How Roger Federer is Changing Tennis, Even in Retirement

Roger Federer isn't competing for his sixth US Open title but he is still having a major impact on tennis we'll delve into that plus what's next for the Pack 12 after it failed to strike a deal with the Mountain West for seeing huge early Returns on the new era of college football and this episode is sponsored by gainbridge later we're hearing from an athlete leveraging a parody week Grant from gainbridge to use rugby to make an impact it's Wednesday September 4th I'm Owen Poindexter and this is front office sports today in today's episode we'll hear from Roger Federer's agent and the chairman of the labor cup Tony godsick who spoke to our editor and Chief Dan Roberts on how they want to reshape the tennis landscape our reporter Amanda christovich joins to discuss the future of the two team Pack 12 after it failed to reach a new deal with the Mountain West we're also speaking with rugby player cheda emba on her work to reach girls interested in the sport and we'll hit the latest in college football the NFL Sunday Ticket case and the expected betting total on NFL games this year first let's hit the headlines FIFA confirmed that over $6.4 billion the second most ever were spent on International transfer fees in the most recent transfer window for men soccer with a record-breaking 11,000 players switching hands women's football also had a record-breaking transfer window with 6.8 million spent on International transfers which is the most alltime in women's soccer the Cleveland Browns have announced a new naming rights deal for their Stadium Cleveland Browns Stadium will henceforth be known as the Huntington Bank field until 2044 you are that correct the next 20 seasons better yet even if the team were to move to a new stadium which they are actively working to do the agreement is for the existing or new home of the team so any new field would keep the same moniker the team is currently fighting to move to Brook Park a Cleveland suburb Leon drle was awarded with the highest annual contract in NHL history drle and the Edmonton Oilers agreed to an 8-year $112 million contract with an average annual value of 14 million this will be the largest salary cap hit in NHL history but appropriate for a guy who has scored 148 goals in the past three seasons good for second most in the NHL his Superstar teammate Conor McDavid leads the league in points during that span the WNBA is coming back to Portland the league is set to add its 15th team in 2026 its third expansion team since last year the new franchise which has not yet been named will likely be awarded to the batto family who also purchased the Portland Thorns of the nwsl at the beginning of this year it's worth noting that Portland already had a WNBA team back in 2000 the Portland fire but it only lasted for three seasons giving it the shortest lifespan in league history the addition of the new franchise has not been officially approved yet but Sean heiken of the Rose Garden report says that the announcement will come on September 10th Trent Williams and the San Francisco 49ers agreed on a contract Tuesday morning to end a holdout that began over a month ago and cost Williams $4 million in fines for Mis practices and preseason games the move comes sandwiched between Brandon iuk finally agreeing to a new contract and the Niner opener on Monday night football against the New York Jets for that game it's looking like Williams job will be a bit easier as Jets linebacker Hassen reck continues his contract hold out and is not expected to be on the field reic is now the only player left in the NFL still holding out Sunday was the deadline to approve a new scheduling deal for the Pack 12 and Mountain West conferences Beyond this season but the conferences were not able to come to an agreement and now the two schools remaining in the Pack 12 will look to create independent schedules fos college sports reporter Amanda christovich joins us to explain why the two sides couldn't work things out and what this means for the murky future of a conference struggling to hold [Music] on joining me now is front office sports reporter Amanda christovich welcome back Amanda hey how's it going great great to have you on so the Pack 12 and the Mountain West have a deal for this season that has them working together on scheduling seem to make sense for both sides but it's not going to be renewed so uh first of all feel free to fill in any detail on this deal that they have but also why is this not going to continue I mean look I I think the deal was described to me by both Commissioners last week as mutually beneficial um the Pack 2 pack 12 whatever you want to call it um sort of gets a uh conference late of games sort of delivered to them on quote a silver platter is What U Mountain West commissioner Gloria navarez said um right because if you think about it if you're independent you need to like individually schedule every single game in your season but if um you have the scheduling partnership then you have open slots for non-conference quote unquote games but the majority of your schedule is going to be uh taken care of and obviously the Mountain West um is not a power conference but it's you know a formidable uh group of five conference and it's local so I think it just made sense and then obviously the Mountain West gets you know millions of dollars in fees um out of this as well as like a little boost in their scheduling as well um the reason it's not going to continue is that first of all this was only a one-year agreement um there was an option to renew but agreement uh the second year of the agreement basically um you know was not like official it could have been if they had they had until September one to decide they've chosen not to um they basically uh you know had a dispute over the funds and the fees and the amount of money that everybody you know either wanted to give or receive is what the source is that I spoke to explain to yeah yeah yeah I mean I that's I guess what it always comes down to is We can't agree on the money um it is a little perplexing just because this does seem mutually beneficial like the conferences were telling you not too long ago though that silver platter quote is is perhaps telling because maybe the Mountain West feels like the Pack 2 is getting a lot out of this and they're not getting enough back and maybe the Pack 2 is saying well hey we're the Pack 12 like we're we're still sort of a power five conference where we were um when the power five included us and so yeah is it do you get the sense that just there's there's just some disagreement on how much value each side is bringing here I think that's possible I I would also add that you know it was an expensive partnership for the Pack 2 um I need to confirm specifically the numbers I mean obviously I don't have the contract for every single non-conference pay game but you know it's on the high end of what a non contract a non-conference pay game would be slash could be even more so it's not like you know Pack 2 didn't have a point by saying hey this partnership you know in r view is really expensive and we'd like to spend you know we maybe they would like to continue it but just wanted to spend some of that money elsewhere as you said though on the Mountain West Side the Mountain West is looking for you know their own upside they're looking for the revenue uh that's you know the biggest Pro for them um and then the other thing I'll say is the Mountain West regardless of whether or not this partnership continues already got what they really wanted which was that embedded in the agreement um was a stipulation that there are even more exorbitant um you know fees if a pack if the Pack 12 tries to poach a Mountain West school for two years after the agreement ends um so and and and I'm talking like $10 million a school right um there's like sort of an escalator slide scale in in the agreement and the only way that they wouldn't have to pay those fees is if there was a reverse merger where the Pack 2 invited every single Mountain West school so the stability and then the extra revenue is really what got um you know the Mountain West into this side of the deal and the stability is not going away because they're still going to have two years and you know the Pack 2 only has a two-year grace period total uh to rebuild their conference starting this year so do you see them we're doing the math year right so like oh two years they're just going to poach all those schools it's like two years they they're not going to be a conference if they won exist precisely yeah precisely and so yeah just lastly what is the pack 122 do here do they try to get up to eight schools do Oregon State and Washington State just say we're going independent we'll figure it out from there something else what is there a likely path here I mean they're looking at a you know several different options and I think this still Rings true even though commissioner Teresa G told me this last week before the partnership um you know September one date passed um is that the conference is looking at you know at least for next season considering you know scheduling as Independents there are you know clearly they they have they both both of the schools have several games scheduled they're considering scheduling more I mean the fact that she said that to me on the record suggests that the schools have interests from other power conferences more strength of schedule um etc etc so they clearly have other options I don't think they would have you know gone to the negotiating table and instead of just renewing because they had no better option trying to negotiate for a lower rate if they didn't have something of their sleep yeah very interesting Amanda christovich thank you so much for joining us on the show yeah thanks for having [Music] me the ruling in the NFL Sunday Ticket case has been appealed by The plaintiffs Who want their $4.7 billion verdict back to review back in June a jury in Los Angeles ruled that the NFL had been violating antitrust laws by bundling out of Market games instead of allowing teams to compete with each other the jury agreed and ruled that the NFL had been overcharging for the package while it was held by direct DV over nearly 12 years years ending in February 2023 they determined that the damages totaled $4.7 billion which under antitrust law can lead to a penalty three times that which would reach 14 billion the judge however completely disagreed with the jury saying they relied on guesswork and speculation he tossed out the penalty and the requirement that the league cut the current Sunday ticket price of $449 per year on YouTube TV plaintiffs are the ninth circuit to overturn the entirety of the judge's ruling what at sake here is a major pillar of the NFL's practice of nationalizing its media revenue and distributing it equally the question of whether it can continue to do so could make it the Supreme Court the LSU USC game didn't just outdraw the Super Bowl bringing nearly 64,000 fans to allegion Stadium it saw 9.2 million people tune in on ABC making it the Network's thirdd best Sunday college football opener that's despite 11 million people not having access to the game due to Disney's ongoing Carriage dispute with Direct TV the network also notched impressive audiences for Notre Dame's victory over Texas A&M which 8.2 million people saw and Georgia's blowout of Clemson which Drew 7.9 million viewers Disney has to be pleased with the first weekend of its 10-year $3 billion deal with the SEC Roger Federer wants to be more than a shoe salesman while his sneaker company on continues to make Headway in that market Federer is still deeply involved in the sport he dominated for a decade including new initiatives around the lafer cup which not coincidentally is chaired by his agent Tony G godick front office sports editor and Chief Dan Roberts sat down with godsick to discuss his and Federer's vision for tennis and that conversation is [Music] next okay Dan Roberts here in the fos studio in New York and I've got Tony godick tennis agent with team8 as we head into the Laver Cup right around the corner in Berlin Tony thanks for joining me thanks for having me so let's just start this we we're going to talk about the labor cup it's coming up but let's kind of rewind you have been Roger Federer's agent uh you have had quite a ride with Federer obviously also there's Del poo and other clients but talk to me about how that relationship has evolved over the years I mean we'll talk about the labor cup which you guys co-created but managing the business of Roger Federer yeah um thanks for having me um I'm a big fan so this is uh this is fun for me to do um I got very lucky actually uh next year it'll be 20 years uh since I first met Roger uh he had just um won the US Open 2005 against Andre Agy and Ted forsman and uh one of my other clients Monica celis at the time uh told me hey we've got a new client coming back to IMG and you're going to be the agent so I actually really didn't do much to to sign him and so after he beat Andre we started to work together and um it seems like yesterday I mean it's been an incredible ride I mean he you know for the first you know four or five years he was in the final of like every Grand Slam so it was kind of uh you know I had something really cool to sell but he had like a white canvas at that time so so we were really able to sort of uh create a brand strategy um tennis provides you the opportunity to have it's a global sport so we said let's go find some some Global Brands and uh we were Off to the Races and he's so wonderful and he participates so much in his business that it was really easy to partner with him and and do really fun things um you know he overd delivers all the time so I never have to worry about the babysitting you know showing up on time getting in trouble you know um when he's in a room you can tell he's actually happy to be there you don't on his face some athletes you say oh well you can tell when the clock you know hits midnight they want out um Roger really is is an interesting person he loves people so um yeah so we were just Off to the Races and um it was fun I mean people say oh he's retired now you you must be retiring I said well when he played he had excuses which is I'm practicing and I'm playing now he's not practicing and he's not playing so we have a lot more time for for business um you know Partnerships and different Investments we've made and the labor cup obviously was something that we uh created together back in 20156 and to see it you know we're going to be it's our seventh year coming up here in Berlin in a few weeks uh it's amazing but um it's been a lot of fun he is really One of a Kind so let's talk about the labor Cup first year without Federer playing uh this will be uh this will be he retired in 22 so the third this will be the second edition second Vancouver and now Berlin got it so you know how did that change things in terms of uh which players you emphasize you've still got a number of the top 20 ranked in the world playing this year which is great you know I see Ben Shelton is is going to be there and uh you still have Rafa and a number of the biggest names but obviously I imagine Roger goes Y and does he now kind of transition to becoming almost like an ambassador sure so he's a a co-founder and a creator of the event um it's not the feder cup it's the labor cup um one of the really nice things when we got started with the labor cup we needed sponsors and we obviously needed Blue Chip amazing sponsors and Roger had a portfolio of Blue Chip amazing sponsors and so um Rolex is our founding sponsor and uh we have UBS there as well and Mercedes and these are his Brands um on um is is a sponsor and uni close so he's there actually quite busy you know and I always tell uh sponsors he's actually probably more valuable now that he's not playing because he actually has time to spend with their customers and uh do interviews and um you know welcome the players and things like that so it's definitely changed um we always called the Roger the ticket magnet literally we would put tickets on sale we wouldn't spend any money on advertising or marketing and the tickets would sell out within like an hour um now it's it's a bit different um we're still been sold out and stuff but we actually have to get creative and they're big stars now I mean as you mentioned Rafa is playing Carlos alarz is playing for the first time Taylor Fritz Taylor Fritz is playing um Ben Shelton who's you know uh is arguably going to be next one of the next biggest stars here in the US he's playing Francis TFO is playing he's still in the US Open so we have a you know a plethora of of big stars so it's uh it's going to be a lot of fun but he it's different now but he comes for the whole week he really enjoys it I think he's he's super proud of it um he wanted to create you know he felt like a we've got to do something for Rod labor this guy you know basically took off a whole chunk of time to usher in the professional game the guys are going to be out there and the women are going to be playing for 3 point something million dollars Rod you know barely made that in his entire career um and he won two you know calendar year grand slams and so Roder wanted to create a there was no event where the past stars of tennis came back collectively and could interact with current stars and future stars and that's sort of what the labor cup is all about and so Roger also sort of Geeks out at the fact that you know bun Borg and John Mack are the captains he loves spending time with those guys obviously Rod Laver is there too and he's such a Legend um and then you've got some of the biggest stars in the game with Nadal and others so it's really it's amazing when you talk about you know captains and it rotates uh City every year this year it's in Berlin uh obvious parallels to the Ridder Cup in golf uh talk to me a little bit about trying to make it if it's fair to say the rider cup of 10 tennis and the thinking also with it being team Europe versus Team rest of world which is kind of interesting there that it's not it's you know golf it's just us and and Europe or UK no so look um we would you know we love when we're compared to the Ryder Cup I mean they're they've got a 100y year start on us so we are a historical event with very little history so we're actually trying to to to build the history um you know I think one of the you saw this some well you see it every Olympics with basketball but you saw it really with Avengers this year with the big team when you get Rivals to become teammates for a short period of time it's really it's magical and that's I think what we've uh created here you know it's not uh you know these some of the doubles combinations a lot of people who play tennis really just play doubles right but you never see the big stars playing together and so this is an opportunity where we we showcase the best of men's tennis in unique formats Rivals become teammates um and the team team competition matters you know people when we started were like well you think the guys are going to try hard I said are you crazy I mean this was Roger's Point too the peer pressure is amazing you've got maor Borg sitting on the court coaching you you've got the greats like Rod Laver watching you've got your other sort of um competitors watching too so um these guys try really hard and and it's amazing and I just think the unique it's not all year long this is just one weekend and the players uh seem to like it and the fact that we rotate this around the world is really interesting you know we we hit some of the cities that don't normally see a lot of tennis or you know we've been to some cities that actually do see a lot of tennis and just love it um but uh yeah it's been great but we love the comparison I mean you see the rer Cup's been so um successful and people sort of um they get so geared up to to watch these combinations and then the Optics the content that's created seeing these superstars on the same team coaching one another giving each other tips um I think is great and there's I mean the uniforms matter too you know I think you see these guys all wearing different things and the fact that these guys I'm at the labor cup we've got team world is in red and team Europe's in blue and you know they're wearing their brands which obviously was very important we wanted each player to be able to wear their brands but the uniform look I think uh every once in a while is is wonderful I wanted to ask you uh especially when we talk about managing Federer about brands on the court and apparel you know for so many years he had the Nike deal and the RF logo then went to Uno which I remember covering at the time and it was kind of amazing to sign a new apparel endorsement deal that late in his career and now of course in the last few years working with an and you know I know an is a running brand but an getting into tennis shoes um talk to me about kind of managing those deals and also uh even now now that he's retired how that works with you know using him as an ambassador and as you said in some ways maybe even more valuable now yeah absolutely look Roger spent I think over 24 years with Nike it was amazing they helped make him a huge star um the contract was coming to an end you know what do you do with a 36-year-old soon to be retired athlete I tried to convince them that you can do a lot um they have so many different Superstars they do an amazing job um and so you know we went out and looked for for another deal and because Roger actually has such a passion for fashion um it wasn't something that I fabricated I mean he'd always you know he's very close with Anna winter he and his wife Mira and they've been to fashion shows and he genuinely really likes fashion so when we were able to uh when I was able to go to Japan and meet meet Mr yanai and learn more about uni and fast retailing it became very clear that uh actually one of their top Executives John Jay had a great quote he said look Roger might retire from tennis but he won't retire from life and so it was interesting because they're all about lifeear and yes they are in tennis but they're also about fashion and and so it it was a great fit and um and so anyway um Nike decided uh you know they didn't want a match which was totally fine and we were on our way and they you know fast retailing uni clo they don't make shoes and sneakers so in the beginning Roger wore um the sneakers and I had gotten to know the on guys because I had invested with them a few years before and so I just got to know the guys and they would always ask me do you think it's ever possible we can do something with Roger and I said no he's with Nike he'll be with Nike forever and so sure enough in 2018 when he uh moved to Uno there became an opportunity and at that point I'd already gotten to know the founders and they were you know they started in 2011 I think but they were they were on their way and um every time I went to zerk I'd go speak to them and um I just I saw they were building something unique and then I started seeing all these shoes everywhere everywhere and um and they believe funny enough um they believed in tennis they said look this is an interesting platform we believe in it where you know some of the other brands they don't Focus as much on tennis some of the big Brands out there have had some of the biggest Superstars and maybe don't utilize them as much um on really felt like wow there's something here with tennis and so because a combination of Roger being injured um he had this uh knee surgery plus covid he actually was home for a lot and their headquarters are in Zurich and so Roger could spend a lot of time with their uh designers their developers with Olivier Bernard who's the original founder coming up with a shoe and I think they I mean they went through at least 10 different iterations of the shoe and then when he was able to come back um in Doha he wore the shoe and so and it's been great um you know and uniclo and and on work really closely together and um but they're twoo completely different brands um they're both super Global and it's been fun and you know when you're at one of the bigger Brands you're one of many and especially with some of the the real big Brands like Nike they've got so many superstars whereas Roger went to Unico and he was a superstar there and they really focused on growing his brand and then on was just starting and starting in tennis and until they signed Zenia now until they signed Zenia which was great because that was a part of the market they wanted to to go after and I would argue there's no bigger superstar in Hollywood at the moment um then Zen and then she was in this The Challengers movie which is great for tennis she was showing up at tennis so it really was great and this was all their idea I mean these guys really have an incredible Vision at on and you know but ultimately where they're doing so well is they understand that their Core Business is the runner and the athlete you know so people like oh what's the next Superstar movie star they're going to sign and I'm like I think they're also going to focus on making sure you know uh people win marathons and they've got this new light spray technology that they just came up with so it's been it's been a lot of fun and it's been like a breath of fresh air it's like a a new career for Roger yeah um that's really cool good obvious fit uh it's funny you know mentioning Zena and the movie Challengers uh it's kind of a natural segue it feels to me like there's more momentum in the last couple years with tennis in America because now we once again have some big American Stars we've had more Americans you know hang around in this US Open than in past years uh on the women's side there there's Pula on the men's side there's you know big Foe and and Ben Shelton they had that incredible uh really close battle TFO and Shelton did and you've got these guys at the labor cup um so let's kind of zoom out and talk about just state of the sport you know what what excites you when you look at the the young Stars today having been you know 20 years in and around this business and um you know feels like uh things are in a really healthy place in in the US again for fandom yes no look the US Open has gone from strength to strength I mean it's it's a massive operation and it's the you know it's obviously the best tennis in the world but it's also sort of the musty must-attend event in the United States so they've done a great job I think also when I first started in the business in the early 90s not to date myself when I was at IMG in order to become super famous you needed to make the middle weekend or the final weekend of a grand slam because then you were going to be on CBS or NBC or whatever it might be uh now every athlete's got a Channel of their own or multip Channels with Tik Tok and Instagram and Twitter or X um and stuff so they they've got that going for them so they can sort of cultivate their brand throughout the entire year um and then you know people uh generally care about the content you see there's content Crews behind the scenes everywhere used to be taboo the players would never allow um cameras sort of behind theen such access in the gym leaving the locker room and all that stuff and now the players are basic have accepted it and embrace it so you know you've got that and then what's really nice um we're touching on it before with with the fashion is fashion brands love tennis I mean they just do um look at the Gucci's got a tennis line out right now You' got Lululemon that's coming into the sport obviously Nike and Adidas you've got oncoming they've got Ben Shelton igos fatek the the number one player in the world when I go to the US Open I I'm always struck by the Polo stuff too the Ralph laen I mean they must make a killing for they they do a great job yeah I mean uh I I spent some I'm talking to Patrice levette the the CEO I've known when he was at Gillette he was the president of Gillette when Roger was there you know they've got some great tennis stuff and they've been uh doing wonderful uh things I mean they've been working with Ben Shelton with a fragrance yeah um you know launching it around the US Open and and stuff like that so you've you see all these Brands coming into them and then they amplify tennis sort of outside of the grounds which I think is really helpful and then you've got people like Coco golf I mean she's one of our clients and I will tell you she is she's amazing like and she gets all her social stuff she does herself it's all organic she loves it and um you've got a bunch of stars that are are doing that I mean look Emma Navaro great story UVA went to college for two years College used to be it wasn't the pathway for tennis especially on the female side if you went to college it was kind of too late for you to make it um as a pro you know graph and celis and um sabatini and hingus they all 16 17 years old were you know making deep runs and slams um so if you went to college it was over now not only they going to college winning ncaa's Emma did now n helps you can helps you know I'm not a big fan of this nil stuff I mean I've seen some things in the in the last um you know few weeks where I'm like college sports what's happening it's crazy I mean my son is a uh he'll be a sophomore at Stanford plays there he's now in the ACC you know and uh he's got aspirations to be a pro I want him to have those aspirations but he's also I've got aspirations as a father that he studies how's that going to work so he's done playing UNC lot more travel now too that's a long flight into the wind back to Atlant Coast Conference yeah on the Pacific coast I don't know so I think all that stuff will eventually get reset M certainly for the Olympic sports um maybe not sort of the big sports like like football you know the money Sports um but college sports you know there's a pathway now from college to the Pro game you see tons of people you know John Isner started he was at Georgia and then you've got cam Nori um did very well and and so it's I think that's very exciting too but there's um there's always going to be a new Superstar there always is when sers and agass were leaving everyone's oh tennis is going to be dead on the men's side and then Federer came people said about feder and Nadal when that era ends and now alcaraz is coming and Novak stayed around and is doing great still at 37 or whatever it might be although alcra losing in the second round in in straight sets was shocking I think it was a shocking it was a long summer for for the players you know the Olympics and the emotion of the Olympics the Olympics happened right after Wimbledon I will say the pressure on these athletes are bigger than ever um because you know when when a top Superstar goes to a tournament they're not just playing the tournament so the first tournament they're playing when they go to the tournament is actually the tournament against their opponents which is getting tougher and tougher then the big Superstars have to deal with the media commitments the content we were talking about and all that stuff so that's a lot of pressure and then the superstars every champion puts pressure on thems so that's the third one you're putting pressure on yourself so you combine those three together it's tough and it happen tennis goes all year long it never stops and uh and that's what I love about the labor cup I mean going back to the labor cup it's a three-day event you know it's not a week or two weeks it's a three-day event um and I think and I think that matters you know if you add more events to the calendar a week I mean look the Slams are now us had a fan week so they're sort of encroaching on a three-week event the Masters 1000s are all 12-day events that's sort of two days away from being a coming the NFL it's a year round news cycle exactly exactly but tennis really especially you see it in in the most famous female athletes in the world are always tennis players um because it's Global you think about it um they're always the highest paid athletes on the on the women's side you know Serena Williams now Coco golf um back in the day obviously Monica celis and um Hingis and cornova and all these guys that tennis players um but they have they have a Super Bowl and Olympics four times a year with the slams and then other big events in major markets so I think that's one of the beautiful things about tennis being so Global it's a great place to end we could talk about this all day but but we'll leave it there Tony thanks so much thanks for having [Music] me betting is here to stay in the NFL and this season is expected to set records for the amount wagered the American gaming Association believes that 35 billion million doll will be legally wagered during this NFL campaign a new record that would exceed last year's number of 26.7 billion by nearly 30% but who's getting the bulk of that cash for some states the answer is the government New York for example has a 51% tax rate on all gross gaming revenues and also requires a onetime $25 million licensing fee to launch a sports book naturally then New York also has the highest tax revenue from gaming around $2 billion per year FanDuel marginally edges out DraftKings in terms of market share at 35% compared to DK's 32% if the same Trend holds true for this season FanDuel and DraftKings could account for 2345 billion of the total amount wagered leaving the measly sum of 11.6 billion for the other operators to fight over for the sports books summer break ends on Thursday the Eagles have not endorsed a presidential candidate but you might have thought otherwise while walking around These Streets of Philadelphia on at least six city bus stops according to WCA someone put realistic looking ads showing a cartoon kamla Harris in Eagles Gear with the tagline kamla official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles to add to the deception the ad also has the web address Philadelphia eagles.com vote at the bottom which is a real Eagles website the site encourages people to vote and provides information about polling locations it does not however State anything about any candidates intersection the company that manages that ad space called the posters counterfeit and vandalism and they're also trying to figure out how the culprit pulled this off company's coo Scott Goldsmith said quote while our bus shelters have locks that typically prevent the installation of unauthorized copy occasionally people find a way to unlock the ad box cheda emba competed in the Tokyo Olympics on the US rugby team and now she is working to expand girls access to the sport this interview is presented by gainbridge cheda is one of 21 total athletes and organizations that has received a parody week by gainbridge Grant each organization will host an event in November supporting girls and women through Sports Andor education gainbridge is funding a total of $150,000 in Grants during parody [Music] week I'm joined Now by rugby player cheda emba welcome cheda hi and thanks for having me great to have you on uh so rugby was one of the sports that caught more attention in the US during the Olympics I you you played in Tokyo um how have you seen this SP Sport grow in your time as a player um it's been amazing honestly you know I came to rugby from a multiport background I was actually a Collegiate soccer player and then was introduced to rugby um and even at that point the excitement was building um and when I joined it was when I joined that I realized that there was this long-standing history so it's been really cool to watch um that history connect with the current moment and the current excitement um we definitely you know stand on the shoulders of giants so to see some of those initial Trailblazers in frame when we you know brought today's you know Tick Tock Fanatics and Instagram followers and all the other women's sports fans along um was really cool to see and how are you help working to grow rugby in the US yeah I mean first and foremost we talked about this a lot as a team that um it's one thing to share the love of the game just through the enjoyment um but it's a whole another thing to add to the excitement with the performance right and first things first you know we have the honor and privilege to represent the USA and so we try to grow the game by producing good play on the field um and then making sure that we speak to the people that we represent are uh the people that have supported us and um the young girls and boys um that will follow suit it's been really cool to see the game go from you know humble beginnings and you know longer history than I realized but not as well known to where it is today where like so many universities so many schools have a club have the beginnings of you know Varsity programs um local clubs are popping up all over it's truly becoming more and more popular and it's really exciting to see and be a part of yeah yeah very cool and what do you think is the next big step for growing rugby in the US yeah I mean obviously there's the funding aspect you know making sure that players are given opportunities to go out and play the game um for fun play it at high levels and to have the resources in backing to make it possible no matter you know where you are or where you're from that accessibility is key but I think the other aspect is just visibility you know the Olympics have been amazing that's when all eyes are on so many different sports but the reality of the matter is also that we play a regular season we play a World Series um where we travel all over the the globe and put on an amazing show competitions with um the top 12 to 16 nations in the world and these are fast-paced matches weekend long tournaments it would be I think really massive if we could get that into mainstream media more often um we're really pumped to be on peacock and to have people be able to follow our games um but how much of an impact would it be for people to be able to you know flick on ESPN and see a highlight from the weekend um I think the more eyes that we have on Rugby sevens of course and and 15s the more support and the more excitement it's a dynamic game um and I think there's a place for everyone in it so I mean we stand on the fact that once you see it you're going to love it and do you feel like the sort of the highest level rugby in the US is is it kind of where it needs to be it just you know kind of needs the audience to to grow from where it is or are there steps you'd like to see you know within the rugby leagues we still want to build um in terms of participation numbers we want to build in terms of sponsorship and funding um and then of course the skill level um it's rising it's it's steadily On The Rise we have um an elite women's league that's set to launch this year with we um but it's it's a work in progress I think we are further along than we were before than we were when when I started playing um but we still have ways to go to you know match um and exceed the international standards um of the game so so women's basketball and soccer are both having this huge upswing in the US I'm wondering if you see rugby as you know somewhere in that women's sports ecosystem in this country you know where would you place it in that landscape I think we are On The Rise but probably still not as popular as basketball or as women's soccer I think part of the challenge is just the awareness and the introduction to the sport so um to your previous question you know one of the ways to build that is by introducing it in more areas there are kind of hot beds of rugby around the country but we want it to become you know wellknown and accessible in every Community you know every neck of the woods and I think as we do that we're going to have more interest we're going to have more participation we're going to have more opportunities and we can you know sustain this fire you were awarded a parody week Grant from gainbridge what do you plan to do with the money yeah so this grant is super exciting um my plan and my goal for the money is to set up a one-day Clinic to introduce um players to the aerial aspect of the game full send aerial Academy I want to help provide the foundational skills um and insight as to how players can really maximize their contribution to winning the ball in the air whether that's from kick Chase um the way that we start off a match to receiving the ball um these are key moments that we don't need to just get through through but we can actually own and control um and I think they're also tied in with you know conversations about like mindset and and how you can connect as a team and Lead one another to be at your best for these high pressure moments um and it's a great opportunity specifically as you know women in sports like these habits and and these skills um are important on and off the pitch so hopefully through this Clinic you know we can have a bit of fun but also delve into some deeper conversations and work to create opportunities for players to be at their best and and impact the game more than they already are yeah very cool is this a sport you feel like has sufficient funding for people who want to seriously pursue it you know are there Financial barriers for you know people who can reach a higher level or um or or you know if you're good enough and serious enough can can you you know find that path as a rugby player Financial barriers do exist um and that's something that we're working on you know trying to make it accessible so that players can continue to pursue their passion Beyond you know the club level beyond the university level rugby sevens is um really blessed in the fact that it's an Olympic sport so we have an added layer of um I think notoriety and funding to allow players to be backed by the Olympic Committee as well as the sa rugby in order to focus on the training but hopefully through clinics like this um spurring the interest spurring the support we can establish a better funding base um so that it's not just the select few that get to play at the highest level but we're you know able to I think cultivate a stronger base um and give more players opportunity to pursue it at an elite level whether that's for the United States or just you know high level competition domestically internationally and is there a sort of specific big Domino you'd like to see pushed over in terms of the overall growth of the sport or or is it just you know a matter of you know more sponsorships more uh I don't know more clinics more just more everything I think the biggest domino is absolutely right the funding um providing these opportunities but I think also something that's important is probably having a consistent structure and pathway that players um Family supporters coaches what you can follow along with so that it's not just oneoff opportunities um and an amalgamation of you know so many different things rather we're building towards the same goal um a shared understanding of like the outcomes that we're trying to produce the ways that we're trying to play and then the opportunity once we have those foundations to you know diversify and express yourself and your unique way but I think um having consistency uh will go a long way with you know helping players not just start but continue and to progress and um build on the work that they put in um yeah really appreciate getting the insight into this world ched emba thanks so much for joining us on the show Absolutely my pleasure that's it for today if you're enjoying the show don't be a stranger say hi on social media also if you head over to our fos Today Twitter feed you can vote in our poll over which change to the NFL you're most interested in thanks for listening we'll see you tomorrow