Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are highlighting the diverse journeys of Black women across sports — from veteran athletes, up-and-coming stars, coaches, managers and more — in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Black Women of Influence of Sports.
China Jude has several professional achievements, but being the first woman of color to fill the position of vice president of the Denver Broncos is not one of them. The team’s vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion also holds a spot on USA Today’s 2022 list of the 50 Most Influential Black People in Sports, is part of CORE’s 2022 100 Most Influential Black People Today and was named Sports Business Journal Sports change 2020 – but those don’t make the list. Instead, Jude is proud of herself for sticking to her passion, especially after enduring a lot of criticism for her work before joining the Broncos, when she served as the college’s athletic director.
“In the college industry, I wasn’t even good enough to be an athletic director. I was passed over. I was turned down for a lot of Division I athletic director jobs. … [I] started questioning myself,” Jude said. “I’m very proud that I didn’t let college get the better of me.”
Jude’s collegiate athletic career began at Alabama State, where she played volleyball. She then moved on to coach at both North Carolina’s Wilmington and Coppin State, where she rose through the ranks to land her first administrative position: assistant athletic director. There she served as AD at Division II University of the District of Columbia and Cheyney University, in addition to serving as assistant vice president for athletics at Queens College.
Ultimately, although she greatly appreciates her time at those facilities, Jude wanted to go to a place with a well-known football program where she could truly express her love for the sport. That position ended up at Wyoming, where she spent three years serving as the senior director of athletics relations, athletic diversity and inclusion, and a member of the university’s DEI council.
“I need football in my portfolio. I loved it so much. “I left the role of director of communications to take a layoff and take a pay cut to get out,” Jude said. good.”
Jude’s love of football began in high school, but was strengthened during her years as editor of the Alabama State student newspaper. She wrote about the team and spent time with the players and coaches in interviews, and her appreciation and investment in the game grew from there.
Since then, she has been hooked on the game and has been patiently waiting for her chance to work with him on a bigger scale. But it’s not like that opportunity came easily to her.
“I always wanted to be involved in football professionally, but the opportunities weren’t always there… [and] I didn’t show it to the public because there weren’t many women,” Jude explains.
For the first 15 years of her career, she says, she was exposed to a lot of sexism and stereotypes. In addition, her time as athletic director has seen her qualifications and motives constantly questioned.
In early 2021 Jude was contacted by a search firm about some of its DEI content, and the firm referred Jude to the Broncos position. At first Jude said she would look for some applicants to submit the job, but in the end she decided to apply herself. He was hired in April 2021.
But what may have seemed like a happy accident to others was instead an expression of Judas’ perseverance.
“[I] realized that maybe all those rejections were God’s way of having something bigger than you. Get out there. There’s something on the other side that you haven’t seen yet. … I didn’t pray for a job. I prayed for it.” Patience,” she said.
Jude’s role as VP of DEI is a newly created position within the league—she works with football leaders, community and business departments to integrate DEI’s various strategies and plans to impact culture, education and the outside community. of the organization. Jude implements these strategies in five different ways: awareness, education, processes, policies and finance. Her involvement spans the entire company, from making shareholders aware of new federal regulations such as the CROWN Act (which prohibits discrimination based on hair style or appearance) to helping judge dance team interviews to Make sure the group is inclusive and diverse. She has goals to implement positive change at every level at the Broncos by utilizing all of her resources to work for underrepresented populations.
“I truly believe that when we work in any industry, DEI should be included in every aspect of a company or organization. … [This position] combines my love for football with my passion for diversity, equity and being together. It’s just a true blessing,” Jude said.
Joining and helping build communities for underrepresented groups is something Jude does outside of the workplace as well: she was one of the top three people the Broncos recognized for having the most service hours. Especially after spending time in the US Navy Reserve, her favorite initiative was the firearms recovery program she brought to the Broncos after successfully implementing it in the communities she worked with in the past. Jude fondly remembers the event: “It was the most powerful experience. I think we’ve taken 1,000 guns off the street through the various buyback programs that we have in the community.
Another part of Jude’s career and outreach shows her connection to those in the sports arena: She supports young people and minorities trying to break into the sports industry. Recognizing the temptations she has faced, Judas strives to help those who can avoid these challenges. She served on the board as president of the Minority Opportunity Association (a non-profit organization also known as MOAA) and founded her Women of Color in Sports network in 2015 when she realized there were only 30 women (from out of institutions 1,000). ) in office at the time.
“I try to find all the different communities to connect. I think it’s important. … If I can’t find it, I can just be a part of building it,” Jude said.
Nyala Pendergrass is a contributor to Empower Onyx, a multi-channel platform that celebrates the stories and transformative power of Black women and girls in sports.
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