Dr. Debby Stroman has witnessed the intersection of sports and racism her entire life. She's former basketball player and team captain at UVA, UNC coach, board member at the Advancement for Blacks in Sports (ABIS), consultant to former professional athletes through their transitions from athletics to a career, business ownership, and/or the completion of an academic degree, and now a leadership professor in the domains of sport business and racial equity at UNC. On If You Only Knew, Dr. Debby brings on her friends and colleagues in sports to share their inspirational stories and perspectives on racism, success strategies, and current events.
Mack Brown is not afraid to talk about race or privilege
Mack Brown, head football coach at UNC, opens up about growing up in the south (and what his parents did when they saw racist behavior), his growth when he started to realize his privilege, the patches the football team put on their jerseys in 2020, and why he’s not afraid to talk about race.
6 May 2021
Dereck Whittenburg: NCAA Champion, Film Producer, Associate Athletic Director, and Mentor
With everything that NC State National Champion Dereck Whittenburg does, it's amazing he has time to sleep. "There's no time to rest. You'll have plenty of time to rest when you go to heaven. But until then, while you on this Earth, you have to serve." Today, Dereck and Dr Debby talk about how it all got started, his films, his coaching career, and what college athletes are looking for in a mentor on campus.
29 Apr 2021
Strength in Numbers, with Professor of Sports Statistics John Tobias
John Tobias (ESPN consultant, Lecturer at UNC Charlotte) is an expert in analytics, and, as a person of color, that’s pretty rare. Today, John and Dr. Debby talk about John’s career journey, what analytics means to sports, his passion for educating, being the only one in the room, and what we can do to encourage more diversity in sports analytics.
15 Apr 2021
Oracle VP Jason Williamson on Power and Privilege
Today’s guest is Jason Williamson, Vice President of Oracle for Startups and Oracle for research. Jason and Dr Debby have a lot in common - they both went to UVA, they’re both basketball players, they both love analytics in sports, and they have a passion for elevating historically underrepresented communities. They talk about all of that on the show today, plus how a misison trip led Jason to understand his privilege - and his responsibility to influence.
8 Apr 2021
Pro Basketball Perspectives: Analytics, Leadership, and Mental Health, with NBA Charlotte Hornets VP Seth Bennett
The decisions made in the NBA front offices aren't easy - and many of them have nothing to do with player trades or free agent signings. When other NBA teams were in the Bubble in Orlando, how did the Charlotte Hornets react? How does the front office view business intelligence and analytics when not everyone buys in? And when players protest, what should the executives do? Dr Debby Stroman sits down with Charlotte Hornets VP of Consumer Engagement Seth Bennett.
1 Apr 2021
NCAA Champion Tar Heels Sam Perkins and George Lynch will not "Shut Up and Dribble"
Sam Perkins and George Lynch are Tar Heel legends and NCAA basketball national champions - Sam in '82 and George in '93. As Black athletes, Sam and George have had to navigate whether to stand up for what's right or to stay quiet on the issues that matter.
Today, Dr. Debby Stroman talks to Sam and George about their experiences as players, coaches, and parents, how athletes today can use their voices, and how Coach Dean Smith would have reacted to the racial tension in our country.
21 Dec 2020
The power of diversity in life, learning and football, with Guy Troupe
Guy Troupe went to one of the best schools in Oklahoma, and his K-12 class was the first to be integrated. He grew up playing multiple sports, but committed to his passion for football and attended Witchita State University. Though he was used to going to an integrated school, he had never gone to a school where Black culture wasn't at the forefront, so he transferred to Howard University. In this episode, hear about how his childhood prepared him for his diversity and sports work today.
10 Dec 2020
A passion for wellness and basketball, with Jessica Breland
Growing up without much to do in Bertie County, N.C., Jessica Breland picked up a basketball. And despite the physical and mental challenges she's faced, she hasn't put it down. A former UNC Tar Heel, the current WNBA Phoenix Mercury is both an intern with Duke women's basketball and owner of bR3 Float & Cryo Studio, a wellness center in Durham. In this episode, she talks with Dr. Debby about her studio, how student-athletes can stay healthy during COVID-19 and Jessica’s life-changing personal health journey in college.
Note: In a league of more than 80% Black players, recently named Vicky Johnson (Dallas Wings) is the only active Black head coach in the WNBA.
24 Nov 2020
Bringing the NBA to the Classroom, with NBA Math Hoops' Calvin Sibert and Nick Monzi
NBA Math Hoops is a board game and mobile app classroom curriculum that helps students uncover fundamental math skills through their love of basketball. Nick Monzi and Calvin Sibert discuss why they developed the platform and what it's meant to their students.
19 Nov 2020
BLM, COVID, and Being More Than a Black Student Athlete, with Duke's Mikayla Boykin, Lexi Joseph, and Darcy Bourne
What is it like to be a star athlete in 2020? What about a black female star athlete at Duke University during the time of Black Lives Matter, student protests, COVID, and all the political chaos? For Darcy Bourne, Mikayla Boykin, and Lexi Joseph, it's meant becoming more than just a student athlete.
12 Nov 2020
Coach Mike Huff and UVA Center Jay Huff: Life in a Basketball Family
Jay Huff is a 7'1" center at UVA and NBA prospect. Jay's dad, Mike Huff, was Jay's coach in high school at Voyager Academy in Durham NC. Together, they come on the show to talk about life in a basketball family, how they're working out during COVID, and their views on the racism epidemic.
29 Oct 2020
Bo Porter on Social Injustice, Diversity, and a Life in Major League Baseball
Bo Porter has spent his career in Major League Baseball - as a player, coach, manager, and now announcer. On today's episode, Bo talks about how he got into playing Little League, life in the show, diversity in MLB, Black Lives Matter, and how he wants to be remembered.
22 Oct 2020
Changing Lives Through Grassroots Basketball, with Terrell Myers and Keith Stevens
Many people think that AAU basketball is all about providing a path for elite athletes to showcase their skills for college and the NBA. But that's only part of what Grassroots basketball is. Coaches like today's guests, Keith Stevens (Team Takeover - Nike) and Terrell Myers (We R 1 - Under Armour), work with young men to make them better basketball players, provide opportunities for higher education, and turn them into better people.
If You Only Knew...with Dr. Debby Stroman is edited and produced by Earfluence, and brought to you by The Diversity Movement.
Intro and outro music provided by Soteria Shepperson.
You can subscribe to If You Only Knew…with Dr Debby Stroman on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more.
15 Oct 2020
NBA Alum & Duke’s 1st All-American on Athletes Using their Platforms
Of all the McDonald's All-Americans that have come through Duke men's basketball, Gene Banks is the first, and he's a trailblazer in many ways. On the show, Gene talks about his college experience at a predominantly white institution, what sets Lebron James apart from Michael Jordan (Gene's former Bulls teammate), and that time he got to be in a movie with Whoopi Goldberg.
8 Oct 2020
Jordan McNair's Tragic - and Preventable - Death on the Practice Field, with Martin McNair
Martin McNair's son Jordan was an elite athlete - a 6'5" 300 pound lineman in his freshman year at the University of Maryland. On May 29, 2018, Jordan was pushed to the point of over-exhaustion and collapsed. 15 days later, he tragically passed away after never fully recovering. This isn't an uncommon occurrence, and Martin McNair is out to educate and challenge high schools and colleges throughout the country to make their playing environments safe for students.
1 Oct 2020
NCAA Basketball Head Coaches Fighting for Social Justice | Nikki Fargas (LSU) and Dave Leitao (DePaul)
Dave Leitao (DePaul) and Nikki Fargas (LSU) are NCAA basketball coaches of the year, leaders, mentors, and advocates for social justice. Today they talk to Dr. Debby Stroman about their journeys, the mental health challenge in COVID, and why they are a part of the Advancement of Blacks in Sports (ABIS).
24 Sept 2020
Racial and Social Justice in the ACC, with Mary McElroy
Mary McElroy is the Senior Associate Commissioner of Women's Basketball at the ACC, and she's now the chair of CORE (Champions of Racial Equity), the ACC's racial and social justice task force. Learn more about Mary's career story — which includes being the only one in the room in many situations - and what the ACC is doing to address racial inequality and tension in our country.
17 Sept 2020
What is ABIS? The Voice for Racial Equity in Sports | Felicia Hall Allen and Gary Charles
Our mission of The Advancement for Blacks in Sports (ABIS) is to connect and inspire people to boldly advocate for racial, social, and economic justice for Blacks in sports. Gary Charles (Founder and President) and Felicia Hall Allen (VP - Basketball) join Dr. Debby Stroman (VP - Racial Equity Research) to discuss that mission, how and why they all connected, and what they hope to achieve for today's college athletes.
5 Sept 2020
Bucky Brooks Introduces Dr. Debby Stroman
Dr. Debby Stroman will usually conduct the interviews, but in this case, NFL Network correspondent Bucky Brooks shines the light on Dr. Debby to get her perspectives on race in sports, athletes using their platforms, how athletes are not getting the true college experience, and how country club sports are powered by the sweat of young black men. You don't want to miss this.
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