Aaron Donald's Retirement And Living In And Out Of The NFL w/ Joy Taylor

what's up guys welcome to believe in Rams part of the believe Network Aaron cgy back with you be sure to subscribe comment rate and follow this podcast you can of course also catch us on belief TV and follow us on all the socials bet online is your number one source for all your summer Sports this season from MLB golf NBA and NHL Playoff stats all the latest stats news and scores available to follow your favorite teams get the latest odds and lines including the latest team matchups player props and odds on just about every sport out there head to the website today or use your mobile device to get in on the action bet online where the game starts we have as always a very Dynamic guest today uh she is the host of FS one's speak she is also the co-host of a lifestyle podcast called two personal she does this alongside Taylor Rooks and she also has a show on fuse with MJ aosta uh like a girl season 2 is launching later this fall she is one of the best most interesting most authentic Sports media personalities her name is Joy Taylor I can't wait to chat all things about Aaron Donald actually I want to get her take on you know a Hall of Fame career what is it like when you hang it up obviously she had a brother Jason Taylor Hall of Fame career she got a you know front row ticket to what that is like so I'm going to ask her about that I'm going to ask her about uh what athletes modern day athletes are going through from her perspective you know she uh is 100% real and honest and authentic and that is what I love about her let's get this party started Taylor thank you so much for making some time to jump on the show I love what you do actually you know one of the things that I love most about you is you keep everything really real you keep everything very real when it comes to how you see things uh whether it's on your show on FS1 your two personal podcast which I love that you're doing with Taylor Rooks you guys are so good um but what I love about it and it's why I love what I do it's because I look at sports as a microcosm for life you know whether how we deal with pressure how we deal with impostor syndrome and what I feel like you've done such a good job is fuse the two together do you love that aspect of your job being able to sort of talk about real life but also mix it up with the World of Sports uh well thank you for having me it's good to see your face and I love what you do also um yeah I think I think that's what so cool about sports is that it is a microcosm of society and we are watching humans achieve these otherworldly you know demigod type of accomplishments and we know that even though a lot of it is Talent most of it is hard work and sacrifice and you know dealing with overcoming and dealing with pushing through injuries and dealing with mental health and dealing with family and dealing with loss and grief and dealing with stress and dealing with accomplishments and making new goals once you achieve accomplishments like there's so many different elements of sports that are a direct reflection of everything else that we do in our lives and we're talking about people right and people all have different stories and I think the human element of sports and being able to tap into that and mix all of those different elements together when you're doing any type of sports content whether it is opinion like I do or whether it is reporting or you know covering a team and you know any of the different things that we all do that's what really makes it so fun and and that's what brings fans to the stands and and makes people excited about their team is they feel a connection and storytelling is such a big part of that so yeah I think the the human element the microcosm of society in the good ways and the bad ways because I think that Sports also connects a lot of us when it comes to conversations about equality conversations about about uh you know cultural conversations political conversations all of those things also tying to sports very directly because these humans are affected by those things as well so the platforms that players and coaches and organizations have to reach out to communities and become you know a beacon and a voice for communities is important also yeah well and I love that we're seen a lot of players speak openly about things that they struggle with because it just makes people more Rel it's why I love whether it's your social media or what you say on FS1 you know one of those topics for me too but also is directly correlated to the Rams is you know the big story out of valet Aaron Donald officially retiring you have a Hall of Fame brother who also retired obviously and one of the big things is identity I can relate to that even as a broadcaster and if my identity is so in in my career sometimes I struggle with who's Aaron the person and who's Aaron the broadcaster take us into I mean we don't know what Aaron Donald is going through but obviously you had a firsthand experience with how was it hard for your brother to hang it up how was it for you how was it for the family you know what's going on for the the Donald family right now having to sort of hang up this illustrious career that he had as a football player so I remember when my brother told me that he was going to retire um we were at his house in in Florida and he just kind of just like brought it up he was like yeah I think this is I think this is going to be my last season and I was like wow like well why like do you feel like you physically can't play anymore do you not want to play anymore and you know we talked about the reasons why he was ready to retire and and obviously the physical part of it always plays a bit of a role even if you are still playing at a high level we don't know what's going on internally and you know football is obviously an incredibly physically demanding sport and it is a collision sport so you know there are there comes an exhaustion point with having to get ready for every single season knowing at the beginning of the Season how long this is about to be and how much you know training you're going to have to do and going through OTAs and going through training camp and going through the long season and you know when it comes to your body that's a lot but also there is that element of entering a new chapter in your life and you know my brother and someone like an Aaron Donald obviously were blessed to play along time in the league and make a lot of money so that also I think AIDS in a lot of ways when you're talking about retirement you know okay like are we retiring are we transitioning into the next phase of life you know like how you are set up financially obviously plays a massive role I think in this decision that you know doesn't necessarily translate to all players when they are retiring but what do you do next you know what how do you replace that comp competitive energy that you have there's there's no way to replace the feeling of of a player walking into a stadium and there's tens of thousands of people cheering your name and screaming for you like that can't really be replaced but there are other things you know there is coaching there is broadcasting there is you know being an agent like you know there's ways to stay near and around the game and and near and around that energy but there is no direct translation to that particular experience but it is a weird I say weird but an interesting elements of being a professional athlete that I always find fascinating is we really kind of shun people from saying that they are thinking about retirement right like we always say go if you're thinking about retirement then you you're already kind of retired which I don't think is true I think you have to think about retirement like you have to think about how it looks when it ends do you want to be hobbling to the end do you want to walk out on what are the goals that you want to achieve before you hang it up and are you willing to hang it up before you get to those benchmarks you know how important does being available and arounds for your young children if you have them or your wife you know what else do you have going on in life that you might be interested in um you know have you found a passion outside of sports you you have other businesses that you work on so that you're not sitting at home you know doing nothing and thinking about all the things that you're missing I don't think there ever is a true replacement for or playing professional sports I don't think there's a replacement for the locker room there's no replacement for that feeling you know of walking into the arena but I think there are ways that you can find and reinvent yourself but it is a process and and it is to your point attached to your identity who are you the person not you the athlete not you your job not you you your career and sports is a very interesting a very unique thing because most of our careers we can do for our whole lives and we tired when we're ready to not work anymore and that's not the case with sports because you are not going to play sports for your entire life so yeah it's it is a process there's there's a support there's a transition um but it is really something that I think the athlete has to take seriously and be gracious with themselves because you've you've likely played the sport your whole life or Sports your whole life right you know you've been in a competitive space since you were a child this this habit this formula this schedule has been a part of your life for as long as you can remember all of that is going to change you don't have to do certain things at certain time of year unless you go right into coaching obviously you're going to have a completely different schedule you're gonna have different demands and all that's just a lot to change but think about how hard that is because as an athlete you're sort of attached to this performance identity where either mom and it becomes transactional whether Mom and Dad are like oh my God you know know good job Little Tommy or later on in life you use it to get acceptance like what do you think and by the way I can relate to it I was an athlete growing up and I was used to someone telling me what time to get there you know what uniform to wear this is the opponent like the athlete the mindset of the athlete is so complex because you know they just don't it's it's like they're unless they're like a tennis player or a golf player you know they're they're attached this this team this team identity in your opinion and I I want to be respectful of your time but in your opinion because you're on a set with pro athletes former pro-athletes what do you think the hardest thing the modern athlete today is trying to navigate while they're still playing yeah or or or post if if I mean I think I think it's completely different for an athlete that's retired and an athlete it's still playing I I think we're all still navigating the space of uh media coverage and how to receive that and I think athletes today are dealing with a completely different version of media coverage than they than they had you know even 10 or 20 30 years ago because there's so much of it and the and the social media platforms is like another form and while a lot of these younger athletes have grown up with social media the level of scrutiny and all those things obviously gets ratcheted up once you get into a certain space I I don't know if that's the same experience for athletes who are retiring I think I think it again it completely depends on the individuals just like life like your idea of retirement might be sitting you know having a farm I don't want to do that I will visit a farm but I'm I'm not retiring on a farm you know so like everyone has a different version of retirement some people don't want to settle you they don't want to stop for a second they get right into coaching they get right into broadcasting they get right into traveling you know get right into business um some might take a few years to chill out and just you know be a dad or hang out some might go by buy a farm I know some players that have done that so I think some might do a roast on Netflix some might do it roast um and do it all uh yeah I mean I think it depends entirely on the individual but I would say I think the difference for young younger players or players that are currently playing I shouldn't say younger players but players that are currently playing is balancing the constant 247 News stream of coverage that is just poured on all of us but particularly on athletes and and people wanting information from them and asking them questions and following and the pictures and the Twitter and it's like it's overwhelming and I think that's why a lot of athletes kind of compartmentalize it as they should whatever is best for your mental health but I think it's completely different for someone who's retired and someone who's playing right now yeah and even navigating social media I mean everything is so complex for the younger generation um I want to be respectful of your time Joy you're so dynamic in the media world as a female broadcaster I am so grateful that you are just 100% authentic with the messaging you want everybody to win um and I I I really I love your your podcast with Taylor Rooks to personal uh listen to it on where you get your podcast thank you so much for jumping on and shedding some light on you know just this world of what athletes may be going through you have of course like a front row ticket to what Jason Taylor went through so I'm I'm grateful that I got some time with you so thank you so much joy thank you I really appreciate it I'll be back anytime yes let me know okay all right girlfriend thank you thank you