Female Sports Agent Reaches Olympics
An Icon Through Belief
New America Media, Feature, Joseph Gray Posted: Apr 06, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Kimberly Holland, once a high school cheerleader with little athletic interest, never dreamed that she'd be anxiously awaiting the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.
However, by fate - and faith – she is not only awaiting the Olympics, but will actually be a part of it.
Holland, one of the few female sports agents in the U.S., is president and CEO of Icon Management, a Sports and Entertainment agency that boasts a roster of gold and silver track and field medalists.
Given that entertainment law had been the first choice of career for the Regent University Law School graduate, she is proud of her accomplishments. "Amateurs built the Ark, and professionals built the Titanic," she says in an interview.
Icon boasts a list of successes. Shawn Crawford won silver behind Bernard Williams Olympic gold at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games. Terrence Trammell is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, and the athlete who, with the help of God, was the first to see her iconic vision.
Trammell, a World Champion sprinter, sought the advice of his then sister-in-law. Noting Holland's experience with artists in the legal affairs department for LaFace Records, he believed she was capable of explaining what to look out for in a contract. Impressed by her questioning, Marion Jones' agent Charlie Wells announced she was bound for Director of Marketing and then signed on to represent Trammell.
She reciprocates her faith in the athletes she represents and does not shy away from controversial topics such as steroid use by athletes, like Marion Jones, who, once the most celebrated female track and field star, began a six month prison stint on March 8th after confessing to perjury with regards to the use of steroids. Steroids have heightened the scrutiny on one of the Olympic Games prized events. This black eye on the sport has not affected the Icon roster.
"They are so strong in their faith, they are at a stage that they are not really moved like that," said Holland, describing her clients. "They understand where they are with Christ, and they understand where the talent is coming from, and they have no need or desire to even think about something as ridiculous as cheating with steroids."
Though Holland has a list of personal accomplishments, as a born again Christian, she is quick to give honor to God first. She said she attended Regent "specifically because it was a Christian law school."
Prior to Regent in Virginia Beach, Virg., she graduated from Norfolk State University, and then became a legislative foreign policy aide to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the only African-American female on his personal staff.
This experience gave her the foundation to perfect a craft stereotypically dominated by white males, preparing her for the road ahead.
Holland has become an exception in sports today, but black athletes hiring white sports agents has been commonplace. A new kid on the block, she was faced with hurdles associated with being an anomaly in the industry.
"People are going to see what you're made of," Holland explained. "I have been told I should be home baking cookies, and 'you should be home trying to have some kids'. That's very disrespectful, but those things happened very early on," Holland continued. "I'm still here and I'm one of the top agents and you can't dismiss the success that I've had lightly."
During her first competition managing an athlete, she attempted to introduce herself to the competition director. The whispers became resounding, "here comes that lady agent" and he never came out to meet her.
"It was my God, my first client who believed me," Holland notes. "I didn't have anyone I strived to be like, my goal was to be a trendsetter, or pioneer, or trailblazer myself. I wanted to be different and better than all of them."
This July, Holland will begin her certification for the NFL, as she looks to further expand the Icon roster. Challenging the norm has given her the credence to smile with clear confidence. "I'm six [years] into this now, so I can comfortably say I'm one of the most competitive sports agents out there in my industry."
The Olympic torch relay entitled "Journey of Harmony" will reach Beijing on August 24th, symbolizing the start of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Two months removed from celebrating Black history, and days removed from celebrating Women's history, it's harmony that Kimberly Holland would be representing a group of potential medal winners.
"Go with God, go with grace, go with your passion, and watch how God will bless you more than you can imagine-I'm a living testimony of that."
Joseph Gray is a senior print journalism major at Howard University, and intern for New America Media.
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