Rachel Baribeau, Ground-breaking Sportscaster and Motivational Speaker Morning Cup of Faith

Brenda and Shelley take a deep dive into the world of college football with high energy ground-breaking sportscaster and motivational speaker, Rachel Baribeau. After seventeen years of her successful sportscasting career Rachel recognized there was a problem when the game she loved was becoming unrecognizable with negative news stories dominating the game. In 2016 Rachel penned a revealing personal essay “College Football is Breaking My Heart” for Gridiron Now and pivoted from her successful sportscasting career to helping college athletes with her new movement “Changing the Narrative,” a nonprofit which promotes mental health and inspires people to build a positive legacy for others. Sportscasting can be a tough business for women, but Rachel Baribeau is changing the game and taking back the headlines for good. Rachel’s middle name is “Joy,” and for a good reason. Rachel will empower you to find the best version of yourself and lift your spirit. She challenges all of us to become "Kings and Queens of our every day lives,” and Rachel jokes that she herself is a “Queen under construction.” Rachel’s personal experience of domestic violence was triggered when she saw a coach give one of his players a lenient punishment after being caught on camera striking a woman. Rachel explains, “God made me a 'do-something girl.' When I see a problem, when I see someone hurting or something wrong, I run to trouble instead of running away from trouble.” Rachel challenges college athletes, "Who are you off of the field? Does being a King or Queen in your everyday life require you to be perfect? No, but you know right from wrong, and once you know, you go right your wrongs. You serve, you give, you lead. Some athletes tell me, ‘I’m not a leader, I’m not a big rah-rah person.’ I tell them you are a leader because you have to lead yourself. You’re a leader of one!” Rachel shares about the devastating conversation she had with a college athlete who weeped and told her he was angry and in trouble on his team because no one knew that his mother had suffered a sexual assault in their housing complex, and he was so angry because there were people who were in earshot who could have helped his mother, but no one stepped forward. Rachel reflects, “I told the player that we had to tell his coach because his coach could help him. The coach later told me "I’m so glad you shared this with me because I was about to kick him off the team.” Rachel’s “Changing the Narrative” movement has saved and changed countless lives and reached forty schools, law enforcement, border patrol, and churches. Rachel smiles, “This work brings me so much joy, more than seventeen years of being on camera ever could."