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Phaidra Knight

Rugby

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  New Zealand

Phaidra Knight is an athlete, sports media talent, motivational speaker, and business entrepreneur. For nearly 18 years, she traveled the globe as a professional rugby player, establishing herself as one of the premier players in the sport. She made three appearances in the Rugby World Cup and was selected as the top player in the world in her position in 2002 and 2006. In 2010, she was named the US Rugby Player of the Decade. She became the first and only black American inducted into both the World Rugby and USA Rugby Halls of Fame in 2017 and 2021 respectively. The former attorney is on the Board of Directors for USA Rugby Board and the Board of Trustees for the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF). She served as the WSF President in 2021.

Phaidra founded PeaK Unleashed in 2019, a non-profit organization dedicated to the personal and physical development of marginalized youth through educational support, rugby and yoga, particularly those of incarcerated and exploited populations. She is a keynote speaker and has an expansive television dimension to her dynamic career. Her on-air sports broadcast experience includes sideline reporting, in-booth commentating and studio analysis. Phaidra has worked with ESPN, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, World Rugby, Flo Sports, and USA Rugby TV. She travels around the world delivering rugby commentary. Phaidra was on the NBC Universal 2020 Tokyo Olympics broadcasting team and covered women’s sevens rugby games. She was featured in a pivotal fighting scene with Oscar Award winning Halle Berry during her directorial debut “Bruised” (2021). Currently training as a mixed martial artist at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York, New York, Phaidra is grooming to become a professional fighter. In 2021, she made her debuts in Muay Thai Kickboxing and MMA. Her current record is MMA (4-0) and Muay Thai (1-0).

She launched her clothing line, the PSK Collective, in August of 2020. The PSK Collective is a group of female athletes coming together to have a positive impact on girls and women alike. The PSK Collective has created a fusion of active and streetwear, designed to marry fashion, sports, and togetherness for greater causes. These causes include the empowerment of the athlete in us all, shifting attitudes surrounding fashion and expression, giving back to the organizations that help girls and women along their journey, and bringing athletes together – as part of a Collective – to help promote the line and important causes that advance women’s equity. One of the most popular products featured in the line is the Equal Pay rugby jersey. The PSK Collective is available at Walmart, Kohls, and JCPenney.