Writing Our Own Story

If I’m being 100% honest, I’m not quite sure how I got here. Sitting in the stands, at OTE Arena, a brand-new, world-class basketball facility in midtown Atlanta that didn’t exist six months ago, as the President and Commissioner of a global basketball league. This moment would have been unfathomable fiction for me as a kid growing up in Minneapolis, MN.??

I am the only child of a single Irish catholic mother who at 18-years old, found herself in an unthinkable situation. Pregnant and not married, she was facing terrifying options that were far more serious than whether or not to go to college. The choices were heavy and very limited - keep me or give me up for adoption. Thankfully she chose us, even sacrificing her dreams in favor of creating new dreams together despite statistics, conservative dogma, unwanted advice, judgment and doubt that came with choosing an alternative path. This made us fiery, passionate and protective partners in life.?

My mom taught me from an early age that you should write your own story. She didn’t let anyone decide how our lives would play out. Not when it came to working the night shift at KFC, living on a family member's couch, putting herself through college, graduating, and becoming a senior executive and bond trader in one of the most male-dominated sectors throughout the ’80s and ’90s.?

So, on the eve of OTE opening night, another one of these quiet moments came together. Three of my mother’s nine siblings were in Atlanta and on a whim, we decided to “sneak” into our new arena and shoot hoops. As simple as it sounds, it was one of the most incredibly joyous and sad moments of my life. You see, even though no one writes your story for you, you never know how long your journey with loved ones will last. My mother's life ended 20 years ago this past March. She would have been so proud because not only have I continued to write my story with her in mind every single day, but I am now a part of a much bigger story that includes 27 young men and over 100 of my new teammates charting new, unpaved paths and writing their own incredible stories.

Since OTE launched in March, we’ve used the word “transformative” or “transformational” a lot. Conceptually, I knew that OTE was built to change lives, but I didn’t know how much it would impact every individual involved, including me.

I’ve been working in sports for nearly 25 years. On numerous occasions, I’ve been witness to how transformational sports can be and how it does change lives. While there were opportunities in my career to make an impact on the game of basketball, the mission has never been quite this profound nor this disruptive. The mission to make a bold impact on the game, however, is part of Overtime’s DNA. And in the last five years, that mission has come to life.?

Overtime is now the leading brand for next-generation sports fans, reaching over 55 million followers with videos viewed 1.6 billion times a month across 50+ social media accounts. But it’s more than just raw statistics. We have built a community that feels empowered by the “O” on the front of the hoodie we wear or the hand signal we throw up after an unbelievable play. Our community is a part of a movement - something bigger than the role each of us plays individually.

Overtime’s backbone is built on empowerment and creativity, not settling for what the industry says we need to be. That’s why we were able to hire more than 100 people at OTE in five months. It's why we were able to rally a market like Atlanta to bust through the bureaucracy to help us build our arena. It's why you can inspire great brands like Gatorade and State Farm to partner and build with us. It's why families and players are willing to pioneer a new path that is completely unproven.

There are institutions and rules in place that tell us we can’t do this. We’ve all worked in those places and have faced those constraints. You have to put in more before you get anything out. Athletes have been told to keep playing in tournaments, spend their life savings to participate, or continue to change their high school for a better one. They go through all of that only to realize they weren’t truly prepared for the other side.?

But this goes far beyond basketball. Think of all the talent we have in the Overtime family. Our creators, some as young as 22, get to pick up a camera and create beautiful art. There is no one here saying, “wait your turn.”??

Our OTE educators are of the same mindset that we need to reject what’s been taught as our norm and create a better system for these young athletes. They have been stuck in a standardized system that improperly measures progress; it doesn't meet young people where they are in terms of their educational journey and doesn't contemplate the social-emotional aspects of where they come from or what challenges they encounter every day.??

People are going to continue to doubt us but we know we’re built differently. They said we wouldn’t get enough players, we did. They said we wouldn’t build a facility in time, we did. Everyone asks when are we going to get there? When are we going to get to the destination?

Working at OTE some days feels how it must feel working at NASA. We experience the same exhilaration one must feel drawing up the plans for the next shuttle and then finally seeing it on the launchpad. That is, no doubt, something to celebrate. But then, the real mission begins - that quiet moment just before mission control actually turns on the boosters - will the best-laid plan, now turned vessel, really leave earth?

Our boosters are heating up. In September, when OTE first launched its social channels, we gained more followers than any college program gained in the last 12 months. OTE is now in the top 10 U.S. Sports Leagues in Instagram and TikTok followers. To date, OTE’s social channels across Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube have raked in:

• 70 million media impressions?
• 56 million video views
• 26 million engagements?
• 13.6 million minutes watched on Youtube

We’re at a point where we absolutely should celebrate the fact that our vessel is upright and our boosters are turned on. But our work is just beginning and now that our shuttle has taken flight, our focus becomes the mission itself.

So where are we headed? Where is the destination? The short answer? TBD. But we know our mission is to empower the next generation athlete and their fans who are inspired by them every day. So it has to start with helping our athletes define their own success and write their own stories. It’s more than highlights, views and engagements. It’s a mindset and mission-centered around giving young people a platform, inspiring creativity, and supporting dreams.?

This is what my mom stood for and what she taught me. That’s what we’re about. And that’s why this is more than my job. OTE has become a part of my story.?