the skies while pumas reign below. but their world is changing fast, and they need to adapt to survive. ♪ yep. i used to be flexible. >> at their highest level, athletes do things that seem super human. >> my man, what's good? you ready? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. i came ready. >> okay.

>> but every real sports fan has had a moment when an athlete has failed and said, i can do better than that. >> on your mark, get set -- >> on this episode, you're about to find out all the reasons you can't do better than that. ♪ ♪ going for a touchdown, sharpshooter from this court.

you're looking at the spirit of america. >> i grew up resenting sports. when you're a black kid who everybody knows is going to be over 6 feet tall, every conversation goes to, you play basketball. i only did it in eighth grade. i went the whole season without scoring a point, like dennis rodman, but without the rebounding and hair. when i lived in chicago, i discovered michael jordan. now i'm the guy who quotes "the last dance" like it's a new book of the bible. i took it personally. but that's the thing about sports. we often take it personally. i'm somehow a grown man and hate the dukes for no good reason. john starks! sports gives us a place to release all our unchecked f you to everybody involved from little leaguers to hall of famers. if there's one city that revels in its winners and losers, it's

my former hometown, boston, massachusetts. for a small city, it's got a big chip on its shoulder. although fans would say it's a big champion-chip and lots of them. >> if you're born in boston, you are, like, raised to be a boston sports fan. >> yeah. >> how you doing, sir? >> good, how are you? >> good. i heard you were in there. >> no, i was in there. >> what happened? >> they threw me out. >> why? what happened? >> because i go -- >> but no matter where you go, in a single moment, an athlete can go from the g.o.a.t. to a goat. their reputation and value is always up for debate. >> i'm going to do some word association. you tell me how you feel about these words. tom brady. >> g.o.a.t. g.o.a.t. he's the g.o.a.t. >> i love tom brady. >> i used to love tom. but then he decided to leave us. >> you leaving boston, dude,

tampa bay? >> that's his most impressive championship. >> no, come on. >> did the patriots ever cheat to win a game? >> bill buckner. >> idiot. >> woah! >> does the name bill buckner mean anything to you? >> i am not fully -- >> he let a ball go through his legs at a world series game and it lost the game. boston was hard on him. he had to move. does that just come with the paycheck. sometimes you just get yelled at. >> yeah. >> at the end of the day, they're still human though. >> athletes, human? who'd have thunk it? don't tell tom brady. but not every athlete is tom brady. most athletes, the pressure they put on themselves and the pressure we put on them affects their mental health. and many of them are speaking up and telling us fans where to stick the fandom. >> i think i'm going to take a

break. >> simone biles pulled out of the competition. >> due to mental reasons. >> the saga escalated. >> and of course fans are handling that very maturely. >> they are using words like selfish and entitled. >> do you think sports has gotten softer? >> 1,000%. >> i think people are in their feelings a little bit. need to get out of that and put our big pants on and just -- >> we hit a home run! >> we hit a home run. we hit a home run. >> where are you going after this? home to go to sleep? >> get the [ bleep ] out of here. i'm a boston native. i'm going to a bar and we're going nuts for the bruins. what do we do in boston? we [ bleep ] it up! let's let's

let's boston! boston! boston! boston! can i get a little help? >> ah, the fans, a group of people who turn a bit of fun into the struggle for the immortal soul of the city. i'm going to start with fans who are in it like me who are in for more the victory part than the crushing your enemies and seeing them before you part. >> what is your sports fandom? >> mets fan. >> oh. >> hey, what's that face? >> it's not about them. it's about the suffering. >> so much. >> this is my friend, renee graham, a "boston globe" columnist for over two decades. this is her friend, ellen clay. >> i'm from minnesota, but i transferred by fandom to the red sox. >> she's got that midwestern thing. she did that. i'm a new yorker. i'm a mets fan. i'm not playing that. >> you can't even go into the boroughs. >> i can't go into my house.

my family. >> let's start with -- nba fan. ufc fan. i was in chicago. if you don't pay attention to the michael jordan era, i don't know what kind of fan you are. >> we're fanatical about the bulls and that team. but see, that's not fandom. it's not. >> what is it? >> it's band wagon stuff. it's trendy. fandom is the thick and thin of it. fandom comes from fanatic, right? it's the fanatic part of it. >> those tvs were made for sports fans. >> exactly. just keep excusing myself and try to get the antena just right to catch the game. >> there's a night of rioting and setting fires, some disappointed fans. >> there's a part of sports that becomes super toxic, like, as

far as, like, fandom. and our expectations on athletes. >> remember being at fenway one time and people were booing david ortiz. i just thought, you can't boo big papi at fenway. you know, i've heard at yankee stadium, pack bell. people think i've payed this money and i have this right to do this. >> i'm paying for the right to express myself. >> right. >> and there's a thing in this country where booing is a part of it. but abuse is part of it. it's not just okay. it's actually part of the ritual. >> yeah. that's toxic. that's toxic. and this idea that somehow your help is irrelevant, that your job is to be a show horse and get out there and entertain the people. you make a lot of money to do that. that ugliness is impossible to divorce from what professional sports is. >> are we mature enough as a culture for sports? how do you defend sports to people who have criticisms of

it? >> i'll cite one example. after the boston marathon bombing. that's where big papi said famously, this is our bleeping city, and the whole city exhaled. >> this is our [ bleep ] city. >> i felt like boston strong actually meant something. i felt linked to the city in a very different way. and i don't know that anything else can do that but sports. >> bring everybody together? >> right. >> yeah. it all sounds so cliché, but i think it's true. >> maybe only for a moment, but it's a moment that resonates. >> yeah. >> i know some of you are watching right now thinking, renee and ellen aren't typical boston sports fans, jamal. i know what you want. you want more bostony boston. you want more, how do you like them apples, boston. you want white guys from southy. okay. >> that's what i've got to do.

bill russell is my favorite. he's our first g.o.a.t. >> dave gillis, paul aikens, and billy are the guys in the bar who have all the opinions about all the sports. for them, there's no off season. >> bruins were the biggest thing. turn the knob. >> those were the glory days though. those days are gone. >> how do you know these people? >> i bar tend for a dive bar where i met the guys. >> that's not what it's called, right? >> the nick name is whitey from its previous owner. >> he gave me my first bruins stick. >> right. >> i met him there. >> if i waulked into whitey's tonight, would i get the look of you're not -- >> you would have the best time of your life. >> soulgty doesn't have that reputation. >> for people who look like me. >> people come into the bar and they're a little worried. somebody will bring their buddy to the bar, like you said, looks

like you, place called whitey's. it's not a good look. >> you've seen the depiction of boston, white neighborhoods with mob ties. >> people think of southy as we hate anybody, we're racist. and you know what something? we're badass. we're family. we're pride. and we're respect. >> tell me about boston as a sports town. >> talk to the mayor right here. what's missing today in sports is loyalty and the rivalry and pride. and back then, that was it. these days it's about money or it's like, if you have royalty like lebron james. he's talented but he's up there going boo-hoo. poor guy only got 300 million in the bank. >> do you think it hurts sports for players in basketball -- >> get greedy. we can't have a consistent basketball team because people want more money. >> do you think sports has

gotten too soft? >> beyond words. totally soft. it really is. >> when you hear athletes say i need a mental health break. >> i worked in health care a long time. that's a real thing. so, if someone actually needs it, i can appreciate that. but basketball i don't feel is the same as before. they don't play as hard as before. they don't play the defense because you're afraid you're going to foul. >> basketball is like -- and you're fouling. what do you mean fouling? soccer, what an embarrassment that is. >> don't get him going on cricket. >> what about when simone biles is like, i'm not going to compete tomorrow. >> i learned a lot about gymnastics. >> she's hotter than anybody sitting here today. i bet her feet are way more [ bleep ] than mine from all that flipping around. hands too. i've done tons of construction.

she ain't soft. there's a conception in this world about athletes, but they're just people. and most of them work their asses off to get where they are. they kind of deserve that consideration. hey, did i tell you i bought our car from carvana? yeah, ma. it was so easy. i found the perfect car under budget too! and i get seven days to love it or my money back... i love it! [laughs] we'll drive you happy at carvana. ♪ if you shop at walmart, you get it. ♪ you know how to spend a little less

to get a little more to make life a little better. ♪ (dad) we have to tell everyone that we just switched to verizon's new welcome unlimited plan, for just $30. (daughter) i've already told everyone! (cool guy) $30...that's awesome. (mom) it's their best unlimited price ever. (woman) for $30 a line, i'm switching now. (vo) the network you want. the price you love. only from verizon. finding the perfect developer isn't easy. but, at upwork, we found her. she's in prague, between the perfect cup of coffee and her museum of personal computers. and you can find her, and millions of other talented pros, right now on upwork.com new poligrip power hold and seal. clinically proven to give strongest hold,

plus seals out 5x more food particles. fear no food. new poligrip power hold and seal. if you don't repaint every now and then, it's like the old you is still hanging around. younger zoe: i'm listening to music. younger zoe: you are a libra and he is a pisces, that is like a cosmic dungeon. older zoe: you know what, can you? younger zoe: cosmically, no. that's why i only date musicians. younger zoe: what are you guys eating? older zoe: it's lasagna. younger zoe: (chewing sounds) younger zoe: i love lasagna, that's you guys. so today, let's paint... ...with behr, america's most trusted paint brand, and make your home, yours. behr. exclusively at the home depot. (grandmother) thank you for taking me home. it's so far. (young woman) don't worry about it, grandma! this'll be fun. (young woman) two chocolate milkshakes, please. (grandmother) make it three. (young woman) three? (grandmother) did you get his number? (young woman) no, grandma! grandma!! (grandmother) excuse me! (young woman vo) some relationships get better with time. that's why i got a crosstrek. (avo) ninety-six percent of subaru vehicles sold in the last

ten years are still on the road. (grandmother) i'm so glad you got a subaru. (young woman) i wonder who gave me the idea? (avo) love. it's what makes subaru, subaru. new astepro allergy. no allergy spray is faster. with the speed of astepro, almost nothing can slow you down. because astepro starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. and astepro is the first and only 24-hour steroid free allergy spray. now without a prescription. astepro and go. breaking news from the olympic games, the greatest

olympicist of all time has pulled out of competition. >> as quiet as its kept, gymnastics is hard and pressure felt as sports come. the only pads you see here are the calluses. >> oh, my hamstrings. >> all right. cart wheel. >> oh, this is -- you better get way in front of me. >> i don't know if you guys know this, but competitive gymnastics is really hard. >> just a little bit. >> just a tad. >> coaches sara, brianna, and mike have been teaching for a combined 38 years. this ain't child's play. >> oh, my goodness. >> if you're competitive, what's your daily schedule like? >> go to school and then come to

club practice. >> what time are you leaving here for practice? >> we leave at 9:00 most days. >> are so, then you go home and do homework? it is a lot. >> gymnasts are so disciplined. if you can handle gymnastics, you can handle most anything, i feel. >> how did i do today? >> good. >> let's talk about that. >> will i ever be as good as you all? >> no. >> how old are you? >> i appreciate your honesty. >> why will i not be as good as you all? >> you need to shrink. >> how far do you want to go? >> i want to go to the olympics. >> okay. >> i also want to go to the olympics. >> olympics. >> olympics. >> probably a teacher. >> a teacher who goes to the olympics? >> yeah. >> when little kids start, i would imagine their goal is, like, i want to go to the

olympics. how do you negotiate that with most of humanity doesn't go to olympics. >> we totally crush dreams when we're like, we would know if you were making olympics. we would know now. >> that's the thing about gymnastics. let me tell you my kids' story. my older daughter got promoted to the higher level, upstairs. she was just a kid having a good time still downstairs. but both of them ended up not enjoying what was going on because upstairs it wasn't fun. downstairs, my daughter felt like they're not challenging me at all because they don't see me as being able to go upstairs. >> and i think because for gymnastics, it's just so specific and it is a dangerous sport. you do need to have the strength and conditioning. and a lot of kids don't want to do that. >> there's just a part of this that is just like, this is just what it is. >> it is a serious track to take and a huge commitment. >> i've been asking this question to everybody, but i'm actually with the experts. simone biles. >> when it first happened i was

kind of annoyed. but then i have to take a step back because really it's your life you're going to risk, especially if you fell. >> when you think about the physics of it and you think about, like, i'm flipping and then landing and then trying to stick it. >> it's a crazy sport. >> women's gymnastics has always been a paradox. it's called women's gymnastics when most of the women are under 18. and the true test of how good you are is not how you're treated like a human but much more like how you're treated like a machine. that's why it's a huge deal when the greatest of all time simone biles said, nope, i'm a human. carrie injured her ankle so badly she let her coach show she wasn't sure if she could go again. her coach proclaimed, you can do it carrie. and while it was framed as good

coaching at the time, there have been many reports of ka rowly being physically and verbally abusive to the young women and girls he coached. >> there was constant psychological abuse, the screaming and yelling, the humiliation and body shaming. >> she has since said, quote, my gymnasts are the best prepared in the world and they win. that's all that counts. and my response is, is it though? >> there has been a narrative in gymnastics that winning is more important than the person's physical and psychic well being. >> it's tough love. it's a tough sport and there needs to be some discipline. but at the same time, we just -- we know when to take a step back. >> i feel like it's a difficult subject to bring up, but i feel like the larry nassar affected all gymnasts. the lar ras nassar case is

knocking, and it puts this sports' reputation for prior prioritizing winning over the safety and well being of gymnasts on a whole new level. nassar was arrested and charged with sexual assault of many of the young women and girls that were entrusted to his care. >> authorities are still looking for answers about how he was able to abuse hundreds of girls and women even though several victims reported his crimes to police. >> over his 18-year career, more than 300 young women and girls have accused nassar of assault. and despite nassar operating at the training camp for decades, bella and marta say they knew nothing of the abuse. no matter how much time nassar spends in prison or how much money he is forced to give survivors, they will always have to live with the impact of what he did. >> as the lone competitor in the recent tokyo games who was a survivor of this horror, i can

assure you that the impact of this man's abuse are not ever over or forgotten. >> forget sports heroes, these are real heroes. >> perhaps you have figured it out now. little girls don't stay little forever. they grow into strong women that return to destroy your world. >> when my kids are like i'm not interested in gymnastics things, it was the same time the larry nassar thing broke, i was like, let's get them. i was like, i don't know if this sport can take care of you. >> there are so many different courses we're required to take because of that. >> and what are the courses about? >> it's called safe sport. >> sexual abuse, tough coaching and all that. >> it talks about boundary toos. you shouldn't be texting your athletes or you can't be alone in the gym with just one kid. >> it shook the whole world. >> it shined that light on everything it needed to. >> but even if you root out all

the lar ray nassars, the sport still puts an incredible amount of pressure on these young athletes. >> they beat themselves up. >> it seems like part of the score. >> you were three points away from perfection. >> and that definitely impacts a lot of kids' mental health of course. >> and this is true of all youth sports where the goal is olympic glory or fame and fortune and not just fun. how can we expect them not to buckle under all this pressure? h essential oils which attack bugs' biological systems. it gets rid of the bugs plus is safe for use around people and pets. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. hi! need new glasses? get 50% off a complete pair at visionworks! how can you see me squinting? i can't! i'm just telling everyone! hey! for a limited time, get 50% off for back to school. visionworks. see the differenc.

ugh-stipated... feeling weighed down by a backedup gut" miralax is different. it works naturally with the water in your body to unblock your gut. ...free your gut. and your mood will follow. with best western rewards you get rewarded when you stay on the road and on the go. find your rewards so you can reconnect, disconnect, hold on tight and let go! stay two nights and get a free night. book now at bestwestern.com.

men put their skin through a lot. day-in, day-out that's why dove men body wash has skin-strengthening nutrients and moisturizers that help rebuild your skin. dove men+care. smoother, healthier skin with every shower.

city's iconic athletes shape the identity of a city. magic johnson, so hollywood. la larry byrd looks like los angeles. >> every time he gets hit down, he gets right back up. >> bill russell. >> 13 championships. >> 11 championships. i don't mean to be wikipedia. >> i say that all the time. >> i never heard that before. >> my dad used to say that all the time. >> you've got a statue you've got to be somebody important. >> there are lots of people with statues who don't deserve

statues. don't get me going with that. >> this is boston. >> bill russell does have a statue, but he should have two. one for winning all those championships and another for being mentally tough enough to deal with boston's legendary racism while he did it. >> two back-to-back racist incidents at fenway park have shaken the community. >> the nba finals, bill russell, brilliantly spearheading the celtics. >> bill russell is the single winningest player in sports. she was never known for scoring or flashy playing. she was just the ultimate team player. he was a team player off the court too. even though he had his own struggles with boston's racism, he was politically outspoken and mentored other black athletes. this was back when it definitely didn't help your brand. we never talk enough about how

living with racism affects your mental health. if you're a black athlete or an athlete of color, you have to deal with the usual pressure of your sport and you have to deal with race skpims plenty of people telling you, you don't have to talk about it. >> as someone once said, shut up and dribble. >> bill russell is one of the main roots of the tree. today's players walk in his footsteps. >> i'm sure you know this. boston not known for being the easiest sports town to play in. some would say the greatest player of all time is bill russell. said it was hard to play in the city because of the racism. >> yeah. >> what is it like to come into that? >> you see the strides that have been made. there's a long way to go. you still have the same similar kind of situations. it's probably more social media now than it was in the past. it's probably definitely that

impact anxiety-wise and emotionally when you read the things that have been said. >> you pay attention to it. >> you notice it. it's hard not to notice it. >> grant williams is the power forward for the boston celtics and at just 22 he was elected one of the youngest vice presidents of the basketball players association. he's also a former chess champion with a mom who works at nasa. oh, come on, you guys. >> it's not that people shouldn't talk trash, not that people tell uh-uh suck and everything else. it's when you it goes off the court. it's about your family, what is you're doing. there's times people will question peoples intelligence, peoples character and not know the person. >> especially when it is a white person, white media outlet doing it to a black person. >> right zblflt used to be if you were an athlete, the outliers were the ones who paid attention to the events of the world. think about muhammad ali and bill russell. now it's the point if you're not

paying attention, it's weird. especially as a black man. >> there's definitely encouragement to speak up nowadays. >> do you feel pressure? >> there's definitely pressure. i try to not only be educated for others but helping guys grow and understand how they can create change. >> tonight, players protest the shooting of jacob blake by police. >> started with the kneeling. we were hoping that would send a message. it saddens us to see nothing's changing. jacob blake incident, we had a stoppage of play. as a group, we collected on the sideline like, we've got to take this thing off. it's something, we've got to pay attention to this. >> when an athlete refuses to stand up and dribble and instead takes the day off to be able to say to the world or their mental health, they're standing up to and interrupting multibillion dollar entries. they're affirming themselves and

the people out there who don't have the power. and whether they're mentally prepared or not, they know they have to deal with the consequences. >> often times i feel like people are pressed forward no matter their health or e well being. when we start understanding that people are still people at the end of the day -- >> are players open about talking about this. i know you can talk about your twisted ankle, but can you talk about your mental state? >> it's something i've tried to encourage. if we prove that we can do this, others will hopefully follow suit.

hey, wait up. up. ♪ >> winding through the center of boston, the charles river is the backdrop for the longest two-day reg gaut in the world hosting upwards of 11,000 rowers from around the country, bringing in $3.5 million annually. while it may sound a bithoity toity, boston is here too. ain't nobody here for a college admissions photo open. what's up, becky? time for my rowing lesson. >> all right, you're going to

swing to your right. >> we're going to need a bigger boat. >> it's the hardest thing you've ever done. always chasing what you think is the burfict stroke. once you think you've found the perfect stroke, it's something else. >> luckily, i've got two great coaches, allie riley and dani hansen. >> i'm sitting with olympic medalists? >> paralympics. >> that's olympics, right? >> the para stands for "in parallel with the olympics," not paraplegic or anything. it's a misconception. >> it's a wider spectrum of disabilities. >> rowing is unique in that our sport class has a lot of different disabilities that filter into a points system to get you where you sit. >> i was born with extra toes and fingers on each hand and foot. i've lot of reconstructive mostly feet surgeries in the years that have limited range of motion in my feet and ankle. >> i have herb's palsy. left arm paralyzed at birth. now i have some mobility back.

>> hopefully we understand it's stressful to be an elite athlete. but some athletes have a level of stress that other athletes can't even imagine. >> for paralympics you have to classify with doctors. >> i've heard about that a little bit. is it as annoying, what's the word, shitty as it sounds? >> it's a lot of extra added stress, not only are you worried about how you're going to be performing, you're are you worry that people are going to poke and prod at you. almost make you feel like you don't belong there. >> we're supposed to be at our peak level of fitness, peak level of capability, peak level of confidence. then a couple of days before you go, they say, show us everything that you can't do. and it's like, i've been really trying to put that off. >> trying to put that out of our minds. you know, in sports your mindset is important. >> yeah. >> focusing on the "can't." >> the olympics and paralympics are once every four years. so you get all this attention on you once every four years, then no one cares about you in the three-year hiatus.

>> nobody knows what you had to put in to get to where you are. there's a board "more is better" mentality sometimes. you get more mature, you realize is not the case. >> as if the external pressure wasn't enough, every elite athlete has the internal pressure of knowing they can't be elite forever. eventually, you ain't on top anymore. no offense to bron. and for some pro athletes, that fall from the top isn't softened by piles and piles of cash. can i ask how much it pays? >> we got a monthly stipend, maybe $600. >> $600 a month? >> to live. i can't pay rent with that here. >> no, you can't, not unless you live in the 1980s. >> i had a full-time job all the time i was training for the olympics. >> that's putting all the money on olympic glory. >> that's right, yeah. >> another foot, okay. oh, don't step on the rolle part. >> some people think it's gore to talk about money and the olympics. but how can we make sense ofs a heats giving their country everything and ending up broke in the process?

glory don't pay the rent. but no matter the circumstances, these athletes are under all the pressure we keep hearing about. >> okay, so your left arm stays on top of your right arm. >> and they are more than their medals or triumph or failure or their fleeting time in the spotlight. >> see you later, suckas! and an 8:15 call with san francisco. and you can find him, and millions of other talented pros, right now on upwork.com so we need something super disctintive. dad's work, meet daughter's playtime. wait 'till you hear this— thankfully, meta portal helps reduce background noise. zero lace model. adjusts to low light. and pans and zooms to keep you in frame.

take a look at this. so the whole team stays on track. okay, let's get you some feedback. i'm impressed. great, loving your work. meta portal. the smart video calling device that makes work from home, work for you. ♪ if you shop at walmart, you get it. ♪ you're not just getting by. ♪ you're getting the most out of what you've got. ♪ and you know how to spend a little less, to get a little more, to make life a little better. ♪ (dad) ohhhhoooo.... (man) woah, woah, woah! no, no, no, no! ugh... (woman) huhhhhg.... (woman) ughh. ohh... (dad) no! ohhhhhh. (man) ugh, ugh, gaaahh.

(woman) n, n, n, n... uggggg... (vo) don't worry. you may feel every ding, but your subaru's value won't. the subaru outback has the best resale value in its class. (man) check please. new astepro allergy. no allergy spray is faster. with the speed of astepro, almost nothing can slow you down. because astepro starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. and astepro is the first and only 24-hour steroid free allergy spray. now without a prescription. astepro and go. there's a monster problem and our hero needs solutions. so she starts a miro to brainstorm. “shoot it?” suggests the scientists. so they shoot it. hmm... back to the miro board. dave says “feed it?”

and dave feeds it. just then our hero has a breakthrough. "shoot it, camera, shoot a movie!" and so our humble team saves the day by working together. on miro. we have a few moves we can try on you. the first one, we can do an arm spin. >> oh my goodness. >> no? >> i mean -- i feel like i don't know if my insurance is up to date. >> three of the strongest women

i've ever met. and i don't mean that in a metaphorical way. >> oh my god. this feels very wwe in a way i wasn't expecting. >> they are all with a program called "wrestle her." >> when i started wrestling, you were hear "oh, you have to wrestle her, you have to wrestle the girl." so the better you got, that term changed. "oh, no, you're going to have to wrestle her." >> she's the ceo of feet the streets new england, which delivers club wrestling programs to underserved youth throughout boston. as a woman in wrestling, and like so many women in male-dominated sports, she'd stomach years of less than welcoming messaging from fans, coaches, and her male peers. >> some people, a guy wrestling a girl is a lose-lose. >> if you beat the girl, then you beat up the girl. if you lose to a girl, then you lost to a girl. >> yeah. >> when you're wrestling a boy, does it feel unfair, does it feel like -- >> i feel like there's loopholes. >> loopholes? >> like, i'm not going to go arm

fight you if you're a strong guy. it comes down to technique. >> oh. >> personally, i really enjoyed going brute strength to brute strength with guys. because that was exciting for me, and it was exciting to know that i could beat them at their own game in a sense. >> oh, okay. >> i would love to see a point in the sport where there are enough females on the mat that we have our own teams and our own leagues and our own opportunities. >> she's isn't just pushing for a more inclusive sport, she's pushing to change how all athletes feel about their values, a lesson she learned in college as an olympic hopeful. >> i saw my name come up as one of the top three potential to make an olympic team. and i just like, this is it. this is what's going to happen. and so i slept, dreamt, ate, breathed olympic wrestling. then i got injured. and that was it. i would say, like, the first time i feel like i truly felt

like a heartache or loss. and just did not handle it well. mentally i was not ready. you kind of put it on your value as an athlete. so when that goes away, you almost feel like you've lost your value too. and then i found my value again. if i had realized that i was learning this confidence, this resiliency, when i had gotten injured, i think i would have come back even stronger. >> that's the end game of beat the streets and wrestle her. it isn't just about getting better at the physical, it's about building self-worth, character, and mutual support systems through wrestling. >> it technically is the only varsity-level sport that teaches you self-defense equivalence. when i moved to boston, someone tried to mug me -- >> i love "someone tried to mug

me." tells you how that went. >> instinctively i arm-dragged them, and -- oh, that was awkward. >> as they pushback against the idea a wrestler's worth is only performance and abilities, she sees a shift happening in the minds of her athletes. >> are you ready? >> yeah. oh! >> sports in general is changing a lot, right? i think it's really important for athletes to be able to stick up for themselves, speak to their own mental health, physical health. >> if you've learned anything from watching me this episode, then you know we're not all going to be elite athletes. >> oh! >> with the right framing and approach, sports can actually strengthen mental health. even if you can't walk upright for three days. >> oh! hey! how you doing? i'm next in the emergency room. >> can i get three pas to carry me to the car? (woman) for $30 a line, i'm switching now. (vo) the network you want. the price you love. only from verizon. with best western rewards you get rewarded when you stay on the road and on the go.

find your rewards so you can reconnect, disconnect, hold on tight and let go! stay two nights and get a free night. book now at bestwestern.com. ♪ ♪ ♪ voltaren. the joy of movement. ♪ you might have heard of carvana and that we sell cars online. we believe buying a car should be something that gets you hyped up. and that your new car ought to come with newfound happiness and zero surprises. and all of us will stop at nothing to drive you happy. we'll drive you happy at carvana.

ugh-stipated... feeling weighed down by a backedup gut" miralax is different. it works naturally with the water in your body to unblock your gut. ...free your gut. and your mood will follow.

with xfinity internet, you get advanced security that helps protect you at home and on the go. you feel so safe, it's as if... i don't know... evander holyfield has your back. i wouldn't click on that. hey, thanks! we got a muffin for ed! all right! you don't need those calories. can we at least split it? nope. advanced security that helps protect your devices in and out of the home. i mean, can i have a bite? only from xfinity. nah. unbeatable internet. made to do anything so you can do anything.

♪ look. i'm a full-grown adult. and i know that my manhood has nothing to do with my athletic ability. >> 5-all. >> and yet -- >> oh! >> because i grew up with more books than balls -- wait, that doesn't sound right. anyway, i still get afraid that my lack of athleticism is going to make me look like less of a man. one of my greatest fears is that i'm walking past a park, a baseball rolls toward me, and some guys on the other side of the park yell, just toss it

back! then i pray to be struck by lightning. one thing i absolutely wanted to do while in boston was to learn how to throw a baseball. >> okay, all right. okay. >> so to speech me, i got two of the manliest men i know. both friends of mine, both producers on the show. >> you can kind of point to where you're going -- >> if this goes too badly, i wan fire them. >> oh, yeah, don't roast me, don't roast me! this is getting better. >> full body move. >> yeah. >> put all those pieces together. >> oh! >> sorry, bub. i didn't mean to throw a ball to somebody wearing a baseball glove, my fault. >> but obviously throwing a baseball well doesn't mean you're a man, right? but in the world of sports, we often connect masculinity to physical and mental toughness. vulnerability is weakness. >> national football league, this hurts me. >> when nfl hall of famer got

choked up talking about the racist emails of then coach jon gruden, many people took this as an opportunity to call randy moss soft. randy moss is one of the greatest nfl players of all-time. if he can't cry, who can? >> we often look at athletes as machines. and we do not look at them as humans. right? we have a saying, you know, when people cry, we say, cry up. hold your head high when you cry. >> oh. >> 80 up. >> that's deep. >> yeah. >> darius payton is a senior youth specialist at the becoming a man program, aka, bam boston. >> all right, what's going on, everybody? >> the program focuses on creating a space for young, pregom nantly black and brown men, many of them athletes, to learn life skills and practice vulnerability with one another. and each and every day that practice begins with a simple check-in. >> we're going to do a topic check-in. what is one lesson that you have learned from your sport and you

can apply to your everyday life? i'll model the process. mr. powell checking in. basketball being my sport. one thing that i've learned was perseverance. setting a goal and seeing it through. and with that, i'm in. >> good morning, kings. my name's kanye. i play football. and something that i can apply to my daily life is that anything can be a motivation. my grades are high, but i think i can get it higher. that's my motivation. i see jaden working out. that's my motivation right there. >> jaden, do you hear your brother check in? >> yes. >> did you know that was happening? >> no, i really didn't. >> so how does that feel? >> it feels good because i never really thought someone would be inspired by me like that. >> let me be clear. supporting mental and emotional health doesn't only look like one-on-one therapy. programs like bam make thoughtful care and communication a normalized practice within a larger community. that's a big part of the work here. >> my name's kamal. my sport is stand-up comedy.

but i think the thing i learned, even if i juggle being stand-up comedy, my snot to compare myself to other people. if i compare myself to other people, i'm always comparing my insides to their outsides. oh, sorry, with that i'm in. >> awesome, thank you. as a group, y'all think you can juggle six balls together? >> yes, sir. >> every person in the circle must catch the ball once without dropping it. if the ball is dropped, then the activity starts over. >> oh! oh! >> all right. from here on out, there are three more attempts. >> oh! >> oh, i should could use a lightning strike right about now. all my sports nightmares are happening right now. every nightmare i had about sports. i made an adjustment. >> don't get down on yourself. >> thank you, thank you.

>> what were the rules? the balkan not touch the floor. that's two fails. one. one more chance. oh! >> oh my gosh. >> it's not a problem, it's not a problem. everyone's doing a good job. all right, everybody. group mission fail. take your seats, take your seats. bring them back in. >> did you have any programs like this growing up? like a program that could help you better yourself? >> yeah, my mom. you know, i grew up in the generation where if you talked about your feelings in front of other men -- >> you're a little girl. >> yep, there you go, there you go, yeah, yeah. we still live in a society where men overall are encouraged to express their feelings, but black men -- >> we're allowed to operate in two areas, extreme joy or anger. there's no room in the middle

for us to show these other emotions. that can be very, very detrimental and toxic. that's one of the reasons i got involved with the program. like you said, i didn't have somebody like this for me. i so desperately needed someone that i could just check in with. without feeling judged. without feeling like they have to put on that machismo, put on that act. where we can just be us. >> i appreciate that you let us fail the mission. you could have said, "okay, one more time, everybody." you're like, "no, the mission's over." >> failure happens, then what's next? >> yeah. >> it's an important lesson that we all need to learn. >> i failed out of college three times. got my degree. the lessons that i've taken from that, that has all become a part of me. but now i'm able to impart that on y'all and see the way that y'all are achieving, the way y'all are kicking life in its ass and just loving life and being able to freely express yourselves. >> when i think of goals and my accomplishments, like y'all are my accomplishments.

>> cry up, cry up, cry up. >> cry up, man. >> so come on, everybody. let's cry up. because we all know, it ain't just athletes who need to practice and process emotion. >> be vulnerable. if you're not vulnerable, you're not a real man, sorry. >> i just read, i'm just standing here. okay, i'll be more vulnerable! >> it shouldn't be complicated. athletes are human. no matter how much better they are at the physical part of being human, they're just people. even tom brady. and we can't care about their physical fitness and their mental well-being? then maybe we don't deserve them at all. >> okay, all right. let's see that. >> man. hope i didn't piss off tom brady by calling him human. >> there you go, yeah, bub, yeah. oh -- all right, all right. maybe it breaks too far. >> next lesson, next lesson.

i'm debbie kamau bell. we're all white supremacy. we filmed the show in early 2020 which means we filmed weeks before covid-19 hit and months before the police in minneapolis killed george floyd and before all the protests that followed. before many of us had ever heard of reforming or defunding the police. before the president and his cronies used racism to describe the coronavirus, which led to a rise in hate crimes against asian americans. yep, you don't have to look to history to see racism. just watch the news. but the question is, are we finally ready to do the work it takes to make america the just, equitable, and great place it's always claimed to be