All language subtitles for [SubtitleTools.com] Secrets of Playboy S02E06 - Atletas Expostas_track3_[eng]

A female athlete's body
is strong.

[grunting]

-Confident.
-[chanting] Hold that goal!

Sexy...

[crowd cheering]

Majestic.

Toned.

Powerful.

Sweaty.

-Secure.
-Muscular.

And sometimes...it's naked.

But there is a lot of backlash

when you are a female athlete
who posed for "Playboy."

REPORTER: The "Playboy" cover
and 8-page spread

has a lot of tongues waggin'.

Eventually they'll get
to the point to where

they'll regret
that they done this.

They asked me to show my vagina.

At that point,
I just gave in and knew

that I was probably
gonna go to hell.

The backlash was huge.

It was brutal.

COMMENTATOR: This is two steps
to the rear for women's boxing.

This issue hit the stands,
and then a bomb went off,

because this...was...shocking.

And honestly,
once the magazine came out,

I wasn't prepared at all
because I didn't think

anybody was gonna
make a big deal about it.

And for some reason,
people lost it.

[motor revving]

My name is Hugh Hefner.

I'm editor-publisher
of "Playboy" magazine.

REPORTER: Playboy is one

of the most famous brand names
in the world.

It was simply to include sex as

one natural part of a package
for a male audience.

KARI ANN: When I made the choice
to do "Playboy,"

I didn't realize all
the choices that I was making

that came with that choice.

PITZULO: We don't judge the men
for buying the "Playboy"s,

but we judge the women
for posing for "Playboy."

JILL:
I was never Jill anymore.

I was Jill
that posed for "Playboy."

ASHLEY: I just gave in
and knew that I was

probably gonna go to hell.

ZOE:
It got to a certain point

where it wasn't fun anymore.

SONDRA:
This process was very painful,

but I should be able to tell
my story as I lived it.

GUERERO: Mia St. John entered
the boxing arena

when she was
almost 30 years old

and quickly gained
national attention

for her pink shorts in the ring
and uncommon sex appeal.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen,
here is the knockout--

Mia St. John!

COMMENTATOR: There is St. John,
pulling the punches

together in bunches.

Mia pounding a right hand
to Kelley Downey.

ANNOUNCER #2: Mia St. John!

[crowd cheering]

GUERRERO: Her sex appeal
was widely used by promoters,

but when Mia chose to pose
for "Playboy,"

the reaction from
the boxing community was harsh.

COMMENTATOR: I wonder
if this is one step ahead

for women's boxing
or two steps to the rear.

So, we have sat across
from each other

many, many, many, many times

over the last several years
'cause we're friends.

MIA: Mm-hmm, yeah.

So, I'm really excited because

I have so many questions
to ask you

that I don't think I've ever
asked you before,

friend to friend.

So, I'm gonna jump right in.

You were a superstar boxer.

-You already had a high profile.
-Right.

Why did you choose
to pose for "Playboy"?

"Playboy" was just something
that, um,

brought in more exposure,
no pun intended,

but more, you know, brought me
to a greater audience.

-You're on the cover of...
-[laughter]

-Yeah.
-..."Playboy" Magazine.

Yeah, that's--that's the theme,
but, you know, I noticed--

I don't know many fighters
that have

their hands like that,
apparently.

Is that just to protect the...
kind of a strategic...

Yeah, no, that's typical.
[laughs]

You actually didn't start out
as a boxer.

You practiced Taekwondo,
correct?

Right. I started in Taekwondo
when I was 6.

I-I always wanted to be a boxer,
but at the time,

women weren't
really going pro in boxing.

Then I started seeing
Christy Martin

fight on the Tyson cards, and I
said, oh, I wanna fight her.

I wanna turn pro in boxing.

So, Don King made me an offer,
and I turned to pro in boxing.

Your very first nickname
in boxing was "The Knockout."

-"The Knockout."
-Why?

It was a name my trainer
came up with

because when he first saw me,
when he first met me,

he said, "Oh, my God,
you're a knockout."

And in my first fight, I knocked
the girl out in 54 seconds.

So, my trainer felt like
"The Knockout" was appropriate

with, you know,
a double meaning.

We're gonna start you off
this evening with the Super Bowl

of women's boxing,
Victoria's Secret style,

as Mia "The Knockout" St. John

tries to protect
her unbeaten record.

There was a lot of criticism
at the weigh-ins

'cause, you know, I always
came out in my pink bikini

to weigh in and my makeup on.

My hair, you know, I mean,

the weigh-ins were
a show in itself,

and I definitely got
a lot of criticism for that.

Who first said to you,
"Mia, this is a good idea.

I think you should pose
for 'Playboy'"?

It was my manager at the time,
Bob Arum,

and he came to me
with the offer.

I-I was all for it because
I was a businesswoman, too.

When I posed for "Playboy,"

I was making more than what
I got in just one fight.

So, it was
a strategic opportunity

for you that you took?

Yes.

What was the process like
shooting for "Playboy"?

I got to choose how I posed,

what I showed,
what I didn't show.

What did you decide
to show and not show?

So I did frontal, but I made
sure that my legs were always,

like, at an angle, you know,

and, you know,
I got photo approval,

so I was able to really control
how I was portrayed.

What was the backlash

from the boxing community
once you posed for "Playboy"?

The backlash was huge. Huge.

I probably became the world's
most hated fighter...

[laughs]
not--not by the public,

but by just
the boxing community.

Like, all of a sudden,
I was a horrible boxer.

I wasn't very good.
Um, I didn't take it seriously.

They made it sound as though
I was this terrible boxer

that just, uh, made it to fame
because of my looks.

COMMENTATOR:
Bob Arum, the promoter,

says the drama of her fights is

whether she's gonna get hit
in her pretty face.

There's been
a lot of drama so far, then.

[laughter]

All the female fighters
disliked me and thought--

-Were they jealous?
-I think they were,

because later,
I found out from "Playboy,"

while they criticized me,

they were submitting
their photo.

Wait a minute.
Some of the same female boxers

that criticized you for posing
submitted their pictures.

Their photos, yes. Yes.

They just weren't picked.

Exactly. But yeah,
the backlash was--was brutal.

You know, so I felt like I had
to go above and beyond

to prove myself.

I had to fight
the number one fighters.

I had to fight the best
of the best

because I had to prove myself
more than any other fighter.

I always
said that I wanted to be

a top-ranked fighter
who posed for "Playboy,"

not a "Playboy" model
who fought for top rank.

You're constantly facing, um...

I don't--I don't know if
I wanna say sexual harassment,

but you're constantly
being hit on

by the managers, the trainers.

That's called sexual harassment.

Okay. [laughs]

If your manager's
hitting on you,

if a trainer is hitting on you,

if the expectation
at a promotion or an event...

-Yes.
-...is that you date somebody

or sleep with somebody...
-Oh, always.

As a woman,
you're always faced with that.

Was this before or after

you were
on the cover of "Playboy"?

It was around the same time.
It was the late '90s.

There were, um...

there were...incidents that...
happened that could have

literally destroyed
my entire career.

-Yeah.
-What happened?

There--There was, uh, a time
when we trained in Big Bear.

You're just with your camp,
which is all men,

and you're taken to a place
that's very remote.

You're by yourself,
and the men are taken away

from their wives,
their girlfriends,

and we're there
for months at a time.

And at times,
you do feel like you're--

you're faced in that position,
like, to...to sleep with them,

and, um, me being
the only female in camp...

Did anybody ever physically
assault you?

I was not physically assaulted.
Um...

I...did end up feeling like
I had to give in to it.

Did somebody rape you at camp?

I...did end up feeling like

you know, like I had
to give in to it.

Did somebody rape you at camp?

I don't wanna say rape, um...
because I,

you know, I was a grown woman,
and I knew what I was doing.

Were you coerced into sex?

I was. And--And as a result,
I became pregnant.

Yeah.

[voice breaking]
You never told me that.

Yeah, I never told anyone.

Did that person know
that you got pregnant?

Yes. Yeah.

Did the whole camp
know you got pregnant?

Yes. Eventually, yes.

-Everybody knew?
-Yeah.

-And your manager?
-Yes.

What did they say when you
told them, "I'm pregnant now"?

"We'll arrange an abortion."

Did you wanna keep the child?

No.

First of all,

um...

it was with another fighter,

and these fighters
are very high profile,

and...

and this happens all the time
with high-profile athletes.

And it's--it's amazing
that they're not shamed.

-Did you feel shamed?
-I was definitely shamed.

Oh, yes. Yes.

You get pregnant.
The entire camp knows it.

Shames me, but not him.

Yeah, 'cause it's expected
of him.

He's a male athlete.
He's a superstar.

Like, he can do
whatever he wants, you know,

and sleeping with women
is not a big deal.

But if you're the woman,
like, oh, my God, like...

Yeah, I was definitely shamed.

It was in the height
of my career.

-So, you were already a star?
-Yeah.

-And this happened to you...
-Yeah.

...even with all
of your power...

-Yeah.
-...in the sport of boxing.

Honestly, I just cringe
when I think about it. Um...

It's just that I gave in
to that pressure,

but I didn't have time
to process it.

You put your big girl panties on
and you just keep going forward.

Well, now I go, wow,
I was so young. [laughs]

But yeah, you know,
I'm very proud of it.

You know, I still do autograph
signings for the "Playboy"--

so it's still making me money.

And eventually I did gain
respect late in my career.

Andrea Mann knows all too well

about the exploitation
of female athletes.

As a former NFL cheerleader,
she has seen it all.

I was good at learning
the routines. I love to dance.

That's always been something
that I've been good at.

I'm very, very flexible.
I'm still very flexible.

You know, I don't have any
trouble with the flexibility.

Flexibility is my thing,

so if that's what you like,
there you go.

Andrea was a cheerleader
for the Baltimore Colts

in the late 1970s,
a time when the NFL

was transitioning
from sweaters to midriffs.

So, when "Playboy"
was invited by the team

to take photos of the women,
she was surprised

that she was singled out
to pose nude for the magazine.

First of all, we are
part of the same sisterhood.

I was a Rams cheerleader
in the '80s.

You were a Colts cheerleader
in the '70s.

In the 70s, for a team
that doesn't even exist anymore.

-That's right. They moved.
-They moved.

-Those traitors.
-[laughs]

Tell me about your experience
when you were first

absorbed into the Colts
cheerleading organization.

The way you joined was

you found out where
they practiced,

you went there and they said,
"Okay, come on down."

That's a little bit different
than it is today.

It's a little different
than it is today.

They weren't trying to prove
anything to anybody.

This was before
Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

became a thing,

and suddenly you had to have
the best and the brightest

and the most experienced

and the biggest...whatever.
Um...

The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
became a huge thing...

-Yes.
-...in the late '70s.

And suddenly your uniforms
changed in Baltimore.

What did they look like after

the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
became famous?

Well, suddenly we were to wear
very short shorts,

long sleeve tops
that you tied at the middle

and nothing to cover
the midriff.

I wasn't really
that kind of girl.

You know, I wasn't...
fluffy, shall we say.

I was much more demure,
but I had fun with it.

From my understanding,
"Playboy" reached out.

After
the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

shot to fame,

they reached out to a bunch
of NFL teams and said,

"We wanna feature some of
the cheerleaders on our pages."

Your team,
the Baltimore Colts, did say,

"Yeah, we would consider letting
some of our cheerleaders

be featured in 'Playboy.'"

I went to a rehearsal
one Wednesday night,

and Sam Orofino,
the personnel director

for the band
and the cheerleaders

came up to me and said,
"I have some people

I would like you to meet."
He took me into a room,

and there were
two gentlemen there.

He said, "These are
'Playboy' photographers,

and they would like you
to pose for their magazine,"

and I asked him,
"Well, what do you want?"

And he said, "Well, you can
represent the Baltimore Colts

in 'Playboy' Magazine,"
and I was thrilled.

But I was also told,
"Don't tell anybody."

Oh, and maybe at the beginning,
I should have thought,

"Well, what do you mean,
don't tell?

Why wouldn't
I not tell anybody?"

Who told you not
to tell anybody?

Sam. Sam Orofino.
The same person.

He said, "The other girls
might be jealous."

In the photo session itself,

how much did you show
of your body?

Varying degrees.

The photo
that they ended up using

shows very little of my body.

This issue hit the stands,

and then a bomb went off

in the NFL because
this...was...shocking.

All the press--
that became a big deal.

And honestly,
once the magazine came out,

I wasn't prepared at all
because I didn't think anybody

was gonna make a big deal
about it.

And for some reason,
people lost it.

GUERRERO: When that issue
hit the newsstands,

there was a lot of chaos
and a lot of publicity.

At the end of the day,

the women that did pose nude
were all fired, and, in fact,

two entire squads
were disbanded.

When you're a cheerleader,
you are part of a team,

but if you go off
and do this one

you know,
very controversial thing,

it does reflect
on the rest of the squad.

When I went
to the Colts rehearsal,

I was surrounded by other girls
who were asking me,

"What did you do?
We heard about what you did,"

and I was a little confused

'cause I wasn't sure
what they meant.

And the same Sam Orofino
came over and said,

you know, "Oh, we understand you
played--posed for 'Playboy.'"

And I said,
"Well, that was your idea."

He said,
"We had no understanding

that there was
any nudity involved."

Wait, your director,
who submitted you

to "Playboy" Magazine,
is then feigning shock...

Yes, he was--

...that there was
nudity involved?

Clutching his pearls,
he was so upset.

When the issue came out

and when all
of the publicity exploded,

how were you treated--

you, Andrea, in your hometown
and within your community?

Unfortunately,
the local newspaper

uh, did post my address,

so people showed up
at the house occasionally.

There were a couple of times
when I was going to work

that I had to go
right to the police station

and report the guy following me

is not somebody
I want to have following me.

Wait a minute.
That's pretty serious.

That's dangerous journalism,
in my opinion.

Do you believe that you deserved
an apology from Sam Orofino,

the director that submitted you
in the first place to "Playboy"?

Absolutely.

He should have explained
to me what had happened.

But to proclaim

that they had never heard
of "Playboy" Magazine,

they just submitted photos of me
on a whim is ridiculous.

And it was very clear to me
that I should just walk away.

The first thing I feel is how
very happy I was

to be a part of that,
to be asked to represent

the Baltimore Colts
in "Playboy" Magazine.

The second thing I think
is how sad it is

that somewhere along the line,

the same people who asked me to
pose for the magazine decided,

"Well, we don't really want you
to pose for the magazine."

Or as they said, officially,

"We didn't know there was nudity
involved with 'Playboy.'"

That was pretty shocking to me.

Professional tennis player
Ashley Harkleroad

also knows what it's like
to be oversexualized.

Ashley Harkleroad was

playing tennis professionally
at just 14

and was quickly known as
the American Anna Kournikova,

a player known
for her sex appeal.

The pressure to both look good

and compete on a world stage
was high.

So, after an injury

and a surgery
had her briefly sidelined,

Ashley thought "Playboy"
would be a good way

to get back out
and reclaim her body.

She didn't realize
all that would come

from posing for the magazine.

At 14, you were number one
in the nation,

playing against 18-year-olds,

being compared
to Anna Kournikova.

For a 14-year-old kid
from Georgia...

-Mm-hmm.
-...to be compared

to a sex symbol...
-Yeah.

...that has gotta put
a different kind of pressure

on you outside of performing
on the court.

-Right.
-What was that like for you?

Looking back, um, I feel like

I was definitely sexualized
at a super young age.

COMMENTATOR: There's a lot
of buzz in the locker room

when the draw came out
as this being

the most attractive
first round matchup.

Who was looking out for you?
Who was on those sets,

making sure that
you weren't overly sexualized?

I wanna say my agent

because I traveled alone
or with a coach

because we couldn't
quite afford to, like,

have my parents travel with me.

My mom was a schoolteacher,
so she was working.

Did you feel like you had
to support your family...

-For sure.
-...at 14 years old?

-Yeah.
-Okay.

-Mm-hmm.
-At 15, you're signed by Nike.

Mm-hmm.

And immediately
they start putting you

in, uh, tennis outfits...

-Mm-hmm.
-...that were really revealing.

I played the U.S. Open for
the first time when I was 15.

I, um, went to the Nike suite

and was trying to figure out
exactly what I was gonna wear.

But little did I know,
when I played tennis,

like, the shorts, they kinda
would ride up on me.

So, when I tried it on
in the Nike suite,

I wasn't playing in it, so I
wasn't quite prepared for it

to, like, ride up as it did.

Anyway, I ended up doing
really well, but the next day,

all over, like, the front page
of the newspapers,

it wasn't about how I played
tennis or my match necessarily.

It was about my outfit.

The one photo
that I saw of my ass, I mean,

I was like, that is ugly.

And so that's kind of
when I started to spiral.

Again, you were a child.

Do you remember a time
when you just said to yourself,

"I can't do this anymore.
I can't..."

-Yeah.
-"I can't be a sex symbol,

be a tennis player,

be the breadwinner
for my family"?

It just got to the point where
I used to play tennis for fun,

and I enjoyed winning,
but now I'm, like,

so concerned about how
I look in outfits,

and I'm so concerned
about my image.

That was just the beginning
of what started, honestly,

some health problems because

I developed an eating disorder
after that

because I felt like
I looked fat in these photos,

so the expectations
were too high.

And I--like I said,
I felt even in the sport,

I became, like, I was
so good as a junior,

and I was so good really young,

and I just slowly felt like
I was slipping away.

My contract was up with Nike,
my contract was up with CAA,

and I signed with a different
agency because moving forward,

I said,
if I'm gonna play this sport,

I'm going to play it,
you know, for me.

It's gonna be on my terms.

And I just--I sort of
just changed my team.

And that was kind of
the beginning

of sort of a new life that
I developed in tennis again.

You made the very controversial
decision...

-Yeah.
-...to pose for "Playboy."

-Yeah.
-Why did you do that?

Well, I was 22 years old
when I posed for "Playboy."

I really felt like I had
to do it back then

because I thought,
you know what?

If I do this,
if I pose for "Playboy,"

this will be my decision
to actually say yes.

I want to commodify
off my body now.

Like, it was empowering.

So beforehand,
did you negotiate with "Playboy"

about what kinds of pictures

you were going to allow them
to take of you?

I remember sitting there
with my agent being like,

oh, my, God, this is so amazing.
This is such an iconic magazine.

But it'll just be, like,
my boobs, right?

Like booty shots.

And, you know, we just kind of
trusted the process,

and we were like,
great, it's a go.

-So, the photo shoot begins.
-Mm-hmm.

And did you feel good
at the beginning

about how they were
photographing you?

I think the first scene
was on a tennis court,

and they were like,

"Okay, move your body here
and turn your head there."

And my boyfriend was there,

and then my boyfriend
got a call,

so he stepped away.

And then they moved me onto, um,
like, the umpire chair,

and the umpire chair
has a ladder.

And they were like, "Okay, like,
kind of pull your skirt up

and lift it up and let it fly

like the wind is taking
your skirt up," you know?

And I was kind of like, "But I'm
not really showing that--"

Because you didn't wanna show
full frontal nudity.

I didn't, no. I was just--

The energy I was feeling
around me was like,

"If you're not gonna do this,
I guess it's a no-go."

It was kind of like,
this is the way it is.

And I wanted to get paid,

and I had bills to pay, and I
had a family to take care of.

And I just--I kinda had
to make that decision

right there in that moment

whether I was
gonna move forward or not.

And I don't think
it would have happened

if I didn't lift up my skirt.

When I felt like I wasn't

supposed to show
anything from the waist down,

and they told me,
in fact, that is not the case,

and I had to make a decision
right then and there

whether I was gonna
continue on with the shoot,

I just felt scared.

I'm naturally just a "yes" girl,

and, um, I definitely felt like

I don't wanna let everyone down
that's here at the shoot.

And, you know, I just wish
I would have been more...

assertive and been like,
"These are my boundaries,

and this is
what I'm willing to do."

But I wasn't.

When--When he asked me
to pull my skirt up, you know,

and I was kind of like, "What?"

He was kind of like, "What?
What's the problem?

You know, you're doing,
'Playboy'," you know?

And I was kind of like,
"Hold on."

My boyfriend came back and said,

"It's actually not
in the contract

that you're not supposed
to show waist down,

and basically at this point,
you can decide

whether or not
you wanna move on."

-So, you had an agent.
-Mm-hmm.

-You had a manager.
-Mm-hmm.

You had a coach.
You had parents.

-You had a boyfriend. Did--
-Sometimes I think about it,

and I'm just like, apparently
no one read the fine print.

We were--'cause it all
happened so quickly.

When they approached me
to do "Playboy,"

within three weeks,
I was shooting it.

My heart goes out to you,
Ashley, because I feel like

you weren't allowed to have
direction over your own life.

My boyfriend said,
"What do you want to do?

I support you no matter.

We can walk off this set
right now."

And I was basically,
at that point, hair and makeup.

I'd already, you know,

the skirt had already
flew up a few times,

and I just thought to myself,

with the amount of money
that we settled on,

it would have taken me
eight months to a year

to make that.

And you make really good money
playing tennis,

and, um, I could make that money
in three days.

-Posing for "Playboy."
-Yeah.

And I just thought to myself...
[sighs]

I'm not gonna
let this opportunity pass.

I'm just gonna have to, like,
grow some balls,

man up, and I wanna get paid.

And again,
you're coming from this,

it sounds like,
from a business perspective.

For sure, but, you know,
I cried a little bit

because I grew up
in a religious background.

My grandfather was a preacher
of the Church of Christ,

and I was definitely, like,
running around as a little girl,

like, worried to say a cuss word

'cause I was afraid I was gonna
get, like, struck by lightning.

So, I always kind of
was checking myself

and making sure
I was living the right way.

But when I decided to pose
for "Playboy,"

it was always in the back
of my mind, like, if I do this,

you know,
am I gonna go to heaven

or am I gonna go to hell?

And, um, obviously, like,
when I was shooting

and they asked me
to show my vagina,

at that point...I just gave in

and knew that I was probably
gonna go to hell.

-So, you shoot the magazine.
-Mm-hmm.

The issue comes out.

-That became top of news.
-Mm-hmm.

The fact that you were nude
in "Playboy."

-Yeah.
-And you did receive

some backlash.
-Yeah.

Ashley Harkleroad makes news
in her birthday suit.

The 72nd ranked player
on the WTA Tour

is the first professional
tennis player

to appear nude in the magazine.

What was the backlash like
for you?

The press went around, like,
my small, little town

and was interviewing people

about my decision
to pose for Playboy.

Some people were supportive,
and some people were,

you know, they're very,
like, God-fearing people.

-The Bible Belt.
-The Bible Belt, right.

Well, you've probably seen
or heard

that a Tennessee Valley native

graces the cover
of "Playboy's" August issue.

Here in the Bible Belt,

you could expect that
to cause quite a stir.

You know, a lot of people
look down on it.

To me, it's whatever,
you know, to each their own.

It's okay for somebody else,
but not for your baby.

No, no, it's not for anybody
in my eyes.

Eventually, they'll get to
the point

to where they'll regret
that they done this.

Can you describe how that felt?

I have thick skin for sure,

so I--I'm very good
at ignoring the haters

and, uh, you know, just putting
one foot in front of the other

and thinking about the positive.

I learned that, like,
through therapy, basically.

-Once you had a daughter...
-Mm-hmm.

...I understand
that there was some negativity

that came back up again.

-What happened?
-Well, you know,

because of social media,
and I'm so accessible,

and people
can write me messages,

I got some DM saying,

"Your daughter is gonna be
a slut just like you,"

you know, stuff like that,
that people will say, and...

-That must have been painful.
-Yeah.

There's nothing
that you can say to hurt me.

Like, keep it coming, you know?

Like, I've just developed
thick skin.

I...I really haven't
opened my "Playboy"

in probably
five, six, seven years.

I do like this picture.

That's a cool,
really cool photo.

Yeah.

This particular shot
I-I really don't like

because, again,
I wasn't prepared to show

from the waist down,

and I think you can really
kind of see it in my face.

I feel like my face is tense.

These two photos right here,
I love.

These were my two favorites.

I felt like if the whole shoot

would have been something
more like that,

like, that was
kind of what I was anticipating.

And...you know,

moving forward,
there's probably nothing

that I would be able to change
except for if I could have,

I would have been more involved
in the contract

and what photos I was willing
to share with the public

and what photos I would
have wanted to be erased.

I wish I would have had
a little more say-so.

And I wish I wouldn't have been
so scared to speak up,

but I was young.

You know, women wanna be taken
seriously as athletes,

and they wanna be able to
prove themselves on the field,

on the pitch,
on the court, in the ring.

And there is a feeling
by purists that say, that's all.

You should only be
monetizing what you do...

-ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.
-...as an athlete in your sport.

But that's simply not
the reality or the economics

of female sports.
-Well, no, look at the men.

-Mm-hmm.
-All the men that are out there

doing commercials
and products and, um, movies

and, well... [scoffs]

I mean,
they do it all the time.

There are so many controversies

with what a female athlete wears
and what she doesn't wear.

People are looking at you to
see if you've gained weight,

if you've lost weight,
if you look fit,

if you don't look fit,
if that outfit looks frumpy,

instead of really just focusing
on the task at hand,

the game that they're playing.

Ashley, you saw a picture
of yourself

in a newspaper,
and you were appalled...

-Yeah.
-...at the way

you thought you looked.
-Mm-hmm.

Where was that pressure
coming from in your case?

The pressure was
probably coming a little bit

from my trainers, like,
"You need to lose weight."

I had a coach one time
that actually said,

"I see cellulite
on the back of your legs.

Like, you need to get up
before school..."

-[scoffs]
-"...and go for a run."

How old were you when
somebody told you--told you--

And I--15.

Did that kind of behavior

and that kind of attitude
contribute to you

having an eating disorder?
-Probably, for sure.

How can I ever live up
to this expectation?

And I just always felt like

I'm never gonna be able
to be as sexy.

And that was kind
of my thought process

when I did "Playboy," too.

I mean, I just remember
when I was

looking through
"Playboy" magazines,

I was quite intimidated
by, like,

"Oh, my goodness, I need
to, like, step up my game here

before I do this photo shoot."

Andrea, you said at one point
that after posing for "Playboy,"

you were the target
of criticism by feminists.

-Yes.
-Why was that at the time?

What was their argument?

Their argument was
women need to behave like women.

Women need to aspire to bigger
things rather than being naked.

Naked just keeps men thinking
that all women are available.

The shaming, I think,
is really what's most hurtful.

A lot of people have said
about "Playboy" in the past,

that "Playboy" uses women.

I knew they were using me.

I never thought of me
using "Playboy" because they--

that just
sort of landed in my lap.

So, in my case, it was--
I knew they were gonna use

my picture
to sell some magazines.

I had no idea it was
gonna become a thing.

There's a lot of assumptions
made, and I've had that--

I'm sure you two
have had that, too.

People assume,
"Oh, you were in 'Playboy,'

therefore
you're this kind of person,

therefore you're this kind
of girl, therefore you want me."

I used to get that
every now and then.

Yeah, it's like people think
because you posed in "Playboy,"

that you're open to anything.

I had kind of
two different, uh, demographics.

I had the boxing fans,
I had the "Playboy" fans.

And some of the "Playboy" fans
were very lewd, um,

quite rude comments,
very sexual,

um, outspoken,
and just assumed that I was

wild and crazy in bed, which was
the total opposite of me.

-You know?
-[laughter]

Like, I'm the most conservative,
like, person in bed.

Do you think that "Playboy"
has set up

unrealistic standards of beauty

for most normal women
to ever achieve?

Absolutely.
To fold out the picture,

and I don't know
anyone who looks like that.

And remember that everything
is computerized now.

Like,
I was able to go in and say,

"Okay, make my calves smaller."

They could do anything, so--

-You said that to them?
-Yes.

Oh, I wish I would have done
stuff like that.

So the end result of what
you see in "Playboy,"

you said, you know, not all
women can look like that.

Not even the centerfold
can look like that.

-ANDREA: Right.
-In Mia's case,

she didn't get into "Playboy"...
-Mm-hmm.

...the first time she wanted to.

Yeah, I was rejected
because I was too "ethnic."

I wasn't good enough
for the magazine.

And then when
I became world champion,

all of a sudden,
"Okay, now you're good enough

to be in the magazine."
Had nothing to do that

all of a sudden,
I became beautiful.

I looked the same
as when I was rejected,

so I knew
it was all fake bull[bleep].

It's kind of amazing
that people think that

because you've been
in "Playboy"...

-ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.
-...number one, that they are

allowed to go onto your property
to ask you for your autograph...

-Mm-hmm.
-...or why they would even

bring out the magazine
in public.

I've been to charity events,

and people will pull out
my "Playboy" Magazine

to ask me to sign it.
-Mm-hmm.

...which is really
inappropriate, in my opinion,

in some venues.
-Mm-hmm.

How about you guys? Have you
ever been made to feel

uncomfortable if somebody's
ever pulled out a "Playboy"?

I'll probably get, like,
five or--five "Playboy"s

sent to me a week
in the mail to my P.O. box.

I don't have my address
out there

because that would freak me out.
-That would be bad.

Um, but no,
I've never felt like I was

in a situation
where it was inappropriate.

Normally, it's just
sent to me through the mail.

I sign it and send it back.

Mia, in public, has anybody
ever come up to you in an--

in an inappropriate way?
-Oh, my gosh.

Yes, all the time,
like, at grocery stores or...

Because I go
to the same grocery store.

Um, and someone showed up
at my home with the "Playboy."

My favorite, though, is not long
after the magazine came out,

the first one--I had an
appointment with a gynecologist,

and he had a stack of them
and asked me to sign them.

Your gynecologist asked you
to sign your "Playboy" ma--

And I said to him, "I thought
that was pretty weird."

[laughs]

-But you know what he said?
-Are you kidding me?

He said to me,
"I have a lot of patients."

I...

No, wait, I need--
I need a moment.

I'm still freaked out
that a doctor would have--

-He's--
-...that your gynecologist would

have your "Playboy" Magazine.
-He's the only person

that brought me a stack.
-I would have slugged him.

-Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
-[laughter]

-He was very nice.
-Did you get a lot of backlash

when you did it?
-Oh, honey.

-Yeah.
-Oh, yeah.

Yeah. I still do.

But again, you know, that wasn't
the last line on my résumé.

-Mm-hmm.
-As I keep working

and accomplishing more...
-Mm-hmm.

...that kind of fades
into the rear-view mirror.

-Yeah.
-I mean, I got bitched out once

by a Russian girl
in the locker room

after I did it, so...

-Ooh. What happened?
-[sighs]

She just was basically like,
"I can't believe, like,

you would sell yourself
so short like that."

And, um, we were
in the training room,

and I just said,
"Well, you're just jealous

because no one
asked you to do it,"

and that was about it.
[laughs]

-The catfight.
-Oh, wow. Okay.

But that was--you were
being honest about how you felt.

Yeah, I mean, it was true.

Does the fact
that you posed for "Playboy"

going to forever be
part of who you are?

Is "Playboy" forever?

No, definitely not.

I mean, now in my career,
you know, I'm an author.

I'm a mental health advocate
and speaker.

These people don't even know
about "Playboy."

For me, at the same time, like,

no one can ever take that away
from you as well,

and that's kind of
how I see it, too.

It's like,
this was an iconic magazine,

and I'm proud of it.

It was empowering
because I felt like, oh, I'm--

I'm here to show off, like,
what an athletic body looks like

and how it can be sexy
in its own way.

Like, I have a butt.

I have, like,
strong hamstrings and thighs,

and so I was excited to show off
a different type of body

than your average, you know,
"Playboy" model.

But I had gotten
to a point in my life

where I was finally okay
with that, you know,

because I had struggled
with just,

uh, you know,
body dysmorphia, basically.

So, I had gotten
to a point where I was like,

now I feel like a woman.

Now I feel, you know, sexual
and sensual and also powerful.

No one can ever
take that away from me.

Finally, have things changed
for women in sports?

Has society become
more forgiving

if women want to show
their sexuality

by, for example,
posing in "Playboy"?

In this country, no.

I think even today,
if the female fighters decided

to pose for "Playboy,"
that would still be a big no-no.

Even all these years later
after you do--

All these years later, yes.

I mean, for me,
I feel like I got away with it

because my name
wasn't as big as someone

like Serena Williams
or Maria Sharapova.

So, yeah, I'm pretty sure

there would be
a lot of backlash

if one of those girls
were to do "Playboy."

And we sure know that today

if NFL cheerleaders posed
for "Playboy,"

they would probably also be
fired from their squad.

Yeah, well, I think
nowadays that they actually have

cheerleaders sign agreements as
to what they will and won't do,

what they will and won't wear,

where they will
and won't appear.

So, I didn't have any of that.

Right.
Thank you for being so honest.

It was really
an incredible opportunity to--

to learn more about sex
in sports...

-Yeah.
-...and how we feel

about "Playboy"...
-Mm-hmm.

...and our connection
to the magazine.

-MIA: Thank you, Lisa.
-ASHLEY: Thanks for having us.

-AMANDA: Thank you.
-Thanks for being here.

I didn't think a regular girl
could get in "Playboy."

I said, you know, "I am a cop."
And she goes, "What? Where?"

I said, "NYPD."

"Playboy" featured you as
an Air Force drill sergeant.

Right. But when
the magazine came out,

my whole life
was flipped upside down.

Makes no sense.
I didn't break the law.

I didn't commit a crime.

They said, "We're opening
an investigation on you."

I was like, "On what?"

"Playboy" knew this was
gonna be a very big story.

Oh, my God, it blew up.