So Far In Debt, She Sold Her Gold Medals: Athlete To Talk To Ridgewood Kids

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — U.S. Women's Soccer Team goalkeeper Briana Scurry will speak with Ridgewood High School students next week as part of school’s “Tell Me Your Story” program.

Scurry will visit the school Tuesday to "share her story of triumph, tragedy and redemption," a district spokesperson said.

Scurry helped to diversify the sport as one of the first African American professional female soccer players. Then, she won gold in 1996, playing in the first-ever women’s Olympic soccer games.

She was a key part of the fabled World Cup '99ers and captured her second Olympic gold in 2004.

In 2010, a knee to the head left her with severe trauma. She was unable to work and incapacitated by pain. An insurance company refused to cover the cost of the surgery she needed to repair the nerve that was causing her pain, so she sold her gold medals for $18,000.

Scurry’s visit, gunded through a grant from the Ridgewood Education Foundation, coincides with Black History Month and will explore her memoir, "My Greatest Save."

The book is one of this year's selections for students in grades 9-12 as part of the school’s “Tell Me Your Story” initiative, a school-wide book group for the English Language Arts Department that strives to increase empathy and understanding through shared memoir reading.

Scurry will hold two separate presentation sessions to accommodate most students. (The event is not open to the public.)

For more information on Ridgewood Public Schools, visit https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us/ .