Valuetainment - November 27, 2019


Episode 394： Stephen A. Smith Opens Up on Career Path to ESPN


Episode Stats


Length

57 minutes

Words per minute

188.88908

Word count

10,870

Sentence count

949

Harmful content

Misogyny

10

sentences flagged

Hate speech

9

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Stephen A. Smith joins First Take to discuss his life growing up on the streets of New York City, how his mother influenced his basketball career, and why he believes his mom was the most influential person in his life.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.980 30 seconds, one time for the underdog, ignition sequence start, let me see you put em up, reach
00:00:09.260 the sky, turn the stars up above, cause it's one time for the underdog, one time for the
00:00:16.240 underdog.
00:00:17.260 I'm Patrick Mediv, your host of Altymin, today I'm sitting down with Mr. First Take, Stephen
00:00:21.060 A. Smith from ESPN, that he had a lot of things to talk about, by the way, you're gonna find
00:00:26.260 out about his story and the influence his mother had on his life, and then later on we
00:00:29.720 talked about who he feels was the best in doing interviews, you know, post-game interviews,
00:00:34.540 and then we did a draft pick at the end.
00:00:36.080 He picked his five, I picked my five, except he had first pick, I had second pick.
00:00:40.200 I'm very curious to know who you think would have won once you hear his five versus mine.
00:00:45.460 So if you enjoy sports, if you enjoy ESPN, you're gonna love today's sit down.
00:00:49.320 Stephen A., brother, thank you for making the time, man.
00:00:51.460 Yes.
00:00:51.660 How's everything?
00:00:52.240 Very good, very good.
00:00:52.920 How you doing?
00:00:53.440 I'm doing great, man.
00:00:54.120 Sounds like you had an eventful day today.
00:00:55.820 Yeah, it was an eventful, but I'm gonna keep that to myself.
00:00:57.960 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:00:58.760 So let me ask you this, high school, I'm with you, 10th grade, 11th grade, who's Stephen
00:01:04.000 A. Smith?
00:01:05.580 Skinny kid from Hollis, Queens, New York, striving to make it, make something of myself, but very,
00:01:14.740 very scared about life.
00:01:16.860 Really?
00:01:17.680 Coming from the streets of New York City, growing up poor, knowing that you wanted to capture
00:01:24.800 a level of success for yourself, and then wondering how you're going to maneuver yourself through
00:01:30.180 the terrain of life and all that comes your way.
00:01:34.600 Wanting to play high school basketball, targeting a basketball scholarship because you need a free
00:01:40.920 education.
00:01:41.480 You don't just want it, you need it because your parents can't afford to pay for your education.
00:01:46.320 And also making sure that you stay away from the game.
00:01:50.740 You know, drug dealers on the corner, around the block, in the park, etc., etc., and you
00:01:56.120 stay away from the allures of life, the easy buck.
00:02:00.240 You know, you're starving and, okay, I only got about three outfits, wearing the same outfit at least
00:02:05.920 twice a week, never having a car, wanting a car, wanting those other things that going on the
00:02:13.580 wrong side of tracks could get you if you're after an immediate gratification.
00:02:17.720 And just making sure that you're finding a way to avoid those things, incentivized by
00:02:23.520 somebody that you consider to be the greatest human being alive.
00:02:26.340 That was my mom. 0.98
00:02:27.800 God rest her soul.
00:02:28.980 And my family, four older sisters.
00:02:31.700 My brother had passed away, not at that time.
00:02:35.160 Obviously, he was still alive, but he was a traveling salesman before they was in the
00:02:38.600 military.
00:02:39.420 So just dealing with all of those different things.
00:02:41.740 A father that I didn't have the greatest relationship with, but he was still my dad.
00:02:47.000 Just finding a way to make it and trying to figure out how I'm going to do it because
00:02:53.580 the only idea that I had is basketball.
00:02:56.480 I didn't see another path at that particular moment.
00:02:59.740 Since what age?
00:03:01.700 In terms of basketball?
00:03:03.640 What age did you fall in love with the game of basketball?
00:03:05.580 Oh, no, no, no.
00:03:06.140 That was from the time I started watching basketball games.
00:03:08.320 I was four or five years old.
00:03:09.360 Got it.
00:03:09.660 I didn't realize I could play until, you know, later on.
00:03:14.000 And so, you know, when people started talking about you and talking about your skill set
00:03:18.100 and how you could get a free education and knowing that that would enable you to not
00:03:22.080 have to depend on your mom in order to pull it off, you know, that was the target. 0.96
00:03:26.340 That was the goal.
00:03:26.840 So if I'm in high school with you, we're sitting in a classroom together, are you the
00:03:30.800 guy that's constantly debating?
00:03:32.060 I don't know about that.
00:03:32.780 What about this?
00:03:33.320 How about this?
00:03:33.800 Why not this?
00:03:34.340 You were that guy.
00:03:34.920 I was always asking questions.
00:03:36.220 I wasn't debating.
00:03:36.980 I wouldn't say I was debating because the teachers didn't allow you to necessarily do that.
00:03:41.040 But I always had questions.
00:03:42.180 I was always inquisitive, particularly when it came to politics and social issues and
00:03:47.880 English.
00:03:48.480 I wasn't that strong in math.
00:03:50.460 I wasn't that interested in math.
00:03:51.660 But I was interested in stuff like political science.
00:03:53.800 I was interested in politics.
00:03:55.140 I was interested in some of the, you know, just the things that went on behind the scenes.
00:03:59.080 What led somebody to think the way that they think, articulate and elocute their thoughts
00:04:03.640 the way that they did?
00:04:04.960 What were the kind of things that went into that thinking?
00:04:07.020 What was the difference between what you thought and what you ultimately disseminated to
00:04:10.720 the masses?
00:04:11.180 I always thought along those lines.
00:04:13.300 I didn't necessarily have the answers, but I always thought about it because there was
00:04:17.220 too many times when I looked at television, and I'm definitely a product of the television
00:04:21.560 generation.
00:04:22.560 There were too many times that I'd look at television, and I saw people who just were
00:04:26.940 not believable.
00:04:28.160 They were highly credible, but not necessarily believable.
00:04:31.240 Wow.
00:04:31.580 Because they tried to, because you remember back in the day before commentary and pundancy
00:04:35.920 really, really took off with this generation.
00:04:38.360 Back in the day, everybody was cookie-cutter, straight shooters.
00:04:41.480 You might have known the facts, but unless you could prove it, you danced that dance, that
00:04:48.280 dance of neutrality and just straightforward objective reporting as opposed to editorializing
00:04:56.300 and things of that nature.
00:04:57.260 You didn't see the talk show format all over the place, like you see on This Week with
00:05:01.420 George Stephanopoulos.
00:05:02.800 Sure.
00:05:03.060 Or It Was This Week with David Brinkley.
00:05:04.580 But when you saw Peter Jennings or Dan Rather or Tom Brokaw, the list went on and on.
00:05:08.740 You saw relatively straight shooters.
00:05:10.760 You saw Ted Koppel on ABC News Nightline.
00:05:14.820 Straight shooter.
00:05:15.940 Sam Donaldson covering the White House.
00:05:17.980 Straight shooter.
00:05:18.720 After his delivery, his presentation, his diction, et cetera, it came across in such a way that
00:05:25.020 you kind of sensed what he was feeling.
00:05:27.540 But the facts that he was spewing, the substantive stuff that came oozing out of his mouth, it was
00:05:34.160 straight down the line.
00:05:35.320 There were no chances with the editorializing.
00:05:37.780 And that's what made it interesting.
00:05:38.960 The first person that really, really gave me the idea of being able to editorialize and
00:05:44.040 opine was Howard Cosell.
00:05:45.460 That was the first person that I saw that I looked at, which is why I loved him so much.
00:05:50.540 Because that was the first person that I saw on TV and said, I believe him no matter what
00:05:56.640 he says, because he made himself come across as very, very believable about whatever it
00:06:01.920 was he felt.
00:06:03.160 You could challenge it.
00:06:04.380 You can question it.
00:06:05.560 You can object to it.
00:06:06.740 But what you couldn't do was look at him and say, he doesn't mean what he says, because
00:06:11.400 you always knew he meant what he said.
00:06:13.200 So when did you go from the level of curiosity where you're asking because you're curious
00:06:18.240 to now have an opinion about things?
00:06:21.460 Well, I would tell you that that didn't come until very, very later on in my life as my
00:06:25.780 career evolved.
00:06:28.340 Excuse me.
00:06:29.080 If you remember, I started off as a newspaper writer.
00:06:32.640 I was a writer for the school newspaper, disc jockey for the school newspaper and stuff
00:06:38.040 like that.
00:06:38.740 And I grew up in an age before social media, before the blogosphere and what have you.
00:06:45.940 And so as a result, you were taught that you had to work your way up to the point where
00:06:53.020 you had a license to editorialize and give commentary before you were a general sports
00:06:58.140 columnist.
00:06:59.020 You were a columnist covering one of the leagues.
00:07:01.500 Prior to that, you were a beat writer or a features writer or investigative writer and
00:07:06.180 reporter.
00:07:06.780 One of, if not all of those different positions before you were given a license to editorialize
00:07:12.780 and express yourself.
00:07:14.160 And so the objective and the goal all along from day one was to ultimately elevate yourself
00:07:18.940 to being a general sports columnist.
00:07:20.840 And so I started off as a intern.
00:07:23.580 And then I became a high school writer for the New York Daily News after interning at the
00:07:28.160 Winston-Salem Journal, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Greensboro News and Record.
00:07:32.540 I was being, I was doing, my job title was an editorial assistant.
00:07:37.240 I did calendar items and school lunch menus and things of that nature from 8.30 a.m. to
00:07:44.840 6 at night.
00:07:45.660 Wow.
00:07:46.120 And then from 7 p.m. to midnight, I covered high school sports, high school football in
00:07:51.260 the Piedmont Triad area for the Greensboro News and Record for free.
00:07:55.660 I did that on my own time.
00:07:56.840 The goal was to always accumulate published clips because I knew coming from an historically
00:08:02.880 black college like Winston-Salem State, if I was going against people from Columbia to 0.94
00:08:08.000 the University of Missouri or Northwestern, UCLA or whatever, and it was their school against
00:08:13.040 my school, my credibility would be challenged because my degree was in mass communications
00:08:18.380 and it wasn't known for journalism per se as an institution, as an HBCU, while those schools
00:08:23.720 were renowned for having journalism programs.
00:08:26.400 And so I knew that I had to accumulate practical experience, published clips or whatever, because
00:08:31.580 if I did that, then I could walk into an office and sell my work to a potential employer,
00:08:38.000 not because my work was better or more gifted than the other people, even though in some cases
00:08:42.520 it was, in some cases it wasn't.
00:08:44.000 But it was also me displaying my level of tenacity and my commitment to being in that profession
00:08:51.880 because I knew and imagined that an employer, if he's looking at somebody that has a laissez-faire
00:08:59.380 attitude per se towards being in that industry and doesn't necessarily want it, I know every
00:09:06.600 employer wants someone who wants it.
00:09:09.340 I don't care who you are.
00:09:10.440 I don't care what you're doing, if you are in a position where you hire somebody, the 1.00
00:09:15.500 number one trait that you want to see outside of their obvious ability is the want it factor.
00:09:22.860 How bad do you want this?
00:09:24.580 What are you willing to do to be exceptional at this?
00:09:27.480 Are you willing to go the extra mile?
00:09:29.900 When is the job finished?
00:09:31.140 Is it when you punch a clock or is it when the job gets done?
00:09:34.460 Those are the kind of people that any employer that I've ever met has always wanted.
00:09:39.440 And I knew that by showing my resolve and my tenacity as a person that was willing to work
00:09:45.820 for free, as a willing to do numerous internships and stuff like that, what could they say?
00:09:52.340 And that's what I did.
00:09:53.080 So when I showed up to an employer for an internship or whatever, I remember when I first started in the
00:09:58.440 business, we had folks with resumes.
00:10:01.060 I had 250 published clips coming out of college.
00:10:05.380 How are you going to beat that?
00:10:06.640 You got an edge over everybody.
00:10:07.860 I got the edge.
00:10:08.540 And are you seeing that a lot today as well, since kids nowadays coming out of college
00:10:11.860 or high school, they have social media, so it's easier to have a resume to show.
00:10:15.920 It's not easier today.
00:10:16.840 So the times haven't changed for you.
00:10:18.140 I'm not seeing that.
00:10:18.840 I'm not seeing that from the kids.
00:10:20.060 Easier or harder today?
00:10:21.160 I think it's easier, but I think it's easier in certain respects to be more accurate, but
00:10:27.060 harder than others.
00:10:28.380 It's easier to generate material that you can give to a prospective employer to show your
00:10:37.460 commitment or whatever.
00:10:38.840 The hard part is, because it's so much easier to do, many, many more people are doing it.
00:10:44.760 And as a result, you have more competition than ever before.
00:10:48.180 So let me ask you this.
00:10:49.340 You know how you look at, in baseball, you know, you look at some guys that do well because
00:10:54.620 long-term, they're disciplined.
00:10:55.680 So I'm sitting now with Billy Bean.
00:10:57.300 Billy Bean says, skill set, mindset, pedigree, upbringing, strong family values.
00:11:04.760 Then you look at a player and say, this may be somebody we may want to invest in.
00:11:07.880 What are things in your world that somebody's got to look at?
00:11:11.040 Because for you, you always say, you know, stay away from the weed.
00:11:13.760 You look like a very disciplined guy, very meticulous, obviously even just watching you
00:11:17.240 right now, very detailed.
00:11:18.960 And then you have strong opinions, but it also, you're not a person that sounds like you wing
00:11:22.440 it.
00:11:22.600 You actually give your thought based on doing some research.
00:11:26.200 What would you say are great qualities in your world of somebody to sit down and become
00:11:29.580 good at what you guys do?
00:11:30.980 Well, I think all the things that you mentioned about Billy Bean are applicable.
00:11:33.860 Um, not so much pedigree per se.
00:11:37.820 Um, I think that when I, anything that's associated with my pedigree to me is about my mom, my mom's
00:11:43.880 work ethic, her willingness to sacrifice, her being the mother of six children, um, and essentially
00:11:50.520 having to raise us on her own.
00:11:53.180 I don't talk a lot about my father and I'm not about to now, uh, out of respect and deference
00:11:58.240 to my mother.
00:11:58.980 Both of my parents have passed away, but I did not have a close relationship with my father.
00:12:03.360 Part of the reason was, uh, because of how he treated my mother.
00:12:07.120 The other part of the reason was because of his treatment to my mother and how it forced
00:12:12.200 her to have to work so much to take care of us. 1.00
00:12:15.720 I am a very, very, very old fashioned dude in certain respects.
00:12:19.400 If you can't do it, you can't do it.
00:12:22.120 But I'm one of those old school, old fashioned dudes from the standpoint, I believe it's not
00:12:27.100 my preference, um, to take care of my woman. 0.99
00:12:30.960 It is my responsibility.
00:12:32.420 It is not my, it is not just my job, uh, to take care of my children.
00:12:38.540 It is an absolute mandate.
00:12:41.200 My philosophy is very, very simple when it comes to my family, particularly, you know,
00:12:46.140 me being a dad.
00:12:47.260 If I'm hungry, if they're hungry, it's because I'm starving.
00:12:51.180 I don't eat until they eat.
00:12:53.360 I don't not comfortable until they're comfortable.
00:12:55.860 I don't have unless they have.
00:12:57.840 That's the mentality.
00:12:59.280 And that's the mentality that I strictly get from my mother.
00:13:02.320 And so for me, you know, having that kind of mentality, well, what comes with that?
00:13:07.580 What comes with that is a certain work ethic that you have to put forth.
00:13:11.240 And it's a willingness to sacrifice.
00:13:13.360 Am I the most disciplined person in the world?
00:13:16.140 No.
00:13:16.800 Am I the most meticulous person in the world?
00:13:18.940 Like some people would believe.
00:13:20.280 No, I'm meticulous enough and I'm disciplined enough, but I always also know how to let go
00:13:25.400 and relax or whatever.
00:13:26.500 And sometimes I may not be as disciplined as I should be.
00:13:29.320 But I think the key thing is, is that the bottom line is everything to me.
00:13:34.380 And whatever the bottom line requires is what I'm going to do.
00:13:38.180 If the bottom line requires an excessive level of discipline, I'm going to do it.
00:13:43.120 If I can slack off a little bit and still achieve that goal, I might pick and choose from time
00:13:48.500 to slack off just a little bit.
00:13:50.560 But to me, it's whatever the moment or the situation demands.
00:13:55.380 And it's I'm a bottom lines oriented kind of person.
00:13:58.920 I have an assistant.
00:14:00.280 I have people who work for me.
00:14:02.220 I have people who work with me.
00:14:03.880 They'll tell you I'm very bottom line kind of guy.
00:14:06.440 If you tell me that the job is going to get done and the job is going to get done in an
00:14:10.560 excellent fashion and it requires 90 percent effort, I'll let you go with that.
00:14:16.240 I'll let you get away with that.
00:14:17.420 I'm not going to sweat it.
00:14:19.040 But if this means if this needs one, if this requires 100 percent and you give me 99,
00:14:25.640 I might want to fire you because I'm not I'm about getting the job done.
00:14:30.560 It's about the results.
00:14:32.780 And I think that, you know, unfortunately, when we look at our generation today, not enough
00:14:37.860 people preach about that.
00:14:39.860 You know, why do you think that is?
00:14:40.920 Because I think that we live in a society where people have become masters at pointing
00:14:45.420 the finger at other people about reasons as to reasons why things don't get done.
00:14:50.960 I think there's too much explanation that goes on.
00:14:53.840 And, you know, I remember like I'm friends with Gayle King.
00:14:56.000 I know Gayle King, Oprah's friend for a very, very long time.
00:14:59.060 I remember years ago she and I had this argument because I always accuse stuff like that of being
00:15:03.880 this Oprah-fied world that we live in.
00:15:06.380 And I don't mean that in a derogatory fashion at all.
00:15:08.920 I love me some Oprah Winfrey.
00:15:10.820 She's the queen and she's a goddess in my eyes for all the things that she's done for
00:15:14.960 various communities throughout this country.
00:15:16.880 But I do believe that generation, led by the likes of an Oprah Winfrey, introduced explanations
00:15:24.000 into everything.
00:15:25.660 We can explain why this happened.
00:15:28.600 There's a reason why this person acted up.
00:15:30.800 There's a reason why they messed up, et cetera.
00:15:33.540 And I'm like, no, I'm not saying that's wrong.
00:15:37.220 I'm saying some stuff don't I don't need to know the reason why.
00:15:41.420 If you are a murderer, for example, I don't necessarily need to know the reason why you
00:15:47.420 are one.
00:15:48.360 I understand that to do the due diligence and put forth the research and what have you.
00:15:52.220 And maybe we can study this psychopath or what have you and find out why they did what
00:15:56.680 they did.
00:15:57.160 But I don't need to understand all the reasons behind why you did something to know that
00:16:02.620 you need to spend the rest of your life in prison or in some people's eyes, the death
00:16:06.340 penalty.
00:16:06.980 I don't need if you are somebody that's a heinous individual that you deserve a level of punishment.
00:16:12.200 I don't need to know all the reasons as to why you made your mistake before I need to
00:16:16.480 know that you're going to pay a price for it.
00:16:18.520 If you are a person that shows up to work and there are a multitude of reasons as to
00:16:23.920 why you can't get the job done, I might be empathetic.
00:16:27.880 But the bottom line is you ain't getting it done.
00:16:30.460 And if you're not getting it done, I need somebody that can get it done.
00:16:33.900 And every boss, every employer that I've ever worked for, while some may appear on the
00:16:39.820 outside more empathetic, more sympathetic than others, where they are similar is the
00:16:44.720 requirement in getting the job done because they answer the people too.
00:16:50.000 And so when you look at it from that perspective and you have that kind of mentality, I am of
00:16:54.480 the belief that if you truly, truly adopt that belief in your soul, that you walk to work
00:16:59.980 every day not looking for excuses.
00:17:01.720 You're looking for a way for the job to get done.
00:17:04.380 And in most instances, you are going to be successful than not.
00:17:08.580 Is that a transferable mindset?
00:17:10.200 Meaning does a person have to be willing to take that mindset to internalize it?
00:17:14.180 Or can somebody just say, I don't want to deal with it?
00:17:16.000 Even in your world.
00:17:16.820 They can do both.
00:17:17.820 They can do both.
00:17:18.540 But I will assure you of this.
00:17:19.940 The person that says they don't want to deal with it is not a person that's going to be
00:17:22.900 successful at doing whatever that respect.
00:17:25.140 Yet you believe they can, though.
00:17:26.900 They can.
00:17:27.580 In most instances, I believe people can.
00:17:29.800 Because I don't believe that employers usually put you in a position where they know you will
00:17:36.680 fail if indeed their objective is success.
00:17:39.940 If I'm a boss, it behooves me to place you in a position where I believe you can succeed
00:17:47.060 because you'll make me look good.
00:17:49.140 Why would I want to make myself look bad?
00:17:50.540 So I'm going to put you in a position where I think you can perform and you can succeed
00:17:54.540 and you can make both of us look good.
00:17:57.040 But if you don't have that kind of mindset and you are a boss that has the kind of mindset,
00:18:02.160 it doesn't matter to me what you do.
00:18:04.380 You're a good person.
00:18:05.620 I like you.
00:18:06.720 But I know you're not qualified for this job.
00:18:09.480 Chances are that boss is not going to be successful.
00:18:11.420 So one of the things I like about you is the fact that you sit there and you say,
00:18:16.560 well, you know, Max will say something.
00:18:17.980 Then you'll say, well, I understand.
00:18:20.120 But even on this show, we have to understand that somebody can come here and just because
00:18:24.520 they disagree with us and we disagree with them, that they're wrong and we can't have
00:18:29.200 a platform for them.
00:18:30.300 I think you and Max have talked about even this was like three or four weeks ago.
00:18:32.740 Why is it, Stephen A., that you, when you're giving your discourse, your feedback, whatever
00:18:38.560 may be, you're thinking from the employer standpoint, the player standpoint, the media
00:18:43.760 standpoint.
00:18:45.020 Do you think that's an edge for you?
00:18:46.640 Because very few people have the lens to look at it from everybody's perspective.
00:18:49.660 I don't think everybody comes from my background.
00:18:51.640 I don't think they come from my perspective.
00:18:52.660 But where does the employer background come from?
00:18:54.320 Allow me to explain that.
00:18:56.480 I'm relatively successful.
00:18:58.400 I'm certainly not poor anymore.
00:19:00.700 But I've starved.
00:19:01.840 I know what that's like.
00:19:04.000 So when you are a person from a disenfranchised community, or dare I say a disenfranchised
00:19:10.000 position, there is empathy for that.
00:19:12.980 But there's a reality that that disenfranchised person has to accept because you don't get 1.00
00:19:19.020 to change that.
00:19:20.240 You don't get to legislate people's heart, mind, bodies, and souls in most instances.
00:19:26.960 They are who they are.
00:19:28.160 You are who you are.
00:19:29.180 What it's important to understand, especially in this day more so than ever before, where
00:19:34.540 the outlets, the tentacles that you have to reach the masses, it can give you a false
00:19:41.280 sense of empowerment.
00:19:43.280 This belief that you can reach anybody, absolutely true.
00:19:48.760 It does not mean everyone wants to hear you.
00:19:51.240 It does not mean everybody's going to care about what you have to say.
00:19:53.960 There's a whole bunch of people with a Twitter account.
00:19:56.840 They don't have 4.3 million followers.
00:19:59.520 There's a whole bunch of people with Instagram accounts taking pictures all over the place.
00:20:03.720 They don't have 2.2 million followers.
00:20:06.300 There are people that have 50 million followers, 80 million followers.
00:20:12.060 But still people will tell them to shut up and dribble or shut up and play your music and
00:20:17.120 leave us alone.
00:20:17.840 They don't get into politics.
00:20:18.980 They don't get into this or that.
00:20:20.100 What I'm saying is those people might use their platform or attempt to use their platform
00:20:24.980 to disseminate a message about something completely different and separate from what they're attaching
00:20:31.240 themselves to at that particular moment in time because that's what's important to them.
00:20:36.280 The problem is that at times you're touching on something that is of no interest to the
00:20:42.900 masses as it pertains to what's coming from you because they've pigeonholed you.
00:20:49.000 They've defined what they want to hear from you.
00:20:51.480 And as a result, if you step out of that lane, some might be receptive.
00:20:55.960 Some might lie in wait just to excoriate you because they believe that you're out of your
00:21:00.220 lane.
00:21:00.460 So if you're understanding that, now transfer that to the business world, I might have a
00:21:05.260 situation where, you know what?
00:21:07.960 I think I could do Monday Night Football.
00:21:11.820 ESPN's like, no, we want you to do NBA.
00:21:16.820 Well, last time I checked, I'm under contract for ESPN.
00:21:20.140 I'm not under contract for Fox.
00:21:21.600 I'm not under contract for NBC.
00:21:23.380 I'm under contract for ESPN.
00:21:25.020 So that's strike number one.
00:21:26.480 Strike number two, they have pretty damn good voices on Monday Night Football.
00:21:29.920 Who are far more qualified to do football than I do.
00:21:33.420 Strike number three.
00:21:35.300 I'm pretty damn good at this.
00:21:38.160 First tape, radio, NBA, etc.
00:21:41.900 That's generating millions upon millions of dollars for ESPN.
00:21:46.400 Well, what does that mean?
00:21:47.860 Why would we want to upset that apple cart to put you in a different venue that we don't 0.97
00:21:54.200 know if you'll succeed at, but we're already successful at?
00:21:57.700 So I can want what I want.
00:21:59.660 I can believe what I can believe.
00:22:01.560 I can think whatever I want to think.
00:22:04.940 But do I have the say?
00:22:07.460 The answer is no.
00:22:09.120 And the reason why that's something that you have to embrace is because in the real world,
00:22:15.800 you usually don't get to make all your decisions for yourself.
00:22:20.020 Usually it involves participation and approval from other people.
00:22:26.380 So why talk to just one segment of the population as opposed to this segment, this segment, this segment, this segment?
00:22:33.300 It's everybody.
00:22:34.520 And when I'm debating, I think usually I'm debating against people, particularly, for example, in Max's case,
00:22:42.220 who's incredibly altruistic in his perspective and points of view, particularly when it comes to the world of politics and social issues.
00:22:49.060 He has one lens.
00:22:50.580 This is it.
00:22:51.800 Well, you come from one place.
00:22:54.960 I come from a multitude of places.
00:22:57.340 I've been there.
00:22:58.460 I've done that.
00:22:59.480 And so I see all sides.
00:23:01.020 You're talking about this owner.
00:23:03.560 I just had lunch with him.
00:23:05.360 You're talking about this player.
00:23:07.620 I just had dinner with him.
00:23:09.180 You're talking about this particular athlete.
00:23:11.500 Well, that's my man.
00:23:12.660 I've known him for 20 years.
00:23:14.100 You might be guessing.
00:23:15.720 You might be right.
00:23:17.280 But I know.
00:23:18.940 And so as a result, it puts me in a position where I'm able to deduce the difference between my perspective and informed perspective.
00:23:29.760 Right.
00:23:30.240 And a direct perspective where I'm impacted by the parties involved.
00:23:36.120 All of those things come into play.
00:23:38.080 And in my seat, you have to take those things into consideration if, indeed, you care about fairness.
00:23:44.260 Was that you?
00:23:45.480 You've always been like that?
00:23:46.680 Always.
00:23:46.820 Or was it always?
00:23:47.540 So this is when you work with Skip and you and him clash because off camera, you guys talk politics.
00:23:51.400 That's my mother. 0.97
00:23:51.880 Yeah, okay.
00:23:52.400 That comes from you.
00:23:52.900 That's your foremother.
00:23:53.420 That comes from Janet Smith.
00:23:54.460 My mother was, she was, you know, I had a white grandmother, a black grandfather, and my mother was not about race at all, believe it or not.
00:24:05.420 My mother never mentioned race.
00:24:06.600 Very interesting.
00:24:07.060 My mother never mentioned race one day in my house.
00:24:10.800 My mother never, her house, rather.
00:24:12.420 You've got to be kidding me.
00:24:13.320 Never.
00:24:14.000 My mother, my mother, I can come to her, everything.
00:24:16.960 I come to my, it don't matter.
00:24:18.980 Mom, they out to get me.
00:24:20.460 What'd you do?
00:24:21.700 What could you have done better?
00:24:23.360 I remember I was in Detroit traveling back from a Pistons game at the Palace in Auburn Hills all the way to Romulus Marriott about an hour away in Detroit near the airport.
00:24:33.360 And I got pulled over by the cops, and I got surrounded by eight cops.
00:24:38.140 It was completely unnecessary, uncalled for.
00:24:40.760 They grabbed me out of it.
00:24:41.800 They told me to get out the car.
00:24:43.400 Next thing you know, three different squad cars come, two in each car, eight officers total.
00:24:48.180 I had two white beat writers with me, all right, from competing papers.
00:24:52.740 We were all driving back together.
00:24:54.480 They handcuffed me.
00:24:56.100 They put me in the squad car.
00:24:57.860 They took me to the precinct in Troy, Michigan, and I was pissed.
00:25:01.820 I couldn't, I don't know how, I don't know if I've ever been that furious.
00:25:05.180 I was, because I thought it was so grossly unfair, and not only that, I knew I had paid the ticket, so it didn't make sense to me.
00:25:10.980 I'm like, what the hell's going on here?
00:25:13.040 And I was upset, and then ultimately I got out of jail after about four hours.
00:25:18.440 Bail was $250.
00:25:20.860 I had $241 cash, and they wouldn't let me out.
00:25:25.580 Until a dear friend of mine who worked for CNN kept calling them every five minutes until they let me go.
00:25:33.200 I was $9 short.
00:25:35.240 I knew the district attorney in that town.
00:25:37.860 I wanted folks arrested.
00:25:40.220 I wanted folks in trouble, whatever.
00:25:42.320 I called my mother.
00:25:43.920 She said, well, what did you do?
00:25:46.580 I said, what are you talking about?
00:25:47.200 I didn't do anything.
00:25:48.420 She said, really?
00:25:49.760 What did you do?
00:25:50.380 I said, mommy, I wasn't speeding.
00:25:52.280 I wasn't doing, I didn't do anything.
00:25:54.140 She said, you did nothing.
00:25:56.080 You sure about that?
00:25:57.440 And then I remembered, I was going like 10 miles over the speed limit, A, and B, come to find out.
00:26:03.040 I did pay the ticket, but I paid it late.
00:26:05.660 And so I got there late, which means it was in a computer, but there was a late charge of $15 that I hadn't paid.
00:26:13.660 Their sister didn't tell them it was $15.
00:26:15.820 They just said, he's driving with a suspended license.
00:26:18.720 So it turns out that I served time in jail for four hours in Troy, Michigan, because of a $15 late fee on a speed of ticket.
00:26:28.640 And my mother said, if you had paid the ticket on time, you wouldn't have had that happen.
00:26:34.180 That was my mother, period. 0.77
00:26:36.520 She didn't want to hear excuses.
00:26:38.120 She didn't want to hear anything.
00:26:39.400 Yes, people are going to be unfair.
00:26:41.200 Yes, people are going to be a little bit cruel.
00:26:43.260 Yes, people are going to do this, and they're going to do that.
00:26:45.280 How are you going to overcome it?
00:26:47.000 Because if I set the stage for you to have a crutch or an excuse to fall upon, what are you going to accomplish in life?
00:26:53.620 That was my mother. 0.71
00:26:54.800 So kept reinforcing, taking full responsibility regardless of the –
00:26:59.860 Every day.
00:26:59.960 When was your mom's birthday?
00:27:00.880 What month was your mom's birthday?
00:27:01.580 January 25th.
00:27:02.740 Interesting.
00:27:03.180 And you're April – October 14th, 67, right?
00:27:06.000 That's right.
00:27:06.540 Very interesting.
00:27:07.560 What a – and would you say that mindset stayed with you from that day on until today who you are as far as your mom was –
00:27:12.820 That's a good question.
00:27:13.300 Nobody had a bigger impact on me than my mom.
00:27:16.360 And again, we make excuses every day, all of us as human beings.
00:27:20.420 There's a reason for what ails and, you know, the travails that we have to go through.
00:27:24.620 There's always a reason.
00:27:25.640 But I think the thing where first take has appeared to be so perfect for me is that on far more occasions than not, I have to speak on the issue of accountability as it pertains to the entire sports world.
00:27:41.800 And when it comes to the issue of accountability, I get all of that from mom.
00:27:46.740 And it happened with ESPN when my contract wasn't renewed back in 2008.
00:27:53.400 I was sitting at the – I was – I felt betrayed.
00:27:55.920 I felt ticked off.
00:27:58.220 And, you know, it – I mean, my mother let me lick my wounds for a couple of days.
00:28:03.260 And then she said, what could you have done better?
00:28:05.100 You sure you didn't do anything?
00:28:06.440 And I thought about all this.
00:28:07.620 I'm like, what is she talking about?
00:28:09.160 This is just not true.
00:28:10.100 This is not right.
00:28:10.600 I work hard.
00:28:11.160 I do this.
00:28:11.600 I do that.
00:28:12.080 And then I started thinking about it.
00:28:15.140 Yeah, I was a pain in the ass.
00:28:17.780 I did kind of complain a little bit too much.
00:28:21.000 But the biggest thing that I remember doing is that I always came to the bosses with problems.
00:28:27.600 I never came to them with solutions.
00:28:30.660 And I don't mean always like I was a perennial complainer because I've never been that.
00:28:34.480 That's not my style.
00:28:35.400 But any time I spoke to them about something that bothered me, my point in making that statement is that it was always about the problem, never the solution.
00:28:47.560 And I learned when I sat back and reflected on the mistakes that I had made in my career at the time, I learned that no boss wants to talk to anybody that doesn't have solutions.
00:29:01.500 But there's a flip side.
00:29:01.880 That is very true.
00:29:02.640 There's a flip side.
00:29:03.180 I've never met a boss that doesn't want to talk to someone with solutions.
00:29:09.080 See the difference?
00:29:10.140 Now, if you don't want to talk to somebody with problems and you don't want to talk to somebody with solutions, then to me, you're the problem because you're not trying to solve.
00:29:19.160 You want to go with status quo.
00:29:21.200 You're perfectly fine with flowing along just to get along.
00:29:28.200 Safe, secure, whatever.
00:29:29.300 But when you're trying to win, you're constantly looking to get better.
00:29:33.800 And I realized as I reflected on the first part of my career at ESPN from 2003 through 2008 to May of 2009 to be exact, I just said, you know what?
00:29:44.740 I didn't talk about solutions enough.
00:29:48.280 I didn't talk about remedies enough.
00:29:50.480 And I'm never going to make that mistake again.
00:29:53.100 So I'm going to study and master my craft, my business, first and foremost.
00:29:57.500 I'm not going to talk about anybody else's business unless I'm mastering my own.
00:30:01.320 And when I have these conversations with them, I'm going to come up, I'm going to have solutions to any problem that I present them with.
00:30:08.280 And if I don't have a solution, I'm not talking to them about my problem, period.
00:30:13.180 That's a good mindset to have.
00:30:14.440 Stephen A., did you ever have a, either an, I know you worked at SI and CNN, I think I won stint.
00:30:19.500 CNN SI from 1999 to 2001.
00:30:22.120 Yeah.
00:30:22.320 Did you ever have any plans of doing politics or sports or was always sports?
00:30:26.160 Um, I actually wanted to do politics.
00:30:29.100 Um, I certainly wouldn't say I was an aficionado at it, but what I want, I've always prided myself of being a master communicator that had a decent understanding of current events and current political events.
00:30:43.680 And more importantly, I was incredibly confident and maybe it's to a fault.
00:30:49.780 I'll openly admit, but I am incredibly confident when I'm on camera.
00:30:54.660 I really believe.
00:30:56.720 Always?
00:30:57.740 Yeah.
00:30:58.700 Always.
00:30:59.240 I really, I really believe everyone's in my way.
00:31:03.800 Literally.
00:31:04.580 I mean, if, if, if, for, in simpler layman's terms, I walked around and I've always believed like I'm the Michael Jordan of this industry.
00:31:13.260 When I'm on the air, I'm the one that will make you want to hear from me.
00:31:18.340 I don't care who I'm on the air with.
00:31:19.900 I don't care who it is.
00:31:22.000 It does not matter to me.
00:31:23.420 By the time I finish speaking, I am the one that you're going to want to listen to.
00:31:28.900 That's my attitude.
00:31:30.100 I'm not saying it's factual.
00:31:31.200 I don't know.
00:31:32.140 I mean, we are number one, but I don't know.
00:31:34.280 But that's always been my attitude because to me, presentation matters.
00:31:38.880 How you speak, how you look when you're speaking, you know, your cadence, your diction, everything that flows with it.
00:31:45.400 I believe I have the package.
00:31:48.340 And when I'm in front of the camera, I'm not nervous.
00:31:53.080 I don't feel like I'm talking to millions of people.
00:31:58.120 I feel like they're listening to me.
00:32:01.500 It's my domain.
00:32:03.200 Big difference.
00:32:03.600 Welcome to my domain.
00:32:06.020 This is what I dominate.
00:32:07.340 What is your flow or structure or process and issues?
00:32:10.460 I'm curious because, you know, the whole thing with first take is do you something happens.
00:32:14.160 Antonio Brown happens.
00:32:15.460 You know, Kobe, Shaq issue, whatever thing that takes place.
00:32:18.980 Do you go and see what other people are saying and then first take, here's what my thoughts are?
00:32:23.960 Sometimes.
00:32:24.780 Oh, you do?
00:32:25.460 Sometimes.
00:32:26.060 Sometimes.
00:32:26.420 It depends on when I'm coming on the air.
00:32:27.720 Like, there are sometimes.
00:32:28.580 Like, for example, when I was on the news sports center today, I didn't get to see anybody because I was doing first take.
00:32:34.900 And then literally two minutes before the sports center hit, they got in my ear and said, stay right there.
00:32:40.760 Sports center needs you to do the news sports center.
00:32:43.680 And that happens a lot with me and my career.
00:32:46.620 Like, ESPN will pick up the phone.
00:32:47.860 Steven, we need you.
00:32:49.200 You know, we need you on the air in an hour.
00:32:51.520 You know, we need you here now.
00:32:53.520 You know, so that happens an awful lot.
00:32:56.100 First take is first take.
00:32:57.220 So I don't have time really to watch other folks in the morning.
00:33:00.400 It's rare that I get it.
00:33:01.680 It's not always.
00:33:02.600 Sometimes I get to.
00:33:03.620 But 90 percent of the time, I don't get to see anybody.
00:33:06.340 So it's first take and I got to be ready.
00:33:08.340 You do your research.
00:33:09.540 And what you do is you do your research and you understand what your job description is.
00:33:14.800 If I'm a newspaper reporter, I'm reporting.
00:33:17.200 If I'm a columnist, I'm looking for an angle that I want to address and I want to attack from an editorial perspective.
00:33:24.840 On first take, it's the combination of it all.
00:33:28.580 I'm editorializing.
00:33:29.760 I'm opining.
00:33:30.440 I'm informing.
00:33:31.280 I'm entertaining.
00:33:32.080 I'm doing all of these different things.
00:33:33.900 I'm just talking about my own individual approach.
00:33:36.480 And so for me, when I gather, when I know the subject matter we're addressing, first thing I do is acquire as much information as I possibly can.
00:33:47.740 Step one.
00:33:48.700 Step one.
00:33:50.100 I do nothing before I acquire the information.
00:33:52.640 What sources do you go to?
00:33:53.420 Is it just stats, data?
00:33:54.860 I read everything.
00:33:56.520 I read the news articles, the New York Daily News, the Washington Post, the LA Times, ESPN.com, Yahoo Sports, all of them.
00:34:04.060 I read everything I get my hands on.
00:34:05.820 If it's a particular athlete, one of the first things I do is go to a local publication because those are the people covering them every day.
00:34:12.120 Interesting.
00:34:12.600 Got it.
00:34:12.760 Why?
00:34:13.220 Because I know that as a newspaper guy, no one knew about the Sixers more than me from a national level.
00:34:20.440 Locally, you might have known as much, but from a national level, you're not there with them every day.
00:34:24.160 It's a disrespect to the reporters that are on the scene to think that you know what they don't.
00:34:31.340 Chances are they know more than you because they care about more of the intricate details that you care.
00:34:36.380 You care when a big story comes along.
00:34:37.900 You're caring if they trade a star or, you know, somebody gets in trouble or whatever.
00:34:43.160 You ain't following the dude that signed a 10-day contract.
00:34:46.340 You're not signing a dude that signed a one-year deal for the minimum salary.
00:34:49.480 You're not paying attention to those things like that because it's not important on a national scale, but the local guys are.
00:34:55.480 And so for me, anytime there's a story that's percolating, one of the first things I do is go to the local sites because the local newspapers, the local radio folks and stuff like that
00:35:07.260 will give you more insight because they're around those folks every day.
00:35:10.240 So that's part of the news gathering.
00:35:12.220 Then what you do is go about the business of formulating your opinion.
00:35:15.180 Then after that, if you have the time, you want to hear the opinions of other people to make sure there's something that you didn't miss.
00:35:24.540 But once those bright lights come on, your voice has to be your own.
00:35:29.800 Because to me, sounding like somebody else, trying to duplicate or imitate somebody else is a form of plagiarism.
00:35:38.540 Directly, indirectly, you know, tacit or otherwise.
00:35:41.920 It's a form of plagiarism.
00:35:43.520 Be uniquely you.
00:35:45.820 And that's what I try to do.
00:35:46.700 I think the one reason why fans watch you, I mean, I'm a business guy and I listen to First Take just because I want to see how you're processing a certain issue.
00:35:56.780 I'm more interested in interviews, post-game interviews, than I am of the game.
00:36:01.520 I know that sounds strange.
00:36:02.680 I'm more curious to know how people are processing it.
00:36:04.420 Who did you think was in the NBA best at post-game interviews?
00:36:08.720 Who did you enjoy listening to?
00:36:11.020 Wow.
00:36:13.080 That's a tough one.
00:36:14.380 But I'm going to tell you that, for me personally, Barkley was incredibly entertaining and frank.
00:36:23.620 Not just when he was on TNT, when he was a player.
00:36:26.020 That's why he ended up on TNT.
00:36:27.560 Because Barkley will let you know how he felt.
00:36:31.900 Guys like Charles Oakley, for example, that used to play for the New York Knicks.
00:36:35.800 I mean, there's just no filter.
00:36:37.660 If you stunk, he'd say so.
00:36:38.980 No question about it.
00:36:40.360 Shaquille O'Neal, because he would disrespect somebody in a heartbreak.
00:36:43.760 Like the Sacramento Queens and stuff like that.
00:36:47.780 But today, in the modern era, that person usually would be somebody like a Kevin Durant.
00:36:54.140 And the reason why I would say a Kevin Durant is because Kevin Durant has propelled himself to a height.
00:37:03.400 He's a two-time champion.
00:37:05.300 He's one of the greatest players in the world.
00:37:07.420 He knows it.
00:37:08.980 And he's not just more fearless than he was in the past.
00:37:14.040 He's someone who laments the fearfulness he spent years enduring when he first came into the league.
00:37:22.400 So he's like you or I reflected, like looking at ourselves now and realizing the growth and the maturation that we endured and recognizing that, boy, we wish we could turn back the clock.
00:37:34.800 He's in a position where he feels like he can turn back the clock and can say, that was Dan.
00:37:41.460 Let me show you who I am now.
00:37:43.340 So you never know what he's going to say.
00:37:45.380 But when he speaks, particularly if he breaks down certain situations, you know what, you'll appreciate it.
00:37:51.280 For example, when he was going through the first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers and Patrick Belly spent the first couple of games as an absolute pest harassing him.
00:38:02.640 And Kevin Durant came out and comes to the media and he said, well, I could do this and I could do that.
00:38:07.380 But I'm Kevin Durant.
00:38:08.980 Y'all know who I am.
00:38:09.920 That's right.
00:38:10.360 You know who I am.
00:38:11.600 You see, now, LeBron can be that way as well.
00:38:15.140 But because LeBron was always held at a very lofty status, even though he's critiqued and dissected more than almost anyone, the reality is that he can just talk naturally, devoid of attitude, because he's just a polished individual that came into the league that way and needed to be that way.
00:38:34.820 Kevin Durant actually went through a maturation process where he wants to talk and he wants to express himself.
00:38:41.620 And he's literally, you know, begging you in his own way to ask him a compelling question that he wants to elaborate on.
00:38:50.840 Because he doesn't want to be silent.
00:38:52.260 I've never heard you say this, though.
00:38:53.460 No, he doesn't.
00:38:54.400 But I've not heard you say this, though.
00:38:55.920 No one's asked me.
00:38:57.080 Yeah, that's interesting.
00:38:57.800 Because I would have never guessed you would have said Kevin Durant.
00:38:59.840 No one's asked me.
00:39:00.740 But what I'm saying is his intellect about the game of basketball, like Kyrie is very intellectual about the game of basketball.
00:39:06.880 Kobe is just a professor.
00:39:08.440 He can teach you about the game of basketball because he's so brilliant about it.
00:39:11.120 But in Kevin Durant's case, what makes him interesting?
00:39:14.020 And again, I thought the Allen Iversons, the Charles Barkley's, all of these interesting Shaq, all these interesting and compelling individuals that I've met over the years and interviewed as athletes.
00:39:22.140 But the reason why Kevin Durant stands out in my mind right now is because he's the one guy that I see going through a process of evolution where he's determined to sort of make up with fearlessness for the fearfulness that he had and that swarmed him at the earlier part of his career.
00:39:44.040 He's anxious to show you that he doesn't care and that he knows more than you do about the game of basketball at this moment in time.
00:39:51.960 How do you think he's going to return when he gets back?
00:39:53.880 I think Kevin Durant's going to be the superstar he's always been.
00:39:56.440 You think?
00:39:56.940 I think Kevin Durant, worst case scenario, is averaging 25 a game.
00:40:00.400 Worst case scenario?
00:40:01.500 Worst case scenario, Kevin Durant will average 25 a game on 45% shooting because he's that great.
00:40:07.000 Stephen A., I'm surprised you didn't say Michael.
00:40:08.800 So Michael in interviews, post-game interviews, you don't put him?
00:40:11.720 Polished.
00:40:12.440 Polished.
00:40:12.840 Safe?
00:40:13.340 Safe.
00:40:13.840 Okay.
00:40:14.260 He did the talking on the court.
00:40:16.560 He annihilated you.
00:40:17.480 He took you off.
00:40:18.020 Michael Jordan and his power came from what he didn't say.
00:40:21.900 Like, you know, if somebody, hypothetically speaking, because I don't remember the exact quote, but when he was going against the New York Knicks years ago and somebody said about him, Michael Jordan said, you know, okay.
00:40:32.560 And then he had nothing to say.
00:40:33.640 Then he finished his interview about five or ten minutes later, and then he stopped on the podium.
00:40:38.000 He said, what was that?
00:40:39.360 What did that guy say again?
00:40:41.240 And looked at the media.
00:40:42.460 He said, who said that?
00:40:44.140 Okay, thanks.
00:40:45.460 And that's it.
00:40:46.620 And that had you waiting for the next game because you knew Michael was coming for him.
00:40:52.580 You see what I'm saying?
00:40:53.340 Yeah, of course.
00:40:53.440 So it wasn't with words.
00:40:54.780 It wasn't what he said.
00:40:55.940 It's what you knew he was thinking and what he was going to do.
00:41:00.420 That's what made Michael Jordan powerful.
00:41:02.360 But in Kevin Durant's case, LeBron and others, especially in Kevin Durant in this day and age, it's what he says and what he's going to do.
00:41:09.080 Kevin Durant, everybody says he's too sensitive.
00:41:11.500 He's this, he's that.
00:41:12.620 You know, he's got attitude.
00:41:14.220 Every single time Kevin Durant has had an attitude, he's dropped 40.
00:41:17.940 Have an attitude all you want.
00:41:19.700 What do I care?
00:41:20.560 He's dropping 40.
00:41:21.840 He's dropping 40.
00:41:22.540 If I was a coach or I were a team owner or a team executive and I had a guy that if you pissed him off, he would drop 40 on you, I would be devising ways to piss him off every week.
00:41:39.100 So based on what you're saying is he's going to average 15 points when he comes back because you used to piss him off all the time.
00:41:44.820 So now he needs you to piss him off.
00:41:47.660 You don't know Kevin Durant very well.
00:41:48.980 Kevin Durant gets ticked off very, very easy.
00:41:51.440 If he sees one of us say something on first take or whatever.
00:41:54.960 No, I'm saying.
00:41:55.820 Listen, Kevin Durant and I get along.
00:41:57.960 I just taped the boardroom with him.
00:41:59.540 That's coming out soon and what have you.
00:42:01.580 Kevin Durant was arguing with me the day before over something that I said.
00:42:05.820 He don't care.
00:42:06.700 He'll just text me on Instagram.
00:42:08.880 What the hell was that?
00:42:10.120 And he'll go off about it.
00:42:11.760 That's fine.
00:42:12.520 It comes with the territory.
00:42:13.340 How tough is it for you to give your what's really on your mind, knowing your friends with many of these guys, like even Magic?
00:42:21.000 You know, it's very hard for you to be critical of Magic because when I see Magic sitting next to you, it's as if it's your brother, it's your family.
00:42:29.040 We're pretty tight.
00:42:29.580 Yeah, it's very obvious.
00:42:30.620 It's how tough is it for you to give criticism to some of these guys that are your boys or your best friends?
00:42:35.920 It's not at all.
00:42:36.520 Not even a little bit.
00:42:37.160 Come on, Steve.
00:42:37.660 Not even a little bit.
00:42:38.220 Really?
00:42:38.440 You know why?
00:42:39.460 Because it's not personal.
00:42:41.120 What do I say?
00:42:42.240 I'm not talking about their family.
00:42:43.520 I'm not talking about their problems.
00:42:44.300 Purely the game.
00:42:45.160 We're talking about the game.
00:42:47.100 Like, you know, Allen Iverson.
00:42:48.400 Let me tell you something right now.
00:42:49.360 I know I'm tight with Magic and, you know, Shaq and, you know, guys like Kobe and others are cool and all of that stuff.
00:42:56.900 But Allen Iverson is like my little brother.
00:42:59.940 We're that tight.
00:43:01.860 And Lord knows we had our history in each other.
00:43:04.860 Allen Iverson and I once went eight months without talking to each other.
00:43:07.820 And I was the beat writer.
00:43:09.060 We walked by each other and then talked to each other by eight months.
00:43:12.400 All right?
00:43:12.740 Because he was so furious at me.
00:43:14.360 And I didn't give a damn.
00:43:15.560 But let me tell you something.
00:43:18.340 I would never talk about his personal business.
00:43:20.980 And he knows that unless one or two things happen.
00:43:25.260 He asked me to or he ended up in the police blotters because I can't avoid that.
00:43:30.840 You see what I'm saying?
00:43:31.600 That's public information.
00:43:32.900 To me, that's not private.
00:43:34.080 You end up in the police blotters.
00:43:35.100 It's public.
00:43:36.100 Okay?
00:43:36.600 So that would be that.
00:43:38.420 Those were the only two conditions under which I would do it with any of these guys.
00:43:41.860 Outside of that, you have friends.
00:43:44.180 I have friends.
00:43:45.420 You know how many times we look at our friends?
00:43:47.680 That was some BS right there.
00:43:49.380 You could have done better.
00:43:50.300 You could have played better.
00:43:51.060 You could have done this.
00:43:51.680 You could have done that.
00:43:52.740 They know this.
00:43:53.480 And so for me, what I've religiously made a point of doing is that I don't blindside you.
00:44:00.140 The people that I really, really know, I have access to.
00:44:04.900 So nine times out of ten, I'm texting them.
00:44:08.120 This is coming.
00:44:09.640 Or I'm calling them.
00:44:10.560 You got to be kidding me.
00:44:11.180 This is coming.
00:44:11.860 Wow.
00:44:12.220 I don't like what you did.
00:44:14.220 What the hell were you thinking?
00:44:16.180 You might not want to see first take tomorrow because I'm coming.
00:44:19.600 What do they tell you?
00:44:20.660 Now, no specifics, but what do they tell you when you say this is coming tomorrow?
00:44:24.600 Man, there you go with that bullshit, Stephen A. Blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:44:29.100 We start arguing a lot of times.
00:44:30.820 Or they'll call and explain themselves or whatever, but they always know.
00:44:35.040 At the end of the day, I might be a Mack truck, but you see me coming.
00:44:40.220 And, you know, we talk about big boy rules here.
00:44:43.680 With big boy rules in a world of adulthood, particularly as it pertains to corporate America and things of that nature, people have a problem with two things.
00:44:53.360 When you stab them in the back or when you ignore them and don't listen to them.
00:44:59.220 And you've given them no outlet to influence your thoughts if you're in a position like mine.
00:45:05.820 What I try to do is make sure they never have that problem with me.
00:45:09.800 If you are a person that if you have access to me and I have access to you, there is absolutely no excuse in my mind how I can take a position without giving you an opportunity to express your thoughts about my position first.
00:45:27.380 Now, if it can't be helped, it can't be helped.
00:45:29.340 If I find out something at 955 and I got to go on the air at 10 a.m., okay, then I might couch what I see a little bit.
00:45:37.740 What do I do?
00:45:38.980 I'm honest about it.
00:45:40.200 Look, I could go harder, but I know this person.
00:45:44.020 I got their number.
00:45:45.120 I haven't had an opportunity to call them.
00:45:47.480 Let me call them.
00:45:48.100 You will hold back a little bit to give them that respect.
00:45:50.820 To give them that respect.
00:45:51.800 Because that's what I would want.
00:45:53.060 I respect that.
00:45:53.380 That's what I would want for myself.
00:45:55.220 But if I don't know you, most times, and I will say this about me, I blame you.
00:46:01.740 I'm not blaming me because I am not a person that hides in studio or in other cases stands in studio and hides.
00:46:08.400 I've heard you say this before.
00:46:09.420 I go to the games.
00:46:10.200 I go to the locker rooms.
00:46:11.600 Who was it with?
00:46:12.060 John Wall, right?
00:46:12.840 John Wall, where you try to have a conversation with him.
00:46:16.900 You know, listen, let me preface my comment about John Wall by saying he's a good guy.
00:46:22.280 He's not a bad guy.
00:46:23.520 He just made a mistake when it came to me because he's lying.
00:46:28.020 Okay.
00:46:28.340 He said he was 36 hours before the Washington Wizards opened their season.
00:46:36.600 He was seen at a nightclub drinking and partying.
00:46:41.940 The problem with that is that he came in the training camp overweight and out of shape.
00:46:47.100 It's 36 hours before the season.
00:46:49.940 People felt you were still overweight and out of shape.
00:46:52.760 And then on top of it all, TMZ reported.
00:47:00.040 You're looking at an individual right over there that's the head of our social media department.
00:47:04.480 He came to me and said, look at this.
00:47:08.320 TMZ is reporting this with John Wall and had video.
00:47:13.840 So, I said, you cannot have TMZ having you on video saying this about you.
00:47:21.820 That is what I said.
00:47:23.760 He said, Stephen A.
00:47:26.140 Dined me out and told people I was at the club.
00:47:29.460 That's a violation of my ethics.
00:47:33.000 I don't do that.
00:47:34.680 I don't publicize your private business.
00:47:37.780 Now, I might sit up there and see you play like garbage the next night and go like this. 0.99
00:47:41.520 What were you doing last night?
00:47:42.940 Because your game looked that bad.
00:47:44.680 I might throw in a line like that.
00:47:46.240 But that's about it.
00:47:47.440 I'm not going to sit up there and say you were here, you were here, you were there.
00:47:51.240 That's your personal business.
00:47:52.360 That ain't my personal business.
00:47:53.720 I don't do that.
00:47:54.780 Why?
00:47:55.160 Because I'm covering athletes that are highly sensitive to that kind of things.
00:47:59.600 And that's the generation that I come from.
00:48:02.020 Where there's certain codes that you don't break.
00:48:05.700 Reporter or no reporter.
00:48:07.140 And I'm very, very big on that.
00:48:09.120 And so, for me to sit up there and to tell people that you're trying to paint me as something that I'm not.
00:48:15.780 I will remember that when I see him.
00:48:19.420 And whenever we have a conversation one-on-one, he's going to know exactly how I feel and why.
00:48:25.700 I don't want people interpreting it as it's going to be more than that.
00:48:28.880 You know, I'm 51 years old.
00:48:30.040 I'm not trying to get into a fistfight or anything.
00:48:31.800 And this doesn't warrant it.
00:48:32.660 I'm a grown man.
00:48:33.720 But what I'm saying is, don't do that.
00:48:36.500 That's unethical.
00:48:37.620 That's not right.
00:48:38.740 You know it's wrong.
00:48:40.120 Don't paint me like that.
00:48:41.140 What if I was that kind of unethical person where I wanted to paint a picture of you?
00:48:46.800 You trying to tell me I couldn't pull it off?
00:48:48.240 With the national platform that I have?
00:48:50.600 But I would never do such a thing because I owe that to myself, my family, who I am, what my name is.
00:48:55.600 And I owe it to my employer, ESPN, to be far more responsible than that.
00:49:00.420 Very respectful on the way you process that.
00:49:03.580 Last thing here, Stephen A., let's play again.
00:49:05.660 We're going to play NBA draft.
00:49:07.140 Sure.
00:49:07.680 You got first pick all time.
00:49:09.360 You got to put all your positions together.
00:49:11.120 Sure.
00:49:11.560 I'm going to go second.
00:49:12.300 So we're going by positions?
00:49:13.900 You could say first pick, I take Will Center.
00:49:16.540 You can't get another center.
00:49:17.660 Got it.
00:49:18.100 Then you're getting four, three, two, one.
00:49:19.520 Sure.
00:49:19.900 You got first pick.
00:49:20.940 Sure.
00:49:21.540 Who's your first pick?
00:49:22.380 Michael Jordan.
00:49:23.440 Okay, I'm second pick.
00:49:24.480 I got Shaq. 0.73
00:49:25.640 Okay.
00:49:26.400 Third pick, I have Tim Duncan.
00:49:29.380 I'll take LeBron.
00:49:30.540 This is prime, prime.
00:49:31.600 Everybody's in their prime.
00:49:33.260 Prime, prime.
00:49:34.140 LeBron is prime.
00:49:35.120 MJ.
00:49:35.740 I got MJ and Tim Duncan.
00:49:37.080 You got Shaq?
00:49:38.580 I got Steph Curry.
00:49:41.140 Really?
00:49:41.620 The greatest shooter in the history of basketball?
00:49:45.440 Yes.
00:49:45.940 I have Steph Curry.
00:49:47.080 I'll take Larry Bird.
00:49:49.140 So you have LeBron and Bird.
00:49:51.020 Mm-hmm.
00:49:51.540 With Shaq.
00:49:52.340 Mm-hmm.
00:49:53.160 I have Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, and Steph Curry.
00:49:55.800 Mm-hmm.
00:49:56.600 See, Kobe shouldn't be left off this list.
00:49:59.320 But I don't need Kobe with MJ.
00:50:00.680 That's right.
00:50:02.540 I don't need Kobe with MJ.
00:50:04.120 MJ.
00:50:04.780 I'm going to take Kawhi Leonard.
00:50:07.920 Very interesting right there.
00:50:10.060 Kawhi Leonard.
00:50:11.540 I would take Scottie Pippen, but Kawhi Leonard was a better shooter.
00:50:15.240 Okay.
00:50:15.740 I'm not saying these are not my top ten players.
00:50:17.720 I get it.
00:50:18.180 I'm talking about.
00:50:18.760 No, no.
00:50:18.880 This is draft.
00:50:19.460 This is a different game.
00:50:20.440 This is a different game.
00:50:21.040 This is a different game.
00:50:21.520 I'll take Malone.
00:50:23.060 Which Malone?
00:50:24.000 Karl Malone.
00:50:24.920 Mm-hmm.
00:50:25.260 I'll put him four against Tim.
00:50:26.600 I'll put.
00:50:28.000 So you have LeBron, Bird, Karl Malone.
00:50:33.260 Who else?
00:50:34.280 Shaq.
00:50:34.560 And Shaq.
00:50:35.100 Yeah.
00:50:36.240 I've got Akeemid Dream, the larger one.
00:50:38.360 I've got Kobe.
00:50:39.180 That's a good matchup.
00:50:41.360 That's a good squad.
00:50:42.320 Who wins out of seven?
00:50:44.180 That's a tough one.
00:50:45.840 I'd say me.
00:50:47.020 You think so?
00:50:47.880 I have the greatest shooter on the planet.
00:50:50.580 I have the greatest player and the greatest assassin to have ever lived.
00:50:55.000 And I have a guy.
00:50:56.380 I have the big fundamental whose money.
00:50:59.600 He would outplay a Karl Malone.
00:51:02.120 He would outplay even a Kevin McHale.
00:51:05.520 He can play center.
00:51:07.340 And I have a guy in Akeemid Dream, Olajuwon, who we all know what he brings to the table.
00:51:12.420 You do have Bird.
00:51:13.460 But you have a suspect shooter, particularly from the free throw line in LeBron James.
00:51:19.080 And you have a guy that may be the most dominant force of our lifetime in Shaquille O'Neal, who's also a liability at the free throw line, not to mention had it given to him by Elijah Warren in his prime.
00:51:32.560 And so as a result of that, when all else fails, I have offense all over the place.
00:51:38.960 I have defense with Kawhi Leonard, with Michael Jordan.
00:51:42.800 Okay?
00:51:43.400 I got that going on with Elijah Warren and Tim Duncan, by the way.
00:51:46.640 And when all else fails, you know what I can do that you can't refute at all?
00:51:50.660 Give the ball to him.
00:51:51.380 If all else fails, all I have to do is foul you.
00:51:53.660 You've got two guys that I can just foul.
00:51:56.580 I can foul LeBron.
00:51:58.340 I can foul Shaquille O'Neal.
00:52:01.500 Would that be your strategy?
00:52:03.480 If it's a...
00:52:04.540 No, no, no.
00:52:05.000 I mean, there's no question.
00:52:06.120 There's no question.
00:52:06.760 It would have to be.
00:52:08.200 I have a volume shooter.
00:52:09.620 I got better passes than you do, though.
00:52:11.520 Yeah, but are they willing to pass?
00:52:14.120 Bird will pass.
00:52:15.080 LeBron will pass.
00:52:15.720 Excuse me.
00:52:16.340 Bird will pass, but he's a better shooter.
00:52:18.340 Sure.
00:52:18.860 No, no.
00:52:19.040 See, Bird is a passer, but a great shooter who's not going to have faith in the other guy's ability to shoot.
00:52:25.980 So he's going to want to shoot more.
00:52:27.800 Okay?
00:52:28.200 So that's a problem.
00:52:29.360 I got Kobe, who's a volume shooter, and he's going to be...
00:52:32.420 His ego's going to get involved because he's going to want to take out MJ.
00:52:36.320 He's going to want to take out MJ.
00:52:37.600 Can't help himself.
00:52:38.460 Can't do it.
00:52:39.140 Okay?
00:52:39.460 He's going to want to go after MJ.
00:52:41.460 Okay?
00:52:42.320 It doesn't matter who you have.
00:52:44.160 I have the greatest shooter on the planet in the history of basketball.
00:52:49.040 Who is at least 90%.
00:52:50.760 How's he going to guard my one?
00:52:52.260 He's not going to guard him.
00:52:52.980 He can't guard my one.
00:52:53.860 He can't play defense.
00:52:54.700 And who's your one?
00:52:56.100 I'll put LeBron at one.
00:52:57.680 Okay.
00:52:58.160 You can say that, but again, I'll just foul him.
00:53:01.000 And I'll turn him into a two-point shooter, and I have a three-point shooter.
00:53:05.320 How many times can you foul him, though, or Shaq?
00:53:07.320 You could say that.
00:53:08.260 I'm going to foul him when it counts.
00:53:10.380 Yeah, I don't know.
00:53:10.940 I'm going to foul him when it counts.
00:53:13.580 He's going to hit threes for me.
00:53:15.580 Kawhi Leonard, I can switch.
00:53:17.680 I can switch and have him do that.
00:53:19.900 Oh, by the way, I can sit up there and put Steph on Kobe. 1.00
00:53:22.940 Now, Kobe will eat him up, but Kobe will take him down in the post,
00:53:26.200 or LeBron will take him down in the post.
00:53:27.820 You have two-point scorers.
00:53:29.380 I have a three-point assassin.
00:53:31.400 I have a guy in Kawhi Leonard that shot 40% from three-point range.
00:53:35.240 I have elite defenders in Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, and Kawhi Leonard,
00:53:39.180 along with Olajuwon.
00:53:41.000 I got the dream shake in the post.
00:53:42.880 Who's going to go through Shaq, though? 0.75
00:53:43.900 I got the dream.
00:53:44.600 Well, excuse me.
00:53:45.200 Nobody's going to go in terms of what.
00:53:46.700 Who's going to go through Shaq, though? 0.75
00:53:47.540 What do you mean go through?
00:53:48.480 Defense.
00:53:49.220 You mean stop Shaq? 1.00
00:53:49.960 Oh, no.
00:53:50.480 Just go through Shaq when he's playing defense.
00:53:52.520 No, no.
00:53:52.560 Just stop to Shaq. 1.00
00:53:52.940 When Shaq's playing defense?
00:53:53.860 Oh, yeah.
00:53:54.420 Oh, the dream did that already.
00:53:55.580 Ask Shaq.
00:53:57.320 Against Shaq. 0.87
00:53:58.200 Ask him.
00:53:58.800 Out of seven.
00:53:59.760 1995.
00:54:00.160 Do your homework.
00:54:01.300 Prime, prime.
00:54:02.120 Check him out.
00:54:02.700 Prime, prime, though.
00:54:03.560 Check him out.
00:54:04.300 Prime, prime.
00:54:05.220 Doesn't matter.
00:54:05.820 Shaq was never.
00:54:06.980 But Shaq's prime's not 95, though.
00:54:08.960 Shaq would tell you the one person that he would not want to guard is Akeem, the dreamer.
00:54:15.180 Put him against Ewan.
00:54:16.040 Put him against David Robinson.
00:54:17.340 Put him against anybody you want.
00:54:19.220 Shaq would destroy them.
00:54:20.640 He has never uttered a disrespectful syllable against Akeem, the dreamer.
00:54:26.160 And by the way, my last point.
00:54:27.420 Who was drafted number three in 1984?
00:54:32.520 Jordan.
00:54:33.340 Yeah, Jordan.
00:54:34.320 Right?
00:54:34.640 Yeah.
00:54:35.380 The Portland Trailblazers drafted who at number two?
00:54:38.240 Sam Bowie.
00:54:39.180 Remember how they thought they should have fired those folks twice?
00:54:42.300 Mm-hmm.
00:54:42.700 Right?
00:54:43.920 Jordan has six rings, right?
00:54:45.960 Akeem Olajuwon only has two, right?
00:54:47.980 Akeem Olajuwon only had two when Jordan retired.
00:54:50.640 Sure.
00:54:51.040 From to go play baseball.
00:54:53.060 That first year, Jordan was going.
00:54:54.440 The second year he came back from 17 games left.
00:54:56.200 Was taken out by the Orlando Magic semifinals.
00:54:58.620 Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott, Shaquille, and all of that stuff, right?
00:55:01.280 So that's six rings to two, right?
00:55:05.040 Tell me one person in basketball history, I'm talking about as fans, who've ever knocked
00:55:12.340 the Houston Rockets for taking Akeem, the dreamer, Olajuwon.
00:55:15.100 Ever.
00:55:16.540 Because remember, they could have had Jordan, but they never took Jordan.
00:55:20.540 They took the dream.
00:55:22.300 Tell me one person, anywhere on this planet Earth, who ever uttered a negative word at
00:55:28.480 the Rockets for taking Akeem Olajuwon.
00:55:30.240 Oh, absolutely not.
00:55:31.600 Absolutely not.
00:55:32.720 If that doesn't speak to your greatness, what does?
00:55:35.420 Let me ask you, in top five, you put Akeem ahead of Shaq?
00:55:39.160 Greatest.
00:55:39.680 Forget about positions.
00:55:40.360 No, no, no.
00:55:40.700 I think that Shaq was more dominant, all right?
00:55:44.920 But what I'm saying to you is, I picked Akeem because you picked Shaq.
00:55:48.480 I get it.
00:55:49.360 You see what I'm saying?
00:55:49.860 I think I'm at the edge deal with the center, though.
00:55:52.220 I could have picked Will or whatever, but what I'm saying to you is that Akeem, the dream,
00:55:56.620 Olajuwon could go tit for tat offensively, but more importantly, could hit free throws.
00:56:02.680 So how can we do this?
00:56:03.860 Is there a simulator to put in a game to see how that's going to work?
00:56:06.320 We got to do it just to kind of get a feel, but then you can't figure out the bench because
00:56:09.740 you got to get the bench and all that going.
00:56:11.460 Anyways, look, if you don't follow Stephen A. and you're in business, and somehow, someway
00:56:17.640 you don't follow sports at all, but you want to find out how to process, go follow all his
00:56:21.080 social media stuff and see how he deciphers through issues that can help you in any kind
00:56:26.300 of business, investments, entrepreneurship, or whatever you're doing can help you out.
00:56:29.560 Stephen A. brother, thank you so much for making the time.
00:56:31.460 Really enjoyed it, man.
00:56:32.000 I enjoyed it.
00:56:32.400 Truly did.
00:56:32.840 Yes, thank you.
00:56:33.900 Thanks, everybody, for listening.
00:56:35.200 And by the way, if you haven't already subscribed to Valuetainment on iTunes, please do so.
00:56:39.780 Give us a five-star.
00:56:41.160 Write a review if you haven't already.
00:56:42.660 And if you have any questions for me that you may have, you can always find me on Snapchat,
00:56:46.740 Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.
00:56:48.700 Just search my name, Patrick David.
00:56:50.600 And I actually do respond back when you snap me or send me a message on Instagram.
00:56:55.600 With that being said, have a great day today.
00:56:57.340 Take care, everybody.
00:56:58.040 Bye-bye.
00:56:58.300 Bye-bye.
00:56:58.340 Bye-bye.
00:56:58.360 Bye-bye.
00:57:00.360 Bye-bye.
00:57:02.840 Bye-bye.