On the latest audio edition of “Listen In With KNN,” sports talk radio show and podcast presented by Fox Sports Radio 1340 AM/96.9 FM, executive producer and host Kelsey Nicole Nelson welcomed special guest Dr. Judi Brown Clarke to the show. Dr. Clarke is a former Olympian who has found great success in and around sports today.
Clarke became a four-time collegiate champion during her four years of attending Michigan State University. She’s also a 12-time Big Ten champion and a 3-time Pan American Games gold medalist.
Her athletic prowess led her to win a silver medal in the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. Her sports career accolades also led her to being named Sports Illustrated’s “Woman of the Year” in 1987 and MSU’s Sportswoman of the Decade.
Today, Dr. Clarke is a chairholder of many organizations and universities, including Vice President of Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer for Stony Brook University and Health System. She’s also the Vice-Chair of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and Chairwoman of the National Fitness Foundation.
She has over 18 years of experience in senior management teams working on strategic plans, real-time analytics and establishing infrastructures around diversity, equity and inclusion. Nelson complimented Dr. Clarke on her accomplishments and positions and thanked Dr. Clarke for being a role model for women in sports and going above and beyond to prove to people that the hype wave in women’s sports has always been up, and it’s never coming down.
“[Now it’s] a time where women’s sports has been recognized, uplifted, and received a level of parody in major networks,” she said. “So it’s a great time to see these things come together and respect the women participating in sports.”
Nelson mentioned women athletes and teams in the 2024 Summer Olympics which became a trending topic. Team USA sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and reigning Olympic champion Sydney Mclaughlin won gold and made every event a “must-watch”. Nelson asked Dr. Clarke what she thought about the growth of track and field thanks to current athletes.
She’s happy that athletes can receive sponsorships and brand deals to support their training without worrying about financial burdens. “It takes dedication and contribution to train. Without them, it’s difficult to train and work,” said Clarke.
Dr. Clarke mentioned she had to work and train simultaneously to afford her career. She also pointed out that equipment, uniforms and necessities back then weren’t as inclusive as today.
“Many of the things that we wore, like my track shoes, were pretty much men’s shoes. I didn’t run with women’s shoes,” she said.
She also remembered her team using equipment that was a “shrink it and pink it” version of the men’s team, which led to many injuries. So she’s grateful that equipment, uniforms, policies and necessities are more inclusive toward female athletes.
Nelson and Dr. Clarke talked more about sports being a love language that connects all of us, especially around the Olympics and Paralympics. With a global stage as big as those games and the FIFA World Cup, every athlete is put on a pedestal because they represent their home country’s best. Dr. Clarke said being an Olympian means more than competing for a medal. It also means being an ambassador for the nation.
“You don’t just want to win because you want to win. You want to win because you want to see that American flag go up, and you want to hear that song. That is the point of pride you can bring home to your country.”
Dr. Clarke also expressed her thoughts on how Los Angeles should handle some of the challenges being discussed such as conversations around vulnerable people including the homeless population before the 2028 Olympic Games. According to a report from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, there are 45,252 homeless people in the city and 75,312 in LA County in 2024.
She mentioned there would be more attention and intention to address homelessness before the Games than at other times, and what the social plan would be during and after them.
“If there’s going to be a real robust solution, now is the time,” she said. “Social groups are coming together and leveraging the beauty of the Olympics and Paralympics to make sustainable not cosmetic changes for those populations.”
Switching gears, Nelson asked about Dr. Clarke’s role as Vice President of Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer.
The hyperfocus and support on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in recent years have been met with criticism, scrutiny and backlash over the fear and misconceptions of discrimination and racism. Tractor Supply, Walmart and Harley-Davidson are some of the companies that rolled back on or removed their DEI initiatives and programs.
Despite these challenges, Dr. Clarke views things from a Game Theory perspective, meaning the best practices and interactions for a person to excel or a business to run. By exploring this approach further, she saw first-hand how DEI’s principles and fairness create high-performing organizations and successful people.
“When I think of diversity, equity, and inclusion, I think of creating an environment where you can bring your best self every day to excel, to valued leverage, and to an environment that lets you do education, learning, teaching, clinical enterprise, as well as partnership and stakeholders,” she said.
In her role as Chief Diversity Officer, one of Dr. Clarke’s goals is to help more people understand the point of DEI in a broader understanding so people will see a more positive side. She used the following analogy: “When people see it in different ways like somebody has an advantage, that is no different than a football team and a specialty coach. Why? Because special coaches need specialty coaching, school and so on.”
Later in the interview, Dr. Clarke discussed her roles in the National Fitness Foundation and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). The National Fitness Foundation is a nonprofit focused on health and fitness in Americans.
Notably, 32% of children are overweight or obese, according to the organization’s website. Children in poverty are also three times more likely to be physically inactive, and 70% of 17-to-24-year-olds don’t qualify for the military due to health & fitness-related issues. These alarming statistics raise concerns for the nation’s youth and the national health crisis.
As chairwoman, Dr. Clarke partners with organizations and private sectors committed to tackling those statistics by promoting physical activity to enhance American children’s health. Examples include indoor P.E., supporting sports teams providing opportunities for girls and introducing a bill to Congress. “Without fitness, it destroys a quality of life,” she said.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is a nationally recognized anti-doping organization that conducts drug tests and manages results from every Olympic and Paralympic athlete for fair and integral competitions. Dr. Clarke said the zero-tolerance policies are strict due to doping being normalized back then with few rules, policies, or consequences in place.
An example of the consequences of doping Nelson referred to is Lance Armstrong, a former road racing cyclist. For most of his career, he faced allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs. After a formal investigation and a court decision found him guilty, Armstrong was stripped of all his titles, including seven Tour de France titles and one Olympic medal. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) also banned him for life.
Dr. Clarke said the USADA looks at safe fair play to make sure no athletes aren’t using performance enhancers to get any advantage. “There are no advantages or shortcuts,” she said. “You have to do the work.”
Listen to the full interview on Spotify.
