CultureCon is one of the largest creative festivals for diverse entrepreneurs, creators, and cultural influencers, dedicated to celebrating and empowering Black and Brown creatives. Founded by The Creative Collective NYC, the dynamic event sits at the intersection of creativity and community, providing an energetic, safe space packed with workshops, essential resources, and tools designed to help a new generation of visionaries elevate their dreams and boldly take up space in every industry.

For the first time since the inception of the event, a Sport Summit was held that highlighted the significant work of Black women throughout the industry.

Monica McNutt, WNBA and NBA basketball analyst, reporter for ESPN and MSG Networks, spoke to about the significance of the space curated by CultureCon world Black women in the sports sector. 

“Being here at Culture Con’s first Sports Summit is amazing, " McNutt told BET.com. “There are so many Black women who are doing major things in sports, and they deserve to be celebrated. This is a huge moment.”

McNutt also moderated a panel discussion titled “Forward Motion: A Celebration of Women in Sports.” She was joined by WNBA player and entrepreneur, Deja Kelly, Shana Stephenson, Chief Brand Officer of the New York Liberty, undisputed Women’s heavyweight champion Clarissa Shields, Shakeemah Simmons-Winter, Director of Communications at KLUTCH SPORTS GROUP. The discussion covered topics including self-care, and this being the Golden Age for women in sports.

Kelly spoke about being young and the challenges of navigating the sports world, which is still a male-dominated industry, and building her own brand. She shared how she’s making a name for herself outside of basketball because she won’t be an athlete forever.

“I've gone through multiple different experiences in college. There's this narrative and things that I've been taught in my workspace, where it's like, I'm too ‘pretty’ to play basketball; too distracted, because I have my own businesses, my own podcast. It’s all of these things that people would tell me about basketball, and it's almost like a solid place, because no one sees all the hard work and the dedication and how I grew up and where basketball was my only outlet at one point.”

She continued: “Just because I'm creating these different opportunities for myself, and again, just trying to have longevity in these careers…I shouldn’t be penalized by a business for that.”

Simmons-Winter, an executive with a growing family, shared how she meets the challenge of every moment because of the support she receives from her family, which helps her navigate the sports world.

“I think the beauty of my children and my husband and my family is that they give me an additional purpose,” she said. 

“There's this burnout that we get sometimes and second-guessing, like, ‘Is this what I should be doing?’ Because I'm devoting so much time here, but they continue to push me in a way. So, I don't want to give that up, and it’s very challenging to balance life and work. But  you find that extra drive and that passion and lean on your support.”

Shields talked about not being afraid to be herself as a public figure in the age of social media and the lessons she’s learned from previous mistakes.

“I'm not afraid to stand on what I said and how I feel,” she said. “And I think about tha  when I’m facing problems. I mean, it's not gonna last forever. I think people get into this thing where it's like, ‘Okay, this problem is happening today.” Especially when it's one social media. But I remember something that Pap (Refering to her boyfriedn Papoose) told me. He was like, ‘Look, this is only gonna last 24 hours. Then somebody else gonna do something that's more stupid than what you did.’”

Stevenson offered some advice for women who want to enter any phase of sports entertainment. She noted that one of the essential aspects of making it in the industry is to be able to maintain your focus no matter what is going on around you.

“I would say to anyone that it is crucial to kill the noise,” Stevenson said. “It’s so easy to get distracted by the negativity that we forget who we are and what we’re supposed to be doing. So we all must remember to quiet the noise.”