Speaker 1: To be the first one to win this award. I
Speaker 1: will carry your family's name with more honored now that
Speaker 1: I'm retired, more than I did when I played s
Speaker 1: I owe that to your family that when they's Walter
Speaker 1: Payman or the year my name is mentioned, it's with
Speaker 1: the highest level of service possible.
Speaker 2: What's up, everybody, I'm Peanut Tohiman and this is the
Speaker 2: NFL Player Second X podcast and with him as always
Speaker 2: Montrosity co host Roman Harvard.
Speaker 3: Why you look so serious?
Speaker 2: I'm not just why you look so well, because you
Speaker 2: just yelled at me before we started. So I'm really
Speaker 2: excited about this interview. This guy's a legendary player. We
Speaker 2: all grew up watching him, yes, from his college days
Speaker 2: at Florida State to his NFL career with the Tampa
Speaker 2: Bay Buccaneers, and you can't wait to sit down and
Speaker 2: talk to him about also what he's doing now in
Speaker 2: his second acting.
Speaker 3: I know it's gonna bee a great one.
Speaker 2: Fourteen year NFL VET Walter Peyton, Man of the Year,
Speaker 2: NFL Hall of Famer, NFL all time top one hundred player.
Speaker 2: So that means he's got you got two coats.
Speaker 3: He got, he got the maroon jacket.
Speaker 2: Ain't he got the gold jacket? Oh, there's the maroon jacket.
Speaker 2: When you go that one when you bruh, I didn't
Speaker 2: know that.
Speaker 3: Yes, I learned.
Speaker 2: It's like wine. It's it's a pretty dope color too.
Speaker 3: They say that age is better with time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, and he's currently the guy. When you get
Speaker 2: fine and you don't agree with the fine, you gotta
Speaker 2: pill it to this man. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Derek
Speaker 2: Brooks to the show.
Speaker 1: Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you, my pleasure. It's
Speaker 1: my pleasure.
Speaker 2: Well, Derek Man, get right into that one. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: will get jumped right into it. I always talk about
Speaker 2: how I never thought that I would be in the
Speaker 2: media space, right. The media was always that looked upon
Speaker 2: as the enemy. Yes, yeah, I mean I don't know
Speaker 2: what the angle they're coming at. And I wonder if
Speaker 2: you think the same thing, because you're on the opposite
Speaker 2: side of you are now the person that says this
Speaker 2: is determinedifying this.
Speaker 4: That and the other.
Speaker 2: We call you the appeal, knowing that you used to
Speaker 2: be the one that was trying to call the appill
Speaker 2: and all the other Senate So how did you get
Speaker 2: into this job. Talk to us kind of like what
Speaker 2: exactly do you.
Speaker 4: Do or share with well, thank you?
Speaker 1: So, uh, I'm the lead what we would say, the
Speaker 1: lead appeals officer for the NFL, And this position is
Speaker 1: the only job that was created by the collective bargaining agreement.
Speaker 1: So the I like to say, there's no door closed
Speaker 1: to this position. No matter if your NFL, nfl PA,
Speaker 1: our governing documents, this is the only.
Speaker 4: Position that's reference.
Speaker 1: So from that standpoint, I'm truly neutral when it comes
Speaker 1: to the governing of the game in terms of the rules.
Speaker 1: And I always take a moment to explain to our
Speaker 1: fellow players. I tell them, guys, I played longer than
Speaker 1: I have been a pills officer, so I do not
Speaker 1: find this position. Do not find players I know all
Speaker 1: the time because they say, y'all, y'all find I say,
Speaker 1: I say, let's define why a L L that does
Speaker 1: not contain D R R I C K. So I
Speaker 1: just and again when I explain to the men the
Speaker 1: position and how I take it serious that this position
Speaker 1: is you to talk to me in as colleagues, let's
Speaker 1: talk about what the NFL said happened, and either I'm
Speaker 1: agree with the NFL. I'm gonna disagree or I'm gonna agree.
Speaker 1: But you know what, it wasn't at the economic level
Speaker 1: that the NFL says it was, and we call that
Speaker 1: it reduced. And what I try to do in that
Speaker 1: process is keep the integrity and dignity that these men know.
Speaker 1: My colleagues, your voice is not of being heard, but
Speaker 1: they're being listened to. Everything you say, and your agent
Speaker 1: and the players Association attorneys is going to get considered.
Speaker 1: Some things are pretty obvious. Then you know, you go,
Speaker 1: God grabs a face, mass he makes a tackle. I
Speaker 1: tell you, guy, it ain't about the obvious place. What
Speaker 1: I am listening to just to talk to you about
Speaker 1: the position you play and how you ended up in
Speaker 1: that position. Now, how can you be a better player?
Speaker 1: So I treated with that dignity and I always make
Speaker 1: myself available, and I think this has really been key.
Speaker 1: You know, in the twelve years I've been doing this,
Speaker 1: I don't run from decisions. And I tell players, once
Speaker 1: you get my decision, if you disagree with it or
Speaker 1: want to discuss it, heres how you get a hold
Speaker 1: of me. I give him my emails because I want
Speaker 1: it on the record, and I give them my phone number,
Speaker 1: and I say, I will only talk to you as
Speaker 1: my peer. I won't talk to your agent. I want
Speaker 1: talk to your representative. I'll talk to you because your
Speaker 1: money is being taken. And every year during this time
Speaker 1: around the Super Bowl, that is the one compliment. Even
Speaker 1: when players disagree, they always come back say, you know what,
Speaker 1: I disagree rich and misrs brush, but I really appreciate
Speaker 1: how you treated me and I appreciate the conversation you
Speaker 1: had with me. And that's all I try to do
Speaker 1: in this position and services real serve the men, serve
Speaker 1: the game, or do it with the highest level of integrity.
Speaker 2: I got a question, does it anybody actually reached back out?
Speaker 2: Because yes, I know that's been to me. And I
Speaker 2: was just like like once it was over, I was
Speaker 2: either mad and just like walked away still mad, or
Speaker 2: you know, I'm like.
Speaker 3: Okay, I appreciate that they did send that a little bit.
Speaker 3: They knocked that down.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but they do. And here's I tell all the
Speaker 1: player appeal everything. Yeah, don't just willingly you didn't willingly
Speaker 1: be in that position on the football fields, or don't
Speaker 1: willing need to give into the price You've earned that right,
Speaker 1: use it and going through it. When they reach back out,
Speaker 1: it gives me a chance to have other conversations. And
Speaker 1: that's really the secret that I've really trying to get
Speaker 1: to with the players and guys do when they reach
Speaker 1: back out, they say, we'll talk about the play. I'll
Speaker 1: give them my opinion, and then I ask some other things.
Speaker 1: How is your locker room, how are you doing, how's
Speaker 1: your health? Where you're at this stage of your career.
Speaker 1: A young player that I may see or know things. Hey,
Speaker 1: you know what you're playing the game a little. They
Speaker 1: could have done this, but they didn't. But let me
Speaker 1: warn you about this. The scheme you're playing, especially with linebackers,
Speaker 1: I love talking to them. And why you're lining the
Speaker 1: seven yards deep?
Speaker 4: Man?
Speaker 1: You know it's an obvious run r PO tendencies. What
Speaker 1: do you studying? I say, his on defense, reading the quarterback,
Speaker 1: breaking on the football. What why you're backpelling five steps
Speaker 1: when you can hop three and break later on? I
Speaker 1: never thought that, Yeah, how about try that when you
Speaker 1: get a pick? Der Brooks chaities will appreciate that. So
Speaker 1: it gives me in a fun way. It gives me
Speaker 1: that other connection, you know, to the players, and a
Speaker 1: lot of them when they do, then what tends to happen.
Speaker 1: Guys reach out to me that don't get fine because
Speaker 1: they teammate has my information, so they end up reaching
Speaker 1: back out to me.
Speaker 4: And that's how I stay connected with the players.
Speaker 2: Our show was my I think when I used to
Speaker 2: get fine, Our show was my guy.
Speaker 1: Yes, Art schell Art was And I said, just like,
Speaker 1: obviously you're a peanut punch. When players was getting fined
Speaker 1: for that, they the rules says, obviously they throwing a punch.
Speaker 1: But now that's a part of the turnover technique. And
Speaker 1: I asked he was writing in that by four or
Speaker 1: five years ago to the competition committee and trying his staff. Hey,
Speaker 1: we need to look at this act very y different.
Speaker 1: This is not the act of throwing a punch violence.
Speaker 1: This is a turnover technique that we need to really
Speaker 1: look at from the rules standpoint, look at and consider
Speaker 1: in governing the rules. So I get a chance through
Speaker 1: the position to make those recommendations. I tell the PA,
Speaker 1: here's what I think you guys should be fighting for
Speaker 1: when it comes to the players. Now, whether they do
Speaker 1: it or not, again, their choice, whether the competition committee
Speaker 1: listens to me, their choice, But they see the decisions
Speaker 1: that are being made, you know, by myself and prior
Speaker 1: to James Thrash. We write these recommendations and now, like
Speaker 1: I say, just that turnover technique itself, it's really helped
Speaker 1: the players now and then obviously we get players that
Speaker 1: abuse it on the other side. Oh mi, bro, I'm
Speaker 1: just trying to do the bean that punch man. You
Speaker 1: swinging at the dude, Joe the ball there's nowhere near
Speaker 1: where you were going. But again that's again that's some
Speaker 1: of the things that goes on up under the hood
Speaker 1: with the position.
Speaker 2: Now, since you've had this position, have you seen, uh
Speaker 2: the fins go down?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it has, and it goes in trends. So for instance,
Speaker 1: you know, you look at concussion data, concussion data has
Speaker 1: gone down, which is very good for everybody because now
Speaker 1: players are being more conscious in how they're tackling. The
Speaker 1: defensive player side of me, see the mistackles three times
Speaker 1: as much has defended without looking at defensive stats. So
Speaker 1: you know, and again it's just certain areas of hip
Speaker 1: drop tackle. What's the big thing last off season this season,
Speaker 1: you just see a lot of that in terms of
Speaker 1: the technique and when it was happening. We had a
Speaker 1: chance to discuss how it was happening, you know, with
Speaker 1: a player momentum, with a player open field, in these positions,
Speaker 1: positions angles, if you're coming up from behind versus coming
Speaker 1: from the side. So when they do those things and
Speaker 1: those rules go in, this process gives you a chance
Speaker 1: to go. Because there was a lot where John running
Speaker 1: his staff, they find guys loud of these was rescinded,
Speaker 1: you know, by myself, and we had three new guys
Speaker 1: this year, Ramon Foster, Kevin Mawai, and Jordy Nelson. They
Speaker 1: all came on this year because there was a lot
Speaker 1: to handle for two people. But as I was bringing
Speaker 1: these guys in the process, they had a chance to
Speaker 1: have a great appreciation too. I mean, it's ain't gonna
Speaker 1: say silly, but when you think about things like celebrations
Speaker 1: and obviously Roman you in this space with college football,
Speaker 1: you see these guys.
Speaker 2: It's out of control and Colge thank you. That's where
Speaker 2: it starts, exactly. You guys are trying to break the
Speaker 2: tendency now in the league.
Speaker 4: Exactly, So how do you how do.
Speaker 1: You tell a rookie coming in, hey, you're not gonna
Speaker 1: be a This is for the cost you money, these
Speaker 1: type of celebrations. So I try to tell guys, you
Speaker 1: see that Cameron in zone. They want celebrate, They want
Speaker 1: this content, but they want it as a unit. So
Speaker 1: now when you start to see defensive players, everybody run
Speaker 1: to the opposite zone. Those are guys that was listening
Speaker 1: to this process. Celebrate all you want, but let's do
Speaker 1: it with three or four other people. Let's do it
Speaker 1: on your sideline. If you get a turnover on your
Speaker 1: opponent's sideline, man, run them twenty yards to the middle
Speaker 1: of the field. Find your guys and go to the
Speaker 1: end zone instead of turn around looking at their sideline.
Speaker 1: They know you made a play. You ain't gotta show them.
Speaker 1: You ain't got to You ain't got to brag about
Speaker 1: it because you want to come at you again so
Speaker 1: you can make another play.
Speaker 4: So go find your teammates.
Speaker 1: So again, just that when I'm talking about celebrations and
Speaker 1: how do we govern that when the NFL content side,
Speaker 1: when they go post these celebrations for views, guys getting fined.
Speaker 4: It's a mixed message.
Speaker 3: It is.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this process allowed those two to connect.
Speaker 4: Ops.
Speaker 1: You got to connect with the content team. You can't
Speaker 1: find guys if the content team is posting these things
Speaker 1: as hey, look at the beautiful NFL and celebrate. Let's
Speaker 1: get views, but it costs you twelve thousand dollars. So
Speaker 1: this process allowed for more efficiency on their side. Even
Speaker 1: to the teams. Teams better be careful about posting this
Speaker 1: content because I'm a player. The team posts something I
Speaker 1: did and I got fine, I'm going to see the gym.
Speaker 1: Hey man, somebody need to pay that. Ain't at y'all
Speaker 1: to post that. So it's better communication even amongst teams
Speaker 1: and content when it gets to the operation of the game.
Speaker 2: That's a great point as far as we talk about
Speaker 2: the money the content, Like, I really hadn't thought about that.
Speaker 3: I see it a lot in college.
Speaker 2: Though it starts down everybody's doing this celebration, they start
Speaker 2: flashing like that.
Speaker 3: That was the new one. That was just bananas this year.
Speaker 2: But I want to talk about some of the numbers,
Speaker 2: the actual numbers. I looked at some of this. So
Speaker 2: football in the stands now, is this being kicked thrown?
Speaker 2: It's a difference right versus handed out? Yes, right, if
Speaker 2: you throw it fine, right if you kick it fine,
Speaker 2: if you hand it we're all good, correct, Yes, all right?
Speaker 3: What about a toss?
Speaker 4: That's exactly what I said.
Speaker 2: I can't I can't really get it to my mama,
Speaker 2: but I want mama just for you.
Speaker 4: But it's a general toss now.
Speaker 1: And again that's where in these processes, like with our
Speaker 1: process and when I do I handle on field playing stuff.
Speaker 1: So when it comes to throwing the balls in the stands,
Speaker 1: that's another area with John Wrightan and that who But
Speaker 1: to your point, sometimes common sense intent, yes.
Speaker 2: So I just want to know how do they come
Speaker 2: up with the numbers. So the first offense is seven thousand,
Speaker 2: eight hundred and seventy eight dollars, get to change, yes,
Speaker 2: the next one, the second offense is thirteen thousand, five
Speaker 2: hundred and six dollars.
Speaker 3: The one that's even crazier.
Speaker 2: To me is a physical contact with the referee, which, yes,
Speaker 2: sometimes happens, should never happen, but you know, it's an
Speaker 2: emotional game played by emotional people, so we.
Speaker 3: Know things happen.
Speaker 2: First offense thirty nine thousand, five hundred and.
Speaker 3: One dollar one.
Speaker 2: Yeah, really, and then the second offense seventy nine thousand,
Speaker 2: zero and four dollars seventy nine thousand and four dollars.
Speaker 3: How do you come up with those numbers.
Speaker 1: And you're forgetting you forgetting the other one, they can
Speaker 1: suspend you.
Speaker 4: Right after.
Speaker 3: Yes, nothing, Oh I didn't know that.
Speaker 1: Yes, so anything the way that the rules are ridden
Speaker 1: and I use they can go from zero to one
Speaker 1: thousand off the egregiousness of the act. So somebody runs
Speaker 1: and you know, say, for two hands shoves of ref
Speaker 1: you ain't gonna see those numbers. You're gonna see him out.
Speaker 1: So they have that jurisdiction. And those numbers are actually
Speaker 1: collectively bargaining negotiating.
Speaker 3: Okay, I thought someone just came up one of the.
Speaker 4: Number.
Speaker 1: They use these different formulas in negotiation with our players union,
Speaker 1: and those numbers are a direct reflection of what's in
Speaker 1: the CBA. Okay, the CBA defined schedule of the CBA.
Speaker 2: All right, So how does that so Rom and I
Speaker 2: playing different teams? I hit him, push him, whatever he
Speaker 2: goes down, I get a flag. I get my personal foul.
Speaker 2: I know I'm probably get fined or something like that.
Speaker 2: I'm gonnat a FedEx letter explain how the appeals process works.
Speaker 1: So in that case, that act is going to be
Speaker 1: looked at by NFL op staff and I'll just headed
Speaker 1: by John Ryan reports up Detroit Vincent. So they'll look
Speaker 1: at the egregiousness of what happened. What the referee report says, wegreiousness.
Speaker 1: I beat them up real good, you beat them up.
Speaker 1: Now they'll look at what you did to instigate it,
Speaker 1: in what level that caused. Second, they'll look at the
Speaker 1: response that he had in responding to that I knocked
Speaker 1: him out. The third thing, they'll look at who came
Speaker 1: off the sideline, who chose to participate in said confrontation.
Speaker 1: Because it also says in our rules you as a
Speaker 1: player shouldn't run to the pile. Let the RELs do
Speaker 1: their job. So you come to that power you're getting
Speaker 1: yes years, yes, so, but this process, so you guys
Speaker 1: go through. You get the FedEx letter. Now you have
Speaker 1: ten days to appeal, so usually your agent automatically appeals
Speaker 1: it for you. Within that ten days, you get on
Speaker 1: a schedule of when you have free time, and we
Speaker 1: have slots that the agents or the player. When you
Speaker 1: log in, it will show you slots of time based
Speaker 1: on your schedule to have the hearing. So every hearing
Speaker 1: it is thirty minutes max or some even go a
Speaker 1: little longer because I let players voice their opinion. So
Speaker 1: then we'll get a day and we'll get a time,
Speaker 1: so that day in time, you'll have all your representatives
Speaker 1: and you able to have anybody on the phone represents
Speaker 1: you you want, but typically it's a lawyer from the
Speaker 1: union player and represents agents and who they want. So
Speaker 1: we'll go through mark hearing. So I'll get on the phone.
Speaker 1: I'll say p NAT tillman. Appreciate you exercising your right
Speaker 1: to go through the ap pills process. I'm Derrick Brooks,
Speaker 1: You're a pills officers. Please not everybody on this phone
Speaker 1: represents you. Will have an opportunity to get me testimony
Speaker 1: regarding as the legs. Fine, and know that the NFL
Speaker 1: is representative from the NFL office is listening in, but
Speaker 1: he or she will not speak. But you have the
Speaker 1: right to know who's listening to this appeals. Please give
Speaker 1: me everything you want me to consider, and I go
Speaker 1: back and watch this play.
Speaker 4: You will speak.
Speaker 1: First, your agent will speak second, the unit speak third,
Speaker 1: and then I come back to you to give me
Speaker 1: any final testimony.
Speaker 4: Out to hearing.
Speaker 1: Everybody speak, because I want your word to be the
Speaker 1: first in the last that I hear. I read the letter.
Speaker 1: Now I'm going to read the letter. I read the letter.
Speaker 1: Then I start you first, get it right down here
Speaker 1: what they say. I come back to you say, hell,
Speaker 1: are you satisfied with the representation you had today?
Speaker 4: You'll say yes.
Speaker 1: I say, Now, finally, once you get my decision, you
Speaker 1: have any comments, questions, concerns, please reach back out to
Speaker 1: me directly and let's have that Conversation's colleagues emailed me.
Speaker 1: So I went on the record, Dick dot Brooks at
Speaker 1: NFL dot com. Here's my phone number.
Speaker 4: You can call me.
Speaker 1: I will only talk to you. I will not talk
Speaker 1: to any one of these other representatives on the phone.
Speaker 4: Here's over.
Speaker 2: Do you are like a black robe when you have
Speaker 2: these conversations?
Speaker 1: Then you get guys on that we and we doing
Speaker 1: the hearing we have like you, hey man, roomman?
Speaker 4: Did this?
Speaker 1: I said, Now you think you actually think he was
Speaker 1: gonna have advantage on you?
Speaker 4: That called you this?
Speaker 1: Something happened early in the game that made you feel
Speaker 1: So I'll you my colleague. So it's I want to
Speaker 1: hear from you for a reason. You'd have the first
Speaker 1: and last word for a reason, so I attempt as
Speaker 1: best I can. Yeah, they encourage guys to talk to me.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: My my favorite one is h number one. You didn't
Speaker 2: rescind the one when I hit a quarterbro at one time.
Speaker 3: Oh, you already knew.
Speaker 4: What it was.
Speaker 3: He ducked bro.
Speaker 2: He did, He ducked and like, I'm got my target
Speaker 2: and then he changes his level.
Speaker 1: He dug he didn't have he didn't have no adjustment time.
Speaker 3: No, I didn't. It's fine. I hate that. I can
Speaker 3: tell you.
Speaker 2: Still bothered by that a little bit.
Speaker 3: He's like, he ducked, he chucked and ducked and then
Speaker 3: I hit him. Fine. Whatever. My favorite one though is
Speaker 3: Merton Hanks.
Speaker 2: I had no no white showing in my socks uniform violation.
Speaker 4: I don't.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm glad shout out to Hanks. He took care
Speaker 2: of me because I was like, I had no white showing.
Speaker 2: I was like, why am I even mind? He was like, dude,
Speaker 2: you got to like just try and get reduced like whatever.
Speaker 2: I'm like, there's nothing to reduce. I had no white
Speaker 2: like nothing, but he was like, yeah, what's up. I
Speaker 2: was like, why did I not have any white? I
Speaker 2: was like, dude, this Monday night football. He's like, I
Speaker 2: get it.
Speaker 3: You gotta on Monday night. I'm gonna take care. I
Speaker 3: give you like, you know what.
Speaker 2: I appreciate that, just for just hearing me out, working
Speaker 2: with me what you're saying, and just be like, you
Speaker 2: know what, just be making the call.
Speaker 3: We appreciate it.
Speaker 2: We're gonna take a short break and we'll be back
Speaker 2: in a minute. I got a question for you. You
Speaker 2: mentioned this earlier. You talked about tackling. The skill level,
Speaker 2: the technique in tackling has not been as good as
Speaker 2: where you would see it or like it. What would
Speaker 2: you rate your what would you rate yourself as a
Speaker 2: tackling your technique, your ability to do it, and then
Speaker 2: what would give young people kind of advice to try
Speaker 2: to clean it up?
Speaker 1: That was my That was really one of my assets, yo.
Speaker 1: Role just I wasn't a hitter. I wasn't no big thumper.
Speaker 2: No, you weren't even like that big one linebacker, one
Speaker 2: of the first smaller will linebackers. And that cover two
Speaker 2: really kind of made it more.
Speaker 1: Yes, everybody that so I was on, Yes, it was
Speaker 1: on the cuzzle, changing the game. Then I was coming
Speaker 1: along and coming in. Yes, you know, it wasn't the
Speaker 1: size of Lawrence Taylor's, you know, Wilbert Marshall's. You and
Speaker 1: your say, it was more the offenses opening up. You know,
Speaker 1: back mid to late nineties, the ball was coming out,
Speaker 1: offenses were scoring. You saw a lot of flex. You
Speaker 1: didn't see the big running backs. You saw the Marshall
Speaker 1: folks of the world coming in and Edrin James doing
Speaker 1: Fred Taylor. So you saw a difference with that, and
Speaker 1: more teams were going to it. So for me, it
Speaker 1: was a by playing in space. I wasn't a hitter.
Speaker 1: I was a tackler. I was a grabber, get you
Speaker 1: to the ground. A lot of my tackles were not
Speaker 1: against bigger players, against receivers, backs, you know, tiny obviously
Speaker 1: guys is having the ball. But it wasn't at the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage. It usually was in space. And then
Speaker 1: when I'm actually having to tackle in the hole. For us,
Speaker 1: it was by game tackle. We had that philosophy. No
Speaker 1: one except a corner out on the island, and even then,
Speaker 1: no one should make a tackle alone. That was Manti
Speaker 1: Kiffen Lovey herb all day and grained at in US
Speaker 1: and practice. If two guys wasn't getting touched. We was
Speaker 1: running to play again, like no one should make a
Speaker 1: tackle alone. It was just we were brainwashed to that's
Speaker 1: what we believe. So when I graved myself to the
Speaker 1: highest degree, because that's that's what I made. Very few
Speaker 1: times you catch me having big hits today, they don't
Speaker 1: get a chance to practice that as much as we did,
Speaker 1: and it's killing us. Everything is being governed and again
Speaker 1: rightfully sold to get a healthier game. Right to guys
Speaker 1: in our position now could live a full, you know,
Speaker 1: life to the best of his capabilities, not having all
Speaker 1: these car wrecks. I understand it, but that don't mean
Speaker 1: I have to accept it just because you can't practice
Speaker 1: as a team. There's nothing wrong with you doing something individually. Linebackers,
Speaker 1: there's nothing wrong with you getting a teammate and you
Speaker 1: guys walking through tackling and open field. You don't need
Speaker 1: a coach governing that. You just need two willing bodies
Speaker 1: that want to get better. That's what I tell them.
Speaker 1: There's no excuses, no explanations. Yes, the fire system and
Speaker 1: the physicality has governed the game, but nothing has governed
Speaker 1: the fact that there's going to be collisions in some
Speaker 1: of these open fields that you're literally not grabbing the guy.
Speaker 1: You're trying to knock him down with your shoulder instead
Speaker 1: of grabbing it wrapping him up. That is the safest
Speaker 1: thing to do. And nowadays runners especially, they're making investment decisions.
Speaker 1: Once you grab them, they going They they going down.
Speaker 1: But guess what, you gotta grab them. You can't not
Speaker 1: try to knock them down with the shoulder. Well, assume
Speaker 1: they feel your home, you feel your paws. Man, they're
Speaker 1: going down. To the going down, man, get to the
Speaker 1: next play. I got my fifteen, got my twelve.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they going down.
Speaker 1: And like back when we play bigger receiver, like we
Speaker 1: need that extra two or three.
Speaker 4: They're not doing that anymore.
Speaker 1: So get back to the art of grabbing, getting very
Speaker 1: intimate and bringing them to the.
Speaker 3: Ground body on the body. Yes.
Speaker 2: Do you think it's because the lack of guys are
Speaker 2: I just see guys just diving that legs and stuff,
Speaker 2: and they got their eyes closed. They're not really looking
Speaker 2: at what they're seeing in the hit. And it's also
Speaker 2: what you're saying, they're just trying to show their tackle.
Speaker 2: There's a lot more and I don't know why that's happening,
Speaker 2: and it's got to start earlier. Though you guys, I
Speaker 2: didn't tell anybody NFL we really don't teach. We ain't
Speaker 2: got time to teach you how to tackle. You've got
Speaker 2: to be that when you show up here or you
Speaker 2: ain't gonna stay. It's a college thing, though, I think
Speaker 2: that's a college thing.
Speaker 3: I had a conversation with high schools.
Speaker 1: Yes, and and yes, we're trying to infiltrate from the
Speaker 1: top down every areas of our game or growth down
Speaker 1: to high school, whether it's officiating, where it's coaching, whether
Speaker 1: it's rules.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 1: I commend you know, the NFL, even their investment in flag,
Speaker 1: because why are you're teaching grabbing? I could work with
Speaker 1: that when now, because that grabbing a flag is going
Speaker 1: to work, and grabbing a jersey, grabbing a pant leg
Speaker 1: is grabbing something you're not used to the art of tackling.
Speaker 1: Even in flag, you're doing it. So I commend them
Speaker 1: in doing it. But we just got to continue to
Speaker 1: educate that us former players that are getting involved in
Speaker 1: coaching in the youth leagues, we know better equipped us
Speaker 1: with these techniques, these rules to help because these kids
Speaker 1: are going to listen to us because they're trying to
Speaker 1: get where we were. So our word is going to
Speaker 1: carry more whether we like it. Whether we like it
Speaker 1: or not, it is what it is, so let's embrace that.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So, so I see that, uh that that pain you
Speaker 2: got on your left lapel. That's that's kind of that's
Speaker 2: kind of that's kind of cool. You got one of
Speaker 2: those kind of those pens. You do not, mister Brooks,
Speaker 2: can you can you explain to one.
Speaker 3: Mister Harper what that what that pen is?
Speaker 4: Sir?
Speaker 3: It is? But no, please please do.
Speaker 1: I'm just I figured, you know, you would be able
Speaker 1: to it's it.
Speaker 2: Looks good on you, sir. Can you please explain what
Speaker 2: that that?
Speaker 1: This is the Walter Payne Man of the Year lapel
Speaker 1: and I was blessed enough to uh be awarded this
Speaker 1: the first year that they renamed after mister Peyton in
Speaker 1: two thousand. So I didn't know at the time. I'm
Speaker 1: you know, twenty five years later the impact of hey,
Speaker 1: the NFL Man of the Year to the Walter Payton
Speaker 1: NFL Man of the Year. But those two words in
Speaker 1: front of that would me I didn't grasp it in
Speaker 1: the year two thousand because I was so busy with
Speaker 1: my foundation and youth work and Tampa, educating these kids
Speaker 1: and getting them out of the projects. Just wondered, Hey,
Speaker 1: I'm diving into youth education. Okay, this is a recognition
Speaker 1: that's going to help me do more. Let's okay, so
Speaker 1: be it. But as I mature over the years, I
Speaker 1: started to understand what he meant to this game in
Speaker 1: terms of service beyond the game. I grasped it. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: probably two thousand and nine after I retired, and it's
Speaker 1: like people started, hey, we really appreciate what you do
Speaker 1: it off the field more you did on the field.
Speaker 1: Those were things I was hearing around this country in
Speaker 1: terms of Derreck Brooks. And that's where I actually called
Speaker 1: talked to Jared Peyton and I say, you know what, Jared,
Speaker 1: to be the first one to win this award, and
Speaker 1: obviously you know what mister Payne means in Chicago, I
Speaker 1: will carry your family's name with more honored now that
Speaker 1: I'm retired, more than I did when I played. I said,
Speaker 1: I owe that to your family that when they's Walter
Speaker 1: Payman or the year my name is mentioned, it's with
Speaker 1: the highest level of service possible when I told him that,
Speaker 1: and that's what that's what it means to me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I didn't.
Speaker 2: I didn't even know you wanted the first year that
Speaker 2: they had renamed it or put his name in front
Speaker 2: of that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's cool.
Speaker 2: Yes, we're going to take a short break and we'll
Speaker 2: be right back. So you got I'm as we say
Speaker 2: of the young kids, say, I'm gona give you a flower.
Speaker 4: So you.
Speaker 2: Fourteen amazing years, Pro Bowls, all Pro NFL Hall of Fame,
Speaker 2: Top one hundred players, Man of the Year, all the
Speaker 2: foundational charitable stuff that you do off the field, you
Speaker 2: also built. You built the high school.
Speaker 3: Show.
Speaker 2: Yes, like you've done amazing you one hundred percent graduation rates,
Speaker 2: one hundred percent graduation rate and throw that in there.
Speaker 3: Derek.
Speaker 4: Let you.
Speaker 2: If you had to have a personal Mount Rushmore of
Speaker 2: four people that have helped you become you today. Oh man,
Speaker 2: who would those four people be?
Speaker 4: Wow? Uh?
Speaker 3: On the field?
Speaker 1: Off the field man, you Well, I'm just obviously I'm
Speaker 1: gonna say this name, and not as a Mount Rushmore,
Speaker 1: but just my foundational you know, being obviously my faith,
Speaker 1: in my service, my relationship with God. That's obviously nothing
Speaker 1: to compare to that. I think of my family, it'll
Speaker 1: be a combination of my stepdad and my mom. You
Speaker 1: know one thing my stepdad did that changed my life
Speaker 1: was he whooped me in front of my fifth grade
Speaker 1: class Spencer Bibs Elementary, second floor, Room two or five.
Speaker 1: Miss Katie Lett was a teacher nineteen eighty five, farewear
Speaker 1: to ninth. Remember the day the guy that tripped me
Speaker 1: when I was running He had on brown socks. Yes,
Speaker 1: I'm still looking for that dude, but I was being
Speaker 1: a class clown. He came up to the school, he
Speaker 1: whooped me right in front of my class and say,
Speaker 1: sure you how to get last for a lifetime, but
Speaker 1: you won't get paid, and he did it. Got home
Speaker 1: that night, told me, you're taking a gift that God
Speaker 1: gave you in terms of being academically blessed, and you're
Speaker 1: abusing it by making fun of others. Why don't you
Speaker 1: be an asset son help kids that's not as smart
Speaker 1: as you instead of being a distraction, Why don't you
Speaker 1: help them? He never disciplined me again. Definitely had to
Speaker 1: put him and my mom then forcing my mom would
Speaker 1: have told me that, oh I'd have bleed her. One
Speaker 1: thousand percent.
Speaker 4: Not my dad. He's always working.
Speaker 1: He ain't got My mom said it, Hey straighten up
Speaker 1: you for real, So you know, just had to put
Speaker 1: I was my parents. The next person I would say
Speaker 1: is two coaches had to be Coach Bowden and Coach
Speaker 1: Dungee as my two and three just from the standpoint
Speaker 1: of faith, family football and to see the way that
Speaker 1: Coach Bowen did it all different diversities of backgrounds. He
Speaker 1: was solid man every Friday night building into us as men.
Speaker 1: He gave his own chapel with every one of his
Speaker 1: teams every Friday night, and it was so unique because
Speaker 1: he would take a game playing point and have a
Speaker 1: biblical story behind it, going to us that Saturday to
Speaker 1: win every Friday night, and it was just him and
Speaker 1: the team, no coaches, no trainers. He's like he said,
Speaker 1: just me, me and my men. It's my time with them,
Speaker 1: nobody else. And Coach Dungee when he got to Tampa,
Speaker 1: really gave me a direction for where I need to
Speaker 1: channel on my gifts of God when he said, we
Speaker 1: will be a team that never loses a game because
Speaker 1: we'll be a team that's playing the game of life.
Speaker 1: And he would be a coach that coached a team
Speaker 1: that this community would be proud of by how we
Speaker 1: serve it, not by how many games we win on
Speaker 1: the football field. Those things will take care of themselves.
Speaker 1: And when coach gave that speech in front of the team, man,
Speaker 1: I's like, who is this dude, Man, we just lost
Speaker 1: twelve games last year. He come here talking about the community.
Speaker 1: They wanted us to win on man, don't want to
Speaker 1: Nobody had him as a head coach. This was me
Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety six. I'm sitting there like, Man, I
Speaker 1: lost twelve games. I ain't lost twelve games, and since
Speaker 1: playing football so I was eight. He talked about the
Speaker 1: community don't want a winner. They got bags on their
Speaker 1: heads right here. Man, that was my attitude first team meeting.
Speaker 1: I loved him tell the story because he tells how
Speaker 1: I was sitting there East House.
Speaker 4: I was looking at him crazy. I look at Sap,
Speaker 4: Sath look at me.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go talk to him. I said, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go talk to him. When I did, walked in his office.
Speaker 1: Out we went to first practice, walked in his office. Hey, coach,
Speaker 1: all due respect, Man, I lost twelve games. This community
Speaker 1: want to winner. You never talked about winning the community. Okay,
Speaker 1: but what about he said, Dear, God's expecting this conversation
Speaker 1: about how usually acting. Let me explain to you. We're
Speaker 1: talking about the game of life. That's what God has
Speaker 1: in store for us. We're serving people. We're just using football.
Speaker 1: The game of life doesn't keep scoring. Because God doesn't
Speaker 1: keep scoring. We'll never lose a game. It would play
Speaker 1: the game of life. We're gonna prepare all the football things.
Speaker 1: We're gonna be accountable. Those things will take care of themselves,
Speaker 1: but we have to start here how we're gonna serve.
Speaker 1: And the light went off. I got a coach so
Speaker 1: he would be there, and probably the fourth had been
Speaker 1: my wife, Carol.
Speaker 4: A man.
Speaker 1: This lady has known me since we were nine years old,
Speaker 1: uh Spencer Bibs where I met her being a class clown.
Speaker 1: She she'll tell us she couldn't stand me when we
Speaker 1: were younger. The most she's like I was the most
Speaker 1: irresponsible disresplantion. She hated me because I made life visible
Speaker 1: for everybody. But she's known me my entire life. And
Speaker 1: to say that, you know, for her to be solid,
Speaker 1: you know, man, I sixth sixth grade, I looked at it.
Speaker 1: That's my wife. I'm gonna make sure that. But she
Speaker 1: made me work for it too. Man, you know, back
Speaker 1: in my day to write the little letter, Hey you
Speaker 1: go when you go out with me? Still and didn't
Speaker 1: get no answer to what got high schools? Like, yeah,
Speaker 1: you can take my books a class. Then I show
Speaker 1: up around the corner. Man, three friends, I gotta take
Speaker 1: all their books of class. Yes, hey take it to
Speaker 1: the movie. Sure, I show up to the movie. I'm saying,
Speaker 1: three friends there, like all right, y'all ain't getting on
Speaker 1: the drinks. She gets a popcorn. Y'all get in the movie.
Speaker 1: They win and watch the movie. I ain't have nothing
Speaker 1: to get my own ticket.
Speaker 3: Outside.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so but it all seems just she would be
Speaker 1: she would be there for.
Speaker 3: Like that I do.
Speaker 2: Man well, Derek Man, thanks man, and I love the
Speaker 2: story you shared.
Speaker 3: With Coach Dungee as well.
Speaker 2: It's almost the same things I try to talk to
Speaker 2: my kids in mine, especially my son about is that.
Speaker 2: You know Coach Dungee more words than I. It's just
Speaker 2: saying it's like, if you do the right thing for
Speaker 2: the right reasons, not when you want to or when
Speaker 2: it feels right. But all the time, usually good things
Speaker 2: will follow that. That's what he's just trying to say.
Speaker 3: This is the baseline of where we're at.
Speaker 2: When nobody else is watching, We're just gonna be doing
Speaker 2: the right thing and then God in time's gonna take
Speaker 2: care of everything else for you. And so you are
Speaker 2: a walking testament to that. So I appreciate it, man,
Speaker 2: Thanks for pouring pouring out to us. Man, it's been
Speaker 2: great finally getting to meet you. And well i've seen
Speaker 2: you meet you, yes, yeah, in this chapter in your life.
Speaker 3: Man, you're wearing it well.
Speaker 4: Brother, Well, thank you, Thank you number forty one. You
Speaker 4: keep doing your thing.
Speaker 1: Man Aside, You guys are truly a testament to preparing
Speaker 1: to life out the football and being proud of that transition.
Speaker 1: And I really really hope that we continue to have
Speaker 1: platforms to share with the men that's playing this game.
Speaker 1: Now that's don't understand all the ramifications of what owning
Speaker 1: content being in the media. How do you leverage this
Speaker 1: to when no one cares about what you're doing every
Speaker 1: single day. They care about what you're doing, what you get,
Speaker 1: and you guys could can't and will continue to show
Speaker 1: them about how you guys carry your sales man in
Speaker 1: front of these cameras. And again, as someone's watching watching
Speaker 1: it all, I appreciate that, and again, continue, please continue
Speaker 1: to maximize your platform because probably more of these young
Speaker 1: players are watching us than we realize. And they tell
Speaker 1: us that when I'm having these conversations with them, and
Speaker 1: I just thank God for the platform of a pills
Speaker 1: officer position get a chance to dig into those conversations
Speaker 1: with them because they know, as one of them players say, man,
Speaker 1: I got more resources being on a practice squad than
Speaker 1: I ever thought I would, you know, And he just
Speaker 1: got fined his first game. He's like, I don't even
Speaker 1: know what to do with it, but I wouldn't not
Speaker 1: have had a chance to talk to that young man.
Speaker 1: Have you went and talked to the financial service your
Speaker 1: sponsorship of your team and there financial services partner, They
Speaker 1: will be gladly have an opportunity to talk to you,
Speaker 1: you know, build those relationships side side the locker room.
Speaker 1: And saw it again. I want to protect this his name.
Speaker 1: Saw this young man two days ago.
Speaker 4: Thank me.
Speaker 1: He has a trust, set up, insurance policies, a budget.
Speaker 1: All these conversations happened from a young man getting fined.
Speaker 1: Now he feels he's got his foot and he's a
Speaker 1: major contributor for his team. Now, dope.
Speaker 3: I like that boy.
Speaker 2: He we thank you for coming on the part. I
Speaker 2: feel like we should take a collection. I feel like
Speaker 2: I feel like I was in church.
Speaker 3: A collection for this guy is awesome.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and all of that, But mister Derek, you also
Speaker 2: one of the few brothers that you know got the
Speaker 2: great waves, do you know just.
Speaker 1: About Like yes, sir, That's why I mcfally man I
Speaker 1: hit to make fall all the time. Man say man,
Speaker 1: we do great wave brothers, like.
Speaker 2: The Wave Brothers, great wave brother That's awesome, that's awesome.
Speaker 3: We appreciate you coming out.
Speaker 1: Oh man.