“Listen in with KNN ” sports talk podcast hosted by award-winning media personality, Kelsey Nicole Nelson recently visited t American University’s Constitution Hall for the Diverse Representation two-day Sports Agent Bootcamp.This bootcamp was designed to increase access for Black students who are aspiring to be sports agents. With an exclusive panel and workshops, Nelson dives into an inside look of the event.
Throughout the day, Nelson had a chance to sit in on the day’s panels. During a session break, Nelson had a chance to interview Jessica Wright, who is general counsel for DC United. Nelson asked Wright what brought her out to the event and what has been most exciting for her. “Diverse Representations is a wonderful organization that’s trying to increase the diversity within the sports world and I very much support that. And I wanted to come out and give my knowledge to the next generation.” she said. Wright is the first Black female general counsel in MLS history and she feels that the numbers are headed in the right direction regarding diversity in sports.
Photo Credit: Abdulmalik Shuaib
Regarding her path to her position, Nelson asked her about her journey and the road she took to achieve her dream job. “I did all the educational stuff, because graduating from law school in 2010, the economy collapsed. There were a lot of issues so I went back to school to better myself and give me a better chance in the sports industry,” she said. Wright has an LLM/ Masters of Law in entertainment media and did an MBA to follow up after.
Nelson followed-up asking her about her current position with DC United which allowed her to authentically be herself as a Black woman working in major league soccer. “Absolutely! They allow me to be myself 100% and to make sure that you know, I get to utilize all the skills and knowledge that I have and I don’t feel like there are any bars to what I am able to do as one of the decision makers in the industry and at the organization,” she said.
The sold out event was well attended by many students around the country. Nelson spoke with Brakayla Sims, a registered nurse and aspiring sports agent. They both began discussing what Sims’ experience had been attending the conference.. “The past two days have actually been challenging. Switching from the medicine world to the business world is completely different. So, it’s been insightful and also educational. I got to learn things that I didn’t know but I also got to get some resources and met new people that I thought I would never meet. It’s been a very great experience thus far,” she said.
Nelson also chatted with Norfolk State University freshman Francisco Trinidad. Nelson started the convo by asking Trinidad what is favorite part of the bootcamp. “I would say my favorite part was yesterday’s segment with the mock interview. I feel like it was very cool to see real life interviews how agents do during their day-to-day,” he said. One of the biggest takeaways for Trinidad was being authentic to yourself. “Be yourself. If something doesn’t go your way, it’s not meant to be. If don’t get one job, just focus on the next,” he said.
Coming up next for Diverse Representation is a Black Entertainment Career Summit in May.
