BATON ROUGE – LSU sophomore gymnast Kiya Johnson will be featured in a one-hour special, The Undefeated Presents: A Room of Our Own, at 11 a.m. CT Sunday, Feb. 28 on ESPN.
An encore presentation will air Sunday, March 7 at 3 p.m. on ABC.
“Being a part of the roundtable alongside these awesome women was a super cool experience, “Johnson said. “I am grateful to have been a part of it and happy that I can use my platform to inspire young black gymnast to achieve their goals.”
The special explores the connection that Black athletes have with music and the impact of that association in powering social movements.
The roundtable is a discussion with Johnson and fellow NCAA gymnasts – Trinity Thomas and Nya Reed (University of Florida), Lynzee Brown (University of Denver) and Margzetta Frazier (UCLA) – on why representation matters. The feature is moderated by Lonnae O’Neal of The Undefeated.
The group talks about Black culture and soul in the sport of gymnastics. They also discuss what Black gymnasts go through that many people don’t know about from leotard fit, hair styles and more.
One of the top gymnasts in the nation, Johnson is a three-time All-American and reigning SEC Freshman of the Year. She is the Tigers’ anchor on floor and performers one of the most difficult vaults in NCAA Gymnastics, a Double Twisting Yurchenko.
The Undefeated is ESPN’s multiplatform content initiative exploring the intersection of sports, race and culture. The digital hub, TheUndefeated.com, which launched in May 2016, combines innovative long-form and short-form storytelling, investigation, original reporting and provocative commentary to enlighten and entertain African Americans, as well as sports fans seeking a deeper understanding of black athletes, culture and related issues.
In addition to its cutting-edge content, The Undefeated seeks to be a thought-leader on race, sports and culture in the country – convening insightful forums to discuss and debate topical issues affecting sports and race in America.