Aahana Swrup
‘The Fire Inside’ chronicles the inspiring story of real-life Olympic athlete Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, whose journey to greatness came with plenty of roadblocks. The aspiring boxer from Flint, Michigan, starts her training at 11 when a local gym trainer, Jason Crutchfield, takes her under his wing and trains her for success. Eventually, after years of dedication and hard work, the duo finally tackles their dreams of competing in the Olympics and bringing home a gold medal. Nonetheless, the aftermath of Claressa’s historic win is less than glamorous as she’s hit with the reality of finding success as a female boxer.
In the film, Claressa feels the brunt of her situation—as an Olympic gold medalist with no endorsements or financial success—through her inability to help herself and her family. This is most prominently evident through the storyline revolving around her younger sister, Briana Shields, a teen mom. As such, the hard-hitting movie must have stirred the audience’s interest in Shields’ real-life sister.
Briana Shields Faced Struggles in Her Sister’s Absence
Claressa Shields and her siblings came from a difficult home life. During the early years, their father, Bo, was in prison, while their mother, Marcella Adams, experienced severe alcoholism. As a result, Shields and her siblings, including her younger sister, Briana, had more than their fair share of problems to deal with. Fortunately for the older sister, she found her passion for boxing early in life—at 11, from when she started training with Jason Crutchfield, a volunteer trainer at Berston Field House. Consequently, as her relationship with her mentor grew, she eventually found a second home with Crutchfield and his family.
Nonetheless, Shields’ younger sister, Briana, had no similar outlet. As a result, by 2016, when the Olympic athlete had left home to prepare for her second venture into the Games, Briana found herself all alone. The latter was 19 at that point and a single mother to two-year-old Antwan Shields, also known as Fat Daddy. During this time, Briana often had to deal with many hardships. She elaborated on the struggles of growing up in her sister’s shadow in a documentary for Great Big Story titled ‘A Fighter Without Gloves: The Boxer’s Sister.’ Nonetheless, soon enough, as Shields’ career took off financially, the boxer was able to help her sister get back on track.
Briana Shields and Claressa Shields Have a Rocky Relationship Now
Initially, after Claressa Shields rose to fame, she maintained good relationships with her family, including Briana. Alongside remaining an integral part of their lives, Shields also helped them out financially in the form of gifted cars for her siblings and parents and a house for her mother. Nonetheless, that seems to have faded in the past few years. In December 2024, she made an appearance on Andre “Ward’s Art of Ward Podcast,” where she discussed many things alongside her familial relationships. There, Shields revealed that she used to have significant involvement in the lives of her sister and her three kids, including Antwan. In fact, she claimed that her nieces and nephews were living with her at one point, and she was heavily invested in their education to the point of showing up for teacher conferences.
Nonetheless, somewhere along the line, Shields started to realize that Briana had grown to dislike her. The boxer has asserted that while she hasn’t wronged her sister in any way, the latter has changed, resulting in a tarnished dynamic between them. Shields elaborated on the same in an emotional confession and said, “You work so hard to make all this money and to have a good life for yourself—and then the people who you wanna share it with, they just change on you.”
On her part, Briana hasn’t responded to these claims and hasn’t shared her part of the story. She seems to mostly prefer a private life these days and doesn’t boast much of a public presence. Perhaps, for the same reason, she has no official public accounts on social media. As such, for now, Briana continues to reside in Flint, Michigan, with her kids. As per the last known reports, even though her familial relationships may be more on the tumultuous side, she sports a close relationship with her children.
Read More: The Fire Inside’s True Story, Explained
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