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Five with Fry
Think of this podcast as your go-to for tackling the hard stuff with clarity and confidence. On Five with Fry, Dr. Jen Fry breaks down the rules, challenges the norms, and dives deep into the tough conversations that shape our lives—conflict, culture, family, sports, tech, and everything in between. This is where you learn to rely on yourself, embrace the messy, and come out stronger on the other side.
Five with Fry
BONUS - When Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word: Lessons from a Viral Track Incident
In this bonus episode of Five with Fry, I’m diving into a recent viral moment from the track world that’s got everyone talking—and not for the right reasons. A female athlete was caught on camera deliberately striking another runner during a relay race, then followed it up with a classic “non-apology” that did more harm than good. Sitting next to her parents, she delivered an implausible story about a baton mishap and losing her balance—despite video evidence clearly showing otherwise.
This situation is a textbook case of what happens when we dodge accountability instead of owning our mistakes. As I say in the episode, “Nothing has ever come from someone lying and not apologizing—nothing.” Whether you’re on the track, in a meeting, or navigating personal relationships, authentic apologies matter. They require vulnerability, honesty, and the ability to center the person who was harmed, not our own discomfort.
Tune in for a real talk about accountability, integrity, and why the coverup is almost always worse than the original offense. Let’s break the cycle of fake apologies—and learn how to actually do better.
Follow me on IG, Twitter, and TikTok @JenFryTalks, or connect with me on LinkedIn at Dr. Jen Fry. Stay curious, stay bold, and keep the conversation going.
Friends, welcome to Five with Fry, where five is the magic number, whether it's five minutes, five questions or anything that fits in five. I dive into the big topics that matter, sometimes alone and other times with a friend, from navigating sports conflict to family dynamics, travel, tech, hard-hitting issues and even politics. Nothing and I mean nothing's off the table. This is where curiosity meets conversation, and we always sit at an intersection. I'm your host, dr Jen Fry of Jen Fry Talks. Let's get into it, friends, welcome to this newest episode of Five with Fry. Today we are going to talk about apologies.
Speaker 1:So if you haven't been paying attention to in the last few weeks, there was a viral video. If you haven't been paying attention to in the last few weeks, there was a viral video of some athletes running what I believe to be the 4x4, the 4x8. And one of them gets passed up by another one and proceeds to raise her arm up and bonker on top of the head. Girl was surprised and ended up falling and, I think, has a concussion, and so it was very obvious from every single angle that the young lady raised her arm and hit the other lady on the head Very apparent from all angles. So the young lady proceeds then to do her apology or what you would have hoped and prayed, with the very obvious situation of an apology. But no friends, no, she decides her and I apologize. It was unacceptable. I shouldn't have done it in the heat of the moment. I accept all consequences from this and I will be reflecting on my actions and why I deem that necessary. She could have said any of that, but instead, with her parents sitting next to her, she proceeds to say that she would never hit anyone on purpose, and she also said that everyone's going off of one angle. After a couple of times of her of hitting her with her body, the girl says my baton got stuck behind her back and it rolled up her back. I lost my balance and when I pumped my arms again, she got hit.
Speaker 1:Now, for anyone who knows track or even running, you would know that that is pretty impossible to do. As she said, for a baton to get stuck on someone's back during a race, for you to lose control your body that much that you raise your arm and hit someone on the head. And so the reason I think this is important is because we have to apologize for things we do, just like Watergate. What Watergate did was bad, but the coverup was even worse. Had this young lady just apologized, people would have been upset, but they would have moved on. For her to come on and to make a bold face lie and then to also cry and say what about me? You know, when is worried about me is so problematic and I need you all to understand that, even though apologies are hard, they're ugly, they're painful, that they have consequences, you still need to apologize because her not apologizing is going to affect her 10,000 times worse than had she just did the apology. So when you are in a situation, or when your kids are in a situation, do the apology. Do not center yourself and you crying. No, you need to center the person you harmed and to do a full-on apology, because nothing has ever come From someone lying and not apologizing, nothing.
Speaker 1:Well, friends, that's it for this episode of Five with Fry your dose of five insights, ideas and inspiration. If you love what you heard, don't forget to head over to where podcasts are played, to subscribe, share and leave a review. Got a topic you want us to tackle? Drop us a message. We love to hear from you. You can come follow me on IG, twitter, the TikTok at Jen Fry Talks, or join me on LinkedIn. Look for me at Dr Jen Fry. Until next time, stay curious, stay bold and keep the conversation going. See you on the next Five with Fry.