Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.

On-air analyst and multimedia sports personality Monica McNutt has a career that seems to have been laser-focused on success. But in reality, she has been flexible about where her professional path would take her.