WEBVTT - Player Storytelling: Johnnie Johnson 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:07.520 Welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast, an NFL podcast for 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:13.160 the players, by the players. Here's your host, fourteen year 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:24.040 NFL veteran and Hall of Famer Anius Williams. Hello, and 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:27.960 welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast. I'm Inius Williams. Today 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:33.000 I'm joined by a fellow legend, defensive back Johnny Johnson, 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:37.320 who played in the eighties mostly for the Rams. He 0:00:37.400 --> 0:00:41.840 has a book called From Athletics to Engineering Eight Ways 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:47.440 to support Diversity, equity and inclusion for all. Welcome Johnny, 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:51.160 and there's great to be will you, uh, and thank 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:53.840 you very much. Well. I want to first start off 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:57.640 with happy be lated birthday. I thank you turned sixty 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:00.800 four on October eight Is that correct? Then it's correct. 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:03.680 Thank you very much, and uh, it's good to be 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:08.080 closer to that senior citizen age. And also because I 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:10.480 played with the Rams as well, I keep track of 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:12.800 some of the records that are out there. Your records 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:17.440 still is intact. Nine nine yard interception return for a 0:01:17.520 --> 0:01:21.199 touchdown him all right. And then once I running very 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:25.600 first NFL interception in the third game of my NFL career, 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:28.200 and when and when I got that thing, the only 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:30.319 thing I could think about when I got my hands 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:32.399 on it, I just I thought about the back scratch 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:37.800 of the phone under meters and I just kept running. Well, 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:40.520 that record is still attack, so you did a wonderful job. 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.840 So we still got the young guys going after your record. 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:47.120 So yes, they gotta go a long ways to break it, 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:52.320 though they be shipped because when we introduce our guests, Johnny, 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:56.000 we cover what's relevant to our listeners, which include current 0:01:56.040 --> 0:02:00.400 players and legends. For you, there's a whole lot that's elevant. 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:04.840 First of all, you played ten seasons. Your brother is 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:09.400 also a legend. Your son, Colin currently plays in Jacksonville. 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:14.200 You've written two books, you have a nonprofit, the Moving 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:19.360 Family Foundation, which helps kids and their families when they relocate, 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:23.280 and you write a lecture about a wide range of subjects. 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:27.360 So there is an incredible amount that you have done 0:02:27.440 --> 0:02:31.120 and continue to do. My first question to you is this, 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:36.079 If you could sum up your thirty year career after 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:40.799 football into one sentence, what would that sentence be, Johnny? Well, 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:43.520 we will put here for a higher purpose, and football 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:48.000 laid a tremendous platform for me, and that platform have 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:53.880 propelled given me an opportunity to propel to perform on 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:58.200 the planes that you just described. And UM, that's something 0:02:58.240 --> 0:02:59.960 that I look to do the rest of my life 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:02.080 in terms of making a difference in the lives of 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:04.560 the of all the people that I have an opportunity 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:09.360 to come in contact with. I'm thankful for family, UH, 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:12.400 and I'm thankful for that opportunity to have the type 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:16.480 of impact that we know only family can have UH 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:21.600 in society. Today. Let's talk about football first, having your 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:27.880 son play football of all positions, Johnny receiver right in 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:32.359 the NFL. How are you doing watching Colin play? Well, 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:36.080 you've got to be proud, honestly, Um, anytime you watch 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:38.880 your son go on. But the fact that he plays 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:42.760 wide receiver, you and I b n DBS. I tell 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:44.600 him all the time. I get all up in his 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:48.400 grill if if I was playing against him. U. But 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:50.600 you know, it's it's it's an honor, and I'm thankful 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:53.960 and I wish him the best and and most of all, 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:59.040 I just encourage him every day to play every every 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:01.760 down and this and meetings and in the games like 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:04.680 it's the last play that he ever play in his life. 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:08.800 Tell me, Johnny, you didn't teach your son the receiver 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:13.840 in Jacksonville all of our secrets as defensive backs, right, 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:16.320 because I don't want the current defensive backs to put 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.160 a head out on you, all right, tell me you 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:21.800 didn't teach him those things. It was the exact opposite. 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:27.200 I purposely kept everything hidden from him, knowing that he 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:30.440 would have a chance ultimately uh the one day play. 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:34.800 And although I'll watch him and wishing him the best, Uh, boy, 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:38.679 is that a It's a tough call when you look 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:42.720 and know that it's your son, but you know when 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:45.320 each DD is going through when they're coming, not just him, 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:49.080 but every wide receiver, uh that they play against. And 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:51.000 what was it like watching and play at your el 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:54.880 Mo Mata the University of Texas? Well? What was ironic 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:58.960 as my eldest son, uh play running back at Texas 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:02.560 at the same time call and did and had Kurt 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:06.560 Notton had the injuries that he had and uh, you know, 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:11.279 without the pro day and mini camps and the training camps, 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:13.920 I do believe he would be in the NFL at 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:16.440 this time. So I had a chance to watch him 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:20.440 both play in an ironic enuff is my daughter is 0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:26.359 currently a Texas on the track and field team, So uh, 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:29.240 it was a special treat. First of all, having them 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:31.880 all end up going to the same school, that was 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:35.080 a surprise, but I was pleased with that. Uh. And 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:38.240 like any parents watching their kids, you want the very 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:41.159 best for him. But having an opportunity to have that 0:05:41.320 --> 0:05:44.960 legacy carry on at the University of Texas is something 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:48.200 special in the Johnson family. What changes do you see 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:51.520 in the NFL now versus when you played on and 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:55.440 off the field? Well, Uh, First of all, it's the tackling. 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:58.000 You know, back when I played, and even when you played, 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:04.000 I'd be suspect that every every game just by the way, 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:07.320 just by by the way we tackle back then. So 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:13.200 I think that's one of the the the big differences there. Another, 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:17.880 you see a lot more spread formations today, which back 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:20.640 in the day they only ran those really in passing 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:24.279 situations are on third down, So I think other than that, 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:28.120 the primary one being the tackling. Have people ask you 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:30.520 why you let your kids play football? Have you got 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:35.240 that question before? Ironic? I do, uh quite often. And 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:39.080 I remember one time going to a skate park with 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:41.600 my kids when they were very young, maybe seven eight 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:46.240 years old, and they had this big old hold in 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:48.520 the wall where kids can skate down I don't know 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:53.960 ten and some of the tricks that the kids were 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:57.680 done on those skateboards scared me a heck of a 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:00.200 lot more. And then I've ever seen, you know, on 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:02.719 the football field. And when I saw that, I remember 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:06.320 saying to myself, I will never ever be fearful of 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:10.600 them playing football. I'm more concerned about them, you know, 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:14.640 having an accident on a skateboard or something like that, uh, 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:18.239 than playing football. What values have they learned from playing 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:22.480 the game. Well, there's a competitive nature that we all 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:26.560 are equipped with. And I think when you take the 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:33.920 connect competitive nature and you incorporate it into a team environment, 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:38.119 one that you can apply in every aspect of life. 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:42.600 You see that there are a number of life skills, 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:49.320 character traits, patients, perseverance, resiliency, but most of all teamwork, 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:52.320 being able to collaborate. Of course, you and I notice 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:56.480 anytime I got in the huddling, Coach called a blitz 0:07:57.640 --> 0:07:59.200 and I look at the linebacker and I look at 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:01.000 that difference a line man, and that the first thing 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:05.080 I said to him, get home, need to get home. 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:09.400 And and that's just the part of that collaboration that 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.800 sports teaches you, but football really teaches you because everything 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:18.040 is so interconnected. When you think of how not only 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:23.160 defensive backs and linebackers and defensive linemen coordinating work together, 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:27.040 think of the coordination between defense and offense, or defense 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:31.680 and special teams. So just knowing and have an opportunity 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:37.440 to talk to him about what collaboration. Also, another big 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:40.959 one that I thought was real interested is the diversity piece. 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:44.840 You know, you've got a big old, big old defensive lineman, 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:49.600 medium sized linebackers, and the little guys our size, uh, 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.559 and we all have to come together and and collaborate 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:54.720 for the purpose of achieving the goal of the defense. 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.080 A lot of your work and the thesis of your 0:08:57.120 --> 0:09:01.840 first book boils down to ethics. What is your definition 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:10.240 of ethics? Well, at the core values, it's believing in 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:16.560 what those values are and values. Uh. If you look 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:18.960 at the values and a football on a football team, 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:22.040 and you look at values in life, what did they 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:27.120 give you the greatest opportunity to be successful? And ethics 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:31.000 is at the core of the foundation though basis that 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:34.079 gives you an opportunity to be successful in whatever space 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:38.240 that you are operating. Man and at the core, ethics 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:42.040 and values and things along those lines are gonna be 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:47.120 at the basis of that foundation. How do we, when 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:53.679 we're bombarded by conflicting messages in our society, Johnny, reclaim 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:58.439 our own ethics to move our best selves forward. That's 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:02.040 a great question. Um. There is a higher purpose that 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:05.720 we all are pursuing in life, UH, and that should 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:10.240 drive us. And in order to reach that, they give 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:13.040 yourself the greatest opportunity to reach it. You know, you're 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:17.080 going to run into obstacles and barriers and twists and turns, 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:20.760 So you need some basis to make good, sound, affective 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:25.240 decisions to keep your own track to achieve in whatever 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:28.559 goals that you've set for yourself. So when you incorporate 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:33.320 those ethics and those values into that foundation driven by 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:38.000 a higher purpose, it gives you uh an opportunity, regardless 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:42.160 of who you are, your age or whatever, to stay 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:44.959 on path when you run into obstacles of barriers along 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:47.360 the way, and we are guaranteed to run into those 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:50.040 no matter who we are, no matter what level we reach. 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:52.880 And that's what not only I encourage my kids, I 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:55.880 seek to encourage you know, the people that I come 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:59.199 in contact with UH to do the same. And there's 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:02.200 one of the things that you and I are so 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.960 so awareness and and and coming from our sports world. 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:10.360 If they're going to be obstacles, they're going to be barriers, UH. 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:13.160 And sometimes they come out of nowhere. And you look 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:16.600 at what we're dealing with today, from from the pandemic 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:21.560 to the social unggress too or whether it be on employment, uh, 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:24.160 climate change, I mean, you name it if we and 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:26.760 those are just the major items that we're dealing with. 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:29.640 And when you drill down what we deal with every 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:33.599 on an everyday basis in our households. Without that foundation, 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:37.720 life is challenging. With it, it's still challenging. And you 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:40.200 seem like you're sixty or four years old, but you 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:43.160 still like you're still learning, like like you're a life 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:47.520 alone learner. It's a process. And sports talking me a 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.040 lot of things, and one of the things that taught 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:53.280 me is every day you have to wake up knowing 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:55.160 that we have to be better today than yesterday and 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:58.000 better than the margin today. And in order to do that, 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.760 we've got to be on this constant track being the 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:05.559 very best that we can do. That requires the ongoing 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:11.760 process of become a more knowledgeable learning same fundamentals, but 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:14.560 it is a process that where I feel like I'm 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:18.400 learning something every day on just how to communicate, whether 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:20.679 it's how to communicate better, how to connect to someone, 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:25.319 how to overcome an obstacle our barrier. UH is all 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:30.000 part of that process. Diversity, equity and inclusion are top 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:35.040 of mind in this country now, and your book From 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:39.200 Athletics to Engineering, Eight Ways to Support Diversity, Equity and 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:44.520 Inclusion for All takes this head on. Let's talk about 0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:49.120 the concept of engineering first. How did engineering connect with 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:55.240 athletics for you? It's pretty ironic. Um. Dr Michael Webber 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.720 is an esteemed mechanical engineering professor at the University of Texas. 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:04.200 Do my coaching organization world class coaches. I have had 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:08.439 the pleasure of serving as Dr Webber's personal and business 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:14.160 coach for the past thirteen years. So, now, when you 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:21.080 think of it, just from UH stereotypical standpoint, why would 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:28.239 a farmer NFL player, African American be coaching a white, 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:34.600 prominent mechanical engineering professor. You have what is it that 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:40.360 this black man going to teach this prominent individual. So 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:44.880 through that relationship, over the years, I've had the pleasure 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:50.400 of coaching his energy research group, and so I've gotten 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:53.800 to know him really well. And so when we look 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:58.880 at what's happened in sports, our position as a defensive back. 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:04.079 When I started in high school, it was a predominantly 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:10.040 white high school, one dB black and three white dbs 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:12.319 started in the secondary. When I got to Texas, there 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:16.760 were two white dbs, two black dbs. Four years later 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:21.840 there were one white dB and there were three black 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:25.440 uh dbs. When I got to the NFL, there were 0:14:25.600 --> 0:14:30.800 one white dd in three black dbs, and when I 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:34.240 left the NFL, we were all black. And so during 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:39.240 that short period, you ask yourself, with all the scruggles 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:44.600 that we are dealing with with from equity, UH diversity 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:49.600 and inclusion standpoint, why is it that sports had that 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.680 type of a transition in such a short period of time. 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:55.960 And so I was intrigued by that, and I wanted 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:59.960 to be able to just share some of the messages, 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:04.400 some of the lessons from a life experience standpoint, But 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:08.720 I knew my voice alone wouldn't have the impact if 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:12.040 I had a teammate. When Michael and I started talking 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:19.240 about it, we started discussing the parallels between engineering and athletics, 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:21.760 and it dawned on me. I said, you know what, 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:25.960 here's what's ironic. As a dB. One of the things 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:29.000 that I believe made me, gave me an opportunity to 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:31.640 be the best that I could be, was I practiced 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:35.880 geometry I just needed on the on the run practiced 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:39.720 physics every day because that you and I noticed the 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:44.520 angles that we take so critically important and so on. 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:46.600 The difference is we do that stuff in our head 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:50.000 on the run as a football player, where the engineers 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:52.920 are dina with a slide rule. And I thought, if 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:56.560 we combine those two, that's a pretty powerful message when 0:15:56.600 --> 0:16:01.120 we look at that from the standpoint of um seeing 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:04.200 how that can improve diversity, equity, and inclusion for all 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:08.000 throughout society, because that eliminates a lot of obstacles of 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.920 barriers when we look at it from that standpoint. It 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:15.040 also brings out the intelligence of that the wet right. 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:19.080 But what's ironic is, you know, typically when you look 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:24.360 at it from a stereotypical standpoint in general, in society, 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:28.520 athletes and particularly black athletes are not always thought to 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.800 be the smartest guys around, when in reality they may 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:35.520 be one of the most smartest around, at least when 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:39.960 it comes to taking in practice and geometry and physics 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:44.280 and all those things in a in a live setting 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:47.560 where the competition is the best in the world. I mean, 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:50.480 name another profession where you have a three on the 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:55.760 pound lineman at a hundred ninety pound dB and youre 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:58.800 telling me goes two are going to be able to 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:02.320 provide the same value on a team. But yet that's 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:06.040 what we do. Now, how do we go about making 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:12.120 sure everyone has a fair shot at opportunities in America? Well, 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:15.080 it's about opportunity. Um, not everyone is going to be 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:20.359 a professional athlete, but everyone can be an executive, or 0:17:20.440 --> 0:17:23.879 everyone can be a salesperson or whatever profession that they 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:28.560 might be in. And so when you look at blind spots, 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:33.240 a biases that we may have or that certain people 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:37.080 may have against let's say people of color, there are 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:40.240 limitations that are placed on us. My mom had a 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:42.840 great saying when I was growing up as a kid. 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:46.040 She said, God does not place limitations on any of 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:50.760 us either. We place them on ourselves. Are we allow 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:54.800 someone else to place them on us? And that makes 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:57.919 that makes a lot of sense. So, but when you 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:02.280 look at it. We've made tremendous progress in sports in 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:07.600 the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I gave the 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:12.679 example earlier in the defensive backfield. But if you go 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:17.280 in corporate America and you look at the challenges that 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:22.439 people of color have seeking to climb the ladder in 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:28.199 corporate America, there are still tremendous challenges for many of them. 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:30.760 And when you ask yourself, how do you now break 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:37.000 that we've made tremendous progress? How do we break that cycle? 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:41.480 And there are skills that we have to continue to develop, 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:45.560 but there are relationships and networks that we probably need 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:51.760 more to provide opportunities because it's lack of opportunities that 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:57.080 usually denies someone from having a shot at a position. 0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:01.160 And when I say that, it truly extensive. Sell. If 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:04.480 I'm a if I'm a coach, if I'm a general manager, 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:08.480 I'm usually going to hire a coach in in football 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:13.000 that I feel comfortable with. And so I'm a look 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:16.880 in my network or someone close to my network two 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:21.919 to hire someone. But if I don't have a capable 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:26.159 person who may be of color, because we're not looking for, 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:29.439 you know, a box to be checked we're looking at 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:36.360 the qualifications. So opportunities usually are present as a result 0:19:36.840 --> 0:19:39.480 of who we know, not so much what we know 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:43.880 uh when network would may be a part of our 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:47.440 certain relationships that will open certain doors. Well, the young 0:19:47.520 --> 0:19:50.639 players that the current guys using their voice, how do 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:53.119 you how do you talk with Colin about using his voice? 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:56.240 What do you think about the current generational players using 0:19:56.280 --> 0:20:01.040 their voices? Well, there there's a higher purpose that needs 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:05.320 to be pursued. And obviously part of that higher purpose, 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:08.800 when when we think of liberty and justice for all 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:13.040 we just think of what that means, that doesn't mean, 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:18.679 you know, if if we just think of uh biases 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:23.359 and we think of blind spots that we might have, 0:20:24.280 --> 0:20:30.480 and so because we all have them, some people unbeknownally 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:37.920 are going two do things or say things that are 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:41.879 not let's just say that their beliefs, in their habits 0:20:41.920 --> 0:20:44.960 and their attitudes are not going to be properly aligned 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:48.399 with their desired outcome, even if that outcome is is 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:51.359 for the good of all people. So the young people 0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:55.639 have a chance to voice their opinion in different ways 0:20:56.040 --> 0:21:01.120 and take action all the way down to voting something 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:04.159 as simple as voting, But they really have a chance 0:21:04.400 --> 0:21:09.360 to create opportunities for others by the steps they take 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:12.320 and what they say, what they communicate in, who they 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:15.840 communicate with. And I think that's a critical part of 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:18.960 the process of making their voice heard. Was it that's 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:21.680 in the area of social justice, whether it's in the 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:26.960 area diversity, equity and inclusion. You have these little windows 0:21:27.000 --> 0:21:29.600 and if they take advantage of those windows, it puts 0:21:29.680 --> 0:21:31.080 them in a position to be able to make a 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:33.000 difference in the lives of a lot of different people. 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:37.240 So there's a question where can someone find your book 0:21:37.920 --> 0:21:41.879 from Athletics to Engineering. So I just got an update 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:45.520 today on that. And the pre sale period is going 0:21:45.600 --> 0:21:50.280 to start in January, and then we with with COVID 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:53.480 and everything. We've had a delay in that with the 0:21:54.280 --> 0:21:57.719 COVID the pandemic which is affecting all of us UH 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:02.600 and then we are going to have the release pushed 0:22:02.640 --> 0:22:06.679 back till April. But beginning beginning in January, if they 0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:10.560 go go to Amazon, go online during the pre sale period, 0:22:10.600 --> 0:22:12.440 they'll be able to get a copy, and I encourage 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:15.520 them to do so. Johnny, let's talk about how the 0:22:15.640 --> 0:22:19.320 Moving Family is initiative tries to even the skill in 0:22:19.400 --> 0:22:25.119 our society. You know this we noticed from from our world. 0:22:26.000 --> 0:22:32.040 Often players, frequently families are disrupted because they have a 0:22:32.160 --> 0:22:38.680 sudden move. So the Moving Families Initiative, it's at the court. 0:22:38.800 --> 0:22:42.840 It's mission is to simplify that moving process through a 0:22:43.359 --> 0:22:49.160 single platform at Moving Families Initiative dot com. But that's 0:22:49.240 --> 0:22:53.160 to help simplified the process for the parents. But there's 0:22:53.160 --> 0:22:55.879 a specific focus on helping the kids deal with the 0:22:55.960 --> 0:23:00.880 physical and the emotional challenges of changing neighborhoods, school and friends. 0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:07.720 And the Moving Families Foundation has two primary objectives directly 0:23:07.800 --> 0:23:12.359 related to the kids. First of all, every kid ages 0:23:12.480 --> 0:23:15.560 nineteen younger, male or female, when they move or relocate 0:23:16.200 --> 0:23:20.520 are aimed by December thirty two is for each one 0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:24.520 of them to participate in an extracurricular activity of their choice, 0:23:25.160 --> 0:23:28.760 and each one who goes through the foundation will receive 0:23:29.040 --> 0:23:34.280 a five dollar extracurricular activity scholarship to pay for their 0:23:34.320 --> 0:23:40.680 participation fees. In addition, each high school student so if 0:23:40.960 --> 0:23:43.560 if they move or relocate with their parents during their 0:23:43.640 --> 0:23:47.920 high school careers, then they will receive a four thousand 0:23:48.000 --> 0:23:53.320 dollar college scholarship to any trade school, junior college, community college. 0:23:53.840 --> 0:23:57.240 Our full year school anywhere in the country. They will 0:23:57.240 --> 0:24:00.040 receive a thousand dollars each of their freshman sophomorees in 0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:02.719 your senior years when they get to college if they 0:24:02.800 --> 0:24:05.639 go through the Foundation as well, because one of our 0:24:05.680 --> 0:24:08.840 goals on that front is by December thirty first twenty 0:24:08.960 --> 0:24:12.320 four is for each of those high school students to 0:24:12.440 --> 0:24:15.240 have an opportunity to go to a college of their choice. 0:24:15.840 --> 0:24:19.439 And this will help them not only with the transition, 0:24:19.560 --> 0:24:22.800 but help them develop the type of relationships that we believe. 0:24:23.760 --> 0:24:25.720 These are high school kids that we believe that will 0:24:25.760 --> 0:24:30.760 provide them uh the next opportunities in life for them. Now, 0:24:30.840 --> 0:24:34.280 what gave you that target point failers in transition? When 0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:36.879 I was with the Rams during my seventh year of 0:24:36.960 --> 0:24:40.560 my NFL career, I had a vision of the coaching 0:24:40.640 --> 0:24:45.800 process that we use as world class athletes being available 0:24:45.880 --> 0:24:49.800 to all sectors of society. I shared that vision with 0:24:49.960 --> 0:24:54.680 my life coach and he asked me a life changing question. 0:24:55.200 --> 0:24:57.080 He asked me, how large did I want my plan 0:24:57.200 --> 0:24:59.000 feel to be? That I wanted to be right, you know, 0:24:59.160 --> 0:25:00.800 right here in Los Ange, the listen that I wanted 0:25:00.840 --> 0:25:03.480 to be something larger, And I said, I didn't know. 0:25:03.600 --> 0:25:05.480 He told me to think about it. Six months later, 0:25:05.560 --> 0:25:08.159 I came back and said I got it. Like for 0:25:08.240 --> 0:25:11.399 my plan failed to be the world and from that vision, 0:25:11.840 --> 0:25:14.879 the company that I leave today, World Class Coaches, was 0:25:15.000 --> 0:25:21.760 born as a personal professional and executive organization. And he 0:25:22.000 --> 0:25:24.680 also suggested that I gained some business experience and some 0:25:24.840 --> 0:25:28.280 other profession other than football, and I chose real estate 0:25:28.359 --> 0:25:32.000 sales UH the game that business experience. For the last 0:25:32.040 --> 0:25:35.240 three years of my NFL career, I did football, so 0:25:35.480 --> 0:25:38.440 real estate and I was working on the coaching as well. 0:25:38.880 --> 0:25:44.080 But the ironic thing is observing how many of my 0:25:44.200 --> 0:25:49.840 teammates had to move or relocate with families. Initially planted 0:25:49.960 --> 0:25:53.680 the seed, but when I realized that more than approximately 0:25:53.840 --> 0:25:58.440 ten million kids ages nineteen and younger move a relocated 0:25:58.520 --> 0:26:02.680 every year. That's hard. Moving is difficult on anyone, but 0:26:02.760 --> 0:26:05.720 it's really challenging for kids. I knew that that was 0:26:05.800 --> 0:26:07.680 a space that I wanted to get involved with and 0:26:07.880 --> 0:26:10.720 and that ultimately led to the Moving Families Initiative and 0:26:10.800 --> 0:26:14.960 the Moving Families Foundation. So your worldwide coaching, your World 0:26:15.000 --> 0:26:17.760 Class Coaching is their website something so we can go 0:26:17.880 --> 0:26:22.639 to yes um if you go to World Class Coaches 0:26:22.760 --> 0:26:26.440 dot com www dot world Class Coaches dot Com. They'll 0:26:26.480 --> 0:26:29.480 find the coaching aspect of it. And then if you 0:26:29.560 --> 0:26:32.840 go to moving if you go to www Dot Moving 0:26:33.080 --> 0:26:38.080 Families Initiative dot com, they'll find all of the information 0:26:38.160 --> 0:26:41.320 on the Moving Families Initiative and the Moving Families Foundation there. 0:26:41.840 --> 0:26:44.080