Chasity Melvin

did this fantastic. So I'm not bragging, but I'm I am going as you listen to this podcast, you will find out. Um, I will let you into my life. And so I have a Peloton treadmill. Okay, I love the Peloton treadmill. Huh No, they're not paying us, but I'm just telling you I like the treadmill. And hopefully if I continue to explore how the treadmill is intertwining itself with my life, maybe something to come out of it.

If not, I will be in Paleton. Brought to you by I will be in studio at some time, at some point, though I already have linked up with them somehow, some way and getting into the Peloton studio in New York. So um, so I'm starting to become an avid runner. So I was running the other day and there is this thing. It's a heart rate zone. And his heart rate zone was a power run and it was forty five minutes, and so I'm going in his heart rate and so I'm I know my heart rate and all

that stuff. And I was in a in a UH zone three up for four and we're probably about ten minutes left for this forty five minute run. And we have probably five minutes a run, three minutes of of short bursts, and then a two minute cool down. So that's ten minutes. So we hit the regular five minutes back and go the last two minutes. Let me tell you something, these these last two minutes, this machine is really showing me that it is not just a machine that just sets up in the up in the room.

It is a machine that it can. Really it's given me a perspective of life that I never knew. So this ain't it's a two wheel with coat. This is using it. Yeah, I'm using it. Like so here's how I use it. I got in mid September. I ran about October build up to forty two miles November fifty two. Look at you, right, I'm enjoying the space. But on this treadmill has a big old screen, and then it has two buttons. One button is a stop, and then that stop in the middle says stop. On the right

it says sleep. On the other part of the stop it says wait, just to get it going. Then there's this button that I have not known. I've had a six September. I have not known what this button is for, but I damn show found out this week. I had a moment of discovery. No, I didn't have a moment of discovery. I had a crashing burn on on this button. You know what the word is free? And what's what's free? Please ask me what free is? What's free? Free is

free mode? Yes? That was my mom was going there too. But guess what was no pleasure in this one, bro Free is when the treadmill comes to a complete stop and you now have to make the treadmill move on this You know what I got off that treadmill and these are my words directly off the treadmill. I don't want nothing else for free. No more. I kind of joke around and say, hey, you know you can always get a free bu whipping. But I'm telling you that is I didn't want know, I want no more free ship.

I don't want any more free stuff. It's yes, hey, what you liking? No no, no, no, I have post them out of stress. If you say free, I just flinched, bro. It was so crazy in this free mode is basically you can't you go to a complete stop? Did you run holding the bar and you make it go? And she see that to tell us by your own strength, yes, at what speed we're supposed to go? This is this is like your old school training, like you in the league. You ain't want that. I don't want a free exercise

like that. That that is, let's make money for workout. It's different levels to it. I got off that treadmill. I looked at that treadmill and I flinched at it like I was. It might have in the way it was going, it might have jumped, but it was such an awesome moment because this treadmill is really I'm starting to discover and figure out in this trip, in this world of running, what a recovery run is what a endurance run is is. I am learning how to exercise

without the money carrot being dangled. This is more of a health It's just a lifestyle for me. And I'm extreme workout guys. So when I say extreme, like I've been able to lose five or six pounds in a week, right, I'll starve myself. Then I become angry because I'm hungry and angry. Right I I've been on crashed, I've done all of this stuff, but this this time has really been pretty cool to see. How do I slowly just create good happens? And I'm telling you that free molde

it made me question myself no more. I don't if someone would have walked up to the door, rang the door, be say hey I got a free dozen of donutam right? Don't I don't want any? It was it was crazy, but so think about it in three months. So my question is for the listeners right now, take this moment. What things in your life or person or or household item has been there for years but you never really known is there? You never really pushed that free button

to discover what does this really mean? Look at you dropping knowledge? But I'll take you on the motivational Speaking to It, I ain't free. Hey, who we got next? Coming up on the Cut to It Podcast, We've got Chastity Melvin, an assistant coach with the w NBA's Phoenix Mercury, a star at North Carolina State, and the author of At the End of the Day. Chastity Melvin on the Cut to It Podcast. Chastis, thanks for coming on the Cut to It Podcast. Hope you're doing all right. I'm

doing great. You know, I can't complain. I got back to basketball, I was able to coach, so I'm okay. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Hey, coming up, we have our own version of our Icebergers called get iced Up. So they're gonna be random questions. You have no idea what's coming, may or may not have a follow up. You just don't know, right, So I'm gonna let Steve go ahead and fire off the first question to you. You ready, I was born? Ready, let's go, since you were born?

What's the strangest thing you've ever eaten? Then? Strange? That ain't strange? Chart that was baked? Okay, look at you up? It was bag. How many states have you been to as at least all right, tell tell me a random one that just like, why were you there? Wisconsin? Yeah? I can get that. Are you thinking Wisconsin? I've been in Wisconsin. I know it's Wisconsin is like outside of cheeseheads. Yeah, Wisconsin is one of those places if you've never been

and then you go. It's like when you walk into a store and you realize, uh, whoops, Steve, you couldn't explained it any better exactly. You know. I'm just you know, I'm coming in. I went to a pizza's joint. I just sat down and then I sat there for a while and everyone was staring at me. And then I looked around, like, oh I was I went there. Me and my son went there. The Dodgers were playing the brewery, so we went out there and uh went to a

Dodgers game. Uh, unbelievable stadium. It was. It was remarkable. Then we also went myself was like, hey, dad, let's go to mall, you know, to get a souvenir or something. All right, same thing like that piece of when we walked in the mall. I don't really call it them all so, but it was cool. Okay, when did you first feel like an adult when I first got my first check as a pro and I saw the taxes taken out of it. Oh, that's the way. That is the humbling part of it. I gotta check who is

what's good. I actually called my mother and said yeah. I was like, Mom, that's something wrong with my check. She's like, I gotta give him money. She said, welcome, Welcome to the grown world, honey, welcome to the world. All right, last one, what's your dream job? A dream? My dream job would probably be traveling all over the world, just having campers and clinics and someone else paying for everything in first class trouble. That's my dream job. Oh

so you wanna be a rich kid then huh. I don't necessarily have to have the money, but someone can, you know, fund me, you know, fund my travel, fund all the expenses. I'm not asking for much, Steve. That's not asking a lie, I know it's not. Yeah, I just want to travel around the world, no responsibility, someone else pay dreamers. Yeah, I gotta get it all right, let's get right into it. You really appreciate you coming on and and and we really just want to know

who is Chastity Melvin, Like, why what when where? So, uh, we have some staples that we always go to. And I always love asking this question because the response that we usually get it is always well received. So where are you from? And the place you call your hometown? So my home, I'm from Humble Beginnings in Roseville, North Carolina. Obviously it's a small town right southeast of Fayeville, so fayet nomen as they call it, or whatever Port Bragg

area basically there. You know, my town wasn't even really twelve hundred of people. My graduating class was. I had ninety eight kids and my senior class and I graduated from high school. I can. Yeah, just a very small town. And I came up playing basketball in the dirt rose and you know here I am. So that's the brief story. What's humble Beginnings, man? Because it means different for everybody.

It means different everybody. I'm from the city, you know, I'm from inner city of l A. So different from someone in Lexington, like like gee, Gee's from Lexing to North Carolina. I got back up with me today, careful. Yeah, so my humble Yeah, you know what, Steve, I've I've actually throughout my travels and Obviously, when I went to college, I learned my humble beginnings were a lot different from like some of my teammates that grew up in Jersey

and Newark in different places. Obviously, I was raised by a village, so you know, I felt a lot of love and I always had food to eat, so I was it was, you know, it was. It wasn't anything as a bigger sacrifice as that, but I mean basically growing up, I guess for us growing up in a single wide I had two sisters, two brothers with my mom and dad and a single wide trailer. Um just kind of like sleeping together on top of each other pretty much. And my my dad and my mom didn't

really didn't go to school. But my dad was a minister, so our foundation was based on you know, it's just our faith and um, my parents, my dad. You know, it was just drove us stat station wagon, drove us all around. So we got made fun of a lot growing up. But you know, when the the you know, when the welfare when they had extra food to come, like I had, my mom was sent me out to get the welfare cheese and the extra food that you know, they passed out in Sampson County. So, um, it was

really humble beginnings. Grew up working on the farm with my grandmother, um cropping tobacco, and I knew very early on. I told my grandmother was gonna be doing this when I grew up. So I knew there was only a better life for me somewhere. How did she take that that responds to your grandmother when you said, um, no, she was very she you know, she said, as long as you worked hard and get your education, you can

do what you you know. She she believed in me from day one, and she just told me to give everything to God and give my desires to God. And so she was very instrumental because growing up in the country as a southern girl, I wasn't really supposed to be playing with the boys, and so I had to fight to get on the basketball courts out on the dirt courts, and I remember they wouldn't let me play. So I went to my grandmother. She was kind of the matriarch of the family, and I'll never forget she

came out to the court with me. She was holding my hand and I was scared. I was like, oh gosh, I got everybody in trouble. Grandma's name. Her name was Dixie, but everyone called her mother. Everyone called her mother in the town. So I walked over there and she was like and the guy stopped because they saw walking, and she said, okay, boys. She was like, do we all eat together? And they said yes, ma'am. They was like, well, Chastie doesn't play, you guys won't be eating today. So

I was on the court from then all. Yeah, Miss Dick did Miss Dixie? Did she have how shoes on most of the time. No, But she always wore a dress. She always wores Yeah, she always wore a dress. She never wore pants, So we struggled with that a little bit. I remember coming home for church. I had gone overseas.

I thought I was growing up. I was an adult, and I came to the church with the pants soon all and I'll never forget she she and all her other free as at the church, though, Liken, it was gonna strike like they couldn't believe I walked in church with the pants suit. She the reason why. She sounds like she wore house shoes like she always needed to

be ready and got in case something dropped. We went got that house coach that's missing the tile around, so she gotta hold it like, you know, button together with the fingers pinched together with her fingers thing. I say, she's a looking at you know. For sure she had a rope. My mom's mom was the one that had house shoes and was ready to go. She was my real life media, my mom's mom. And her name was Geebo.

People called her Geebo. Her name was Geneva, so yeah, Gibo was Yeah, you didn't mess with Gibo at all. So are you from a generation of are you that from the time out generation or to go get your switch generation? Now I'm from the go get the switch generation? Yes, very much so. And you got to pick the right one. I got to pick the right one. And if my mom and dad weren't available to get you know, make

me go get a switch. And my grandparents on my aunt and uncle like, I was raised by vility, so everyone had, you know, equal rights to giving you a butt whopping. What experiences? What experiences did you have growing growing up there? I mean outside of you know what you've just explained to us that and and how did those experiences really shape you, um and impact you to see the world today? Basically almost of my experiences are you know, I guess I like idea because, um, she

reminds me of my my grandmother's. But just my faith based being in church all the time, that was my foundation. So my dad was a minister, so I was basically in church Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. We were just joking when I was at home. We would come home and everyone's on our basketball court when we would come home from church, and we had to wait, you know, three or four games to get in on our own court. So just that foundation has carried me. I think it's

just given me a sense of peace. Um always obviously always hope, you know, always having hope, and a bigger understanding that you know, the world is a bigger place, and I could obtained pretty much anything I wanted with my faith in my work ethicum. Growing up under my grandmother's they always woke us up early the crack of dawn. They thought we were lazy if we slept past six o'clock, so you know, they would come get us up over the summer and work in the field. So that's kind

of where I learned about hard work. And I always also learned how you have to work smarter to really make the most money. So they taught me. They gave me a lot of wisdom early on. But just coming from a big family, whether it was playing outside with my cousin's basketball or riding dirt bikes or whatever. Um, just to learn how to play, how to be a team player. And I learned a lot about loyalty and being good to people. Is always going to come back.

So that's pretty much it. Walk this through the process as a young young chastity picking tobacco. And the reason I asked is we're here. We're based here in Charlotte, North Carolina. I live in between and then I live in between Charlotte slash rock Hill. So I'm in between North and South Carolina. Outskirts on the outskirts and there are some back rolls if you could hit the left

to hit the right. The first time out I've ever seen cotton out of outside of a shirt, of a of a package, a cotton ball or swab or some of that has been you know, in the spring and the winter or whatever, wind winds blowing and I'm like, what is this white stuff cotton? And seeing that, So I've experienced a lot of different things here living in

North Carolina. I never experienced back home, and so you give me that opportunity of you know, you've born here in the South and then such a young girl getting up, getting woken up, and your family faith based telling you and teaching you about hard work. Yeah, it was terrible. I'm not gonna lie. My younger sister always struggled because she never quite got out to the fields on top. She's still late to this day, so I don't know she learned much from that. But the momentum, um, no,

it's just for me. You know. It just gave me a sense of what our ancestors went through. I mean it was very backbreaking work. I hated the flies, the farmer's ten and just getting your hands dirty with the you know, getting all the green from the tobaccos, the tobacco worms. I was afraid of the worms. So my cousins thought that was cool to chase me around with tobacco worms. Uh. So, um, you know, we picked cucumbers.

I was joking with someone yesterday, like we made Kate's pickles in mount all of rich because we used to pick cucumbers. And then you know that was like the end of the day, we get all the back of the pick up with my uncles and take all the cucumbers over there and distribute them to Kate's Pickles. And that's how my grandmother got paid. So um, you're like, hey, all that's hard work and this is all we get. And and as young as the kids, we never saw money.

Our our reward was like navs and a coat or a piece of candy from the store and the coat. That's how we got paid. You getting paid through You're getting paid through the labor. Yeah, yeah, more with food. So from our early age, I was like, there's gotta be more. This can't be like we have to take a break and morning any thing. We gotta pay some bills. You got check. I love cut to It and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie

where where at? That's at cut to It on Instagram? What about Twitter? At cut to It? Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr. What about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my answers questions. Um, yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother cut to a

podcast dot com. You've told us a lot about kind of painting the picture of what it's like in rural North Carolina outside of basketball. What are the sports did you play? And you mentioned playing boys versus girls? How How did how did that impact your life playing with the boys playing basketball so early and what other sports were you playing? I played everything. I played everything that we had our high school. I played in middle school.

I played volleyball, basketball, softball, and I ran track. Um. Just being able to play with the boys obviously made me the player I am today, obviously prepare me to be a professional athlete, because I had to be able to handle the basketball i'd be. I had to be able to have a quick release on my shot, or I didn't. I wasn't able to stay on the court.

You know, guys are a lot faster, stronger. They blocked my shot a lot when I first started playing, So I had to, um really developed my game just to be out there with the boys and be able to be successful. So I think that's I know, that's what helped me become not only a great college athlete but a great bro At what moment did you start to think about playing in basketball beyond high school or or starting to play a U When did you take that serious?

I started taking it serious pretty much in the fifth grade. Um there was another, uh, one of my classmates that was taller than me, and he was a guy. He played football, and we kind of just made a pact. He said he was going to be a professional football player, and I said I was gonna be a professional basketball player, even though there weren't professional basketball teams at the time. But I just made that my goal and I fell in love with the game the moment I scored my

first basket. So I went home and told my mother that's what I was gonna do. So I've just been pretty focused. I don't know if it was just because I was young, country, you know, naive girl, but uh, that's that's what. That was my story, and I was sticking to it. So what was your mom's response when you said you wanted to play basketball for a living? She just said, they don't have professional teams here, baby, And I said, well they will when I grew up

and That was pretty much it. That was the end of the conversation because of you or mom, Like who walked away for hers? I did? I said, well they will when I grew up and I walked away. That was it. I was into the conversation. So it's all corner pocket. You're growing up, you're in high school, you your knee deep in basketball. Now. Yeah, men and women's basketball in North Carolina has always been a big deal, right. It's it's always you know, it's it's inspiring, and then

it's the gift. You know what, How was it for you as your love for basketball grew? How was you? How was watching basketball and seeing basketball? How is portrayed here in North Carolina? Men and women like men and women basketball? Back in the day you had what Tennessee North Carolina like, it was some especially to women, it was some baller's back then. Um, I'll never forget. In Fabville, North Carolina, they hosted the a SEC tournament and my uncle told my mom she needed to take me, and

so we went to that a CEC tournament. And I think that was the I guess, like the change the point as far as mentally and um, just really realizing that I could achieve my dream and I'll never forget it. Was Carolina and NC State the championship game, and afterwards I was able to get some autographs from the NC State players and I told my mom, I'm like, okay, I can do it, Like I like driving back home, I was like, that just made it a reality. So I'm a firm believer in Like I know it's cliche,

but people say, you gotta see it. You know, see it, believe it, and achieve it. And once I was able to see that there were so many other females like me that really loved the game, that just kind of solidified my dream and the fact that I could achieve it. And I grew up with my dad and my brothers watching the NBA, so I'm very old school NBA. We were a Lakers family. My dad, my brother loved Matthew Jock, Matthew Johnston. So um, I never really got to see

female pro athletes. Um, but I still held onto my dream and UM so for me, I mean, I still have a very find I mean, I'm very fond of the NBA because I took a lot of my moves from like Karl Malone and Chris Webber and uh uh Tim Duncan inside of the post, like I was still moves from the post. Players like watching the NBA games and that helps shape shape me as a professional athlete as well. So still in the moves. Yeah, the Lakers, So I you know, you know, you obviously with your

upbringing a c green. He was known for being a virgin. So did you like, did you memic his Jerry curl too? No? I did member his Jerry curl? But I did players that I was gonna be a virgin until I got married. Um so I did. I mean I was, and he was you know obviously he did that because of his faith. So that was, Um that was big for me as well.

So I kind of, you know, I kind of admired that, like wow, this and then obviously you always heard the guys talking about heat maying me he maying, So you know, I was caught in between like is it a lie? Or is he really that steadfast? This is cut to a podcast. I'm just gonna cut right to it. I had the Jerry curl. I mean I was like, how many times a day did you sprinch your Jerry curl? Like? Was it? Guys? I got made fun of a lot because I never I hated the the sprints and the

juice stuff. So it's a dry asked Jerry. Yeah, so I was terrible. I don't want to you didn't want to have the juice and berries. No, I didn't want to have to juice some berries. And I was sweating a lot playing and I was like, this is way too much. I think that scarred me for life. But yeah, my middle school years where the Jerry curl was, my middle school years were terrible on up until my tenth grade years. So I was really like, uh, what's the

rapper like back then? Then? Want me now my whole story, you know what I mean? Quite curl all the way over because it was yeah, yeah, we're wrong, all right, so we're moving on. Let's skip over to Jerry Carroll so we don't slip and fall, and let's get up into your career. Right. So, doing all the research and some of that stuff, and I went in there and I just saw some things that I just needed clarification on. It says that you played in the a b L League.

What what is the a b L? So the a b L was American Basketball League and it was the first professional league for women. So a lot of people don't talk about it in the history of the women's game because it was kind of like just I don't know, there was a riff between the A b and the w NBA because a BL felt like they folded because the w b A took all the market sponsorships and

all that stuff, and that's why the league folded. So they were actually played year round in the States before the w n B. A was um creative and I chose the A b L out of college because I wanted to play year round and I didn't I wanted to stay in the States pretty much. How different when you look at when you look back, how different was the A B L compared to the w n B A. Well, I just thought, um personally, for me and I think a lot of the players, like we are slogan was

real basketball and we played with the men's basketball. We played during the regular basketball season along with aside the NBA and college Um, we had fans. Um. It wasn't like a jam packed season. It was just you know, just real basketball, like we played like you know, everyone else. And so for us, we just found pride in that. And it had the best basketball players. And there were a lot more teams um than the w n b A. I think we had at least um, if I'm not mistaken,

we had at least twenty two three teams UM. And it was just great basketball and the players were passionate about it because it was the first league. But unfortunately just couldn't get the sponsorships, couldn't get TV time, and

it folded my rookie season. It folded at Christmas, and that was a really traumatic experience for me a little bit, just you know, learning, you you reach your dream and then it's kind of like taking away and you're just blindsided by like, you know, you get the call from the GM, like we no longer have a league, we no longer have a team, and you no longer have a paycheck, and you know, it's just it was a tough situation. Professionally, you played all around the world, yes,

so where are so many places you've played? And also by playing there, you live there. Um, you know what, so just take us through that first, you know where where around the world, where did you play? You know, did you stay there after the season? Just kind of walkers through that, um through that because a lot of people don't know, maybe they do. Um, there's a lot of European basketball, not just in men's but also in women as well. Oh yeah, definitely. I love playing overseas.

Once the ABL folded, I got the opportunity to go to Spain and that's where I played my first year in Northea, Splain, in the city called Vego and Uh. Then I was fortunately drafted by the w n b A after that season. So that summer I got drafted by the w b A and then from then on it was w n b A in the summer and overseas in the fall. So I played in UM, Israel, Turkey, Spain, Korea, China, UM, Italy. Yeah, I played in Italy. I played in Russia, UM and

I had a wonderful time. My favorite country is Israel. I played there for the most part five years off and on in Israel, so I have family there, my doctor Israeli family. So I was looking forward to going back this year because of COVID. It hasn't happened, but Israel is by far my first favorite country. But I enjoyed. I mean I enjoyed Turkey, I enjoyed it is I enjoyed every country because for me, a lot of people

made fun of me. But I mean I was from a small town and growing up, our biggest dream outside just playing was like, okay, if we can get the New York City. You know, we felt like we made it so for me to be able to travel to a different country and not only play basketball, but live and experience the culture. I took full advantage of it. So I enjoyed pretty much every country. Said Russia, Russia was just Russia was a lot. It was too cold and there was no sunshine, so that was that was hard.

What's the difference in company tension between overseas and then basketball domestically here w n b A. You see a lot of players, like when you coach Diana Tarassi, what is the difference in that in that competition if there isn't well, I mean, obviously we have the best players

you can tell. You can obviously tell that from USA basketball, but there are a lot of talented players in your The basketball is great for me personally, and I think every player from America when you go over there, you are the catalyst for that team making it to the championship. So for me and like dinosaurrocis and different players that go overseas, and the same for the guys, you have all the pressure, like you can't have bad games, you gotta just make it happen game in and game out.

So it's a lot of pressure. So it's basically like it's my team going against if I'm playing against Diana Troci teams, So which American is basically gonna play the best and and develop and make their other teammates look the best. But obviously the European players can play. They're very great offensively, but as far as physically and defensively, you know, they're still a little bit behind as uh

compared to us. But I think that's evolving and that's changing now because so many of the players are coming to the w n b A or they're coming to play here in college, so they're learning the more physical side of the game and defensively, but they're they're well oil machines offensively overseas. So basically you'll go over there and you're the dragon. Back in the day, I would say, I would say, yeah, you know, um, just because we're just it's just mentally tougher. I think it just it

just takes time. As you see now with Luca coming over here, like these younger kids are playing, they're playing more physical and also able to score and do different moves. That um that the games evolved and change. And obviously we've had some players in the d w n B that have come from overseas. Uh, like one of the Brazilian kids killed us in the semifinals. Dantists for Minnesota

links from Brazil and she dominated us. You know, so back in the day that would have been kind of hard to really do for a kid coming from overseas. So now that's changing. So either Americans got really stepped their game up, or maybe it's just that's the way the game evolves. What did you discover about yourself in those places, because you obviously are going to those places. You you have no family. You talked about adopted family, but you're in Russia, you're in Spain. You are not

Roles borrowed North Carolina. You ain't no Italians up in picking cucumbers, no, right. I think that's where my box um became more open. Um. I was more so closed minded because because the NC state wasn't that different from my real town. A lot of um, I mean, it was Riley was still North Carolina's still southern, the southern mentality, the kind of the same ideal. So once I started going overseas, it just really opened my mind and I

couldn't be as close minded as I was before. But as a person as a female, for me, it just really built my confidence as an African American woman. Um, Like I said, I think here in the States and obviously you guys wouldn't really experience this, but um black, being a black female wasn't always beautiful, especially in our natural states. So once I started going overseas to Spain and Italy, I will say, like, they really you know,

I really thought, yeah, they thought beautiful. So I enjoyed that, you know what the female I mean, I just a lot of people say with chat that's because you were a past small player, But I got I got engulfed in the call. Sure, and I think, um, for overseas, there aren't that many Black Americans there per se in general, so for them to experience me in their culture and to you just learn to appreciate and value like opposite

of whatever they've seen on television. Because literally, I mean the Americans that are over there are pretty much the only black American black people there that they see, so you know, they want to touch your hair, they want to like they're watching everything you do and they're just appreciative of it. And then when they realize, hey, you know, you don't act like what we see on television. UM,

it just showed me. UM it just you know, really opened my mind and I was like, wow, like, you know, the stereotypes of us and how it it's all the you know, it goes all the way overseas and and people look at us a certain way when it's and we're totally opposite. So for me, that was kind of mind boggling. And so how would it make you feel? And how will you navigate through it? Now? I just can't being myself. I mean at the end of the day, I kept being myself. And I think they gained a

greater appreciation. I think the great gain to UM great appreciation for other Americans UM inviting them over and now it's like you can have two or three Americans on the team. And so most of the clubs and the organizations UM really follow that pattern and enjoyed have making their teams more diverse. So I think it's a great experience for anyone, Um that can go overseas and and and and kind of get an intertwined with the culture

and they'll learn a lot about themselves. But I didn't speak the languages, and just learning that, Um, there are so many different things that are just understood whether you speak the language or not, like general manners and having a certain sense of respect for the elders and the young people, like that's how the young people treat the older people. It's across the board. So UM, for me, I just learned basketball, spoke all languages, and UM, it's

really bigger than race and um and gender. I think it's about that time, just so we'll take a little breathing. Good do it good? Do it's get down to do it good. Hey Gerard, why didn't you get that T shirt? Oh? Yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you

listen to podcasts. Let's talk bud and when in talking ball, just really give you an opportunity, opportunity to just talk ball and talk shot with us and again, like I said, I don't know. I really don't know basketball that well. And give yourself some more credit, you know, bab, I don't know it to the way I wish I knew it. I'm always impressed and impressed the with how people talk about it, and so I wanted to ask you, Um, why has an analytics become a focal point of basketball

and other in other sports? UM? So much? Well, I just think it provides jobs for people who can't really get into coaching, or can't who haven't played or aren't as successful in the court and player development. Um. I think it's great because I think it does provide you know, I think it's an asset to coaches and teams, and obviously it provides some other jobs for people to be a part of the NBA organization or I mean even college.

I think it's become the focal point because people, you know, as in all professional sports, someone wants to have an edge, someone wants to know something different than uh maybe another organization has, and so that's kind of having a leg up if they can go by the analytics and make it work for their team. UM. For me, Um, I'm not against analytics, but I do feel like some things

can't be measured, and I think that's why right there. Yeah, yeah, I'm super old school, but I've learned it from coaching. I mean, you look at the Miami Heat. Now, Jimmy Butler is still shooting, uh, you know, the mid range. He still has the mid range game. They're still getting

the old fashioned and and once. And that's what I used to tell people all the time, like I'm okay with the three point shot, but it baffles me while you drive all the way to the basket and then you kick it out and then the guy misses the three when you could have still got an old fashioned three point play. So as far as analytics, you can still get three points, you know, the old fashioned way. So for me, I have my little qualms with it. But at the end of the day, it does help

in certain aspects. As I mean, Charles Barkley wouldn't say this, but it does help. Is like if you're in a regular season and they can pretty much calculate, Okay, the Lakers have been on the road for five games. When they come home and whoever travels there, the percentages of these guys shooting a bad percentage or basically they can calculate, you know, how the game's gonna go. Um. For former players, we already know, I mean when we travel, how it's

gonna be. We already know those teams coming into Atlanta probably gonna have an off night. But the reasons that most of the analytics people walk, I won't know why those guys don't always play well in Atlanta, you know what I mean. So um, at the end of the day, you know, players are pretty much like looking at analytics like, Okay, that's not rocket science, like because we just know or Isaiah Thomas for instance, like you know he lost his sister, I believe it was, or you know, we have deaths

in the family, Like, it's not rocket side. You're gonna get lit up by that dude the next game if he decides to play, or that female. Like, yeah, you can't measure the heart. You can't measure just the focus that a player is gonna have. Um. But but obviously it I mean there's you know, it does have its credibility as far as overall giving you a picture of like eight two games season and just the different highs and loads of the team. So there's some good things

with it. But at the end of the day, there are some things that I I believe aren't miserable. What was the draft process for w NBA player, Because you know, obviously with everything going on and television, we see the documentaries, but the w n B A does not have They haven't had that access displayed on the television like you've

seen in other documentaries of higher pink um. So you know, walk us through that process, um, even for yourself and for other players that we don't get to see because sometimes we see it and we just see what the camera shows, which is the glitch and glamour. But there's a lot of things that go on behind the scenes

that we have no idea about. Yeah, there's so many untold stories as a w BA and they're great stories, um, but because of the short amount of coverage we get and just the fact that I don't know if it's networks or just individuals don't want to put a camera on that or don't think it's significant enough. But there are so many different factors affecting female athletes and more so just off the court, um, just as a female athlete, a female in general trying to join um professional sports,

and just kind of male dominated era arenas. UM. So for the fortitude the player, UM, a female athlete has to have just becomes stereotypes and um the different challenges that come with wanted to be a professional ball player. UM, not only from you know, just those in their circle and their culture. I mean black males, black females, like you have a lot of black females are like looking at black UM female athletes like what the hell are

you doing? You know, or like putting certain negative stereotypes on us on the way we looked where our bodies are and um, um you know everything that comes along with that, whether they're straight, gay, whether they're UM, whatever their political activists, whatever they go for. Like there's we're

always being criticized. So I think it would be great to get the behind scene stories of a player getting drafted and everything they've gone through their through their college career on from their high school career to become a pro UM. But it's challenging, and I hope that I just told someone. Being in the wall whole it was an eye opener for me because of everything that's going on in the world, UM with racism and just poor leadership, UM,

police brutality, everything that's going on. Like we were in the wobble, we had you have the male w NBA coaches, we have the female w NBA coaches. We have black, white, we have Australian, different nationalities in the bobble. We have players from overseas. Like I said, then we have you know, your mama, your mothers were there with their baby daddy's. Then we had wives there with their husband and their kids. Then we had the same sex relationships. Um, we had

people of voicing UM using their voice for activism. And then we have people from the league office that were also in the wobble. So for me, I said, Wow, this is the US, and this is as diverse as you can get, you know. And for me, just the total respect and admiration that everyone had for each other was beautiful And if the world could be like that,

it would be an awesome place to be. So for us to get to experience each other on and off the court and see the different dynamics day in and day out, because we all were in that in that bubble together, at the hotel, at the lodges, at the pool, eating dinner together. Um, it was a beautiful thing. So I hope ESPN or someone was there with cameras to kind of get that and hopefully they can make a documentary of it because it is um. I think it

would you know, opens up people's eyes a lot. Two different type of women we have in the league, not women also, but just to me, and we had great men coaches there as well that were very supportive. I love your illustration and your analogy of how everything was essentially under one roof when it came to the bubble or the bubble. How did you protect your mental psyche

while you're in that bubble. They had resources for us, but I think it was just, um, just having that camaraderie and being able to talk to each other, giving our players, just still giving them a day to themselves, um, whether they just wanted to hang out by themselves because you know, obviously you're seeing the same people every day that could be overwhelmed me too, and not just kind of having to put on when you were kind of like just down or feeling like I gotta get out

of this bubble. You know, like some nights I'd be like I just got to drive somewhere. It's like you can't do it. Um. But there were a lot of a lot of sponsors. People did different things virtually with the players, so, um, they had a lot of things online. A lot of people were sending them free gifts and uh, free makeup, free hair products. So the females are spoiled

a little bit. We were spoiled a little bit. Well, I would say we'd because the coaches didn't get it with the players got a lot of I would sneak down there and be like, I was a forward player, but they got a lot of great gifts to you know, kind of make their day, you know, by surprise. Um. And then once the game started just kind of started flying by once the game started. So I think Men's everyone was just made it through. But there were a lot of resources for them to have people to talk to.

All Right, we chastity. Our Our last segment is called the Deep Three, and these are just three questions that we asked to go beyond the jersey, to go beyond the court. And so what we're gonna do is go ahead and set this up for you to me is gonna give you the first question, but it's really to just take this to a deeper level and get a better understanding of Chastity. Okay, well, Chastity, you talked about

your faith. You talked about Grandma Dixon and how, um what she was, and how your dad and your mom, how you were raised faith based. When is it time of your When was it the time of your life where your faith was tested? Um. The first time my faith was tested, I believe, is when I encountered a relationship with with that of the same sex, and up until that point I had never engaged in that. And once I told my friends about did I for never forget? I actually called my ex boyfriend at the time and

I told him what happened. He was like, You're gonna go to hell. It was so judgment I could laugh about it now, but it's it really hurt my feelings. Um but um, just being raised in the church and how people started, um reacting to my parents and to

me per se. It was just I get where people say Christianity is so judgment people are so judgmental, and um, the fact that everything I had did up there and the fact that my personal relationship is my personal relationship just kind of went out the door, and it was just like, You're going to hell? What are you doing? So for me. My faith was tested, and I had

a huge battle. You know, as far as everything that I thought I knew about God and I thought I knew about my faith, was just like, I don't want this. If this is what my faith is about, I don't want it. But obviously it also made me closer to God. And it made me learned just how much God's love for me is so real and um and ever since then, it's just it's been on a pop in DJ rocket, you know, Jesus rocks and I am forever God's child and I am I'm always promote my faith and I'm helping.

I want to help others that are challenged, um in any realm of their Christian waw Um Like I look at some of the rappers now Chance the Rapper and um Lacree and how the church did them and how they still you know, spread their music regardless you know what people think about it, because it's all about a personal relationship. And so my faith was truly tested. Um. I disengaged from the church. UM, I had a rift

with my family. But at the end of the day, it made me stronger and it made my faith stronger. Now you said you were you said it hurt your feelings? Yeah, what what Obviously outside of them saying you're going to help what particular if if it's if it's okay for me to ask what was what particular thing or singular multiple things that they do or say that that that hit that chord that made that wound. I believe, you know, the wound was more so when I talked to my

ex boyfriend. It was like, I told you guys, I wanted to wait till I got married. And obviously that wasn't an issue with my boyfriend. You know, I was still gonna go to heaven if I I was with them, you know, even though we weren't married, and you know, just seeing a lot of the um, the negativity that I mean, I saw a lot of guys doing a lot of stuff. Obviously I hung out with a lot

of guys. I was friends with a lot of guys, but it was okay for them to do certain things and not pay respect to the women or you know, just and I never judged people. I never I was never looking, but it was just like when that happened to me, it was like all this stuff people are doing and you know, I'm the bad person. For it.

So Um. I think that's why the wound was so big because um, you know, I had expressed my faith so much, and I had allowed my friends and my family and people in my circle to be who they were, you know. Um, and so once I felt like wow, I did something that was basically out of my realm or people didn't see it coming. Um, it was just the end all. And so for me, I think that's

why the wound was so big. Like I think if I would have had a baby, or if I would have dated a married man, or I could have done anything else and it wouldn't have been as bad as that. That's so that was that was that was pretty challenging to deal with. And how were those relationships today? They're much better today, I will say they're much better today. And I believe they're much better today only because of the God in me and that they saw that God

because of my faith. Is because my faith is so strong, Um, that they're just I think, like I like I tell people all the time, you don't have to preach someone to become a Christian. You don't have to be like um, you know, port put God on people or anything like that. Like God is bigger than all of us, and so what he does in my life is just going to be seen by others in their own way. It's nothing

I have to do. So I think down the line, people saw that and my dad, UM, I think the breaking point is and my dad and I had a conversation and you know, we really talked about it from a faith standpoint, and UM, everything just kind of changed after that. So it's much better. M What do you hope a young girl that's in Roseberg today that wants to play basketball experiences differently than what you did? Um,

Just to love themselves no matter what. UM, don't feed into the stereotypes, and just they get out of their own way. UM at the end of the day, And that's why I wrote my book. At the end of the day. I spoke a little bit about it in that book as a short read. But UM, God created us, each of us with a unique talent. And I believe some people feel like they don't have a talent or they don't have a gift. But everyone has a talent

and a gift. So for that young girl of that young boy growing up, you know, figure out what your gift is, which your talent is no matter how big or how small. But um, what you do with that talent a gift is your gift back to God and you know He'll give you a platform to use it to the best of your ability. Mmm. Final one, you talk about your family, but you know, Um, for me, Uh, you know, my mom and dad are still alive, but

my grandparents had a huge impact on me. And I could tell very much so that your your grandmother had an impact on you. What would you want to hear from Grandma diction right now about the woman you are today? From both my grandmother's Jeebo and Dixie, Just that they're proud of me. Um, that's it. Um my parents, I have great parents, Um, and I am very I am who I am today because my parents and sacrifices they

made and the foundation they built for me. But my grandmother's were they kind of raised me in a way because I was so different and I think, I mean grandmothers just loved their grandkids differently, so we're special in their eyes no matter what, as opposed to Mom and Dad are mad at you for mistakes or how they think you should be my grandmother's you know, me chasing

a basketball and not being in the kitchen cleaning. They still loved me and respected me for who I was, so I think that was instrumental and for me, I would just love to hear them say they're proud of me. And I took advantage of a lot of opportunities that they didn't have. My grandmother's barely finished high school. They worked hard all their lives up to seven years old. They never flew on the plane. I regret not taking them on the plane, but they were scared to get

on the plane, so that was hard. But so for me to have all these opportunities, I just would love to hear them say they're proud of me, and I'm sure they are. I literally can talk to you for the next five hours because you have so many nuggets. You have so much wisdom, but you also have so much experience and you've seen the world. Thank you so much, and thank you for your time, um, and actually thank you for who you are. Absolutely, thank you. Thank you guys.

Thank you Steve. Keep being you, you guys, keep rocking it out. She said something that stuck out to me. She talked about basketball, speaking across all languages and basically being a conduit for so many different people. What's your

reaction to that. Do you feel basketball or any sport is every sport because when you're playing basketball, unlike when you feel out of application, either for job, school, whatever the case may be, you have to put so many things race age, address, blah blah blah blah blah, like all these things. And then in basketball you just play right.

You could be the tallest, shortest, you know, not the fittest, whatever the case may be, but your race age, none of that stuff matters, doesn't It's can that female or male, tall or short put the ball in the hoops. We may not know the scheme of basketball, but you know the object is that team has to outscore the other teams put the ball in the correct And but what really, what really stood out to me the most is her talking about her trip overseas and just seeing and learning

about herself. And then she said something that was interesting that we've heard from a lot of athletes is she had no confidence going overseas and and she gained confidence in herself as a black female. She's already they are paying her, they bought her flight, they put it on the airplane, they flew her over. And yet she still has no confidence. Yes, And I thought that was really cool.

I love the transparency. I thought that was excellent. I also was intrigued about her different um how going all these different countries with a shape that molded her to where why she's probably gonna be a head coach pretty soon in the w NBC because she has so much diversity. She has such a great history um with people that she has the ability to connect right. She I can imagine based off she She's wroting a book, She's done

all these things, right. She's the type of person, well I call it a social butterfly that you get jealous like she always can just she seems like she can spark up a conversation with anybody, right and just be the life of the party no matter what I'm And I'm always jealous of those people because I don't have that confidence in me to be able to do that. I'm like, man, maybe am I gonna say something stupid? You know? Stepping outside? Yeah, stepping on outside of yourself.

She she does that very well. Um, we didn't get into it, but she has been she's assistant coach. However, she has been asked to speak to the team at times in critical situations, just very rarely is the assistant coach the voice of the team. So a lot of big personalities, solid Brittany, So that says a lot about her. It does. So I we were it was a treat for us. It was. It was definitely it was a snicker doodle right there, right it was. It was really

a treat for us. So I enjoyed that. And her talking about her grandparents and talking about her humble beginnings really really cool. You are a unique person. You are well worth it, you are competent, and most of all, your lovable. I'm Steve Smith Singer, I'm Gerard Little John and this is cut to It. Cut to It with Steve Smith singor That Is Me is a production of Cut to It, LLC, Ball Tool, Creative Media, The Black Effect,

and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, Singer, co host Gerard Little John, talent in booking manager Joe Fusci, social media team Wesley

Robinson and John Show from Balto Creative Media. Cut Too It is produced by Brian Balta Chevic and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrec, Production manager Sarah Pollock, Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard about it, then we're about to let you know. It's all