On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Natalie Heavren sits down with former Kansas coach Marian E. Washington to discuss her new book, “FIERCE: My Fight For Nothing Less,” and what she hopes people take away from it. Heavren and Washington also talk about Washington’s playing career and her impact on the game. The first of a two-part episode, Heavren and Washington will continue their conversation next Monday.
Heavren opens the show by asking Washington about her journey towards writing a book. “Throughout my career, different people would come up to me and tell me I should write a book,” Washington says. “And it wasn’t until my daughter pushed me to make sure that my history was accurate. And so at 78 I decided to tell the story myself.” Heavren and Washington go on to discuss the subjects of the book, which include her childhood, her early coaching days, her career at Kansas and more.
Later on, Heavren asks Washington what she hopes readers take away from her book. Washington specifically considers her young readers, explaining, “there are a lot of young people who are experiencing some very harsh realities.” She wants them to find, in her book, the spirit to “continue to the fight, to continue believing in themselves and to be encouraged that things will work out.”
Towards the end of the episode, Heavren asks Washington what she wants readers to specifically learn about her and other female legends from her book. “We as women in basketball need to be very proud of our history,” Washington responds. “And I think that … the NCAA … they have failed us. And because of that, you don’t have a lot of names, a lot of institutions … the thing that is important to me is that we begin to know the history of our sport and that we celebrate it.”
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