Callie Curry may have made her foray into the sports business realm via becoming an executive at the sports division of Los Angeles-based Creative Artists Agency. But when she was growing up, she probably envisioned that her name would be affiliated with the letters ESPN instead of CAA.
Growing up as Callie Rivers, it is appropriate that she made her way to turn sports into a career given how sports surrounded a great deal of her life. Curry is the daughter of longtime NBA player/coach Doc Rivers (now with the Philadelphia 76ers) and is a former volleyball player at the University of Florida. She was an All-American Honorable Mention in her senior season with the Gators.
After graduating from college, she tried her hand in broadcasting for football and she describes it as one of her negative experiences.
Straight out of college, I worked for (a football sports broadcaster) and I did not like it. I did not enjoy it at all.
–Callie Curry, CAA Sports executive
The idea of making the sports industry more diverse was something that was on Curry’s mind even while she was pursuing a broadcasting career. She says that a reason why she was going in the direction of broadcasting while in college was that she did not see many women broadcasters – particularly women of color.
Because of this, Curry says, she really did not have anyone that she tried to emulate in those days. Times have, of course, changed with prominent Black women journalists such as Jemele Hill, Joy Taylor, LaChina Robinson (and even within the WNBA community Ari Chambers and Khristina Williams) having become household names in sports circles.
She praised sports broadcasters for taking steps to ensure there would be more diversity, but stressed that there is still much work that has to be done.
I think that ESPN, TNT, they’ve done a really good job in the past – probably 10 years of changing that. And now there’s tons of people I love like Maria Taylor, Cari Champion, Taylor Rooks, I mean just to name a few.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
She says that one of the reasons why she wanted to do so was to diversify the field since she did not see that many women broadcasters – especially women of color.
But, I don’t know if I could name that many when I was growing up.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
Music and sports are by far the most diverse verticals within entertainment. So, I feel like there’s a lot of talent that looks like us but a lot of the people that are behind the scenes normally don’t look like us.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
With her time at the mic not panning out the way she had hoped, Curry had decided to return to school to obtain a master’s degree before eventually moving on to work for a public relations firm also based in Los Angeles.
It was through working at the PR firm that she says put her on the path to becoming an executive with CAA. She says one of the partners at the PR firm was the brother of one of the CAA partners.
Initially, Curry began at CAA in its events department. She felt it was not the best fit for her and considered leaving. Over time, she settled in with the organization in its sports department. She says she appreciates the support that she has received from CAA and that the agency allows for women to better be able to utilize their strengths.
I knew I didn’t want to be an agent, but knew I wanted to be in sports and there’s so many different roles behind the scenes that I don’t know if everyone knows about all of them. So I didn’t even know that this was an option and it ended up being the perfect place for me.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
You kind of have to figure out your lane especially as a woman.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
All one has to do is turn on their televisions or listen to their radios to see how automatically women get stereotyped into certain roles within the industry. While women’s sports such as the NWSL and WNBA have provided plenty an exception to this rule, more “established” sports such as the NFL, NBA and MLB typically place women in the role of “sideline reporter.”
There is reason for Curry to be optimistic about the direction the industry is going. Whether it is Candace Parker becoming an analyst on TNT’s Inside the NBA or Chiney Ogwumike landing a daily show on ESPN Radio or the rise of journalists such as Ros Gold-Onwude, the industry is becoming better off for the changes it is seeing.
.@Candace_Parker left us with some iconic moments on the TNT Tuesday show this season 👏
Parker begins her next chapter in the @WNBA with the @chicagosky.pic.twitter.com/4vWF8UkuHO
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 11, 2021
“We represent voices of this next generation.”
The new era begins: Chiney & Golic Jr. weekdays from 4-7 PM/ET on ESPN Radio and ESPNews.
@Chiney321 @mikegolicjr pic.twitter.com/Rx0aFi1AWu
— ESPN Radio (@ESPNRadio) August 17, 2020
Even though Curry says she did not want to be an agent, even that avenue of the business has evolved from the days where a typical sports agent would resemble a Jerry Maguire. Look at Erika Ruiz, a colleague of Curry’s at CAA or Nicole Lynn, who was hired earlier this year as President of Football Operations for Klutch Sports. More holes are being put in the glass ceiling that is sports business.
Curry mentioned to Beyond the W that we are seeing these women agents break through when there were not any simply 10 or so years ago. She says the path that the realm is on is encouraging, but wishes it could be accelerated.
I think that it should represent what the United States looks like. You shouldn’t go into a boardroom and it’s all the same thing. You’re getting all the same perspective if you have a whole bunch of people that have similar experiences. And I think that’s how mistakes happen.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
Those mistakes, nowadays, can play out over the often-times slippery slope that is social media. This year was the first year that Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday – and virtually every brand under the sun wanted to hop on the Black bandwagon.
Some with less than desirable results.
NHL’s San Jose Sharks ridiculed over now-deleted Juneteenth tweet https://t.co/xHK7plMRXP pic.twitter.com/iTiN7lTa7O
— The Hill (@thehill) June 17, 2021
Tweets may be deleted, but screenshots are forever. As the Dallas Wings found out when they put out a tweet highlighting a “Blocks for the Blue” initiative in collaboration with one of its sponsors – the Arlington-based Jim Ross Law Group, social media is about knowing your audience.
The San Jose Sharks and Dallas Wings tweets – both that have been since deleted – are glaring examples of the opposite of knowing your audience.
The @DallasWings organization is either oblivious or lacking in an extreme amount of self-awareness. The military WASP jersey tribute and now ‘Blocks for the Blue’. Someone there want to #TakeFlight somewhere new?
— WNBA Intel (@WNBA_Intel) June 7, 2021
I know we’ve seen sports teams post things or say things or do things and you’re like, who is in the decision-making room that OK’d this. If your decision-making room only looks one way, that’s how things like that happen.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
And questionable social media posts only further the case for more diversity in sports boardrooms. Curry believes that making said boardrooms more inclusive and more diverse should not only occur on a racial and gender basis, but also in terms of socioeconomic background.
The country as a whole is undergoing a long-overdue racial reckoning in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. The WNBA dedicated last season in its Florida bubble to Taylor by wearing her name on the backs of its jerseys. The killings sparked worldwide protests and earlier this year, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in Floyd’s murder.
No aspect of American society is immune from said reckoning as the attitude of the nation shifts to a climate that has seen enough of senseless killings of Black and Brown individuals at the hands of police.
Curry is of the belief that the sports world – and the world at large – has a much clearer understanding of systemic and institutional racism in the aftermath of what happened last year.
I’m sure tons of people (that) aren’t aware don’t have to experience the trauma that Black people have to on a daily basis.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
One of the more notable examples of how the killings – and the ensuing protests – changed sports happened with the NFL franchise that calls our Nation’s Capital home as it changed its name from its previous insignia to simply the “Washington Football Team.” It hopes to have a new permanent name by the 2022 season.
Last year, Curry was involved with the creation of the Social Change Fund, which she calls the proudest moment of her professional career because it aligns with her core values as a person. It was established with NBA greats Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade as the faces of said initiative.
The fund’s five pillars are education, economic equity, health equity, criminal justice and civic engagement. Curry says she hopes to take the Social Change Fund international given that the issues with systemic racism extend far beyond the borders of the United States.
The logos and wordmarks celebrate the launch of @sdotcurry’s new wine label, Triskelion, and the associated impact for good that he’s aiming to create through the sales of bottles.https://t.co/zqeKicDxw5
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) May 9, 2021
The fund was actually given a boost by Curry’s husband Seth – also a 76er and former Portland Trail Blazer. When he was with Portland, the Currys began to know the Momtazi family and its Maysara Winery in the Portland suburb of McMinnville, Oregon.
Seth became a connoisseur of pinot once he went to Portland. The Momtazi family was looking to collaborate with someone every bit as committed to being change agents as it is. As a result was the creation of the Triskelion Pinot Noir, combining pinot noir from the Pacific Northwest with Seth’s own wine brand. He also wore the Triskelion logo on the custom all-white Curry 8 Flow sneaker in the latter portion of the Sixers’ 2021 regular season schedule.
It is the signature pair of kicks under Stephen Curry’s brand and a portion of the proceeds from wine sales go to benefit the Social Change Fund.
While the Currys are doing their part and then some to affect societal change, Callie’s reason for optimism was buoyed by two major points of emphasis that occurred over the past few months – one within sports and one within the political arena.
The sports moment chronicles the Atlanta Dream. Last year, former Dream owner Kelly Loeffler made incendiary and racist comments that were directed at the Black Lives Matter movement. She criticized the WNBA’s plans to honor the memory of Breonna Taylor in the bubble and felt an American flag should be placed on all jerseys last season.
At the time, Loeffler was not only a co-owner of the ATL’s WNBA franchise, she was named a senator from the state of Georgia after Johnny Isakson, the former senator left his post due to health issues. Loeffler was named Isakson’s replacement by Georgia’s Republican governor Brian Kemp.
WNBA players wear “Vote Warnock” shirts in support of Kelly Loeffler’s Democratic challenger https://t.co/shU20jDJ2B pic.twitter.com/8Zhh4RbWQA
— The Hill (@thehill) August 4, 2020
Loeffler’s comments led to major backlash within the WNBA community – and was a rallying cry for support of her opponent in the 2020 Senate election – Rev. Raphael Warnock of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church – the same church of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Eventually, WNBA players rallying behind Warnock helped him in name recognition, fundraising and polling. Warnock eventually went on to face Loeffler in a runoff election in early January in one of two Senate races out of the Peach State that would decide control of the United States senate. The other featured Jon Ossoff running against incumbent senator David Perdue.
Democrats went 2-for-2 in the Georgia races with Warnock defeating Loeffler and Ossoff triumphant over Perdue, flipping control of the Senate to Democrats.
With 98% of the vote in, @SteveKornacki breaks down the latest vote totals in the Georgia Senate runoffs. pic.twitter.com/PQiLLSIxzN
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 6, 2021
Then another victory came prior to the 2021 WNBA season with the announcement that Renee Montgomery, former 2-time champion with the Minnesota Lynx had added to her growing business portfolio by becoming part of an investment group that purchased the Dream from Loeffler and co-owner Mary Brock.
🚨 BIG NEWS 🚨
📰 https://t.co/H9ik5M4fSS#GoDream pic.twitter.com/bYQw85LZQ4
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) February 26, 2021
Curry is an Atlanta native and understands having someone like Montgomery go from player to owner meant so much.
I have to imagine for the players of that team to see that happen. I mean it has to be a great feeling, a relieving feeling, a hopeful feeling and I hope we see more of that.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
Montgomery’s move from the locker room to the boardroom was another step in the right direction for furthering diversity. Other noteworthy women that have risen to high-ranking positions in sports include Kim Ng, general manager of the Miami Marlins (the first woman to become a GM in MLB) and Keia Clarke, CEO of the New York Liberty.
Curry’s optimism for boardrooms to more closely resemble the diversity of the country also took a big move forward on January 20, 2021 – when, in addition to Joe Biden becoming President, Kamala Harris was inaugurated as the first woman Vice President of the United States.
The Philadelphia area, being a key Democratic voting area proved to be important in last year’s election as the Black vote in the City of Brotherly Love moved Pennsylvania – and its 20 electoral votes – back blue for the Biden-Harris ticket.
BREAKING: Kamala Harris takes the oath of office to become the first woman Vice President of the United States of America. https://t.co/qjeUynJUdz #InaugurationDay pic.twitter.com/S0X0yAuevr
— ABC News (@ABC) January 20, 2021
.@ABC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: Joe Biden takes the oath of office to become the 46th president of the United States. https://t.co/miiw7Qynpk
— ABC News (@ABC) January 20, 2021
Curry remembers watching the Biden-Harris inauguration that January day with her daughter and recalled how much it meant for both to witness someone that looked like them become one of the most powerful people in the world.
I want my daughter to be able to look at any profession and know that it’s possible which I think is why Kamala being the VP is such a huge deal and I don’t know if I thought was going to feel it as much as I did and then during the inauguration, I was crying and thinking while I was watching with my daughter, like, there’s so many people … millions of people that never got to experience this. Like, never got to see someone that looked like them in that position. And I hope we all get to see people in different positions more and more as time goes on.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
Of course, the virtual nature of the inauguration was one of the bigger symbols of how the world has been turned upside down over the past year-plus because of the coronavirus pandemic.
There was not an aspect of daily life that was not touched by COVID-19 – including sports. At the time that the conclusion of the 2019-20 NBA season was moved to its bubble at Walt Disney World, Seth was playing his second season with the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs suffered a first-round exit from the postseason to the Los Angeles Clippers in six games.
On COVID – Curry says that she and her family were big homebodies anyway so adjusting to a work-from-home climate was not as daunting as it may have been for others but that it was still an adjustment.
Curry says she stayed with her mother for a month and a half while Seth was in the bubble with the Mavs. She recalls how the pandemic prevented her from being able to see her grandmother.
I would say that our struggles were very first-world problems.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
Those struggles for society at large included wearing of masks and the discouraging of large gatherings with the rise of social distancing protocols. Even with how the pandemic affecting how the human race as a whole interacts and communicates, Curry believes how the family probably communicated more because of the constant worry there was about the future.
Instead of traditional get-togethers for big events such as weddings, birthday parties and graduations, those events went virtual with gatherings occurring via Zoom and other videoconferencing software. Curry recalls how more conventional gatherings would mean the likelihood of being able to be in person for those events hinged on how people’s schedules panned out. Because of the pandemic and people cooped up in their homes, everyone was available for more big days.
How many times do people have birthdays and you just don’t make it. You can’t make it, right? And you just don’t see them. With COVID, now it’s like, oh, I can’t make it so I’m going to hop on this Zoom call and I’m like, that wouldn’t have happened. I would’ve just not made it. And now, you’re more available for everything.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
I think it kind of made people maybe communicate more (and) realize what actually matters.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
As for Seth, he would eventually go to the 76ers via trade. Seth also tested positive for COVID-19 this past season even though he did not have any coronavirus symptoms. Callie says the disease affected him for three months and that he had chronic fatigue.
The Sixers’ 2020-21 season came to an end in the second round of the NBA playoffs via a 7-game series defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks. Philadelphia is one of the more notably passionate sports cities in the country and has a reputation for having some of the toughest sports fans to play in front of.
At first, Curry was unsure if she would be able to adjust to life in Philly after getting used to life in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, but she says she has grown a liking to the city and its people.
I personally, actually like Philadelphia. I didn’t think that I would because I loved being in Dallas so much.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
Callie and Seth have had to move four times in the last four years which means lots of adjustment to different people and different areas. Dallas and Philadelphia are two of the most diverse cities in the country, but what sets Philly apart from Big D, Curry says, was being around hoops aficionados on the east coast.
She acknowledges that they are tough to play in front of, but that she appreciates how real they are because they expect the best out of their teams and players.
I really did miss east coast basketball fans. They are by far the best fans … If you don’t what you’re supposed to do … they’re going to hold you accountable. But, I’ll take that any day because I think that they’re real fans. They’re really invested. They’re watching the games and they know the potential.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
A couple of years before that move to Philadelphia occurred an event that Curry describes as the proudest moment of her life – when she and Seth had their daughter, Carter Lynn, back in 2018.
As any parent can attest to, balancing life as a parent with that of a young professional can be challenging – and the obstacles put in place by COVID only made those more prevalent. But she says becoming a mother has been a gratifying thing to experience.
It’s an unexplainable feeling, like, seeing something that you created and then watching her grow, it’s just been amazing.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
The significance of women like Montgomery, Clarke, Hill establishing the names they have on the business side of sports is not lost on Curry. She knows that she is one of many that is gradually making the executive suite every bit as diverse as the bench or the sideline.
She knows that with every glass ceiling that is shattered, that leaves an opening for the Callie Currys of the future who can simply sail through those openings.
I think this is a moment where women are able to break glass ceilings. So, if there’s anything you want to do in the sports world, you can do it. You might have to try and fail a few times at a few things. But, in order for us to get to where we want to be, it’s going to take people having to take a chance and try new things and break those ceilings for others.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
Summed up, she said once a ceiling is broken to…
…turn around and pick up about 10 people behind you.
–Callie Curry, CAA Sports executive
As optimistic as she is about the realm of sports continuing on its trek towards greater diversity, Curry understands that this can only be the case if more young girls – particularly young girls of color – see the sports industry as one that they too hope to make a difference in. Her advice to those future CEOs, GMs and team owners is to simply go for it, even with the understanding that it may be a bit intimidating at first – and to not be scared of hearing no.
I hope if we continue down the path that we’re going that you will be able to look in boardrooms and look in front offices and look on the bench and see a lot more of us there. And I think it takes a lot of those people that are slowly getting into those positions to make sure that they make it a priority to do that for their teams. And the people that have the power now to recognize that it only benefits your organization to have us in the room.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
I would say that if you get told no once, that shouldn’t be the end of your journey. I always think about when people are like, should I do this, should I not do this? I’m like, the worst thing you’re going to hear is no. And if it’s no, you’re in the same spot you’re in now. So, you might as well try. And I think that you kind of have to apply that to this because you’re going to hear no sometimes. But to just keep going and lean on anyone that you can that has your back because I don’t think it’s the easiest road in the world. But, once you’re in the door, make sure you make it a priority to help people that look like you that are also trying to get in the door.
–Callie Curry, CAA sports executive
