The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Dawn Staley Talks 'Uncommon Favor,' WNBA; MiLaysia Fulwiley, Caitlin Clark Vs. Angel Reese + More

Episode Date: May 22, 2025

Today on The Breakfast Club, Dawn Staley Talks 'Uncommon Favor,' WNBA; MiLaysia Fulwiley, Caitlin Clark Vs. Angel Reese. Listen For More!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the podcast Betrayal. Police Lieutenant Joel Kern used his badge to fool everyone. Most of all, his wife, Caroline. He texted, I've ruined our lives. You're going to want to divorce me. How far would he go to cover up what he'd done? The fact that you lied is absolutely

horrific and quite frankly I question how many other women are out there that may bring forward allegations in the future. Listen to Betrayal on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yo K-pop fans are you ready? It's your boy Bom Han and I'm bringing you the K-Factor, the podcast that takes you straight into the heart of K-Pop. We're talking music, idols, exclusive interviews, and even the real behind the scenes K-Pop stories. Plus, you're the fans, you're part of the show, and you can get a chance to jump in, share your opinions, and be part of the conversation like never before. And trust me, you never know where we might pop up next. So listen to the K- Factor starting on April 16 on iHeartRadio Apple podcast or wherever

you get your podcast. This isn't just a podcast, it's a K-pop experience. Are you in? Let's go. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes here. Diddy's former protege, television personality, Danity Kang alum, Aubrey O'Day joins us to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. It wasn't all bad, but I don't know that any of the good was real. I went through things there. Listen to Amy and TJ presents Aubrey O'Day covering the Diddy Trial on the iHeart radio

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all, it's your girl T.S. Madison coming to you live, live and in color from the Outlaws Podcast. We're talking to Chaperone and Sasha Colby. We talk about the lovers, the haters, and the creators. In the Midwest, they told you, just be humble. Mine was, I think, wrapped up in like, Christian girls.

Oh, yeah. We definitely had like, some Jehovah's Witness girls there, yeah. Yeah We definitely had like a Jehovah's Witness skill there. Yeah. Wait, were you Jehovah's Witness? Yeah. My family still is. Hey. Or no, hi.

Ha ha ha! Listen to Outlaws with T.S. Madison on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, honey. Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, honey. when we win the championship, we lost this year. So thank y'all for. You always invited me. Don't you start that, you always invited me. Well the new book, Uncommon Favor is out right now.

Basketball North Philly, My Mother and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three is out right now. How are you feeling? I'm feeling great. Like, I mean my friends have received their books and they have nothing but like great things. Like I am, my cup runneth over. They had you all over the place yesterday.

Yeah they did, I gotta give you a shout out. And you sparked the conversation. So many people have asked me to write a book and I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, like yeah, right? But it came from so many different people. And then when I came on the show in 2022, we talked about it and you just, you kept the conversation going,

you were real persistent with it. And that's what I'm attracted to most, is somebody that actually is in. Persistent. Yeah, persistent and know the process. You knew the process. I don't know if you knew my story, so to speak, but you knew enough to know that this book

will be received well, and I appreciate that. I do. Well, people like you don't come around too often, Don. You are once in a generation of just person, and you really learn that when you read the book, not even just as a coach, but as a basketball player, but more so as a child of Philadelphia, man. I mean, I had fun.

Like the process was fun. It's liberating, it is, you know, you don't really know how you're gonna be received, but every person, like I'm actually waiting for a critic. Like I'm waiting for somebody to say, what didn't go right in the book? And then we have yet to get to that point. And I just, one of my friends was listening,

had a long road trip, listened to the entire book yesterday. And she was like, I'm in tears, I'm laughing. I get it, like the leadership part of it, like, I mean, the emotions that are in the book. And it's me, so some of it is emotional me. Some of it is just, I'm able to just get it out because I remembered most of it and I had to call on my siblings

to kind of fill in the gaps. But it's me, like it's so me, it's so relatable. It's so just, it was an easy process. So was it therapeutic at all to do it? No, it was an easy process. So was there was the therapeutic at all to do it? No it was just natural wasn't like it was natural I think sharing my story is just relatable to people it's not like you know I don't think it's a you know like in we don't overdo it with the accolades it's like the accolades are intertwined and everybody the accolades. It's like the accolades are intertwined

and everybody's accolades won't be like Olympian and National Champions, but on a certain level, like if you graduate high school, it's relatable. If you graduate college, it's relatable. If you can pull yourself out of the projects of any city, it's relatable. And there's no wrong path.

Like there's no, like you can get off, till turd, but then you gotta come back. By like habits, come back by, you know, the lessons in the book are just, just it relates to every single thing that you would wanna accomplish in life. And I'm not just saying that to pump the book, but it really is.

I'm only giving what other people are giving me, the feedback they're giving me. And it's cool to hear people just relate to the book. The beautiful thing about Uncommon Favor is you get to tell your own story. So when you're writing the book, what part of your story did you wanna tell because you think people misunderstood it

or are overlooking it the most? Well, one is when I speak on things that are controversial, racial things, it's my perspective. A lot of times people can't see what you see because it's not their experience. Their experience is only hearing you and commenting on how you feel about certain things when anybody can feel strongly about certain things.

I feel strongly about everything in this book because it happened to me. Like it's personal and it's my perspective, but it's not harmful. Like allow people to tell their stories without hurting your feelings. It's personal and it's my perspective, but it's not harmful. Allow people to tell their stories without hurting your feelings. It's personal to me.

Now you could be a critic of the book or you can enjoy the book and you can do all those things, but everything in this book is my story, is a part of who I am, is allow me to grow and learn and succeed and fail and all those things that happen to everybody sitting around this table and everybody that will read it or not read it, it's going to happen to you no matter what.

So I think some of the stuff like the, when I sued the AD at Missouri, you gotta get the whole backstory, because if you only hear one side of it, you only hear snippets of it, you'll think, oh, well, why did she do that? Or equal pay. You already making a lot of money,

why would you want equal pay? Well, because I know my worth. It's not hard to see. I think this book is very simple, very simple lessons that I'm hoping that people can take and utilize in their daily lives. I love it because people know you from different things. Some people know you as a player,

some people know you as a coach, but with this book it starts from where you came from, which is North Philly. Raymond Rosen Housing Projects. And you talk about, you know, you said growing up in the projects was the best decision your parents made. Explain that a little bit and how that formed to the woman that you are today.

Just imagine the people that don't grow up in the projects. What you think happens in the projects. You think probably only one thing, crying, like bad things. And for me, it was the foundation of giving me the scars I needed, the chinks in the armor I needed to succeed. There was unity in the projects, there was discipline in the projects,

there was manicure lawns. There was, my block I grew up never had trash in it. Like, it was captain in a way that would compete with any suburban lawn or neighborhood. So it was all those things that helped build you up. Like, I'm unbothered and unafraid to tackle on the most challenging things in life because that's nothing compared to what I,

that's nothing. So I think it gave me the foundation I needed to just be able to coach every day, like coach young people. Generations are changing. Coaching talent and individuals and young people nowadays is very, very challenging. And if you-

And I can imagine, cause you know, being a player, I'm sure you got screamed at crazy. Yeah. But if you dare talk to your girls like that, You can't, you gotta- You've been in the resource office. Exactly, so if you're not able to pivot, if you're not able to handle different challenges that you're faced with, like I feel bad for coaches who aren't, like I'm a traditional

coach. I like order, I like, you know, people call them rules, people think I'm very strict and disciplined and I am, I am, but all of our rules are just good character themes. Like good, it's a good character. It's not like, be on time. That's not a rule, that's a character trait. That's not hard to do. If there's something that you wanna do,

you have one of the lessons, you have to do what you don't wanna do to get what you want. Like. That's the lesson I was going to actually do. Yeah, like, you know, I mean, you're a renowned comedian, right? Yes. Like, you know how many stand-up shows you had to do that maybe you weren't very good at

at the beginning? Yeah. Like, but you want to be where you are today. You just kept at it and kept at it and kept at it. It's no different than a child that wants to grow up and be in the WNBA or the NBA. How much competition's out there? So you gotta work when nobody's working. You gotta get up and work out and sacrifice.

I mean, I sacrifice proms, I sacrifice all these things, family reunions, because I wanted to be the best in my profession. And that's okay, you gonna have to choose. You definitely don't have to choose certain things over other things in order for you to really be the best at it. I love how you embrace your inner child.

I love this picture on the back. What's a moment from your childhood that still shapes how you handle pressure today? You know, there's a story that I share in the book about my father, who, I mean, I'm over 50 now, right? But when he, I don't know if I was 12, 14 maybe, I got a chance to, I got invited to play on this team, this competition outside of Philly.

Like it was a road trip and my father was like, no, you can't go. Like that hurt me, like it really hurt me and I remembered it so vividly that, for him to deny me that, because it was one of the first times, but I'm 13, 14 years old, who's parents gonna let them, somebody else,

take their child out of state? Like I wasn't thinking about that, I was solely thinking about basketball, but it was one of the experiences that drove me. I didn't like my father for that. Like I didn't like him for the parental decision that he made. But as I'm older now and reflecting on and writing a book,

it is, I need conflict. I know that about myself, that I need conflict. Like everything can't be comfortable. Like if I have 10 people supporting me here, I need about 10 to 12 people that's hating. Like I need it. I mean it helps me. It drives me. It drives me.

Like it drives me. That's why you said I don't have a critic yet. I'm waiting for a critic for the book right now. Right, so it's that, it's the ability. We lost at UConn this year. The critics are saying I can't coach. I didn't understand that. That makes me also, I'm like.

That's what they say, but I'm like, okay. But again, everything that I've needed in my life, failure, success, happens to me. It's uncommon, but I know our loss this year will somehow help us. It will, it's just, I'm not just relying on it helping us. I'm gonna put action to it. So it means something.

I loved when you said that in a post-game conference, you was like, I hope that they're crying. I hope that my players are crying. I hope that it hurts, that'll make them be better next year. Yeah, I mean, the most growth takes place when you're uncomfortable, the most. If you're comfortable all the time,

and I've said this as well, like parents really don't want their kids to feel what they felt, like pain. And I'm like, I want them to feel a little pain. I want them to hurt, I want them to be uncomfortable. And I love them enough to allow them to sit in that space. Because not for long, but they need to fight their way out of it

because nothing's gonna be given to them. I don't like that place. I don't like to feel that. So I fight like hell to try to not feel that by prepping, by doing everything I need to do to not feel that. It's almost like when you grow up in the projects and you grow up in poverty, you don't want that anymore. Like you don't want that. It's almost like when you grow up in the projects and you grow up in poverty, you don't want that anymore. Like you don't want that. Once you've lived

and you've, you know, earned a certain keep, you want to keep that because you want to change generations in your family and I hope I'm able to do that. You seem like you've always been a natural born leader, like throughout your whole life, even when you were the child. It made me wonder if coaching never entered your life, where do you think your leadership would have shown up instead? Oh man, that's a hard question.

Like I'm competitive. I probably would have been a losing gambler. But trying like heck, like trying like heck. I don't know. I mean, I do, I love kids. So my work would have been with kids. And I'm glad that coaching found me. Like I'm glad somebody saw something in me

that I didn't see in myself. I didn't see coaching. I didn't want to coach at all. And I don't know why, because I had great coaches. I had great people in my life that challenged me, that were good at it. But when I had coaching friends, the only thing they talked about were their teams

and basketball. And I'm like, yeah, this is what I do every day. I do this every day. Why would I want to talk about it every day. Why would I wanna talk about it every day? Why would I want my life consumed with it? And here I am 25 years later, loving it. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. And when you're able to live out your passion,

it's the most beautiful, liberating, and incredible experience. I know my players really get something out of our relationship, they do. They build character, they navigate life. But for me, I'm overjoyed when they graduate. I'm overjoyed on draft night. I'm overjoyed when they're able to see their hard work

produce what they want produce what they want. Like, what they want to like. Even if they don't make it to the league, they're equipped. They're equipped with being successful with anything. Like, seriously, that is, that does something to my heart when young people are able to get what they're supposed to get. And how do you block out the noise,

or do you like the noise? Because you said you like the haters. You like the people that's doubting you. But do you need to block that out when you're coaching, when you're teaching your girls, or teaching your women? How do you deal with that? I mean, that hate usually comes from social media. Like, yeah, I read it.

I see it all. Sometimes I... Can you dive into it? No, I look at it again and sometimes I'm like, okay, 10, nine, eight, seven. I gotta take a 10 count. All right? That's bad.

Some people go like this and delete, they write and they delete. I'm like, I'll give them that. But my life is living proof that what you're saying doesn't impact me in the way that it was dealt out. It impacts me in a way of proving you wrong. I'm an odds beater, I beat the odds.

So the odds say, I've already won, okay? This is really just icing on the cake. So it drives me for sure. You know, you talked about your players. You got a lot of success stories from your time coaching at the University of South Carolina, but in the book you make it no secret that Asia Wilson is your favorite.

Well, I mean, here's why. Here's why. And I've coached a lot of great players. Like Asia was the very first player that was the number one player in the country to decide she wanted to come play for us. And I know it was in her backyard, but she had, we didn't look like a national championship team.

Like we never won a national championship. We had never been to the final four. So for her to trust us with that part of her career meant that she believed in us. She trusted us. She knew that we were gonna get her to where she needed to go as far as still being the number one draft pick, like four years later.

Like when someone, and it wasn't just her, it was her entire family believed in it. And it took some, you know, it took us at times, them thinking, did we make the right decision? Because she started her first game, and then she was terrible, like scrub-like, right? Scrub-like is pretty far, that's far.

So I was like, I gotta take you out of the starting lineup. But I didn't even tell her that. I told her parents first. And her mom, Eva, even was like you sure you're gonna have to trust me on this one like you just gonna have to trust me and she was like all right but at the end of her freshman year she was national rookie of the year she was first team all SEC she was rookie of the year in the SEC like she got all the accolades coming off the bench. And when someone believed,

when someone as a coach and leader and mentor, young people believe in you, like they really do. When that's reciprocated, because I believed it, I knew that she was going to be the one that takes us to that next level. When you're able to have the same synergy, right? And Asia was hell to deal with, right? Because she's young, like she went to private school

for like 12 years, all of her schooling was private school. And so she needed to be roughened up a little bit to get her ready for what she faces. Like she faces the critics right now, but I know she can handle them because we took her through all of that. Like she had dyslexia, right, throughout her college career. And I'm like, okay, you gonna read in front of the team.

Every time we have a game, because we have a, like, you know, we have a scripture reading and an inspirational reading before every pregame meal. And there's somebody that has to read it. So I was like, you gonna read? It took her senior year. Couldn't do it the first, second, third. Her senior year she read out loud.

And she had fun with it. She was like, y'all this is alone. Y'all gonna have to bear with me. Like it was that kind of liberation. So when she gave her entire self to me, the good, the bad, the ugly, entire. And that's why I just have a really strong relationship with her.

She can tell me anything. I'm non-judgmental. Young people won't wanna tell you everything because they think you're gonna judge them. I don't judge. There's nothing that any one of my current, former, future players can tell me that's gonna rock me that I haven't seen.

Everybody's been through, there's no new problems. It's the same old recycled problems. So just give it here so you're not dealing with it longer than you need to. What was something about your relationship with Asia that the fans and media don't see, but it means the most to you? She gives me her darkest moments.

Wow. Like her darkest. Like you see an incredibly like gift. I think she's the best player in the world, right? She is. That's what it's about. She's the best player in the world. I mean, she has doubts at times.

Like whether she's gonna perform at this level. And she gives me that. And I, you know, I'm like- It's a lot of pressure. Yeah, she's going to perform at this level and she gives me that and I'm like, yeah, it's a lot of pressure. So, you know, I've had experience with it because I played with the best player in the world during my day, Lisa Leslie. Same conversations I had with Lisa. Like, okay, it's time for you to be the best player in the world. Like come championship time, come gold medal time, like I'm used to giving them, I'm used to pumping them up and at the end of the conversation, thank you coach.

I mean, and it's not much, it's just boom, be done with it. What is your biggest? Even in lesson four, right, when you say you have to do what you don't want to do to get what you want, you weren't even good with people at first. I mean, you said you could not, you had a job that you had got through your mom's cleaning, she would get you all jobs through her cleaning company and you didn't even want to greet people.

It wasn't a company, my mom was a one woman show. Well, you know, she would get you all these jobs and you did not do good with greeting people because that means you had to talk to people. That's not even what you wanted to do. And then look at you now, like that journey from there to there. How is, like, how did you get there doing that? Something that you didn't even want to do,

communicate with people. Well, when you're the youngest of five, you don't really get to say, I grew up in a household, I'm the youngest. Nobody gave me any credit, I couldn't speak. I got an older brother who's eight years older, my deceased next oldest brother, seven years, my sister's six years older than me, and I got another brother that's two years older than me.

You're not getting a say in our household. So I was quiet, observant, listened, really formed discernment during those times. And then you grow, like you really grow. When I went to college, I was still the same way. Like I never talked, I was shy. And then, you know, things start happening to you. And you're like, if I don't say anything,

they're gonna start taking advantage of me. So now I'm, you know, I think growing up and seeing things, and that's, you know, it's so cool that, you know, how I explain myself in this book, And that's, you know, it's so cool that, you know, how I explain myself in this book, it lends itself to another lesson, which is look, sound, feel. If something looks, sounds, or feels off, oh, I'm addressing it, I can't.

Like, it's in me to address it. If it looks, sounds, or feels off, I mean, off, I'm addressing it. If it looks, sounds, or feels good, I'm encouraging it. Like it is that, that's where I found my voice when something just didn't seem right or something that really seemed right that I wanted more of.

What accolade meant the most to you? I would say I'm so far from my playing days. That don't even really count that. Probably when my players graduate. That's the best feeling. Because we sit in the living rooms and we say your child will graduate. And sometimes it's a first generation of college graduate.

Do you know what that means to the family? Like it's not, it just doesn't impact that my player, it impacts everybody that comes after her or everybody in her current family that desires to get a higher education. They'll go out and do it because it's not tangible in some homes. It's not something that someone has ever done

in their household. And for that to happen, their generations will change from that. So it's just the impact of that. You know, it's interesting, right? Because I was watching you yesterday, you did Good Morning America, The View, Colbert, all of that stuff like that.

So you was working, but I still know you still the coach at the University of South Carolina. But I was like, oh, you know what? She'll be fine, because she used to play ball and coach at the same time, which I found out about in the book. That was insane. Six years. That's crazy.

Six years. I mean, when I got into coaching, I was like in my prime. So, you know, the AD at the time, he kept asking me, like he was persistent. Like, I'm like, no, no, I'm not interested. I'm planning a WNBA. And then he just kept asking and then I ended up having to go meet with him because the Final Four was in Philly, from Philly. He knew I was going to be there.

So I went and sat down with him, and he asked me two questions. He was like, can you lead? Did you do your research? Did you, right? And I was like, yeah, I basically was the captain on every team that I played on, right? And then he was like, can you turn

Temple Women's Basketball program around? I was like, oh, is that a challenge? Like, is that really a challenge? Because I'm drawing the challenges. And I never looked at it that way. And I never answered the question. I don't even think I answered the question. He was like, hey, can you just come down the hall

and meet some people? So I was like, okay, I'm here. And he took me in this conference room, sat me at the head of the table, and there were like 10 to 12 people sitting around this table, and they're asking me questions, like where do you see yourself in five years? I'm like, playing in the WNBA.

And they were like, do you ever see yourself coaching? And I'm like, no. Like, y'all, they were interviewing me. I was on a job interview. And I didn't know it, because all my job interviews were tryouts, like basketball, like physical tryouts. And needless to say, I took the job two weeks later,

and they just agreed to allow me to continue to play and coach. So I was in like basketball utopia because I was coaching and I'm actually still able to express myself on the court because I wasn't ready to hang up my shoes. I was still very much a player. And I think that allowed me to play a little bit longer

than I wanted to. And that allowed me to keep staying fresh with what was up with teaching young people. Because they were more enthralled with me playing, because that's what they wanted. Like I was living their dream, right? Before their very eyes. And I think it just helped me be a better coach,

be a more understanding coach, because I was a player receiving information from a coach and then I just helped the dynamics of what I was doing. And I guess we learned how to get you to do things, be persistent and present you with a challenge. Right, like as I think about it, and this is not in the book, but everybody that I had in my, But everybody that I had in my circle, like I got a financial guy, he pressed me for a whole year when I was at South Carolina. He would come and just visit, just check in,

and then finally I gave all my money to him. Like 17 years later, he's still with me. And it's the coolest thing to have someone just, because you know, like, pour in. Like, I mean, you poured into me with this book. Like, you understood it. Like, I didn't wanna write a book. Like, I don't know why, but I didn't wanna write a book.

But then when we won last year in an undefeated way, like I'm like, this is, this is my cup runneth over. This is uncommon favor. And we tried to come up with different titles for the book and it always came back to this because this really explains my entire life. Like if I had to describe my life, my career, it's uncommon favor to the nth degree.

Have you ever questioned whether you were too hard or not hard enough on a player? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's all teaching moments where I wanted a freshman to beat out a senior. When I kind of first, my first couple of years at South Carolina, we recruited this young lady because I thought she would be the best.

I was like, this is the one I want. So all of our coaching staff, we zeroed in on her. She committed, she came. And then I was really hard on her. Like, you got to do, I tried to pour everything in because I wanted her to beat the senior. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the podcast Betrayal. Police Lieutenant Joel Kern used his badge to fool everyone. Most of all, his wife, Caroline.

He texted, I've ruined our lives. You're going to want to divorce me. Caroline's husband was living another life behind the scenes. He betrayed his oath to his family and to his community. She said you left bruises, pulled her hair, that type of thing. No. How far would Joel go to cover up what he'd done?

You're unable to keep track of all your lies, and quite frankly, I question how many other women may bring forward allegations in the future. This season of Betrayal investigates one officer's decades of deception. Lies that left those closest to him questioning everything they thought they knew. Listen to Betrayal on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yo, K-Pop fans, it's your boy, BOMHAN, and I'm bringing you something epic. Introducing the K-Factor, the podcast that takes you straight into the heart of K-Pop. We're talking music reviews, exclusive interviews, and deep dives into the industry like never before.

From producers and choreographers to idols and trainees, we're bringing you the real stories behind the music that you love. And yeah, we're keeping it 100, discussing everything from comebacks and concepts to the mental health side of the business. Because K-pop isn't just a genre, it's a whole world and we're exploring every corner of it. And here's the best part, fans get

to call in, drop opinions and even join us live at events. You never know where we might pop up next. So listen to the K-Factor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This isn't just a podcast, it's a movement. Are you ready? Let's go. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes here. Diddy's former protege, television personality, platinum-selling artist, Denity King alum Aubrey O'Day joins us to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation.

Aubrey O'Day is sitting next to us here. You are, as we sit here, right up the street from where the trial is taking place. Some people saw that you were going to be in New York and they immediately started jumping to conclusions. So can you clear that up? First of all, are you here to testify in the Ditty Trial? Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise based on her firsthand knowledge.

From her days on Making the Band as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be opposite of the glitz and glamor. It wasn't all bad, but I don't know that any of the good was real. I went through things there. Listen to Amy and TJ Presents, Aubrey O'Day,

covering the Diddy Trial on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey y'all, it's your girl, T.S. Madison, coming to you live and in color from the Outlaws Podcast. On this week's episode, we're talking to none other than Chaperone and Sasha Colby. And let me tell you, no topping is off limits, honey. We talk about the lovers, the haters, and the creator.

I worked at Scooter's Coffee Drive-Thru Kiosk. And you are from the Midwest. And in the Midwest, they told you, well, just be humble. Like, you've heard this countless times. You too, right? Oh, yeah, it's very like big in Hawaii. Mine was I think wrapped up in like Christian Dill. Oh yeah, we definitely have like

some Jehovah's Witness guilt there, yeah. Yeah, wait were you Jehovah's Witness? Yeah. So you were Jehovah's Witness? I grew up that, yeah, my family still has hair. Oh no, bye. Listen, she may have been working the drive through in 2020, but she's the name on everybody's lips now, honey.

Listen to Outlaws with T.S. Madison on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, honey. Proud, I couldn't just give her. I couldn't just give her. I just, I'm not in a, you gotta earn it because you gotta, you gotta protect your locker room. Because if you just giving out something

and you lose trust. So I wanted, so I poured into her, I was hard on her, and she cried at different times of the season. And then I would talk to her, like I thought everything was good. You know, we were working towards it sometimes, they cry sometimes, you know, they can take it.

And then at the end of the season, like I always do, I have our post-season meeting, and she said something that just didn't dawn on me during the year, like she was like, I wasn't ready. And I never thought she wasn't ready. If she would have said that to me, like during the season, I would have backed off. But she was just like, I wasn't ready.

I'm like, I'm sorry. So I do think that it strained our relationship. I think she understands it now, because she's a coach now. So she kind of understands it, but I had to change how I operate in that space, because, and I ask our players to talk to me more. Like I could be a better coach when you talk to me.

If not, I'm assuming that everything I'm saying, you're good with. So now it's like how you feel about this? How you wanna play this? How you wanna do this? What do y'all think? I'm more of a listener and I'm involved, and more inclusive with game planning,

more inclusive with how we handle problems that come up on the team, between teammates, all of that. I'm just like, we talk it out. Like we talk it out. I expect like it's not a rhetorical question, it is an inclusive question. Hey, let's talk about this. Because I find that if you don't address it, it grows.

And then you're halfway through the season and like, y'all still on that? When a two minute conversation could resolve it all. I wanted to ask about your father, right? You mentioned your father earlier in the interview. And you said your relationship wasn't that great. What you said, it got better over the years. Do you understand some of the things

that your father was trying to implement in you as a young girl, because they said that your father looked at women's basketball and felt there wasn't too many opportunities and didn't know if you could sustain at that time, and do you wish that you kind of put yourself in his mentality back then as a child? Because even with the name of the book,

it says basketball in North Philly, my mother, but not my father. So, explain that a little bit. Good catch. But not my father. No, no, I know. I know. Good catch.

You know, I think even the one family members that are closest to you, yes, I should have had a much more mature outlook on that relationship. Now that you can reflect on it, now that you can see, because I held that. If you can hear that, I still hold that instance. But when you're coaching, right?

And you come up with, you come into a situation where you hurt a player. Like you hurt that player, like you hurt that player. That was like probably 12 years ago. I hurt that player like it. It drives me to not hurt other players. Right. Um, and I wasn't mature enough or savvy enough to handle that at 12 or 13.

So I do think it's, it's helped me be a better coach. It helps me be a better person to really, like again, I didn't talk about things. I held that for, my father probably didn't, probably doesn't, he's been dead and gone since 2001. Like I don't even think he really knew how much that hurt me. But also use that to navigate. The nose, like I handle nose a lot better

because of that, because of that. It wasn't like my mom, I was the baby girl. The baby girl, so the baby girl holds a special place. And you know, with your mother. My father was a tremendously, like, not high education, like he didn't, but he was worldly. Like he knew, he was a carpenter, he was a mechanic. He knew everything worldly,

from when I was younger until adulthood. And he really had a stronger relationship with my other siblings because they were older too. They could have a conversation with him about anything. And I still used to sit back, even as an adult, sit back and kind of listen to them have these conversations about prime ministers and presidency and politics.

Like I wish he was alive today to hear his perspective on what was happening in our world today because he was super up with everything. I love the respect the power of habits chapter. And in that chapter, you speak extremely highly of South Carolina's own Malaysia for a while. And you even refer to her as a younger, savvier version of you.

You say, and this is a quote, "'I heard from so many adults who gave their own parents hell only to see their teenagers return the favor. Now it's my turn in the barrel.'" So when I see you had, when I read that and I was like, damn, she had so much love for Malaysia. What was your initial reaction when she decided to enter the portal and was it surprising to you?

Surprising? No. I think, you know, being in this space, you become, you know, to expect the unexpected, right? I still have much love for Malaysia, like much love. Like I want her happy. She came in, she said, she and her mom came in, she said, I think I'm going to get into the transfer portal. So I'm like, okay, well you think or you know?

And she said, I know. And I said, well, I said, I only want you happy. Like I really do only want our players happy. Whether that's with us or somewhere else, just be happy. I told her don't look back. I know it's probably gonna be hard to not look back, to see you leaving your hometown and all that. I said don't look back.

You made this decision, just go forward with it. And don't look back. You're always gonna be a Gamecock. You're always gonna be welcomed here. I wish her the best. And when I say that, people probably think, oh, but I do, like I really do. Like, cause I am, what's for us is for us.

What's not is what's not. Let's keep moving. I don't stay in despair. I don't stay in those spaces for very long. I'm like, okay, we gotta get recruiting. We gotta get back into this portal to see who we can get to help us. I think she's gonna have a promising career.

I do think she's a generational talent. That will never leave. She does things on the basketball court that I've never seen a woman do. And she'll continue to do that and will continue to be happy for her, except the one or two times that we have to play them. Like it's on.

Like she's gonna be super competitive against us. We're gonna wanna win and it's gonna be a pride thing. That comes with just being a competitor. And we got much love for her and her family. Do you feel like the Transfer Portal era forces coaches to evolve faster when it comes to player relationships? Yeah, well for me, I need that.

I need to have a relationship with you. I need that. I'm not good in one-offs. I'm not good at transactional relationships. I'm not good. I don't wanna turn my heart off. My heart is the thing that leads me and I need that type of connection

and I'm never gonna go there with the transfer portal, transactional mindset. It's helped and it's hurt. I do think that something needs to happen regarding how many times you can transfer. Like how many, like how many is how many? Like one I think is great, like you pick the wrong school. Find the right school, transfer.

I think when you're able to transfer two, three, you can be at four different schools in four years and does it create more opportunity for them to be wealthier? Yes, it does. And I think us women are trying to get all of that back because I think our game has been held down for so long that now that this space is open to us and we're thriving in it, we're thriving in the name,

image, and likeness space, we're thriving. We're thriving in the name, image, and likeness space. We're thriving. But I don't want people to lose sight of what team is. My whole life is built around team. My personal life, I got a team of people, team of friends that come hell or high water. We're gonna stick together whether we agree or disagree, we're gonna do it agreeably. And I just, I want that for our game.

I don't want our game to lose that part of it because it's the very thing that's been attracting and magnetic to the fans. Now this has nothing to do with the book, but I wanted to ask since we're talking about players. You know, WNBA has taken a huge jump in the last couple of years, and I love it. My daughters love it, my sons love it.

What do you think was going on in the WNBA where it seems like they're pitting, you know, Kaitlyn Clark against Angel Reese, right? Kind of what they did in the NBA back in the day, but it was more teams, right? I guess not, maybe not teams. It was Magic vs. Bird, this one vs. that one. But this one, it just seems like it seems very personable.

So what are your thoughts, like even the other day with that foul, and they called it a flagrant foul, I don't necessarily agree, but what are your thoughts on it? You don't think it was a flagrant foul? I think it was just a foul. From what I've seen, me playing basketball, me watching basketball, I think if it would've been anybody else, it might've just been a foul.

I don't know if it was a flagrant, so just asking your thoughts. Well, I think the officiating has a hard job. That's one. The decipher whether or not that's a flagrant one or not. Hard job, hard job. And I do think they understand the dynamics of Angel and Caitlyn.

I do. I think it's great for our game. Because it's like, yeah,, like it's a sport. Treat us like a sport. Don't treat us anything other than being a sport. It happens in every sport. Soccer, basketball, football, it happens in every sport. So let it be.

I'm gonna take the lead of Angel and Kaitlyn. And that lead is, they said it was a foul. The officials got it right, we're moving on. And that lead is, they said it was a foul. The officials got it right, we're moving on. That's what I'm, I'm gonna take their lead, okay? I think it's, I think it pulls people in. I do think there are new fans that haven't watched our game and they really don't know.

So they only, they're only singly focused on Katen. That one part, right? Right? that haven't watched our game and they really don't know. So they only singly focused on Katen. That one part, right? Right? So when you're that, and that's their idol. That's who attracts them. But I just hope that they'll open their eyes to the rest of the talent that is there.

Like the product is incredible, and it's in high demand. We played Kaitlyn in the national championship last year, right? 20 million, it topped off at, whatever it topped off at the most, right? I know, I know they saw us. Like I know they saw us. I know they saw us. I know they saw us. I know they saw us have an undefeated season.

I know they saw Camila Cardozo. I know they saw Ashlynne Wax. I know they saw Tessa Johnson have an incredible career or day. I know they saw Malaysia do some incredible things. So open your eyes up to seeing, you know, outside of Caitlin, well, not even outside, included, because she's a part of a part of it all.

So, you know, I'm looking forward to the next time they play to be glued in just like everybody else. Yes. The wrong call in that scenario was Leah Boston getting called for a tech. Exactly. What did she get a tech for? She didn't even know until after the game. The wrong call in that scenario was A'lea Boston getting called for a tech. Exactly. What she gonna tech for?

She didn't even know until after the game. But do you feel like they should let- And she tech with her money. She wants somebody to pay her fine. Well, Kaelin said she gonna pay it. Yeah. Do you feel like they should let the players play? Because I notice not just WNBA, but NBA too.

It just seems like they're taking too much control and not letting the players play. Again, officiating. Hard, hard, hard, because you want them to just play, but you also know that it can escalate. And we know when things escalate, whether it's basketball, whether it's policing, we know when they escalate.

We gotta learn how to de-escalate and then allow the players to do what they do. The game itself is gonna lend itself to whatever, whether it's really physical, whether it's free flowing. It's gonna lend itself to whatever it is. I just think that officiating is a tough job. Not even that, coaches are on your butt all the tough, tough job. Not even that, like coaches are like on your butt all the time, like I'm, including me, like, it's, they get, I mean they get paid a whole lot of money

too to take that, but they're the best in our game. Like they're the best. If there were better people to officiate the games, they would already be in the best. If there were better people to officiate the games, they would already be in the game. Right. Last question about this. The replay feature, you like it or hate it? I like it.

Why? I like it because officials make mistakes. Right? I mean, it allows you, it allows them to be corrected because they're wrong. I would say this, we have officiating conversations every year when we go to our spring meetings. Then if they have a 90% correct call rate, that's excellent.

That's excellent. That's amazing. Well, what about the 10%? Especially if they cost games, like real important games. Exactly, what about the 10%, like what is done to them for being, for calling something incorrectly 10% of the time that has implications of, for us, NCAA seeding, right? Like for the NBA, you know, like every game matters. So, I mean, they're never gonna get that part right,

but it's a part of the game, it's part of the dynamics of the game that, again, it's conversation. And we should have conversation. I don't think the officials want us to have conversation about this, but you're a part of it. If I'm gonna get criticized for losing, you should get criticized for not making the correct call. I got a few more questions.

I wanna go back to that chapter, respect the power of habits, right? Because when you talk about Malaysia, it is with such reverence, how do you balance disappointment as a coach with support for somebody like her who just wanted to make a decision for herself? Like if a young person is gonna speak on

what they deem is good for them, that's half the battle. Like half the battle is to be able to speak up. And you know how hard it was for her to do that? Like really hard, really hard. So I understand that dynamics of her decision making. And then it's like, okay, well, what do you do with it? Like if she was my player and, you know, there was a chance for her to want to come back.

Or if she decided that that's not what she wanted to do. I was going to talk to her about why, why did it come to that? What makes you think this isn't a place for you? And for whatever she said, we would go from there. I thought Malaysia was getting better. Like I really saw a whole lot of growth on and off the court to where like LSU's gonna get the best of her now. Like we went through the, you know, we went through the hard part of just kind of smoothing

some rough edges and getting her to create good habits. Like I do think habits are the thing that allows you to elevate, right? I do, you know? So I think what we've given her and what she's given us will allow her to have much better days, much more consistent days than she had with us at her next stop.

Did she know you felt that way about her? Or she's gonna read the book and be like, damn. You know, and I wanna clarify, the book was written already before she made the decision. The book was written, you know, months ago. I'm sure, I share my feelings. Like, I don't have, I don't hide anything. I wear my heart on my shoulder.

I do think Malaysia really knows how I felt about her. I know her mother knows. I know, you know, regardless of why she came to that conclusion of wanting to leave, I know she knows, she felt our love. Now, you know, the playing time, the whatever, the, you know, for us maybe taking her out of the game when she felt like she wanted to just kind of keep

playing through some things. Now she probably questions that part of it. And I'm okay with that. A lot of players leave because of playing time. A lot of people leave, it's not for all the other stuff because we treat them like royalty. Like royalty, like royalty. Like we're probably enablers when it comes to

the treatment that we give our players. So. I'm sure she would have started this year, her junior year, right? I mean, who else was gonna hold her down? Like, so yeah, I mean, it wasn't, I don't think it was, I don't think it came down to starting, I really don't.

I think it came down to her wanting to play free and do what she wanted to do. And who's to say she wouldn't have been able to do that in her junior year. So what's the relationship with coaches? If Coach Kim at LSU calls you and asks for some tips on how to coach Malaysia for Wiley, do you give her any game at all?

You on your own. Hell no. I'm just saying, you know, this is battle. You figure it out. You on your own. Damn. Yeah, like, it ain't gonna help you. Help her.

Be us. No. No. The coolest thing about your book is, other than your stories and your experiences, baby, this basketball texture. What was that conversation like? What was it? Because I know this was your idea. You, this basketball texture. What was that conversation like? What was it, because I know this was your idea,

you wanted to do this, but did they say, did they give you pushback on it, like, no, we're not able to, we don't know, or how was that? See, Jess, you say a woman sees all that. That's a strategic part of, yeah, we got the cover back, right? And it was just a smooth surface like the front of it. I'm like, this would be cool

if it could feel like a basketball. I mean, the color, this would be really cool. Now, this was really late in the process, really late. They were like, oh, I don't know. We don't think we could do that. And when, and I didn't know they were working on it. I didn't know that they were actually got it done until I got my first copy.

And I was like, whoa. Oh wow. Yes, yes. Like I did want that. This is so creative. It's butter, right? Butter. Yes, man.

And congratulations on your statue in Columbia, South Carolina. Thank you. You and Asia Wilson got statues in Columbia. What would it take for a player to get a statue at the University of South Carolina? Cause I know they come and they be like, damn, Asia got one, what can I do to get that?

I mean, Aaliyah Boston had a incredible career. Like she did some things that Asia didn't do. Like she really did some things that Asia didn't do. She really did some things that Asia didn't do. I think when it comes to, and her impact, I think Asia, the total person, the proximity to South Carolina really helped her cause. But Aaliyah, from a basketball perspective, from a community.

She is all about community and what she stands for. She's a young lady that's really, I mean, if she was from South Carolina, there would already be a statue of her. Like, already. And the trajectory of her career, her impact that she'll have in the WNBA, I do think she's an Olympian.

I'll start the campaign of getting Aaliyah. I mean, Asia's and my statue are like two blocks from each other. Why not go two more blocks and you can hit all the statues for Aaliyah, all the statues in one pop. Wow. But y'all gonna win more championships. We, yeah, God willing.

Yes, final question, Charlotte Sting, why can't we bring them back to the Carolinas? Yeah, I get this. South Carolina or North Carolina? I get this question, and I get this question about Philly too, because Philly wants a WNBA team. I do think the Hornets and the Sixers got to do better. They got to do better.

They got to do better. You know, like, I think it's great when the NBA team is doing great. It helps with the whole camaraderie. But I do think, I will say this, sorry Philly, sorry Philly, but I do think Charlotte's more ready for WNBA team just from a fan perspective.

Like we draw, like we are, we draw, we're the highest attended games in the country at South Carolina, like for the past 10 years. Like no one's out drawn us over the past 10 years. So I do think we're ready from that perspective, but it's more than fan support. You know, it's a business, it's resources.

Who's gonna pour in to the team? If the team doesn't do well in the first year or two, which is highly likely, will there be enough resources poured into a team? We can put together the right investment group? I think so too. I'm down, because people want me to coach in the WMB. I don't want to coach in the WMB, I want to own.

I want ownership. Well, there youNBA. I don't want to coach in the WNBA. I want to own. Like I want ownership. All right. Well there you have it. I would invest. I got a little dollar. I got a couple dollars. I got a couple coins. Well thank you Don.

New book, Uncommon Favor, Basketball North Philly, My Mother and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three is available everywhere you buy books now. Go get it. You are guaranteed to learn something. That's right. You are an icon living Don. We appreciate your presence on this earth. We thank God for you. books now. Go get it, you are guaranteed to learn something. That's right. You are an icon living, Don. We appreciate your presence on this earth.

We thank God for you. Thank you. Thank you. And listen, I want everybody to remember that today Don Staley will be at the Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue in New York City. If you're in New York City, you can go see Don Staley at Barnes & Noble 1 p.m. today,

555 Fifth Avenue in New York. Go get a copy of Uncommon Favor signed. Don, thank you again. Appreciate ya. Sean Stanley. It's The Breakfast Club, good morning. Wake that ass up. Early in the morning.

The Breakfast Club. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the podcast Betrayal. Police Lieutenant Joel Kern used his badge to fool everyone. Most of all, his wife, Caroline. He texted, I've ruined our lives. You're going to want to divorce me. How far would he go to cover up what he'd done? The fact that you lied is absolutely horrific. And quite frankly, I question how many other women are out there that may bring forward allegations in the future. Listen to Betrayal on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcasts. Yo K-pop fans are you ready? It's your boy Bom Han and I'm bringing you the K Factor, the podcast that takes you straight into the heart of K-pop. We're talking music, idols, exclusive interviews, and even the real behind the scenes K-pop. We're talking music, idols, exclusive interviews, and even the real behind the scenes K-pop stories. Plus, you're the fans, you're part of the show. And you can get a chance to jump in, share your opinions, and be part of the conversation like never before.

And trust me, you never know where we might pop up next. So listen to The K-Factor starting on April 16 on iHeartRadio Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. This isn't just a podcast. It's a K-pop experience. Are you in? Let's go. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes here.

Diddy's former protege, television personality, Denity King alum Aubrey O'Day joins us to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. It wasn't all bad, but I don't know that any of the good was real. I went through things there. Listen to Amy and TJ Presents, Aubrey O'Day covering the Diddy Trial on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. It's your girl, Tia Madison, coming to you live, and it's color from the Outlaws podcast. We're talking to Chaperone and Sasha Colby. We talk about the lovers, the haters, and the creator. In the Midwest, they told you, well, just be humble. Mine was, I think, wrapped up in like Christian girls.

Oh, yeah. We definitely had like a Jehovah's Witness guilt there. Yeah. Wait, were you Jehovah's Witness? Yeah. My family still is. Hey. Or no, hi.

Hi. Hi. Listen to Outlaws with T.S. Madison on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, honey. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. ["I'm On My Way To You"]