Game Face (2015) Movie Script

1
Please welcome to the
red corner: Fallon Fox!
Back in 2008, I went to a fitness gym.
I was trying to get in shape.
And one of the physical
trainers there
asked me what apparatus
I wanted to train on.
"Let's try that punching bag."
So, I went over there
and gave a couple of punches
in the punching bag.
He liked the way that I hit the bag
and that I wasn't timid about it.
Then he took me from there
into an MMA gym.
And everything kind of
snowballed from there.
Fallon Fox turns her up
like a pretzel!
The two years that I was here
at Artesia,
we were one of the top teams.
We had all of the hot major colleges
come in recruiting at games.
I don't want to say I was
treated as a superstar here.
But people always helped me
left and right
because they thought that I was going
to be this big time college player.
The plan originally was to
play varsity, going to college,
and then the NBA,
hopefully, afterwards.
Things just didn't go
the way I planned.
Fallon Fox with a high knee!
Evans-Smith in trouble!
In the past I thought of the
idea of doing a documentary.
In some ways I guess I am afraid that maybe
it could be a bad thing for my career.
Right now it's me piecing
what I think could happen.
Instead of saying, "This athlete came
out and was banned from this or..."
"Nothing happened." I don't know.
So, it's very scary right now.
It's such a complicated issue.
Because I know there's a possibility
that people will come after me
and they're not going
to understand.
So, I have to be ready. You know,
just like in MMA, "Be ready."
Here comes Fallon Fox
striking out!
The crowd is going bananas!
Yeah!
Every time I see that
skyline I'm like, "Wow."
It makes me feel like I'm part
of something big.
Like I'm really
a part of the city.
The last five years of
my life has been this.
I was training in the morning,
training at night, I lived in the gym.
This sport is my world right now.
This is what I do.
Words can't even express
how much it means to me.
In the beginning I had questions
about my participation in MMA.
I was having a hard time
getting fights,
possibly because there was a rumor
out there that I was transgender.
Your winner by triangle choke,
from Schaumburg, Illinois,
Fallon "Queen of Swords" Fox!
I broke down at my gym and I told
my first trainer. That was hard.
My coaches expressed that they
didn't want me to come out.
They were like, "If you come
out now no one will fight you,
"it will reflect badly
on the gym."
I don't think they ever
want me to come out.
I find myself playing
devil's advocate with myself,
to try and have to express
myself to everyone.
It's very, very hard.
It's like a 24-hour thing.
Luckily, I had
a couple of friends.
Hey, you. It's been
like two years?
It's so cold here.
Because it's Chicago, dude.
The reason why I'm reaching
out to other trans athletes
is because I did not have
that when I was younger.
I did not have someone to
help me figure out who I was.
All I had was people telling
me that
I was wrong for feeling
the way I was feeling.
And that wasn't the case at all.
I actually met Kye through
the NCLR,
which is the National Center
for Lesbian Rights.
Kye was really awesome.
I really enjoy the
conversations that we've had
and being able to share
our experiences
as being transgender athletes.
When people find out about me,
you instantly see that confusion
and then they start thinking about all
these things and, like, "Wait, what?"
So, you, like, "Wait,
What?" It's like...
You don't need to think about all that.
It's not that serious.
If I say I'm a trans guy, the only
thing you should be focusing on
is okay, so, male pronouns.
Actually, I was a truck
driver for a good four years
and I transitioned on the
job as a truck driver.
I hadn't had surgery yet
and they knew me as male before
and then I switched
over overnight.
I just came in and I told them
I was coming in next week.
And I told my boss everything
and he was like, "Okay."
I came in and then
everybody was like...
About a month or two after,
guys were just coming on to me.
And trying to hook up.
In front of everyone, too.
And these are like
truck driver guys.
Yeah?
For me, it was more the body.
You know, like, being able to...
Comfortable with yourself...
Be comfortable with myself and
my body in addition to, like...
some traditional female
things... Perhaps not.
Like right now I'm doing MMA
and that's, like,
not considered a traditional
female thing to do.
Here are all the trophies
I've gotten over the years.
Ten, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19...
Twenty different awards
within two years.
Jesus, so you just
kick ass basically.
My objective is to fight
for the UFC or Invicta.
Preferably Invicta, if I can,
because it's a female promotion.
So, what I need to do now is to
apply for a license in California.
Being that California is the
most stringent state
as far as licensing policies go.
I know that the commission needs to
look through all my medical records,
as far as this is concerned
in conjunction with my sport.
Like, California asked me
what surgeries I had,
and I told them everything.
After I get a license
in California,
my coaches should be
a little bit more behind me.
For the simple fact that if I
can get a license in California,
more then likely I'll be
licensed anywhere else.
We just have to wait and see.
Wow. It's been forever.
A lot of memories.
A lot of memories.
Coming into my freshman year,
I played for a traveling team. It
was called the LA City Wildcats.
We all kinda made a pact to
each other
that we wanted to play with
each other in high school
since we all grew up playing
with each other in junior high.
So, we all decided that we would
come here and play on the same team.
It's funny, I get asked a lot
about James Harden, the NBA player.
Growing up he wasn't the
best one on our team.
He sprouted up after
his ninth grade year
and grew about four or five
inches over a summer.
He could already shoot, dribble...
So, adding the height to it,
it gave him everything that
he needed.
He went ahead and continued
playing basketball at a high level.
The summer of my sophomore
year, going into my junior year,
I just heard the rumor
that I was here at a party
and they caught me in bed
with a guy or something.
A couple of guys reached out
to me and asked me was it true.
Especially at that time
I denied it.
I maybe didn't handle
the situation the right way,
because I didn't know what to
do to maintain my reputation
as a basketball player.
My teammates, they just...
They would act like
they were okay with it,
but our relationship
was just different.
They stopped talking to me
on a regular basis,
stopped inviting me to places.
It was very hurtful. These were
guys that I knew since childhood,
guys I called brothers,
just disowned me basically.
I was supposed to play
varsity my junior year.
It didn't happen.
And I talked to the coach and I
just went ahead and I moved back to
Crenshaw High School.
After I left, they won the State
Championship my junior year.
It was like someone stabbed me
in the back, basically. It hurt.
It really did.
I felt like that was my championship
that I didn't get to be part of.
We're number one, baby,
we're number one!
When I got here to Crenshaw,
I met some guys
and considered them family.
And that was more so because they
were going through the same situation
that I was going through as
far as hiding our sexuality.
Most of them were out trying
to take care of themselves
at young ages of 16, 17.
They were stealing,
credit card fraud,
basically any kind of scam that
could keep money in their pockets.
I guess the freedom and to be
able to have your own money
and just to hang with those guys
it kinda drew me in.
And got in trouble, got caught.
Those ten months being
incarcerated, it doesn't seem real.
It kind of hit me hard, you know,
that I was once looked at as,
you know, the kid that was
supposed to make it out,
and come back and help
the community.
But that dream had basically
had died at that point.
One guy, his name,
he went by Chums.
While I was in there with him,
he would always talk to me
and he would tell me,
"Jail is not for you."
There's just something
I see in you
that you won't be back here.
It was like a signal
from God saying,
"Let this be your last time.
I'm worth more than this."
Here you go!
Good job, Terrence, good!
Yeah.
Terrence came to me and he told
me, "Okay, I've been incarcerated."
"And that's where I've been."
"I said, "Okay, I don't judge.
So, now what are we
going to do?"
He said, "I want to continue
to play basketball."
I said, "Okay, well,
let's start working!"
I was thinking that basketball
could be my ticket out.
Of everything that's
going wrong right now.
Basketball could help my life
go in the right direction.
I liked his drive and I liked
that he was determined to be good.
We would work out at five in the morning.
He would show up.
No complaints.
To me it felt like, you know,
"This kid really wants it."
And he just kept coming back.
When you shoot free throws
you don't bent your knees.
Ray Allen can get away with it.
You and I can't get away with it.
Coach Allen told me about
Terrence's background a little bit.
Where he was coming from
and what he was trying to do.
At the end of the day I'm a
sucker for those kind of stories.
Down, down, down!
Corner, corner, corner!
Tuck, tuck, tuck.
Tuck.
Coach Nick has a friend that's
an assistant coach in Oklahoma.
So he reached out to him
to see if he would consider
giving me a scholarship
opportunity.
At the end of the day, a lot of this
stuff is a leap of faith, you know.
You kind of take a chance
and you hope it works out.
The day I got the call,
I actually missed it.
I woke up to six missed calls.
And I checked my voice mail and
it was the coach from Oklahoma.
And he said that I've
been given a scholarship
and they would like for me
to fly out the next week.
And at that moment I just...
I was overwhelmed.
Just the fact that going from
being in prison
and people laughing at me and telling
me that I'm not a basketball player,
that I could go ahead
and give that dream up, too.
Now, receiving a call from a coach
telling me that I have a scholarship
and my schooling
will be paid for.
I was just filled with joy
at that moment.
Right now my main focus
is basketball.
Basketball and school.
As far as coming out
with my sexuality,
with this being
a two year school,
odds are I won't come out there,
but we never know.
It can be a good story,
or it could be a bad story.
I think it can be
something special.
Come on, Taylor!
Come on, Taylor!
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
Nice Job!
- Good job.
- Thank you.
You did good so far.
We are very much alike.
A lot of people tell us that.
Open mindedness.
Determination.
Beauty!
I thought that was
the cutest little photo.
Yes!
We feed off each other.
And that's like one of
the main things,
our determination,
our goals, sports.
Drive to accomplish things.
I got some older pictures
way back here.
That one is my favorite.
Yes, that was before
I left for the military.
When I first found out that
Fallon was going through a change,
I was just, like, "Okay."
Like I did not have
any problem with it.
My other mother in Ohio, she
doesn't necessarily agree with it.
But she's still grateful that
Fallon treats me the way she does.
The problem with telling
people at my school,
like, I wouldn't mind
telling them,
but it's her privacy that
I'm worried about.
I try not to tell people
unless they're my close friends
who I know wouldn't
judge her or anything.
And if anybody messes
with you...
- She'll just beat them up.
- They're toast.
Gay pride parade.
With all my friends.
It's kind of a difficult
thing that my parents
have always accepted
my daughter.
They never had
a problem with her.
But my mother is embarrassed
to have me around.
For the longest time I couldn't
even show up at her house.
They said if I don't change
the way I see myself,
I was going to go to hell.
And that I would be
in an eternal lake of fire.
Forever burning.
And I couldn't stop what was
going on inside of my head.
There was nothing I could do
about it.
It came to a point were I felt that
I was going to commit suicide...
because of it.
It's kind of saddening
to hear that, you know,
that she was thinking
about committing suicide.
Because...
I don't know what I
would do without her.
There is a lot of stuff that I
had to go through to get here.
A lot of pain
and a lot of suffering.
The only thing on my mind is just
helping out other people like me.
In this particular
circumstance right now.
At first it really didn't
hit me.
It was just like
a TV show to me, basically.
I kind of was ready
to get out of Los Angeles.
So, it was more so like you
need to get here and adjust.
And try not to be so shocked
when you get there.
It's difficult
for them to adjust.
Our town is 12,000 people.
So, there's a lot of kudos to those
players who come here from big cities,
and learn how to adapt.
I was pretty much homesick
for the first couple of weeks.
If I didn't have to be
somewhere, I was in my room.
Ready?
Ball! Ball! Ball!
All I'm hearing is, "Ball, ball,
ball," and "Gap, gap, gap."
Talk to each other.
You got him! I got him!
My experience with this team when
I first joined was a little rocky.
He didn't sign with us until
he actually got here on campus,
which was about
a week into school.
We thought our team was
already set.
I guess we didn't have
that welcome feeling
because he wasn't there
from the beginning.
He was a little older than us.
He wasn't really hanging
with us and stuff like that.
Unbelievable...
It's like we're dealing
with frigging third graders.
We actually called a meeting
to start playing better.
And it came up during the
meeting that
they were all purposely
being mean to me,
so that I wouldn't
want to stay here.
And that was kind of shocking.
We speak to him off court,
but he keeps his convos short.
He didn't say very much, so, it was
rubbing us kind of the wrong way.
Him coming in,
it didn't fit well at all.
Be together. Fight together.
No individual agendas.
- Go Norse!
- Go NEO!
Here we go!
Hey, pinch down.
Pinch down.
Second turnover.
Getting a group of guys that are
from different parts of the States
and the world,
it's hard for us to
all gel together.
Checking in for the Golden Norseman,
number 24, Terrence Clemens.
To be quite honest with you,
when we first got him, I looked at
him kind of almost as a backup backup.
Get in, Terrence. Good hands.
He can't score!
First couple of months
when he first got here,
he didn't play very well.
I thought he was very guarded
in what he did.
That led to him not being
very good on the floor.
Foul from number 24,
Terrence Clemens.
Terrence.
Terrence!
- You embarrassed yourselves.
Good job, good luck.
When we win, we sit here
and talk about the game.
Because we lost y'all don't
want to talk about it.
I'm telling you all
what happened.
Every other game someone else
is mad and we sit and talk.
Nobody's telling me to shut up,
so I'm just gonna keep on talking.
All I'm doing is having a
conversation, so why are you mad?
Somebody go in there and turn
the water off so I can talk.
Did you not take them seriously?
Murray State?
I see a bunch of individuals.
"I'm not going to
work hard on this,
"because, hell, I don't know,
I'm not gonna trust my teammate."
"I don't want to be a team."
You say we give you excuses.
Every time we try to say something
you just change the subject.
Or you just write off
whatever we're saying.
And it doesn't matter what we say
you always have an answer for it.
Completely disagree.
So, there's no point
in anybody saying...
Completely disagree.
That's my point right there.
I have to agree with Jeff.
Don't be negative about it.
Everyone get on board.
Let's make it a positive thing
instead of hanging our heads
and saying we need to do
a Kumbaya session.
Everyone get on freaking board.
Does that make sense?
Our Father, who art in
heaven, hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be
done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses.
As we forgive those who
trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Are we going to bring it in?
- Go Norsemen.
- Go NEO.
So...
I just came back from running.
Earlier today we had
a press conference.
I talked a little smack.
I'm looking forward to snapping some
arms and breaking some faces for you.
So, look for me.
So far I don't think anybody
suspects that I'm trans.
I just don't need the stress
right now.
I just don't fucking need it.
You know...
It would take me forever to try
and get people to understand.
But tomorrow's a big day. We'll
see what happens tomorrow.
Ladies and gentlemen,
are you ready?
Three rounds.
The winner will advance
to the semi-finals in CFA11.
Ericka Newsome comes out,
delivers a strike.
And Fallon now takes the top.
These girls are getting
right into it.
Fallon Fox with a knee kick
and that's it! Fallon Fox!
What a beautiful knee.
Unbelievable. Game over!
Looks like tomorrow, or actually
this morning in a couple of hours...
I'm going to hit the media.
What happened was...
this guy...
Marrocco, I believe
his last name was.
After my last fight
he called me.
He said something
along the lines of,
"If what I've been told is true,"
"you may want to have a lot of
time to discuss this matter."
Which, at that point, threw
up a big red flag in my mind.
And I told him,
"Hey, I got to go!"
I knew this was coming
and I knew, at some point, someone
was going to say something.
And it's been years
and years of torture.
Wondering when that shoe
was going to drop.
Wondering when I'm gonna
get that phone call.
And I just got the phone call...
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm standing
here next to your victor, Fallon.
I'm feeling excellent.
That was sweet?
Did you like that? Yeah!
It felt really good this weekend
for people to look at me as
a normal female MMA fighter.
And I know that in the
minds of a lot of them
they're going to see me
as something other.
And I really liked the feeling
of being perceived to be
just like everyone else,
which I am.
Fallon Fox!
- Fallon Fox!
- Fallon Fox!
She is an MMA fighter.
It's not her undefeated record
that has everyone talking.
She is a transgender female.
She wants to now join the UFC.
But is it fair for someone who
used to be a man to fight a woman?
She has an Illinois
drivers license...
stating she is female.
And she circled female on her Florida
State Boxing Commission application.
So, neither the FSBC nor the CFA
founder and CEO Jorge De La Noval
were aware that Fallon
is a transgender female.
I pity the woman who comes up against
her knockout knee to the head.
What the fuck?
Transgender fighters should be
taken by case by case basis.
You can't say that a 145 pound
woman and a 145 pound man are even.
Bone structure is different,
hands are bigger, jaw is bigger.
Everything is bigger.
Six years of taking
performance dehancing drugs
you think is going
to change all that?
That's ridiculous.
- Let her fight RuPaul.
- Okay. That's fair.
I'll whoop her.
I mean I'll whoop him.
- You'll whoop him?
- I'm confused.
I can't keep up with everything.
It's coming in so fast.
This week the state's
Boxing Commission may decide
if the transgender MMA fighter can
can get back in the ring as a woman.
She didn't lie on her
application.
There was no question
about this.
I want to be very clear
about that point.
Fallon Fox never lied.
Fallon Fox never misrepresented.
For many years the IOC, the
International Olympic Committee,
has developed a policy
on transgender.
And she qualifies to compete
as a woman for MMA,
no question about it.
Here's the deal, if you look at
those two women side by side,
you would think Ericka
has got the advantage.
Everyone who competes in MMA has
different things they're good at.
Some are good wrestlers. Some
just have brute strength.
So, it's hard to say
who has the advantage.
You can even argue that
there may be disadvantages...
because they have to fight
in a higher weight category.
But they don't necessarily have
the muscle to support that.
When you undergo
treatment like she has,
there will be a lot of
changes in bone density,
and many other things
in the body.
The upper body strength, grip
strength, stronger, denser bones...
But all that apparently
indeed disappears.
I didn't know that before,
so we did our homework.
That's right.
We do our homework.
Don't ever be a doctor on TV
unless you're a doctor.
When you are sitting down at
CNN tomorrow with Kyra Philips,
and they ask you the question,
"What do you say to people who
say you shouldn't compete?"
You can say that that question
has already been answered.
The International Olympic Committee,
NCAA, the Boxing authorities,
they all have rules in place, and
you qualify under all of them.
There has been some criticism,
people, including some
of your opponents
who say it's not fair
that you fight women
when you were born a man.
What do you say to your critics?
I think for most part
the reaction has been positive.
It's just some people...
Some of our...
Some of society
just doesn't get it yet.
And that's what we're trying
to do right now.
Is to inform people and let them
know about transgender athletes.
In the next hour we will talk to
Fallon's opponent that you saw there
Ericka Newsome,
who she managed to knock out
in a matter of seconds.
Ericka, I want to, you know...
you did just get kneed to the chin
just seven days ago.
How are you doing?
That looked pretty brutal.
I feel fine.
What do you think you need
to be better prepared for?
Well, just knowing that...
You know, that...
Help me here.
What she's trying to say is just
knowing what you're getting into.
Not having any disclosure
of something of that nature,
it puts a lot of stress
after the fight obviously.
I think Ericka Newsome
is a good person.
I think she's just caught up
with the wrong people
who are trying to save face
with her career and her loss.
And that's not the right thing
that she should be doing.
Father, we thank You for today.
We thank You for our food.
We thank You in Jesus' name
for all of our friends here
today, Father. Amen.
Amen.
Yes.
All righty.
Who was it that
requested meatloaf?
Terrence.
All right. I like that.
Most of them just call
me Lisa or Miss Lisa.
They don't really call me mom.
But they come in a lot
to the office.
I'm right there in the gym.
Is there something I don't know?
We all call you mom on campus.
I get asked questions about
situations that they're going through,
like family, girlfriends,
we need a band-aid, we need
aspirins, "Do you have any candy?"
Terrence was a little unusual.
A lot of the players
come in kind of
a little more cocky.
Terrence came in a little quiet.
In fact I was thinking,
"Man, he's awfully quiet."
You know.
But then I got to know him and he's
not near as quiet as I thought he was.
Now the thing I love is,
I call him Mr. NEO.
You know, because everybody
knows Terrence.
Everybody.
Why are you on camera right now?
I'll tell you later.
Will you be there tonight?
All right, I'll see you then.
What's up, buddy?
You doing all right?
Yes, sir.
Hey, I know it's late because
your birthday was in January.
But happy birthday!
This is really, like...
This is going up in my room.
And you know I don't have
anything hanging up on my wall.
I am who I really am here,
I'm just not open
about my relationship.
Everything else,
I am who I am everyday.
I'm not faking it by going
out of my way to say, "Hi."
That's just me.
They know me as
the basketball player
and they get a sense of who I am
as a person, through basketball.
But it still feels like
they don't know the real me.
Here, you have to have
your game face on.
Thank you. Thank you.
Terrence, good job.
Little celebrity.
Sometimes I may have a plan,
but then I'm nervous about
going through with it.
I just... I don't know
how to go about it.
That's another area where I
would want to call somebody
and get some advice,
but who do I call now?
For the first time an active
male player in a major team sport
has announced today
that he is gay.
Jason Collins played
college ball at Stanford
and for 12 NBA seasons,
he's played in two NBA finals,
and he's been a part of
six NBA teams.
So, you send this thunderbolt
out into the world
twelve hours later,
how does it feel?
It's incredible.
I'm just trying to live
an honest, genuine life
and next thing you know, you
have the President calling you.
Yeah, I told him I
couldn't be prouder of him.
The LGBT community
deserves full equality.
Not just partial equality.
I applaud you, Jason Collins.
I applaud you.
Katy Perry, Dwayne Johnson,
and even a former President
of the United States,
tweeted their support for the
NBA's first openly gay player.
To me that was a big shocker.
Kobe Bryant tweeted him.
Magic Johnson tweeted him.
David Stern tweeted him
and said they actually support
him and they were proud of him.
Personally, I don't believe
that you can live
an openly homosexual lifestyle.
I believe that's walking
an open rebellion to God.
I mean, it doesn't bother me,
but it does make me think there
are more people out there like him,
that don't want to give us a
chance to be in the sports world.
What I heard in my locker room?
I heard a couple of students
saying some negative things, like,
"They got a fagot on the team."
"He would be your shower buddy."
Something like that.
And that's where
it kind of offends me.
Because it's not as if we are
there trying to be sexual
towards a teammate or anything.
We are professionals just
like they are professionals.
This goes across the board
to anyone gay or straight
that you make choices in your
life that make you happy.
Truly happy.
And allow you to live an
honest and genuine life.
Whatever that may be.
Before him I didn't
have anyone to look to.
I would want to
sit there and ask him,
"Can I personally have you
to support me,
"to help me with
making decisions,"
"through everything that
I'm going through."
That would be my question.
Tonight we are going
to American Predator,
the promotion that I had my
first MMA fight in.
It's a possibility I might
get some bad reactions,
it's probably gonna happen.
But I'm just not going to
worry about it and do my thing.
I would think that my parents would
have gotten wind of this by now.
Nobody has called you
in the family?
Nobody has called me.
Nobody's said jack shit.
All I ever wanted is just to
be able to fight MMA
and be able to have a team
that stands behind me.
If I would ever come out, like,
try and go to another gym,
Who's going to
fucking roll with me?
You guys already know me and
I'm comfortable with you guys.
I don't want to go
anywhere else.
You guys are like my family.
Seriously, I get fucking choked
up just thinking about it.
I'm still just bothered by
all the other YouTube videos
of what everybody is saying.
It seemed like they wanted to
jump on the bandwagon
and act like they were
specialists at everything.
Scottie Fortner.
Did you know that chick is
asking for her belt back?
Like, "Fallon,
give her her belt back."
Who said that?
I'm like, "No!"
Her family, somebody Fortner.
A couple of them.
Twittering me or Facebooking me.
They were asking for the belt back.
I'm like,
"No, this belt is mine."
I should twitter, but I'm not.
Yeah, don't twitter.
She can have it back...
if she comes and takes it.
Grab his leg!
Cheers.
What's up, stud,
are you all right?
I'm doing good.
You'll be fine.
- I got nothing, but respect for you.
- Thank you.
- Keep doing what you're doing, okay?
- I appreciate it.
- Keep kicking ass.
- I will.
That was the first guy
I ever trained with.
You are awesome.
I support you all the way.
Thank you for everything
that you said.
My church is over there.
My pastor is not here
that I told you about,
but the other pastor's here.
Acceptance. That's it.
Yes! Yes!
That was pretty sick.
How is your daughter?
She's been good. She hasn't had
anything negative said to her.
Not at school or nothing?
- That's what she's telling me, so...
- Good.
Nobody's said anything bad about you.
Not one person.
A couple of people are like,
"Man, that's wild,"
but nobody said
anything negative.
Nobody has said, "No fucking
way am I training with her."
Now, let's see what happens when
you're in their training book.
I think it's good that I've
been away for a little while
- for people to digest it.
- For sure.
- You know what I mean?
- It was a crazy week.
So, far tonight I didn't really...
Like, I get a lot of stares.
Like I'm sitting here talking
to people more than normal.
I talked to a few people
here and there.
They didn't want to support it
or say anything about it.
Some old school fighters,
they support it,
but at the same time
they're kind of against it.
They don't know what to think.
I think some of the female
fighters in there tonight
were probably just being nice in
front of the camera. I don't know.
- Sick win.
- Nice to meet you.
The one who won tonight she
kinda ran away for awhile.
I just couldn't really tell. It
could be my own personal paranoia.
You never know who's gonna
be for or against you.
Nice job.
Thanks.
We are positive. We got a lot
more positive than negative, so...
Yeah.
- It was a good night.
- Yeah.
I haven't had one negative
comment from a fighter in here.
They're all training with me, rolling
with me, doing ground fighting with me,
sparring with me and everything.
The situation with Fallon
has changed my outlook
on transgenders competing.
I was against it at the beginning.
Now I'm more accepting to it.
As long as they're doing the proper
testing and licensing and all that.
Joe has come
a long way, I think,
from before when I
first told him
and after everything
has come out.
I think it's made him feel more
comfortable that he knows
he's not going to get sued.
I was afraid that it was going to have
a negative impact on our reputation,
and what we're
trying to do here.
We were worried that students here
wouldn't want to train with her,
coaches might have a problem with her.
All that were legitimate concerns.
Limit yourself
to three and four.
Jab cross hit cross. Jab cross kick.
Double jab cross kick.
They licensed her. I'm going to
train her to fight. That's my job.
I have about a month
before my fight.
I wonder if anything is going to be
said there by any of the other fighters.
The goal and the focus
has to be on winning.
All this media
and all these people
aren't going to be here
if we don't keep winning.
She has to stay relevant or
this story
becomes just something
that goes by the wayside.
"Play hard" on three.
One, two, three, "Go hard!"
Look at him. Look at him.
Look at him. No. No. No.
Get down there, post up.
A few years ago I never
could have imagined
there was an organization called
the National Gay
Basketball Association.
Basketball is just an excuse
for us to get together.
Gay basketball is
not a sexual thing.
Hopefully there will come a day we
don't have to put "gay" in front of it
and it's just basketball.
But until people are not
marginalized, it's important.
That's all ball!
When I come here,
I'm relaxed, I'm free,
I meet people that are like me.
And to me that's the best
thing that I could have.
Especially being a gay player
working on coming out.
I absolutely adore playing
with Terrence.
I think it's good that
he wants to come out,
but I think he should
be careful about it.
It's not always a fairy tale.
Besides basketball, my teammate Jervon
is also a great football player.
A few years ago, he had a
scholarship to play college football
for Delaware State University.
It was me and four others
from my school
who were offered a full scholarship
to Delaware State to come play.
I had a boyfriend at that time
who had come up to visit me.
We were having lunch together
on campus and I kissed him.
Like a week or so later,
I got a call back into
the coach's office.
He said, "Jervon, we
need to talk to you.
We've had a lot of guys come in
and say they don't feel comfortable
"having you in the locker room."
And I was like, "I don't even go in
the locker room most of the time."
He said, "Yes, but still."
"They shower and don't feel
comfortable with you in there."
I was like, "So,
what does that mean?"
He said, "Well, next semester"
"we will not cover you under
a football scholarship."
The fact that I had
a full scholarship
and then had it taken away
from me,
because I didn't do anything
to lose it.
To have it taken way from me,
after all the hard work
and to see all these bills
coming in,
I was like, "Wow."
Sometimes, I regret
kissing my boy...
He's my ex now.
But I regretted it.
Because it cost me
just about everything.
Pick your man up full court.
I don't care if you got
somebody real small.
Get up on them.
We're going to help.
That's what I'm talking about.
For the co-main event of the evening
we have Allanna Jones and Fallon Fox.
And I want to mention
something real quick.
Allanna, thank you for taking
this fight right away.
We've had a bunch of meetings when
the whole controversy broke out.
Fallon Fox landing here
in South Florida tonight.
Some critics argue she should
not be fighting women.
I think Allanna Jones is a very
strong fighter with a lot of heart.
And I think this is going
to be an exciting match.
Well, I had to do some diligence
and get some more information,
get educated on the subject.
Because all the girls
were backing out.
People were threatening us
that we had to cut her.
People were saying that they
were going to ban the event.
- Hey, I'm Mike.
- Nice to meet you, Mike.
After going through
this long journey,
I'm very happy
to have this opportunity.
We want to do a separate feature for CFA.
I'm the photographer.
We need to do it fast,
because I still need to eat.
I want to comply as much as we can,
but not at the sacrifice of her.
Nothing is more important than
the fight and the preparation.
The media unfortunately
is just the opposite.
It's a distraction.
Don't allow them to create the
sense that they're more important
and you have to do this or that.
You have to fight and they
have to pay you. That's it.
Here's the thing. The PR team
is trying to get me positive PR
- versus the negative PR.
- Right.
Because it benefits them and me.
I think... You have
to be polite about it.
And you can coordinate it.
If somebody's not treating you
right or making you uncomfortable,
you don't have to stay
in any situation.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, now,
for you co-main event of the evening.
Fallon Fox fighting out of the
red corner versus Allanna Jones.
Semi-finals of the all
women's tournament.
The winner will meet
Ashlee Evans-Smith.
Fallon Fox is making a
mockery of women's MMA.
That is a lying, sick,
sociopathic, disgusting freak.
We have extra security
to take precautions.
But to be honest we you we
don't expect any of that.
I'm sure they've done tests
and stuff like that, you know.
If they say it's okay
then it's okay.
It's great that she wants
to be a woman
and that's who she is inside.
But her body is not
a woman's body.
I don't know I probably have to do
a little bit of my own research.
I think that he's
got an advantage.
People are going to come
after me.
They're not going to understand.
So I have to be ready.
It's time!
I'm a fighter.
Never take the easy way out.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome
to the blue corner, Allanna Jones!
She did it.
Allanna Jones.
With that song choice.
I guess somebody had to do it.
And now, ladies and gentlemen,
it's time to bring her
opponent to the cage.
Please welcome to the red
corner, Fallon Fox!
Fallon Fox receiving
a mixed reception
from this Miami crowd, here.
She comes in as the
overwhelming favorite.
Minus 18-50 they come back
at Allanna Jones.
Allanna Jones would bring
the house down
if she could cause
an upset here tonight.
It's the moment we've been
waiting for.
Controversial transgender fighter
Fallon Fox on her television debut.
Outside leg kick from Fox.
The round kick of that right
leg is extremely powerful.
Yeah, she has good round kicks.
This is not where
she wants to be.
Hit her with the arm.
Hit her with the arm.
That's a nasty shoulder lock
if you get caught in that.
Fallon Fox turns her up
like a pretzel.
Allana Jones coming up. Getting
up to her base. Nice job.
Allana Jones survives!
Don't be cocky, okay?
Pressure and get her on top.
Let's go.
Single leg here.
She's going to hit her if she
got her arms locked like that.
The roll there it is.
Allanna looking for a way
to get back on her feet.
Allanna Jones will see the
end of the second round.
She'll see it quite nicely. And
we'll move into a third round.
Two down one remaining.
I want you to hide the fatigue.
Come out there looking sharp.
Don't do too much.
Remember what we said?
Pace yourself five minutes.
- She's tired.
- I know she is.
High round
right kick from Fallon Fox.
And now a high left round.
Allanna brings up her
forearms nicely.
She catches the kicking leg.
It's amazing how much Fallon is still
in control of the fight however.
Still winning this fight, did
slow down after the first round.
Yeah.
Double leg from Fallon.
Gets her down the earliest
we've seen so far in this fight.
There it is.
She's going to lock it up.
Chin across the throat.
Knee on the throat.
And Allanna Jones taps out!
A knee across the throat
from Fallon Fox.
Allanna Jones taps out in
the third and final round.
Fallon Fox comes up strong.
Fallon "Queen of Swords" Fox!
I can hear that mixed reaction.
Boos, jeers, and applause
for Fallon Fox.
This crowd is divided as much
as the world is about her.
That was pretty cool though.
It was half and half.
Boos and cheers.
For sure.
I think you won a lot of supporters,
like people who didn't know
because your game was tight.
And you know,
there are the drunk "bros."
But it was really funny that half of
their girlfriends were like, "What?"
And then by the third round,
they were cheering for you.
I think her whole idea
was to play the song,
For sure, and then run.
Frustrate me, and run.
Her mentality was, "I'm going
to take this as far as I can,"
and she did.
Because this is not going to be the
last time, and this is now experience
for the future.
Drinks on Fallon tonight?
Right, yeah. Sure.
Good luck to you.
I'm staying away from the media.
I'm staying away from everybody
for at least a couple of days.
Go back to Chicago
and just rest.
Bye, see you later.
At first I couldn't believe it.
When I reached out
to him for guidance,
I never thought I would get
a response back.
Let alone, he would make the
time to meet me in person.
Fun hike, huh?
So, on a clear day you can
see downtown from here.
I don't have all the answers,
but I can offer my advice.
Because I know what it's like
to be gay in a locker room.
I really haven't decided
how to come out.
I think it's like, the hardest
thing for me to, you know...
approach friends.
So I haven't even thought
about telling a coach
and trying to get him
to understand.
Telling the coaches
and telling the teammates...
It's all about whatever is
most comfortable for you.
You try to do it in a way
that keeps your dignity.
So that you can always walk
around with your head held high.
After I tell my teammates,
how do you deal with it
going back in the gym?
To work out, to practice...
Because the jokes
are already there.
You know I love to laugh.
I think humor can heal a lot.
A. You have to be able
to take a joke.
But at the same time educate,
but in a humorous way with some people
who might have an issue with it.
That's something I have
to work on as a person
is being more jokative
with my teammates.
If you ask them I'm pretty much
a serious guy.
And I think that comes from me being
a private person with everything.
And people respect that.
You have to have that sense
of who you are.
It's a matter of finding
that point of acceptance.
Have you ever been booed
by your home crowd?
No, not my home crowd.
You haven't lived in sports until you
get booed by your home crowd. Okay?
You're going to have haters.
People who you might think will
have your back, they might not.
You got to forgive.
And trust me, it's easier said that done.
I know it.
But you forgive them
and you move on.
It translates in every part
of my life that
when you have less stress,
you're able to play better.
You're able to be yourself
and relax.
I think that's just the ultimate
goal, is to be happy, honest
and just be your genuine self.
You know,
it's going to be tough,
going into the realm of sports and try
to change a culture and a mind set.
But I'm a part of it.
You're a part of it.
Every person who steps
forward and raises their hand,
is a part of changing
that culture.
This is so nice.
If I had this at my house.
When I first met you,
you were telling me about all
the things you have been through.
Like truck drivers, the army,
and like just...
You've been through
so much shit.
That right there is the
definition of what a woman is.
Women get through tough shit
and you have been through
some tough ass shit.
And you're still here.
That's a woman.
A strong ass woman.
I'm so proud of you.
These guys can beat you on the
court and in the ring.
Oh, my God.
He's got a huge head.
Last year I was the only
trans person here.
Now, I got you, Chris and Corey.
It's baby steps.
Chris, your muscles are so
much bigger than Fallon's.
I was trying so hard!
There are so many differences between
the way that our stories play out.
Because no one gave me any sort
of advantage in becoming male.
I'm competing specifically
against men now.
No one thought that I could win
or be competitive anymore.
It's that lack of education
that makes folks react in fear
to our stories and
sensationalize our stories.
There's just a general lack of
understanding of transgender issues.
Sometimes I look at Fallon
and I marvel.
I don't think that people understand
that her coming out as a transgender,
is even bigger than someone
like myself or Jason Collins,
because there's so much education
that has to go along with that.
Not only does sports culture
know very little
about what it is to be
transgender, but American culture.
And I just pray that she has
the energy to not only
be this amazing athlete, but
to be this amazing activist
and advocate, too.
It's amazing so much stuff has
transpired in such a short time.
I have a stage right now.
Before I didn't have much of a
voice, but now I have a voice.
Coming to the nation's capital.
I can talk about trans
people in the military,
I can talk about the things
that we have to endure
and I have the chance
to make a difference.
I never thought that would
be possible, but here it is.
After I'm done fighting,
I plan on doing a lot of
activism work as much as I can.
And a lot of these
younger people here
are some people that I really
needed to connect with.
What we've seen in the preseason
is that Terrence has brought back
that same level of intensity
to this year.
And he's competed for his job.
Toughest.
Together. Go NEO.
In fact, he'll start tonight for
us, because he's earned that spot.
From Los Angeles, California.
Number one, Terrence Clemens.
I didn't want to miss the layup,
but my teammate followed
with a good dunk.
And the crowd started celebrating the
first official score of the season.
Go D right down the middle.
Yeah!
I think he's going to have an
opportunity to move on from here,
I imagine he'll get
a four-year college offer
sometime during
the spring months.
Did you like the dunk
with the toilet paper?
I like when you
first made the sprint.
The three? Give me five.
So, I just got off of Facebook talking
with Ms. Lisa and she found out.
She said that she won't
tell anybody.
And we are going to meet up
later and try to talk about it.
I was like,
I think totally unprepared.
I was unprepared.
I was unprepared.
I never saw that coming.
Here's the part
that I don't understand.
Miami Oklahoma Ottawa
County is not really known
for a real strong gay community.
You know, I think there's
reasons that it's not.
You know what I mean? So...
Why do you feel that it's important
to come out and say, "I am gay"?
It was eating at me.
For a while I could deal
with people not knowing.
But now it eats at me,
to not be truthful to people.
And I thought, honestly, that it would
be easier once I told my family...
But it's not.
It's more so the teammates
because we are so "buddy-buddy."
"Let me see your girlfriend."
"Who are you on the phone with?"
They even make gay jokes.
You know, so...
Everything is...
And it's uncomfortable
from both sides.
The straight stuff is uncomfortable
and the gay stuff is uncomfortable.
So, if they knew, it wouldn't
bother me either way.
I hope...
And I keep coming back
to this being nervous.
There's a part of me
that is concerned.
I would say, because we are
a two-year, you know,
it's better to either come out in
the beginning or come out at the end.
I think to come out
in the middle is...
I think would be asking
for a lot of problems.
In the middle I think
you'll get side strung.
It's like a feeling
in your stomach
telling me that,
"Just tell someone,"
"just tell everybody,
get it over with."
Then I'm fighting with myself
saying it's not the time.
Beautiful, beautiful...
You feel like a million bucks.
It's been a long time since the
beginning of this tournament.
Well, I'm going to put my heart, soul,
technique, everything I've learned...
I'm just going to pour it
into this fight.
To have that belt
strapped around my waist,
it's just going to be amazing.
Here we go, South Florida, it's
time to crown a new champion.
Fighting out of the blue corner,
she's undefeated, with one victory.
Introducing Ashlee Evans-Smith.
And now her opponent on my right,
fighting out of the red corner.
She also undefeated
with three victories.
Presenting
Fallon "Queen Of Swords" Fox.
Mixed reactions
from the crowd here
at the announcement
of Fallon Fox.
Outside leg kick
from Fallon Fox early on.
Look for the right hand
of Ashlee Evans-Smith.
She locks onto a single leg
of Fallon.
She gets Fallon on her back.
Drills her pound for pound,
side control.
And the crowd is rallying
for Ashlee Evans-Smith.
The crowd is going bananas.
They are thumping the rafters.
We're fine. She's not hurting us.
Let's go.
And now Fallon Fox finds
a way back to her feet.
Fallon Fox with a high knee.
Evans-Smith in trouble.
Here comes Fallon Fox,
check it out.
Ashlee is almost done.
Got to fight out of there.
Got to fight out of there.
Ashlee Evans-Smith turn back into her
and puts Fallon Fox against the cage.
Ashlee!
No doubt who the crowd is
behind here
at the Bankunited Center
in Miami.
They're all chanting
for Ashlee Evans-Smith.
And she throws a wicked elbow.
You're doing fine. You banged her
with those knees up against the cage.
Look to get that ass whooped and
let's get fucking fired again.
Looks for the upper cut.
And gets Fallon Fox on her back
inside the opening minute
of the second round.
Up kicks here from Fallon. Trying
to plow through with the right hand.
All right, let's go.
We got to turn inside,
we got to do something.
Can Ashlee catch her here
She does, she does.
Knees buckle.
Traps her in a corner.
A sweet one-two.
Fox, you got to move. Let's go.
Fallon Fox in her
three fight pro career
has never been
in a situation like this.
Listen to this crowd again, cheering
every time Ashlee lands a strike.
There is no love here
in Miami for Fallon Fox.
No, no...
Ashlee Evans-Smith
is completely derailing her,
pounding away
to the face of Fox.
Fox with nowhere to go.
Ashlee Evans-Smith unloading.
Right hand to the jawline.
Hey... what the fuck?
End of the round. She's
done it, she's done it.
Ashlee Evans-Smith beats Fallon Fox.
Miami goes into ecstasy.
Man, I'm filing a complaint,
that was horrible, bro.
You let her get beat up in the
corner for an extra 20 seconds.
Get the fuck out of here.
Ladies and gentlemen,
your winner
and new CFA Female
Featherweight World Champion
Ashlee Evans-Smith.
She's bigger than me.
She's bigger.
She's big and strong.
Once she gets on top of you,
you can't get her off of you.
That's why we want you at 35.
You're stronger, if you're not
strong, you're just as strong.
You win some, you lose some.
Just like anybody else.
At least I went in there and
just... I competed. You know?
How many people can say that?
How many trans people can go
out there and be an MMA fighter?
It's so fucking hard.
I'll give myself credit.
I'll give myself credit.
Ashlee! Ashlee! Ashlee!
Listen to these chants.
Ashlee! Ashlee! Ashlee!
There is no love here in Miami
for Fallon Fox.
Thank you for going
out there and trying.
That's all I ask, all right?
Proud of you.
Thank you so much.
I have nothing,
but respect for you.
I have no hate.
It's really hard.
I was coming out like the
bad guy a lot of times.
Like, "You got to
stand up for her."
I'm like, "It's my job
to beat her," you know?
You almost have to hate the person.
It's crazy.
This is the craziest sport ever.
I love it so much.
I have respect for you,
so much respect for you.
Congratulations, all right?
I really feel like there should
be a transgender organization.
I don't feel like Fallon
should fight dudes,
I don't feel like
she should fight women.
I feel like there should be a unique
organization for those needs, you know?
She did have an advantage.
I haven't received
one letter from a college.
I've had a few conversations
with the assistant coach
telling me that schools
are interested,
but no offers,
no one has contacted me.
I haven't had a coach text me or
call me pertaining to next year.
I'm just going to continue
to work hard
and pray that the right
opportunity reveals itself.
We still have the playoffs.
A lot of coaches will be here
for the playoffs
and see me, so we'll see what
happens and go from there.
I don't need to soft sell it
or try to hide from it.
Every single one of you guys
walked by the stands
by a row of big time coaches.
Marquette, Oklahoma State,
Louisville,
they're all sitting there
in the front row.
We understand that this level
is all about getting recruited
and get moving on
to the next level.
But I promise you.
If you go out and play as a team
and we make sure you're
playing your roles.
Those things are going to
pay off down the long line.
Getting a championship
is what it's about.
- Toughest.
- Together. Go NEO!
Defense!
Tomorrow we're focused
on one single thing,
we got to go and beat Conners.
They fear us.
- Let's go! Toughest.
- Together. Go NEO!
That's why we have the deepest team.
We can go up again all the time.
Let's go!
Let's go, NEO! Let's go!
Let's go!
We got it now? We're good?
No problems? Okay.
It ain't over, it ain't over.
Yes!
It feels so good to win.
My first championship came
at the age of 25.
Old man, old man.
Make sure I don't fall.
When I didn't win because
I transferred, it hurt,
because there was always
a what if.
Now, that I won this,
there is no more what if.
That's what I'm talking about.
We're going to honor
our award recipients,
Hudson Taylor, Brendon
Ayanbadejo...
Can I do that again?
Ayanbadejo. I'm sorry.
And Fallon Fox.
Tonight we celebrate
their awe inspiring work on
behalf of the LGBTQ Youth
as well as their support of
the Hetrick-Martin Institute.
When I first started training for Mixed
Martial Arts almost five years ago,
I had no idea how any
of this would turn out.
But all the while, I had this
fear
that at any moment, I could be
outed as a transsexual woman.
But I knew who I was...
I was a woman, a proud,
black, lesbian woman,
no matter what anyone else
said about me.
And I refused not to take
my rightful place
alongside my sister competitors.
Even if it cost me my life,
I will continue.
I lost my last MMA fight,
but I haven't lost the war.
And I think if we all continue
to walk into the light...
until every LGBTQ person has
their proper chance at happiness
and prosperity,
we can make things better
for ourselves and for others.
Thank you very much.
- Good job, baby.
- Was it good?
Really good. It was very good.
Everyone loved it.
Directly after the fight, I
kind of felt isolated and alone.
Especially after such a loss.
If she wasn't there, I don't
know how I would have handled it.
It is hard mostly because I want
to be there live to support her.
So, she can hear me, just to add
someone to the crowd on her side.
But usually with work and
everything, I can't go.
We do pretty well, seeing each
other, building up to the fight.
Tell the truth about, you know,
when I'm cranky and I'm tired.
That's not really hard,
it's kind of cute.
She gets cranky when she's
hungry, when she's cutting weight.
She'll get a little edgy.
But I can handle it.
I've been with way worse.
And they weren't athletes.
I've been here nine years.
And this group was more
fulfilling than any team I've had.
Because you're great people
and we became one hell of
a good basketball team.
Just because we lost this last
game and we didn't play well,
does not mean that we weren't
a good basketball team.
There are a lot of teams
throughout the country
that didn't win a championship.
And guys did. Okay?
That's a hell of a job there.
Nobody can take the
championship away from you.
Toughest.
Together. Go NEO.
Great year, buddy.
Good two years.
You guys were running
into the big guy
that was putting his hands up.
Yeah.
That's not how you will win it.
You have to go
around him next time.
I'll remember that.
- And dunk it?
- Yes.
Go around him and dunk?
Yes.
That's a lot.
It's just two things.
I love being here
at this school.
Told some people, I wish
it were a four-year school.
Because I've built these
relationships for two years.
And every day I push myself
to go outside my comfort zone,
to become just a better person.
As far as speaking to people.
Thinking about people
and their feelings.
And just hoping that, my teammates
or whoever would see me for me.
And not the title of being gay.
First of all, thank you,
everybody, for coming out.
Most of you know, some know
and some don't,
that I have a criminal history.
Before I came here, I got into a
little trouble and went to jail.
But there's more to the
story than you guys know.
I have been struggling with
my sexuality for a long time.
It's something that's really hard
for me to talk about with people
because...
when you meet me, I guess, you see
a basketball player or a young kid.
And it's...
Where I'm from, sorry.
Where I'm from, it's not...
I guess, correct to be gay.
And I am.
And...
hopefully, what I want
to accomplish is...
to tell my story and let
people understand that
there is a person that's
dealing with something
more than what
people can understand.
I can't even explain how
hard it is, you know?
This is the first time that I've
ever told a group of people about me.
And all you guys mean
something to me individually.
And I pray that I can
continue these relationships
with you guys after this.
Does that affect you as a person
when they think differently?
Well... I think I over-think it.
So, it stresses me out at times.
You over-think everything.
That's true. That's true.
But you're a great person
just the way you are.
Thank you. Thank you.
And that's what I'm hoping
that this is leading to.
Me being able to be happy.
And be who I am with everyone.
- Well, it's a great story.
- Thank you.
Thank you, guys,
thank you so much.
All right, that's it.
No more questions.
Hey, that was good.
- Proud of you.
- Thank you.
You made me look at people
so much different, man.
I will always be here.
Whatever you need, man.
And you know I'm going
to come watch you.
I know, don't make me cry.
So many things in your daily
life you deal with,
I'm not sure if that ever
even came into my thinking.
But I'm sure it's been on
his mind for a long time
about how that moment
would actually happen.
I was pleased to see that
everyone was very supportive.
And that he handled it
extremely well.
You're very brave. And it's
good that you've done this.
I kind of got the feeling he might be
like that through his personality...
and certain things that
happened over the year.
He would stay in his room and
didn't like to hang out with us.
Now that I know,
it doesn't change anything.
I still feel the same way about him.
He's my bro.
And... I'm not going to
treat him any different.
He's been your roommate?
Yes.
- He's so tall.
- You guys...
- Yeah.
- I didn't know that.
I'm from Congo in Africa.
And my first friend when
I got here was Terrence.
He showed me everything.
Being from Africa,
I cannot have a gay friend.
I don't know about it.
When I heard it, I felt
like Terrence hurt me.
Then you see all
your past with him...
It was good, he was always good.
Something came
in my mind said, like,
"It's okay,
it's not a big deal."
I've been to Florida
and North Carolina
and now I'm here, but Terrence
is like my friend in Africa.
It was emotional, for a minute
I got to let down my guard
and not be in game face mode.
It was just being authentic.
It wasn't me being...
Terrence the character.
It was me, Terrence,
the young man,
the person, standing there in front
of them, expressing how I felt.
I know everything
you're going through.
Thirty years later...
You'll make it.
I knew the story would touch her
because of something that
she deals with in her life.
She's gay and she
understands the struggle.
And those are the responses
that mean the most to me.
He just changed my outlook
on people, you know?
You can't judge a book
by the cover, you know?
And that's just Terrence.
I don't believe that he will be
remembered for "He came out."
I think as people look back,
they're just going to look at
a stable, very outgoing kid
who got to know
a lot of different people.
And people enjoyed their
experiences with him.
I think that's how they're
going to remember him.
There's so much more
than just his sexuality.
That's just
one small element to him.
Welcome one more time,
ladies and gentlemen...
Fighting is 90 percent mental.
If you don't have the support,
you feel like you can't
accomplish anything.
He's the champ.
Ain't nobody like him.
Let's go.
Elbow.
Elbow.
Nice.
Come on, Fallon.
Come on, Fallon.
Come on, Fallon. Come on!
Very good!
Nice, nice.
Fallon "Queen Of Swords" Fox.
That was the question
in my mind,
when I first stepped out
to fight Ericka Newsome.
Was this going to be the
last time that people cheered
and looked at me positively?
That questioned
was answered tonight.
And I totally didn't expect
Taylor to show up either.
And she was right there.
It meant the world to me.
She's kind of overcoming what
happened for the last fight
and I think it was nice to
have people supporting her.
And I think, it was just...
just making it up to this point
and being able to pull through
with everything, it's just...
I'm proud of her.
Nice work. Great job.
Congratulations.
So, I'm going to say it.
I want one.
I think she's a pioneer
for almost anything.
Just being a single mom.
Anything going through
to be a fighter.
To do the struggles. I feel
that she will be a pioneer
in the women's league.
There are a lot of people that
go through different struggles,
there's always that one
that sticks out.
And honestly, Fallon sticks out.
She has the guidance
to be something,
and she touches a lot of people.
No matter what happened,
if people look at me
negatively in one crowd,
I always have another crowd
someplace somewhere.
Even if I'm out there fighting
and the whole crowd
is booing against me,
I know there's some people
in the world who support me.
And they're not gay.
They're not trans.
They're not bi. They
are just everyone else.
No, I'm not putting
hat on right now.
Why not? For the picture...
Exactly.
No, let's take it
for the first one.
Momma want to have a picture.
From Los Angeles,
California, Terrence Clemens.
Terrence is a survivor.
- He can make it.
- And he gets that from his mama.
- Because I'm a soldier.
- No.
No, Terrence is not like his
mama, okay. This one here...
Thank you, sir. Can
we get everybody?
It's a great feeling
just to be able to be myself
and not worry anymore.
The people that I love
and I care about
and I deal with day to day,
they know and they accept me.
And there was nothing different.
They all congratulated me
before I walked,
and some of them even cried.
It feels good.
I guess I can say that
the journey is not complete.
Right now, this is an
accomplishment.
This is something
to check off of my list.
There are other things after
that I want to continue to do
and I'm just ready to go.
- How's it goingan?
- Good, good.
- How's it going, man?
- Good.