Athletes: They're Just Like Us!!!
BIIIIIG sports girl energy today
There are things in life we can never truly prepare for. Some days you might wake up after a holiday weekend bender and say, “Words are not for me today.” Some days the Queen of England dies.
This is my way of saying we’ll eventually unpack my lifelong beef with Ch*rles and C*milla but today, we’re talking about another Princess Diana (rip).
Wikipedia defines a work spouse as “a phrase, mostly in American English, referring to a co-worker, with whom one shares a special relationship, having bonds similar to those of a marriage” (Webster’s Dictionary is slacking). Like in any other relationship, opposites attract in work spousery, which is why my work wife and today’s guest Diana Tramontano is a Capricorn (big yikes).
In all honesty, Diana and I are actually spookily similar more than we are oppositional, as well as way too familiar. But one major difference between us—perhaps the biggest—is our athletic capabilities. LEST WE FORGET, I was the captain of two varsity sports teams in high school and was recognized as an FCIAC Scholar-Athlete!!!1
Now actually forget that because Diana was a Division 1 athlete.
Obviously, that is a huge deal not just in terms of prestige but also in time commitment, physical rigorousness, and dominance in social life. It’s an experience I was never destined to have but, like everyone else who cries watching the Olympics, it’s one I’m incredibly fascinated by. This week, I talked with Di about her career as a top-tier swimmer, the major lessons she learned along the way, and how it has shaped her life even after college.
Diana is a former athlete turned book nerd. She loves pretending she’s super calm, but we all know she is filled with chaotic energy. While she’d love to say all she does is read on the beach, go out with friends, and have LOTS of fun, she works a disturbing amount and doesn’t get off the couch. In reality, she grew up in Connecticut and went to college at William & Mary (yes, the multiple state switch and complete culture shock was intentional).
She swam in college and you’ll see her feelings on that shortly. She now lives is a cute (TINY) studio in NYC and works in the publicity department of a start-up book publishing company. She’s a super speedy reader and writes reviews on bookstagram (follow @99livesofabookgirl).
Just Keep Swimming2
One of the best things E4P offered me is the chance to glimpse into the lives of those far smarter and stronger than me (read: everyone who has gone to grad school). When I was in elementary and middle school, I lied to my gym teachers about having asthma and bad ankles to justify not running faster than 14 minutes on my mile runs. And while yes, I did eventually have a Princess Diaries-esque makeover into a sports team captain, Diana had already been swimming laps around me (literally), competing with her high school team but training with her professional one because it was more on par with the level of intensity she was competing at.
Because I’m wildly fascinated by someone whose athletic capability competes where I just can’t compare, I asked:
Emily: How did you find your way to swimming and what were some highlights of your career? Did you always want to swim competitively?
Diana: Growing up, I swam throughout the summers and really loved it. During the school year, I played lots of seasonal sports but eventually, I started swimming more—club swimming is a pretty intense track, even from a young age. When I made our YMCA national team in 7th grade, I had to decide if this is what I was going to do (I did NOT know what I was getting myself into). From there, the rest is really history. I was completely locked in.
Highlights of my career... oh boy. I honestly hate to talk about myself, BUT off the top of my head: making YMCA nationals every year since seventh grade and through high school, winning our first high school conference championship as the captain of our team, being recruited to swim Division 1 in college, and finaling at our CAA college conference championships in the three events I competed in.
More important highlights were the experiences, bonds, and lessons I learned throughout my years in swimming, because ultimately times don't matter and no one really understands them anyway!!
Emily: How did your experience swimming in high school and in college at such a competitive level differ? Did you prefer one to the other?
Diana: They were so different!! High school was definitely more individual, everything was based on your time and ranking. It was extremely competitive and such a pressure cooker. The ultimate goal for many of us was to get recruited to a good college team, so that became the main goal in high school.
College was absolutely a better experience as it was much more team focused. I loved the team aspect because there's nothing quite like it. On a team, you get a huge mix of people, personalities, and interests. Though we were brought together just because of swimming, these friendships lasted through everything and really got me through college.
According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), “with 350 member schools, including 23 historically Black colleges and universities, Division I schools field more than 6,700 athletics teams and provide opportunities for more than 187,000 student-athletes to compete in NCAA sports each year.”
As of February this year, there are 16.7 million undergraduate students enrolled in colleges across the U.S., meaning D1 athletes only make up 1.12% of all undergraduates. What’s more insane than that statistic is the level of intensity it requires to participate in sports at this level:
Emily: What did a typical day and week look like for you in college?
Diana: Oh boy. On average, I swam or lifted 4 out of 5 mornings of the school week for about 1 1/2 hours. I swam and did cross-training for 2-2 1/2 hours every single afternoon. We all took 5 classes per semester, so I usually had 2-3 classes per day.
On the weekends, we either had a 3 hour Saturday morning practice or a 1 to 2 day meet. Sundays we got off (usually). Basically, it was swim, eat, class, eat, swim, eat, study, sleep, REPEAT.
Emily: When you were applying to college, were academics or athletics more important to you?
Diana: I think academics were definitely more important, but swimming was also extremely significant. I really wanted a balance. I wanted to be a part of a really successful and competitive team while also being at an academically rigorous and high achieving school. I didn't want to compromise either goal.
I chose William & Mary because it had both: everyone was SO smart but also successful in the pool. I appreciated how our coaches emphasized both athletics and academics and really didn't let us slack in either.
However, nothing in this day and age is without scandal: a 2014 report found that academic advisors and counselors at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill had a “paper class” system3 which allowed athletes to take fake classes and receive high grades to remain eligible to compete for their teams. Similarly, in 2011, the Stanford Daily reported that athletes at the university had access to a “closely guarded” list of easy courses for the same reason:
The list, which has existed at least since 2001, was widely regarded by athletes as an easy class list. More than a quarter of the courses on the list did not fulfill university general education requirements.
“It’s definitely not going to be a hard class if it’s coming off that list,” said Karissa Cook, a sophomore women’s volleyball player, who consulted the list to pick classes in her first quarter at Stanford.
The classes on the list were “always chock-full of athletes and very easy As,” added Kira Maker, a women’s soccer player, who used the list her freshman year.
Titled “courses of interest,” the list was distributed by the Athletic Academic Resource Center. Advisers in other departments at the University said they were unaware such a list existed. (X)
Although the NCAA released its own report in 2017 finding that UNC did not commit academic fraud, the idea of using athletics as the easy way in and through college has persisted (à la Olivia Jade).
But why would an athlete do this? As Diana has very clearly already shown, playing a sport at the D1 level requires years of commitment—who would risk jeopardizing all that time, money, and dedication, and why?
The answer, shockingly, has to do more with institutionalized money and greed than it does with the students themselves.
The Shortcomings of a Towering Institution
In 2021, the NCAA generated around $1.16 billion, with March Madness being its primary source of income. A reminder: there are at least 187,000 athletes working at the top of their physical game to help bring in all of this money for the NCAA while also managing course loads as full-time students.
Here’s the kicker: the students aren’t getting paid.
According to Sportico, “the NCAA distributes about 60% of its annual revenue back to its member schools and conferences. It’s a complex web of payments, but the three biggest buckets are: scholarship grants, payments based on March Madness performance, and championship expenses,” before 2020, the NCAA had rules in place that prevented their member schools from paying the students individually.
Even now with a recent court ruling, it’s a ridiculously punitive amount. An ESPN report stated that:
in response to a federal judge's mandate, the NCAA changed its rules in August 2020 to allow schools to pay each of their athletes up to $5,980 per year as a reward for academic performance. The oddly specific dollar amount was calculated during the legal proceedings because it is equal to the maximum amount of financial value an athlete can receive in one year from awards related to their athletic performance, such as conference player of the year titles or the Heisman Trophy…
According to information gathered by ESPN in the past several months from public records requests and a voluntary survey, only 22 of the 130 FBS-level schools say they have plans in place to provide these academic bonus payments to their athletes this year. Twenty months after the initial rule change, and nine months after any doubt about its legal permanence was removed, more than one-third of FBS respondents say they have not yet decided whether they will provide these additional benefits to athletes.
Recently, there have been reports that some athletes are receiving incredibly large payments funded by rich sports fans but the general status of athletic compensation at the D1 level has not changed since this John Oliver clip from seven years ago:
The athletes that are actually benefitting from the remarkable revenue they generate for their individual schools and the NCAA as a whole (or from boujee benefactors) are primarily football and basketball players which generate more money in advertising than other sports. But all D1 athletes are competing at the same level of incredible intensity which means most aren’t getting compensated for their efforts.
In a backward way of emphasizing the ludicrousness of this point, NFL quarterback4 and former NCAA athlete at UCLA Josh Rosen stated a few years ago that “‘football and school don’t go together… They just don’t. Trying to do both is like trying to do two full-time jobs. There are guys who have no business being in school, but they’re here because this is the path to the NFL. There’s no other way.’”
I would also be remiss not to mention last year’s viral TikTok that exposed the inequality in how the NCAA treated the men vs the women’s basketball teams during March Madness. Later, a report was conducted by a private firm which found the gender inequality within the NCAA goes far past weight rooms and tournament meals: as the Sports Illustrated story covering the news explained,
the report went on to say the NCAA has nothing in place to address the inequities and that its current structure limits the growth of women's sports, perpetuating the narrative that women’s basketball is a ‘money loser.’ The review, conducted by Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, also estimates that the annual broadcast rights for women’s basketball will be worth between $81 and $112 million in 2025. This figure is significantly more than what ESPN is currently paying for those rights, according to the report.
To an outside perspective, learning that students are breaking their backs (more on that later) to generate an insane amount of revenue only to not be paid, not be supported, and be discriminated against is beyond asinine. But, as someone who was very notably not a D1 athlete, I know there is only so much I can say without having this lived experience, so I asked Diana:
Emily: What do you wish people knew about D1 athletics? Do you have any hot takes on the institution itself?
Diana: I mean yes, but I'll filter it.
Mostly, I wish people recognized and supported more sports than football and basketball (generally speaking). A lot of these big male-dominated sports are fully funded and supported everywhere. Sports like swimming and gymnastics are completely unrecognized, financially unsupported, and underappreciated.
I wish there were more equality among all sports, especially women’s' sports. I know, football and basketball are fun to watch, but I wish there were more ways to support other teams. We can't fix it all but if you have a woman athlete in your life, give her some credit. It is TOUGH.
Food for thought, the underfunded teams (in my experience) were sometimes the most successful and competitive. Think about that. We achieved more with less. Controversial, but we MIGHT just be better athletes. No hate—every athlete gives up a lot and achieves so much.
Ok, so I was right.
Additionally, the amount of pressure placed on student-athletes physically and mentally coupled with a lack of supportive resources (the NCAA offers materials to schools, coaches, and athletes about the importance of mental health and leaves the bulk of seeking help to the students themselves) and support systems has led to a “quiet mental health crisis” in college sports.
I asked Diana:
Emily: In your experience, what was the relationship like between athletics and mental health? Was it more or less the same for other members of your team?
Diana: I feel like athletes really try to hide mental health struggles because we're supposed to be tough, right? Mental toughness is constantly emphasized during both practice and meets. Being able to control your nerves and power through just about anything is crucial to success, so when athletes start to struggle mentally, they hide or minimize it.
Throughout college, both our team and coaches really tried to change this mentality, but it's hard because it's basically ingrained in us. A lot of people on our team struggled with their mental health at one point or another throughout their college career. As much as we tried to support each other, things don't really change until YOU want them too. So, the intrusive thoughts of being skinny enough or being the perfect athlete don't really go away unless you change your fundamental mindset of what it takes to be successful, which is hard when that's all you know.
I know my team really tried to change the stigma around mental health with athletes and support each other through tough times, but it's still a work in progress. Competing and training at such a high level is a pressure cooker. Trying to achieve success while beating down your body and mind day in and day out eventually takes its toll on you. Trying to do it all, no longer works.
To circle back to the question, mental health in athletics is an ever changing thing. We all struggle and if you say you don't, you're lying. The thing is, that's okay. We grow, and we must support each other.
Emily: What were some of the major obstacles you faced in and out of the pool?
Diana: The idea of being successful.
In the pool, all you do is focus on how fast you're going whether that be for yourself or for your team. In academics, again all you focus on is doing well, gettings A's, and having a high GPA. Oh yeah, and being social. We want to have it all, and we constantly struggle to achieve everything at the highest level.
It was hard to find a balance—sometimes you had to give swimming more, sometimes you had to give academics more, and sometimes you had to give yourself more. Finding that balance and learning those time management skills was definitely the hardest. I'm not sure I ever "perfected" it, but I did my best.
For swimming, it was hard to stay dedicated, motivated, and encouraged when things got tough. When I didn't do well, it all felt like it was for nothing. Same with academics. The feeling of constantly chasing the fear of letting someone or yourself down was something we all dealt with daily. The idea of failure was terrible.
Ultimately, I learned failure is okay. Just because you don't swim fast or get an A doesn't mean YOU'RE a failure. You fail. You learn. You move on.
Obviously, along with the mental stress of playing sports at this level comes the physical strain athletes place on their bodies to continuously perform as best as possible. I wish I could say confidently that few D1 athletes know this as intensely as Diana but something about the vibe of today’s chat makes me think she’s not alone in this:
Emily: Why did you ultimately stop swimming?
Diana: I fractured my back and graduated college.
Emily: Did you always plan to stop swimming after college? If so, why would you push yourself to compete so competitively if you knew you would stop?
Diana: Yes! I never wanted to continue swimming after college. Deep down, I liked it but when I started to hate it most of the time, I kept going for my team. My team was everything. I can never truly explain the bond you form with people you spend day in and day out with. Those people saw me at my best and at my worst. There is nothing quite like it. So for many of my last years, I swam for my team. That was the most important, always.
Emily: What did you learn from your injury?
Diana: Do NOT push yourself past your physical limits.
In athletics, everyone tells you to keep going, you've got more. When you feel like you've given your all, you haven't, there's still more in the tank that you don't realize. When my back started hurting and doctors said I was "okay" to keep going (aka I wouldn't die), I did. When things got really bad my senior year, I kept going. I couldn't sit through class, I couldn't feel my toes or fingers, I couldn't stand for extended periods of time, I couldn't sleep comfortably, but I kept going.
I felt like if I stopped, it would all have been for nothing. I just had to finish my senior year. Also, if I stopped, I'd let my team down. I wouldn't be the best senior to look up to. I wouldn't be a good leader. I wouldn't be a good team member. I was so focused on helping everyone else that I let myself down. Even though everyone was telling me to stop and my parents begged me to quit, I just couldn't.
Ultimately, after fighting for so long, I had to medically retire a month before the end of our season. Our last meet was pushed to April because of COVID, so in theory, I would've made it under normal circumstances. I realized I had to take care of myself. I wasn't being a good leader, team member, or person by continuing to swim—I was miserable and in pain. Through this, I learned that taking care of yourself doesn't mean you're giving up. Making the right decision for you is ultimately the right decision for everyone. I was able to support my team in other ways—in better ways—than killing my body.
If I could go back to the start of my senior year, ultimately I don't think I would do anything differently, because I needed to go through that experience to understand the importance of taking a step back when needed.
The Brightside!!!!
Sports at any level can offer all athletes the same things: the chance to connect with others, any outlet for energy and an option for stress relief, and a place to pursue passions and achieve goals. For all of the negatives that come from D1 sports, there is a positive that almost always supersedes them, as Diana explained:
Emily: Overall, would you say swimming so competitively was a net positive or negative in your life?
Diana: Definitely positive. I gained so much from swimming. Being a competitive athlete has completely shaped who I am today. I use all the lessons I learned through swimming all the time and don't think I'd be the same person without it. Also, I gained a second family. So many important people in my life I met through swimming. Even if we wanted to kill each other sometimes, we loved each other always.
Emily: What were some of the most significant lessons you learned from swimming—besides how to be a better swimmer? What is the primary lesson you walked away with?
Diana: Time management, dealing with adversity, overcoming failure, navigating tough relationships, leadership, compromise, dedication, and independence.
I think the primary lesson I walked away with was how to deal with adversity. I feel like I faced a lot more as an athlete than most do. From high school through all 4 years of college, I had to recover from a lot of adversity. My high school and college coach left at extremely crucial times in my swimming career. My college team was actually cut my senior year, ultimately to be reinstated because we fought so hard. I had multiple friends quit and get cut, fragmenting our team. I navigated serious mental health struggles with friends and faced some of my own. I literally broke my back.
But, I got through it all, and I'm probably better for it. Even though some of these things might seem inconsequential, at the time that they happened, it was everything. I learned to face adversity head on and trust I'll walk out of it a stronger person. As much as I complain about all the negative things that came with swimming, I know it taught me so much.
Emily: Is there anything you would change about your experience? Why?
Diana: I think there are some little things I would change, but nothing that is ultimately that important. I think I would take more time for myself and focus on being happy. A lot of times I found myself under so much pressure that no one was inflicting on me except myself. Often, I also found myself taking care of everyone else and completely neglecting myself. While I wouldn't ever not help someone else, I just had to remember to keep time for me.
As a whole though, I wouldn't change my experience because it makes me who I am.
Thank you a billion to Diana for talking with me both here and in person many times as a friend and an interviewee (fancy)!!!!! There’s no one else I would have rather had a post-work event sleepover with the night I got Covid (when she shockingly didn’t which like scientifically doesn’t make sense to me but I digress)!!!!!
This is not a flex. This is sarcasm. It took me 30 minutes to find this.
Admit it: you sang the song.
The Telescope, Palomar College’s student paper, wrote that paper classes are “roughly defined as any academic course at a higher institution that appears on paper as completed credits for an athlete but never existed in the first place.”
I know this isn’t the proper way to refer to a player but Rosen was most recently with the Cleveland Browns who released him two weeks ago after he didn’t live up to the hype after being the number 10 pick during the 2018 draft so currently, the man is teamless. And yeah, I get sports.