Carter Booth comments on her live TV ‘faux pas’ after defeating Texas
Wisconsin middle blocker Carter Booth said she is ‘fired up’ after committing a ‘faux pas’ involving a different F-word in her live TV interview.
- Wisconsin volleyball player Carter Booth went viral for a profane comment made during a postgame interview.
- Booth turned the viral moment into a fundraising opportunity for a nonprofit called Good Sports. It has already raised $6,000.
- Booth’s refusal to lose is part of an important mindset for the Badgers, as each match is “anyone’s game.”
KANSAS CITY – When Carter Booth took the stage in the T-Mobile Center news conference room ahead of the NCAA volleyball Final Four, it followed a viral past couple of days for the Wisconsin middle blocker.
Three days earlier, her comment on live television – “I refuse to [expletive] lose” – blew up online after the Badgers’ four-set win over top-seeded Texas in the NCAA regional final.
“I honestly didn’t expect the response, for it to be as widely talked about as it is right now,” Booth said the day before the Badgers’ Final Four match against Kentucky.
Booth’s impromptu profanity and unexpected fame have shined a light on an important mentality for the Badgers – and an important cause away from the volleyball court.
“Coming into this tournament, we talked about the second you think something is owed to you is the second you lose, the second your season is over,” Booth said. “I think that the other side of that is also nothing is owed to anyone, which means any time you step out there, it’s anyone’s game.”
That mindset has helped the Badgers reach their seventh Final Four in program history – and sixth under Kelly Sheffield – despite a daunting regional. UW needed to topple Texas and Stanford – two of the top five teams in the AVCA coaches poll ahead of the tournament – to earn a spot in Kansas CIty.
Booth has turned her “faux pas,” as she described it in the immediate aftermath, into a fundraising opportunity for a nonprofit. Athletes Thread – one of UW’s NIL partners – has sold T-shirts that say “refuse to lose” with a picture of Booth’s face and a bleeped-out swear where the F-word would have been. The proceeds have gone to Good Sports, which provides sports equipment to youth in high-need communities.
Others have made unofficial shirts while committing to send proceeds to a charity of Booth’s choosing. Iowa-based apparel company Raygun, which recently opened a Madison store, is selling shirts officially licensed with Booth that say “I REFUSE TO F-ING LOSE” on the front and have Booth’s name and number on the back.
“As far as the T-shirts go, I’m happy some good can come out of it,” Booth said ahead of the Kentucky match. “Kelly helped me set up a donation to a nonprofit organization that provides equipment for kids that can’t afford to play sports. Things like that, finding ways to turn a viral moment like that into something good and that has a lasting impact is what is most important to me.”
Booth was not one to personally brag about how much she raised, but Sheffield was happy to chime in during the prematch press conference and mention it raised $6,000 for Good Sports.
“Volleyball – you need a new pair of shoes every six weeks,” Booth said. “People just can’t afford that. I just think that a child’s passion shouldn’t be barred by the fact that their parents can’t afford to drop $30,000 on a club season. So that’s an organization that’s important to me and that I wanted to give back to.”
Booth’s passion in her TV interview also captures part of her personality that the public has not always gotten to see, or at least not in as public of a forum as the NCAA regional final match broadcast.
“I think it’s funny that the whole world is getting to see her true self,” teammate Charlie Fuerbringer said. “What she said on live TV – we’ve seen that every single day from her. She’s brought that day in and day out. We’ve been so grateful to just have an amazing leader who is so well-spoken, comes in every day ready to work.”
Sheffield, Booth said, has needed to stop her in practice and say, “Hey, it’s a good thing your teammate can block that shot because it means they’re going to do it against other people.”
Take that competitiveness from practice to an NCAA tournament match in a hostile road environment with a Final Four berth on the line, and it was the perfect formula for the well-spoken middle blocker to deliver the unscripted moment that has excited a fan base and fundraised for a charity.
“I blacked out and forgot the camera was there, which is why you see me turn and say, ‘Sorry, guys,’” Booth said. “In my mind, in that moment, I’m feeling my team celebrate behind me. I’m standing next to one of my best friends. I’m so fired up.”
