Speaker 1: Let me get to another sports media headline that involves yours. Truly,
Speaker 1: many of you know, I've been at ESPN and Disney
Speaker 1: for nearly twenty years. We've had a good relationship, and
Speaker 1: I've set on many occasions that I will never speak
Speaker 1: on my contract negotiations because only a fool talks about
Speaker 1: his negotiations.
Speaker 2: While they're ongoing. I'm not going to start here.
Speaker 1: However, I do wanna acknowledge former NBA player and podcast
Speaker 1: to Stephen Jackson from All the Smoke, who recently made
Speaker 1: comments about my ongoing discussions with ESPN.
Speaker 2: Wanna read to y'all what he said. Check this out.
Speaker 2: Steven A and I we disagree on.
Speaker 1: A lot of things, but the respect still remains, and
Speaker 1: I congratulate him on being able to get that money.
Speaker 1: Go get that money, bro, I'm never being the hater.
Speaker 1: Get that money if anybody deserves it from the way
Speaker 1: he's self.
Speaker 2: Made, you know Stephen A deserves it.
Speaker 1: You ain't got to agree with everything he says to
Speaker 1: respect him and congratulate him on the success he's had
Speaker 1: all these years.
Speaker 2: End quote.
Speaker 1: Now, let me say this, I appreciate Stephen Jackson saying that.
Speaker 2: I'm not on front.
Speaker 1: I've been pretty pissed at him for a few months,
Speaker 1: and I've been waiting to see him one on one
Speaker 1: talk to him man the man, because he and I
Speaker 1: haven't spoken since he was on his podcast telling his
Speaker 1: partner Matt Bonds, he don't fuck with me because he
Speaker 1: called me a snitch for calling the league office to
Speaker 1: ask why Russell Westbrook was not suspended. To reiterate that
Speaker 1: point and revisit it for a second, Russell Westbrook was
Speaker 1: excessively physical with Luka Doncik in the playoffs. Ultimately a
Speaker 1: little scuffle ensued. Russell Westbrook was ejected from the game.
Speaker 1: I was on National TV and I made it very
Speaker 1: very clear I thought Russell Westbrook should be suspended. I said,
Speaker 1: had that been Draymond Green, they would have suspended him.
Speaker 1: Why not suspend Russell Westbrook.
Speaker 2: At that time before the next game?
Speaker 1: NBA Countdown was the pregame show, so I was asked
Speaker 1: by my superiors at ESPN to call the league office
Speaker 1: to find out why Russell Westbrook, who had been ejected
Speaker 1: from that game, wasn't suspended for the next game, and
Speaker 1: the league gave me the explanation they didn't suspend him
Speaker 1: because there wasn't history there. Number one, Number two, he
Speaker 1: left the court in a peaceful fashion and there was
Speaker 1: nothing that ensued thereafter.
Speaker 2: And number three it was the playoffs.
Speaker 1: It wasn't a regular season game, while admitting to me,
Speaker 1: had it been Dramond Green, it might have been a
Speaker 1: different story. So they gave the explanation, and I went
Speaker 1: on the air and I revealed to the audience I
Speaker 1: called the League office and that was the explanation. And
Speaker 1: then Gilly from Wallow and Gilly's podcast went off of
Speaker 1: social media about me covering you know, call it the
Speaker 1: league office, and Matt Bonds and Stephen Jackson ultimately said,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't agree with Stephen a on that,
Speaker 1: et cetera, et cetera. The difference was is that Matt
Speaker 1: Barnes called me up, ultimately came on the show to
Speaker 1: discuss it with me, and Stephen Jackson didn't respond to
Speaker 1: my invite for him to do the same. While on
Speaker 1: Gilly with Gilly's, all I said is this, you talk
Speaker 1: about the NBA, I cover it.
Speaker 2: It was my job to call the league office.
Speaker 1: I didn't call the league office to get Russell Westbrook suspended.
Speaker 1: I'd already say if it was me, I would have
Speaker 1: suspended them. What I called was to find out their
Speaker 1: rationale behind not suspending him when you know they would
Speaker 1: have suspended Draymond Green.
Speaker 2: That is all. It's called doing my job for that.
Speaker 1: Stephen Jackson labeled me a snitch without knowing all the facts,
Speaker 1: never apologized for it or anything like that.
Speaker 2: And this is a brother that I go back with.
Speaker 1: For years, decades actually, and I didn't appreciate that. First
Speaker 1: of all, in our community, we know what being a
Speaker 1: snitch kind of tent.
Speaker 2: That's not some shit you say.
Speaker 1: And I didn't appreciate that at all. Secondly, especially from
Speaker 1: somebody that I'm pretty damn cool with. But in the end,
Speaker 1: I know how to differentiate my issue with him over
Speaker 1: an incident and my issue with him over character. See,
Speaker 1: I had a problem with Steven Jackson not recognizing and
Speaker 1: remembering where my character stands. There's a lot of shit
Speaker 1: that I don't say, and anybody that knows me knows
Speaker 1: I ain't no damn snitch. I don't roll like that,
Speaker 1: and so to associate that word with me was highly offensive.
Speaker 1: And we haven't spoken since. Maybe we will, maybe we won't.
Speaker 1: But having said all of that. I really appreciate him
Speaker 1: coming out and saying what he said. It meant a
Speaker 1: lot to me, and I thank him for it, really sincerely,
Speaker 1: because I want people to understand, no matter what the
Speaker 1: deal is, no matter what money it entails, it was earned,
Speaker 1: not given.
Speaker 2: Whatever.
Speaker 1: Whenever we reach an agreement, which we have not yet,
Speaker 1: it will be earned.
Speaker 2: Anybody giving me anything, I've earned it.
Speaker 1: And if I earn it, and I'll show you how
Speaker 1: to snot nosed kid from Hollis Queens, from the streets
Speaker 1: of Hollis Queens, New York, ultimately ascends in the business,
Speaker 1: not as a rap artist, not as an actor or
Speaker 1: an actress, not as a baller, whether it's football or
Speaker 1: basketball or something else, but through journalism. And I do
Speaker 1: that with the advent of podcasts and YouTube shows and
Speaker 1: channels and all.
Speaker 2: Of this other stuff.
Speaker 1: If I could do it, imagine what doors open for
Speaker 1: the rest of us.
Speaker 2: That's where I'm coming from with it.
Speaker 1: And I can't speak on it, and I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: speak on it, but let me assure you with something.
Speaker 1: While there is an agreement, you have no idea what
Speaker 1: the deal is. You have no idea idea, Rather what
Speaker 1: it doesn't tell, and you have no idea about how
Speaker 1: what I'm aiming to do. It's gonna rock the foundation
Speaker 1: of this industry. I'm after big, big, big things, and
Speaker 1: I can't speak on it until it's done. Only a
Speaker 1: fool would speak on it prematurely. But I'm coming and
Speaker 1: I appreciate all the support from the Stephen Jackson's my man,
Speaker 1: Matt Bondes. Can't say enough about that. I love that brother,
Speaker 1: can't say enough about him. And he supported me, Cam Newton,
Speaker 1: how he supported Shannon Sharp, Ryan Clark, Swag Gooo and
Speaker 1: all them, Kendrick Perkins, list goes on and on and on.
Speaker 2: I'll speak on it when.
Speaker 1: It's time, but I see everything, and to those who
Speaker 1: have supported me, all i'm gonna say is, I will
Speaker 1: never forget.
Speaker 2: I will never forget. That's all I'm gonna say about
Speaker 2: that for now.