“One thing that struck us about the athletes when we were in San Diego, was the way that they’re simultaneously thinking about the past, the present and the future all at once,” McGinty said.
The full picture
Throughout Boardwalk Pictures’ sports projects including Wrexham, Cheer and Last Chance U—a Netflix series looking at junior-college football and community college basketball—the spotlight has revealed a few blemishes.
Welcome to Wrexham dedicates an entire episode to fan violence. Cheer dedicated episode 5 of its second season to the federal sexual misconduct charges against Navarro cheerleader Jerry Harris—who was later convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The first season of Last Chance U included a game-ending brawl that made national headlines.
With many of AU’s players already highly visible through TikTok, Instagram and other social media followings they’ve been building since college—where female athletes have a distinct engagement advantage over their male counterparts—Kempf and AU aren’t overly concerned with how their leagues will appear in a documentary.
“We have a whole lot of confidence in our players, and who they are on and off the court and the field,” Kempf said. “The players are going to have moments throughout the season that aren’t always delightful for them, but we have a lot of confidence in telling those stories—the positive parts, and the parts that turn into a struggle.”
