← BFFR with Sydney Leroux & Ali Riley
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- [00:00]
A
Why should you watch women's sports? And I'm done with that question. I think it is we paint ourselves like a charity case when we convince people that we're worthwhile.
- [00:10]
B
Coach Jackie J. Made a video about Ali. I didn't think it could better. That was the best night of my life. And you will always be a huge part of that. So thank you.
- [00:19]
A
Ali Riley. Ally Riley. More like.
- [00:27]
B
Hello. What? Welcome back to another episode of BFFR Show. Before we get into it, obviously something is a little bit different this week. Sydney picked up a little injury in training, so she's getting that checked out. And this is the reality of having this show. While we're active professional soccer players, our. Our schedules and lives are pretty much at the mercy of our soccer team and our bodies. But Sid said boo boos. BFFR show must go on. So here I am. And if Sydney was here, she would want me to remind you to follow us on social media FFRshow, subscribe to the show on YouTube and of course, follow us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Because Sid doesn't care where you're listening as long as you're listening to us. Please rate and review the show. It helps others find us, and we definitely want to be found. Oh, and don't forget, you can call us at 1-833-txt-BFFR. That is 1-833-898-2337. If you're scared to pick up the phone, you can email us at feedbackffrshow. We love the questions coming in and if you send it through, it could end up on the show. So this is where we would normally kick things off with an affirmation, but I do want to take a moment to send our dear teammate, Savvy King. So much love and energy and thoughts and prayers from me and Sydney. We just wish you the speediest recovery. We miss you and we can't wait to see you back on the field. I am joined by a very special guest this week. I am a huge fan. It is Coach Jackie. Coach Jackie's social bio refers to herself as a lesbian Betty Cooper and Sporty Spice. She creates videos highlighting storylines in women's sports and is probably most widely recognized for her series. Is she gay or does she coach women's basketball? Okay, hit me. Hit me with the theme song.
- [02:50]
A
Okay, bffr.
- [02:55]
B
Well, thank you for introducing our podcast to you, but Coach Jackie J, what an honor. I have been looking forward to this moment. I'm so sorry Sid couldn't be here. We'll have to run it back, but thank you for being a guest on the BFFR show. Welcome.
- [03:14]
A
Oh, my goodness. I'm so excited to be here. And the honor is all mine. I literally freaked out when I got the email. I was like, yes, this is awesome. So, yeah, love it.
- [03:23]
B
Well, I've known about you for a long time. I feel like we've been trying to make something like this happen, and Sid was saying the exact same thing, but the universe wanted it to happen this way. And now we will have to have you on twice when Sid is here. But I will never forget first seeing your very viral series. Is she gay or does she coach women's basketball? Where did this idea come from? Did you know it would go viral? How is the series doing now?
- [03:53]
A
Oh, these are all great questions. It came from. I went to lsu, so I was a senior at LSU when we were. It was the March Madness that we were going to win. And I was watching it really intensely, and I was watching it with my. I bought ESPN plus. I hadn't had it before. I was like, we have to watch all the games.
- [04:12]
B
That's a big deal. That's a big deal that you. You locked in. You bought it in college.
- [04:17]
A
That's. That's a couple.
- [04:18]
B
Yeah. Yeah. I haven't even bought ESPN plus.
- [04:21]
A
Right. And so we're watching. We were watching an Iowa game. Lisa Bluder's coaching. And I said to her, do you think that she's gay? And she's like, I don't know. The haircut, I don't know. We kind of went back and forth, and we did what the video is are now where we kind of broke down the different components of her outfit and how she was acting and kind of started to get the sense of she was gay or not. And so I was. At the time, I was making videos, kind of just lesbian TikTok space videos. And I made a video every day for about a year up until then, that point. So I was like, all right, the video today is going to be, is she gay, or does she just coach women's basketball? And that one didn't go viral. It, like, got, like, I think 60,000 views or something when it first went up.
- [05:02]
B
Okay, that. That's a lot for those of us who are barely dabbling in TikTok. So. But I know a lot of your videos have way more than that. Okay, 60K. You're right.
- [05:11]
A
Well, I was still. I was at the time, pretty good. And then I made a second one, and then I made one About Kim Mulkey, of course. And that one is when it really just took off, because Kim Mulky is such a character. And it was awesome. It was so cool. And I had people following me. Not just I had all these queer followers already, you know, but then also through the sports world. And then also at the same time, my favorite team is winning. Like, everything was just coming together. And then. Yeah, now I still do it. I had done it for. I did one for you, I think, once before the World Cup.
- [05:41]
B
You sure did. That's, like, why people talk to me.
- [05:47]
A
Yeah, I do it for soccer. I do it for lots of different things, but I've. Every time I bring it back from March Madness, I have new fans who find it, and then they're like, you should do one about soccer. You should do it about this. I'm like, guys, I've done it about everything. There's not been a sport I haven't done. Is she gay for. But I appreciate it.
- [06:04]
B
Ahead of the 2023 Women's World cup, and I was so excited to really see you doing some soccer content. And you presented. Going to be doing the Women's World cup. And we won that first game. And you don't know how much clout that that video got me. Do you remember it? So it wasn't. You've done two. There was the. Is she gay or does she play women's soccer?
- [06:27]
A
Right.
- [06:27]
B
But there was also the Alire gay icon, which is one of my proudest moments of my life.
- [06:35]
A
I. Well, first of all, you are a gay icon. Ali Riley. Ally Riley, More like. No, but it's so true. And I. It was. So I played soccer my whole life. I was not really a basketball person. I've always been a soccer person. And so when I had this kind of. All of a sudden, this kind of more sports following, and it was thought to be the World cup. Right off that 2023 March Madness was the World Cup, I was like, this is perfect. I know about women's soccer. I've been following. It's my favorite thing ever. Like, it's. My special interest is women's sports. You know, women's soccer. And so it was so easy to, like, I obviously already knew about you. And then, you know, standing up for what's right and all these different things. I was like, oh, this is perfect. Like, I don't have to in other sports. Sometimes I have to find the characters I want to highlight and things like that. And for the World Cup, I already knew. I'm like, got to make a video about Ali Riley, people got to know about her. Like, it was awesome. And then you saw it, and I was like, oh, my gosh, Sydney, too, is the craziest thing.
- [07:33]
B
No, it was really great. And I think before you talked about me, which was obviously great, you mentioned something that was so important that I'm still always arguing about the power of language and how ours is the women's World cup and the men's World cup is the World Cup. And I thought your video was just so well done. You're so well spoken. You're so informed. I don't understand how anyone could ever disagree with anything you say. I guess we have similar values, but I think that's something that I'm just always fighting for. And I guess we'll see if it ever changes with soccer. But I have noticed some improvements with language. Have you noticed any. Any positives around that?
- [08:21]
A
I think that, like, I am not the kind of person that's trying to erase women's from anything. The World Cup. I. I am kind of. Because it's the year, right? Like, it's. The year is different. So it's the 20, you know, whatever, 2026 World Cup. It's going to be different from the 2027 World Cup. There's not two happening at the same time.
- [08:38]
B
Yeah.
- [08:39]
A
I'm a big fan of adding men's. So, like, it's going to be the NBA. It's going to be the mnba. And to be perfectly clear, whenever I say mnba, people are always like, that's hilarious. I'm not joking. That's not funny. Like, I'm just. That's what it should be like on your tv. And you see, like, this is what gets me the most, is just the small things, like the tv. And you're like, it'll be like college basketball. And then it'll say women's college basketball, and it's like, what are we doing? It doesn't make any sense. And I don't want to erase women's from anything, but it's just kind of like all of the men's leagues have these big words. Like, the MLB isn't like men's baseball. It's Major League Baseball, you know, and there's not a women's league that really just has, like, an awesome superlative for their league description.
- [09:30]
B
Yeah, no, you're so right. I mean, if we are going to erase women's, then, like, let's for the next 100 years have ours be the. The league. And then the men Be the men's League. You know, if we're really gonna. We will go that way. But yes, I think it's such a. People think it's such a small thing, or it doesn't matter. It matters. And if you don't think it matters, that's why we need to do it. Right.
- [09:56]
A
And when people get so mad when you say men's whatever, it's like, imagine that all the time. And also, just in. That's just a representative, like, conversations. Like, I'm sure you're way more aware than I am of, like, you bring up. You Google all the time. I'm such. In a woman's sports bubble. I don't think about men's sports literally at all. And I'll Google, like, arsenal, score. And I'm like, wait, that doesn't make sense. And then it's obviously the men's team first.
- [10:20]
B
And I'm like, no, I'm exactly the same. I. I don't think about it. And especially when maybe the women's game is today and the men's game is next week or on Wednesday, when I put that in there. And maybe when I'm looking for a time or what channel to watch, and then it is, oh, yes, the men play in three weeks, and this is where you can find it. I'm like, no, I mean the Arsenal game today, which women are playing in.
- [10:47]
A
Right, right.
- [10:49]
B
We could talk about this all day, but I have to. So I wore this really cool basketball jersey that Tori, one of our supporters for Angel City, made for me and Rue, and I was just wondering maybe if you would rate my outfit and just what I'm giving today, how you would break it down.
- [11:06]
A
Yeah, sure. I got you. Okay. So I think that the tank top inherently, especially with the kind of more basketball lining on the outside, is gay. The font is straight. Your hair. The placement of the bun is. See, there's like, a thing. But masked lesbians love a bunch of, like, they can mask lesbians before the haircut will, like, really do a bun for a long time.
- [11:31]
B
Oh, okay.
- [11:32]
A
Right.
- [11:32]
B
Okay.
- [11:34]
A
It's not messy enough to be a masculine bun, so it's straight.
- [11:37]
B
Okay. Okay. And then ballerina bun.
- [11:41]
A
Yeah. How many necklaces do you have on?
- [11:43]
B
I have on three.
- [11:45]
A
Gay. Honestly, it's like bisexual. Three. Three necklaces. Okay.
- [11:50]
B
Okay. Three.
- [11:50]
A
And then your wrists.
- [11:53]
B
I have my whoop on. Yeah. How do you feel about fitness trackers?
- [11:57]
A
Okay. So I just did someone over the weekend that had a watch and a whoop, and I now have no. I. I Now know what a whoop is. I now know that somebody can. I was like, two watches. It doesn't get any gayer than that. Like lesbians. We're on. Lesbians are early. Gay men, I feel like, are always late. These are the stereotypes. The whoop is. I. I don't know, straight. I think that if you have the whoop and the watch on the same wrist, that would be a power move. That would be very gay.
- [12:24]
B
Whoa. Okay. Yeah, no, I'm just going just single.
- [12:28]
A
But you have tattoos.
- [12:30]
B
Wow. Okay. And I'm going double here.
- [12:33]
A
Yeah, yeah. This is really good podcast material. The. The visual description of. Yes.
- [12:38]
B
Okay.
- [12:38]
A
Yeah.
- [12:38]
B
So I have a elephant. Okay. Now that on this side, I have aotearoa. So that's New Zealand and Maori. And then I have an elephant here that I got in Thailand with pro. The other billion tourists who went to Thailand and got an elephant tattoo.
- [12:55]
A
Love. Love. And I. I want to be clear. Two things. One is like, I think there's a misconception when I do these videos that I'm like, actively investigating.
- [13:05]
B
Right?
- [13:06]
A
Like, I get to an answer. I don't out people. I. If I can't find out who you're with publicly within like a couple scrolls, I don't make a video. I also don't ever say someone's sexuality. I just say who they're with because we don't know. You never know. Someone could be bisexual, somebody could be whatever. But it's all.
- [13:25]
B
You're very respectful. Very, very respectful.
- [13:28]
A
And it's all about just like normalizing, calling things gay. It's. It's not bad.
- [13:32]
B
If anything, it's a great compliment. And again, I told you that video, my teammates, they could not believe it. There was winning the game and then there was coach. Jackie J. Made a video about Ally. Like it would. It was like. It elevated the evening for all of us at home. I didn't think it could get better. I didn't think it could better. That was the best night of my life. And you will always be a huge part of that. So thank you.
- [13:59]
A
That is so crazy to me. That's. That's so insane. That's so awesome.
- [14:04]
B
I have to ask. So you do your series. Is she gay or does she play coach? Whatever. Women's sports, you also have a lot of just information storylines about women's sports and so many different sports. How much time does this take you? You are so well informed. You've done so much research. You are teaching me a lot about different sports. Like, how long is this taking you?
- [14:34]
A
Yeah, you know, it doesn't. It's the kind of thing where it's like, the more I do it, the easier it gets. But, you know, I just this, this past weekend, made a bunch of videos about Komogi, which is an Irish stick and ball sport that I literally did not know was a thing until my dad. My dad is a big part of it. He loves to text me articles. He loves to text me headlines.
- [14:51]
B
Oh, nice.
- [14:52]
A
Yes. My, my family, like, my mom is also on my page a lot, and she's like, the biggest fan and supporter, but also loves when she gets her moment.
- [15:02]
B
But no, yeah, you have on. You have her. You have your mom on there noticing or saying, pointing out if something is gay or looks gay or not.
- [15:10]
A
Oh, yeah. And I, I, we first did that because I thought it would be hilarious to only have her do, like, really famously gay people. Like to have her, like, be guessing if Chapel Road is gay or not, you know, and, like, that's hilarious. But then it started just, she just started to do all of it. She goes, the people love when I'm odds. Before I was doing content, I was. When I got to college and I realized I had control of the tv, I was like. And by the tv, I mean my laptop. I was like, I can watch whatever I want. I don't have to watch football anymore. I don't have to. I could just watch women's sports. And I had lsu, had great women's sports everywhere. So I would just start going. And that was my biggest, like, thing I did with my free time. And so a lot of it is just people, a journalist I've followed since I was in high school who I love to read what they write. And then I'm just following everyone and just trying to pay attention to what's going on. And I now I have, like, a really nice system of a community of people who DM me all the time. Like, Jackie, you got this. But it's like, sometimes it's a bit much where it's like, why haven't you brought up this really specific niche thing? And I'm like, guys, I. I'm really busy. I have a job. I'm so sorry. Like, blah, blah, blah. Yeah.
- [16:30]
B
What has been your most. I don't want to say popular. You can take it this way. But what do you feel has been your most impactful video or piece of content?
- [16:41]
A
I don't know. I don't know. I just made one recently about the Boston Marathon, and that was really. That was really fun. Like, I like those, those bigger stories that I can kind of take what's the moment of the day and get really specific with it. And like, one person's specific story, it always is, like, really special to me.
- [17:01]
B
How often, I mean, you're huge. You have a huge following. How often does the target of your video or your story reach out? Like, do you get comments? Do you get follow backs? Do you. Obviously, I'm obsessed with you, but besides me and Sid, do you get a response from, from the people that you're doing these amazing, hilarious highlights of?
- [17:26]
A
Yeah. I mean, it's such a strange thing. I just started Instagram, so now I'm like, a lot more people are on Instagram than TikTok. Like, of the athletes, I feel like, like, Megan Rapinoe just followed me over March Madness and I was like, Abby Wahma just followed me. Same time, like, with this whole. She followed me because of a rock climbing video. It tells you on Instagram why they follow you. And I'm like, all right, love it. I've made soccer stuff before, but love that.
- [17:52]
B
Oh, my gosh. Okay. Abby, Loving the rock climbing. Good to know.
- [17:56]
A
But, yeah, Sydney was the first ever person that I grew up loving that noticed who I was like, and it was the coolest thing that's still to this day, I think about that, like, I was like, I've made it. When she followed me. Yeah. I'm like, oh, my God, it's Sydney. And I texted my high school, like, bestie who we would always, like, watch soccer together, and we were, like, freaking out. So that was. That was really cool.
- [18:20]
B
Yeah, that's so sweet. She doesn't even realize the impact she has on people because she's very, very humble. I think because she's not here and because you are a fan, we should say something we love about Sydney. You go first.
- [18:33]
A
I just love, like, I know this is like, like, you be. You're. You're real here. But, like, Sydney has truly always been so real. And I think that there is more of a movement now for athletes to really share so much of their lives. But back then they're like, I'm talking, I don't know, 2015 era, that wasn't a thing. And she was doing that. And I truly remember thinking, like, it was just the coolest and, like, so impressive that she was so, like, just communicative with the fans about her life. And still to this day, obviously. So I. Yeah, I love that.
- [19:08]
B
Okay, well, you stole what I was going to say, but I, I do. I Think she's such an inspiration.
- [19:14]
A
I know her better or something?
- [19:16]
B
I don't know. Oh, my gosh. Okay, well, now I'm gonna say something really good here. I. To your point, she had a show on Facebook with her ex husband, and she gave birth to Rue on the show. I mean, she has really opened up her lives in the most intimate details and talking about her divorce, starting this podcast. And like you said, there weren't a lot of athletes, people in general, women, women of color, who would feel safe doing that, because it wasn't that safe to do it, even for her. But she really wanted to just be completely genuine and herself. And it has inspired so many people. And I. I love, too, that she is this badass. She makes these videos, and deep down, she's the biggest softie. And I love being able to see that side of her and be with her in those hard moments when, yeah, she's. She's going through a lot and Mother's Day, you know, just her interactions with her children. It's so special, again, that she shares that with all of us. And especially now, as I've been contemplating and actively preparing, hopefully for having my own family with Lucas, just having her support and just saying, like she said in our last episode, like, you don't know what you're doing, but if you want to do it, you got to do it. And just. It will come. And she's just kind of winging it, you know, and she makes us just all feeling safe to be who we are.
- [20:54]
A
Oh, my goodness. You nailed it. I feel like, absolutely. You win the trophy for us.
- [21:00]
B
Remarks there I was sweating in my gay but straight tank top here. What do you feel is being slept on right now in all these stories? The highlights, the information you're finding out, the athletes, maybe what's something that you're like, no, no, like, this is up and coming. Or I want to highlight this. That's not getting the attention that it. It should be getting.
- [21:24]
A
I think women's lacrosse is just such. It is so fun. They just had their, like, the Women's lacrosse league. So this is a funny kind of story. So they were in the DMV area, and that's where I am. And they had their first big tournament, the professional Now Women's Lacrosse league. And there was a huge snowstorm, and it was really hard to get there. And my girlfriend and I were like, we gotta go. Like, this is gonna be so much fun. We got to go. So we, like, Uber. I don't have a car. I live in the city, like, Uber, 40 minutes out of town in the middle of the snow store in the snow. And the guy, like, the guys at the radio. On the radio's just like. So just don't be in, like, names. The road. And it's exactly the road we're on. Like, it was just awful. And we get there, and there's not that many people there because of the snow, but. And they had this song that they had written for the. For the women's lacrosse league, and it's sponsored by Maybelline, and it was Maybelline Women's Lacrosse League. And they just, like, kept playing it. And there were. But there were this group of little girls who had grown up watching Maryland lacrosse, and there were a lot of former Maryland college players who were playing, and they just were so excited. And it was just like, there were probably seven of them loudest people there over the song, whatever. And truly, I didn't know anything about lacrosse. And just watching them watch it, I learned from them. When they. When they were cheering, I was cheering. Like, it was just the coolest moment. And I think they're doing really cool stuff. The women's lacrosse college tournament is happening right now. Yeah, that's just something I find. It's just so much fun. I really like it.
- [23:03]
B
Oh, that's so sweet. And I'm glad you made it home safely. When you. Okay. You were saying you make some videos, sometimes people don't get it, or they're kind of writing in the comments. Do you clap back?
- [23:21]
A
Not really, no. I. I've learned my lesson there. I. I don't think that I've ever actually really made it. I think I made a response one time when people were saying I was outing people, and I was like, I'm not. And then people still will say, I don't know. They just, like. I think that I have to remind myself that a lot of that. That kind of hate, if you want to call it that, I don't think I'm, like, the big enough to be getting hate, but, like, it's not. Anybody who knows my content, like, anybody who's watching it understands it, and that's fine. And anybody who has some of the more negative connotations with it, that's. I can sit with that and be fine with it because I know they're not really watching it. And I always just tell myself, you know, the. The people that. That mind aren't, you know, the people that mind don't matter. People that matter don't mind. But, like, I also don't it's not that they don't matter. It's just that they don't know they're minding about something they don't necessarily know the full picture of. And so it's just hard for me when it comes from the queer community. I. That's. I want every gay person in the world to think that I'm cool and fun and awesome. And when straight men always say they always are being the worst of my conversation, I make content that's about gay women all the time and just women's sports in general. I could not care less. That is like water off a duck's back. I don't even care. I honestly think it's kind of funny. But when I. Another queer person has a comment, then I. Then I start to be like, I want to say something and I tell myself, just keep it in.
- [24:43]
B
Yeah, no, I get that. Well, do you clap back? No, but if Sydney were here, I think she would be able to explain some of her responses. So that will be for another time. Um, yeah. Can't help herself. And she has hilarious responses.
- [25:01]
A
Oh, yeah, I'm not that creative. I wouldn't be doing all that. Like, I wouldn't do it well enough. I'd be like, hey, that was mean. And I'm sad now. So what's up? What's up with that? Like, it wouldn't be good.
- [25:13]
B
Okay, so what has been your favorite or one of your favorite sports moments so far of 2025?
- [25:21]
A
I think it's gotta be. I was at the championship game, March Madness, like, national championship. And watching Paige get her win. Like, it's. The storyline was written, the script was done like she needed it. And I grew up in Clubby, South Carolina. I love South Carolina. But going into that. And I actually, this is the best part of it is that I. My best friend from high school, Audrey, played D1 college basketball, and her team actually made it to March Madness. Like, they were in the first four games and they unfortunately lost. Yeah. But at High Point was where she played this last year, and they lost. But because of that, she was free for the first time ever to go on one of these trips with me. And I was like, do you want to go to March Madness? We're going. It's a whole thing we keep. We're going to get courtside seats. Like, all this stuff. And this is what I love about sports. Like, it's not about really the moments and more just about the connections and the storylines. And that time, the story was really, for me, that Audrey was the first woman's basketball player I ever was like, like, looking up to really, Truly, like, as a friend. And then also I remember when we were eighth grade, and she was like, there's this girl named Paige who's our age, and she's awesome. Oh, my gosh. So she's the one that got me. I would never have known anything but women's basketball if it wasn't for Audrey. And so to be able to go to the national game with her and sit next to her courtside and watch her watch Paige win, like, Truly, that is one of my favorite, actually what might be my favorite moments in this whole kind of thing I've been doing. It was awesome.
- [26:50]
B
That's so nice. Well, I love the shout out to your bestie. I'm obviously missing my bestie here, so maybe we do like a. A bestie. When we do our reunion. We have Audrey and Sydney there, obviously.
- [27:02]
A
See, Audrey might be the person that would clap back. See, like, we have similar.
- [27:05]
B
Okay, okay, there. So do you get just invited to all women's sports events now? Like, do they just roll out the red carpet for you? Because they should.
- [27:17]
A
Not really. I mean, I do get a lot of invites, but it's always very last minute and I. I can't really plan much, you know, Like, I. I just kind of last minute get an email and I'm like, okay, I guess I'm going. And like I said, I, like, have a job, and so I have to be like, can I get time off? And they're like, of course. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. That was like two years ago. And they're like, everything's once in a lifetime with you, Jackie. Huh?
- [27:40]
B
I'm like, well, it is. We're making history here all the time as women in sports.
- [27:46]
A
That's the best part of sports, like, Truly, it's the history. It's constantly witnessing the changes in the history and all of it. And I'm late to the game, you know.
- [27:53]
B
Well, I think you're right on time because I just feel like we are in a new era of women's sports, especially with women's soccer. We're seeing it in women's basketball. I know we want to highlight and make sure that we're also sharing stories of all these other sports who don't traditionally get as much coverage. Do you think that we are still in this trailblazing movement moment, or have women's sports become normal enough with the investment with the coverage that we're in a new new era.
- [28:33]
A
Yet I always say I just watched recently somebody at a woman's sports event asking people like, you know, why should you watch women's sports? And I'm done with that question. I think it is. We paint ourselves like a charity case when we convince people that we're worthwhile. And I think that this new era. And you know, I always struggle with the language because I think that I think back to the 99ers as like, that was the moment that the spark lit for me as a kid. Like I wasn't alive, but like for.
- [29:03]
B
So many of us I was.
- [29:05]
A
Yeah. But like that's when I was little. I always knew that was the thing that started. Yeah. You know, and so it's always been a thing, but of course it's spiraling now and it's becoming so much bigger. We have to stop proving ourselves. We just have. The product is so good. You turn on an NWSL game, you turn on a WNBA game, you turn on women's world class, whatever. It's awesome. It's so much fun. And that's what I'm always saying. I'm like, don't ask me why, just I just. Because you like it, you know, and so I think that normal for me isn't the win. I think that because normal. What does normal mean in sports? It means men's sports. It means being on par with what the men are doing and that is never a goal. You know, I don't think that's when women's sports wins. And that's a huge misconception that women's sports is just constantly running and trying to get to where men's sports and trying to do the same things men's sports has done. I don't know if you've tuned into any men's sports lately. They're not the best. Like the standards aren't great, you know, for what they stand for with their players and the community around the sports can be kind of toxic. Why are we striving for that? We don't need to be like that. And so just trying to be not normal, but like the best women's sports we can be. Because normalcy, we're past that. I think, like it's a different product and the product is better.
- [30:24]
B
Amen. Coach Jackie J. Spitting Facts. Hello. So Jackie, this is the point of the podcast where Sid and I usually have happy hour at bar bffr. Would you mind joining me for happy hour?
- [30:43]
A
I would love to.
- [30:44]
B
Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. Okay, well, so I. We like to start with something we're loving. And for me, that was this announcement that the Women's World cup is expanding. Not the next one, but the one after in 2031 to 48 countries. And I think this is a big dub for soccer.
- [31:07]
A
It's awesome. I think that's so exciting. And it's just like the talent is there, and so it's just going to. It's going to be competitive. I think that's what's exciting about it. And it won't just be like, you know, the way that women's soccer is right now. It used to be that there were like three or four teams. You're like, all right, probably one of those. I think that's expanded. And so that makes sense to expand the whole pool with it.
- [31:29]
B
Yeah. And we saw in 2023, it was so exciting. There were these amazing stories and I think there will just be more of that because like you say, the talent is there. And also, should we have so many fewer teams than the men? Like, we. We can also have a large World cup and it will be super successful. And what this will mean having more nations involved just for the representation, what having. I hope that the prize money is also increasing dramatically for 2027 and 2031. Obviously, this is something we've been fighting for so hard, but with that means when you qualify and then when you get out of the group stage, all of that, that money can have a huge impact on these players lives. But just the whole, you know, seeing her, to be able to dream her and be her. Having this expanded women's World cup will be awesome. I will not be there as a player, but I will be watching.
- [32:26]
A
Can I ask a question that maybe is a sidebar, but like, when it comes to the purse strings for a World cup, as players, you only have your country's federation that you kind of can have some say in with FIFA itself, how do you for it? Like, is it just, you know, do you have anybody that goes from your federation to FIFA or like, how does that work?
- [32:45]
B
So I like how you. The tables quickly turned with who's. Who was doing the question asking here, but because it's you. So last cycle I was very, very lucky to be involved with FIFPro. So that is the global player union. So I was on. I was a part of a group of players, men and women, who were part of a conversation. And then with FIFPRO and this global union, we would be able to have leverage and be able to speak then to FIFA. And through FIFPro was How we, we made these demands for 2023 having, which may surprise some people, but we hadn't had single occupancy rooms before. We had not been guaranteed business or first class travel. Certain conditions, certain quality of a hotel, location of the training pitches. All of this was something that hadn't been in as, as policy and protocol to match what the men were having. Prize money was a big conversation. The armband was the conversation. And so with prize money, we did, did get this guarantee. There's two parts to it. One is, so the prize money did increase. But what was more important was that how would that money actually get into the hands of the players? Because like you say, the money goes to the federations and then depending on if the teams have a collective bargaining agreement, they may see a percentage of that. So with New Zealand, we have a CBA that is equal to our men's team. We have a players association that is unbelievable. And so we were guaranteed a large percentage of that prize money. So what this conversation was about was making sure that every player was going to get at least $30,000 depending on how the team did and that that money would, each federation would guarantee that that would go to the players. Since then, I haven't read that that was able to be followed through in a way that we know that that actually happened. So I, I do believe that this is a conversation that needs to continue. And then also the president of FIFA did say, okay, well we're not going to make prize money equal for 2023, but we will make large steps to have equal prize money for the next cycle, which is quickly approaching. So I will be on the edge of my seat and advocating in any way I can, whether I am playing or not to, to make sure that these conversations continue. Fifro having a global players union, I mean, we know the collective voice is so important. A union is very important. And so that organization was able to facilitate these conversations and make sure that our demands were heard from FIFA.
- [35:44]
A
Yeah, that's so important. It's that follow through that's so important though too, which is, I know the hardest part. But I think a lot of people find that really interesting because it's a really complicated thing and people think like, oh, you just play better or you just, when they protest or whatever, what is that doing? But like there are these actual unions set up that are supposed to work, you know, so yeah, it's important.
- [36:05]
B
I do have a fan question and I was wondering if maybe you could help me answer this question.
- [36:11]
A
Yeah.
- [36:11]
B
Are you down okay, so, hey, BFFR and coach Jackie J. I am a high school junior who loves soccer but doesn't play the game. Everyone keeps asking me what I want to go to college for, but I don't know what I should focus on. What's a good major for someone who wants to be involved in soccer as something other than an athlete?
- [36:33]
A
Interesting.
- [36:34]
B
Gosh. Well, I. I definitely went to college to be an athlete and to play soccer, but I think so many doors are open now. I mean, look at all the roles that women have related to sports, related to soccer, but I don't know what majors would be good. Help me out here. God.
- [36:58]
A
I was a film major. I went to. I was in the school of theater, so very much not sports oriented. But I will say, as a sneaky, backdoor sportsman thing, if you do want to be a media person, the school, the film school, we were tight with a lot of the athletes because, like, you go and you film. Like a lot of my friends, I didn't do it because I wasn't like a camera operator like that. But my friends who were travel with the team and make their content and got close with a lot of the athletes, and so that's kind of interesting. There's like a nice intersection between the arts and sports and a lot of bigger schools. I, again, I went to lsu, so like a big Southern kind of school like that has a lot of teams that need a lot of coverage. If you're not into that. I know there's kind of like athletic, there's. I forget what it's called, but you can go and you can learn how to, like, be organized. Like management, like at like.
- [37:48]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [37:49]
A
Sports management is amazing.
- [37:50]
B
Yes. Sports, man. Sounds familiar.
- [37:52]
A
We got there. Sports management. But also if you're, you know, want to go to school and you want to. You don't want to play soccer as, like, an athlete. Athlete. I was on a club rowing team in college, and that's how I made all my friends. Duke. I didn't. I would have done club soccer, but it was. It was Covid. And so the soccer team wasn't going, but the rowing team was. We rode with masks. It was very interesting.
- [38:13]
B
Gosh, you must have great lung capacity now. That's.
- [38:16]
A
It was really hard in the Louisiana swamp. Not really on a river either. Like. Yeah, it's crazy. But join a. Join a club soccer team, you know, and that's club sports in college. And if you don't want to do club, you can always do intramural, but generally just join any sport in college that's low stakes. It's such, such, such a good way to make friends. It's, it's the best.
- [38:37]
B
And I think too just as a fan and if you love it, you will find a way in. You belong here. We all belong here. And I'm just going to give a shout out to psychology because I do find that if you are good with people and learn about people and maybe that everyone has their own shit that they are dealing with in their lives, that it helps you just approach teams and sports and relationships with such an open mind. And that is very important in this life and this career. So just a little shout out to the Stanford psychology department.
- [39:16]
A
A quick Stanford name drop too will be, will always be helpful. Just do whatever you love and then you'll have fun. And college is just out learning how to learn.
- [39:26]
B
Yeah, I'm really glad you are with me for this question. So thank you and that, that is all we have time for for this episode of bffr. But if you're not already following Coach Jackie J, you can now follow on TikTok and Instagram. What are the handles, Coach?
- [39:44]
A
Yeah, so you can usually find me if you look up Coach Jackie, but the handle is at J Cubed Hacks. J, C U B E D H A X. It's my rap name.
- [39:55]
B
Yeah, I was kind of going to ask you about that.
- [39:58]
A
My middle name starts with a J. My last name starts with a J. So J Cubed and then my. I had J Cube Jacks as like a profile for like other. I think I made a singing account on TikTok. That's J cube Jack. So you can find that with me in high school singing with a ukulele in my bathroom and I needed a new account so I added an H and here we are.
- [40:18]
B
Well, Jackie's content is unreal and it is very uplifting, very inspiring, very funny. And I. I'm just so grateful that you were down to come on bffr. So thank you very, very much and I can't wait to tune into whatever you're posting next.
- [40:34]
A
I cannot believe that I was here. This is the coolest ever.
- [40:37]
B
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of BFFR. Remember to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts and follow the show across all social media platforms at BFFRshow, there's obviously bonus content. Thank you to all our listeners for joining us. Have a great week.