Claressa Shields: From Flint to the Olympics

The Fire Inside, directed by Rachel Morrison in her directorial debut and distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, was in theaters last Christmas but I didn’t get a chance to watch it until it was streaming. The movie is based on the true story of boxer Claressa Shields from Flint, Michigan, who at just 17 years old wins an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. If that wasn’t impressive enough, USA boxing hadn’t won a gold medal since 2004 and women couldn’t compete in the sport before 2012. I didn’t love how the movie ended even though I understand the decision. In real life, things don’t always end neatly in a win and neither does this movie. The Fire Inside captures the reality of what happened to Claressa–winning a gold medal didn’t change her life the way she thought it would. Instead of one last fight, we’re shown real footage of Claressa winning her second gold medal in 2016. It’s the fire she has inside that fuels this story. 

There are incredible performances from the two leads, Ryan Destiny, who plays Claressa with quiet ferocity, and the great Brian Tyree Henry, who portrays her coach, Jason Crutchfield. He becomes so much of a father figure that she even lives with him and his family for a short period when her mother kicks her out of the house. It’s always astounding to me the obstacles a person can overcome to become the greatest in their respective field. A running theme in the movie is Claressa’s coach reminding her to focus and block out the noise so she can dominate in the ring. She has a path to follow and any distraction is just in her way. And there’s a lot to deal with: the trauma of being molested, lack of food in the home, an absentee father who’s been locked up in jail, a mother who struggles to provide, her younger sister getting pregnant and having a baby, and Claressa just being a girl who wants to box. When Jason tells his wife that a then 11-year-old Claressa has been making her way to his gym on foot, which is a great distance from her house, she isn’t surprised and thinks Claressa does it “to get away from that messed up house.” Claressa has been enduring so much from such a young age and yet has to master the incredible feat of putting all of these hardships aside to train and win, or, as her coach puts it, use all that pain and turn it into something good. 

Claressa and her coach get into intense arguments (she’s a teenager after all), but you never feel that Jason isn’t coming from a place of love. Even his role as a coach is an act of love as he does it as a volunteer and works a day job. Their relationship is the heart of the movie. The two lead actors do a great job portraying the different levels of emotion as Claressa navigates the boxing world. Jason can read her like a book. He used to be a boxer and sees himself in her. Instead of being jealous about where she’s headed, he keeps pushing her in that direction. He works to get her representation after the Olympics but their dreams of endorsements and sponsorships come crashing down when they learn no one wants to represent her because there’s no money in women’s boxing. It’s a huge disappointment for Claressa who thought everything would be fixed after winning gold. She dreams of getting her family out of their house. We can all relate to that sort of loss when we realize reaching the top isn’t everything we imagined. It’s just another reminder that it’s all about the journey and not the destination. But Claressa has that fire inside her and even though she was discouraged and angry and wanted to quit, she doesn’t stop. Boxing gives her a purpose that nothing else can. Before she goes off to train for the 2016 Olympics and a second gold medal, she says goodbye to Jason. He’s happy for her and in one short powerful phrase proudly tells her what her journey signifies: “To be somebody from where we from.” Coming from an unknown city myself, I understand how much it means to have someone who’s like you succeed. Claressa is a prodigy but her background, coming from Flint, is a challenge she has to overcome as well. There are a couple of ominous shots of the Flint Water Tower in the background, foreshadowing the Flint Water Crisis that occurs two years later. Jason can only take her so far in boxing; she has to leave home and her family–the very people she’s doing all this for–to train with USA Boxing in Colorado.

Another fight Claressa champions is equal pay for women in boxing. The situation is so dire at home when she returns from her first Olympics that she tries to pawn her gold medal. Winning didn’t mean anything because it didn’t come with the recognition she earned. I saw an interview with Claressa where she talked about that moment (although in real life she never tried to pawn her medal) and how her experience felt like the story she heard about Muhammad Ali. I remembered reading that story she was referencing years ago. They wouldn’t seat Ali in a restaurant that only served white people so he threw his gold medal in the river. What was the point of winning a gold medal for our country if you’re still going to be discriminated against? In Claressa’s case, what was the point of winning if she couldn’t help her family financially? One of the first things Claressa is told during her Olympic trials is that female athletes have to look a certain way. “For women, it’s not just about how skilled you are.” While the men are allowed to be bullies, Claressa isn’t. She’s criticized for her appearance and aggression but decides to stay true to herself because it’s what’s gotten her this far. And staying true to herself proves valuable. There’s no money in pro or amateurs just a monthly stipend that USA Boxing pays their fighters throughout training. Claressa learns the men get paid three times what the women make. That doesn’t work for her. She agrees to train for the 2016 Olympics with the condition that the women receive the same as the men. Claressa gets her way. 

If Claressa didn’t remain her authentic self, if she didn’t come from where she came from, if she didn’t go through what she went through in her childhood, she wouldn't be the 5X Undisputed World Champion, 2X Olympic Gold Medalist Boxer that she is today. I read that The Fire Inside was once called Flint Strong and that makes sense. There’s a cool moment where Coach Jason and Claressa are having dinner and he tells her the meaning behind the name Flint. “Flint is a hard stone. Indians would make tools, arrows from flint. It's a tough stone. Strong as hell.” Like Claressa. She doesn’t give up. She doesn’t stay defeated. She keeps fighting. That’s a great lesson to take away and one I’ll keep with me as I follow my writing aspirations. So, whenever we question what’s the point continuing in something if we’re not finding success the way we imagined, we shouldn’t quit. Whatever you have a passion for, you can’t let the setbacks keep you down. Like Coach Jason tells an 11-year-old Claressa, “You can lose a fight but you can’t let nobody take your heart.” What might seem like failure now is just steps in your journey.

Have you ever achieved something you worked hard for, only to realize it didn’t solve all your struggles? How did that experience shape you? Drop your thoughts in the comments!