Carmella Bella and Angel Yee took the sports and hip-hop world by storm with their segment on Shade45 Sirius Radio, “2 girls ,1 Ball.” The segment provided an inside scoop on sports news and featured one-on-one interviews with top athletes. But after the segment ended, Bella decided to create “1 Girl, Tons of Balls” on her website www.carmellabella.com. Bella recently spoke with ro sports about her new venture, the NFL lockout and Bella Babes. –a.r.
Why is it important to provide an insider’s view of the life of pro athletes?
If you are a fan and the media depicts a player in a way that is not accurate, which happens a lot in sports media, that fan has a view of an athlete that is the view of the media. It’s not the actual player’s personality or character. The media controls the consumer’s mind and I wanted to provide an outlet where that did not happen.
What has been your most memorable interview?
On radio, with Michael Strahan. On Carmellabella.com, I would have to say … Larry Sanders from the Milwaukee Bucks. He is wise beyond the average 22-year-old athlete, and his 60-some tattoos were amazing. My dream interview is with Jalen Rose, though. He has a slick mouth like me so the battle of words would be phenomenal on camera.
How did the Bella Babes come about?
Women are big sports fans, contrary to what some may think. During the playoffs of any sport, some of the most beautiful women are interested in sports. So the idea came from [wanting] to show women who are big sports fans.
What are your thoughts on the recent NFL lockout and how the players are handling it?
The players are not the problem. They had no issue with the current deal, it was the greed of the owners. If you were asked to take an 18 percent pay cut and you were asked to work more, what would you say? That’s what is being asked of these men. Some guys are not worried and have faith that the lockout will all be resolved soon. And some guys with families now have to come out of pocket for expensive health insurance. Because health insurance was stopped during this lockout, those players are experiencing the hard realities of the lockout.
For more information, visit carmellabella.com.
