Jennifer King

you put your glasses on. My wife for my birthday lass no. Two months ago in December, whoa, whoa, whoa? Did you almost forget your own birthday? Remember what was there? So for my birthday, my wife got me the my heritage shout out to shout southside hot point. She got me the my heritage thing. So they do the DNA swab where you have to do the cotton ball, the cotton swab or whatever is it like the test like the know you don't put in your nose, didn't you

swab your you swab your cheeky? So they give you two of them, put them in the vals. You ship them off. So I literally got my results back May about two days ago. Would you like for me to read them to you? Absolutely, so I'll get hit. A

matter of fact, I'll get to the point. The most talent thing that I found out about this is that while most of my heritage over six is from Africa, range which from ranging from Nigeria to see her really on to Kenya to which part of you don't tell me all that, but you're trying to get way too specifics, don't You don't give all that. I don't give you all that. I don't know if it's got that kind of capable. If you're gonna do it, don't go all out.

I think it's more to see your paychecks. It's more to the to the get the goal level capabilities. There ain't no levels to it. It ain't no level. It's always it ain't no levels to this is my hairtage game. Any who, it's some of my families from Ethiopia. So I did the twenty three and me had the had the North African in there. Okay, but what was most surprising is most tail I'm thirty three white, say it ain't so it's so you know, what that Actually, it's not.

I'm light skinned, so it ain't. I didn't go into this thing, but I didn't. I didn't think you're thirty three percent, didn't need so now that you're thirty three percent, tell me a few things just bang pop up in in your head. When you discovered your thirty three percent bank, I wanted to go to the bank and see if maybe I could get a very special rate four anything loans anything. What you mean special rate? The rate you have right now currently is not good? What all this though?

Maybe I would be able to get something sense. I am now part of the Caucasian heritage. I thought there may be some sort of I call up Joe Memphis. I call it backstage, and I'm like, bro, can you believe what? So what you called Joe up first instead of me? Well, you're not white? You know the black experience I'm trying to understand. I'm trying to understand more of the white hair dig right. So I actually call up my man Joe, and I'm like, hey, Joe, you

will never forget this. I did my DNA test and it tells my third three percent white verbatim. And we just we just brought backstage Joe up. So of course my answer was welcome to the team. That is, how is the A step going right now? Well, I wasn't. I was gonna have Gerard come to the house and teacher,

but apparently he came down. It dis qualifies you. So so all the folks out there that that maybe follow us on social media, maybe about a month or so ago, we post some adolescent pictures of Steve adolescent adolescent, say it with me. It's just the way it came out. I just was wondering where you have to start talking like that big words so and I told you you're getting and I told you he's still saving me per six No, no, no, no, that's sixty seven sixty seven.

But I'm I'm I'm actually kind of his sature looked like Bruno Mars and I thought it was and I didn't know obviously he was taking this test. And then when it came back, I was like, holy cow, and he's one of us, Gerard, little John, well not actually, David. Now you're pushing now when I put the Stevens out of my pocket, we're going to d them already. Get that change. So I asked, I'm like, hey, how does it feel to be like a card carrying member. Now

I've made a few calls. Man, he's still under investigation. If you got the gold package Ebony, it had been better, but that silver package and giving us the details. So anyway, so ask me some other things, other things that I thought. I was like, yeah, other things. What it's gonna be like now when I get pulled over? Can I can I say, hey, officer, you know what I can't do that? You could try that if you won't gonna work. I think I think it has a little bit of a limit,

don't it. Favorite basketball player now, Larry No, you're not. No, Kurt Rambiser, Chris Muller, why are you profiling? I was trying not to do like all the international guys. I was gonna say, Luca Duncan, but I mean, you can't really go down. No, you can't know, you can't go that around anymore. No before but some real stuff though it was it was one of the best birthday gifts that I have received because you know, has nothing to do with it, but honestly, it's finding out where you

come from. It's finding out kind of where your roots are. Because one thing I think I've mentioned this actually in our podcast with with c J. So Pale was that he has this broad lineage of history and knows where he comes from, not just from a country, but from um even all the way down to what tribe all that stuff, and it's so cool and from from my family.

We don't have that, and so my family is relatively small, and all I really know is that most of my folks came poured it in from Charleston and where slaves and settled in roughly around like the Gaffney, South Carolina area. So to have even this little bit, now, this isn't a this isn't a family tree type of thing. It really is like, hey, here's your makeup of your DNA, but just to know, like, man, this is where I came from. For me, it's actually really really cool because

I just have never had that before. So this is actually one of the more cooler things that I've ever done. And it's really probably the best birthday gif I had. We've joked a lot or whatever, and we're making fun of it. I hope I don't lose my black Affelt

contract now, but it is really really cool. Now you're not gonna lose it because I mean just even the fact that I know, even the fact, you know, just discovering all that, and you know, I think sometimes there is some skepticism with people on are they trying to gather your DNA or information to track and all that stuff. But it's more I know, but it's just more of understanding it. But I can tell you this. You come back,

you know on the heritage thirty three percent. But I could I could have told by your beer, No, brother, you got that African American nation. No, it wasn't it. This gout. All of that is just like, I know what, it's cool. You know what. I honestly knew that I'm pretty light skinned. Who hasn't seen before I'm pretty light sking, so I knew, you know, I wouldn't. I wasn't batting the thousand when it came to be fully black, so

I knew something else was in there. It's just a matter of man, well that's that's exactly way from from French and German and all this different stuff. It's actually pretty cool. It's actually know from which you come from. I don't know. For me, I thought it was really cool. So we made some jokes. It's really cool. I will not try this with the police stuff. Just being honest. I'm not trying that. I like my co host. Hey who we got coming up on the Cut to It podcast.

We've got Jennifer King, the first black woman to become a full time coach in the NFL. A former football player herself, she also coached women's basketball. Jennifer King on the Cut to It podcast. Get Iced Up. Now, that's our version of Icebreakers. Smithy's got some random questions. There may be a follow up. It might be an open ended question, might be a multiple choice question. I got no idea. You don't either. Go ahead and for the first one. All right, here we go. You ready, man?

It is a open book tests about you, so if you fail, it's your I got you, all right? So, waffle cone or cake cones? Uh? Waffle? Yeah, white waffle. I don't know. It's kind of classic. It tastes a little better, you know, with the ice cream at the end. So I think that's why I like it. I do love cake conbes. I don't know why they're not bad. I'm not trashing them, but you know, it gave me

a choice. You gotta shoes, you do you? You know, obviously with the pandemic and everything going on, do you like, let's go pre COVID dining in or take out? I'm on a dining in person. You know. I like to get the whole experience. I'm kind of foodie, so I love to go to different spots, so I like to have experience. Okay, so you your foodie, all right, So what's your what's your favorite food? There? My favorite food? Like this is go It's not gonna be a foodie food.

But I love pizza, like all different kinds, so I like to try. Yeah, okay, what kind of pizza? Right? You know, A foody answer would be something like fancy, but just you know, just keep it, keep it real with you man. Okay, so what kind of piece? What don't you like on your pizza? I like a bunch of stuff, so like I don't really like onions, but pretty much anything else can go on it, like the Supreme, just put everything on it, edgies, everything like that. You see.

You don't know, but I love pizza. There we go when I love pizza, like I have pretty much during the football season and off every Sunday, we have pizza like pizza do favorite? So you don't do the frozen pizza. Hunh. You have a whole contraption, right, Yeah, I have a pizza oven at the house that I built this pizza. No, it's not your average pizza. It's a I got it, uh built ship and put together. And I can make pezze when I say pizza, like I make my own

dough hift boy, shift boy. All right, last question and we out of this one. A. What's hard of the coach? Offense, special teams or defense? Oh? Man, that's tough. Um, I know that's a tough one man, just because they all have their difficulties. Um. I would probably say offense, you know, just because I'm a little question, just because now there's so many things defensive can throw at you. Um, you know, especially working with running backs, you know, protection wise, sometimes

you get surprised by stuff and exotics. Did they saying? So? I would just say offense for that reason. But you know, defense is a beast. Two now with all these crazy offenses out here. I asked that because of no owing, each individual position, like special teams, is his own animal.

And it how simple special teams look on the game, and how difficult getting a middle linebacker who's a backup to be able to swivel his hips and move covering a running back or wide receiver at L three running full speed, Like that's not a you can't just happenstance on doing that. Oh, he's just a special teams player, as if special teams is not just as important as

offensive defense. To your point, all that stuff is important, Like you're not just running down on kickoff, just like it's all orchestrated, right, there's schemes to it, their schemes to kickoff, return their schemes to a way. It's like that's always chatman people, he's just a special teams player.

What what does that mean? And you gotta get a special team player who maybe that was not their expertise because they were starters in Kyle It and hey, the guy that is playing their position is a starter pro bowler and they can't beat that man out, and so they gotta be on this on this on the field.

Getting that individual to understand keeping his assignment as a backup on defense, but making sure that individual understands the gravity of being a contribute on special teams is the difference between you making a career or you out here looking for another job. You're still getting justice. You may not be getting as many snaps as an offensive defensive player, but you're still getting snaps. You're still getting playing time, you earn your opportunity to be the backup. All right,

you're ready. So let's let's get down to who is Jennifer? Yeah, that's good, all right? All right? So what's what sport or sports did you watch as a kid? Uh, the big sports for football and basketball. So we were always watching college NFL, going to high school games, um for all of them. And you know, the NBA finals were big for us, watching the playoffs. So football and basketball were the biggest things in our household. You know who

your teams? Oh man, it was tough. You know. I like the Hornets because they were close, but uh, you know, obviously was rooting for the Jordan Bulls too, just because you know it's Jordan's But football wise, you know, I liked Washington and to the Panthers came and then you know, I was in North Carolina, so I jumped over to the Panthers. That's a real North Carolina answer, right there. Washington fans then then they then they contributed, they slid

over the game Panthers fans. So where are you from in the place you call your hometown? Yeah, I'm for Reesville, North Carolina. It's a little small town near Greensboro. Uh big for sports. Um our football team in Reesville has won like twenty state championships. I went to I went to Rockingham County down the street. But back back up, back up, back back back back. You can't flex when in state in North Carolina? Did you ever play independence?

They're not in the same classification. Yeah, I went to Rockingham. But the reason what, don't run for anybody? So come on now, yes she did. They got twenty of things Reville in three six a. Oh yeah, they took some names for sure, Which which names? Give me? Give me somebody that came out of what is this? What is it called? Drune Simpson? Drune Simpson. I have no idea who that he played for for the Bengals. He's the one that did the flip over the guy into the

end zone. They still play it a lot. He went to other than that one highlight? What else did he He was in the league for like six years? Yeah, six years? He also you know I can go there he did, Okay, So who else besides him out of those twenties. Yeah, they had a guy named named Brown. He went to the Eagles while back. Really good basketball players coming out of Reesville. They got one now actually this he's ranked in football and basketball. But he's gonna

go play basketball and see state. What's his name, Brian passed. I will look out for him, all right. So growing up in your hometown, how did it shape your perspective on the way you see life today. It was kind of crazy, just because it was such a small place. So um, you know, I remember as a kid going to like the city's like Greensboro, Charlotte or Raleigh, thinking I had like saw the world, you know because I

was from this little town. So they see those things at a young age kind of helped me develop now, you know, just the experiences that I had. And it sucks because there's a lot of people for Reesville that's still think that way. You know, they're in that small town mentality and you know, going to Myrtle Beach is it for them? Exactly? Like if I get up a Myrtle Beach, I'm getting paid to be there or something's going wrong. Man, Myrtle Beach slander is at all about

Myrtle Beach, going to Myrtle But I'm with Jennifer. I mean, you're growing up a small town. Once you got to pleasure, that was the destination back then, Like all right, we're gonna go to Myrtle Beach and then you actually leave and you get a taste of the world. Now, say in South Carolina's not the world. You get a taste of the world. You're like, what have I been? Nothing?

We might have lost some sponsorship with you. I don't think we've got to get the visit Myrtle Beach, ads, and you might wanna take that off the list back stage, Na, I don't think they're gonna come through. Oh well right, I've been declined in better places. So, Jennifer, where did your love for sports come from? Who introduced you to sports? It was kind of a collective effort. Man. My whole family was in the sports. So I used to watch games and my dad, my sister played, my cousins played.

You know, we were always playing in the backyard and football and basketball, so um. It was kind of a collective thing. You know. Sports were just always around and I was always playing something so um pretty much ever since I remember, you know, I've been playing sports and it was kind of just be an athlete. What sports were you really just like in love with that? You just everything you did. It was like if I do this,

I'll get better in this sport. So you know, just growing up as a kid, what sport did you just just attach yourself with? Yeah, I mean it was basketball and football. Um, you know I played a lot of football in the backyard and at school, and um, you know, I was I wanted to be really good at football. I was like wow, like I was just throw my body around, just like I see people doing the TV. So you know, we didn't play tad. You know, we were tackling as little kids. So yeah, and then you

know basketball of course. Um, you know, my sister played my cousin's place. I always wanted to be better than them, so I was always trying to get better. And I would go to the gym and be there for hours and hours. You know, they're trying to get better. We have to take a break and the morning anything, we gotta pay some bills. You got checked. 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. I think this is a

unique question because I'm a dad. What's the dynamic when you wanted to play and obviously your girl? So we I want to highlight that and also talk about to some degree talk about the stigma of girls playing guy's sports, especially at a young age, because I've used to do I used to do football camps when I did play and I and I one thing that I always noticed that was really cool is you always got two or

three girls. But these two or three girls were always excellent players because they most most young men playing sports, they lacked the detail. But that that girls that played they always knew that they had to have the fundamentals because some girls or just physically not as strong or not as fast as the counterparts as the counterparts, And so what was the dynamic between mom seeing you play

football and dad seeing you play football? Yeah? That was that was funny because you know, when I got to like middle school and even high school, you know, the coaches were like, you know, like I think she can help us. You know, so I was I was trying. I was trying, but you know that was like nah, like they printed my parents streamers let me do anything else and supported me except for playing football that they were worried about, you know, me getting injured. So I

didn't get to do it. So I still just played in like pe and you know, in class. But that was it pretty much until I was an adult. So did they ever tell you that you that you can't. No, they never told me I couldn't. They just didn't sign me up for allowing me to do it because you know, they were worried about me get injured. So that was prettymu sh it. Not that I couldn't do it, It

was just they were concerned. And I like that big because obviously I'm a dad and I played football, and you know, I remember I wasn't working on Thursday night and I was watching, but I was watching Thursday night because I had to take notes and I had a show to do the next that following weekend, and because of that, I was watching the Thursday night and I remember sitting there watching Ryan says he got his injury. And I can remember, like yesterday, my wife goes, My wife,

Angie goes, that's why I won't bamm playing football. And I got sold. I was a little bit irritated because I had to walk. I paused it and I walked Boston through what happened and why it happened. Not the sport her natural reaction, which I agree with. It's a brutal sport. That's why I wanted to play what as a dad, I had to go, No, it's not the sport necessarily, it's the participant in that sport that increased

the chances of his probability of getting hurt. On the way he did something, and we went back through it and I walked him through it. And from that moment on, I had told my son, for you to play this game. If you can't see, if you don't see what you hit, you don't hit it. And on that particular play, and I played against Ryan. He's a hell of a football player, but also like anybody else, you can have that centimeter of air, put your head down and it can cost

you something. I broke my neck in college. I put my head down. The two people hit me exactly on the same shoulders, and I had a C four burst fracture. And I was in a neck harness for about seven or eight months to the point of where I had to lift. When I got out of neck harners, I had to lift and improve my support around my shoulders. I didn't have a fusion surgery, but I had to left every time until a long time. And I never told anybody what I'm saying that now is probably for

the first three or four years of my career. Any time I would turn abruptly wright or left, or if I didn't lift that week, I would get a stinger that would go up my neck. Wow. And I had to but I that's all I did. I wouldn't left much, but I get them tracks right right, and and and and the reason I got injured, here's why I got injured.

Rob Morris was a linebacker for b y U. We had to win that game and go off to the Vegas Bowl to play eventually a team led by Freshnel State by David Carr, and I was playing proper return and Rob Morris was a potential first round draft pick. He end up getting drafted, I think UH in the first round, fourteenth or something pick. And Rob Morris played on special teams and I saw him, so I was

gonna dip on them. And the same way I played, I tried dip on Rob Morrison, the same way I tried to beat New Mexico when I played against UH Brian Url. I wanted to show this little kid from l A complaining the league. It was my It was my opportunity to showcase what I could do for scouts because I was not getting looked at as much after things giving. I was about, you know, in in in college,

and I remember I tried to dip on them. I was on the sideline on our sideline going down and in pro vote going down the sideline, and I was like, I went to dip on them, dip my head. The other guy did not see hit. They both hit both shoulders simultaneously bang back in the day. I'm like, man, my neck is tight. So he took me out for a few plays put some big gay on it. Some free bio freeze wasn't in yeh, that old man smell put that on there. Finished the game. It's called that

bio that uh, that that bio stuff cream of Jesus. Yeah, that's left the cream of Jesus on. So I go on there, man, and we finished the game. And it's called the Holy War. In Utah, they always play by you and b y U and Utah always play around Thanksgiving. Mom was in town. We won the game. We're going to the Vegas Bowl. And I'm a self adjuster self just he is somebody to try to adjust. I don't go to Kyra practice. I'm Kyra port. So I'm trying to adjust my neck. Man, I gotta creek is getting

stiffer and stiffer. We go to the doctor. I go. Doctor said, man, my neck is stiff, is getting worse and worse. They do an X ray. We're just gonna do it routine. Next way. Man, before I get ten minutes down down the street, you need to come back. You guys, before a birth fracture broke my neck put me in the harness, didn't get to play. If you go back and see the Vegas Bowl. You'll see me. I'm holding up trophy and I was in the neck brace.

You know, career and in in in question, are you saying then that you believe you got injured because you had just a slight decrease in the fundamentals. You forgot the fundamentals at that point? Is that what you're saying? Absolutely, I got, I forgot. I didn't not have the fundamentals. I knew the fundamentals, but I re I reacted and I did I did not see what I I hit, and so it that's what happened. And so when you have these camps, typically, these these young women that are playing,

they they don't miss the building on the fundamental. They have so much fundamentals they they honed in and every I did. I did three or four camps every year for eight years. I did them all and not this isn't a Bragg. I did them. I had the honor of doing them on military brick basis. So I've done camps in Hawaii, Frankfurt, Germany, Camp Humphreys in South Korea, down to Fort Bragg. And it's still a constant, and

it does not I don't care where I go. There's always three or four girls who who have the fundamentals, and I just think that's awesome because yes, they may be not all someone more. There's a few girls. I remember I was in element Sico and I saw a girl named Felicia, just Molly woppa, dude, soar put the polls on, put whole eight piece right bucket, coach law too, the side with the PHW punch. And I've seen some of the you know, some girls who are bigger than guys.

What the fundamentals? Man, some some young men just they athletically gifted, but they lacked the fundamentals. Je, what would you adge to that in terms of fundamentals and young women in sports? Yeah, I think he's absolutely right. I mean, you look in basketball, you know it's not it's not a lot of dunking going on, but the fundies is big and women's basketball and just how the game is played.

So it's it's two different games. But I do think, you know, women are really good at the fundamentals of sport. What was your playing for college? Oh? Man, it was it was kind of crazy because, um, you know, at that time, I was playing a bunch of sports in high school and um decided to play basketball and hopefully

softball in college. So and there was it was some bigger schools like men majors that wanted me for either, but neither wanted me for like both, like basketball didn't want me to play softball softball didn't want to play basketball. So I end up going to it like a D three school both, Right, I had a great visit. Uh it's a really good, you know, high academic school. So I went there and played both. Good career guilt for college.

You had the opportunity to play both. So that leads me to believe the academic workload and playing two sports, how did you manage that? Always been a busy person, you know, growing up. Sometimes I would have three different practices, like after school for different sports, so I wasn't always doing the most so to have that, it wasn't that big of a deal for me to play two sports in college as an unpaid uber driver myself speak on it for the rest of the pea ridunculous and sometimes

I don't even I don't even get the thanks. It's like brank go here. Yeah, that's exactly how it was. Now, Jennifer called out your flax a little bit earlier. Now I gotta, I gotta poor her. Call bullis. She's second all time and points scored for Guilford College women's basketball. So she had all these practices, but she was still put in the work. Oh for sure. I mean I was. I mean I didn't put in all that work to go out there and score, you know, five points a game. Man,

So I was. I was lucky to always be able to score the ball. So um, I had a good time at Guilford, was fun while getting her bachelor's sience in sports management, and she got her masters from Liberty. So she's as athletic as academic, best of both worlds to shape, I see it. And yet all of that you decided to go. It's a journey. But it's a journey that I just mean that is because you have all this information. You also coached. I want to go

down that path you were coaching. Also was a police officer, you know, as as they saying, you know, back in the old in Living Color, right, she got she's a lawyer. Yeah, I get that all the time. Man, My friends are savages.

So she'll take us through that. You you you end up being, you know, playing balling out a guilt for college, and then you start coaching the basketball team, you know, started coaching the basketball team, and then you coach that Greensboro College, you know, Lou Lou cool ten years, ten years and also doing what else? Why are your coaching? I was, I was a cop man, yeah, on the on the south side of Hot Point, to see what it was my wife point, So I definitely knowing and

explains it all because m is about that action. A bunch of hot people in hot Point are about that action. And I'm sure Jennifer could tell us. But when when did you start getting the I guess to back all of it. When did you know as you were finishing your career at UH at Guilford, when did you know you want to become a coach? I mean, you know, we started to leave finished college. You gotta do something,

you know. So I knew I went to be in sport, and I had some contacts already, and I one of my guys to end up being a mental for me, offered me a job at Greensboro. So that's how I ended up coaching and got into it. So, um, just to stay in sports, you know, keep that that competition, you know, as an athlete, you know, when you're done, sometimes you have to find a way for that to find that drive, that rush. So that was the next

best thing for me. Tell us and walk us through some of the things with everything going on, because I want you to speak about some of your experiences as a police officer also as a woman of color that serving the community and what you experienced, because I don't know what you experienced. I don't know what it was

like for you as a police office. So how you handle people, what you what you saw, what you didn't see, what you can identify with now being out of you know, being out of the of the role of being a police officer. And I just want to give you that platform, that opportunity because I don't know what you experience. Only you do. But you also know a lot of things about your role that I have no idea about. Yeah, I mean it was crazy working on the on the south side of our point, you know, we it was

a lot going on. Um, you know, heroin was big at the time, so we had a bunch of heroin problems with overdoses almost every day. Um, you would go to and just stuff in general. You know that the gangs and the the drug game was crazy, and um, I think I definitely now see things from both sides, um, because I've been profiled before. But I also you know, been a police officer at the same time. So um, you know it was it was a good experience for me.

One thing I'm thankful for. I think our training and high Point was as good as it gets, you know, like we went above and beyond the required States training, which is not much, you know, and I think a lot of people, if they did that or had the resources to do that, they could be a lot better because you know, sometimes I see things happen and I'm just like, oh, man, I can't believe they did that, or like we never would they did it that way.

But you know, everybody's trained differently, so you can't you can't really uh you know, look at every situation they're saying this because it's different people, um, different training and involved. So UM. And I was definitely thankful for our training.

And you know, you learn a lot of lessons you know on those streets, man, stuff you can carry on in life, and like you said, you deal with people sometimes that they're worse, So it's how to deal with different kind of people, and um, you know, we see it all and I did a lot, did a lot, you know, and how poor it experienced a lot, and it's definitely helped me, you know, moving forward and just you know in life. So um, definitely thankful for the

person responders out there. But you know, at the same time, some people need to do better, and you know, we need some things to change. Is it fair to say? And I'm assume me what moonlighting as a basketball coach and working full time job as a police officer, I'm imagining. I'm assuming and I hope I'm assuming a good way. Now when you were coaching these kids that you were instilling things in them because you were seeing the difference

between the right response and the wrong response. Yeah. Absolutely, I mean it literally felt like sometimes I was in a double life because you know, say if I was working on first year and you know things I would do expirits during the daytime, I mean just be insane like a movie and then I go to basketball practice and you know, it was like a totally different world.

But definitely trying to you know, instill those values and things that I learned, you know, for the kids because they were in college, So it was important for them to learn some of those lessons. So what was the moment when you were both a police officer and you were coaching? What was that moment when you knew you had to choose? Yeah, that was when I got my head coaching job at Johnson Welles and Charlotte. So, um, you know when she moved a chair over to the

head spot. Can't really be doing a bunch of other jobs. So when I'm move to Charlotte, that's when I left the police force. How do you handle some of the labels in coaching? Now? You're female coach in the National Football League? Congratulations first Africa, African American. Put that label on it, African American time coach? You get you got a W two. First of all, do you like the label of being the first black female coach? I mean that's something that I can't escape because it kind of

is what it is. So I mean, whether I like it or not, just gonna be there. So um, I don't know, I think right now, I don't even think that much of it, but something you know, down the road, it definitely something to look back on and you know, be thankful for and happy for the accomplishment. Well, it's

it's knocking down barriers. I can truly say as the father of an African American woman in a year where I think there are a lot of first you have politics aside, you have the first African American woman to be vice president, you have an African woman, African American woman who's now the CEO of Walgreen's the first time a fortune fifty company, um, and then yourself the first

African American woman coach in NFL representation matters. My daughter looks at TV a lot of times says, oh, Dad, she looks like me, and that her being six me and being six, that's big for her to see people. So I know it made process as if I don't know how to feel right now, but you're knocking down the barriers to where she doesn't have to worry about being the first in certain instances. So it's really big.

So I do want to say where it proudly because as a father being in the house with black you know, being married to a black woman, raising a young African American woman, it is very big. So thank you. I appreciate it. I appreciate that it's big. It is in congratulations. I think it's about that time. Just take a little breather. Good good, let's getting down to do good. Hey Gerard, why did 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. I don't even think of being African American, but I just think being a female. Do you feel like your you know, coaching temperament is allowed or you know, I don't want to say leash, is your leash longer or shorter than anyone else's? You know what? What? How does all of that? You know, what do you see

going on that? You know, obviously every individual experiences differently despite race, color, sex. You just depend on where you are that that it's either a healthy environment or unhealthy environment. Yeah. I think, man, everywhere that I've worked has been like super cool. Like the coaches I work with have been great. The guy that our coach has been great. So I'm thankful to the head coaches that I work with because I think they kind of built that that culture. You

know that. Um, this diversity wins type attitude. So I was in you know, Arizona and a f for coach New High School. Everything was cool there in the Dartmouth and with coaching very obviously in Carolina and now in d C. It's just been cool. Like I think my temperament, I can be myself. I think being authentic is what got me here. So there's no need to change, you know when I get into that spot. So, um, you know the guy worked with Randy Jordan's man. You know,

he's a ball of energy, funny guy. Um, So I think I kind of balanced us out sometime being more laid back. Um, that's kind of been my my temperament as a coach since I've been coached. You said something I was kid. I want to go back to. You said, being your authentic self. You get to be yourself. Has it just an athlete, remove sex and color? Do you feel athletes struggle with being themselves? Yeah? I think sometimes, especially at the professional level, just because everything that comes

with it. You know, sometimes people kind of lose yourselves and get lost in this sauce a little bit when they start getting the money and the fame and um, so, I think it's it's hard sometimes, especially the younger players, to keep their identity, you know, when they get to the live. Yeah, I've always said money makes you more of what you already are. Yeah, if you're a dirt bag, if you're a dirt bag before money, before money, just a dirt bag with money. Right, if you frugal without money,

you just a frugal person with money. I mean, it just makes you more of what you already are. It reveals your true character. The money your bank account doesn't change your attitude to who you are. So how do you define success? Because you're you're very successful. You you've been a police officer, You've had the honor of coaching UM women and now coaching men and coaching in the sport at the highest level, right at the highest level, coaching in the sport. And you didn't go to college

for you participated in it, you know, for fun. But that that, and I say it, that would be like me becoming and I'm not very good at basketball, either coaching, observing it or playing it. That be me like becoming a women's basketball coach at the college. You'd be like, Bro, how did that happen? Because I have no idea what what it requires to be a women's basketball coach. So I'm I'm just I'm I'm putting myself out there. How

did that progress? And how was it unfolding for you to be a coach of the opposite sex and also in a position that you never played professionally or collegiately. Yeah, I mean it wasn't as hard, I think as people think because I played for thirteen years like one, that's so, but anybody could do this sport dumb that it was just I mean, I had had a lot of experience. It was not like that, not like that. But I had a lot of experience playing and once the national

Championships playing. Um so even I mean to add on to the joke, but I was. I was coaching football too while I was coaching basketball and a police officer. Yeah, so I was. I mean, I've been doing this a long time. It's not something that just happened. So I've been coaching football for a really long time. Um and obviously just learning and growing and um once I got to the professional level of collegiate level, it really just

took off. And I think the same thing that made me successful as a college basketball coach made me successful as a football coach as well, and you know, being able to communicate and teach and um, those have been the big things for me. What do you consider the biggest hurdles that you had to climb? One of the biggest things for me was just walking away from basketball

because I was super comfortable. You know, we just win a national championship and life was good, and I just walked away from it all to go coach football out of Arizona. So I kind of went from like the top of the tow and pull it to the bottom. And uh so just to make that decision, UM, what's difficult, but obviously I'm glad I did. How did you mentally prepare for the interview process? Um? I think one thing Coach Rivera told me when I first started at Carolina

my first time was always be ready. So um, just preparing and to you know, not going out sometimes the study stuff and to be prepared. And you know, also the interview process I had in college basketball helped as well, just to understand the process and how it works. So, UM, I think those two things and just being ready and preparing myself helped me a lot. So the you know, the interview process. So I went pretty smooth for me. It was has been something an overblown point of views

about all of this for you particularly. Yeah, I mean a lot of times, you know, people talk about the playing part of it, but I mean, I played for thirteen years, you know, so I played quarterback. I've went to national championships, I've been I've been in the fire. Yeah, so that's one of the things I guess people talk about. But to be real, I don't really even read a lot of comments. That's that's the people tell me. So that's another thing. Dale Earnhard Jr. Your boy, he came

to speak to us when I was in Carolina. That's one thing he talked about was just not reading the comments. So I haven't read the comment. Do you ever desire to be a head coach in the NFL? And I think that's a possibility right now. I'm super just locked into where I am, you know, kind of being where your feet are. Um, So I think that's the best way to get to that level is to do the best job where you are now. You know, don't start looking too far ahead and inspiring, uh, just because you know,

in the coaching business. You not have a job doing that too much. So that's kind of you know where I am right now. Our last section it's called the Deep three, So it's just a segment that we do to go beyond the jersey, go beyond the playing career, and just really understand you as an individual. So it's just three deeper level questions. It's give her the first one. How do you stay true to yourself on and off the field. I think that's easy for me, you know,

like I talked about earlier, that's being authentic. Um. You know, I got a family that keeps me grounded, you know, from those families that will roast you at any time. So it doesn't matter what my success is still because they don't care, you know. And but that's cool, you know, it keeps you ground and I think, you know, those are one of the big reasons why I just kind of stay authentic to myself. What do you hope your

role is in shaping the future generation of women? Well, that's a good question like that, Yeah, I mean I think the current position, like you talked about the representation. You know, I'm a representation of something that I didn't have, and I think, um, that's important for me now to really kind of carry that sorch, you know, just to show people what they can do and what they're capable of.

What do you want people to remember about Jennifer King when it's all setting down, Uh, just remembering I was a great coach. You know. It doesn't necessarily have to be that I was the female coach or anything. Just I was a great coach. I was successful, um, you know, and I would love to win the Super Bowl? Would you ever want to coach football? You didn't let me finish the question. Too many hours and not enough pay and what I mean, by the day, those coaches, those

position coaches put in a lot of time. And also see and being a former player, why do you need to be sitting in the office till one or two in the morning. If we've all heard that story, nothing good ever happens after midnight. So how are you going? How the hell you gonna coach after midnight? Whatever you are trying to get done, at some point you hit a wall. You only can watch so much film. And I think I think that coaches sometimes believe the more

work you put in, the more efficient. That's not the truth. I played some of those plays that you've drawn up, either at midnight or in the regular day have not worked. So here's the question I have. So is it the City Chiefs work late or early? Because either way was it good? Poor products? Piss poor product? Oh? Man? So is it the Is it the demands of the job. Yeah, the demands of the job being around football. But then

also too, um Man ball has just changed a line. Man, I don't I don't want to put in that much time. I put in a lot of time to prepare for shows. Now you add I know what I do in TV, and that scale back tremendously. I can't imagine there's in TVs there in the off season, there's guys are guys are looking at draft picks right now. I you're looking at film right now to go into the season. They're

looking at what what about this? Their opponents? They gotta look at the opponents they're playing in right They know that they're playing no matter who they think they're playing outside of their division, they know they're playing, you know, talking about the Carolina Panthers, talking about the Baltimore Ravens, talking about the censors score for the Niners. They're playing what the other three teams twice, so they're getting ready

for that game plan. Who's on the roster, who's not there, who's becoming a free agent, who's the draft picks, who's who's eligible man? And then you got your team who were not keeping? Who are we keeping? No, I'm good. A lot of people say they want to coach because they want to get back to the game. So you got other ways you want to get back that game taken for it, I'm not giving back. No, you are a unique person. You are well worth it, you are competent,

and most of all, you're lovable. I'm Steve Smith Senior, I'm a Little John and this is cut to It. Cut to It with Steve Smith Singer. That Is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Balto 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 to It is produced by Brian Baltaschevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrek, 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