Haley and Hanna Cavinder got into the biggest fight they’ve ever had over their decision to walk away from basketball to focus on their careers and NIL deals.
During the premiere of the reboot of their “Twin Talk” podcast on Betrmedia, the 22-year-old sisters were divided about exercising their fifth year of eligibility at the University of Miami, where they helped the Hurricanes reach the Elite Eight for the first time in program history in March Madness 2023.
Haley wanted to play one more year at Miami, while Hanna wanted to move on from college basketball and start their careers.
“We got in a fight, if you really want to know the tea, and I was like ‘Hanna, I’m going back,’ and she was like, ‘I’m not going back, I’m not doing it anymore,'” Haley said.
“We made it to the Elite 8, that was Hanna and I’s goal. Hanna didn’t want to play, so she made me quit basketball.”
Hanna chimed in and explained that she was “so done” with basketball after the constant social media trolling.
“Because the two point comments that are still going on in the two minutes, I was done,” she said.
“Besides that as a college athlete you miss so much of your family, your life,” Haley continued. “… We wanted to just play four years and we’ve always dreamed of starting our businesses and starting a company and take this route — so it was like ok whatever people gotta say, whatever they gotta say, do what you want to do.”
Hanna also mentioned how the “the burnout” affected her.
“I’m not gonna do something that I’m not going to 100 percent of my all to. If I chose to go back that wouldn’t be right, I wouldn’t be fully satisfied at who I am.”
Now, they’re enjoying a less demanding schedule, which gives them the freedom to travel.
“Everyone’s going to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, you should’ve taken your fifth year,’ but when we were playing basketball you were hating on us.
“You can’t please anyone and the opinions of others — we’re not going to ever rely a decision on.”
Haley recalled taking a month to make her final decision, while Hanna said she refused to discuss the matter because she didn’t want her sister to play basketball.
“The deciding factor, I went on so many ‘hot girl walks’ and I was like, somebody make this decision for me because it’s giving me so much anxiety.”
Haley and Hanna rose to TikTok fame during the pandemic with their dancing and basketball videos. They currently have over 4.5 million followers.
Their social media rise continued after they transferred from Fresno State to Miami in April 2022, when Haley and Hanna made headlines for the University of Miami’s women’s basketball program being was sanctioned by the NCAA in the governing body’s first NIL infractions ruling.
An NCAA investigation found that a meeting between prominent Hurricanes booster John Ruiz and the Cavinder twins, including their parents, at his Miami home violated a number of recruiting rules.
Haley and Hanna were not sanctioned in the case.
In fact, they became top NIL earners while playing basketball at Miami and were two of the faces of the new NIL era.
Haley and Hanna moved to Fort Lauderdale last month — they posted a YouTube video of their “dream place” — and are just about a three-hour drive from the WWE performance center, located in Orlando, where they will likely spend more time after signing a NIL deal with WWE in December 2021.
The sisters also have an energy drink coming out with Bucked Up.
