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Russell Westbrook’s visit to Oklahoma City earlier this week for the groundbreaking on the new downtown multipurpose stadium reminded me of one of my favorite interactions with the former Thunder superstar.
Yes, reporters actually have some good memories of Sir Surly.
During the 2012 NBA Playoffs, I was in the locker room doing some interviews and struck up a conversation with Westbrook. I was pregnant at the time, and he asked me when I was due.
“Soon,” I told him.
Then 23, he looked at me with concern.
“I’m pregnant,” I said. “Not broken.”
That sentiment echoed in my head a few hours after seeing Westbrook at the groundbreaking when former OU ace turned Husker legend Jordy Frahm told the softball world via social media that she was pregnant and due in December.
More: Jordy Frahm's phone call, torn ACL have timing aligned for Nebraska softball entering WCWS
That meant she was pregnant for the majority of Nebraska’s season, including its games in the Women’s College World Series.
That meant, too, she was pregnant as she earned USA Softball’s Player of the Year honor.
What a badass.
While her announcement created a lot of buzz, including some not-so-intelligent comments, the overwhelming vibe has been positive. That's how it should be. Frahm, after all, is just the latest elite-level athlete to compete while pregnant.
The most recent Olympics, the Winter Games in Cortina earlier this year, were all about the moms. They had their littles in tow. They posed with them. They took victory laps with them.
Who could forget American bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor winning the gold that eluded her for 16 years, falling to her knees and using sign language to tell her hearing-impaired sons that she’d won?
But if the Cortina Games were about the moms, the Paris Games in the summer of 2024 were about the soon-to-be ones. Azerbaijani archer Yaylagul Ramazanova competed six and a half months pregnant while Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez was seven months pregnant.
Of course, neither was as far along as Malaysia’s Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi. She competed in the Olympic shooting competition in 2012 while eight months along.
Eight months!
More: WCWS finals 'started with a bang' before Teagan Kavan, Texas softball took down Texas Tech
That’s to the point where the baby could actually be born. Prematurely, but still.
Time was, pregnancy, no matter the stage, kept female athletes from competing.
No more.
“This is something we’re seeing more and more of as women are dispelling the myth that you can’t exercise at a high level when you’re pregnant,” Dr. Kathryn Ackerman, co-chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s women’s health task force, told PBS back in 2024.
“Doctors now recommend that if an athlete is in good condition going into pregnancy and there are no complications, then it’s safe to work out, train and compete at a very high level.”
Competing pregnant, no matter how far along, isn’t for every athlete.
Some compete in high-risk sports. A downhill skier could have a bad fall. A mixed martial artist could take a hard kick. Sports like that might be exceptions because of the elevated threat to the health of the fetus.
Then, there are athletes with complications. If a woman has been put on bed rest, elite-level sports are a no-go.
But in the case of Jordy Frahm, there’s a high likelihood that she worked with the team doctors to make sure she was in the clear, then did everything she could to avoid a risky situation.
Slide feet first instead of head first, for example.
Now, could something unexpected and tragic have happened? Sure. Frahm is a pitcher and a first baseman. The first position can be vulnerable to linedrives, the second to collisions.
Then again, almost any activity can be potentially dangerous. Driving in a car, for instance, can put a pregnancy at risk if there’s an accident, but that hasn’t kept pregnant women from driving.
Being pregnant didn’t keep Frahm from playing softball either.
More: Texas softball's Viviana Martinez making most of WCWS moment after last year's ACL injury
And glory, glory, hallelujah, look at what we got to enjoy. In the circle, Frahm went 21-6 with a 1.37 ERA and 251 strikeouts. At the plate, she hit .403 with 20 homers and 51 RBIs.
And she was masterful in the WCWS. She pitched a 10-inning gem to oust Arkansas, then a few days later had a perfect game going into the fifth against Texas and was five outs from a no-hitter. But the Longhorns got hot, and you know the rest.
But when Frahm hit a bomb in the first inning against Texas, she became the first player in NCAA history with back-to-back 20-win, 20-homer seasons.
What a player.
To think, her baby was right there with her.
Oh, the stories that Frahm and husband, Trey, will get to tell their firstborn. The games it was there for. The fans it was in pictures with. The places it went before it even entered the world.
They’ll also get to talk about how strong Mom was. It might not have been easy; fatigue and nausea are hallmarks of the first trimester. It might not have ended with the ultimate goal either.
But Frahm did the hard things.
Pregnant not broken.
What a great example Frahm set. Not just for her kid. Not just for girls and women.
For all of us.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at [email protected]. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jordy Frahm's pregnancy didn't slow Nebraska softball star on WCWS run
Continue reading...
Yes, reporters actually have some good memories of Sir Surly.
During the 2012 NBA Playoffs, I was in the locker room doing some interviews and struck up a conversation with Westbrook. I was pregnant at the time, and he asked me when I was due.
“Soon,” I told him.
Then 23, he looked at me with concern.
“I’m pregnant,” I said. “Not broken.”
That sentiment echoed in my head a few hours after seeing Westbrook at the groundbreaking when former OU ace turned Husker legend Jordy Frahm told the softball world via social media that she was pregnant and due in December.
More: Jordy Frahm's phone call, torn ACL have timing aligned for Nebraska softball entering WCWS
That meant she was pregnant for the majority of Nebraska’s season, including its games in the Women’s College World Series.
That meant, too, she was pregnant as she earned USA Softball’s Player of the Year honor.
What a badass.
While her announcement created a lot of buzz, including some not-so-intelligent comments, the overwhelming vibe has been positive. That's how it should be. Frahm, after all, is just the latest elite-level athlete to compete while pregnant.
The most recent Olympics, the Winter Games in Cortina earlier this year, were all about the moms. They had their littles in tow. They posed with them. They took victory laps with them.
Who could forget American bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor winning the gold that eluded her for 16 years, falling to her knees and using sign language to tell her hearing-impaired sons that she’d won?
But if the Cortina Games were about the moms, the Paris Games in the summer of 2024 were about the soon-to-be ones. Azerbaijani archer Yaylagul Ramazanova competed six and a half months pregnant while Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez was seven months pregnant.
Of course, neither was as far along as Malaysia’s Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi. She competed in the Olympic shooting competition in 2012 while eight months along.
Eight months!
More: WCWS finals 'started with a bang' before Teagan Kavan, Texas softball took down Texas Tech
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That’s to the point where the baby could actually be born. Prematurely, but still.
Time was, pregnancy, no matter the stage, kept female athletes from competing.
No more.
“This is something we’re seeing more and more of as women are dispelling the myth that you can’t exercise at a high level when you’re pregnant,” Dr. Kathryn Ackerman, co-chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s women’s health task force, told PBS back in 2024.
“Doctors now recommend that if an athlete is in good condition going into pregnancy and there are no complications, then it’s safe to work out, train and compete at a very high level.”
Competing pregnant, no matter how far along, isn’t for every athlete.
Some compete in high-risk sports. A downhill skier could have a bad fall. A mixed martial artist could take a hard kick. Sports like that might be exceptions because of the elevated threat to the health of the fetus.
Then, there are athletes with complications. If a woman has been put on bed rest, elite-level sports are a no-go.
But in the case of Jordy Frahm, there’s a high likelihood that she worked with the team doctors to make sure she was in the clear, then did everything she could to avoid a risky situation.
Slide feet first instead of head first, for example.
Now, could something unexpected and tragic have happened? Sure. Frahm is a pitcher and a first baseman. The first position can be vulnerable to linedrives, the second to collisions.
Then again, almost any activity can be potentially dangerous. Driving in a car, for instance, can put a pregnancy at risk if there’s an accident, but that hasn’t kept pregnant women from driving.
Being pregnant didn’t keep Frahm from playing softball either.
More: Texas softball's Viviana Martinez making most of WCWS moment after last year's ACL injury
You must be registered for see images attach
And glory, glory, hallelujah, look at what we got to enjoy. In the circle, Frahm went 21-6 with a 1.37 ERA and 251 strikeouts. At the plate, she hit .403 with 20 homers and 51 RBIs.
And she was masterful in the WCWS. She pitched a 10-inning gem to oust Arkansas, then a few days later had a perfect game going into the fifth against Texas and was five outs from a no-hitter. But the Longhorns got hot, and you know the rest.
But when Frahm hit a bomb in the first inning against Texas, she became the first player in NCAA history with back-to-back 20-win, 20-homer seasons.
What a player.
To think, her baby was right there with her.
Oh, the stories that Frahm and husband, Trey, will get to tell their firstborn. The games it was there for. The fans it was in pictures with. The places it went before it even entered the world.
They’ll also get to talk about how strong Mom was. It might not have been easy; fatigue and nausea are hallmarks of the first trimester. It might not have ended with the ultimate goal either.
But Frahm did the hard things.
Pregnant not broken.
What a great example Frahm set. Not just for her kid. Not just for girls and women.
For all of us.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at [email protected]. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jordy Frahm's pregnancy didn't slow Nebraska softball star on WCWS run
Continue reading...
