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Speaker 1: for this? Sean Merriman A one of hand effect. Boom boom,
Speaker 1: boom out Go to light. This is Lights Out with
Speaker 1: Sean Merriman. What's up? Guys? Were back again with another
Speaker 1: lights out podcast with me Sean Merriman. Uh got one
Speaker 1: of my I would call one of my old friends
Speaker 1: and UH guy used to play against I used to
Speaker 1: hate it. Man Clinton portis um different Broncos and also
Speaker 1: the Washington uh Washington football team now, but you know
Speaker 1: he's just ultimate competitor and uh, I just remember him
Speaker 1: great years and get a chance to to to see
Speaker 1: him and play against him. And uh was introduced to
Speaker 1: CP long time ago by one of my older brothers,
Speaker 1: LaVar Arrington, back when he was playing with the Skins,
Speaker 1: and UH know, I grew up there in Prince County,
Speaker 1: Melon and the Washington d C. Area, so UM, you
Speaker 1: know I got to chat and see that firsthand, and UM,
Speaker 1: it's it's cool to catch up with him now and
Speaker 1: and talk football, talk life. Um you know, talk some
Speaker 1: you know, coaching opportunities and broadcasting opportunities. Guys are looking
Speaker 1: to do more after they retire. And um also we
Speaker 1: get into some of the concussion things we're gonna get into.
Speaker 1: Uh so look it's it's gonna be a great show.
Speaker 1: And uh here you guys go Clinton Porters. Oh what's that?
Speaker 1: What's that Florida? And what's that Florida? A and m
Speaker 1: about that's rocking and black colleges man. Yeah, So what
Speaker 1: you think about about Dion Sanders move primetime move? I
Speaker 1: love it. Actually, I think he's bringing uh swat the attention,
Speaker 1: you know. I just think he's bringing Black HBCUTH football
Speaker 1: the attention that's been needed. I mean, you see so
Speaker 1: many guys come out and have success once they get
Speaker 1: the opportunity. You know, you see the guys who get
Speaker 1: an opportunity in the league going to be successful. I
Speaker 1: think more guys should get the opportunity because you would
Speaker 1: have a higher success rate, you know, and don't just
Speaker 1: be two or three players that come out every year
Speaker 1: that's good enough to play. If you give more of
Speaker 1: those guys that opportunity, you take advantage of it. I
Speaker 1: said this too, I said, look, I mean everybody knows
Speaker 1: Dion Sanders. I mean you when I was a kid,
Speaker 1: I was doing the Prime Time and I was doing that.
Speaker 1: If I'm if I'm in high school going to college
Speaker 1: and Dion Sanders come and sit on my couch, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna have a hard time saying no. So I thought
Speaker 1: that was a real good move by them. Yeah. I
Speaker 1: mean I think when you look at when you look
Speaker 1: at college football now, it's the facilities, it's the environment.
Speaker 1: Is everything outside of football unless you want to Alabama,
Speaker 1: L s U. You know, SEC school, it's more. Kids
Speaker 1: are more into uniforms and facility and you know, being
Speaker 1: on TV and then they to these big, big schools
Speaker 1: and they don't perform. You know, you look at National
Speaker 1: signing that you look at how many kids that's the
Speaker 1: top rated kid in their class and then they go
Speaker 1: on and they disappear. You know, you look at that
Speaker 1: top three hundred players from previous years and see how
Speaker 1: many paying out in college and you know, continue that
Speaker 1: success in the NFL. So I think with all the hype,
Speaker 1: all the extra all the ratings, I tell kids all
Speaker 1: the time, you know, just seeing kids out and about,
Speaker 1: you can go anywhere, they're gonna come fine talent. I
Speaker 1: don't care where you're at, they're gonna come fine talent.
Speaker 1: It's just not enough kids really getting the opportunity to
Speaker 1: being exposed. And then you know, you get into a
Speaker 1: bad program and you get into a situation your darned
Speaker 1: rooms sug you know, you're eating own campus, so no money.
Speaker 1: Kids give up, you know, they don't realize what it's
Speaker 1: like to endure those three or four years of struggle too,
Speaker 1: have uh forever uh to enjoy, you know, to reap
Speaker 1: the rewards, you know, and so many kids, you know,
Speaker 1: those two years away from home, never been away from home,
Speaker 1: and I was sitting there, away from home, and they
Speaker 1: can't take it and they rushed back. Whereas if you
Speaker 1: endured for another year or two, you know, things might
Speaker 1: work out. And then the transport transfer report them all
Speaker 1: that stuff. To me, man, it's crazy because Miami used
Speaker 1: to transfer reporting better than anybody. Like they get some
Speaker 1: dogs and the transfer form. But you you putting that
Speaker 1: mindset into so many kids that I can choose this school.
Speaker 1: If it don't work, I'm leaving, you know, compared to
Speaker 1: our days in college. Once you signed on that Dieted line. Man,
Speaker 1: you're there and you're gonna compete no matter who comes through,
Speaker 1: no matter who the next sensation is, who the who
Speaker 1: the top recruit coming in? Hey, bro, he got to
Speaker 1: come in and repeat. And you know, I think for myself,
Speaker 1: UM had an opportunity and Andrew and James gave me
Speaker 1: some advice that stuck me for life. Uh. He asked me, hey,
Speaker 1: you're coming to you and I say, you're leaving you
Speaker 1: m He said, shouldn't matter, you know, you should look
Speaker 1: forward to the competition. And ship I got James Jackson, Nijaene,
Speaker 1: David Court, Jared pay, Williams mcgae, Heath Frank going. You
Speaker 1: can't find no more competition than that, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean? So I think it made me a better player,
Speaker 1: made me a better competitor. Uh. And then it keeps
Speaker 1: you on your game. And so many players you look at,
Speaker 1: You look at so many of these situations. You look
Speaker 1: at a kid like travesy t at Clemson, outstanding career,
Speaker 1: but who was the guy backing them up? It's like
Speaker 1: whoever in second stream like Okay, I'm gonna let you
Speaker 1: get your shine on. Then mine had come Like, man,
Speaker 1: you're supposed to be able to compete year one, year two,
Speaker 1: year three, Every year is supposed to be the competition,
Speaker 1: and then you take off, you know. I mean, that's true, true.
Speaker 1: And the other part I like about, you know, Dion
Speaker 1: and just going to Black College and certain certain colleges
Speaker 1: that they're gonna prepare you. I felt like, and I'm
Speaker 1: saying this with dem because you know, he's gonna take
Speaker 1: a lot of those kids under his wing as as sons,
Speaker 1: as you know, relatives really look out for him on
Speaker 1: that standpoint and making sure I know, I know, for
Speaker 1: me in certain parts, I mean physically and all that stuff.
Speaker 1: I was ready to go in the NFL, but you know, um,
Speaker 1: I didn't understand financials, certain parts of financial stuff. And
Speaker 1: I'm meeting agents for the first time. My dad wasn't around,
Speaker 1: so I didn't have anybody, you know, to really you know,
Speaker 1: watch over or or or kind of shield off a
Speaker 1: lot of of the bs. And so if you wanted
Speaker 1: these runners or agents or you know, certain run around
Speaker 1: the campus and trying to take advantage of these kids,
Speaker 1: that ain't happening with Dion because he's gonna be like, listen,
Speaker 1: these these are my guys. And this is not going
Speaker 1: down that way. So I do like it from that standpoint.
Speaker 1: You know, I agree, man, none of us really understood that.
Speaker 1: I think for our time, the first person we really
Speaker 1: seen with the blueprint was Lebron and his team. You know,
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, people feel like after Lebron laid
Speaker 1: out the blue print to taking your close friends and
Speaker 1: being uh, building a billionaire empire, it was like, oh man,
Speaker 1: we could have did this now. Our mindset wasn't that.
Speaker 1: Our mindset was we needed to get it, like we
Speaker 1: needed to be the first in our families to get
Speaker 1: this kind of money. And then when we got this
Speaker 1: kind of money, we didn't understand the investment side. We
Speaker 1: didn't understand the future side. It was like, we're trying
Speaker 1: to do it now and we're helping everybody, and we're
Speaker 1: doing X, and we're doing why, and we're doing zeeing.
Speaker 1: We're trusting these people that we shouldn't be trusting, that
Speaker 1: we don't know, we shouldn't trust, because that's what they're
Speaker 1: teaching us on on campus. They're saying, hey, you know what,
Speaker 1: you gotta become friends with this guy in our relationships
Speaker 1: and networking, bro, we suck at that we sucked at
Speaker 1: it because we're so used to like minded individual we're
Speaker 1: so used to being around people. They got one come
Speaker 1: and go, and that's succeeding football and playing football. So
Speaker 1: my friends from high school were football. Is your friends
Speaker 1: were football because you weren't hanging out with the band
Speaker 1: and you know, hey, this kid is talking about going
Speaker 1: to be a lawyer. Those weren't the relationships you were making.
Speaker 1: You were making a relationship that was like mine. And
Speaker 1: then if you got the right care around you, if
Speaker 1: you're lucky enough to have some people, going to have
Speaker 1: some success. Now I'm looking back, Hey my cream was
Speaker 1: I got a lawyer, I gotta I got a guy
Speaker 1: who wants a car shop. I got um agent. So
Speaker 1: you're looking at at Cruise and you're getting everything out
Speaker 1: of Cruise now because of the blueprint that Lebron showed you.
Speaker 1: So when you look at at Prime and what he
Speaker 1: brings to not only at HBCU, what he brings to
Speaker 1: these guys as far as leadership, as far as having
Speaker 1: success on and off the field, the failure he's experiencing
Speaker 1: life like going to an HBC, you're gonna be leader.
Speaker 1: It's already, it's already that deal, and now you're getting
Speaker 1: the education and you're getting the mentoring and the tutoring.
Speaker 1: That the ones became so special because in the one
Speaker 1: you you saw someone who's been on a successful level.
Speaker 1: Are you beginning to see guys who's the next best
Speaker 1: or the next greatest um that's outside of your field?
Speaker 1: So that's where your networking started, with being at the
Speaker 1: h b C U and seeing how many successful black people,
Speaker 1: uh women and men come out of these schools. When
Speaker 1: you look at the vice president, when you look around
Speaker 1: in politics, when you look at everything in the world,
Speaker 1: it's somebody from the h b C and you represented.
Speaker 1: So I think that's gonna put it on the map,
Speaker 1: especially in in this current climate. When did that? When
Speaker 1: did that hit you? Because I remember, you know, we
Speaker 1: used to we used to kick it or keep running
Speaker 1: to each other. Either it was in d C back
Speaker 1: you know, back home from PG County and DC area.
Speaker 1: But when it when it all that hit hit you?
Speaker 1: Because I was just telling my producer Feto before we
Speaker 1: came home. Man, I remember back you know, back then,
Speaker 1: and you know you had to close I mean the cars,
Speaker 1: and I was like and I was still young, so
Speaker 1: I was coming out of University of Maryland, but I was.
Speaker 1: I was, and that was my rookie year. So my
Speaker 1: first time going back I was with LaVar Bolivar Antin
Speaker 1: So that's why I got a chance to meet up
Speaker 1: meet all you guys. When when did all that kind
Speaker 1: of click for you? Man? You know, it's crazy, like
Speaker 1: thinking back to to you Bowman u k d'es you know, uh,
Speaker 1: Queen Cook, all the guys that came from that area
Speaker 1: that was sitting at the pool parties and you know,
Speaker 1: enjoying the festivities that went on to have success. You know,
Speaker 1: just on that property alone, how many successful people came
Speaker 1: through when you talk about the roll as of the world,
Speaker 1: and that was just hanging out, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: just saying what it's like. And that was like one
Speaker 1: of those opportunities where you're trying to make sure everybody
Speaker 1: had a good time, make sure everybody is taking care
Speaker 1: of you know what I mean, like what you need,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like it's it's at your service.
Speaker 1: And all of a sudden, I think when you hit
Speaker 1: that point of family, you know, because when you're young
Speaker 1: and you're having fun, it doesn't really matter. But when
Speaker 1: you get to that point that you get a kid
Speaker 1: and you start participating them kids life and you know
Speaker 1: the may Back or the Rose Ross. You ain't putting
Speaker 1: them kids in the may Back, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: They want to eat ice cream and leave McDonald's. You're like, nah,
Speaker 1: you know, so I think for all the whips, is
Speaker 1: good to have a nice whip, but um, since just
Speaker 1: have mostiple, you know, we have so much and we
Speaker 1: we overdoored. We um. It becomes like a bad habit.
Speaker 1: You know, it's good to have nice things, but something
Speaker 1: nice come out every month. And we was always on top,
Speaker 1: even with the clothes, you know, even with the name brand.
Speaker 1: Way before name brand was the it thing. We were
Speaker 1: doing it, you know, like you had all the flight
Speaker 1: stuff and then you look at it, you know, the
Speaker 1: style change, and that's like, man, I paid a thousand
Speaker 1: alls for them shoes and now they played out. Or
Speaker 1: I paid three thousand for that car and that I'm
Speaker 1: pulled up on the scene too many times and now
Speaker 1: I need something else. You know. So when you're in
Speaker 1: evolved and you're in the light, it's different. But all
Speaker 1: of a sudden you get tired of that attention. You
Speaker 1: get tired of what come along with it. You know,
Speaker 1: it's like, man, I don't want their ladies. Man, you know,
Speaker 1: like I'm gonna chill out and I'm not on the
Speaker 1: scene and I'm not doing this. And now you've got
Speaker 1: your little pickup truck because you want to be ducked
Speaker 1: off or you got your little card right around and
Speaker 1: dodge your attention. And so once you get to that stage,
Speaker 1: it's totally different. That part hit me when I had
Speaker 1: my son. My son is ten down. But like my
Speaker 1: last couple of years in the league, I was like, okay,
Speaker 1: you know what, you know, all that stuff ain't even
Speaker 1: necessary because I did I had, I had a whip
Speaker 1: every week. Or once you started participating and picking up
Speaker 1: from school are programs at school, it's over. It's over
Speaker 1: for anybody that's you know, and you know when you're
Speaker 1: in the light, you're in the life. But once you
Speaker 1: start you get the taste of, man, I'm picking the
Speaker 1: kids up and I'm dropping the kids all like you
Speaker 1: soccer mom or soccer dad or you know, like you're
Speaker 1: feelings because you're detached from the real world as a
Speaker 1: ball player, you're detaching to some real to something real
Speaker 1: happening life, and that's probably one of the realest things
Speaker 1: is going to happen that that wake us up. Juste
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, like when you have a kid, that's
Speaker 1: eye opening, and once you become older, it's like, man,
Speaker 1: I don't need this stuff. Like you started saying, I'm
Speaker 1: paying two thousand dollars a month for daycare or private
Speaker 1: school or whatever it is, and the kids going there
Speaker 1: to play with blocks two thousand times twenty four thousand.
Speaker 1: But you're paid it on the car note, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, Like you're you're paying it on the
Speaker 1: car note. So it's just wisen up. And I think
Speaker 1: everybody should enjoy their money. It's just do it at
Speaker 1: a do it at a Meetum, you don't have to
Speaker 1: do it overboard, you know. I think we tried to
Speaker 1: have a yacht, helicopter or airplane. Like, get you one toy,
Speaker 1: enjoy that toy. When you're done with it, move on
Speaker 1: from it, and do it that way compared to, Hey,
Speaker 1: I got seven toys and every day of the week,
Speaker 1: I got a new toy because it gets it burn out,
Speaker 1: you know. And I I tell somebody because I see
Speaker 1: people saying stuff about the NFL all the time, and
Speaker 1: I don't know how you feel about it, but I
Speaker 1: don't really ever bad mouth in NFL because you know,
Speaker 1: I have both I had both shoulders worked on, I
Speaker 1: had my left knee, right achilles finger risks. I have
Speaker 1: some injuries. But I'm like, man, you know what, at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, I'm gonna make the best
Speaker 1: of everything. The platform is given because you already know
Speaker 1: the situation. At least in NFL. You know you're not
Speaker 1: for long. You're gonna you're gonna be in there, you're
Speaker 1: gonna be out, and you're gonna be forgotten about at
Speaker 1: some point in time. And so I was I just like, look,
Speaker 1: certain guys. I don't know if you've seen the day though,
Speaker 1: I guess one of the former players that came out
Speaker 1: and said, um that he was denied for the concussion.
Speaker 1: And I don't know if you if you got a
Speaker 1: chance to see that, but it was it was based
Speaker 1: on him being him being black because and then they
Speaker 1: kind of put him up against um, another white athlete,
Speaker 1: and they said, because he's prone to certain things because
Speaker 1: he's black. And I'm like, listen, I don't know all that.
Speaker 1: I'm not a scientist. I'm not trying to figure it out.
Speaker 1: It's certain parts in the NFL that that's not right.
Speaker 1: But I always looked at it us a business anyway.
Speaker 1: You know, man, this is one of those subjects that
Speaker 1: so touch you because it provides you with an opportunity
Speaker 1: that we weren't exposed to. We we weren't getting money
Speaker 1: and becoming breadwinners. And sports was an outlet. All professional
Speaker 1: sports was an outlet for our community. And now all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, you know, you you're starting dominating the
Speaker 1: sports world. And it's always a catch to any catches, okay,
Speaker 1: outside like, we can't let them dominate everything. Bro. My
Speaker 1: my concussion case in two thousand and nine was used.
Speaker 1: This is way before concussions had the stigma. This is
Speaker 1: when they were stingers. This is when you know it
Speaker 1: was you got a dinger, you know, um, and they
Speaker 1: were giving you smelling salt on the sideline and slapping
Speaker 1: you upside the head and saying go back in. You know.
Speaker 1: This is way before the entire world knew the severity
Speaker 1: of of concussions. That my case study. I went to
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh to see the neurologists, and he asked if he
Speaker 1: could use my case study for the NFL concussion um thing.
Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, you know cool and he was like
Speaker 1: so in awe that at the time I didn't. I
Speaker 1: didn't realize what was going on, and he wanted to
Speaker 1: present my case. And then after they were always calling.
Speaker 1: I'm telling every time I went into the locker room
Speaker 1: between ten it was the first thing they asked was
Speaker 1: my concussion. I can go in there and say, hey,
Speaker 1: my finger, jam oh, how is your head? So I'm like,
Speaker 1: I'm here from my finger. What you asked me about
Speaker 1: my head? It for? And all of a sudden I
Speaker 1: begin to realize, like it's something going on, but we
Speaker 1: still didn't know it in tuny team. It's what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: we still didn't know. So I retired. Then once I
Speaker 1: retired in the concussion situation came about and I'm like, bro,
Speaker 1: you're gonna look at my film. I'm I'm head to
Speaker 1: head with you and blitz pick up not just when
Speaker 1: you're tackling me, this in blitz pick up all the
Speaker 1: hits that I've taken, everything, and you get denied. You
Speaker 1: go in. It's guys who playing on scouting team. It's
Speaker 1: guys who who was playing slot wide receiver back in
Speaker 1: the day when they weren't bringing even getting in the game.
Speaker 1: That's getting it in for me. I've taken three thousand carries,
Speaker 1: which that's your automatically. You're running back in the NFL
Speaker 1: for nine years. Check something wrong with you? You know
Speaker 1: what I mean? A linebacker, something is wrong with you.
Speaker 1: That's the most physical of any position on the field.
Speaker 1: Linebacker and running back at this time through our years
Speaker 1: was the most physical decisions in safety because you're running
Speaker 1: from ten fifteen yards and you're having a collision at
Speaker 1: the highest impact that you could possibly uh collide old lineman,
Speaker 1: d lineman. They get quarterbacks, they get like all these
Speaker 1: people who are not even in the collisions. You don't
Speaker 1: see running backs getting. You don't see all the linebackers
Speaker 1: who really got a problem getting. I just got tired.
Speaker 1: I got frustrated with trying to get it because they
Speaker 1: ask you questions that sold they're relevant in your eyes,
Speaker 1: Like they honestly want you to come in and be
Speaker 1: slobbing and you know have a problem, like you think
Speaker 1: stay stealing, you keep doing something that's a ratic to say, hey,
Speaker 1: you know what you have, what you're holding a conversation
Speaker 1: and you have coming sense, so nothing is wrong with you,
Speaker 1: you know, like they don't want but you say, oh,
Speaker 1: you know what, I used to be a cool, calm individual.
Speaker 1: Now I'm starting to realize my temperature short. Oh well
Speaker 1: that's anger management. Oh do you drink alcohol on the cave.
Speaker 1: Ever since I've been twenty one and old enough to drink,
Speaker 1: I can drink alcohol. So if I choose to have
Speaker 1: a drink, oh well, maybe it's alcoholism. You know, it's
Speaker 1: they they deflect so much that it kind of discourage you.
Speaker 1: You know, it discourage you to sit off in those
Speaker 1: offices for two or three days. You're taking all these
Speaker 1: tests that has nothing to do with what your issue is.
Speaker 1: They ask you to dumb the ship that they could
Speaker 1: possibly ask you, and it's it's it's quote unquote private information.
Speaker 1: So the world is not even exposed to how you know,
Speaker 1: like how how shallow the test is. And it's like, oh, well,
Speaker 1: they're trying to set you up, bro, I've taken the
Speaker 1: same test since two thousand and nine. It's two thousand
Speaker 1: and twenty one. At what point did you come to
Speaker 1: the realization, like I didn't figure out how to take
Speaker 1: this test or I know how to memorize. You know,
Speaker 1: it's if you give me the same tests over and over,
Speaker 1: eventually I'm gonna ace the test. You know. They use
Speaker 1: that against you. So I think it's so you know,
Speaker 1: I think I think you put so much working uh
Speaker 1: for the shields and everybody talking about the shield and
Speaker 1: honor and shield, and then when you need to shield,
Speaker 1: it's like they shipped on you. You know, they turn
Speaker 1: your turn, turn their back to you. So you know,
Speaker 1: it's one of those you wonder why people be been
Speaker 1: and oh they blew the money man will always get money,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. We'll always be able to
Speaker 1: get money. You'll always be as long as you've done
Speaker 1: something and your professional or the network you made like,
Speaker 1: you'll get money. But when it comes to getting the
Speaker 1: money you should be getting, or getting the credit or
Speaker 1: the gestude, you know, all the stuff that you're supposed
Speaker 1: to when you were quote unquote once the UH poster
Speaker 1: child for the NFL, so many of those individuals are
Speaker 1: in situations that's that's screwed up. And so I always say, look,
Speaker 1: I don't have a problem with how they conduct business,
Speaker 1: but at least you could do is take care of
Speaker 1: guys when they're done for whatever they hurt, if they
Speaker 1: got some problems, just take care of them. Like and
Speaker 1: and I'm saying this as a bare minimum because I'm
Speaker 1: still going. I get physical therapy in my shoulders once
Speaker 1: or twice a week, and I still doing my man
Speaker 1: and stuff, and I'm still active. But do I wake
Speaker 1: up my shoulders ache? Absolutely? Do I got you know,
Speaker 1: some days to get cold outside or his ranking and
Speaker 1: my left knee starting. Yeah, absolutely, or you know my
Speaker 1: achilles a little sword from tearing it or whatever the
Speaker 1: case is. Absolutely. So my whole thing is just when
Speaker 1: the guys get done, just take care of them. I
Speaker 1: think that's just the bare the bare minimum you can do.
Speaker 1: And just not turn your back on guys. And you
Speaker 1: know the second part of it is that you know,
Speaker 1: I see a lot of these coaches, you know, getting
Speaker 1: jobs and I'm not having former players be back involved
Speaker 1: with the organizations. Like I'm sitting there and I get it.
Speaker 1: You know, coach got his his son, who his nephew
Speaker 1: or cousin. But you'll see a lot more of that happen,
Speaker 1: and then you will a former player coming in UM
Speaker 1: and getting a coaching job, or structing an addition job
Speaker 1: or getting guys going again. Because I don't know about you,
Speaker 1: but my my first year, even though I had plenty
Speaker 1: of stuff lined up and I knew what I wanted
Speaker 1: to do, I went through it. I just it wasn't
Speaker 1: it wasn't really the same for me. And I just
Speaker 1: I don't know if you if I want to say
Speaker 1: I missed the locker room or the schedule or whatever
Speaker 1: it was. But you know, you're just trying to find
Speaker 1: that transition where you just you're just looking for some
Speaker 1: type of normalcy. And I'll get done, I'll go do
Speaker 1: you know, TV and and out the studio and you know,
Speaker 1: in an hour and a half you're done, and you're
Speaker 1: working on something for an hour and you're done. But
Speaker 1: then you got twenty three hours, you know, twenty two
Speaker 1: hours a day left to go and figure it out.
Speaker 1: So I just I just wish they would would allow
Speaker 1: guys and reach out to guys, say hey, man, come
Speaker 1: back to the organization. We gotta we gotta position for
Speaker 1: you here. You've done all you've done, all your work here,
Speaker 1: you you know, put you put acids and seats forwards.
Speaker 1: You sold jersey, you sold US tickets. The least you
Speaker 1: can do is come back and here and do something
Speaker 1: within the organization. I agree, man, you start. You know,
Speaker 1: when you look around, you see guys like Vince Young
Speaker 1: in the Texas situation where he just where he just
Speaker 1: got the job, and you applaud, you know, you applaud
Speaker 1: those schools. You look at the linebacker that just went
Speaker 1: Bruski just went back to Arizona. I see a p
Speaker 1: at Arizona States just got the d C. So when
Speaker 1: you look at those situations and it's so magnified and
Speaker 1: you're so happy for those guys thing they get to
Speaker 1: go on and do what so many guys want to do.
Speaker 1: But as you said, when you look at when when
Speaker 1: you look at organizations and look at how many players
Speaker 1: uh are are outcasted from the league. And then you
Speaker 1: go and give your friends who don't have a clue,
Speaker 1: Like some of these coaches don't have a clue. It's
Speaker 1: some there's some coaches to the Sean mcveigh's and Sean
Speaker 1: Payne and Bill Belichicks of the world. Uh uh, the
Speaker 1: Kobe Yaks and you know those coaches that have outstanding
Speaker 1: brain you know their their i Q. That's never played
Speaker 1: it down. But their i Q for this game is great. Now,
Speaker 1: if you could team partner player or players with those
Speaker 1: outstanding minds, imagine what you get. Imagine the product that
Speaker 1: you'll get on the field. You know, Sean McVeigh is outstanding,
Speaker 1: but the rest of his coaching staff, you know, you
Speaker 1: probably got some good coaches. Imagine that those were players
Speaker 1: that were giving the direction for Sean mcveigh's vision. And
Speaker 1: you have so many guys that want to participate, that
Speaker 1: want to be around, and they give you they give
Speaker 1: you the same sobs story. Oh you don't want to
Speaker 1: do this, Well I do want to do it. That's
Speaker 1: why I'm here, That's why I'm asking you about it.
Speaker 1: And I've done it before. So they feel like you're
Speaker 1: so disconnected, like they don't understand. As you said, when
Speaker 1: you finished the NFL, you were you were going through
Speaker 1: its your first year. Bro, everything was laid out. You
Speaker 1: knew when you walk into the facility. Here's your breakfast,
Speaker 1: you know, here's your meeting time, here's your schedule. Mr Merriman,
Speaker 1: here's here's this. You know. There's the doctor. Your first
Speaker 1: in line, you're you're right behind you know, your your
Speaker 1: first in line. Um, you're right behind the danity, so
Speaker 1: you're next stuff, you know, So to all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: when you're no longer in that, you gotta sit in
Speaker 1: the parking lot and ain't like, oh, it's a wait
Speaker 1: list and you signed the sheet over there and you
Speaker 1: signed the sheet in your twenty five, and you're like,
Speaker 1: I gotta sit here for the next two hours, you know,
Speaker 1: like why did you tell me to come at team
Speaker 1: and I'm not going to see the doctor until one
Speaker 1: and then at one whatever it is, you don't have
Speaker 1: that same schedule and you don't have that same um.
Speaker 1: You know. It's like people that come from the army,
Speaker 1: you know. I think always relate to one of the
Speaker 1: movies where the guy was was Diffuse and bombs, and
Speaker 1: all of a sudden he comes back to the real
Speaker 1: world and he was he was shopping and it was
Speaker 1: so he was so not used to it. He chose
Speaker 1: to go back to war, to the few was bombs
Speaker 1: and to be with his family because over there he
Speaker 1: was needed. Over there, he was somebody. Over there, he
Speaker 1: was saving lives, he was impacting lives. And then you
Speaker 1: come home and your lady like, hey, don't get me
Speaker 1: some pampers from the store, and you like, that's what
Speaker 1: pampers from the store. You go get the pampers from
Speaker 1: the store, you know. So this is one of those situations. Man,
Speaker 1: you have so many people that needs more opportunities. Just
Speaker 1: you know, I want to do broadcasting. I love broadcasting.
Speaker 1: I think the knowledge that I have for the game
Speaker 1: is there. But everybody that you talked to, hey, man,
Speaker 1: you know what could you could you're doing in character?
Speaker 1: I don't want to do in a character. You don't
Speaker 1: expect me in character. I want you to get the
Speaker 1: knowledge that I have. I want to show you that
Speaker 1: I'm brighter than that person that you have discussing a
Speaker 1: game that I played my entire life. So I want
Speaker 1: to sit me across from them and let us talk football.
Speaker 1: You want, you want to really educated conversation, he let
Speaker 1: me give it to you. But instead, you know, they
Speaker 1: want us to be the gimmick. They want us to
Speaker 1: do X Y Z. So you see guys like Ryan Clark,
Speaker 1: who I love on TV. Uh, you just kind of
Speaker 1: you took your head to you know, Dominique, Dominique Foxworth
Speaker 1: and so many of those guys that you just say, man,
Speaker 1: you know what that conversation was really good? Are they're
Speaker 1: really entertainment compared to a lot of the people that
Speaker 1: you have your dones off, like what are they talking about?
Speaker 1: You know? So I would rather see more. NBA gets right.
Speaker 1: The NBA definitely gets the right. I say this, man, man,
Speaker 1: I swear, I said all the time that NBA they
Speaker 1: take care of their guys. I don't care whether it's
Speaker 1: back in the organization. I mean, you see Steve Nash
Speaker 1: getting the job. He really you know Steve Nash had
Speaker 1: been and when you see guy, if you look down
Speaker 1: that bench, they got three or four former players as
Speaker 1: this assistant coaches, they got a one of their formers
Speaker 1: players is a rebounding. They make a position for a
Speaker 1: rebounding like you know what, they create roles. And you
Speaker 1: know what's crazy when you look at Alabama, you look
Speaker 1: at what Nick Saban does. Nick Saban gives you a rehab.
Speaker 1: He revibes careers, he gives it. If you look on
Speaker 1: Alabama coach and staff, these are the next coaches that's
Speaker 1: up and coming for the jobs that'servailable. You go hang
Speaker 1: with Nick, say before a year or two, and he's
Speaker 1: gonna rehab you he's gonna get you, right, He's gonna
Speaker 1: revive you and put you back in a better position
Speaker 1: than you were in before you went. Why can't more
Speaker 1: coaches do that? Why don't more organizations do that, like
Speaker 1: revive me and put me in another position. If it's
Speaker 1: me going to an HBCU and not saying at the
Speaker 1: NFL level, just give me that, you know, let me
Speaker 1: get my create something for me, That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: Like they create for their people, they create. You'd be like,
Speaker 1: what title is that? What's this old? Special assistant to
Speaker 1: the offensive line coach or special assistant to the videographer.
Speaker 1: I'll carry the camera, Like, okay, I carry the camera.
Speaker 1: You're gonna pay me two hundred Let me carry it.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna drop this a matter of fact, I
Speaker 1: can carry two of the cameras. So, you know, just
Speaker 1: just getting more opportunity, man, I think it's it's so
Speaker 1: much missing, but it has it has to become trendy,
Speaker 1: you know, Steve Nash has to go on and have
Speaker 1: success and then they'll give someone else that opportunity. You know,
Speaker 1: you look at the Chauncey Billups of the world. You
Speaker 1: look at the area the enemies of the world, the
Speaker 1: guys who keep being floated out. Yeah, the sam could
Speaker 1: sell the guys who who keeps being floated and oh,
Speaker 1: here's the potential and everyone is waiting to see but
Speaker 1: they never get the job. You know, you have so
Speaker 1: many of those guys. Man. You you know you're listening
Speaker 1: to Reggie Miller. You're listening to Chris Webber. I love
Speaker 1: listening to Charles Barkler and Kenney Smith and Shock and
Speaker 1: you know, just the education and how Kenneth Smith and
Speaker 1: Charles Barklay made Shock so much more of an icon,
Speaker 1: you know, and made him better. Uh, in broadcasting, you
Speaker 1: could do that through all sports platforms which you look
Speaker 1: at ESPN, you look at NFL Network, you look at
Speaker 1: it and this this is one of those situations you say, Man,
Speaker 1: give me that opportunity, you know, give me the opportunity.
Speaker 1: If the world don't don't take to this, or if
Speaker 1: the world don't pick up on it, then the hell
Speaker 1: with it. I failed, But give me the opportunity. So
Speaker 1: so basically, if somebody reached out in a position you
Speaker 1: you will be open to look at it. I mean
Speaker 1: so you, I mean, have anybody said anything to you
Speaker 1: trying to bring you on the staff or broadcast. I mean,
Speaker 1: what's the you know, what's the next move, what you're
Speaker 1: looking at doing well for me? Like I said, I
Speaker 1: love broadcasting. I love the freedom that comes to a broadcast.
Speaker 1: And I love talking sports. And what's crazy is it?
Speaker 1: I talk all sports. I can talk to baseball. I
Speaker 1: watched baseball all day long. I love the pitching I
Speaker 1: love I think baseball players are some of the most
Speaker 1: athletic players. Um. That's so underrated because you can't run
Speaker 1: and dive and catch the ball and pick up and
Speaker 1: throw it back the home plate before this dude turn
Speaker 1: the corner. You can't do it. You don't have the
Speaker 1: accuracy when once you dive on the ground and then
Speaker 1: when get knocked out of you when you get up,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have and now you gotta find and turn
Speaker 1: your body to them. Dudes do that second nature, the
Speaker 1: same way you coming down here or you second the
Speaker 1: quarterback with second nature. When you hit all lights out,
Speaker 1: it's second nature because you've trained for you know, um,
Speaker 1: and that's us It's gonna become second nature. We weren't
Speaker 1: dominant ball players when we first started out, but one
Speaker 1: day you caught win. Hey, I'm pretty good at this.
Speaker 1: And once you did, and once you start believing that
Speaker 1: you you kick the ass you took over. So give
Speaker 1: us that opportunity. We're gonna kick ass and take over again.
Speaker 1: And whatever it is you do. My my ultimate though,
Speaker 1: I would love to be in the office. I would
Speaker 1: love bi GM or putting the roster together. I know talent,
Speaker 1: you know, Um, I feel like that's that's my niche,
Speaker 1: That's what I want to do. But I love broadcasting
Speaker 1: as well. So just getting the opportunity. Hey, okay, I'm
Speaker 1: calling it right now. There you're getting on. Somebody gonna
Speaker 1: have you an organization. You're gonna be in the both
Speaker 1: this year, guarantee. Man. You know, it's it's crazy because
Speaker 1: you go through you know, you get opportunities, and it's
Speaker 1: always something, you know, for for us, it's always something's
Speaker 1: something negative, something something scared. They talk to you out
Speaker 1: of it. I don't talk to me out of it,
Speaker 1: you know, Like I've bro I feel like tough line,
Speaker 1: you know, like I'm I'm ready for whatever. You can't
Speaker 1: throw nothing that me been through with one loss is
Speaker 1: gonna keep winning and losing. Hey, one day I'm up
Speaker 1: here one day, I'm but I'll never be down underneath
Speaker 1: and give up. That's the one thing about it. You've
Speaker 1: never seen me give up. You won't see me with
Speaker 1: my head down. So figuring out a way to win,
Speaker 1: figuring out a way to take over, because that day coming,
Speaker 1: like I'm gonna take over the air waves, that the
Speaker 1: front office, whatever it is. I mean, I'll before this year.
Speaker 1: That's golden age, it's golden opportunity. So it's gonna come,
Speaker 1: It's gonna happen. And until then, you just keep cheering
Speaker 1: people alone, keep shopping and the skills, no doubt, no doubt. Hey,
Speaker 1: my dog appreciate you. Bro already man, you're looking out man,
Speaker 1: we got we gotta catch up. Man, Um, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be out there. What part of North Carolina? A you
Speaker 1: in Charlotte? You're shot? Okay? Yeah, because I'm I'm I'm
Speaker 1: actually coming out there because I got a NASCAR team
Speaker 1: on the can Then Series. I got two cars and
Speaker 1: my team owner. But they got their meeting whenever they
Speaker 1: left up this damn band or whatever. So I actually
Speaker 1: spent a lot of time out there in Charlotte at
Speaker 1: the facilities with NASCAR. Let me know, man, I go
Speaker 1: out to Coach Gibb's facility and kicking and chill out,
Speaker 1: and then I take the kids, you know, right around. Man,
Speaker 1: it's right now. It's just living man. You know, I
Speaker 1: think you's so much opportunity. Charlotte is great that so
Speaker 1: many ball players that live here. Um, that's your neighbors
Speaker 1: that you don't even realize. Is one day y'all in
Speaker 1: the gym, He's like, oh man, you live out here.
Speaker 1: Yeah here blocked behind me. So yeah, it's lovely here
Speaker 1: for sure. For sure. Appreciate you bro looking out man
Speaker 1: already man, peace, Thanks guys for let's in and into
Speaker 1: another lights out podcast with me Shawn Merriman. Uh, Clint
Speaker 1: Porters Man, we go back, We go back, uh Miami Harricane.
Speaker 1: But also we got it. We got into it with
Speaker 1: the Black colleges as well, and also um him possibly
Speaker 1: getting into the to the booth Man as a broadcast
Speaker 1: as a coach, Clint Porters, a general manager, Tyland, Scout,
Speaker 1: you name it, he can do it. So that was awesome. Man.
Speaker 1: We went and really in depth conversation that was. That
Speaker 1: was a fun one for me and somebody who I
Speaker 1: go back with. So thank you guys again for listening
Speaker 1: to another lights Out podcast with me and um that
Speaker 1: was awesome. Man, I'm still taking it all in. That
Speaker 1: was just a great UH session and a great conversation
Speaker 1: we had. So keep leaving those reviews, keep subscribing, m
Speaker 1: I'm seeing the comments on those reviews man, of really
Speaker 1: cool stuff. I'm glad you guys enjoining the guests and
Speaker 1: the podcast. So h until next time, we'll hit it again.