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RENEE: Since I was eight,

I've been a professional athlete.

Since I can remember, that has been the goal.

ANNOUNCER: Renee Montgomery with the field.

ANNOUNCER 2: Two points down the stretch,

and they're winning by seven.

ANNOUNCER: Montgomery, again!

ANNOUNCER 3: Through the net.

ANNOUNCER 2: Two players on her, and she goes up wide

with the left hand.

RENEE: Sports was that singular focus in my life.

It drove everything I did.

ANNOUNCER: Well, Montgomery is a complete player.

McDonald's All-American Gatorade Player of the Year.

RENEE: Like my whole life revolved around basketball.

ANNOUNCER: Speed, the defensiveness of Montgomery.

RENEE: Everything was a side note to the game.

FEMALE ANNOUNCER: Montgomery is as talented physically

as any preppy point guard.

Rene Montgomery may have the knowledge

and the experience, the maturity to be in the same breath

or conversation as a Sue Bird.

ANNOUNCER: Rene Montgomery, veteran WNBA player,

former six-man award two-time champion.

RENEE: The WNBA, there's only 144 spots.

You're one of 144.

ANNOUNCER: Montgomery, at the buzzer.

Yes! For three.

ANNOUNCER: You just can't let Rene Montgomery do that

because Montgomery is programmed to go

until somebody stops.

RENEE: You don't just give that up.

But I also understood that I was trying to do something

that was just gonna change everything.

[hip-hop music]

CHANTING: Black lives matter!

Happy draft day, let's go!

I am not!

We are sharing secrets, but I cannot share that one.

[chuckling]

AGENT: So the dates I have so far

are the 19th, the 9th,

11, 13, 23rd...

I ain't gonna ever be mad at the hustle,

I'm gonna tell you that right now.

Like, I ain't ever gonna be mad at that.

AGENT: That's the goal. That's the goal.

All right then I'll talk to you.

AGENT: I appreciate you, good luck tonight.

Thank you.

This is crazy...

On draft day, I'm trying to lock in our broadcast team.

I'm excited to see who we're bringing into the family.

It's like my first.

12 years ago today, I got drafted.

And I can remember our drafts.

I drove up from Connecticut.

It was in New York. I was so tired.

We had just won the championship,

and two days later, I was in a car heading to the draft.

It's crazy. It's crazy.

And now, so, it's just a whole different feel,

because I feel like I don't know what's going to happen tonight,

but we're in control.

So it's a whole different feeling.

ANNOUNCER: What an incredible year

for Renee Montgomery of the Atlanta Dream.

She was a player on that roster

and last year made a very difficult decision

that she would opt out of the 2020 season

for work that she wanted to do around social justice

in her community.

RENEE: The reason that I did this is

because when George Floyd was murdered,

like, if you weren't affected by that, something's wrong.

ANNOUNCER: She was out at rallies speaking on panels

so many times in the community

representing that organization and the women of the WNBA.

And she was making her voice heard loud and clear.

RENEE: When I opted out in 2020,

I expected that to be one year

and then back like I never left.

But life kind of took a turn.

ANNOUNCER: It was important because there was an issue

with the ownership of the WNBA team in Atlanta.

One of the co-owners coming out against

the Black Lives Matter movement.

That turn of events changed everything,

changed my whole life.

ANNOUNCER: That caused a lot of concern

and that ownership has now changed.

The team was sold

and Renee Montgomery becomes the first WNBA player

in history to become a partial owner

and vice president of a WNBA franchise.

AGENT: It is Day 41.

Day 41.

So we've had the team for 41 days.

I love that it's actually new for all of us.

Like, step into the fire almost.

It's crazy because it's like, where's the manual?

I don't know.

I don't know the rules to this stuff.

Like, I don't know what's normal,

what's not, but all I know is that,

like, I want to be involved.

I hadn't really seen this happen,

where a player goes from straight player to owner exec.

Not that I didn't think I could do the job.

I didn't necessarily even see myself there.

What up, everybody? Congrats!

-Hello. -Hello again.

What up, Suzanne? I was just talking to her.

I don't know everything, and I don't pretend to,

but what I'm going to do is I'm going to bring all of me

and let's figure it out together.

I love this, by the way.

What is this system called? Is this a thing? Like...

They say you're the most successful

when you're doing something you're passionate about.

So if I want to create change,

I want to stay around my passion.

Whoa!

This is a wild girl.

I know it's my first one, but it feels very wild.

So sports is that.

And take it a step further, women's sports

and women's sports equality.

I pretty much went from an employee

to a boss of a company.

You know, I was a part of the front facing,

what people saw, but also,

you know, I knew what they liked.

I knew what we didn't like.

I knew what we wished were changed.

So now that I'm a co-owner and vice president,

players know that everything we do

is what is going to be something they like to do.

What's lit? What's sexy?

What's dope? Because that's what players are.

That's what WNBA players are. They're ballers.

You know, it's not easy being the first of anything,

because there's a reason you weren't-

there weren't any before you.

The first year, there wasn't much we could do

other than try to keep the wheels on

and make sure that we had a season.

[indistinct PA announcement] [crowd cheering]

RENEE: And unfortunately, the season didn't go ideally.

REPORTER: Shocking video with a full-on brawl

involving two Atlanta Dream players outside of a food truck.

We were in the news a lot for not the best of reasons.

No one feels good or happy about what transpired.

You know, there was just a lot of other things.

It was a tough year for us.

There was a lot of movement that happened in management for us,

in basketball side, and on the business side.

REPORTER: This is just the latest of several incidents

this team has had to deal with this past season

and they finished the year 8-24.

RENEE: We left that season feeling like, boy,

do we have a lot of work to do and fast.

REPORTER: Over in WNBA, the Washington Mystics

traded the number one overall pick in the draft

to the Atlanta Dream.

RENEE: So now, boom, we have a future of our franchise

to build around.

And I got to shout out to Larry G.

He's the majority owner of the Atlanta Dream.

It's not cheap to upgrade a sports team.

And a lot of people say that they want

to invest in women's sports until they start

to get that- that- that receipt.

LARRY: The WNBA needs investment from its owners.

It won't bear fruit unless we have the capital,

the vision, and the tenacity

to create something.

Our goal is to build a sports organization

that lives its values.

And the only way to do that is with people.

Okay. Ding, ding, ding.

I guess I should've tapped a glass,

but I'd like to talk to Tanisha.

We've come a long way from playing against each other

in the WNBA,

to now you are having your first draft.

So we wanted to welcome you officially to the Dream.

We got you a little something.

I love it.

[cheering]

SUZANNE: You know, when we got to the end of our first season,

we knew we needed to put

the right leaders in the right places.

And so we hired Tanisha Wright as our head coach.

This is go time.

This is go time,

and this will be a...

We're excited about bringing in a piece

that will help our franchise grow,

and let's go, Dream.

Let's go. Let's go.

SUZANNE: She was a former W player.

Accountability is really important to her.

She's incredibly competitive.

And we hired Morgan Shaw-Parker

as our president and COO,

someone who had years of experience in sports

that we did not.

MORGAN: One of the biggest selling points

for me in coming into this role

was the fact that Renee was in a VP and an ownership role.

Renee understands from all levels

that there is a process that you have to go through

to get to being a championship team.

And she understands from a team perspective

that it's not all about one person.

RENEE: Also, we have a GM that's backing Tanisia

in Dan Padover.

And when I say not just any GM,

the Vegas Aces went on to win a WNBA championship.

Dan Padover put that team together.

COMMISSIONER: With the first pick

of the 2022 WNBA draft,

Atlanta Dream, you are now on the clock.

-Ooh. -Mmm.

Hey, last night... [unclear]

[laughing]

I'm pretty confident initially.

She's confident.

RENEE: Everything about our whole organization

is a real, live, diversity melting pot.

That was intentional.

We're building, like, what kind of energy

do we want in the building?

What kind of humans do we want in the building?

What kind of knowledge do we need?

Boom. Now we have a team identity

that's going to guide the players

and make them basically achieve their potential.

Here we go.

The Atlanta Dream select Ryan Howard, Kentucky.

The Atlanta Dream select Ryan Howard, Kentucky.

[cheering]

With the first pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft,

the Atlanta Dream select, Ryan Howard.

[cheering]

REPORTER: This is a special moment for Ryan Howard.

She's put in so much work

through the course of her career.

She's going to an Atlanta team

that has so much potential as a franchise front office,

rebuilding, just a great energy in the city.

[applauding]

So let's start.

Let's just start.

I'm hyped right now. We got Ryan Howard.

And for the Atlanta fans that may not know what to expect,

you can expect shooting,

one-on-one, defense, blocked shots.

You can expect her to be rookie of the year caliber player,

superstar-level player.

Huh?

How are we gonna do what?

How are we gonna do a segment one

if we haven't even chosen the topic just yet.

We're gonna go get over them through the-

We're recording it, I know that Roy said that,

but let's try the idea that we said originally.

I don't know. That's not what we said.

I am Serena, I am Renee's wife

and business partner.

Sports entertainment... is what Serena and I are.

I know but we're supposed to have eight to ten minute

segments anyway.

Baby, you know that never happens.

Oh okay. Ah, okay!

I'm just, like, even though it never happens,

we don't want to try?

Okay three, two...

What's up, what's up, good people?

Welcome into Montgomery and company.

I'm Renee Montgomery, that's my snook which is my mom.

My sister, Nicole, my wife, Serana.

She came from the entertainment world,

she's a singer, and I came from the sports world.

I understand the grit and the passion

and the sacrifice that goes into that.

It worked instantly.

SERENA: Renee is not just an owner

and VP of the Atlanta Dream.

She went from pretty much being focused on one thing,

basketball, to a career as an analyst.

She works for the Hawks.

Let's go! [chanting]

Okay. Okay.

She works for NBA TV.

Heading in for WNBA Finals. It's over.

Look at these two.

There is nobody that can outwork Renee.

When she is running around all over Atlanta

to do one of her many jobs,

It is a family affair at this point.

So now, what Renee considers her game are her jobs.

This is the legend Dr. J, I'm judging the dunk contest.

SERENA: That's the equivalent of her being on the court.

RENEE: He just asked me, am I still playing overseas?

How's my team?

Oh! She owner.

RENEE: He literally just asked me!

She front office.

The same way that I've been a captain my whole life

on basketball teams, this really isn't any different now.

This is going to change.

Players are going to feel it.

Just being a captain on a different level.

ROB: Hey, you guys crack me up.

No!

So here's the thing, let them do their job.

Let's have them come with some offers.

Yo, we're so excited.

Laters! Bye, Rob.

- Wow. - That's it.

Where'd he go?

Ooh, look at that boy!

Oh, look at the dimples!

When you put the dimples on him.

They're going to be fighting over the baby.

SERENA: My son, Angel, I had him really, really young.

I was 15 when I got pregnant with him.

I grew up in a very traditional Hispanic family.

When I got pregnant, it was big news.

I was like, well, I'm having this baby.

My family has to deal with it.

And then now it's like, well, I'm engaged to a woman.

No, no. I'm sweating.

Just asking me the tough questions.

I just, well, I just signed to the same agents

that President Obama has.

No snack boy.

I never really planned on having a kid in the sense of,

I was like, I'm probably going to play until a certain age,

and then after that, it is what it is.

SERENA: I was actually nervous about telling him about Renee,

but he's like, Mom, I know that's your friend,

but, you know, like, what's actually going on?

So my mom tried to hide it a little bit,

but I feel like before that, I already kind of knew.

Look at him. He got the nerve to be nervous.

He'd be embarrassed because I'm extra.

I'm that extra one.

ANGEL: I didn't even know she met Renee, really.

She didn't even tell me who she met.

She said she met a WNBA player.

I don't know. We kind of just clicked.

SERENA: He always played sports, but he never played basketball

before he met Renee.

RENEE: Stay with it, Junior.

Talk it out. Who you got?

SERENA: So as soon as he met Renee,

he just fell in love with the drip.

He fell in love with the lifestyle,

with pretty much anything,

everything that comes along with being a baller.

RENEE: Give me that!

Hey, hey, stop talking.

PRODUCER: So when you were in ninth grade,

were you playing already?

RENEE: I was already playing for like 10 years.

This is only his second year.

So he's a freshman in high school,

learning the game of basketball.

Everybody already knows so much.

[cheering]

He has like a love and hunger for the game

because he's just now starting.

So I remember when I started, like,

when I was excited to learn how to dribble

or a new move or, "Oh, wow, I didn't know I could do that."

He's in that stage right now, and it's kind of crazy to see.

It's all right. It's all right.

Get back.

[shouting]

When I first fell in love with basketball,

there was no such thing as a WNBA.

[indistinct PA announcement]

It's not something you could even have wanted to do

because there wasn't even an organization

or a platform to do it.

[cheering]

So my very first goal was I wanted to go to, like,

one of those big D1 schools.

That's how I told my Diddy.

I was like, "I think I want to go to, like, a big school

that plays basketball, like, on TV and stuff."

RON: She was only about five years old.

She says, "Dad, I want to play college basketball."

I said, "Baby girl, if this is your dream,

Dad cannot want it for you

more than you want it for yourself.

And I'm going to see how badly you want it."

RENEE: But then Diddy surprised me.

He made a hoop out of wood.

He made it himself, handmade hoop.

And that's when I was like, "It's over."

Whatever happens now, I can control it.

We had very physical workouts where he would lean on me.

He would push on me.

Everything about his training

was to make sure that even though I'm undersized,

I'll still be able to handle

and play the game at a high level.

RON: Renee was exceptionally small.

So, what I told her, I said,

"You need to acquire point guard skill sets."

I said, "That basketball has to be an extension of your arm."

Get it on the left, move, move, move.

BERTLELA: So, they did that for years.

They did the eights. They did all the hand drills.

So, we didn't have, like, the big gym

or all of the equipment and things

that they have now that you can practice with.

We kind of made our own instruments to use

to try to better her skills.

RENEE: All I had was a ball,

a ball that now has no grip at all on it.

And every day, I just ran our hills.

I ran up it, I ran down it.

That was my workout.

Looking back, I was a country bumpkin, for sure, okay?

I come from a small town in West Virginia.

And West Virginia, you know, it's country.

West Virginia is over 90% white.

So that's a reality that I grew up in.

I was the only Black kid in my whole elementary.

BERTLELA: Being Black in this community,

you run into people whose parents maybe believe

that races shouldn't mix.

Maybe we're the inferior race.

And so Renee's run into some things where people

have said mean things, and I've always told her that,

you know, you can't let them people determine who you are.

You can't become what they called you.

My daughters grew up here.

On the same hill where I grew up.

You know, back in the days of segregation,

we could not live everywhere.

And when I grew up here,

it was mostly a Black neighborhood.

This community has changed dramatically

since I grew up here.

REPORTER: Last week, a cross was burned

in the yard of the Gore family in St. Albans.

In these days and times, it is shocking.

You never think that in the community

that you live in that people have these feelings.

What happened is not West Virginia.

BERTLELA: And so we've lived with that.

She's lived with that.

And she's learned how to show that you're bigger than that.

- Oh, yes! - There's Renee.

Yes, oh my God. She looks just like you, so pretty!

- Who's that? - That's me.

Oh wow.

I wish I had pictures of my mom when she was little.

RENEE: Growing up in this area, it's a small town,

and it was a village that we were raised in.

BERTLELA: Let's see.

- There's Nikki. - There's Cole. I see Cole.

- Nikki. - Oh, wow.

NACHETTE: Everybody knew everybody,

so we knew if anyone saw us doing anything wrong,

it was going to get back to our parents in some way or another.

[laughing] That's awesome.

We were allowed to ride our bikes

to the bottom of this hill

right here to the end of that street right there.

And that's as far as we could go.

So we knew that we went down there

and we did something we had no business doing.

We was in trouble.

[laughing]

You know the biggest tomboys or, "Here comes Ronnie's boys!"

[laughing]

Here's Ronnie's boys.

RENEE: I'm like the youngest sister through and through.

Don't try me, because then that means you trying Cole,

which also means you trying Shay.

That's our family. That's our sister vibes.

You know, I've always told my girls

that, you know, not to bother everybody,

to treat everybody good.

But if somebody bothers you, take care of yourself.

Not everyone has to depend on a man or someone else

to be able to survive in this world.

So he's always instilled that into us since we were young.

I told my daughters, I said,

you can learn to do anything,

but nothing comes free.

You have to work for everything that you get.

My parents, of course,

they've always taught us how to lead,

how to be a good leader,

and it comes back to our church family.

I mean, church and Sundays are like training grounds

to give you the skills and ability

to cope throughout life with just about any situation.

NICOLE: I can go to school all day

and be the only African-American child in my grade

or possibly school,

and then I can actually go to church,

and it was predominantly African-Americans.

If there's anybody here

that loves God this morning,

I need to hear from you this morning.

[applauding]

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

RENEE: Every Sunday, I can remember, in my mind,

it was a race to when church ended,

to how fast we get to the games.

- Let the church say amen. - Amen.

RENEE: I would be listening to the pastor,

and I'm like, okay, pastor.

And in my mind, I'm like, oh, my goodness,

I'm missing the first quarter.

These bitty ball games happen on a Sunday.

So y'all know Sunday's best,

how parents would have the baubles, multiple plats.

It's just not game day hair.

Every time I walked into the gym now, all my teammates was like,

"Ooh, okay," and that was stressful.

I just wanted to be one of the guys.

Renee technically didn't play rec league sports.

Most of the kids that she played with were boys.

NACHETTE: It used to be such an ego check when she would,

you know, cross him over.

She was wearing him out.

She was wearing him out to the point even the parents

were embarrassed for their son.

Not that I wanted her to be a good girl basketball player.

I wanted her to be a good basketball player.

[cheering]

She was a good basketball player.

She was a determined, tough, little basketball player,

and I loved that.

You know, her grit came from

knowing that she had to be really,

really good to be able to play,

you know, at the next level with her size.

[cheering]

RENEE: This is not the biggest gym,

but I remember we got work done in here.

This was championships. This was the playoffs.

This was serious.

I was going to make sure that nobody was out working me.

It was like, I want to go to school for free.

Where can basketball take me?

ANNOUNCER: Montgomery, at the buzzer. Yes!

RENEE: I wanted to be where the competition was.

I wanted to be at the highest level.

ANNOUNCER: Rene Montgomery

celebrating her 1,000th career point.

You don't need anything other than just your desire

and your will to want to compete.

And no matter where you are, West Virginia,

South Carolina, they will find you.

RENEE: And I felt like West Virginia,

it wasn't there,

but West Virginia could get me there.

RENEE: Hey, that's what's up.

This is the Atlanta Dream official practice facility now.

This is a huge step up.

One away from Georgia State.

I'm telling you, even last year. I mean, come on.

This is a professional place.

Like this, we can get into this now, okay?

No, this is going to be fresh.

Like, it's in the process of turning up.

This feels like a home now.

I was playing in a church when I first got here.

An actual church gym.

Like, I can't...

It's like you can't even make it up.

But now, now,

we got no gravity treadmills.

What is that?

This is, like, this is new stuff.

I know people are like, "Girl, you ain't that old."

Well, with this...

This is like, if I tell people,

"We really are investing, I mean,

we really are trying to make it as easy as possible

for you to be the best you."

And then they come in here, they'd be like,

"Oh, she wasn't lying."

Listen, we out here, we trying to do some stuff for y'all.

I wanted to make sure y'all had somewhere

that y'all could call home, so...

This is crazy. Thank you.

Oh, yes. Hey, listen,

is this a little bit, is this a little bit better?

Come on now. Come on now.

RENEE: What I see the Dream being

is a destination for free agency.

Where free agents are like, it's hard to say no to Atlanta.

I want us to be that type of team where we're winning

and we have the good management,

and we have a good organization,

and the players love to play for us.

That's where I see us in five years.

You know what I'm saying?

RENEE: This is okay. We trying to do some things.

We ain't just talking out here. We ain't just talking.

Oh my gosh, I forgot.

- Okay, Atlanta Influences. - There she is.

Atlanta Influences Everything. What up, with it.

I was a fan of y'all's work from afar,

so I'm happy to be sitting here with y'all.

What you guys have been doing, I love the murals.

I love the, you know,

the voice of authenticity around the city.

And so I don't know what that looks like,

but I'd be totally open to doing something

more holistic if you have some ideas.

I'm thinking, "Yeah,"

just because I think it all starts with your story, Renee,

because I don't know your complete backstory,

but I assume you were once a little girl with a basketball

that had big basketball dreams.

You're right.

Now look at you.

Like, you're an owner of a freaking team.

It's wild.

People treat you differently when you're an owner.

Me and Tuffy talk about this all the time.

We're all about ownership.

We're not trying to rent. We're not trying to borrow.

We're trying to own. We're trying to be you.

- You're getting me choked up. - Oh, my gosh, I know.

This is really cool to hear. I know.

I get choked up thinking about it.

RENEE: The thing about owning a sports franchise is,

yes, you have to have enough money,

but you also have to be allowed to be let in.

The torch keeps getting passed to the same types of groups.

So you can't get in unless somebody allows you in,

unless somebody chooses you to be a part of the group.

You know, it's a club.

It's a white male boomer club.

That's part of what we need to change.

And it's not just women that need a seat at the table.

Opening it up to diverse opinions,

diverse people, might lead to a little less,

maybe a lot less toxicity.

This is probably the scary part to the groups

that are the gatekeepers

that want to keep things the same,

because you have to always remember that as much

as we talk about change and change starts with us,

there's a large group of people

that don't want anything to change.

At some point, you know, we'll have a drink

and I'll tell you the story

of my first board of governors meeting.

I blew that place up.

I saw the governance of our league.

I saw some of the decision-making,

and I wanted instant change.

You would think by this age,

I would have learned that's not possible.

Well, it's not possible.

So what I am learning is that a little detachment,

a strategic vision over time,

I believe we'll get there.

So that's the approach we're taking now.

We hope that now what you're experiencing is a first-class,

professional sports experience.

You don't always know what you need,

and we rely on all of you who are here

to help us with that and make sure that we're putting

these resources in the right place.

You know, the business of sports

has been a certain way for a long way.

And that certain way was that basically

the athletes had no say.

The athletes pretty much had no control.

You were at the mercy of the team.

Right...

It's the positions of power

and the position in the decision-making positions

that players don't...

they don't see that progression for players.

Um, and we know why

because you don't want to give up the power,

you know, like, that's always uncomfortable

giving up power

and so when you give up power at bare minimum,

you want to give it up to somebody that thinks like you,

looks like you, you would want to hang out with, but...

What tell you tell you about this?

Look what time it is!

Look what time it is because I told you about Kimberley.

But I didn't want to cut you off.

RENEE: But we're late. Kimberly, we're going to warp speed.

First of all, you were so wonderful,

spectacular on the Consta show.

Thank you.

Are there any other issues or any other questions,

any other areas you wanted to get to?

The competitiveness, like, you know,

how you're building a different model

that's supporting other women.

Usually, you know, women compete with each other.

But the Ted Lasso model,

we're showing love in a competitive world.

Hey, how y'all doing?

- What up, though? - What's up, boss lady.

- How you doing? - What up?

- I love what you're doing. - Appreciate you all, really.

HBCU, we got a link with that.

- Oh, you can talk about that? - Yeah.

We're so delighted that Renee is here with us today.

And we're going to begin right now.

Is there anything you would like to say?

I would like to ask the creator and our ancestors

to subdue my inner asshole.

All and I would like to welcome everyone here

with the spirit of love and respect,

I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

And I know we're about to have a kick-ass second season.

I know God doesn't mind that kind of cursing for positivity.

And I'd like to say it is very good to be the antithesis

of hate and bloodshed.

And be something different and an alternative

so I appreciate you all.

[applauding]

KILLER MIKE: Well, someone like Renee having ownership

and having a voice in league and team,

what it lends itself is a voice that was never heard before.

What you also need is women who have played,

women who understand the communities

that they're playing for,

women who understand that people are not all European in descent.

So ownership is important.

PRODUCER: Five, four, three, two, one...

So first of all, it's refreshing to see an owner

with dope braids.

- Okay! - Let me just say that.

In terms of HBCUs, in a world of people thinking

stuff outside of their community is better,

I always like to remind people that,

you know, how their leaders went to HBCUs.

The people that are up on your grandpa's wall

and your grandmother's wall.

The people that are in office right now are VP.

I mean, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Absolutely.

I'm talking about, it ain't even the past history.

I want people to know current history went there, too.

Absolutely. And a lot of times I think what people forget is what

we're missing a lot of times in the African-American community

is not competence, it's confidence.

And a lot of times smaller classes,

a professor that looks like you and understands you,

a professor that may be from the same background

or a similar one.

So they pull us to the side sometimes say,

"Hey, this is the obstacle you're facing.

We're not going to create an excuse to not challenge that.

We're going to overcome that obstacle

and this is how we're going to do it."

So a big part of historical Black College and University

is getting that attention and that confidence you need

to push through.

HBCUs give you the community that grows powerful children

so we're not constantly repairing broken men and women.

RENEE: I saw black excellence every single day,

so I didn't have to learn what it was.

[hip-hop music]

I had parents that were alumni of an HBCU.

West Virginia State is an HBCU,

which is an Historically Black College or University.

[students cheering]

It's historically Black because it was made

strictly for Black people because they were not allowed

to go to the white school.

[cheering]

My parents, they met on West Virginia State's campus.

RON: I was a football player.

COACH: First and ten.

RON: When we played back here, back then.

We played Central State, Bowie State, Compton, Howard.

And after the game, it was party time.

[laughing]

RENEE: Snook went there for college,

and then she ended up being a college professor

for 30-plus years.

I came to West Virginia State College to work in 1980.

My grandmother was the baker

for the cafeteria here back in the 60s.

And so I've been at West Virginia State College

most of my life.

RENEE: I didn't attend the school,

but I felt like I got the full-on HBCU experience

growing up just because I was there.

We did all attend West Virginia State College.

We literally grew up on the campus.

I just wanted my daughters

to be exposed to that environment,

to recognize that they belong there,

and to be around educated people.

RENEE: I've definitely practiced here plenty of times.

I've trained on this court.

And then I also think of the pit for the step shows

because...

every homecoming here at State, the pit turns alive.

[chanting]

When you see Black excellence at a high level all the time,

it sets an example for you,

but it also sets an expectation.

A lot of HBCU alum have changed the world.

If anyone's ever told you, "You can't,"

it builds a force in you to show them that you can.

Part of every generation's responsibility is to share

with the next generation what has been learned.

We don't want you doing as well as we did.

We want you to do better.

So that you guys could take that information

and turn it up even more so,

make it hotter in the room for those who are comfortable.

It's like, no, you got to get uncomfortable

because we got to grow.

We're getting a, you know, young Gen-Z,

hip-hop, you know, get specific.

I do think so. I do think that the WNBA is in this same phase,

basically, where people were very upset with the,

"This one's for the girls."

And they're like, "But look at our demographic.

This is the song that they would love."

And then the players was like, "Yeah, but we don't love it.

They don't feel like us."

I would say our demographic is

we need to appeal to the players.

We need to appeal to ATL. We need to appeal to hip hop.

MORGAN: the big question is how do you get more people

to come and support women's sports?

And so as a team, we've really got to think about, you know,

how do we create this environment that is a must-see,

must-experience, must-be-a-part-of culture?

We've been really talking about the fact

that no one has defined women's basketball culture.

And that, I think, is the coolest thing for us

is because we have the ability

to be so much more progressive in that space.

That's got to be really powerful.

That's got to be, Dream-related and bringing Atlanta to life.

We got to make them have something that they want to

come to and turn up to. Like, you don't have to tell people

if you show them.

The main thing we're leaning into is the city.

So it's like we lean into Atlanta creators

because we want to be that,

you know, incubation for people to jump off of.

I'm from Atlanta, right?

So again, I'm like, I know what it's like.

Like, I grew here. I wasn't flown here.

That's the whole like inside joke thing.

So again, it's like going back to the elements

and the roots of what makes Atlanta, Atlanta,

and just building out these, "Yo, this might be a really dope

artist that's coming out of Westlake High School,

a greater Atlanta Christian."

I'm highlighting you have those artists,

artists that are up-and-coming to community.

If people start to see that everything we do

connects back to us, connects back to the city,

then I feel like the city is just going to

want to behind us more because they know we're behind them.

[clock ticking]

Atlanta, man.

[hip-hop music]

I bought a house in Atlanta my second year in the WNBA.

It was just something about Atlanta.

I'm like, "Yo, this feels right."

The people that were successful look like me.

I felt like I saw a lot of Black men

and women that were running the show here in Atlanta.

I'm like, "That's different."

I grew up in a world that was entirely African-American.

The west side of Atlanta is a classical Black enclave.

All my heroes and villains look like me,

whether it was my mayor, city council person,

county commissioner.

So I grew up understanding the world was fair

if you had good character.

This city gave me the expectation of excellence

and gave me no excuse to fail.

RENEE: I felt like this was the land of opportunity,

but not just any land of opportunity.

In Atlanta, it seems like the land of Black opportunity.

LISA: Slow down. Shoot free throws.

Slow down.

So look, once more people come in,

we'll go two sides of free throws to start practice.

But slow down, take your time, and concentrate.

I call him Angel just because I just love calling him his name

because it's just beautiful.

When I first met Angel,

he was playing in a rec league basketball.

I think it was his first year playing rec league basketball.

And boy, did he not know what was going on.

He was just out there running as fast as he can.

My best friend trains him.

So I feel very comfortable with the type of training

that he's getting because I know that she was trained

the same way I was.

Y'all gotta understand the life of a student athlete.

You don't get to just be like,

"Nah, I don't wanna do it today."

That's not how this works.

As time progressed with Lisa, just training,

I feel like my handles got way better,

my shot's way more consistent.

If you leave me open, it's wrapped. I'm sorry.

It's three in your face.

LISA: Eyes up! What are you looking at?

God! What are you looking at?

I got a son who, he was like, you know,

"I felt morally conflicted about setting a screen

because the other team's

teammate didn't call the screen,"

so he knew the player didn't see him,

and he felt morally conflicted about setting

a very, very legal screen.

I said, "Junior, do not play with me.

That is not morally conflicting."

Shoot the ball up, shoot it up, Angel.

RENEE: He literally just told me

because they just won the championship.

And he was like, "Yeah, but I have to talk to you

about something because I didn't feel good about it."

I thought it was girl stuff.

Good. It's much better.

And he was, like, because he was being serious.

And he was like, so when that happens,

should I like pull back?

And I was like, "What?"

He was like, "I mean, because they didn't see me at all.

I said, "What?"

He's like, "But my teammate was going to get a wide open layup.

And I'm like, "What?"

Like, you know, he was dead serious.

And I was like, "No, boo, you got to set that screen."

ANNOUNCER: How about that game Montgomery had last night?

ANNOUNCER 2: Well, Montgomery is a complete player.

You say, wait a minute, she's only a freshman.

RENEE: We kind of knew I was going to be small all my life.

So I knew that I had such little room for error.

Every day I went in with a mentality that

I needed to be as close to perfect as I could.

Whoever was going up against me was standing in between

me and going to wherever I was trying to go.

By any means necessary.

Yeah, I always had that mentality.

When I was playing in high school,

it was a really crazy time for women's basketball

in West Virginia.

It was like a whole energy.

I don't know what happened during that time.

[cheering]

BERTLELA: It was really crazy.

I mean, we were having state tournaments

and we were selling out the Civic Center.

MAN: You know, Jason, really,

when you talk about individual stars,

the girls have far more than what the boys do.

You take a look at the crowd, it gets bigger and bigger

every year as far as the girls' tournament is concerned.

No one supports women's basketball

like that, even nationwide.

But it wasn't hard to see that they were talented.

You know, it wasn't a hard sell.

And I think the biggest thing was people had not seen girls

play basketball that way.

ANNOUNCER: On the break, Hornbuckle to Lisa Lee,

the layup and the foul.

I was the only senior on the team.

We had Alexis Hornbuckle, who was another

well sought-after player in the state

and in the nation.

ANNOUNCER: Hornbuckle for three.

She was doing things that people had never seen before.

She was the star.

And then here comes Renee as a freshman.

ANNOUNCER: Renee Montgomery goes behind the back.

Check this out.

Megan Withrow tries it here, but she is blocked.

RENEE: Last night's game, it was a really big win.

I hope that we win this game, too.

We pretty much ran through every team.

ANNOUNCER: Another turnover. Here comes Lisa Lee.

And Lisa Lee with four.

She has 13.

72-45.

Capital Cougars are the champs in AAA.

27-0. Hornbuckle scores 25 points.

RENEE: I won three state championships

with the two teams I played with in high school.

ANNOUNCER: The buzzer sounds, the fans will come on the court.

Coach Gerald Berghie, all smiles as he gets the game ball.

I don't know how else to say this, but we grew up in a small,

predominantly white area.

And to be a star as an African-American,

it takes a lot of effort.

REPORTER: You see so many young ladies

that have a lot of great skills

and the size will prohibit them from going much farther.

RENEE: Yeah, I think that like, you know,

West Virginia, for whatever reason,

didn't want to promote everybody the same.

Actually, it's not about the people

that are involved in the situation.

I mean, we see it happen in media everywhere.

If you look at how much media women's sports gets,

less than five percent.

And we all understand that Black women

are the smallest margin in that 5%.

That's something that I think that you can just see,

especially starting from a young age.

But one of the things you'll find in West Virginia

is that because we are a small market,

some kids are handpicked

to receive the media attention.

It was not the children's fault.

Renee, when she was a freshman,

did not make the all-city team,

but she was one of the top kids in the nation.

REPORTER: Major scouts have been coming

to see Alexis Hornbuckle.

And in doing so, Fred, they see Renee Montgomery.

They're coming to see Alexis Hornbuckle,

so there's no pressure on Renee Montgomery.

She just goes out and plays her game.

NACHETTE: Renee was extremely competitive,

even though it didn't show.

You wouldn't have known that she was fighting

all these inner battles inside, but she was.

RENEE: I've been the undersized, underdog, my literal whole life.

LISA: There was a lot of negativity

when she was in high school.

She's not big enough, she doesn't do this enough.

There was sort of an agenda that was always pushed

now that I look back, for sure.

Only certain people would be at the top of the ladder

in the pictures of the all-county.

RENEE: You don't really think about,

"Oh, wow, the newspaper didn't even have our pictures

in the paper, and we just won the big game."

REPORTER: Here's what I like about Renee, too.

She didn't assume that Alexis Hornbuckle

was going to take the shot.

The media would somehow mess up.

You know, Renee could have had 25 or 26 points that game,

and Renee might have had 21.

And then someone else on the team

who may have only been in the game a minute had six or seven.

RENEE: The second-best player in the state of West Virginia.

RENEE: While we were playing, we were on top of the world.

It was like, I didn't even care about the media.

"Oh, wow, the newspaper,

they actually didn't even put the right stats."

Snook has even called the newspaper before

to let them know that they're printing the wrong stats.

REPORTER: You know, I had her unofficially at 15.

[chuckling]

Well, I said, did she score that many points?

And so I called and asked about it,

but you know, nobody's going to admit to that.

RENEE: If there wasn't an agenda,

it could seem like there was.

She didn't get a lot of the accolades

that she probably deserved while she was here.

- And why do you think that is? - Um...

The way she looks.

We're the minority in this area, so she wasn't a white player.

And nobody can tell you

when you've been discriminated against because you live it.

RONs: The way you prove people wrong

is that you succeed.

So we had to go outside of the state

and seek a stage in which we can display these kids' skill sets.

And that's where we come in about control the controllables.

Hey, we're playing the Minnesota Metro Stars.

This is our second game of the day on a Saturday.

AAU tournament in Kansas.

RENEE: We started to play AAU,

and we're traveling around the world.

The West Virginia Tornadoes.

RON: Go, Renee. Go, baby.

RENEE: There was a lot of time, energy, and money

put into making sure that I was everywhere I needed to be,

to be seen, to be able to get to that D1 level.

Three, go, three! [shouting]

And you know, at that time, you know,

you're taking $6,000, and $8,000, and $10,000

a summer out of your pocket.

Staying in hotels and things of that nature.

RENEE: Snook used to almost get kicked out

of the main tournament.

She would be talking cash trash.

[Bertlela shouting]

And Diddy was going off, we didn't waste our money

to come up here and watch you play like that.

And I would be crying because I didn't want to play like that.

Our summers looked a lot different.

We was in some funky gyms.

We was with some rowdy crowds.

People... There was almost a fight every weekend.

Families from the opposing team, they making a sacrifice, too.

They got that same blood, sweat, and energy too.

Every weekend, just about, we were on the road.

It was a beautiful grind.

That's kind of how I felt my whole career.

That's why they had to be there at those big moments

because it was, like, "Y'all remember that grind?"

Like, we was in them gyms.

Like that song, "You ain't with me shooting in the gym."

My family was really with me.

Dominate on three. One, two, three.

ALL: Dominate.

RENEE: When I think about how many people poured into me

when I was young, the only thing you can do is pay it forward.

[chanting]

RENEE: And especially when it comes to the women hoopers

because I think as a young little boy,

it's easy to want to be LeBron James

and want to play in the NBA

because you see his poster everywhere.

You see his pictures. You see his commercials.

But if you're a little girl and you want to play in the WNBA,

do you see your athlete portrayed the same way?

How can we change that to where

women's sports is the same as men's sports?

It is just as lit.

Stick with it and you'll see that it's lit.

Give it up for yourselves! Give it up. Give it up. Woo!

It's been a long time coming.

We're trying to put on for women's sports.

Give it up for women's sports.

Come on now!

We just saw a women's final four that had numbers,

the highest number in viewership,

the highest number in rating, the highest everything.

It hurt me. The UConn loss.

As you guys know, I went to UConn. I'm a UConn Huskie.

When I think of UConn, I think of discipline and grit.

By the book. No excuses.

ANNOUNCER: Guard for Connecticut,

a 5'7 senior, communications major

from St. Albans, West Virginia,

number 20, Renee Montgomery.

RENEE: And I think that also UConn makes you

achieve your highest.

So for me, I want to go to UConn because I wanted to see

how good can I get.

[crowd cheering]

Home sweet home.

- What up, Coach? - I'm leaving!

You're like, I got to get out here and all these cameras.

When they told me you were coming, I said, time to leave.

This place ain't big enough for both of us.

[laughing]

How are you doing, coach?

RENEE: All the coaches would tell them,

you know, they take you and show you... give you the world.

Gino said he wasn't giving her nothing.

RON: That's her team. That's the team.

I think I took a picture of her somewhere.

I'm not sure though.

BERTLELA: I had been asked

by one of the newspaper individuals,

"Well, where's Renee going to commit?"

And I said, well, we have Tennessee, UConn, Maryland.

And as I'm talking, he's patting up his bag up and saying,

"Okay, whenever someone makes an offer, just let me know."

Snook was like, okay, well, we're going to announce

that you're going to UConn.

West Virginia didn't even believe it.

[laughing]

GENO: The whole focus of everyone in the country

when it came to that particular team was Alexis.

ANNOUCNER: How about Alexis? Listen up to these numbers.

38 points along with those nine assists and 30 rebounds.

But I said, um,

we're going to get the other kid

and I think she's gonna be better.

And, you know, they looked at me and I said,

"Just a hunch."

I said, "but I think her style

and the way she plays fits us perfectly."

So...

Wow. That's shocking.

[chuckles]

That's crazy because everybody-

Alexis was the number one player in the nation.

Like, young me, if I heard that

when I was like in high school,

I would have been going crazy. Are you kidding me?

GENO: Some kids have to be the focal point of the team.

And Renee comes from a program

where she's not the focal point.

I wanted somebody that knew how to win within a team.

I mean, this is a whole new world in here.

My goodness. Come on, Olympians.

Come on, excellence.

He shot it to me straight.

He was like, "I mean, you're good.

It's just going to be on you, you know, how far you go."

GENO: It was never good enough.

It was never enough. No matter what she did,

I always found something that I would say,

"Yeah, but you didn't do this." And then she would do it.

And then I'd go, "yeah, but this

wasn't as good as it could have been."

And then she would fix it.

And that's what I promised.

I'll make sure that there's not an ounce left in her

by the time she's done at UConn.

I've never been pushed more past my limit than at UConn.

It was like, I thought that was my limit,

but clearly I'm still alive and we still have one more set.

So, now I know I have a new limit.

There was no room for mercy.

Honestly, it was like I just started to take on

a different mentality.

ANNOUNCER: Rene Montgomery from St. Albans, West Virginia.

BERTLELA: My kid is so cool, so young.

[cheering]

My freshman year, I came in there bright-eyed, bushy-tailed,

and I'm, like, turned up, like, let's go win a championship.

And we learned very quickly that it just, it doesn't just happen.

ANNOUNCER: Launch! Stumbles puts up the shot-

[cheering]

She had a shot! Duke will go to the final four.

UConn losses for the first time in 30 tries

on home soil.

And the second year, I'm, like, "For sure." Boom.

ANNOUNCER: And the Tigers do it again.

Very impressive win for these kids from Baton Rouge.

So, then I thought my junior year, it's like,

of course, we got to win this year, y'all.

Come on now, like, this is getting crazy.

ANNOUNCER: Miller unloads

and that one will be out of bounds.

And the Stanford fans on their feet again.

The number one team in the country

is knocked out in the semifinal.

RENEE: You have the best of the best, Coach Rayema,

saying, I'm going to help you achieve your goal.

The scary part is, what if we don't succeed?

ANNOUNCER: UConn, of course,

they want to go 39-0 for the second time

in their storied history.

GENO: You can't leave the back door open

because kids love that.

It's human nature because they just don't ever want to say,

"I sucked today."

ANNOUNCER: Montgomery wide open, finally got one.

Montgomery, the smallest player out there.

Pull up jumper, got it.

but when you lock the back door and there's no way out

other than you gotta go through the front door

and you have to admit it, there is no bailout.

It's just me and you. That's it.

You either do it or you don't.

And if you don't, you own it, yours.

I think she was like,

because that's who she is.

You challenge her and she comes right back at you.

And I challenged her, hard.

And we have a picture of her after a bucket

where we scored and she runs back

and she's almost at half court

and she's in a stance

like this, staring at the kid like, come on.

I'm gonna get goosebumps now thinking about it.

Kids don't do that anymore.

They don't do that. They just wanna score.

Nah, Renee wanted to rip your heart out.

And then talk to you about it.

Dang, it's big league out here. What up, young blood?

How you doing? Get a hug 'cause, 'cause we family, okay?

Dang, y'all been in the gym, ain't you?

- Yeah. - All right, goodness, okay.

Hey.

[laughing]

I learned a lot here, for real. I'm not kidding.

- Oh, I know. - I took it. I learned.

Like, I was trying to take everything in.

Like, I just thank him every time I see him,

because we've already been burned, battle tested

through certain things that I see people going through,

and I'm like- - Well, he's fair.

That's all you can ask for.

Nobody gets away with it.

It works in the after life. It helps after basketball.

Life after basketball, it helps.

GENO: I think any woman's sport

struggles in the beginning

to get their footing, right?

All those kids who played before Renee during all that time,

they really, really, really struggled

for it to be the way it is today.

So, by the time Renee got here,

we had all the things

that any men's basketball program in America would have.

So, now these kids are leaving

schools like UConn around the country.

Their life is much more difficult

than it is here.

You take this NIL stuff,

you're leaving here to make less money

and to have less of the amenities

that they have here.

Completely the opposite of the way it should be.

You can't just say, "Hey, we're the WNBA, come watch."

No, you have to earn it.

You have to prove that you deserve it.

[muffled arena announcement]

GENO: Something else has to happen.

Ah! Hello! [squealing]

What's up? How are you?

Yes, this is Snook.

Oh my gosh.

Um, what a difference a year makes.

There's a line wrapped so far around the building

that it took me 20 minutes to just from that strip.

Throw the joint out, okay? That's how I'm feeling.

That's how we feeling. Okay, everybody get into it,

take it in, breathe it in.

- Yeah. - Let's make it a habit.

Ah, it feels good.

Hello, everyone, I'm Angel Grey alongside with LaChina Robinson.

And LaChina the energy around this franchise

is through the roof, we're just excited

to be a part of it this season.

LACHINA: This is my favorite time of the year.

And yes, there is an incredible contagious energy

around the Atlanta Dream.

ANGEL: A lot of new pieces as far as front office,

looking at the coaching staff,

and even eight new faces on the roster.

Let's go, let's go!

We've never had that kind of crowd before.

We definitely didn't have to sell out

in any of the games in 2021.

Uh! Give it to me! Give it to me!

Here we go, now we going!

ANGEL: Long shot, Rhyne Howard comes down with the rebound.

Full court, crispy wallets make them pay with a few.

There you go!

I don't care how much you scream and yell and promote.

If you're not winning, people don't care.

What game were you watching?

GENO: If they don't think you're competing at a high level,

they don't care.

Oh, you got her!

[shouting]

Let's go!

GENO: It's not college basketball.

This is professional sports.

You're not just a sport.

You're part of the entertainment world.

[cheering]

They want to see what you're going to do

to make them go, "Wow."

So, you better be really good and you better entertain them.

When you break it all down,

Renee's a hell of a basketball player,

but she's even better entertainer.

So, who knows better than her?

What people are gonna buy.

Morgan!

It's happening!

Nneka Ogwumike dials it up.

One second left. Nothing on the clock.

So, the Atlanta Dream will walk away with win.

[cheering]

SERENA: That first home game of the season,

it was a direct manifestation

of everything that we've been working so hard for.

You're like, "Oh my gosh, people actually listen?"

Like, they're paying attention?

So, after that game, I feel like that set a tone.

Okay, so, we sold out the first home game.

Now we gotta keep on selling out.

Oh, the energy was great. We love it.

ANNOUNCER: Pulls up, it's good!

I want these fans to come back. We want them to support us.

The way you do that is by having success at home.

Rhyne Howard with a quick start.

PODCAST HOST: All right, so last on the list, WNBA.

The viewership is up 74%.

Yeeurp! You're saying louder for the people in the back.

Howard for three, yes!

What's the feeling you're getting?

Fun, immediately. People are coming back.

[cheering]

Whether it's the team or the audience

that brings that energy and usually it's a mix of both.

It's how people feel about the WBA's change

and they're acting different at the games

Tiffany Hayes Tepes is back.

I think her and Rhyne are definitely key to the offense.

Rhyne Howard dipsy dos into another two!

That narrative of women's sports is boring,

women's sports, whatever,

women's sports ain't it.

It's quickly changing.

[cheering]

And four games left very crucial

as you guys push for the playoffs.

What's the conversation around this team right now?

We're just taking one game at a time one game.

I agree, yeah.

One game at a time and they got this one done,

back to you guys congratulations.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

RENEE: I mean the reason I played in the WNBA,

'cause it's like we got one.

Entering our 13th WNBA season

this draft class has grown up with the WNBA.

And the impact has been enormous on the quality of the game.

RENEE: Like, I can remember watching the WNBA,

and then after every single season,

people would be like,

"We don't know if it's going to fold as a league."

There's been some speculation as to whether the WNBA

could be in some real trouble.

It's a crucial time for the WNBA,

and some difficult decisions

are probably gonna have to be made.

RENEE: The WNBA is a right.

It's the hardest professional sports league to make.

With the fourth pick in the 2009 WNBA draft,

the Minnesota Lynx select

Renee Montgomery from Connecticut.

[cheering]

This league is trying to build a foundation.

You really are building it for the next generation.

How will you handle the challenge

of helping rebuild this program?

Um, like every other season, it's a new year.

And I, I think every year there's a chance.

Everyone has a new chance.

And I'm just going to look at it optimistically.

All right. Congratulations.

RENEE: During my time, you played year-round

because the draft is four days after the championship.

Training camp three weeks later.

Overseas two weeks after your WNBA season.

And then when you get back from overseas,

I went straight to camp. I did that 10 years straight.

ANNOUNCER: Montgomery tees it up.

[announcer shouting]

PRODUCER: We're going to do a little montage

with Renee's accolades.

What do you want me to start with?

Oh, no, baby.

ANNOUNCER: Montgomery, big shot for Minnesota!

No, baby, no, no, no.

11-year WNBA veteran.

And two-time WNBA champion.

ANNOUNCER: Montgomery the steal, can she beat the buzzer?

She can!

They can taste it at Target Center.

All-star and sixth woman of the year.

ANNOUNCER: Montgomery. Shot clock's coming down.

It's another one!

532 career three-pointers.

Ranked 12th all-time in the WNBA.

Renee pops it up and in!

Four point play opportunity.

Montgomery, dribbling. Wow.

RENEE: In my era, we could be best friends,

but when we're on that court, it's dangerous.

It's love and war on the court, okay?

You could love them before and love them after,

and it's war on the court.

ANNOUNCER: A chance to go 13 and 0, a new WNBA record.

Whalen! Montgomery!

Got it!

Boom.

You want that moment.

INTERVIEWER: Renee, what's it like to play in a place

where the standard is so high?

Or the expectations are championship or not good enough.

Ah, it's good, um, you know, I went to UConn, right?

[chuckles]

In 2016, when we were focused on running it back,

there was a lot of things that were happening

close to home in Minnesota for us.

Philando Castile had been murdered by the police.

[car honking]

[sirens]

And our captains came to us and they were like,

"Hey guys," you know, like, "We want to take a stand."

Again, this is a human issue

and we need to speak out for change together.

Didn't go well.

Four off-duty Minneapolis police officers that were working

security at Minnesota Lynx game

walked off the job Saturday night in protest.

They're wading into waters

that they shouldn't be in to begin with.

They're professional athletes.

Stick with playing ball.

It got to the point to where the WNBA had to tell everybody

to stop wearing the shirts that were not league approved.

You know, to the WNBA's defense,

you know, this was when they really wanted

people to stick to sports.

And we, as a Minnesota Lynx team,

we decided that we just didn't want to do that.

That is a violation

of the WNBA's uniform conduct policy.

And as a result, those two organizations

were fined for the players that wore those

Black Lives Matter t-shirts.

However, today the WNBA has rescinded that fine.

RENEE: When I look back, it's so crazy, because

now the league is issuing shirts

that say things and say statement pieces.

And now I look at the leagues and they're like,

yeah, we want to stand with you guys

and stand with the athletes.

You start to see teams now as a whole release statements

in support of or against something,

that was unheard of.

Woo!

It's so funny because I watch this,

and I'm like,

to me they look like the WNBA champions,

you know, because I, I don't do this that much.

They look so good.

RENEE: They really are sharp.

See, that's the thing about like, we're going to be

one of those teams that play hard, are sharp,

and like we just sometimes might not have enough. Exactly.

Does that make sense? Action, go!

[indistinct shouting]

Oh, yeah, we got action now. This is what I want.

This is what I want. Ooh, whee!

Get in there, ball. Yes!

I hadn't looked at Atlanta when Levison owned it,

when he was getting in trouble. - Yeah.

Look what the Hawks have done to connect to this community.

No, honestly. Honestly.

It's amazing.

That was like eight years ago. It was that recent.

We couldn't even get tickets.

The whole thing is the CMO from the Hawks,

um, Melissa Proctor came last night.

So great, but she'll tell you, and so will Coonan,

that it took them 10 years to get to that point

this past year where they're starting to resonate.

But that is sobering that it took them that long, though.

I'm not diminishing it, by the way.

No. But they don't have you, so, like, they don't.

To your point, though, that is sobering

because it's like, okay, look, there's a benchmark here.

But we can try to go out and do it faster,

but this is us, this is the new us

that people should get used to us.

I told them all the time, like, I didn't feel like

a professional when I was playing in 2019.

You made a personal, you made a city choice.

Yeah. 2017, flying high, I won a championship with Minnesota.

And then I'm like, all right, guys, I'm going to Atlanta.

And everybody's like, yeah, you done lost it.

Like, you done your whole mind.

In 2018 we were coming off of a WNBA championship

with the Minnesota Lynx, and I was a free agent

for one of the first times in my career,

I get to decide where I'm going to go.

And I chose Atlanta.

ANNOUNCER: A veteran on this team, she knows when to shoot,

when not to shoot.

I don't know what it was because even my parents

were kind of like a little bit shocked.

Uh, really, you know, it's interesting

because when I left Minnesota,

it was really just a leap of faith.

A lot of people thought I was crazy, like a lot of people.

INTERVIEWER: You had to do some research or gamble

or whatever word you wanted to use.

So, why, why would it work?

I have faith.

It wasn't an organization that people were running to get to.

And I didn't play overseas that year.

That was the first year I didn't go overseas.

So, there was a lot of different things.

Um, there was a lot of life that happened in 2019.

I'm in Atlanta.

I'm really starting to get my roots.

I went to a doctor,

and they do a mammogram scan.

They actually tell me that they found a lump.

Something's here. They got to remove it.

And am I going to be okay?

And so,

my parents come to Atlanta, and, aw...

[stammers] Here we go.

Actually, I've never talked about this publicly,

but my parents come to Atlanta for my surgery,

and everything goes great.

So...

I'm trying to like...

So, then it was like, all right, let me get back to normal.

And... Hold on.

All right, I think I got it.

[exhales]

All right, so then I was like, all right,

let me get back to normal life and get back to everything.

So, I decided to go to a Hawks game.

[chuckles]

♪ Oh say does that star spangled ♪

♪ Banner yet wave ♪

She went to a Hawks game,

and she meets a girl.

And I get a text message that says, and I quote,

"She's going to be my wife."

Okay.

In a weird way, um,

thank you, Kelly Loeffler,

because, uh, she is the reason why my wife and I met.

So, she gave, uh, Renee

some courtside seats to that game

that I was actually singing the national anthem to.

[chuckles]

I was there. Um, how could I forget?

The way that Renee looked and how she was, like, darting,

I didn't really, like, think anything about it.

But in my head, I was like,

oh, she's probably going to try to definitely talk to my sister.

And I was like, "Oh, so you're a singer?

You're like, you need to sing at our days. What's up?"

[chuckles] Oh, boy.

It, it, it was, it was all meant to be.

[chuckles]

People never really saw her getting married, like, ever.

I'm trying to put it in a nice way where...

[laughs]

A lot of people were attracted to her spirit

let's leave it at that.

[chuckles]

RENEE: I have a girlfriend. [gasp]

And I look like shit.

I don't know what to say about, you know, about ballers

it's a baller lifestyle and I hate to say that,

but she was a baller in every sense of the word.

[sigh]

Renee, a player.

If we're going to be in a serious relationship,

you- we gonna- some things are going to have to change.

She's like, "Look, I let all of them know what's up."

And I'm like, okay, look, that- we're not-

that's not going to fly over here.

Renee stop this.

A lot of turbulence right now.

- It's really not bad. - Oh, yeah. Mmhm.

It's starting shakin'.

I would say being a sports family member,

it takes up a lot of space.

[cheering]

No, no!

[cheering]

Pulled up to the Sparks game!

- The legend! - Go Sparks!

Athletes and artists, like,

there's so many differences.

[laughs]

But I lean into and pay attention

to my emotions a lot.

Oh, my God.

It's like I got a lot of stuff on my sleeves right now,

and this is how Serena wears her emotions.

Renee is the complete opposite.

You need memories, Renee Montgomery.

You don't know if I'm tired, if I'm sick.

As an athlete, you look at us on the court,

you don't know what's going on.

And it's supposed to be that way.

RON: She ended up with a beautiful young lady.

SERENA: First, she watched Princess Diaries,

and apparently Mean Girls is on her mind now.

We are making these flights. We play around with fire.

RON: She precious little girl. She precious little girl.

She reminds me of my wife in the ways that

time don't mean nothing to her.

[producer laughing]

Where is your watch?

I know Tori, I was running really, really late today.

Ridiculous.

[laughing]

We have arrived at the game, baby. We are here.

We're late, but that's okay.

I just can't believe someone's going to play us like this.

What a mess.

Look into the link again and Hannah will let you in.

I'm so confused.

What is going on with electronics today?

Oh my gosh, I'll be the last one to the meeting.

Oh, we're in.

- Okay. - Good, good.

Hey, Renee. Can you hear us?

I sure can.

Anyways, I'm terrible at this.

I don't know how to run this process.

So, why don't you take us- Ask us questions.

Tell us where we're going.

The biggest thing, Larry, I think is what do we ultimately

want people to feel when they see

our brand in the market?

Is this a complete rebrand? Is this an evolution?

What is this?

Let me jump in for a second

and just sort of give you the general thoughts

that I think you were maybe seeking.

I'm trying to build, I think we all are,

a global brand.

That is recognized throughout the world.

I want Jay-Z wearing our hat.

Yeah, I just think there's a buzz.

We have a little buzz going on here.

I feel like people should feel like it's cool to be,

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I've been to a game."

We got to build out, like, who are we?

I think that's pretty much what people are asking.

That's an important piece of it. You're a thousand percent right.

We bear the burden in a good way

of a very powerful story.

But there's like, there's a really fine balance

of honoring, you know, our legacy

and the modern, fun future of the Dream

that is not always so serious-

Exactly.

We talk a lot about the fact that first and foremost,

we are a professional basketball team.

We're not a political organization,

but it's incumbent upon us to lean in to the issues

that are really important to women.

RENEE: You know, it's crazy balancing

being an athlete and...

I think a lot of Black people have understood

that you have to balance being Black all the time.

The consensus is to not play

in tonight's slate of games and to kneel, lock arms,

and raise fists during the national anthem.

RENEE: I think that's why 2020 was such a shock to people.

There's a lot of people that didn't understand

the weight that athletes carry on a day-to-day basis.

2020 changed the course

of the Atlanta Dream as a franchise.

We all decided that it was time.

We have a lot of fast-moving developments

involving COVID-19 tonight,

both in North Texas and around the country.

President Trump addressed the nation.

More schools and universities are deciding to take action

and close their campuses to keep students safe.

RENEE: March 13th, no bleach left.

This is crazy.

There's steaks.

We didn't know it was going to be,

as long as it was going to be.

So, in the beginning it was like, man, I'm just going to

take this time that I have to enjoy my family.

I mean, this is all new to me.

And, so, we were really enjoying,

like, just being able to be around each other.

What's in your hand?

My marriage license.

The middle of the apocalypse, we got married.

[chuckling]

We're eloped.

- Where are they? - They're right here, okay?

Oh my goodness.

Can you guys see them?

REPORTER: I mean this is a crowd that came to confront police.

They're angry.

You see the violence that is happening.

They're here because a Black man was killed by police.

- Yup. - Oh my God. Fire! Shit.

MAN: I didn't want to come, and I don't want to be here.

I'm the son of an Atlanta city police officer.

Um...

[clears throat]

And I'm mad as hell.

I woke up wanting to see the world burn down yesterday

because I'm tired of seeing Black men die.

But we have to be better than this moment.

We have to be better than burning down our own homes.

Because if we lose Atlanta, what else we got?

I hate all of this.

Well, it kind of makes my heart jump just, um, talking about it.

But my son, he was 12 at the time.

Yeah, baby, give them out.

Nice cold water, anybody?

ANGEL: So, me and my friends, most of my friends, actually,

we talked about it quite frequently, actually.

Just how that, that really could've been us.

[protestors chanting]

Black lives matter!

Black lives matter!

RENEE: When I called Snook, I was like, what should I do?

And she was like, you are exactly where you need to be.

That felt like a call to action, honestly.

[protestors cheering]

HARRISON: Our job as protestors is an important for democracy.

It allows us to bring awareness but also

throw pressure on the left of the field.

People making laws

new policies and they are concerned.

RENEE: A lot of players, there was a lot of energy.

Seeing athletes talk about personal issues so much,

never happened in sports.

Athletes were like we're going to do this.

Now, whether the leagues come with us or not, that's on them.

We have a voice that can be used for the voiceless.

We have this platform to sit in front of all these cameras

and this media and be a voice.

RENEE: Just seeing how emotional players were,

it's a different thing.

Because, like, I talked about everything in sports is to,

you know, don't let them see you sweat.

I remember saying, well, you know,

like, you guys are always taught

to just, kind of, just keep on going, go, go, go,

and never really, you know, like, listen to yourselves.

So, maybe you should pay attention

to what you're feeling right now.

So, for me, it was like, it was, what do I want to do?

Plus, professional sports leagues

are trying to figure out how to start their seasons.

There's one WNBA player who says she's going to sit out.

Hi there, Renee. Can you hear us okay? It's Gavin in the studio.

Yeah, I can hear you. I can hear you good.

Women's NBA star Renee Montgomery

has decided to sit out the 2020 season.

I, I'm shocked at how positive it was

because when I pressed send this morning,

I just didn't know how it was going to go.

Do you think that the WNBA and the NBA perhaps, as well,

could be doing anything more, Renee?

You know, I hope they do.

The WNBA, NBA, 80% minority league.

So, the leagues have to stand up right now.

When Renee opted out, one of the first organizations

to reach out was LeBron's More Than a Vote.

LeBron James' voting rights push

could be a historically significant,

athlete-led political campaign.

You trying to roll? You trying to join this fight with us?

And I was like, let's go!

A lot of people don't feel like it matters if they vote.

It does. We can see now, it does.

Before, we used to not be able to talk.

But now, LeBron's given a platform for that very thing.

It helped me focus in on what I wanted to do.

What was the tipping point for you?

RENEE: When I was talking to my mom that she was saying

how she lived in Detroit during the Detroit riots

and that it's sad for her.

Her daughter is living in Atlanta

during the Atlanta riots.

It was an unsure time for both of us just because

we didn't know how we were going to pay our bills.

Not having a job for a certain amount of time

is not comfortable, but I don't know.

I just, that's why they call it a leap of faith.

If that's where my heart is, that's where my heart is.

What good would I be in the bubble,

if all I'm thinking about is being here, in the streets

in Atlanta trying to make something happen?

And we can plan to see you back

on the, on the Dream's court next season?

Is that gonna be-

That would definitely be the plan.

Like, I don't know why I didn't think this would be a big deal.

I literally, like, thought,

all right, I'm just gonna sit this season out.

Like, I don't know why I thought it was not going to be this.

So, this is kind of crazy to me.

Okay, what's up, everybody?

If y'all haven't met me, I'm Renee Montgomery.

I play for the Atlanta Dream.

This year, the WNBA season is supposed to start in two weeks.

Yesterday, I sent out a tweet

that was saying that I'm opting out of this year's WNBA season,

because I wanted to fight social justice reform.

[applause]

Yeah. So, so for me,

I didn't really know what that meant

in a whole sense of the thing, but we got to figure out

what we need here in Atlanta for Atlanta to do better,

for Atlanta to be better.

So, if you have any suggestions, let me know.

[cheering]

I think that people thought I had this master plan,

that, yep, I'm off to now and we're going to go do this.

The only thing I knew I was about to do

was throw a pop-up block party 'cause it was Juneteenth.

[shouting and drumming]

It just blossomed into something that we had no idea.

Woo!

WOMAN: I know how hard you worked to get here, Renee.

MAN: Do you know what this could mean for your career?

Yeah, I didn't start this problem,

but if we don't fix it, then who will?

My mom, she lived through it, too.

This is a generational problem.

For me, they were just my thoughts.

They were just my feelings. They were just my words.

Then now, people are calling me an activist.

When you look back at it,

my whole upbringing, was leading me to that point.

[drumming]

WOMAN: You grew up in West Virginia

in a predominantly white area.

MAN: How has that life experience

informed this decision?

I know what this looks I know what this is.

These microaggressions, it's adding up now.

No justice, no peace!

RENEE: How I was brought up is why I feel this way.

WOMAN: You start to get angry.

So, you start to think about all the times

that you went through something.

That's what made me who I am.

And then you think about now you have nephews.

You know, she has a father.

She now has a son.

We all know what happens in November.

We need to vote

because we have to have a change

and voting is how you get a change.

So...

A wide-ranging news conference this afternoon,

courtesy of Senator Kelly Loeffler.

The senator made it very clear

she doesn't believe politics belongs in sports.

And I'm not going to let a political movement,

which is what the Black Lives Matter movement truly is,

tear our country apart.

And let me be very clear.

The statement Black Lives Matter is very different

from this political organization,

which has Marxist roots.

This week, they threatened to burn the system down

literally and figuratively.

And I had to draw the line.

Leckler sent a letter to WNBA Commissioner

Kathy Engelbert, encouraging the league to use American flags

instead of Black Lives Matter or say her name.

You know, I'm not even with my team at the time,

but I'm alarmed.

Again, this is the woman that I haven't had a huge amount

of interactions with.

But the ones that I did have, you know, they felt very normal.

So, I reached out personally,

like, you know, like I sent a text like,

"Hey, you know, you want to talk?"

Has she responded to your ask to sit down

and talk about these issues?

She has not.

They framed it in a way where it pitted

both people against each other.

We weren't trying to make it polarizing.

But the situation was just polarizing in itself.

She talked about keeping politics out of sports,

but she's a US Senator that owns a basketball team.

That was the year where Senator Warnock

and Kelly Loeffler were going in a Senate runoff.

Now this has become national news.

You know, from afar, we were watching what was happening

in the Georgia Senate election.

And the team made a decision in the Wubble

to support the opponent.

They come out with the Vote Warnock shirts.

And I'm like, these players

mostly live paycheck to paycheck.

And they're now taking on their boss,

the person who signs their paychecks.

I just fell in love with that team right at that moment.

When Snook said, you are exactly where you need to be,

when that runoff happened,

I was like, this is it.

What's up, everybody? Renee Montgomery here.

So, listen, three, two, one, go vote, man.

We knew that it was a big election.

We didn't know that the whole country

was going to be dependent upon basically Georgia.

RENEE: It started out with water bottles.

And now we have a chance to change the Senate.

People were ready for change. And I think that matters.

Georgia Democrat Raphael Warnock

will unseat Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler,

giving Democrats a 49th Senate seat.

Something we finally did actually gonna make difference.

And so, I think with Renee seeing that,

I think that's when the moment when she was like,

I have the ability to positively affect

change on a greater scale.

She found that she could make an impact

in a way she had never done before.

Okay. How do you become a player turned owner in one year?

I remember the WMBPA had sent a tweet out

that said, O-U-T.

I think a number of players in our league

have expressed that, that she's-

there's no place in the league for her.

Larry suggested I reach out to the commissioner,

Kathy Engelbert, and ask

if the Atlanta Dream was for sale.

Turns out that it was.

We are aware there are interest parties

who want to purchase the team.

We saw all those rumblings and Serena, she's like, look,

why don't you buy the team?

I was sitting here thinking like,

don't you know our financial situation the same way I do?

And then she said, "What? That can't be done.

They would never allow that to happen."

"They," I don't know who the "they"

that she was talking about.

I guess the, the, the man, the system.

RENEE: She's not in the sports world.

She doesn't know what's normal.

She doesn't know what's not normal.

She's in the entertainment industry.

So, she's like, "Yeah, own your masters."

And I was, like, "Hm."

I started reaching out to our GM at the time,

just dead in there, nothing.

It was, it was an uphill battle.

There were times where I was like,

there's just no way this is going to happen.

People will actually laugh at her and say,

"Oh, come on. Like, you're not really.

What money are you going to use to buy that team?"

So, people didn't really see the vision at first.

Now there are renewed calls for a new ownership group

to take over the Dream,

started by a tweet from LeBron James himself.

LeBron James tweeting late Tuesday night,

"Think I'm going to put an ownership group together

for the Dream. Who's in?

RENEE: So, you know me. I said,

"Yo, Bron, and I mean this, I'm ready when you are."

Listen, Atlanta Dream,

I'm just saying you can do better.

[laughing]

Big shouts, you know, More Than A Vote in that group.

They got me in contact with the commissioner of the WNBA.

That's when things really started to pick up.

And Kathy Engelbert really took Renee serious.

She said, "You have to meet somebody, Renee Montgomery."

The bid that wins, we're, we're going to introduce you

to that group and they decide if they want to let you in.

Larry and I talked about what a wonderful opportunity

it would be to have a former WNBA player

in the ownership group.

RENEE: I was talking to Kathy on that first call.

She was making sure I understood.

Like, you do know that you can't be a player and an owner

at the same time.

And I'm like, I'm ready to do that.

Diddy told me in the kitchen last year

that this was gonna happen and-

WOMAN: Yeah, he told me, too.

I think that our last time seeing her play

was our last time seeing her play.

I'm going to try not to cry because, you know,

I have been very emotional all day.

Oh, my gosh.

Like, your heart just instantly starts racing.

Like, whew, okay, so, yeah.

Like, how do I- like, what do I even say?

We have a segment coming up,

and I am...

I don't know how to feel about this.

So, the segment is called Dear Basketball.

I'm sure you can assume why.

And so, I've always wondered what, like,

my Dear Basketball moment was going to be like.

And, and now that it's here,

I'm, like, a little bit nervous, speechless.

Making the decision to just stop,

it was just like a...

I wanted to just start by saying

I'm retiring from the WNBA

and I enjoyed all 11 years of it,

like, I was one of those players that I enjoyed my time.

Go check the tape, I enjoyed it, it was fun.

All right, so, ugh!

Just hold on, hold on, hold on.

No, she wasn't ready.

No, she wasn't ready to retire yet.

That, that was never in the plans.

The way she talked about it,

she felt like she could be more effective off the court

than on the court.

This is ridiculous.

All right, I'm getting soft in my older age.

It's probably time for me to retire.

But, um, you know, I need to thank my family,

Snook, starting with you, Snook and Diddy,

uh, Cole, Shay, everybody.

And so, my whole support system,

I need to thank everyone like that.

I am trying to get through this.

I did not expect to cry this much.

I knew it was coming. What is going on?

My teammates, my family on this wild, crazy journey.

And I'm excited just to see where it takes us next.

So, dear basketball,

let's just keep this momentum going.

Som I'm thankful for my 11 years.

So, this is the thing, like, I retired with the hope

and the faith that we would be able to join

the ownership group that I would be able

to be a common owner, but that was not given.

Hey, Renee.

Hello there. Sorry about that. Come on now. Technology?

First of all, let me say,

you know, we look at, we look at today,

you know, Announcement Day,

as a new beginning, a new chapter.

And I hope you all join me and Larry and Renee in that.

What I am gonna ask all of us to do

is to look forward,

because I think we've got the beginning

of a great new chapter

and we're really excited about it.

And joining us now here on SportsCenter

is Renee Montgomery, the new owner of the Atlanta Dream.

Executive in the front office. I mean, this is unprecedented.

He can just ask, uh, Renee Montgomery, uh, you know,

if I were to shut up and just dribbled.

Um, just seeing that beautiful Black woman today,

um, you know, be a part of our ownership group now

with the Atlanta Dream down in Atlanta.

[indistinct chatter]

- Hey, how you doing? - Hey, hey!

What up with it?

- What's up? - You good?

Oh, you already know I'm good on this exciting-

Aye! We need all of it.

- Oh. It ain't finished. - Okay, I mean, all of it.

All of it, all of it.

This is the wildest scenario in all of my years of playing.

So, basically, if we win two games,

if we win two of two of the last games, we're in the playoffs.

But, we win one.

Then it depends on who else wins one.

There's like six different scenarios.

It's wild. So, this is the night before Christmas,

meaning like, listen, we can, we can make it special.

Control our own destiny.

That's all I'm thinking about. It's a dub tonight.

To be able to have two games left in the season,

and, and those games mean everything.

Some games at the end of the season don't mean nothing.

It's like Cancun on three.

We in the thick of it, baby. We in this thing.

Rhyne starts off with the ball cut off by...

[broadcaster shouting]

Yes! That's how you start the game!

That's how we start the game!

Woo-wee!

[crowd cheering]

It's a shoot out, burn the ball, ain't nobody missing nothing.

[buzzer blares]

I ain't mad at the players.

We've got breaking news announced just earlier today.

Dream guard Tiffany Hayes

is currently listed as not with the team.

I repeat, Dream guard Tiffany Hayes

is currently listed as not with the team.

The guard is listed with the Azerbaijan team

and the three on three competition

in the Islamic Games and Turkey, Angel.

ANGEL: Perfect. Thanks, Tab.

Obviously, that's a blow for the Dream.

I mean, Tiffany Hayes has played

in 20 playoff games in her career.

She understands the magnitude of what's on the line here.

RENEE: I just know that she's probably

taking it hard herself but, man,

it's a tough situation you have to choose between overseas

and WNBA, that's always gonna be a tough situation.

There's a mess happening right now.

There's a real mess happening right now.

As a player, I get it, and I understand it.

I just- We just wish it was different.

You know, I wish that players didn't have to make

so many hard decisions,

but that's the reality we're in right now.

That's why things have to change in the WNBA. Like, that's why.

Overseas, to me, is a gigantic pet peeve.

Our challenge is to blow up the salary scale

of our league because they don't make any freaking money, yet.

RENEE: When you play overseas,

you can make double the amount of money

you make in the WNBA.

A lot of players make triple and quadruple that.

There are WNBA players making a million dollars overseas,

but it's a challenge for so many reasons.

BERTLELA: When she was in Hungary,

she felt she was being watched in her apartment.

It may be that you're in a country

where it's normal for a guy to talk crazy

to a woman, like, of course.

PRODUCER: Were you ever worried about her playing overseas?

Oh, all the time.

Some of the places that they had to go to make the most money

were not exactly the places that you grow up going,

"Boy, I would love to live there for six months every year."

And they grew up like that.

And when they came back...

[camera shutter]

They were completely different people.

One of the realities of playing professional basketball,

if you're a woman, how could you not go?

This is really bad, baby. This is like our playoffs bad.

COACH: You know, not having Tip around definitely hurts.

But being a former player myself, I understand

the plight of women's basketball.

The great thing is that we have another game

and we have to refocus, we have to have short memory

because we got to go in New York and we got to try to pop them.

ANNOUNCER: The Dream need to win

if they wanna get to the post-season.

RENEE: Cheyenne wants it. Oh!

Trying to rise up we got Chyna with the rebound.

Now they're trying to leave it all on the floor right now

knowing this is-

- This is it. - Such an important game.

There is literally no games left.

This is it.

[Renee gasping]

Natasha Howard for three.

Wow, that's a big bucket.

- I just- - It's okay. It's okay.

I just threw up.

What a game, Angel. That we just watched.

[sniffles]

I don't know. Like, there was...

Everybody was, like, playing for something just bigger.

And it just, it just feels like, you know,

they were giving it all they had, and,

and everybody felt it.

And so, I don't know.

It was, it was, it was... it was cool to see.

My hands are shaking. I don't even know what to say.

It's crazy.

But next year, we got em, though.

RENEE: What does Twitter say?

I'm sorry, babe. This is your first big loss.

I'm sorry, babe. You okay?

This is my first big loss, actually.

- It sucks that we- - It sucks!

That is a real cap to the season right there, you know?

And it's not always a happy ending, but it's okay,

because it all matters just how you come back.

And it's like, it, it is, um, something to look forward to.

It's like, okay, you know, it ain't over.

- RENEE: Exactly. - Even though we lost,

everybody's feeling like, okay, it's not over.

That's how I feel. It's almost like a, to be continued.

I think that's what I feel on the inside.

It's like I feel to be continued.

I was blessed to get in through the back door.

But we're in here now.

I want to see how far we can take it.

Look what they've accomplished.

They took a team that had no respect,

and it was a laughingstock,

and changed the culture in one year.

And she's still battling.

It's going to be a battle for many, many, many years.

It's not going to be because she's there now, it's fixed.

Sometimes people can be cynical about What can you really do

to change a system that's, that's broken?

LISA: The people that are showing up every day

and cheering on this team,

they want to feel like they belong.

And that's what Renee and her team have created.

They've pushed it forward, and it's here now,

and it's not going nowhere no time soon.

The players that played 20 years ago

would love to have what they have today.

The way the media now has recognized,

wow, these guys are really good,

but they've earned that.

It wasn't just handed to them.

This whole thing of

I'm going to try to be an owner, you don't initially set out

for it to be an act of activism.

But it was received that way.

People saw change happening.

And whenever there's change happening, that is activating.

RENEE: You don't really see a lot of people

that look like me in my position.

And now you become a part of the gatekeepers.

So, for me, a Black woman

to be a part of a sports ownership group,

it is radical.

The systems are still broken.

Like, I'm not saying that it's fixed right now.

Of course it's not.

But you let enough people in the back door, it will be.

SERENA: So, Diddy built that board?

- Diddy built that... - Wow.

RENEE: From the ground up.

This is crazy watching y'all.

This is a full-circle moment, ain't it?

I spent half my life right there.

Half my life!