Directed by Bess Kargman; Executive Producer Whoopi Goldberg
Film summary
C. Vivian Stringer is one of the most prolific coaches in the history of college basketball. She was the first to lead three different schools to the NCAA Final Four (Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Iowa and Rutgers) and received the highest honor of all in 2009 -- a place alongside Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan and David Robinson as an inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Coach Stringer became more well known to the non-sports world in 2007, when the words "nappy headed hoes" were used to describe the group of young women she led, in spite of tremendous odds, to the National Championship game that same year. Perhaps because Stringer is also a mother whose career successes have been intertwined with personal tragedy, her response to the 2007 incident showed she wasn't just a great coach, but the perfect example of grace under fire.
Executive producer bio: Whoopi Goldberg
In 2002, Whoopi Goldberg became one of a very elite group of artists to have won the Grammy ("Whoopi Goldberg," 1985), the Academy Award ("Ghost," 1991), the Golden Globe ("The Color Purple," 1985 and "Ghost," 1991), the Emmy (as host of AMC's "Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel," 2002) and Daytime Emmy ("The View," 2009) and a Tony (Producer of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," 2002).
Whoopi has appeared in many films, on television and graced the Broadway stage. She made her debut as an author in 1992 and has since published four books and a children's book series. She is equally well-known for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children, the homeless, human rights, education, substance abuse and the battle against AIDS, as well as many other causes and charities.
Among her many charitable activities, Whoopi is a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations.
Director's bio: Bess Kargman
Bess Kargman has created timely, socially and politically relevant stories for numerous media outlets, including National Public Radio, The Washington Post and NBC Olympics.
She holds degrees from Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and Amherst College, where she was also a varsity athlete. Kargman's award-winning debut feature, "First Position" (2012) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews and has since been released theatrically in over a dozen countries.
Kargman recently moved from New York City to Los Angeles to direct new projects in documentary and narrative film; she is thrilled to be collaborating with Whoopi Goldberg on this project for ESPN Films.
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