Renee Washington: A Trailblazer in Sports, Media, and Beyond

Allow us to introduce you to the remarkable and dynamic Renee Washington. Describing her as a “triple threat” feels like an understatement, she embodies a myriad of talents and accomplishments that go beyond conventional labels. Raised in Ewing, NJ, Renee Washington is not just a media personality, but a motivational speaker, model, and a dedicated entrepreneur. Her journey is a testament to her unwavering commitment to excellence. During her time at La Salle University, she achieved tremendous success as a 3 time All-American D1 soccer player, leaving an in-erasable mark that earned her a spot in the La Salle Hall of Fame. To this day, she still holds numerous school records.

Butter: Can you talk about how you discovered soccer and found the love for it?

Renee Washington: Sure. So I grew up in a sports family and both my parents played basketball. My siblings and I all played sports and literally tried almost every sport. Our parents supported whatever sport we choose. So we decided on basketball, soccer, and track. Growing up in Jersey, right over the bridge from Philly, I played a lot in the area, whether AAU tournaments or club soccer games. Soccer much like a lot of sports, has always been smaller than a sport like basketball or football, which are definitely main sports in that area. My high school, was a very big sports school where we had a lot of players that went on to play college sports for soccer, tennis, field hockey, lacrosse, basketball, football. We had a lot of professional athletes that came out of our school too. Honestly, for me, it was just more about the exposure to see growing up in an area that was so big on sports.

Butter: What was the biggest influence for your love of sports

Renee Washington: My love of sports definitely started with my family. It started at home with my parents who instilled the foundation of sports on us by teaching us about the value of just learning and succeeding and excelling through sports, but more importantly how it translates into so many other areas of life too. My family definitely motivated and encouraged me and my siblings to continue to be the best athletes and competitors that we could be. They also sent us to a good private high school where we further grew our knowledge and skills of being a student athlete. My parents kept us in everything. We were the family that was running from game to game and tournament to tournament. It seems like we were the ones that were missing out on family get-togethers or friend sleepovers or whatever it was because we were always at a game. We learned to juggle responsibility by managing all these different expectations. We gained valuable life skills from doing so.

Butter: When you were in high school, did you plan to play sports in college or professionally?

Renee Washington: I wanted to be a pro athlete, I did know that, but I just didn’t know about the opportunities that were really out there prior to high school. Once I was in high school, I was a three-year starter for the number one team in the country for soccer, and I was one of the best players on that team. So, playing on such a high-level team for school plus playing for my club team allowed me experiences to help me start to realize and create my goals. It was no longer, “I just want to be the best player in Ewing, New Jersey.” I wanted to be the best player in my high school, in the area, in the state, on my club level. So my goals were mostly about just being the best I could be. My ambition as a high schooler was absolutely to play to be a division one soccer player and to get a full ride for that because my family needed that. Our parents were not financially at a place where they could just write us all checks. There’s three kids in college at one time… So, the goal was to get a full ride to play in college, and it was soccer or basketball, and I ended up deciding to play soccer in college, and that was my better sport, and the sport that gave me the most opportunity.

Butter: What was the recruiting process like for you? What ended up being the deciding factor in going to La Salle?

Renee Washington: I had an edge with recruiting because my sisters went through the process before me, that helped put my name on the map. College coaches that were recruiting them were also looking at me. We were all very good athletes and very good at soccer and basketball. So I feel like that actually was the start of not only me getting to see schools, but schools getting to see me too. So I looked at the possibility of playing soccer and basketball. I actually wasn’t even looking for track, but I ended up running track at LaSalle as well, I was just looking for schools that fit everything.

As far as what I was looking for in a school, I wanted to be close to home. La Salle was just an hour away from my house. I was looking for a school where I could play for four years, and just compete for a starting position. I didn’t want to go somewhere where I would sit on the bench for four years. I wanted to go somewhere I could enjoy playing and be a part of a positive winning culture. Then I wanted to play at a higher level. I was getting recruited by Big East, ACC, Atlantic 10, CAA, and a variety of different conferences. I choose La Salle because they had the best mix on academics, athletics, location, and campus size

Butter: La Salle is known for its rigorous academics. How hard was it to juggle academics and being a top athlete?

Renee Washington: I think the biggest thing that helped me is I had been doing it my entire life. I was always a good student. I loved school. I was a nerd, honestly. I really enjoyed school. I was in AP classes and honors classes. And, you know, even at La Salle, that continued. I had a double minor and I took extra classes, and actually, I finished at LaSalle in three and a half years and could have graduated early. Education was always a big part of my life, whether it was because my mom was a teacher or my dad instilled academics into us and just drilled home the importance of being a student-athlete and that school came first. And so I learned as a kid how to juggle. And so when I got to college, it was no different. In fact, it was actually somewhat easier because of the fact that you don’t have classes all day like you do in high school. You just have your couple of classes every day. You have practice once or twice a day, depending on if you’re in-season or out of season. You have fewer games since you don’t play year-round games. You just play your fall season, and then the offseason is training. So it balanced out, and I really enjoyed it. I was fortunate to be a student-athlete who was still top of my class and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a really good GPA. So I’d say what helped for me was just always having had that juggle of being a student-athlete my entire life.

Butter: You had a really successful career at LaSalle including a game-winning goal your freshman year.. What challenges or adversity did you face?

Renee Washington: I faced challenges my entire career. One example was just coming in freshman year; I didn’t expect to be as successful as I was. I didn’t expect to be an all-conference player and a top scorer and things like that. So the challenge of how to handle that expectation when other teams were looking to guard me since I was on the top of scouting reports. Also, on a personal level, continuing to maintain the success I had with scoring goals and getting assists was also a challenge. I was going into games as a freshman just excited to be out there and play, and then later, I started going into games like, “Okay, I’m expecting to score. I’m expecting to get an assist. I’m expecting us to win.” So those personal expectations I put on myself were probably the biggest challenge that I faced as a player. A highlight from excelling at the challenges is that our team won our first A-10 tournament ever when I was at La Salle during my four years.

“Personal expectations I put on myself were probably the biggest challenge that I faced as a player”

Butter: How was it transitioning into the media space from being a player?

Renee Washington: Having had experience as a player and as a coach made transitioning into reporting very natural. So I coached college soccer for a couple of years, and I think that through playing at a high level in college and professionally, and then coaching, it really helped me understand the reporting side because I had been interviewed so many times. I had been in so many games, championships, pre-season practices that I had perspectives coming in. And also, I had learned a lot off the field as an athlete that helped me out in the industry because it’s not easy at all. You want to talk about challenges? Yeah. There’s plenty of challenges working in sports reporting, especially as a black woman. So playing soccer where I was also a minority, was similar to coming into the reporting world.

Butter: It is often discussed about the emergence of “new media”, with numerous former NBA players such as Draymond Green and Paul George, among others, venturing into the realm of media. Do you believe that the media landscape is undergoing a transformation in this aspect? Additionally, do you perceive yourself as being part of the new media movement?

Renee Washington: I definitely believe we are undergoing a transformation in media. And I’ve seen major changes in the media even from when I was growing up compared to when I first started in the industry. Whether it’s through social media and technology or just society in general, the media industry is always evolving. Opportunities, jobs, roles, networks are always changing. It’s great to see a big part of the change in media involves inclusion and being able to create a safe space for everybody regardless of your gender, your race, or anything else. There’s a long way to go still with diversity in the professional media realm, but it’s definitely progressed in that to a more welcoming industry for people to be able to work in this space and feel like they have an opportunity to grow in this space. So it’s been fun to see, and I would consider myself a part of that change because I know how hard it’s been for me, and I’m trying to make it easier for the next wave of talent coming through, however I can.

Butter: What advice would you give for that next wave of talent coming in?

Renee Washington: I think one of the biggest things is you always have to continue raising the bar and you can never give people a reason to doubt you or question your ability, credibility, or reputation. Finding ways to continue to perfect your craft, to learn and to get reps in is something nobody can take from you. You don’t want to get complacent, you want to continue to stay motivated and to get better. In the long run, consistently doing the right thing is going to help open doors for you versus being focused on just the end results. You have the end goal in mind, but if you’re just focused on a salary or the job, you’re losing the fact that you might be missing out on chances to perfect your craft. You can be in the best network, and if you’re not getting better, you’re not going to stay there. You can be in a job that maybe is smaller, but you’re continuing to find ways to improve your work and you’re going to get noticed. So it’s not about where you are now, it’s about continuing to move forward, using the resources and your skills to continue to find ways to get reps, experience, and just opportunities, whatever that may look like.

Butter: Which sport do you like covering the most?

Renee Washington: I actually like covering basketball the most. Soccer is definitely enjoyable, but I prefer basketball the most because that’s what I grew up with. I grew up attending Sixers games, New York Liberty games and Washington Mystics gam es. Also, selfishly from a reporting standpoint, it’s a lot easier to be indoors in an arena versus, let’s say, a football or soccer game where you’re out in whatever the elements are. So, from a broadcast perspective, it’s a lot easier for me on air when covering basketball.

Butter: Do you think if someone played at the highest level of competition, that should be a factor in their opinion on sports reporting and coverage?

Renee Washington: No, because I think that there are plenty of people who have played at a high level but can’t talk about sports reporting. Sports reporting is more than just your perspective from having played. You also need to be able to talk about it, do research, go to press conferences, watch games, and break down what you’re seeing. Hosting a show or doing any sort of game commentary is not as simple as just sitting down and talking. For anybody to assume that their sports knowledge will make it easy for them to sit down and talk about it is wrong. We’ve seen plenty of former players who have tried to be broadcasters and were awful. Conversely, we see people who have never played sports but are really good at it. It’s all about what you do with your talent. I use my experiences in a couple of ways. One is that it helps for whoever I’m talking to know that I played. I’m not just a random reporter with a microphone in their face. I’ve been on the other side, and that rapport and connection of us being similar is helpful and it also gives me perspective. When I’m watching a game, I can see it from the athlete’s perspective, what they may be thinking or feeling. But you don’t have to have that perspective. You can also just be really good at watching a game and breaking it down.

Butter: What would you say is the most challenging part of your job as a sports reporter?

Renee Washington: I would say the hardest thing about being a sports reporter is probably the grind of the industry. It’s not an industry that’s very predictable. I’ve seen people who make it and then fall off, and I’ve seen people who don’t make it until later in life. It’s a very unpredictable industry, and I think that’s a reason why a lot of people don’t end up staying in it and might decide to do a career switch or something because you can’t guarantee that if you do X amount of years of work, you’re going to get X job and make X amount of money. The markers fluctuate so much, and the industry is evolving so much. TikTok alone has created whole jobs for people that didn’t exist years ago.

So, I think the uncertainty of the industry is probably the biggest challenge—staying mentally fresh and motivated and just focusing on what you can control, knowing that there are a million things that are going to happen that you cannot control. You might see someone get a job that you wanted, that you felt like you were more qualified for or you might get a job that you don’t think you’re qualified for. You have to constantly figure out how to roll with the punches and keep going even when the ups and downs and the roller coaster ride of it continue.

Butter: What are your thoughts on the NIL, and do you think it would have changed college for you?

Renee Washington: Oh my god, just look at college athletes over the years and how much money they have brought in for not only the school in terms of revenue, ticket sales, jersey sales, but even the area. I watched a lot of documentaries, and I was just watching one recently on Johnny Manziel and his time in Texas Tech. They were talking about how even the hotels, restaurants, local businesses were making money off them. So many people make money on the backs of athletes at the college level, especially when you look at March Madness and college football. So, I think NIL was needed, and I just hope they do a good job of regulating it because unfortunately, with everything, there’s always someone that’s going to go too far or whatever. But I do like the fact that we’re seeing athletes able to take control of their own brand, get deals that align with who they are, and get paid so that now they can support their family. If you’re on a full ride, you’re on a full ride. Great. They’re paying for classes, room and board. But what about your mom back at home? Or what about when you need to eat and you don’t have money? There are so many more components to it than the entity really was before, so stubborn against the NIL that was costing players. And that’s why they would find their ways to make money and do it under the table. So now they can legally do it in a healthy way. They can support their families and themselves.

Butter: Can you talk about your time playing for Gotham FC? You played professional soccer in New Jersey, your hometown. How was that experience?

Renee Washington: That was cool. At the time, it was Sky Blue; now, it’s Gotham, which is a full-circle moment since I worked with Gotham at the end of ESL. When I was coming out of college, the league was only in its second season, starting in 2013. It was definitely very eye-opening. Unfortunately, as we talked about NIL and the changes, the league wasn’t in the place it is now. There’s been a lot of growth in the last 10 years. It’s been great to see. I wish it was like that when I was playing, but it was a good moment for me to get a sense of what that experience was like and have closure. I felt done with playing, having reached my goals, and ready to move into coaching and reporting. It was a great experience. I wish things had gone differently, especially knowing where the league is now and the opportunities available. At that point, I was ready to move on, having played with the best, and it was great to finish my career in Jersey, where I grew up.

Butter: I’ve seen you did TED Talks, and with being a reporter. Did you always have that ability to talk in front of people?

Renee Washington: So I actually did not always have confidence or even the self-esteem to be able to do anything I’m doing today, honestly. Like modeling, motivational speaking, reporting. There’s no way I was able to do that, growing up, and that came with time, growth, maturity, and just learning about myself and my identity. Being comfortable in my own skin to be okay with putting myself out there on stages, TV, and cameras in front of people. As far as TED talks, it’s been something that I’ve really enjoyed doing, just to have a chance to do something similar to sports reporting but so much more impactful. I love the opportunity to speak on topics, in front of people, and do so in a way that hopefully inspires and helps them through what I’m sharing. Knowing where I came from, what I’ve overcome, and my own experiences, it’s rewarding to give back and use my career to help others.

Butter: Now for a change of pace, Some Rapid fire questions and then the infamous Butter Question

Renee Washington: Lets do It

Butter: If you were to create a fantasy team of four sports reporters, who would they be?

Renee Washington: I would definitely, if it’s any sport, any gender, I would go myself, LeBron James, Serena Williams and Lionel Messi. As an alternative, maybe Mia Hamm. All the Hall of Famers.

Butter: What type of music do you listen to before going on air?

Renee Washington: I don’t really listen to anything. I’m usually prepping, but if I do have some downtime, it’s something like either gospel music or maybe like R&B music. But if it’s a game day, I don’t really actually have time to listen to music, if I do have a downtime moment, it would definitely be something slower because I don’t need to be amped up to be on air or anything. something slow, calm down.

Butter: When you retire, what do you want to be remembered for?

Renee Washington: I want to be remembered as someone who made a difference. I strive to do as much as I can to help, whether it’s in growing diversity and inclusive spaces or even just changing how we look at reporting and how we look at ourselves and what’s possible, which is why I wear so many hats. I want to show that you can do whatever it is you’re passionate about and you can find ways to tap into each of your talents and goals and accomplish things. So I definitely think and hope that my legacy is going to be one of making a difference, making an impact, and hopefully positively changing the game in more ways than one.

Butter: The Butter question of the day is…… What is your personal opinion about why people stay in toxic (romantic) relationships?

Renee Washington: One reason is hoping that things are gonna change magically, and I’ve actually been guilty of this myself. Just being so stuck on the potential and the “what if” that you make excuses and justify staying in that situation. But then also on the other side of it, sometimes it’s just not knowing you deserve better. To you, it might not feel toxic. It’s easy for people to say when they’re not in a situation what they would do. You don’t have emotions and memories and feelings connected to it, but it’s harder when you’re in a situation to have the ability to see that you deserve more and then this is not okay, this is not it. It’s time to make a move, it’s time to get out of the situation because you might be feeling like for whatever reason that this is exactly what you deserve and you don’t deserve better.

So I definitely would say it’s hard when you don’t have the people around you or the awareness or the love and support to have the confidence to make decisions that are best for you and to put yourself first. When people show you who they really are, you have to believe them. When people expose their abusive side or controlling side or lying or cheating, whatever that toxicity may be, you’ve got to have the courage to walk away and to want better for yourself. And again, I’m guilty of this myself because I’ve experienced it, but it’s never easy when everybody in this world is constantly pressuring us: get married, have kids, be in love, buy the house, get the job, whatever it is. And you feel like you have to keep up with societal expectations, and sometimes you might sacrifice what you deserve because you’re so busy trying to keep up with the Joneses and look at me, I’ve got a boyfriend or a girlfriend, even though that relationship is trash. So it’s a lot of things, but it’s society, it’s our own insecurities, and it’s definitely sometimes just struggling to have the confidence to walk away

Butter: Thank you so much for your time.

Renee Washington’s multifaceted career in sports broadcasting, her role as an analyst with renowned networks, and her dedication to creating inclusive spaces through Planted Not Buried showcase her passion for making a difference. As a motivational speaker, model, and entrepreneur, Renee’s influence knows no bounds. She is a shining example of what one can achieve through unwavering determination and an unquenchable thirst for success. We can only imagine the extraordinary feats she will accomplish in the years to come.