New podcast creates a safe space for athletes to share their political views

Emily Austin has mastered the art of mixing sports and political discourse in her career.

The 24-year-old has interviewed President Donald Trump and Jalen Brunson, and she puts her expertise into her own podcast, “The Emily Austin Show.”

The podcast dropped on Tuesday and its first guest was former New York governor turned city mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo. Other episodes will feature Mitchell Robinson, Ryan Garcia and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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“I never intended to go into politics, but sometimes duty calls, that’s what I tell people,” Austin said in a recent interview with PK Press Club Digital.

That duty was that, while attending Hofstra University, she realized she “could not live under another Biden presidency” while she was not allowed on campus due to her vaccination status. At the time, however, Austin already had a successful NBA podcast, “The Hoop Chat,” which she used to her advantage.

“I was really fed up. At that point, I had to do something, because I recognized that I had a platform, and what’s the point of having a platform if you don’t stand for something that you believe in?” Austin said.

So, she decided to devote her love and expertise to sports and become a political commentator, while dabbling in sports whenever necessary.

Emily Austin’s first guest on her new podcast was Andrew Cuomo. (Emily Austin)

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“What makes me happy is that everyone asks me ‘How do I stay in politics and stay in sport?’ What I realized is that every person on my podcast who is an athlete also has their own political opinion,” Austin said. “And a lot of them agree with me, and a lot of them don’t. But at least we have that relationship to discuss it.

“You don’t know how many NBA players I’ve interviewed are MAGA, and they’ll never feel comfortable saying it. I try to encourage them, the same way your teammates are OK with being a Democrat, you have to be OK with disagreeing with them and being a Republican. There just has to be a safe space for people to express their political opinions.”

Publicizing athletes’ political views isn’t even Austin’s end goal, she said. All she wants is to be comfortable discussing issues, regardless of which side of the coin an athlete or politician is on.

Austin will have sports and political figures on his podcast. (PK Press Club)

“If the conversation stays strictly about sports, so be it. But if, let’s just say I have a guest who comes to announce that he voted for Trump, and it’s going to break the Internet, that will come too,” Austin said. “So it really feels like a safe space for dialogue that covers everything without limits. I don’t want anyone to feel like there are boundaries or lines that can’t be crossed. Whatever needs to be said will be said on ‘The Emily Austin Show.'”