Sanya Richards Ross and Trey Hardee eagerly sat across from each other in a quiet conference room on a Friday morning in Eugene, Oregon.
Richards-Ross took her seat and grabbed her microphone, while Trey’s voice echoed through the phone that sat across from Sanya at the middle of the table. While they weren’t together in person, Sanya’s smile was as bright as the sun, while Trey’s voice was filled with amazement when they found out that they’ve been teammates for the better part of the past 16 years.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team where Sanya wasn’t on the team,” Hardee said.
Richards-Ross and Hardee were teammates at the University of Texas, as well as multiple World Championship teams and the 2012 Olympic team. Now, in their roles as commentators for NBC, the two teammates have found joy in their new journey and look to continue to make a difference in the sport.
The duo have long standing qualities that they admire about each other, which goes back to their time competing together as athletes. When it comes to working with Richards-Ross, Hardee says the first thing that comes to mind is her professionalism.
“I think there’s being good at what you do and being talented and all that stuff, and then there’s what Sanya’s been able to do both athletically and post athletically,” he said. “And now, in whatever she touches, it just is professional in every sense of the word. It’s buttoned up, it’s well rehearsed, it’s researched, it’s prepared, it’s all those things that you would expect out of her.
“That’s the first thing that comes to mind. You knew, whenever she showed up, you were getting, like her best version and the absolute best version that anyone could possibly do.”
Richards-Ross said that she enjoys being around Hardee because of his ability to elevate everyone around him.
“That’s the kind of person that he is, that’s the kind of teammate that he is,” she said. “And it’s so funny, because he doesn’t try, he just is, you know, he just is awesome… It’s just always been that consistent excellence from Trey, that you know, you can always expect he’s gonna show up and just give 100%. He’s been the same way on the NBC team, and I just feel really overwhelmingly blessed to have been his teammate for so many years and counting..and counting.”
During their time as athletes, Richards-Ross competed in the 400 meter dash, the event where she holds the American record, while also competing in the 200 meter dash and 4×400 meter relay team. Hardee competed in the decathlon. The duo has numerous medals between them, and great knowledge in their respective events.
Hardee and Richards-Ross both said that they’ve found joy in this new chapter of their lives. Richards-Ross said that the opportunity for her to contribute to track and field by sharing the stories of the athletes, as well as sharing her own experiences and insights brings her great joy.
“I get people who write me on social media like, ‘Oh my God, she answered every question I had in my head,’ and that’s what I want to do,” she said. “And so that part for me is truly a joy – to be able to share the insights, and for fans to receive it the way that they have, and hopefully fall in love with these superheroes that they’re seeing on the track. It’s incredible.”
Hardee said that his preparation for commentating a track meet is similar to preparing for the Olympic games. The hard work that goes into Hardee’s preparation leads to the joy that he has when he’s in the booth calling events.
“There is hours and hours and days and weeks and months of preparation that go into it, so that when the lights go on, for myself, personally, I can just be joyful and rejoice and celebrate the performances and let my preparation show where I can rattle off a stat or a factor this or that,” he said. “And it comes out naturally. And it just comes out as this excited and astonished experience.”
Richards-Ross and Hardee bring unique perspectives to their roles as commentators by virtue of being former successful professional athletes. However, the new role has given them a new perspective on their careers and outlook that involves empowering others.
As a black woman and former professional black female athlete, Richards-Ross hopes to serve as a role model in her new role for young black women. When asked if she considers herself a pioneer for other black women and women in general, she offered a unique perspective on the matter.
“I want to say yes and no,” she said. “Yes, in the way that is empowering because I certainly do feel that as a black female athlete, there is no direct roadmap as to what you do next…And so as I continue to chart my own path, I’m always thinking about – this hopefully opens and leaves open the door for another black woman after she has accomplished greatness in whatever field it is.
“So 100%, I always have that awareness, but at the same time, I don’t like them to feel any pressure about it. So I think of it as something that’s uplifting, empowering, and not something that’s pressure failed or negative, you know, because I do think that the opportunities for us are endless. And you can see she can be it. So how can I continue to be things that young black girls can see and want to be? And that empowers me on my journey.”
Hardee looks at his children, and it gives him a greater appreciation for how he was raised, and he hopes his children can experience a small fraction of the joy that he experienced as an athlete.
“For me, it made what I did athletically a little more special,” he said. “Because I’m looking at my kids thinking how in the world did my mom, as a single mom, look at me and my older sister, and how did she get me to where I was like, how did I get there? God’s hand in all of the things that were just beyond that control – I look at my kids, and I appreciate what I got to do even more now. The further I get removed from it, the older my children get – I just hope that my kids kind of get to experience at least a 10th of the joy that I found in my job.”
Hardee and Richards-Ross are aware of how difficult the sport is from their time as athletes. They’re also aware that criticism of the athletes can be harsh at times as well. The duo believes that there’s a way to present the facts, without tearing down the athletes. This is something that they aim to accomplish with their commentary.
“I think there’s a balance, I think there’s a way to handle truth and your evaluation with care,” Richards-Ross said. “And so I think that’s what our team does a really good job of, that’s what I tried to always center is that we got to give it straight, we got to give the facts, but we don’t have to do it in a way where the person who we’re talking about feels personally attacked, or feels that you know, like we’ve done it in a mean or hurtful way.”
Hardee said that he feels that the reason he was hired was to change the negative aspect to the field events. His approach to covering the field events is to stay positive during the ups and downs that the events bring.
“It’s difficult in field events, because there are misses, the bar falls down sometimes,” he said. “And you have to delicately explain why that happened, without forgetting that this is a person, that these are people that we’re trying to do their best and not be too negative.”
“So that always rings true in my ears, just to always be positive.”
Hardee said that Richards-Ross is tied with Olympic shot putter Michelle Carter as his favorite teammate, while Richards-Ross emphatically claimed that Hardee was her favorite teammate ever.
After Richards-Ross shared how much she enjoyed working with Hardee, in unison, the duo confidently made a clear-cut statement.
“We’re not done, we’re not done.”
As originally posted to Lactic Acid with Dominique Smith
