July 2024
Athlete's Abroad Summit, Athlete's Advocate Panel
Welcome back to another edition of Dodson Diaries!
I apologize for the delay in writing this newsletter, I was struggling to find the motivation to write it. I sprained my ankle badly during a pick-up game towards the end of June. While rehabbing back, I decided to get an MRI because my ankle didn’t feel right, and I discovered my initial diagnosis was wrong. I am now on the path to recovery with my correct diagnosis, but I have been struggling to stay positive and not be worried about the season approaching. Not being able to do any basketball activity for the past 2 months has been tough. Injury-wise, July was difficult, but there are positive experiences I want to share with you all.
This month, I am writing about the Athlete’s Abroad Summit and Athlete’s Advocate Panel.
Athlete’s Abroad Summit
The Athlete’s Abroad Summit was a distraction at the right time for me. As I was Ubering to the event, I found out my ankle injury was a little more serious than first diagnosed, which was upsetting. I decided to try to enjoy the event anyway, and I had a great time.
The Athlete’s Abroad Summit was created for American athletes who play overseas to help give them knowledge and support as they navigate their careers. It was a one-day event held in Las Vegas, Nevada during the NBA Summer League. The summit was put together by Dr. Tywanna Smith and Sonny Weems, a retired and active basketball player overseas respectively. It is special to go to an event created by people who know the dynamics of professional athletics overseas firsthand, especially on the female side. I have found that as I continue to embark on my professional basketball career there is minimal guidance outside of developing my basketball skill set. The summit was special because it gave me the environment to learn about other parts that are just as important to my career.
The Summit started with three presentations from business professionals who have experience working with athletes. The topics of each presentation were legal protection, career transitioning, and stress management. Next was a Player Advisory Panel of former and active professional athletes giving advice and sharing their stories. The event concluded with breakout sessions to choose from. I went to a breakout session about international resources. I learned about the STEP program which allows me to notify the closest United States embassy or consulate about my trip overseas which can be extremely important in an emergency. Also, what documents to carry and where to have extra copies. These tips are invaluable as safeguards and will help my peace of mind. You never know what can happen while overseas.
I hope more athletes decide to come to the next Summit. This year was the inaugural event, so I know that it will continue to grow.
Athlete’s Advocate Panel
After the summit, I headed to Phoenix to be a part of a Career Transition Panel. The panel was made possible by Athlete’s Advocate whose mission is to give athletes the tools to be successful as they navigate being a professional in their sport or their career after. The founder of the group Acheil Tac I met through being a guest on her podcast during my senior year at Stanford. The podcast was about my decision to opt-out during the COVID pandemic (link). We kept in contact virtually ever since and got to collaborate on this together which was awesome.
The panel was during WNBA All-Star weekend, so I was able to go to my first WNBA All-Star game. The game itself was great, especially seeing all the billboards around the city highlighting different WNBA All-stars.
For example, the billboard below was across from the Footprint Center where the game was held.
I am a huge A’ja Wilson fan. She is the frontrunner for MVP of the league for a reason. Being a post player like her and seeing how her game has transformed, inspires me to continue to reach my full potential. Also, she is my sorority sister, so I am biased in rooting for anyone a part of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Diana Taurasi I was able to play with when I was drafted to the Phoenix Mercury, and she was always encouraging me which I appreciated a lot. Seeing a billboard with them both made me happy.
The panel was called “Future Forward: Athlete Career Transition” discussing the journey for athletes in figuring out the next career after sports. Chelsee Washington was a panelist who used to play in the NWSL and currently is working at an investment firm. Before the event, we had time to talk and it was surreal how many parallels you can find between the professional soccer and basketball scene. The other panelist was Ashley Larae Sampson a brand advisor for athletes, musicians, and others. I talked about my experience so far trying to plan for my career transition along with wanting to play as long as possible. I learned a lot from being on this panel from the other panelists. Unfortunately, the full panel was not recorded, but below are some clips of some things that I discussed.
Thank you for reading my newsletter. Until next month :)
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