WEBVTT - Civic Cipher 060521 Ramses Ja and Q. Ward 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:02.920 Welcome to another episode of Civic Cipher. I'm your host, 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:04.160 rams is Jah. 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:08.479 They call me q Ward, but they haven't always. They 0:00:08.560 --> 0:00:11.600 used to call me Quentin and that's not my name, 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:14.440 and people don't really like to say Quentin Tun, which 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:18.000 is what revend Estella named me, So I just go 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:19.640 with Q because it's easier for everybody else. 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:23.520 Yes, indeed, q Ward in the building and we are 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:26.119 back up in you one more again. Great show for 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:28.920 you today. A lot of important things to talk about, 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:33.520 so stick around radio is because we will be discussing 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:39.720 the latest from Naomi Osaka. You haven't heard. She's been 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:43.280 in the news lately for protecting her mental health, which 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:46.680 is something that we applaud around here, especially when it 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:49.480 comes to black women, because a lot of times they're 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:54.720 crushed under the weight of their own lives, and you know, 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:56.720 it always makes sense to take a time out, take 0:00:56.760 --> 0:01:00.240 time out for yourself. So we're gonna talk about that. Also, 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:03.240 we're going to talk about some good things from her 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:07.440 and from Simone Biles. We definitely want to touch on 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:11.800 what's going on with Kyrie Irving and some of the 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:13.560 statements that he's made and some of the things that 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:18.360 have come true in his world. And another thing that's 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:21.600 been in the news a lot lately is, you know, 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:25.280 with the history in Tulsa, the Black Wall Street, and 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:29.360 you know that not ever really having its day in 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:31.880 the sun. In other words, a lot of folks not 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:35.760 knowing exactly what took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:36.160 You know. 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:39.440 For today's way Black History Fact, we're gonna spend a 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:42.160 little time talking about that. We're gonna check in with 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:44.520 our producer, DJ Swirl. He's got a little bit of 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:48.400 something for us there. So yeah, that's really what it 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:50.440 looks like. A lot in store for you today, so 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:52.760 be sure to stay by your radios. But first order 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:58.320 of business, we're going to talk about Simone Biles. So 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:03.480 all right, do you know what she did? 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:08.120 I do know what she did, Okay, And I'm gonna 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:12.040 try to say this properly. Okay, your chenko double pike, 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:15.760 and I saw her do it, okay, And I'm kind 0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:19.360 of confused because it looked like she flipped over three times. 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:21.639 And I'm not a gymnast, so I don't know what 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:24.680 pike means. So maybe that's the part that happened twice. 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:27.720 Even though there seemed to be a Third Revolution. 0:02:27.440 --> 0:02:30.280 See the doubles what threw me off, But in any case, 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:37.280 she is the first woman to complete this maneuver. And 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:40.000 of course, here on Civic Cipher, we love to celebrate 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:43.560 Ebony excellence, which is why we're taking a moment to 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:47.880 do this right now with her. If you can check 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:49.720 out the video, we do have it up on our 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.519 social media, so don't forget to follow us at Civic Cypher, 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:54.760 post yelp stuff like that all the time. 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:57.680 Some may argue that when it comes to this gymnastic 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:01.040 thing that she's the goat do it. Yeah. 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:03.760 I mean, you know, I've heard a lot of names 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:07.240 over the years, but I have never known anyone to 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:10.240 be as celebrated as she is, and so that wouldn't 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:14.000 surprise me one bit, certainly, with her making accomplishments like this, 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:17.120 you know, putting that black girl magic out in front 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:19.560 of the whole world on full display, we love to 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:23.000 see that around here, as she should. And another person 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:28.600 that we have to mention is Naomi Osaka because she's 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:32.240 just breaking records of her own this time. Financial records. 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:37.520 Looks like she has made over fifty five million dollars 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:41.600 in the last twelve months, making her the highest paid 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:44.440 female athlete in a year, something like that. 0:03:44.680 --> 0:03:47.520 Just let me borrow two dollars. They got a new 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:49.720 special McDonald's. If you bought a chicken sandwich, I think 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.680 you get the nuggets something like that. I'll look into it. 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:53.840 Absolutely well. 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:56.160 In any case, we wanted to take a moment to 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.440 make sure that we shouted out that Ebony excellence before 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:03.040 we get in to the uh, the and potatoes of 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:09.760 the show here. So now we have to talk about 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:12.280 some of the other things that are taking place in 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:18.440 her life. And you know, as we started, as we 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:21.400 mentioned in the in the start of the show, she's 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:24.960 making news. This is Naomi Osaka. She's making news for 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:29.840 what we would call protecting her mental health, right, and 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:32.760 she's gotten some backlash, a lot of support. So we 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.400 don't want to frame this around the backlash that she's received, 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:37.880 but she has we have we have to be fair. 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:42.720 She's gotten some backlash about, you know, protecting her mental health. 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:46.640 And for those that don't know the story, and I'm 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:48.600 going to leave out some stuff. I'm not the biggest 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:50.400 person when it comes to sports, so you can jump 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:55.760 in at any point. So what I understand is that you know, 0:04:55.960 --> 0:05:04.880 I she really wasn't in the proper headspace to deal 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:12.039 with the press after her match. Now, I don't know 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:14.360 if she won or lost a match, you know, I 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:16.839 don't know any of those things. But I do know 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:20.440 that there was an interview that I came about when 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:26.920 I was researching this segment for today's show that this 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.440 might have been from twenty eighteen, and she said something. 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:31.360 She was talking to the reporters and they were asking 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:35.280 her questions about why she lost and what she could 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.880 have done better in those sorts of things. And the 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.920 one thing I remember her saying in that interview was 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:45.239 how sad she was. She's like, guys, I'm so sad, 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:47.440 and she said it with a smile, but you could 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:52.159 really see like she's really not in the proper headspace. 0:05:52.240 --> 0:06:00.880 She's she's having to relive that loss. And you know, 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:03.919 people deal with, you know, losses differently. 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:04.320 You know. 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:08.640 My understanding is that you know, to some folks, you know, 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:11.400 it weighs a little bit heavier than other people, and 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:16.719 then athletes tend to be very competitive people. And so 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:18.880 far be it from me to assume that a loss 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.440 would roll off of her back. But you know the 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:24.240 way that she framed it, at least in twenty eighteen, 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:29.120 was that you know, she's she lost, and then she 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:31.799 has to come and relive that loss on full display 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:35.800 and get picked apart for why she lost, so that 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:40.760 everyone can take these little bits and pieces of her 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:44.160 lived experience and pedal it out to the masses and 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:47.560 frame her loss in a way that gets them clicks 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:50.039 or gets them you know, views or readers or whatever 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:54.120 the case is. And you know, I might be reaching 0:06:54.200 --> 0:07:01.000 here a bit, but you know, the way she made 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.840 it seem and the way that I understand it is 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.799 that it doesn't really feel like something that you're able 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:13.560 to really account for. And you know, we all know 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:17.560 that the world is changing, and you know, in as 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:19.680 far as things like this, as far as you know 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:22.520 that we live through the me too movement that's still happening, 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:26.119 where the generation that grew up, you know, with Robin 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:29.080 Williams always being there, he was the genie in Aladdin. 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:31.440 He was you know, he was always a comedian throughout 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.640 my life. You know, I'm born in eighty two, and 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:37.760 you know he battled depression that whole time and I 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.440 had no idea and then ultimately he took his own life. 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:42.880 You know, these are these are things that we've lived through. 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:46.640 And so when we look at someone like Naomi Osaka 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.080 who says, you know what, I'm not going to be 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:51.480 able to do this. I need to really protect myself. 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:53.840 I need to be able to protect my mental health, 0:07:55.880 --> 0:08:00.240 you know, I feel like, you know, kudos to her. Now, 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:02.680 one thing I do know is that there's a person 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:06.400 named Piers Morgan. Now, Piers Morgan is not an American person. 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:14.120 He's a British broadcaster, but he's still a very sort 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:18.720 of conservative type of man. He's been very critical of 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:23.160 Megan Markle and her decision to protect her family and 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:24.240 her mental health as well. 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:26.480 How dare she? Yeah? 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:29.320 And you know, now with Naomi Osaka and you know, 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:35.000 the two women, you know, I'm a conspiracy theorist to 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:38.800 a point. You know, I make connections and see patterns 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.680 maybe where they don't exist. But when I see this 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:46.120 elderly white man being very critical of these two young 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:49.480 black women who are very pretty and in the prime 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:53.920 of their lives and being very successful, you know, it's 0:08:54.080 --> 0:09:00.200 very easy to see some commonalities there. And you know, well, 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:02.360 of course, at the center of it is I understand 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.320 that this man's experience is nothing like these women's experience. 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:09.320 And so him and people like him because he said it, 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:11.160 because he knows that there are people like him who 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:13.520 want to read his take on it. They think, of 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:17.160 course that this woman is being a baby, and this 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:19.480 comes with the job, and you know, on and on 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:23.560 and on, and everybody's you know, very critical, until something 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:25.080 tragic happens and everyone's like. 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:27.080 Oh, no one looked at the signs. No one could 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:32.160 have prevented this, you know what I mean. And so 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:34.839 that's the lay of the situation. 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:39.400 But the reason that I thought, and our show producer 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:41.560 thought it was really important to share this with you 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:47.640 the listeners, because you know, mental health is something that 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:55.960 only recently and only just is being discussed in the 0:09:56.000 --> 0:10:01.280 black community. And we're the people who have lived through 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:05.000 generational trauma. You know, we were born with trauma in 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:12.760 our DNA. You know, there are those of us whose 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:19.120 ancestors saw our countrymen ripped apart by horses, set a blaze, 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:23.320 hung from trees, tarred and feathered, castrated in full view 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:23.880 of everyone. 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:25.840 You know, we were having a conversation. 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:29.200 Q and I were having a conversation about picnics and 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:32.600 the origin of the word picnic and how is free? Yeah, 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:37.680 check out say it again. Google is free one time. So, 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:41.760 you know, all of these things really do point to 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:46.840 the fact that there's a lot of trauma in our story, 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:49.560 in our history and in our bones. 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:52.160 Even and. 0:10:54.520 --> 0:11:00.240 Try as we might, you know, we're men, black men. 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:03.880 We are not black women. That is a whole other story, 0:11:04.000 --> 0:11:07.280 a whole other animal. There's a whole other facet to 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:10.600 even the type of trauma that that type of human 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:12.400 can experience a black woman. 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:13.559 And so. 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:20.320 Yes is absolutely meaningful that we take a moment to 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:24.680 discuss what it looks like to protect your mental health, 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:28.480 what it looks like to draw lines, set a boundary 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:35.440 for yourself and understand that you have to be a 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:39.320 priority in your own life and your own story. I'm 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:41.040 not trying to take anything away from people who have 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:43.080 kids or people that are taking care of their loved 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:45.640 ones or anything like that, but you know, I think 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:47.280 Kat Williams said it best. You got to be in 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:50.840 tune with your star player. For those who are stand 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:55.560 up comedian fans, you kind of got to know what 0:11:55.600 --> 0:12:00.760 your limits are and draw a hard line. And she 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:08.480 Naomi sets a great example here now I do recognize 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:10.680 that this is the same woman we just said made 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:15.040 fifty five million dollars in the past twelve months. She 0:12:15.160 --> 0:12:16.240 got fined, right. 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:20.440 Fifteen thousand dollars she was fined. 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:25.920 Yeah, so that might sound like a lot of money 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:29.720 to us, but to her, you know. 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.240 Probably is relative. Not much. 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:35.640 Yeah, affordable. But you know, there are those of us 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:38.839 who live and you know, we're talking about black women 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:41.480 in this particular incidence, but all of us really need 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:43.920 to protect our mental health and. 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:47.520 Draw a line. 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:50.680 You know, money is important, but it's not more important 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:55.600 than the being that we are and the vessel that 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:57.520 we inhabit, because we only get one of those. You 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:02.199 can always make more money, but understanding that not everyone 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:10.720 can always afford to take these liberties, you know, I implore 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:12.040 you to explore. 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:15.240 The things that. 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:21.319 Help keep you centered, standing in the middle of yourself, 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:27.280 and that keep you going, you know, because you know, 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:30.840 I read something a while ago and it said it 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:32.760 was about working. You know, and all of us work, 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:38.160 we all have a job. But it was something to 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:40.080 the effect that I'm gonna get it wrong, but something 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:46.880 to the effect of make sure that you put yourself 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:51.160 before these jobs, because these jobs will replace you in 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:57.640 forty eight hours if you drop dead on the assembly line. 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:02.360 But they and now I'm gonna have to paraphrase, because 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:06.840 that's really the gist of what the statement was. But basically, 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:11.880 you have to take care of yourself and you're going 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:18.040 to be the person that writes your own story. The 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.760 job is not going to write your story. These obviously, 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:24.320 these reporters and so forth from this French open are 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:25.520 not writing this woman's story. 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:26.240 She's writing her own. 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:29.640 She's making headlines for all the right reasons, and none 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:31.520 of these reporters get to tell their story. And the 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:35.520 French Open that chose to find her this fifteen thousand 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.040 dollars is getting backlash for punishing her for protecting herself 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:43.520 and standing up for self and drawing a line. Now, 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:50.800 do have to play devil's advocate here, because who would 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:53.400 we be if we didn't, if we weren't being realistic 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:56.480 about the way the world works, that capitalism is the 0:14:57.640 --> 0:15:00.920 invisible hand that controls all of us one degree or another. 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:05.920 You know, there are those that say, well, she did 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:08.320 sign up for this, she did have a commitment, she 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:12.920 did have you know, whatever the whatever was that comes 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:18.600 along with that, and The best I can offer is 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:25.600 that that's that's tough. You know, I'd imagine that it's 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.720 you play that on a case by case basis. You know, 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:30.800 I don't know, what do you think? 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:35.800 It's an interesting marriage, right? The industries depend on each 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:40.720 other for prosperity. In order for these athletes to make 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:43.360 the type of money that they make, to draw the 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:46.280 audiences that they draw for their leagues to get the 0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:50.040 amount of money that they get, it's largely reliant on 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:54.560 media and TV partnerships. So that part is true. The 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:59.120 question you have to ask is mandating media availability after 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:04.720 every game and after every match. Is that much access necessary? Right? 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:07.840 Because once upon a time before they held large press 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:11.640 conferences after every game, there was like kind of unlimited 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:15.760 access to the locker room. So you have reporters walking 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:17.960 into the locker room after you're showering and trying to 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:21.160 get dressed and either just lost or just won a game, 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:24.480 and you might have six reporters waiting to talk to you, 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:28.080 and they might all ask you the same question. So 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:31.920 the press conference kind of eliminated two problems the redundancy 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:35.120 of good or bad questions just not having to answer 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:39.040 the same thing over and over again, and some sense 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:41.560 of privacy in the locker room. Let's have this press 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:44.720 conference where everyone who has a question can ask it, 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:47.120 and if you're in the room with other reporters, if 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:49.160 someone else asked the question you were going to ask, 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:54.320 you no longer have to. There's a lot of conflated 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:57.160 issues here, though. You have the treatment of black women 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:01.640 in this country, in this world, and sports world specifically 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:06.680 not being the center issue here, but it's it's always 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:10.320 going to be one with a media that covers, you know, 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:14.560 the Slams and tennis being almost one hundred percent white 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:18.720 and not having any sense of relatability to what these 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:21.760 black athletes are going through in normal life or in 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:28.000 their professional sports life. Add to that that she was preemptive. 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:30.520 This wasn't after a win or a loss. This was 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:33.560 going into the tournament, you know pretty much. Hey, you guys, 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:36.200 I'm dealing with a lot right now and I'd rather 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.840 not Glad you said that, I'd rather not do the 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:44.159 media availability for this tournament. Now, this tournament might be 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:49.760 relying on you one of their stars being readily available 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:52.800 for the media, but on the back of Mental Health 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:57.399 Awareness Month, you should be able to say hey, you guys, 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:01.639 can I have this one. I'm tired, I'm fighting depression. 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:06.160 And she afterwards, because she got backlash for making herself unavailable, 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:09.240 she then came out was apologetic, but she was also 0:18:09.480 --> 0:18:13.440 very specific. You know the example that you used earlier. 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:14.920 I'm not even sure if you knew you were hitting 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:17.239 the nail on the head, But having to talk to 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:20.640 someone after you've lost, you have to understand. To reach 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:23.679 her level of success as an athlete, you have to 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:29.480 have either an irrational sense of confidence, right, I can 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:32.320 beat an elephant in the fight kind of confidence, or 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:37.760 you have to be very not okay with losing, also 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:42.040 to a level of being irrational. You're angry when you lose, 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:45.720 you're sad, you cry. Those are the only type of 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:48.760 people that can reach that level of success. The Michael Jordan's, 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:52.800 the Lebron James's, the Serena Williams, the Naomi Osakas. You 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:57.359 have to have one or both of those things. And 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:00.879 in her case, she's saying, after I lose a match, 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.840 coming to be torn apart by you guys affects my 0:19:04.960 --> 0:19:08.760 confidence or even knowing that I have to have these 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:13.280 conversations when loser draw affects my mindset going into a match, 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:15.879 so I would rather not And that's something that she 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.200 said out loud. She wants to work with the leagues 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.320 on to try to improve and figure out some solutions 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:24.399 to the issue. But she's saying out loud, this is 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:26.800 what I'm dealing with, and this is how I'm trying 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:29.800 to deal with it. So for her to receive pushback, 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:33.680 like I said, on the back of Mental Health Awareness Month, 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:41.880 was a bit intentionally poetic for that league, like all 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:44.600 other leagues, to be, you know, trying to support Mental 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:47.840 Health Awareness Month and their marketing and then to have 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:50.159 one of their star athletes come out and say this 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:52.960 is what I'm dealing with, and to receive pushback not 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:55.440 just from the media and fans, but from the tournament 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:02.199 and her, like I said, with Grayson wanting to she 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:04.000 didn't want to become the center of the story in 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:07.080 that way, she said, so she just backed away. I 0:20:07.160 --> 0:20:08.560 just won't even compete in this tournament. 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:12.840 I'm sorry, Boom, And so that's what I was saying, Like, 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:16.040 if you're and I get it that every man every 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:18.680 woman is not in the same financial position as she is, 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:20.520 But if you are, and you find yourself in the 0:20:20.560 --> 0:20:24.120 position to do that. Please, protect your mental health. Put 0:20:24.160 --> 0:20:29.159 yourself first. Sometimes civic cipher exists because Q and I 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:32.840 put ourselves first. We decided what was necessary, and we 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:36.000 heard no. We made it ourselves. And the reason you're 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:39.879 listening to us is because of that energy. 0:20:40.040 --> 0:20:41.960 And at some point we have to have a broader 0:20:42.000 --> 0:20:45.640 conversation about mental health. At some point that just has 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:47.960 to be a part of your health, because even calling 0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:51.040 it mental health is separate. Yeah, it makes it this 0:20:51.119 --> 0:20:55.399 other thing that there's still a large population that doesn't 0:20:55.400 --> 0:21:00.520 take it seriously. And especially it's like it's a you know, 0:21:00.680 --> 0:21:03.400 so weak people. You know, being able to say out 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:07.960 loud that I'm dealing with something mental health related gives 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:11.240 you a stigma by itself. You should just be able 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:13.360 to say, I don't feel good, I don't feel healthy 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:15.280 in general, I'm not up to it. It shouldn't have to 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:18.920 be my leg hurts, you know. I should be able 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:21.800 to express mental exhaustion with out there being a stigma 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.080 attached to it or it somehow being a separate branch 0:21:25.160 --> 0:21:29.240 of health, like our mind is pretty darn and important, 0:21:29.320 --> 0:21:34.040 almost says something else. Our mind and our. 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:35.960 Mental returning over a new around. 0:21:36.040 --> 0:21:40.440 Rotation marks. Mental health should be seen as even more 0:21:40.480 --> 0:21:44.600 important than if we broke our arm or twisted our ankles. 0:21:44.680 --> 0:21:45.680 Your mind is. 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:50.320 It has the final say, no matter what. All right, 0:21:50.359 --> 0:21:52.040 So how about this qu I want to get your thoughts. 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:58.000 Got a direct quote from Venus Williams here, and she's 0:21:58.040 --> 0:22:03.000 responding to Naomi Osaka and her withdrawal from the French. 0:22:02.800 --> 0:22:06.480 Open responding, you know, to the backlash. 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:09.200 Okay, to the backlash day, so she says, and this 0:22:09.240 --> 0:22:12.879 is Venus Williams again. For me personally, how I cope, 0:22:13.000 --> 0:22:15.439 how I deal with it was that I knew that 0:22:15.600 --> 0:22:19.120 every single person asking me a question can't play as 0:22:19.160 --> 0:22:22.359 well as I can and never will. And then later 0:22:22.400 --> 0:22:24.360 on she goes on to say that they will never 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:27.520 light a candle to me. So gat your thoughts on that. 0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:31.040 First of all, facts, big facts and one hundred emoji. 0:22:31.720 --> 0:22:35.960 However else I can say, amen, the black strong arm. 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:41.320 And however you mentioned playing Devil's Advocate. As a former 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:47.240 athlete played Division one football in college. I've heard the 0:22:47.359 --> 0:22:50.480 arguments of athletes that saying that people that didn't play 0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:53.920 the sport or didn't reach their level of success should 0:22:54.000 --> 0:22:59.760 not be allowed to criticize, and that's kind of unrealistic 0:22:59.760 --> 0:23:02.680 and unfair, Like if I go to a Michelin five 0:23:02.720 --> 0:23:04.919 star restaurant, I hope I'm saying that right. I'm not 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:07.439 a chef, but if my food's awful, I should be 0:23:07.440 --> 0:23:10.240 able to say so for the chef to respond, well, 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:13.439 you can't cook on my level, so you're not allowed 0:23:13.440 --> 0:23:16.719 to not like your steak. I think it's a bit ridiculous. 0:23:17.119 --> 0:23:19.040 So there has to be some middle ground. I get 0:23:19.359 --> 0:23:23.159 the point that Venus was making. Sometimes being critical just 0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:26.080 for the sake of it, you deserve that response, because 0:23:26.080 --> 0:23:29.240 she's absolutely right, there's nobody on the other side of 0:23:29.320 --> 0:23:31.719 these cameras or these microphones that can hold a candle 0:23:31.960 --> 0:23:34.600 to me at what I do in the same way 0:23:34.600 --> 0:23:37.280 that she probably couldn't present a story the way that 0:23:37.320 --> 0:23:41.840 some of her media counterparts could. So I understand the 0:23:41.840 --> 0:23:43.840 point that she was making, and she was one thousand 0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:48.480 percent right. But sometimes that's a bit of a straw 0:23:48.520 --> 0:23:51.480 man argument when it's presented as a person can't have 0:23:51.520 --> 0:23:54.359 an opinion or can't be an expert if they didn't 0:23:54.520 --> 0:23:57.119 play the sport or participated in it at the level 0:23:57.160 --> 0:23:58.520 that the athlete did Now. 0:23:58.640 --> 0:24:01.919 I know you're playing devil's advocate there, but I just 0:24:01.960 --> 0:24:05.359 want to offer something here, please. So whenever you know, 0:24:05.359 --> 0:24:07.520 when you're watching the Olympics or something like that, and 0:24:07.600 --> 0:24:10.520