The Burden We Face

MJ Acosta-Ruiz and Lindsay Czarniak speak to Kara Lawson, head coach of Duke women’s basketball, on coaching the USA women's 3x3 basketball team to the sport’s first ever Olympic gold medal. We then talk to three-time Olympic table tennis player Lily Zhang to learn about table tennis’ impact on her life and what misconceptions exist around the sport. We finish with a round table discussion with Olympic gold medalist/NBC track and field analyst Michelle Carter and former WNBA player/NBC Olympics basketball analyst Monica McNutt on the added burden Black women face in the wake of Simone Biles’ highly publicized decision to step away. The group talks through the pressures facing the modern athlete, the dangers that certain sports present and the additional layer race and privilege add to situations like Biles’.