Speaker 1: Lebron, James Gilbert Arenas, Tucker Carlson, and Ben Shapiro. What
Speaker 1: in God's name do all four of those subjects have
Speaker 1: in common? They'll all be talked about right here on
Speaker 1: The stephen A. Smith Show. Right now. What's up, everybody?
Speaker 1: Welcome to the latest edition of The Stephen A. Smith Show,
Speaker 1: coming at you as I love to do at the
Speaker 1: very least three times a week over the digital airways
Speaker 1: of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. As always, I like
Speaker 1: to take a moment to pause just to thank by
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Speaker 1: last few months we received courtesy of iHeartRadio. Combined with
Speaker 1: the one point one to two million subscribers over the
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Speaker 1: to make noise and very very positive way. Can't thank
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Speaker 1: and you too shall be considered the latest member of
Speaker 1: the family and While you're doing that, make sure please
Speaker 1: to pick up a copy of my New York Times
Speaker 1: best selling book, Straight Shooter, a memoir of Second Chances
Speaker 1: and First Takes, Now with paperback. Just go straight shoot
Speaker 1: book dot com to get yourself a copy. Once again,
Speaker 1: there straight shoot a book dot com to get yourself
Speaker 1: a copy. Let's get started with the conversation, not on politics,
Speaker 1: not on sports, but on race. Conversation I heard recently
Speaker 1: between Chris Cuomo of NewsNation and conservative commentator at Tucker Calson.
Speaker 1: The interview was a wide ranging conversation that touched on
Speaker 1: a number of topics, including quotas and DEI don't believe
Speaker 1: me Tuck A. Calson aired at first, and then obviously
Speaker 1: NewsNation neared aired the snippet of it. Take a look
Speaker 1: at what I'm about to show you.
Speaker 2: It became obvious that the maritocracy was producing an incredibly
Speaker 2: lopsided society, and that freaks people out and it felt
Speaker 2: unfair to them. The meritocracy produces an outcome that you
Speaker 2: may not be ready for, actually, because it's rooted in
Speaker 2: nature and you can't change it. So these are super
Speaker 2: complicated questions. But I know that a system that rewards
Speaker 2: people on the basis of race and punishes others on
Speaker 2: the basis of race, creates hatred and division.
Speaker 1: I was very uncomfortable hearing there from Tucker Calson. Let
Speaker 1: me be very very clear, meritocracy created a lopsided environment,
Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen. I don't know how you took there,
Speaker 1: but let me tell you how I take it. We
Speaker 1: live in a white power structured society. White men run
Speaker 1: in this country, if not this world. And what Tucker
Speaker 1: Calson basically said there, it was if you're saying a meritocracy,
Speaker 1: that that is what existed and when that existed, before
Speaker 1: the likes of affirmative action, before civil rights legislation, before
Speaker 1: dei et cetera, et cetera. If you're saying a meritocracy
Speaker 1: created a lop side of society, and that lop side
Speaker 1: of society was in the favor of white folks, then
Speaker 1: essentially what you're saying is white folks got their stuff
Speaker 1: on merit and everybody else maybe not so much.
Speaker 3: That's how I took it.
Speaker 1: That's what I heard. What y'all here, what whoa what
Speaker 1: y'all here? That's what I heard. That's what I heard.
Speaker 1: That is why I was so uncomfortable speaking to Chris
Speaker 1: Cuomo last night, because I was a guest on his show.
Speaker 1: In the immediate aftermath of about seven or eight minutes
Speaker 1: of Chris Cuomo talking to Tuck A. Cossut, I had
Speaker 1: not seen it up until that moment, and they needed
Speaker 1: me to opine on it. So before I even delve
Speaker 1: further into this subject, let me air for you what
Speaker 1: I said to Chris Cuomo last night in the immediate
Speaker 1: aftermath of hearing what took a Callson had to say,
Speaker 1: take it out. He was dismissive of the cult of
Speaker 1: the racial construct notion that you brought to his attention,
Speaker 1: not realizing how palpable and how insulting. Dare I say
Speaker 1: that would come across to so many African Americans in
Speaker 1: this country. The fact of the matter is is that
Speaker 1: covering the world of sports. Think about it from this perspective.
Speaker 1: They were telling folks telling the black man he couldn't
Speaker 1: play the quarterback position. You were telling the black man
Speaker 1: he couldn't be a head coach. You were telling the
Speaker 1: black man and he couldn't be a leader of men.
Speaker 1: Let's not get started with what you were telling the
Speaker 1: black women. And over the course of time, we've seen
Speaker 1: how exceptional people from all races are and can be,
Speaker 1: and we see how deficient others can be. Then you
Speaker 1: also have to take into account the kind of society
Speaker 1: that we lived in. We lived in. Remember I got
Speaker 1: left back in the fourth grade because at a first
Speaker 1: grade reading level, Okay, and I I was I had
Speaker 1: undiagnosed dyslexia that I ultimately had to overcome. What was
Speaker 1: one of the challenges of overcoming it. I was in
Speaker 1: the streets all the time because my mother had to
Speaker 1: work two jobs, because my father wasn't handling his business appropriately,
Speaker 1: and as a result, there was a weight on the
Speaker 1: shoulders of my entire family. And so as a result,
Speaker 1: sometimes you found yourself running the streets. Sometimes you found
Speaker 1: yourself being preoccupied with things you shouldn't be preoccupied with,
Speaker 1: and as a result, that was taking up your time
Speaker 1: instead of you hitting the books and doing what you
Speaker 1: have to do. He didn't mention any of those kind
Speaker 1: of things. He didn't mention any of the potential obstacles
Speaker 1: that could lie in weight. He simply wanted to lean
Speaker 1: on race, talking to the potential intelligence or lack thereof
Speaker 1: of a race of people or what have you. And
Speaker 1: I just said to myself, Wow, he really really seems
Speaker 1: a bit detached from reality. And I was being nice.
Speaker 1: I've been very very nice. I could have said some
Speaker 1: other things, but I don't know. I'm like that. Don't
Speaker 1: want to accuse the brother anything. But the bottom line
Speaker 1: is I was very uncomfortable listening to him because when
Speaker 1: you use words like lopsidedness to describe a meritocracy, and
Speaker 1: that meritocracy vastly favored people that look just like Tucker Carlson,
Speaker 1: and you're lamenting the state of affairs that exist in
Speaker 1: society today, and you're pointing a figure at DEI diversity
Speaker 1: equity inclusion, as if that's what's gotten black folks opportunities,
Speaker 1: not their merit. If you're alluding to stuff like affirmative action,
Speaker 1: civil rights legislation, or anything else that occurred in the
Speaker 1: aftermath of Jim Crow laws that certainly was suppressive, and
Speaker 1: you're pointing to those things to indicate there's a problem
Speaker 1: in our society. What you're saying is it's a problem
Speaker 1: because we're no longer judging anything on merit, So that
Speaker 1: means whatever's going on in our society today, whatever opportunities
Speaker 1: are lacking for quote unquote the white establishment, then excuse me,
Speaker 1: it can't be about merit. Let's get back to merit.
Speaker 1: And this is to me what took a causton came
Speaker 1: across as not getting let's say, for example, thirty positions
Speaker 1: was filled because if you watch the interview he was
Speaker 1: talking about, you know, hey, what's up with all of
Speaker 1: these communities? Black community is Hispanic community, but just individuals
Speaker 1: were people, were people. All of us are at the
Speaker 1: mercy of a system. We're a nation of rules, We're
Speaker 1: a nation of laws. We're supposed to be. And if
Speaker 1: that's what's going on in our world, well, who's hovering
Speaker 1: over it? Who's the puppeteer pulling the strings? Do we
Speaker 1: not see the Democrats right now lamenting everything about Donald
Speaker 1: Trump's power? Do we not see the influence that power
Speaker 1: can wield? Do we not see a guy in Elon
Speaker 1: Musk who's unelected, his position as overdoged does not require
Speaker 1: Senate confirmation anything like that. Do we not see the
Speaker 1: power that he's willing when he's essentially an advisor and
Speaker 1: a consultant to the president. But clearly somebody who gets
Speaker 1: the president to do a lot of what he says.
Speaker 1: Power matters, influence matters, and when it's almost always in
Speaker 1: the hands are people that look like Tucker Caulson, where
Speaker 1: does that leave the rest of us? If a Tucker
Speaker 1: Carlson is on the airwaves spewing that that's the kind
Speaker 1: of meritocracy we should want? Is it just me? Is
Speaker 1: it just me? And then you want test scores, standardized
Speaker 1: test scores? I get that part. If everybody is experiencing
Speaker 1: the same conditions, same qualities as schools and education, same
Speaker 1: quality of teachers, same qualities of life, having a walk
Speaker 1: through the streets of America to get to school. Does
Speaker 1: everybody have to take mass transit? Does it everybody have
Speaker 1: to take the train? Does every he have to does
Speaker 1: everyone have to walk through impoverished neighborhoods, rough streets, crime?
Speaker 1: Does everybody have the same limited amount of distractions?
Speaker 3: Yes? And no.
Speaker 1: The answer to that would be no, which means the
Speaker 1: conditions are not the same, which means to just use
Speaker 1: something generic that's supposed to be applicable to everyone. When
Speaker 1: everyone's situations, the circumstances and what is available to them
Speaker 1: and what they're exposed to is not the same in
Speaker 1: talk of costs world. None of that should be taken
Speaker 1: into consideration based on what I heard, What does that
Speaker 1: leave us? That's where I'm coming from. That's my problem
Speaker 1: with what he said. That's what made me incredibly, incredibly uncomfortable,
Speaker 1: because when you see people lamenting politicians who are in
Speaker 1: office and looking at them, their personality, their experiences, the
Speaker 1: influence that they wield and with their soul lies when
Speaker 1: you found yourself listening to Tucker Causon. As I listened
Speaker 1: to him last night, I just got the impression, Wow,
Speaker 1: this is not a dude that sees much outside of
Speaker 1: his bubble that he either is willing to relate to
Speaker 1: or have compassion for. I might be wrong with that.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm only going by what I saw.
Speaker 1: It looks very uncomfortable because his voice resonates, resonates with
Speaker 1: people who have influence, and if they're listening to him,
Speaker 1: what kind of influence are they willing to exercise and
Speaker 1: what role is he playing in it. He's no longer
Speaker 1: at Fox News, no long as Nana Amas NBC. He's
Speaker 1: got his own social media following. He's free as a
Speaker 1: bird to operate with relative impunity to say whatever it
Speaker 1: is he wants to say. That's pretty damn scary if
Speaker 1: you don't fall under the umbrella of merit or a
Speaker 1: meritocracy that he feels you should. Just my thoughts based
Speaker 1: off of what I saw, you'll see, We'll see. Ben
Speaker 1: Shapiro is the next subject that I'm gonna tackle, but
Speaker 1: not before this word from prize Pects. All right, everybody,
Speaker 1: listen up with all the big time sports action that's
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Speaker 1: to another topic and involves Ben Shapiro. I want to
Speaker 1: revisit the topic because that was from Monday show where
Speaker 1: I spoke out against the conservative commentator who called for
Speaker 1: the pardon of police officer Derek Chauvin for the killing
Speaker 1: of George Floyd. Chauvin was sentsus to twenty two and
Speaker 1: a half years in prison after being convicted of unintentional
Speaker 1: second degree murder, the third degree murder, a second degree
Speaker 1: man slaughter. I spoke out against Shapiro and those comments
Speaker 1: on Monday, and he responded with a few choice words
Speaker 1: of his own. It's only fair did I allow you
Speaker 1: to hear those words the man had to say about me.
Speaker 4: Stephen A. Smith is one of the deepest racial identitarians
Speaker 4: in our society. He does it all the time, all
Speaker 4: the time. He does it when he talks sports. It
Speaker 4: happens literally all the time. If you're talking about Nicola
Speaker 4: Jokic the greatest center of our generation. He'll talk about
Speaker 4: how Nicola Jokic should not be included in conversations for MVP,
Speaker 4: specifically because of his race.
Speaker 1: The reason Stephen A.
Speaker 4: Smith is saying this kind of stuff is because he
Speaker 4: is projecting, He is projecting a racial conversation where none exists.
Speaker 1: The reason that Stephen A.
Speaker 4: Smith is exercised over the George Floyd situation is specifically
Speaker 4: because of a racial narrative that is not predicated on facts.
Speaker 4: And then he's projecting that into me being some sort
Speaker 4: of racist for suggesting that the racial narrative should not predominate.
Speaker 4: This is the whole reason that black lives matter with
Speaker 4: such a mistake and such a fail because it was
Speaker 4: racializing of a question that was not in fact racial.
Speaker 4: And this is again, it's just more evidence that what
Speaker 4: I'm saying about Chauvin is true. That the reason that
Speaker 4: Derek Chauvin is in prison right now is because he
Speaker 4: was the wrong race and George Floyd was the wrong race,
Speaker 4: and because of that, Derek Chauvin is in prison right now.
Speaker 1: Because here's the dirty little secret.
Speaker 4: It never would have been a national news story if
Speaker 4: the races had been reversed, or if both people had
Speaker 4: been white, or if both people had been black, it
Speaker 4: would not have been a national news story. And that
Speaker 4: means that the officer would have been assessed on the
Speaker 4: facts of the situation rather than on the racial narrative
Speaker 4: people like Stephen A. Smith were propagating. Came Meanwhile, again,
Speaker 4: this is part and parcel of a broader left wing
Speaker 4: failure when it comes to narrative. The left wing narrative
Speaker 4: has failed on so many friends.
Speaker 1: Good Lord, damn Ben Shapiro. I thought I talked fast.
Speaker 1: I've got nothing on you. Nothing, Good Lord, Let me
Speaker 1: try to address Ben Shapiro as best as I possibly can.
Speaker 1: Number One, I'm not accusing you of being a racist,
Speaker 1: nor am I alluding to it. I know close to
Speaker 1: nothing about you. I've never even listened to one of
Speaker 1: your shows, and that may be my loss, because anybody
Speaker 1: that's got over seven million subscribers and has the potency
Speaker 1: of the voice that you have, you gotta be doing
Speaker 1: something right. Let me tell you a little bit something
Speaker 1: about me, Ben Shapiro. If I thought you were a racist,
Speaker 1: I'd call you a racist. I wouldn't sugarcoat it. I
Speaker 1: wouldn't dance around it. I wouldn't allude to it. I'd
Speaker 1: say so, I don't know you, so it's very irresponsible,
Speaker 1: or it would be very irresponsible for me to say that.
Speaker 1: Having said that, although I will concede that the word
Speaker 1: irresponsible is not applicable here when it comes to you
Speaker 1: and what you're saying. The flip side to it, however,
Speaker 1: is I'm entitled to deduce from what you're saying how
Speaker 1: wrong I believe you are about something and how, and
Speaker 1: to challenge you on how. It makes no sense to
Speaker 1: me that, out of all the things that you could
Speaker 1: approach President Trump about, since after not supporting him in
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen and not even voting in the election, because
Speaker 1: I read that I read up on you about that,
Speaker 1: that in twenty twenty four, you've campaigned for him, you're
Speaker 1: donated to him, and you're voted for and one would
Speaker 1: surmise you have some kind of relationship with him. I'm
Speaker 1: sure that out of all the things that you could
Speaker 1: talk to him about, that you could approach him about
Speaker 1: issuing a pardon.
Speaker 5: Four.
Speaker 1: It does give one cause to pause why the Derek
Speaker 1: Chauvin case would be that one see, he says, I
Speaker 1: raised my voice. And oh, by the way, I apologize,
Speaker 1: Ben Shapiro. Let me die down the volume so you
Speaker 1: don't have an excuse for not hearing me. Let me
Speaker 1: calm and cool as I'm talking to you and your
Speaker 1: listeners and your followers, who I'm sure are quite smart
Speaker 1: and all that stuff. And before I even go any further,
Speaker 1: let me say this, just reading up on you. Incredibly
Speaker 1: pressive resume my brother, political commentator, author, lawyer, columnists, media host.
Speaker 1: University of California, BA degree, Harvard Law School, jd degree Conservative.
Speaker 1: You understand skip two grades in school and enrolled at
Speaker 1: UCLA at the age of sixteen, graduating summer Cum Laudie
Speaker 1: and political science. Later attended Harvard Law School, earning your
Speaker 1: jd in two thousand and seven. That's pretty damn impressive.
Speaker 1: I couldn't have pulled that off. Never did. Major, major
Speaker 1: props to you. Began your career as a writer, becoming
Speaker 1: one of the youngest nationally syndicated columnists in the United
Speaker 1: States of America at the age of seventeen. Over time,
Speaker 1: expanded into multiple media roles, including as an author, commentator,
Speaker 1: and speaker. Your wrote book books. You know you got
Speaker 1: the daily wyas is twenty fifteen the podcast Public Speaking Engagements, etc. Man,
Speaker 1: this is impressive. Obviously my resume doesn't compare to yours,
Speaker 1: and it shouldn't. I haven't earned what you've earned, sir.
Speaker 1: And I'm not about to go tip for tat for
Speaker 1: you politically because I don't know as much as you,
Speaker 1: because I'm a baby at all of this compared to
Speaker 1: you guys. But I smell something that stinks, and respectfully, sir,
Speaker 1: it's you with your opinion about Derek Chauvin being pardoned.
Speaker 1: Notice how you went the liberal route as if I
Speaker 1: don't have conservative friends, they aren't conservatives that I would
Speaker 1: support their own conservatives I would have voted for. I
Speaker 1: told everybody that this election, ou'd vote for anybody but Trump.
Speaker 1: Maybe not the scentus. After he brought up how this
Speaker 1: benefits the slavery, I didn't like that, and I ain't
Speaker 1: liked how folks piggybacked off of that. I just have
Speaker 1: an ultra level of sensitivity to that because there's everyday
Speaker 1: life that we're talking about here, and if you don't
Speaker 1: harbor a level of sensitivity as to how it affects
Speaker 1: communities other than your own, when you take such positions.
Speaker 1: I have a hard time being supportive of you in
Speaker 1: that regard, but I would have voted for Christy, probably
Speaker 1: would have voted for Ramaswami. I definitely would have voted
Speaker 1: for Nikki Hilly Back in twenty sixteen, I definitely would
Speaker 1: have voted for Kasis without question. I would have voted
Speaker 1: for Marco Rubia. I'm proud to see Marko Ruby as
Speaker 1: the Secretary of State. I think he's going to do
Speaker 1: a great job. He's more than qualified a support of
Speaker 1: Ted Cruise, if I remember correctly. I ain't like the
Speaker 1: whole Tea Party thing, but I respected it. I respected
Speaker 1: where they were coming from. Less government intervention, free market capitalism,
Speaker 1: controlling our borders. I'm not against those messages. Sir, you
Speaker 1: and I might have some things in common. Benshapier, you
Speaker 1: don't even realize. Not this to stop attaching me to
Speaker 1: the left that I criticized all the time, because I'm
Speaker 1: sick of that. What they've done, I apologize, got a
Speaker 1: dollar back. Stop connecting me with the liberals. I'm disgusted
Speaker 1: with them. I think they've let us down a bad path,
Speaker 1: and they've led their own party down a path of destruction.
Speaker 1: I've heard you allude to such things, and I agree
Speaker 1: with you. They better get that act together. They seem
Speaker 1: to have lost their mind. But getting back to Derek Chauvin,
Speaker 1: you know, Ben Shapiro, you brought up fentanyl, that being
Speaker 1: in this system, you brought up his criminal record. I
Speaker 1: have it all in front of me, nineteen ninety seven
Speaker 1: to two thousand and seven, nine separate occasions in which
Speaker 1: authorities arrested him, mostly on drug and theft charges that
Speaker 1: resulted in months long jail sentences. I got it right here,
Speaker 1: I got it right here. Ben, also have the autopsy.
Speaker 1: I'll read a couple of graphs to you, Ben, because
Speaker 1: it doesn't change. See it right there, Ben, see that
Speaker 1: right there, And let me read this to you.
Speaker 6: Ben.
Speaker 1: According to the County's post mortem toxicology screening, which is
Speaker 1: summarized below, was before one day after George Floyd's death,
Speaker 1: he was intoxicated with fentanyl and had recently used meth
Speaker 1: amphetamines as well as other substances before Chauvin choked him.
Speaker 1: And you see the stuff on the bottom, it's right there.
Speaker 1: Let me read a couple of other graphs to you, Ben. Firstly,
Speaker 1: on May twenty nine, twenty twenty, court documents revealed the
Speaker 1: Hennepenn County Medical Examiner's investigation in the Floyd's death showed
Speaker 1: quote no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxiation,
Speaker 1: and that potential intoxicates and pre existing cardiovascular disease quote
Speaker 1: likely contributed to his death. Note Coronary artery disease and
Speaker 1: hypertension typically increased patient's risk of stroking heart attack over
Speaker 1: the years, not minutes, and aphixia or suffocation does not
Speaker 1: always leave physical signs, according to doctors. But then, two
Speaker 1: days later, the county released a statement that attributed Floyd's
Speaker 1: cause of death to cardio pulmonary arrest, complicating law enforcement,
Speaker 1: subdual restraint, and neck compression, which essentially means he died
Speaker 1: because it's hard and lung stopped while he was being
Speaker 1: restrained by police. That announced became just hours after Floyd's
Speaker 1: family released findings of a separate private autopsy that determined
Speaker 1: Floyd that indeed died from a combination of chauvins neil
Speaker 1: and pressure on his back from the other officers. Let
Speaker 1: me get back to you specifically, mister Ben Shapiro, wouldn't
Speaker 1: you agree that certain things don't have anything to do
Speaker 1: with politics. When police officers for the LAPD beat the
Speaker 1: living crap out of Rodney King in the early nineties,
Speaker 1: do you believe those officers should have been let off
Speaker 1: as he was on the ground, writhing in pain, rolling
Speaker 1: around as they beat him mercilessly with their patons gonna,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna. I'm gonna give you the benefit of the
Speaker 1: doubt and say that you probably thought that was wrong.
Speaker 1: My point, Ben Shapiro, is how much evidence do you
Speaker 1: need to see to understand that something was at the
Speaker 1: very least a contributing factor. See, you're trying to go
Speaker 1: down the lane. I wasn't trying to go down. I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna let you take me there, which is why
Speaker 1: I turned down your invitation to appear on your show.
Speaker 1: We're not getting into all of the science and what
Speaker 1: the doctor said and autopsy report, even though I just
Speaker 1: read it to you to some degree, we don't have
Speaker 1: to go there. I'm simply saying, did you not see
Speaker 1: him handcuffed behind his back? If he's handcuffed behind his
Speaker 1: back and laying on the ground, Ben Shapiro, why does
Speaker 1: the knee need to be on his neck? You can
Speaker 1: go out. I saw the reports that Candice Owens did
Speaker 1: as she was undressing Black Lives matter. By the way,
Speaker 1: you're looking at somebody who's been critical of Black Lives
Speaker 1: Matter myself. Once we learned some of the things learned,
Speaker 1: what I'm saying to you is it doesn't negate what
Speaker 1: officers Chauvin did. There was no reason to have a
Speaker 1: knee on his neck. We're literally going to get into
Speaker 1: Oh there was drugs in this system. Oh, you know
Speaker 1: he has an arrest record. What does that have to
Speaker 1: do with the knee being on the neck of a
Speaker 1: man laying on the ground, handcuffed behind his back? Why
Speaker 1: why laid on his back compressed to such a degree
Speaker 1: that there was imprints and scars on his face from
Speaker 1: being pressed against the pavement by the knee of Derek Chauvin.
Speaker 1: It wasn't just me. Mark Levin said that. Numerous other
Speaker 1: conservative hosts said that, I know for a fact. Sean
Speaker 1: Hannity said that, you don't want to quote him either.
Speaker 1: Could it be that you were a bit late to
Speaker 1: the party supporting Trump. You know how they are late
Speaker 1: to arrive early to leave. That wasn't him. He was
Speaker 1: supporting Trump from day one when people like yourself and
Speaker 1: Glenn Beck and others said that ain't the way to go.
Speaker 1: Is that something that that's something that's why you can't vibe?
Speaker 1: Am I missing something, bit, Shapiro. I'm a moderate who
Speaker 1: can lean in either direction. I have friends on both sides.
Speaker 1: I might have voted liberal the vast majority of my life,
Speaker 1: pretty much always when it comes to the presidency. But
Speaker 1: I'm not beyond acknowledging that some conservative policies work, and
Speaker 1: some conservative people are better candidates, damn sure for sure
Speaker 1: than those on the liberal side. Somebody like a Byron Donald,
Speaker 1: if he runs for the governor, for the governor of Florida,
Speaker 1: I'll probably vote for him. I'd vote for West Boyder,
Speaker 1: Democrat for the president any day of the week. That
Speaker 1: has nothing to do with this conversation, Ben Shapiro. The
Speaker 1: knee of Derek Chauvin was on George Floyd's neck for
Speaker 1: more than nine minutes, as he said he couldn't breathe,
Speaker 1: as he cried for his mama, and as numerous people
Speaker 1: were there filming it and taking pictures pleading with the
Speaker 1: police officer to get his knee off his neck, He
Speaker 1: didn't move. He did everything short of laughing in people's
Speaker 1: face while he at the very least contributed to snatching
Speaker 1: the breath of life from this man. And you're coming
Speaker 1: to us with a criminal record and fence and all
Speaker 1: or whatever other drugs was in his system to say, well,
Speaker 1: that's not that's what really killed him, not the knee
Speaker 1: on the neck. Well, if the knee hadn't been on
Speaker 1: his neck, would he had died in that instant right there.
Speaker 1: It's not like he died because he was laying on
Speaker 1: the ground with his handscuffed behind his back. That's not
Speaker 1: what happened. He died because there was pressure on his
Speaker 1: back and his neck from shoving another officers. That's what happened.
Speaker 1: Don't come to me with all of this stuff. Don't
Speaker 1: accuse me with you know, identity politics and liberals and
Speaker 1: we're racializing everything. If a black police officer had his
Speaker 1: knee on George Floyd's neck for nine and nine plus minutes,
Speaker 1: there would have still been riots in the streets at
Speaker 1: that time.
Speaker 6: Period.
Speaker 1: All I'm saying is, of all the things you could
Speaker 1: think of as deserving for a pardon for somebody incarcerated,
Speaker 1: this is the case you could try to bring up
Speaker 1: left and right and all that stuff. I'm not bringing
Speaker 1: up conservatism, I'm not bringing up liberalism. I'm not bringing
Speaker 1: up progressivism. I'm bringing up you, you with this issue,
Speaker 1: nothing else. I don't know enough about your other positions,
Speaker 1: but I know you're strong support of Israel's where you
Speaker 1: should be. I get your background. I understand. I know
Speaker 1: you're a strong conservative, free market capitalism, controlling our borders,
Speaker 1: safety entry, I get it. This ain't about liberal versus conservatives.
Speaker 1: It's about you. You saw what Derek Chauvin did. Don't
Speaker 1: come to me with a doctor's report. You saw it
Speaker 1: with your own two eyes. That's all this is about.
Speaker 1: So the de bench, Shapiro, listeners of youers out there,
Speaker 1: keep on watching them, keep on supporting them. I'm not
Speaker 1: here to cast any dispersions on him. Just don't let
Speaker 1: him get away. We're trying to make this more than
Speaker 1: what it is. This ain't a politically ideological battle, or
Speaker 1: political ideological battle or anything like that. I ain't qualified
Speaker 1: to debate this man on those kind of issues. We're
Speaker 1: talking about. Derek Chaufin with the knee on the neck
Speaker 1: of George Floyd, and you coming with some report to
Speaker 1: justify him being parted. When you saw the video or
Speaker 1: the man with his knee on George Floyd's neck saying
Speaker 1: about politics, this is about you deal with that or don't.
Speaker 1: Either way, I don't care. I just spoke about what
Speaker 1: I saw. You're entited to do the same anytime you want.
Speaker 1: I respect the resume, I respect your accomplishments. I wish
Speaker 1: you nothing but the best. I just disagree with you
Speaker 1: about Derek Chauvin. Stop trying to hide from that. Talking
Speaker 1: about Derek Chauvin. That's what we're talking about. Nothing else
Speaker 1: coming up. After one hundred and thirty eight days, the
Speaker 1: time came for me to join the Fellas on Gil's arena.
Speaker 1: My nephew Josh will join me to react to that discussion.
Speaker 1: Plus there now audio of the Jane Doe and the
Speaker 1: Jay Z sexual assault lawsuit telling investigators she was pushed
Speaker 1: to name the mogul in her lawsuit. Damn. But first
Speaker 1: he fought Davonte Tank Davis and what was ruled the
Speaker 1: majority drawer. Now he's coming on this show to make
Speaker 1: his case for that rematch, that eminent rematch. I'm talking
Speaker 1: to the one and only Lamont Roach Junior, former that
Speaker 1: the waight champion of the world some people's eyes, should
Speaker 1: be the lighted weight champion in the world. He's up
Speaker 1: next right here. I'm Stephen Nasmith Show Lord Way, Welcome
Speaker 1: back to the Steven A. Smith Show, Ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 1: At the beginning of this much marsh First, I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna lie. I expected to see a knockout. I expected
Speaker 1: to see it come at the hands of Javonte Tank
Speaker 1: Davis against a dude that I thought was undersized, that
Speaker 1: I thought was not on the same level. And my god,
Speaker 1: was I wrong. So I thought it was apropos that
Speaker 1: on this particular day, more than a week after, Lamont
Speaker 1: Roach showed up at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York,
Speaker 1: and let everybody know, yo, I'm no joke either, y'all
Speaker 1: must y'all don't know who the hell I am. I'm
Speaker 1: here to reintroduce him to the world, a guy that
Speaker 1: many believes should be the lightweight champion of the world
Speaker 1: in the sport of boxing. The one and only Lamar
Speaker 1: Roach joins me right now. What's going on, man? How
Speaker 1: you doing? How's everything?
Speaker 7: I'm good, my brother, I'm good man.
Speaker 1: How are you look, look, man, let me get this
Speaker 1: out the way I thought. Listen, here was my thinking.
Speaker 1: You're a former featherweight champion. You undersized you moving up,
Speaker 1: I saw ten KOs you were twenty five and oh
Speaker 1: with ten Ko twenty five to one, rather with ten
Speaker 1: KOs on your record, and I said, damn, an undersized
Speaker 1: dude is going into the ring with Javonte Tank Davis. Man,
Speaker 1: I don't like this. He's undersized. This is not fair.
Speaker 1: This is not fair at all. And then you stepped
Speaker 1: in the ring. Did it look undersized? You certainly worried,
Speaker 1: devoid a skill, and in a lot of people's eyes,
Speaker 1: including myself, if you take into account him taking the knee,
Speaker 1: one could easily argue you should have won this fight.
Speaker 1: I owe you an apology, my brother. I did not
Speaker 1: know because I had never really seen you fight before,
Speaker 1: because I ain't watching a bunch of featherweights. I'm a
Speaker 1: busy man, and I never really saw you before other
Speaker 1: than highlights to watch you in that fight. You walked
Speaker 1: to Javonte Davis from date from opening tap and you
Speaker 1: were marvelous. My brother congratulates. I was wrong, damn it,
Speaker 1: I was wrong. Look, look, Lamart wrote America this is
Speaker 1: who this brother is. My apologies, my brother, My apologies.
Speaker 8: Man, It's all good. Just like how you had your prediction,
Speaker 8: a lot of a lot of others had the same thing,
Speaker 8: and it's to your point, like you said, a lot
Speaker 8: of people haven't seen me, and that's that's the whole thing.
Speaker 8: I always knew that I was on the same level
Speaker 8: as as a Jamon j Kang Davis or anybody that's
Speaker 8: a top pound of pound talent because I put my
Speaker 8: work in. I've been here for a long time. I'm
Speaker 8: a student of the game, and I'm always getting better
Speaker 8: and I always try.
Speaker 7: To be the best. So that's what really drives me.
Speaker 7: And the fact that we have history. So you know,
Speaker 7: it's just like a whole.
Speaker 8: Lot of that went hand in hand, and you know
Speaker 8: it was my moment. I've been telling everybody since the
Speaker 8: fight got announced. I mean telling everyone. If you go
Speaker 8: look at all my interviews, all my pre fight, you know, talks,
Speaker 8: I've been I've been telling y'all like I'm I'm really I'm.
Speaker 1: Really that, But did right you all you're convinced me
Speaker 1: I'm no longer doubt. Let me be let me be
Speaker 1: very very clear about that. But when you say y'all
Speaker 1: have history at re educate us about that. What what
Speaker 1: is the history with Javonte Tank Davis or what was
Speaker 1: it leading up to this fight?
Speaker 8: Well, we probably met each other when I was probably
Speaker 8: like ten here, a year older than me, so it
Speaker 8: was probably like eleven. I started boxing after him. But
Speaker 8: uh so when I came in and boxing, now, yo,
Speaker 8: ten years, I already knew who he was because he
Speaker 8: was already you know what I'm saying, like a self
Speaker 8: proclaimed good fighter in the area DC and Baltimore. Uh
Speaker 8: you know, they fight, They fight each other or fight
Speaker 8: in the same you know tournaments, the local tournaments.
Speaker 7: So I've been seeing them since a kid.
Speaker 8: We sparred, We sparred a lot, probably thirteen fourteen, and
Speaker 8: then we fought. We finally fought when we was fix
Speaker 8: when I was fifteen, and you know, he beat me,
Speaker 8: but I thought, you know, I thought I won. You know,
Speaker 8: we sent the video to the USA Boxing like the
Speaker 8: entire fight, and they was like, well, maybe that shouldn't
Speaker 8: have went away. So they sent me an at large
Speaker 8: bid to the Nationals and they put us on two
Speaker 8: different sides of the bracket and we met up in
Speaker 8: the championship and he beat me in a close fight.
Speaker 8: I think I won that one too, but he beat
Speaker 8: me in a close fight number one and two in
Speaker 8: the nation. So leading up to that fight, mind you,
Speaker 8: I already know his tendencies and just because he's evolved
Speaker 8: as a fighter period, like obviously one of the best
Speaker 8: fighters in the world. He's evolved as a fighter, but
Speaker 8: so have I and the fact that I know certain
Speaker 8: things about him, like how to me.
Speaker 7: I think he tends to doubt himself.
Speaker 8: He even told you on the Gloves Off Special that
Speaker 8: his fear is getting embarrassed or losing. You just not
Speaker 8: the sport to be fearful, and that you gotta be
Speaker 8: a gladiator, just a gradiator sport. So I know certain
Speaker 8: things about him that you know that our game plan
Speaker 8: was was drawn up a ground and you know we
Speaker 8: executed it.
Speaker 1: To the to the team, what was your game plan
Speaker 1: going into this fight? Because I you know, listen, let
Speaker 1: me let me let me preface my question to you
Speaker 1: by saying this, because I think it'll give you an
Speaker 1: appreciation for where I'm coming from. So he's getting ready
Speaker 1: to fight Frank Martin, right, and Frank Martin is annoying
Speaker 1: the living hell out of him because he's telling, you know,
Speaker 1: telling a story about how they were sparring and he
Speaker 1: shook him up a little bit and whatever, and Gavonte
Speaker 1: was like, ooh, he said that that never happened. That
Speaker 1: never happened. And then he looked at him, and this
Speaker 1: is when I knew Frank Martin was in trouble. He said, you,
Speaker 1: you really really should have waited. You took this fight
Speaker 1: a little bit too early. You really really should have waited.
Speaker 1: And that's what Javonte David said to him. And sure enough,
Speaker 1: to fight began and he instantly stalked Frank Martin. Whereas
Speaker 1: with you, I was expecting the same with you, Bro Laman,
Speaker 1: I was expecting you know, I'm thinking, I'm thinking you
Speaker 1: the smaller guy in the ring, that is, you know,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, he's gonna come out, he's gonna back up, Davonte,
Speaker 1: gonna go right at it, and me gonna stark him.
Speaker 1: But one I interviewed Davonte before the fight, and he
Speaker 1: didn't talk about you the way he talked about about
Speaker 1: Frank Martin. And number two, once the fight started, you
Speaker 1: walked right to him. I said, oh shit, what what
Speaker 1: is this? You know, I'm like, what's going on here?
Speaker 1: So talk to me. What was the strategy going into
Speaker 1: the fight against him?
Speaker 8: The strategy was just be confident and do what I
Speaker 8: know how to do. I got a lot of twos
Speaker 8: in my two bag. I can fight on the back foot,
Speaker 8: I can fight coming forward, but my comfort zone is
Speaker 8: right there in that pocket.
Speaker 7: And you know, once I took his best shot, I
Speaker 7: already knew it was like I was like, all right,
Speaker 7: this canna be a long.
Speaker 8: Night for him, because at the end of the day,
Speaker 8: that's where I'm That's where I'm in my best when
Speaker 8: I when I'm right there in that pocket, Like trust me,
Speaker 8: I got other fastest in my game that I'm very
Speaker 8: good at, but I'm the most.
Speaker 7: Confident right there in the pocket.
Speaker 8: And then once I knew he couldn't bother me, like,
Speaker 8: I still had to be cautious because I see why
Speaker 8: he knocked people out. But when I took his best shot,
Speaker 8: I was like, oh, yeahs old, okay, start right there.
Speaker 1: When exactly do you say you took his best shot?
Speaker 1: Which round did that happen in?
Speaker 7: I want to say like five or six.
Speaker 8: I know one shot he hit me with I know
Speaker 8: he was so one shot he hit me with, I
Speaker 8: kind of knew he was going to punch me, Like
Speaker 8: I seen it. I jabbed him and I jabbed at him,
Speaker 8: and I already seen him going back. I was like,
Speaker 8: oh shit, I about to get hit, and he did.
Speaker 8: He actually punched me. He took the power off and
Speaker 8: let the speed. He let the speed take over. So
Speaker 8: I'm like, oh, he's not trying to thump. I'm like,
Speaker 8: let me see, let me see what he's trying to do.
Speaker 8: And then I think in the fifth round or something
Speaker 8: like that, he was talking trash was like, I thought
Speaker 8: you hit harder than that, and I was like, shit,
Speaker 8: I thought you hit harder than that too, And that's
Speaker 8: when he that's when he loaded up in like some
Speaker 8: body shot. And I was like, oh, yeah, he don't
Speaker 8: got like power wise, haven't got that for me. But
Speaker 8: one thing he is I mean, let me not say that,
Speaker 8: but one thing he's very good at is being accurate
Speaker 8: and hitting people in the chin. So and I think
Speaker 8: that's what plays into my game where all around I
Speaker 8: think I'm the better fighter, the best, the best fighter
Speaker 8: he's been in the ring with. But defensively, I know
Speaker 8: one hundred percent for a fact that I'm very I'm
Speaker 8: better defensively than any fighter he's fought, and that's what
Speaker 8: played into That's what played a big role into the fight.
Speaker 8: A lot of stuff I was blocking, perrying, hitting gloves,
Speaker 8: and countering.
Speaker 1: So when you say you know you're the best of
Speaker 1: defensive fighter he ever fought, do you believe in his
Speaker 1: eyes that you were preparation, say for somebody likes your
Speaker 1: course Stevenson, who's considered to be a marvelous defensive fighter.
Speaker 1: Do you think that's what he was thinking, that that's
Speaker 1: what he was doing in this particular fight.
Speaker 8: No, And I'm gonna tell you why. He had two
Speaker 8: guys in his corner. Well, everybody in this corner was
Speaker 8: very familiar with me, but very Hunter and and big
Speaker 8: Bug that he brought into be the lead trainers in
Speaker 8: his in his uh in his camp, very familiar with me.
Speaker 8: My last two three camps before the tank camp, I
Speaker 8: was over there sparring for damn near every fight. So yeah,
Speaker 8: so you know, they seen they know what I can do,
Speaker 8: like they do, And I think one hundred percent for
Speaker 8: a fact, they told him like, all right.
Speaker 7: You know we're gonna work on what we're gonna work on.
Speaker 8: But you've been that's like, that's a bad boy. They
Speaker 8: put warned them, like and he knows too, Like he
Speaker 8: knows like he knows, he knows. He could see, he
Speaker 8: could see like I'm not championing for a reason, Like
Speaker 8: I'm not champion for no reason. I beat the same
Speaker 8: guy he beat no, and I thought it was pretty
Speaker 8: you know, he didn't do the same things that he
Speaker 8: did to Tank Hector. Luise got here, heck Louise go.
Speaker 8: He was in the pocket when he fourteen. When he
Speaker 8: was fighting me, he was on cat and mouse, trying
Speaker 8: to get in and out and stuff like that. And
Speaker 8: it's just like, I just I shut down a lot
Speaker 8: of things that a lot of a lot of fighters have,
Speaker 8: and that's that's what I'm good at.
Speaker 1: When he took a knee, what was that about. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's one thing for us to sit up here and say, y'all,
Speaker 1: he took a knee, We really didn't see him heurt
Speaker 1: or whatever. It's one thing for him to say he
Speaker 1: had got his hair done and some grease got in
Speaker 1: his eye. Whatever, And listen, he's too great for me
Speaker 1: to question whether he's telling the truth.
Speaker 5: Or not.
Speaker 1: But that's me. You're the one that's in the ring,
Speaker 1: that was in the ring with him. You're the champion.
Speaker 1: Why did Javonte Davis take that knee in your in
Speaker 1: your opinion?
Speaker 8: And one of his many answers, he did say that
Speaker 8: his eye was irritated. I'm gonna tell you right now,
Speaker 8: it wasn't from the grease or nothing like that. This
Speaker 8: was the ninth round. It's seven eight. It's just eight
Speaker 8: other rounds where you didn't. You wasn't wiping your eyes.
Speaker 8: You wasn't irritated, none of that.
Speaker 7: I'm not trying to hear that.
Speaker 8: When I punched him in one, you can see it.
Speaker 8: When I hit him with the right hand, the first
Speaker 8: right hand, you could see him wipe his his left eye.
Speaker 8: When I hit him with that second jab that actually
Speaker 8: hit him in his eye, he wiped it out. He
Speaker 8: tried to wipe it like it was irritated. He backed up,
Speaker 8: looked at the reft and took a knee. That's from
Speaker 8: a punch. And even if even if I didn't land that,
Speaker 8: you cannot voluntary take an You can't.
Speaker 7: That's the rule that's given. That's giving yourself up. That's
Speaker 7: like Okay, I need a break. You can't take a
Speaker 7: break in the middle of a ram. Only the referee
Speaker 7: can stop the action.
Speaker 1: So with that being said, it's fair to say you
Speaker 1: believe you won this fight, that you should be the
Speaker 1: lightweight champion of the world. Is the aspiration or rematch
Speaker 1: with him or is it the biggest fight you can
Speaker 1: find at the lightweight division. Some could argue it's him,
Speaker 1: you know, I think it's him, But who knows what
Speaker 1: you as a fighter think in terms of cats at
Speaker 1: one forty because the way you moved up to one
Speaker 1: thirty five. Me damn, I can't. I can't rule out
Speaker 1: you going to fight at one whether it's I look
Speaker 1: at you and I say you can beat Devin Haiti,
Speaker 1: you know you you you. I'd love to see you
Speaker 1: against your course, Stevenson, I mean tia Fimo Lopez at
Speaker 1: one fort I mean I'm lamont roaches on the mat
Speaker 1: right now, or you understand that's where I'm at in
Speaker 1: a lightweight division and in that area junior waltsweight lightweight division.
Speaker 1: I don't want to hear anybody talking about anybody else
Speaker 1: without your name being in the mix. That's official right now,
Speaker 1: So is the rematch with Javonte David's your top priority
Speaker 1: or is it something else?
Speaker 8: The rematch is definitely my my top priority, and it's
Speaker 8: close to being a done deal just to let you
Speaker 8: guys go, h you know, wearing talks. So I don't
Speaker 8: want anybody to say, oh, I'm ducking.
Speaker 7: The rematch or anything like that. That's my top priority.
Speaker 8: So if we don't fight, it's something on it, and
Speaker 8: I'm gonna tell y'all that right now. If we don't fight,
Speaker 8: it's something on that. In my first contract had a
Speaker 8: rematch clause in it, so with the first fight, in
Speaker 8: case he lost or in case he drew, in case
Speaker 8: we drew, there's an immediate rematch clause in effect.
Speaker 7: So that's how that's what it is.
Speaker 1: What do you think you're going to see? I mean,
Speaker 1: is it one of those situations where you think he's
Speaker 1: gonna come out? Assume I'm assumed the rematch is gonna happen,
Speaker 1: because I give him credit for this as a champion
Speaker 1: who was undefeated and had all the sizzle in his
Speaker 1: direction in terms of name recognition and all of that.
Speaker 1: He's the one that brought up the rematch instantly before
Speaker 1: they even interviewed you. They interviewed him first, and he
Speaker 1: didn't run from a rematch. He was like, let's do
Speaker 1: it again. So I'm gonna give him credit for that.
Speaker 1: Do you think that was his way of saying, this
Speaker 1: ain't the best of me. I really wasn't as ready
Speaker 1: as I'm gonna be in fight number two? Or do
Speaker 1: you think you gonna see more to say.
Speaker 7: I'm gonna go ahead in the gate that this this
Speaker 7: isn't the best of me for for a good fight.
Speaker 7: It's just that I was the better man that night.
Speaker 1: No, I'm not saying I'm not I'm not saying I'm
Speaker 1: not saying I'm saying that. I'm saying, have given that indication?
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah, No, for sure, Like if anything, if anything,
Speaker 8: he for the damn good fight. If he didn't fight
Speaker 8: a good fight off him would have I would have
Speaker 8: did a lot more damage. I'm gonna tell you that
Speaker 8: right now. He was fully aware. He was trying to
Speaker 8: be as defensively as sound as possible. You know, he
Speaker 8: was trying to preserve himself. He fighting spurts, you know,
Speaker 8: that's how he get a lot of them guys, and
Speaker 8: getting a lot of them guys to uh to wear
Speaker 8: their self out and then next thing you know, he
Speaker 8: doing the hunt. I'm an old school fighter, bro, I'm
Speaker 8: like a fifteen round fighter.
Speaker 7: I can fight. I can fight forteen.
Speaker 8: Rounds straight and at the break that I do no no,
Speaker 8: no pulling, no punches for nothing. So I would say
Speaker 8: he's gonna come back with He's gonna come back with
Speaker 8: a vengeance. He's gonna come back.
Speaker 7: With a vengeance.
Speaker 8: He's not a guy that that that that would take
Speaker 8: lightly to a draw, a loss, whatever the case may be. Uh,
Speaker 8: he's not used to people ridiculing him saying that they
Speaker 8: think he lost a fight or he's not used to that.
Speaker 8: So I think he comes back with a vengeance. I
Speaker 8: think he comes back with a better game plan. And
Speaker 8: but trust me, trust me when I tell you I'm
Speaker 8: gonna come back the same way because I feel like
Speaker 8: I was robbed of a victory. So I gotta get
Speaker 8: I gotta do what I gotta do to make sure
Speaker 8: the job is complete.
Speaker 1: And what would we see different from you in the
Speaker 1: rematch than he saw on March first.
Speaker 8: Just to press the action just a little bit more earlier.
Speaker 8: I'm still I'm still confused as to how the judges.
Speaker 8: All three judges gave him five of the first six rounds,
Speaker 8: five of the first six six rounds, and I still
Speaker 8: managed to get a draw. It's no way he won
Speaker 8: round one. No way he won round two and round
Speaker 8: three could have been a toss up. But if I
Speaker 8: win those two rounds on the scorecards again, I still
Speaker 8: win a unanimous decision.
Speaker 7: It's no way.
Speaker 8: He didn't land a punch until the third round. He
Speaker 8: threw about three punches one or like two or three
Speaker 8: punches the first two rounds. So I'm trying to figure
Speaker 8: out if I'm the aggressor, I'm initiating the action. I'm
Speaker 8: on the front foot, and I'm securing you know what
Speaker 8: I'm saying, like little shots. They might not have been big,
Speaker 8: huge scoring blows, but I'm the only one that's landed.
Speaker 7: How do you win those rounds?
Speaker 8: So so that's that's the thing that I probably capitalize
Speaker 8: on and hopefully to make him pick up his output too.
Speaker 7: We will see how we want see how he really work.
Speaker 7: If he's gonna pick his output up, he ain't gonna
Speaker 7: have no choice. I'm gonna make him work. I'm gonna
Speaker 7: make him thinking. I'm gonna make him work. That's what
Speaker 7: we did the first fight.
Speaker 1: What's the outcome of the second fight? The rematch?
Speaker 8: Lamar and the new and the new two time division
Speaker 8: two division champion Lamar Rose Jr.
Speaker 1: Yo, Bro, nobody fights for free these days, at least
Speaker 1: they shouldn't. Everybody should get paid. You deserve it, my brother.
Speaker 1: I apologize. I thought you listen. I thought I thought
Speaker 1: I was gonna see a smaller fighter stepping into the
Speaker 1: ring against Tank Davis, and I thought he was gonna
Speaker 1: take you out inside of seven rounds.
Speaker 5: Bro.
Speaker 1: Until I saw you into the ring. Until I saw you,
Speaker 1: I said, he's not smaller, he's not smaller.
Speaker 3: And then all the.
Speaker 1: Time like and then you walk right to him, and
Speaker 1: then I saw you take his punch. I said, oh
Speaker 1: my god, who is this dude? Man, Love and respect
Speaker 1: to you. You deserve it, no doubt about it. You
Speaker 1: on the map, I ain't no question. Get your paper
Speaker 1: because you deserve it. Make sure you're gonna do this
Speaker 1: rematch right, You're gonna get paid more right, make sure.
Speaker 8: That Michelle, Michelle, it's gonna be. It's gonna be one
Speaker 8: of the most sought out fights of the year. You
Speaker 8: got gotta think we got a superstar Javon, Tank Davis,
Speaker 8: power puncher and piggybacking off the first fight.
Speaker 7: What else could you expect? So it's gonna be pot work.
Speaker 1: Lamar Roach, appreciate you, my brother, Proud of you, happy
Speaker 1: for you, happy your name is on the map. And
Speaker 1: you know you're gonna have that rematch against Avante. That
Speaker 1: that's gonna be one of the biggest fights, if not
Speaker 1: the biggest fight of the year. Wants it to Greed
Speaker 1: the Pond. There's no question about it. You deserve it.
Speaker 1: You deserve this reach just rematch, my brother. You deserve
Speaker 1: it and you deserve all the praise you getting because
Speaker 1: of it. I got to stand down and give it
Speaker 1: to you, and I don't like to do that. I
Speaker 1: don't like to do that unless it's earn. It was
Speaker 1: earned in your case, Bro, much love to you, well deserved,
Speaker 1: my man. I'll see you around right. You take care
Speaker 1: of yourself all right?
Speaker 6: Thank you?
Speaker 7: Ireciated greatly.
Speaker 1: You take any so too, No doubt went only lamar
Speaker 1: Roach right here, Stephen A Smith show brother can fight,
Speaker 1: brother can fight, y'all. Ain't some situation where you know
Speaker 1: he caught him and rocked him.
Speaker 5: Or what not.
Speaker 1: Nah, he stepped in the ring from round one to
Speaker 1: round twelve to right in front of him and box
Speaker 1: his ass off. It's just the truth. It's just the truth.
Speaker 1: Coming up, I'll pay tribute to a former NBA sixth
Speaker 1: man who became a billionaire in his post NBA career.
Speaker 1: You all need to know the story of Junior Bridgeman
Speaker 1: straight ahead. Also, attorney Tony Buzzby could be in hot
Speaker 1: water after this client was recorded saying jay Z did
Speaker 1: not sexually assault her. But first highlights from my appearance
Speaker 1: on Gills Arena yesterday, and my nephew Josh has some
Speaker 1: thoughts to share on what he saw all that and
Speaker 1: more up next right here on the stephen A. Smiths
Speaker 1: Show and go away. Welcome back to Stephen A. Smith Show.
Speaker 1: Now let's get to my much anticipated appearance on the
Speaker 1: Gills Arena podcast. To be clear, those aren't my words.
Speaker 1: This came from the crew who accused me of ducking
Speaker 1: the show for more than one hundred and thirty eight days.
Speaker 1: So yesterday I sat down with Gilbelderenis Kenya Martin and
Speaker 1: Rashard mccantz and Nick Young and of course Josiah Johnson
Speaker 1: for nearly three hours. We talked about several topics, including
Speaker 1: my running with Lebron James, where everyone seems to have
Speaker 1: an opinion. Of course, so check this out before I
Speaker 1: bring in my next guest.
Speaker 3: What do you make of Lebron infront of you? In
Speaker 3: the aftermath of that situation, I.
Speaker 1: Thought it was weak. I thought it was some bullshit,
Speaker 1: But in the moment, I knew that I was listening
Speaker 1: to a father. I remember.
Speaker 9: During the time out in the first quarter seeing Bronnie,
Speaker 9: and Bronnie looked over at me and he had this
Speaker 9: sad look on his face, and I'm imagining Pops.
Speaker 1: Sore that shit. You hit him, man, and he could
Speaker 1: hold it and he rolled up with me. Isn't it weak?
Speaker 3: Though?
Speaker 5: Like when you think about it, you know he wasn't
Speaker 5: ready rights as a father.
Speaker 1: You're still a father to your son.
Speaker 5: You're still trying to praise them and make them feel
Speaker 5: like they're worthy of playing basketball because they can get.
Speaker 3: Discouraged at any moment in time.
Speaker 5: Right, So I'm pretty sure every game he's over.
Speaker 1: The life you got it, don't worry about they just
Speaker 1: go out there and play the game. That's that part
Speaker 1: of it.
Speaker 5: The NBA part knows he's not ready yet, right, but
Speaker 5: as the father part him sitting there nervous and shit,
Speaker 5: you're lie, hey, relax, you're gonna go out there and play.
Speaker 5: At what point when he gets drafted fifty five, do
Speaker 5: you supposed to sit back and be like, all right,
Speaker 5: there's nothing to talk about here.
Speaker 1: He's fifty five.
Speaker 5: He wasn't seventeen, he wasn't a first run.
Speaker 1: His draft status actually, let you know what he was
Speaker 1: all he had to do this. Listen, I got this
Speaker 1: moment with my son. All right, Now it's time to
Speaker 1: go to the G league and do what you're doing.
Speaker 5: And.
Speaker 6: Or let the draft happen organically. And if somebody's going
Speaker 6: to draft, let them draft, like you know, no, just
Speaker 6: just for ships and giggles, all right. What if somebody
Speaker 6: at forty four wanted to know I'm just for ships
Speaker 6: and giggle you know, I get right? What but forty
Speaker 6: four wanted to pick him?
Speaker 3: Right? Yes, so you're gonna stop.
Speaker 6: Yes, lord, because he wants to play with his kid.
Speaker 6: He don't want to see his kids, don't want to
Speaker 6: see his kid.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, he wants to play on the stone. I
Speaker 1: think that's way different that's way different, and here's why
Speaker 1: my son could have died.
Speaker 5: Yes, I've been in the league twenty one years, right,
Speaker 5: so what is going on? I've been in the league
Speaker 5: twenty one years. What is dream to be in the NBA?
Speaker 5: I've been in the league twenty one years.
Speaker 1: I missed.
Speaker 5: Nineteen to twenty years of his life. You know how
Speaker 5: we are as parents, We're in, we're out, we're in,
Speaker 5: we're out.
Speaker 1: My first born with my name almost passed, and.
Speaker 5: You're telling me that I'm gonna keep I'm gonna keep
Speaker 5: playing this league to miss this fuck No, this is
Speaker 5: gonna be the first time in my career where I
Speaker 5: get three hundred and sixty fucking five.
Speaker 1: Days with my son. But what is Bronnie's dream?
Speaker 3: Briannie's dream was to be in the NBA. My dream
Speaker 3: was this. I don't give a fuck where I get drafted.
Speaker 3: I just want to hear my name. So why dream?
Speaker 6: So therefore, what I'm saying is that was his dread
Speaker 6: that happened organically. Listen, I told y'all seeing this motherfucker,
Speaker 6: I was a bigger wreck on Kj's draft day than
Speaker 6: he fucking wou right, right, for sure, he should be
Speaker 6: a bigger wreck. I'm trying to stay away from him
Speaker 6: because I don't want him to fit since this.
Speaker 1: Shit, right right, So yeah, I wanted more than.
Speaker 6: He fucking want, right, absolutely, But it's his dream and
Speaker 6: his journey, is what I'm saying.
Speaker 5: With you.
Speaker 6: I'm saying, yes, Gil, Yes, absolutely, hear his name called
Speaker 6: by for any fucking team.
Speaker 1: Right for anything, Which means that when we're talking about
Speaker 1: the Lakers, that's about Lebron, not Bronnie. Bronni wanted to
Speaker 1: get drafted by any NBA team. He wanted to hear
Speaker 1: his name. It was Lebron that wanted him as his teammate.
Speaker 1: For Lebron up here and you know you're up here.
Speaker 1: He don't give a fuck. The problem is when it
Speaker 1: comes to the media. God damn it, I'm up here.
Speaker 1: We all know what happened with me and Lebron. I
Speaker 1: I don't give it if I never speak to him
Speaker 1: again in life, And I'm sure he feel the same way.
Speaker 1: If that man had something going on in accron O
Speaker 1: Hire with the kids while here with the kids, Yo, man,
Speaker 1: we need Steven ahelp. What you need it ain't got
Speaker 1: nothing to do with us. What you need. I don't
Speaker 1: need to say anymore. That encapsulated everything. I was there
Speaker 1: for three hours, White frankly tired of talking about it.
Speaker 1: It is what it is. You know, everybody knows where
Speaker 1: I stand now, what happened, and that's that. But my
Speaker 1: nephew was there. He was in the house and he
Speaker 1: was out there in La with me, and for a change,
Speaker 1: he wasn't styling and profiling. He was just there hanging
Speaker 1: with his uncle, listening intently for a change, and I
Speaker 1: was very, very proud of him for doing that. Actually,
Speaker 1: like his outfit right now. It looks nice. What's going on, Josh?
Speaker 1: How you doing? Man?
Speaker 3: None much, just being rich and you know, living life.
Speaker 3: You got on my shirt today.
Speaker 1: No, this is mine, Josh, it was my shirt.
Speaker 3: Listen.
Speaker 10: It's slowed down on the creatine and the muscle milk.
Speaker 3: You're busting out of it. That's not just us. But
Speaker 3: when you talk about my style, that's it's not your size.
Speaker 3: It's not your size, but.
Speaker 1: It's my size.
Speaker 3: It is to show your cuts, and then I don't
Speaker 3: appreciate it.
Speaker 1: It's a sports shil that's because you're not in the gym.
Speaker 1: You're too busy looking pretty. You're looking in the mirror
Speaker 1: all the day going time. I got news for you.
Speaker 1: If you went to the gym, you would notice there's
Speaker 1: a lot of mirrors there, so you could look at
Speaker 1: yourself all the time. You should try it.
Speaker 3: No, I don't want to waste my time. I got
Speaker 3: other things to do with this body. Anyway. What you
Speaker 3: talking about the Gilbert Arena?
Speaker 1: What did you do? You would you were there the
Speaker 1: whole for the whole damn near three hour interview? What
Speaker 1: were your thoughts of it? Man?
Speaker 10: I feel like y'all wasted a little bit too much
Speaker 10: time on that w W E moment. We know nothing
Speaker 10: was gonna happen at that at the Crypto Arena, But
Speaker 10: I wanted you all to talk about because I watched
Speaker 10: the show.
Speaker 3: All the time.
Speaker 10: They they're good at you know, Are you in the
Speaker 10: talent versus greatness? Because that's where I come in because
Speaker 10: I don't value all little like the rings and the
Speaker 10: all NBA teams that y'all vote for and stuff like that.
Speaker 3: I go with for what I see.
Speaker 10: So I wanted you to go in there, and I
Speaker 10: wanted all of y'all to put put together like a
Speaker 10: starting five of players minus the accomplishments, just about how
Speaker 10: nice a player is. When I say nice, we from
Speaker 10: New York, so I'm nice as different Stephan Marberry, Kenny
Speaker 10: Anderson like just nice, not your resume. So if I
Speaker 10: asked you to give me five, what would it be.
Speaker 10: We're not talking rings, we're not talking resumes. Just nice
Speaker 10: five and don't.
Speaker 1: Put just nice. But when you say just nice, I
Speaker 1: could I could retort by asking the question, Josh are
Speaker 1: you talking one on one? Are you talking five or
Speaker 1: five team NBA basketball? When are you're talking about?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 10: No, no, It comes in the lines of an NBA player.
Speaker 10: Like I said, when I name nice, I'm talking Kevin Durant,
Speaker 10: who's not in the goat conversation. But if you want
Speaker 10: to talk about the nicest players that you've ever seen play,
Speaker 10: he's in the top five.
Speaker 1: I don't disagree with that. I think that Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: is maybe the greatest scorer we've ever seen. So he's
Speaker 1: a professional scorer, he's something, he's something special to behold.
Speaker 1: I don't have a problem with that.
Speaker 3: But you would to put him in your top five
Speaker 3: with resident with his resume?
Speaker 1: Let me ask you a question, would you put him
Speaker 1: ahead of Kobe.
Speaker 3: I would they in the top five? Kevin Durant to
Speaker 3: be my.
Speaker 1: Okay, right, would you put Lebron in the top five? Na,
Speaker 1: you wouldn't put Lebron in the top five.
Speaker 10: I'm doing in position. Kevin Durant is the nicest small
Speaker 10: forward I've ever seen.
Speaker 1: So you put Kevin Durant ahead of Lebron.
Speaker 3: As far as being nice, Yeah, you'd put.
Speaker 1: Kobe Bryant in top five? So who would you? So
Speaker 1: where would you put Jordan?
Speaker 10: He he wasn't nice like that? That's the resume talking
Speaker 10: right there, the six to six and stuff like that.
Speaker 10: If we've seen him playing in the park, were picking Kobe.
Speaker 10: We're not twenty four Kobe eight. Kobe Athletics still jumpers.
Speaker 10: I'm not with the Jordan stuff.
Speaker 1: And you know that, Josh, there's nobody that would pick
Speaker 1: Michael jordans they saw Michael Jordan. There's nobody that would
Speaker 1: pick Michael Jordan, that would pick anybody ahead of Michael Jordan.
Speaker 11: Talks you saw, if you saw, if you saw Michael Jordan,
Speaker 11: I've seen him, you would not pick anybody ahead of Michael.
Speaker 10: George's telling me my opinion, this is what I'm talking
Speaker 10: about this media stuff.
Speaker 3: All right, so you got two more. Who's the point guard?
Speaker 1: Who's your power forward?
Speaker 3: Janni's yeah, I don't want to doing over jump hooks
Speaker 3: all day.
Speaker 1: I don't so so in other words, so, in other words,
Speaker 1: Yanna's dunking on everybody but struggling to do almost anything else.
Speaker 3: He gets his own shot on a fast break, he'll
Speaker 3: run it by hisself. He's dunking on you. He used
Speaker 3: to shoot a little bit. He not even he don't
Speaker 3: even he don't even want to shoot no more. I'm
Speaker 3: saquille o Neil. Now I'm wearing number thirty and but.
Speaker 1: You you you taking out rings because Tim Duncan's got
Speaker 1: five rings. You're just taking out rings.
Speaker 10: Okay, all right, it matters. I want to want to
Speaker 10: see you play. I don't want to see jump hooks,
Speaker 10: all right.
Speaker 1: Where what's Kevin Garnett? Where would he be in that?
Speaker 10: Not better than your honest man? He right, he'd probably
Speaker 10: be second, okay? And your center is who gotta go with?
Speaker 1: Joker? Wow? Your kitchen? Yeah, I mean the way he
Speaker 1: looks in this day and age is the walking triple double.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know we come from the day's Kareem
Speaker 1: map dude, Jabbar you you take him over Shaq too? Right,
Speaker 1: that's what you're saying. You know, Chapman is dominant force
Speaker 1: of my life.
Speaker 3: Would Shaq would be second? Kareem ain't even.
Speaker 1: Who's your point guard?
Speaker 3: Josh Seth? That was easy, yep?
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, all right? What else did you take
Speaker 1: from the Gilbert Arena this interview?
Speaker 10: It was it was a little lengthy, and I seen
Speaker 10: him looking at me like they wanted me to come
Speaker 10: on the stage. But I gave you all y'all moment.
Speaker 10: I'm like, when me have y'all moment. It was missing
Speaker 10: me for sure though three hours no me. I got
Speaker 10: some new laws here too.
Speaker 3: Out it you guys. So what some new laws from
Speaker 3: when we twenty twenty eight? I saw, Yeah, we got
Speaker 3: the money now yeah laws?
Speaker 1: Yeah. Do I have to listen to this?
Speaker 3: I mean, you don't have to do this. One is
Speaker 3: for the women. The des for the women.
Speaker 5: I need.
Speaker 3: I need the women to wake up a little bit.
Speaker 3: So I'm gonna get started.
Speaker 10: If you're gonna interrupt me, make sure it counts new
Speaker 10: female lords. I'm trying to fix America, one relationship at
Speaker 10: a time. This how y'all talk when it's the presidency
Speaker 10: like this. Yeah, if you talk while the game is on,
Speaker 10: you're getting fond. On Sundays, we're gonna honor something called
Speaker 10: selective listening, meaning I'm listening a little bit.
Speaker 3: Make it count when you too. Oh, I like that one.
Speaker 1: I like it. I like that one.
Speaker 3: I like that one.
Speaker 1: Okay, go ahead, go ahead, Yo. Dead clock is right
Speaker 1: twice today. One to the.
Speaker 5: Right there.
Speaker 10: Emotional range act. Yeah, appreciate your role. Let me tell
Speaker 10: you a story. So I had a living situation. Right,
Speaker 10: I had a living situation. The girl cooked. Hold on,
Speaker 10: the girl cooked. We ate, then she like, you know,
Speaker 10: I'm going to bed now I'm tired. Oh, you're not
Speaker 10: gonna do the dishes.
Speaker 3: I cook.
Speaker 10: Also, we gonna tip it tat all right, I'll do
Speaker 10: the dishes and then we go to bed. Somebody bangs
Speaker 10: on the door. They play like that in the hood.
Speaker 3: Bangs on the door. Oh my god, somebody's at the door.
Speaker 3: So I roll over. I'm like, all right, well you
Speaker 3: let me know who it is. It's your turn. I
Speaker 3: did the dishes. You know what I'm saying. We're gonna
Speaker 3: turn turn. Either either appreciates your role or not.
Speaker 10: We'll be doing here. Last one privacy Act. You touch
Speaker 10: my phone, you're going to jail. And I want to
Speaker 10: know who's wrong first? Get up and sit up at
Speaker 10: the mic. Because I started. I started a show on YouTube,
Speaker 10: The Josh Smith Show. Everybody want to know where to
Speaker 10: find me. They want to advice and stuff like that.
Speaker 10: I am an advisor.
Speaker 3: You can catch me on YouTube.
Speaker 10: You too, So I have I have one last question.
Speaker 10: Though I see your face, you look a little confused.
Speaker 3: I have a question.
Speaker 1: You started a YouTube show without my permissioner.
Speaker 3: Mission, that's right, you paid for it.
Speaker 10: Yeah, so look, one last question, right, So the privacy
Speaker 10: the Privacy Act.
Speaker 3: I want to know this.
Speaker 10: If a girl goes through my phone finds out that
Speaker 10: I might have cheated? Who was wrong first?
Speaker 5: You?
Speaker 3: Why am I wrong first?
Speaker 1: Because you cheated?
Speaker 3: She violated my privacy and found out I cheated? So
Speaker 3: who's wrong first?
Speaker 1: But you cheated? But you became before the violation. She
Speaker 1: don't know that you you you cheat, but you know
Speaker 1: that you said who?
Speaker 3: You said? What was first? You know what you did?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 3: But I but I asked you what was first? Who
Speaker 3: was wrong first? Was she wrong? She didn't know that
Speaker 3: I did it. She went through my phone.
Speaker 10: You knew, you knew, Okay, so when she was doing
Speaker 10: little sneaky ninja moves to figure out my code and
Speaker 10: stuff like that.
Speaker 3: Was that wrong? Was that wrong with about me being
Speaker 3: sleep with her checking my breathing?
Speaker 1: It's it's it's it's wrong if she can't deal with
Speaker 1: what she's liable to find out, you know, because what
Speaker 1: she should do is get rid of your ass.
Speaker 3: Okay, I shouldn't get rid of her, But.
Speaker 1: The point is, But the point is if she elects
Speaker 1: not to you understand that, then you just digging in there,
Speaker 1: and then you messing with your own conscience and your
Speaker 1: own stress or your own tranquility. You're really messing with it,
Speaker 1: then that's problematic, But it doesn't absolve you.
Speaker 3: I ain't said that was exalt. I just said who
Speaker 3: was wrong? First?
Speaker 10: She went through my phone and violated my privacy? You
Speaker 10: always taking up for them. But I see why.
Speaker 3: When you come back to town tied to the split
Speaker 3: screen stuff.
Speaker 1: You like sitting in my seat. You wouldn't be sitting
Speaker 1: there if I wasn't there. If I was there, you
Speaker 1: wouldn't be sitting there. So you should be happy.
Speaker 3: I do, but I do want to go back there later.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you can go next year. Good Bye, Get the
Speaker 1: hell out of here. I got stuff to finish up.
Speaker 1: The show made bye go.
Speaker 5: Just go, just go.
Speaker 1: Let's get into jay Z. In the latest news on
Speaker 1: a woman who withdrew her alleging that he and showing
Speaker 1: that he combs raped her when she was just thirteen
Speaker 1: years of age. ABC News recently obtained a recording where
Speaker 1: the woman confirms jay Z did not assault her and
Speaker 1: says her lawyer Tony Busby pushed her to suit him.
Speaker 1: He's a portion of the recording between the women identified
Speaker 1: as Jane Doe and to private investigators associated with jay Z,
Speaker 1: also known as Sean Carter.
Speaker 7: But Jasey was you saying he was definitely there, but
Speaker 7: he had no heart in it, or he was just
Speaker 7: he was there.
Speaker 8: He was just there, but he didn't have anything to
Speaker 8: do with any sexual acts torture.
Speaker 2: It was strictly Yeah, he was the.
Speaker 10: One that kind of pushed me towards going forward with.
Speaker 7: Him with jay Z. Yeah do you know why.
Speaker 1: Meanwhile, Buzzby called the idea that he pushed her tursuing
Speaker 1: jay Z quote a blatant lie. End quote. He says,
Speaker 1: quote as far as the suggestion that I pushed Jane
Speaker 1: Die to bring a case against jay Z, that is
Speaker 1: a blatant lie that is directly contrary to all the
Speaker 1: documentary evidence. End quote. Jane Doe has said in the
Speaker 1: sworn declaration she stands by her claims and dropped a
Speaker 1: lawsuit because of quote fear of intimidation and retaliation from
Speaker 1: jay Z end quote and his fans. She also denied
Speaker 1: telling the investigators Buzzby sought her out as a client,
Speaker 1: or that he encouraged her to pursue a false claim
Speaker 1: against jay Z end quote. This is all over the place.
Speaker 1: You got reports saying that you know, a recording saying
Speaker 1: that you know jay Z didn't do anything, a recording
Speaker 1: from her saying that she was forced to implicate jay
Speaker 1: Z by a attorney, Tony Busby. Then she comes out
Speaker 1: in the aftermath of it all and says she stands
Speaker 1: by her claims. After Busby obviously says the assertions and
Speaker 1: the accusations are ridiculous and he didn't no such thing.
Speaker 1: He didn't compel her force her to do anything. He's
Speaker 1: been a guest on the show. It's not my job
Speaker 1: to cast the spurges on him and anybody else.
Speaker 3: I could tell you that.
Speaker 1: I never believed that jay Z would be guilty of
Speaker 1: such a thing. Case has been dropped, and there's a
Speaker 1: lot going on, but in the end, his reputation was smeared,
Speaker 1: and I think that what we're seeing right now is
Speaker 1: jay Z setting the framework to go after Buzzby. The
Speaker 1: jay Z that I know. I don't see lying down
Speaker 1: and just going away, walking away from all of this.
Speaker 1: His name was blemished big time, and he lost twenty
Speaker 1: million dollars in business, so he says. But most importantly,
Speaker 1: one could easily have argued it would have been difficult
Speaker 1: for him to walk into rooms and do business with
Speaker 1: such an allegation and an assertion being labeled against them.
Speaker 1: He's not somebody that's gonna take that line down. I
Speaker 1: just don't see it. I really, really really don't see it.
Speaker 1: So to me, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Speaker 1: Moore's coming down the pike. He is not going to
Speaker 1: go away, And the more the Jane Doe, the more
Speaker 1: Tony Busby deny it, the stronger he's gonna come. He's
Speaker 1: not gonna fade into the twilight and just let this go.
Speaker 1: Maybe he will, but I doubt it. I really really
Speaker 1: doubt it. Before I get on out of here, very
Speaker 1: very sad note to bring up. Somebody deserves the tribute.
Speaker 1: He really really does, and you need to know about
Speaker 1: him for my NBA A billionaire. His name is not
Speaker 1: Michael Jordan, it is not Lebron James, but you need
Speaker 1: to know about him. Nevertheless, stick around. We'll close out
Speaker 1: to stephen A. Smith Show in a minute. Welcome back
Speaker 1: to the stephen A. Smith Show. Our last topic today
Speaker 1: is a tribute to Junior Bridgeman, former NBA player NBA legend,
Speaker 1: who passed away yesterday after suffering a medical emergency during
Speaker 1: an event in Louisville, Kentucky. Bridgeman was a former NBA
Speaker 1: sixth man who rose from modest means to becoming a
Speaker 1: billionaire in his post playing days. He was also a
Speaker 1: philanthropist and was recently named as a minority owner of
Speaker 1: the Milwaukee Bucks. Walking around in the NBA to day,
Speaker 1: when we think about somebody like an Irvin Magic Johnson
Speaker 1: and what he's been able to establish and build for
Speaker 1: himself in the world of business, when we think about
Speaker 1: Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brown would it has become.
Speaker 1: When we think about the off court excellence of the
Speaker 1: late great Kobe Bryant in terms of some of his
Speaker 1: entrepreneurial achievements and accomplishments, think about Lebron James, billionaire in
Speaker 1: his own right and what he's been able to accomplish.
Speaker 1: Whenever anybody in NBA talked about somebody who made it big,
Speaker 1: they talked about Junior Bridgeman. How much of a pioneer
Speaker 1: he was in that regard, longtime franchisee of Wendy's and
Speaker 1: Chile's restaurants at one time operating more than four hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty locations in twenty different states. Became a bottler
Speaker 1: for Coca Cola, bought Ebony and Jet magazines, part of
Speaker 1: a foursome that owns the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.
Speaker 1: Served on the boards of Churchill Downs Racetrack, University of Louisville,
Speaker 1: and Fifth Third Bank, among others. What do you say? Obviously,
Speaker 1: NBA players weren't making it much money in the seventies,
Speaker 1: and he wasn't a superstar basketball player. Matter of fact,
Speaker 1: he spent the first several years of his career not
Speaker 1: even starting, but he was a solid player career thirteen
Speaker 1: point per game scorer, played for Milwaukee the first ten
Speaker 1: years of his career, the Clippers the last two. I've
Speaker 1: never seen anybody in the NBA circle so universally respected
Speaker 1: and revered because of his business acumen and his business accomplishments.
Speaker 1: And on a day like today, we take a moment
Speaker 1: to pay homage to those achievements when we think about
Speaker 1: what we aspire to be taking our money, no matter
Speaker 1: how little it is, investing it allowing it to nurture
Speaker 1: and grow ultimately to the point where we achieve astra
Speaker 1: nomical wealth. We see it today with player salaries, we
Speaker 1: see it in rare occasions in the world of business
Speaker 1: with former athletes. Practically never have we seen it before,
Speaker 1: be jump started by a guy came from modest means,
Speaker 1: wasn't even a superstar in the NBA, but it was
Speaker 1: a superstar to the superstars because of what he was
Speaker 1: able to parlay that NBA career into To his wonderful
Speaker 1: wife Doris, to his children Eden, Justin and Ryan on
Speaker 1: behalf of everybody here associated with the Stephen A. Smith Show,
Speaker 1: and of course the entire NBA community and beyond my
Speaker 1: deepest condolences and sympathies for your loss. Junior Bridgeman was
Speaker 1: someone special gone, but he will never ever be forgotten.
Speaker 1: That's it for this addition to the Stephen A. Smith Show.
Speaker 1: Until next time, Ladies and gentlemen, Peace and love, God
Speaker 1: bless