead changes in the last seven seconds!
Amira: It's not good for blood pressure.
Lindsay: I was like, this is probably the best game I've ever seen, and I hate it. [laughter] That's how I was feeling. I do wanna say that I did actually pick the Storm to win it all.
Shireen: I was gonna say that, but I haven't watched enough.
Lindsay: But Game 3, like, they had it won, but the way they collapsed in that…Tina Charles missed two free throws, two key free throws at the end, like giving up that layup. Like, they had their big win, and then they let it go. And I don't really know how you recover from that, but if anyone can, it’s Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart.
Amira: Well, we will be watching to see what happens. I hope you all are too. As Shireen mentioned, this was a tremendous week because we got Sue Bird, we got Candace Parker. And at the same time we had Serena playing absolutely out of her mind over at the US Open and winning games. Everybody was prepared to do like a first match send-off, and then she won and she won again on Wednesday. And so it was magnificent to see all this happening concurrently and just like these forces turn back time, as Lindsay so aptly put. As I mentioned, we have a special Patreon episode where me, Brenda, and Jessica are reacting to watching Serena at the US Open, so you can check out an elongated conversation over there.
But I do wanna just briefly touch on some of the stuff that's going down in the US Open space and in women's tennis. I don't know if everybody got the chance to see the Williams sisters play doubles again, or you're checking the miraculous play of Coco Gauff, which is part of my joy, but there's also storylines that, you know, I think we should all keep our eye on. Lindsay, you have news about Azarenka?
Lindsay: Yeah, I just wanna draw attention to the fact that Azarenka has kind of used her platform to talk about how female players are exploited in professional tennis, like left and right, by coaches, by other stakeholders. And I think it's really important. She's a member of the WTA player's council. She said, in the women's game particularly, “I see so many coaches that make their players dependent on them. And I think that's very dangerous. It's manipulative too.” I wish that kind of subject was talked about a little bit more. Kind of the impetus for this was Fiona Ferro, the French former #39, filed charges against her former coach for rape and sexual assault between 2012 and 2015. As someone who's covered tennis for well over a decade now and used to extensively cover this sport, there's always been discussions of these players in their twenties, late teens, right? Like, in relationships with their coaches, you know, these older male coaches.
And nobody really talks about that openly, because you don't wanna like out someone's business, and there's power imbalances there. Pam Shriver recently came out and told her full story about being exploited and realizing that the relationship she was in with her coach was inappropriate. And I was just really happy to see Azarenka using her platform to talk about this, because it is a really big problem on the WTA tour, and it's not talked about, and it's tough to talk about publicly when the player themselves isn't talking about it, you know? And by the time it comes to light, they're usually in their twenties and they're adults. But anyways, thank you, Azarenka.
Amira: Yes. Thank you for mentioning that. The US Open is rolling merrily along. By the time this airs on Thursday, that day we'll have the semifinals upon us, with Saturday, September 10th, of course, at 4:00pm eastern being the women's finals, and we'll crown a new champion. There has been some magnificent tennis being played on both the men's and women's sides. I know last night, so Monday night, Francis – Big Foe! – Tiafoe was phenomenal as he beat Rafa. And it was just…Some of the shots were just beautiful, just gorgeous tennis being played. On the women's side, there’s a lot to love. Excited of course to see Coco match up with Caroline Garcia. Ons Jabeur is playing terrific. This has been a really exciting open, even with all of the space we held for the pomp and circumstance and celebration of Serena. There's just some really great tennis happening. Lastly, as we come to the end of our round-up, I wanted to briefly touch on women's soccer. Friendlies are happening, upon us. I don't know if you watched Canada in action, and if you did, how did they look?
Shireen: Yeah, we're 10 months away from the Women's World Cup. You know, it’s big times happening. We're in Australia. I did wanna say that the team looks great. The roster looks great. You know, the vets are there. But I will say that Canada played the Matildas, and any time you're anywhere near Sam Kerr, there's a reason to make sure that you're properly connected, your formations are right. Canada is missing quite a few defenders because of injury. So, Kadeisha Buchanan, arguably one of the best defenders in the world, wasn’t playing. Vanessa Gilles was out. Jayde Riviere was out. And I mean, even Ashley Lawrence was unavailable due to personal reasons. So, when we're looking at that, we're like, okay, well, what does this team look like? They still won 2-1, but like, Canada's the reigning Olympic champions. And so right now, I know in the recent friendly against US, they lost in CONCACAF. But I think it's important to realize that we're just constantly moving forward. The new hashtag #WeCan, I love. I don't usually like cheesy hashtags, although I use 'em all the time. I do like it.
Amira: I was like, you don’t? [Lindsay laughs]
Shireen: I mean, you know I'm very cheesy, both of you know this. But at the same time, Canada Soccer, we've talked a lot about it on the show, and I have, is imploding in a way that with the teams, with the organization head Nick Bontis is being called out. There was a joint letter sent out. So while the women are competing and the men are competing, there're also actively advocating for their own selves or questioning the organization for which they have zero trust. And can we blame them? So, this is all happening at the same time as these high performance athletes are trying to compete you on the, you know, upper echelons of the world stage. So I just wanted to remind everybody that those things are ongoing, and we will keep you updated.
Amira: Yeah. And on the United States side, you know, fresh off that 1-0 CONCACAF victory over Canada, [Shireen laughs] they head into two friendlies this week versus Nigeria. They're in action today, the day we record. I know there's been a lot of kind of eyes on this team because of coaching decisions and formations and style of play. A lot seems very up in the air still. How this team lines up, who even makes the roster. And I think that this series of friendlies has actually gone a long way to…I don't think it has settled anything, but at least it didn't feel like the sky was falling. [laughs] They, like, could play. Sophia Smith looks tremendous. And of course, my eyes are on Sam Coffey, who is playing with the team and hopefully gets her first cap tonight. If she does, she'll become the 250th player to earn a cap for the United States women's national team. When she was told this by a reporter, she was like, oh, do I get like a special prize or something? And so now I really wanna get her a cap so we can like send her an Edible Arrangement or special prize or something for doing that.
But yeah, that's what's going on over here. So I don't really think we’ve got a lot of answers to questions, but I'm not feeling as “bury your head under the blankets and scream” about the state of like, say, the midfield in the national team. Please tweet us, let us know what you have your eye on. Other things happening in the world of women's sports: college sports is upon us. There is just so much to enjoy. We hope you are enjoying it as well.
Amira: This week I chat with Victoria Jackson about college sports chaos. What does name, image and likeness look like in its second year? What about realignment? There are schools that are completely ineligible – like FAMU, I'm looking at you. So check out my conversation with Victoria out now about college sports chaos.
Victoria Jackson: It's because these are professional sports and they're competing. And so part of it too is competing for talent, right? Because you have to win, and that's the mission, right? It's not serving students who play sports. The mission is to be the best and to win. And that means making money. [laughs]
Amira: It is now time for everyone's favorite segment, the burn pile. And I'm gonna kick it off, because my burn has been just living rent free in my head for the last 24 hours. Coco Gauff is having an amazing US Open run. She is playing phenomenally. She's into the quarters. And in her last match, after winning the first set 7-5, she was down in the second set 5-3 before pulling off four straight games to eventually win 7-5. Of course the adrenaline was going, she got emotional and excited, as she got those big, big points and saves coming down the stretch, which included screaming, of course. She wagged her finger. Did the Mutombo “not today.” And she also did a motion across her neck, which is the point of my burn here today. It was a real #TwoAmericas moment.
There were so, so many people, so many white people under the comment sections [Lindsay laughs] of ESPN's post about Coco, of the WTA's post about Coco, of the US Open's post about Coco, immediately running to say some boilerplate template of, “I really wanted to cheer for Coco, too bad. I really liked her, but then she was aggressive.” Or, “She showed no class.” Somebody said she should be censured and fined. “If the US Open doesn't discipline her now then she'll think it's okay to play with such aggression.” And here's this coded language that we're so familiar with. It doesn't get to be fiery. It doesn't get to be passionate. It doesn’t…Like, she's winning huge points when her back is against the wall. And you want her to just like pour a cup of tea and a saucer? What is happening here?
But the thing about it is a lot of people especially honed in on this gesture with her hand and decided she was like being “aggressive” and “wanting to kill her opponent” – despite a very nice hug at the net and lots of smiles and nothing at all that would suggest that. And so after it did lead to, though, my favorite thing, which is a number of Black women getting on Twitter to respond to these trolls to say, no, she was just saying period! Like, period, sis, like from City Girls. Coco herself tweeted to reaffirm that she was doing it saying she had a City Girls song stuck in her head, so when she got a point, she said period, because that's what was on her mind. But it led to the funniest press conference I've ever seen in, which Coco Gauff tries to explain to a very aging white male tennis media who exactly the City Girls are. [laughs] Just listen to her try to explain…
Reporter: I don't know…I don't know what you wanna call this.
Coco Gauff: That was supposed to be like a period, like City Girls, period. Like… [laughs] City Girls! City Girls summer, period! That’s what it is.
Reporter: I’m an old guy, so…
Coco Gauff: It's a city girl summer, period. Okay. That's what it is.
Reporter: I'm an old guy.
Coco Gauff: JT, Yung Miami – you don't know?
Reporter: I'm 53 years old. [laughter]
Coco Gauff: It’s supposed to be, like, period! You see…
Amira: It's kind of lighthearted burn. It's familiar. We've been here before. We understand how this is racially coded. I want Coco to keep shining, keep living her joy, keep saying period, sis! Because we got you. We know what you meant. And absolutely, purr, period, you are playing lights out. Keep balling, Coco. And for the rest, people have something to say about how the passion she plays with, fuck that. Burn it down.
All: Burn.
Amira: Let's stay in the tennis world because there are some other burnable things happening over there. Lindsay, what do you have for us?
Lindsay: Okay. I have a quick add to yours, which is that Coco and her opponent said the nicest things about each other before and after the match, like, they're clearly really, really good friends, and there's so much respect between them. So it's just like, people just…They’re racist, they're sexist and they're also dumb. [laughter] Okay. Speaking of racist, sexist and dumb: Margaret Court. [laughter] I hope that this is the last time that we ever have to burn her. Not because she's stopping doing shitty things or saying shitty things, but because, with Serena’s evolvement away from tennis, she’s no longer relevant, and people can stop interviewing her. I am mad that I'm having to talk about her because I am mad that people interviewed her and then gave her a platform and made her bullshit headlines. Because it just didn't need to happen.
Amira: And in a way that said, oh, we should feel sorry for her! Like…Ugh.
Lindsay: No, it is pure clickbait bullshit. So anyways, Margaret Court won 24 majors before the open era of tennis. So, before tennis was professionalized. And most of her majors are won in Australia, before most top players traveled to the Australian Open on a regular basis, because these were the olden days, and it's far. [laughs] It’s hard to get to Australia. So she did not compete against full fields. And 24 titles is great. It's good. But it is not what Serena did. And the real mark for Serena to pass was Steffi Graf’s 22. She did that. She has 23, period. End of discussion. But Margaret Court decided to come forward and say, “Serena, I've admired her as a player, but I don't think she has ever admired me. I came back after two babies. After having he first baby, I won three out of the four slams. Serena hasn't won a slam since having a baby.” Oh, I'm so mad. [laughs]
She also said, “The press and television today, they don't wanna mention my name. The honor has not been there for what I do. In my own nation, I had been given titles, but they would still rather not mention me.” Well, it's because she's racist and homophobic. There's a Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open. Like, she was getting all of the accolades. Like, she was an important part of tennis history, and was being treated as such, until she decided to just openly oppose same sex marriage everywhere. And, you know, be pro-apartheid, and do all this stuff. And people are like, man, we don't really want her to be an ambassador of this sport, right? Like, we're not taking away our titles.
Amira: They didn’t even rename the damn court!
Lindsay: Yeah! She's bullshit. So it's just her playing the victim. Do not go and blame your religion on this bullshit. Like, do not pretend it’s because you are Christian. It’s because you're a bigoted asshole! [laughs] That's why. And those things don't have to go hand in hand. They just do for you. So, I was so mad to see these headlines, especially because she's gotten so much respect in the tennis community, until she's the one who stepped up. So hopefully for the last time, Margaret Court, burn.
All: Burn.
Amira: All right. Shireenie, bring us home.
Shireen: My god, Merritt Paulson is trash. We've been here before. We know this. But I mean, what I love about journalism – and just permit me a second to say that people are constantly doing this work to keep up with the stories and keep digging, because we know that all of this was unearthed when Meg Linehan at The Athletic with Katie Strang did all of this reporting, which was so critical and important, but we know that there's more there. We know that there's way more filth and it needs to be laundered. And just recently, and I’m reading from an ESPN article, it was reported that in 2019, the Portland Thorns owner, Merritt Paulson, engaged in an effort to dissuade Paul Riley from applying from a manager's job with the US women's national team. This came after four years, almost four years after Riley was fired by an NWSL team for causing an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
Now, the reason that Merritt Paulson didn't want him to get that job was because then he would have to disclose the reason for why he was fired, and Merritt Paulson didn't want anyone to know why, because he did fuck all about it. So this is essentially an effort to save face. We know that systems of oppression like this and systems of violence against women and sexualized violence in particular, men are complicit in this. People with power are complicit in this. And Merritt Paulson is just one such person. I was looking back, and there's an article from 2008 for Bleacher Report that friend of the show Dave Zirin wrote, and the title was Merrittocracy. This type of meritocracy, it was a play on words with Merritt Paulson, is specifically…He's not interested, despite what press releases have been released and he said in an open letter. This is about saving face and saving money. This is about power. It's about control. He doesn't give a shit.
I was happy to see former Portland Thorns player Alex Morgan blast them on Twitter, blast this report. She blasted the team, which couldn't have been easy, because I mean, nobody loves to do that. That's a part of their history. And I know that…I’m sure. I don't know that, but I'm sure the there's players with principle who are like…The captain for Team Canada plays for Portland Thorns. This cannot be an easy situation. Someone who has led this country with principle and integrity, to be associated with that, it's horrible. And it puts the players in a terrible position. Again, Merritt Paulson is trash. I started there. I'm gonna come back full circle. There will be more about this, I'm sure. But in the meantime, wanna take all of this, a lack of transparency, complicit way, the impunity with which men function like this, those who are directly involved in causing abuse and this harm. I wanna take all of that shit, and I wanna put it on the burn pile.
All: Burn.
Amira: After all that burning, let's light up some torchbearers of the week. We'll start with some honorable mentions. Shireen?
Shireen: Hilary Knight, folks. Hilary Knight of Team USA scored during the IIHF tournament to clinch an OT goal, but while doing that reached 87 points, breaking the record of highest points at the women's worlds. Knight to beat Hayley Wickenheiser’s record of 86. Amazing.
Amira: Absolutely. I'll go next. I just wanna shout out John Wall. The NBA player got very candid with his mental health journey this past week. He talked about contemplating suicide while dealing with personal loss and injury, and his vulnerability and pushing this forward conversation is really helping to destigmatize both mental health and suicide ideation. And I think that it's a really big deal for John Wall to get real in this way. I hope that it continues to represent a shift in this culture about supporting people dealing with this. And certainly, certainly not kicking them when they're down. Just a reminder, we’ll drop the suicide hotline links in our show notes should you or anybody you know need to call them. And please, please, please dial the number if you need somebody to talk to. And thank you, John Wall, for setting that example. Linz, who you got?
Lindsay: Dawn Staley, for canceling the BYU home and home series with South Carolina in women's basketball last week. If you need to go back and re-listen to that, we've burned the racism at BYU against a Black Duke volleyball player and their handling of this. And Dawn Staley in making this decision to cancel the BYU home and home series said, “I just wanted to make sure our players didn't have to endure that, because if something happened of that manner, I don't have the words to comfort them.”
Amira: Shireen?
Shireen: Well, I may or may not have mentioned it, but Canada defeated Team USA 2-1 at the IIHF women's world championship gold medal game in Denmark. Congratulations, Canada. Love seeing Sarah Nurse with more hardware.
Amira: I can get behind that. Drumroll, please.
[drumroll]
Shireen: Do we have a tambourine?
Amira: Girl, no. [laughter]
Lindsay: Five years in? Like, five and half years.
Amira: A drumroll. Not a tambourine shake.
Shireen: No, but I feel like…Tressa, I feel like you have a tambourine. No? Okay.
Amira: No. Anyways, the torchbearer of the week is none other than the GOAT herself, Serena Williams. Thank you for a magnificent week, a phenomenal career, for everything you have done and you have meant, for all you have inspired. I mean, we're seeing it right now, from Coco to Tiafoe wearing a GOAT sweatshirt and talking about how you winning led him into tennis and made him believe he could. We're watching your legacy unfold in real time. And we wish you the best on this evolution. We cannot wait to see what you do next.
Amira: Alrighty, what's good in your worlds? Lindsay, what you got going on?
Lindsay: I'm enjoying every single second of the hot, drama-filled mess that is the Don't Worry Darling movie. [laughter]
Amira: It is amazing.
Lindsay: If you don't know, this is Olivia Wilde’s movie with Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. I mean, it is just great celebrity gossip. It is just…They all look like they hate each other. Like, I need a play by play on what went down on that set. It looked like Harry style spit on Chris Pine yesterday. Like, like shit is…It’s gone.
Amira: Chris Pine, who looks like a hostage in every single shot you see.
Lindsay: He could not be there…And then of course, like Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde are apparently together, but they won't stand next to each other, because they don't want people to get couples photos of them. But also, that means they're acting like they've never met before. [laughs] And like, that's really awkward. Florence Pugh won't do any of the press for the movie, and that's awkward, although she looks phenomenal. It's just like, I need more. I mean, part of me is really disappointed because Olivia Wilde's directorial debuts have been like really good, and she was getting all this great, you know, acclaim, and now this is just gonna kind of ruin everything. But just like, also just don’t…I know men do it, but like, don't sleep with your leading man during it, it just complicates things. Like, wait a little bit. And also, I don't know, I'm just gonna enjoy the petty gossip. I'm just gonna enjoy it. It's okay to enjoy it. I'm just loving it.
Amira: My favorite thing has been watching another two Americas. Like, all these Black people…This one person tweeted, “y'all just invent new white people every day. The hell is Florence Pugh?” Who I love. I think she's the best actress, I told you this before.
Lindsay: No, but it's so funny.
Amira: But it's so funny, because everybody now has to do primers of everybody, and it is just a wild…
Lindsay: I knew nothing about this until like two days ago. And now it's all I can think about. [laughs]
Amira: Absolutely. I'll go next. So, obviously my what's good was getting to go to the US Open. The atmosphere was amazing. Traveling with Jess was great. And to see Brenda and Martin and Frank, and I saw Ellie Jean, surprised her, and Kurt Streeter, and Howard Bryant, Mary Carillo. It was like a fun reunion. It felt like a summer camp reunion. And I really…You know how I’m big on summer camps. So that was a really great week. We also had a birthday party here this weekend for Zachary. My mom got in like a huge ass bounce house. It couldn't fit in our backyard so we had it in our front yard. It was wild. We had a face painter come. I had my nieces for the weekend. It was chaos. Our house looks like a tornado hit it. But we had a good time. Fun was had, my kid is happy. You know, what more can you ask for?
And classes have started at UT. They actually started two weeks ago, but I've been in denial. So now I will pretend the semester's actually starting. And I really like my class, and…Oh, and I watched Hacks. Finally. I went through two seasons the other day. And I really liked that show and I sobbed at the end of it because I am a big softie, but I really did enjoy Hacks. So, that is one of my recommendations, should you be looking for a new show to binge. Shireen? Oh, wait, sorry. One more thing. I also absolutely wanna shout out one of my many moms, Nancy. Her birthday is this weekend on September 11th. And so I want to send her lots of love and a very, very happy birthday.
Shireen: Happy birthday, mom. Listen to this.
Amira: Is it the sex song song? Because I’ve been laughing about that–
Lindsay: Oh my god, yes! [laughs]
Shireen: It's called Narco.
Amira: Oh, that is not the sex song.
Shireen: A trumpet player. Now, I know I have a, you know, I'm partial to strings. I played the cello for a long time. I love that kind of stuff. But this trumpet is blowing me away, okay? So basically Edwin Diaz is a pitcher for the Mets, went to the mound, but the team brought out Timmy Trumpet to play this live. And it was wild. I'm not a big Mets person. Don't care. I look really cute in this Toronto Blue Jays jersey I'm wearing. It's very sweet. But other than that…But this is life changing. I'm thinking about playing this. I want this essentially as our theme song, wherever we as Burn It All Down go anywhere. I would love that. I was also thinking seriously about having it play as I walk into my classroom this week, which is my segue.
So, classes start this week at Toronto Metropolitan University. I'm teaching three, it's a bit wild. Just a tip to students: please don't email me on Labor Day. I'm a CUPE member, I'm not gonna be checking your emails on Labor Day Monday. Don't email me. Keeners. I appreciate you. Don't email me on Monday. You can email me on Tuesday. Class doesn't start until Thursday. Anyways, all this to say I'm very excited. I also went to Grenada, which was amazing. It's literally the most beautiful place on earth. If you tell me nutmeg from your country's better, I will fight you. I'm sorry. This is the spice aisle. I love this place. It was gorgeous. There was actually a beach called BBC, and it is the most beautiful place on earth. It’s named after somebody used to own a club, Brian B something. So that's why it's called that. I just was like, this is not a real place. It's like a postcard. So, my husband's family was there.
Jeffrey got married, congratulations to Jeffrey and Samantha. I had never actually met Samantha before. So she's walking down the aisle, and there's this like excited hijabi woman going like this…And she’s like, who dat? Like, who's at my wedding? [laughs] I met her after obviously, but anyway, it was tons of fun. And yeah, I wanted to say happy birthday to my best friend, Eren. Her birthday is on Wednesday. She's got a job with the city and I was planning on showing up with balloons and feather boas. And I think I'm not gonna do that because she doesn't want me to do that at her workplace. I don't know why. I was like, you know, thinking about…I have a friend who dresses up as Homey D. Clown from In Living Color. I'm like, that could be a possibility. She's like, please don't do that. [laughs] So, anyways, it's fine.
Other than that, I'm just, I'm excited about the fall. Y'all know this is my favorite time of year. I love autumn. I love the leaves. I love everything. I love the promise of, you know, my birthday season, which also happens to be in winter, but I love all of that. So just generally I'm excited. I'm really excited. It's will be my first time teaching in front of students, like with them, because I only taught online. So I'm very excited about that, to see them in person. And Amira, if you have tips, tell me. If any of y'all have tips, just tweet them at me. I love this class very dearly. I'm teaching sports journalism, and everybody in this show is actually on my syllabus. And actually, Lindsay, you threw me for a bit of a loop, because I had you with another Power Plays when covering the coverage. I love that one, and I think it's really important for sports journalists to understand. But your Brittney Griner recent one…Now, because of you, I was fighting in the system to change it, to add another one. So can you please stop doing that? So, yeah.
Amira: Also I like how you played a song and we just glazed over the fact that I was like, oh, that's the sex song that's trending. You were like, yeah, no, that is not. I'm talking about that thread.
Lindsay: Yeah.
Amira: You know what I was talking about, right, Lindsay?
Lindsay: I know what you're talking about.
Shireen: What's sex song?
Amira: It's the this last thing I'll say. [laughs] There is a Reddit post this guy made where he basically talked about how he felt really unconfident his love making, so he like made a playlist for confidence and for rhythm. For two years, he's been playing this certain playlist, and there's one particular song that really like allows him to climax and is like his favorite song. And he recently found out his girlfriend hates this song, and he's like devastated, because he's like feeling like what happened for the last two years. [laughs] And then he said he'd tried it without the song, but she could still tell that he was thrusting to the rhythm of the song. [Shireen laughs] And all of this is really funny as soon as you hear what the song sounds like. And it has gone so viral that, including the person who made the song retweeting it, that is now the number one song on TikTok viral music charts. [laughs] And now you know.
What we're watching this week. Well, we already told you: lots of WNBA playoffs! We're watching women's soccer friendlies, we're watching the US Open. Thursday night, if we have those Game 5s, they will be happening then. And the US Open women's final of course is on Saturday, September 10th, 4:00pm eastern.
That's it for this episode of Burn It All Down. This episode was produced by Tressa Versteeg. Shelby Weldon is our web and social media wizard. Burn It All Down is a part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. We’re in all of those places. Listen, subscribe and rate the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn – you know the deal, wherever you get your podcasts. For show links, transcripts, check out our website, burnitalldownpod.com. You'll also find a link to our merch at our Bonfire store there. And if you want to become a sustaining donor to our show, please visit patreon.com/burnitalldown. As a reminder, we have special extended and video segments over there this week. Again, Jess, me and Brenda, talk about our experience at the US Open. To get the full extent of this podcast, I highly recommend you checking out our Patreon community. As Brenda always says, burn on, and not out. And we'll see you next week, flamethrowers.