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Speaker 1: Ninth Planet Audio Overland.

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Speaker 2: Everywhere we've turned, we've heard one name over and over.

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Speaker 1: Alexander Way n Right to stay on sha.

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Speaker 2: Shawn Alexander Way.

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Speaker 1: So that's the guy.

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Speaker 3: Well, I do you know Shawn Alexander?

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Speaker 1: Are trying to get I don't, but I can ask.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, he seems like went to high school,

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Speaker 2: high school.

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Speaker 4: I don't have an end with it, Shawn Alexander, do

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Speaker 4: you know him?

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Speaker 2: Think that we're at a place where our big white

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Speaker 2: whale is still Shawn Alexander, and we're kind of going

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Speaker 2: at it from a few different angles of like the entertainment,

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Speaker 2: Shawn Alexander is a local hero and his legacy in

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Speaker 2: the community is unshakable. For every naysay that brings up

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Speaker 2: school legacy as a reason not to change the mascot

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Speaker 2: who carries a larger steak in our school's legacy than Sean.

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Speaker 2: We spent the last episode talking about how a hometown

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Speaker 2: hero like Kalais Campbell can influence the community, reinforcing the

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Speaker 2: fact that when champions.

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Speaker 4: Speak, the school listens.

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Speaker 2: For those of you who didn't watch football between two

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Speaker 2: thousand and two thousand and eight, let me catch you

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Speaker 2: up on this man's record.

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Speaker 3: I A love by Sean Alexandra.

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Speaker 5: You can't leave that.

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Speaker 2: Sewn.

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Speaker 6: Alexander has been bad to day into the EMSIL touchdown

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Speaker 6: stay home flopping another Tanglin.

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Speaker 4: He's honors who are into the five touchdowns.

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Speaker 2: Born in Florence in nineteen seventy seven, Shawn attended Boone

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Speaker 2: County from nineteen ninety one to nineteen ninety five, playing football, basketball, baseball,

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Speaker 2: and track. He was in Sports Illustrated in two different features.

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Speaker 2: While just at Boone County, he committed to playing college

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Speaker 2: football for the University of Alabama, becoming a part of

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Speaker 2: the storied Crimson Tide program. He was a Heisman Trophy

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Speaker 2: finalist and was on the cover of the video game

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Speaker 2: NCAA Football two thousand and one. That's the kind of

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Speaker 2: end fact he was making even before reaching the NFL

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Speaker 2: in two thousand, the Seattle Seahawks selected him in the

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Speaker 2: first round nineteenth overall. He earned the NFL Most Valuable

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Speaker 2: Player Award in two thousand and five and broke the

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Speaker 2: single season touchdown record. He again was on the cover

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Speaker 2: of the video game Madden NFL two thousand and seven.

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Speaker 6: He was an all around running back, and that's not

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Speaker 6: a cliche. He could do everything.

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Speaker 2: This is Kevin Clark, host of the podcast This Is Football.

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Speaker 2: But more importantly, he covered the NFL for the Wall

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Speaker 2: Street Journal during Seawan Alexander's main NFL years, so he

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Speaker 2: has a great insight on what made Sean an MVP.

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Speaker 6: He was physical, he was fast, he was dependable with

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Speaker 6: the ball he got in the end zone. There wasn't

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Speaker 6: anything he couldn't do. You trusted him to get the

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Speaker 6: yardage he needed, which is the literal job description of

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Speaker 6: a running back. And so there was there was beauty

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Speaker 6: in his game. There was brutality in his game. He

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Speaker 6: knew how to play any type of game, and that

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Speaker 6: is the one of the reasons he helped define his

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Speaker 6: era of running back play.

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Speaker 2: Shawn Alexander was the best running back of his time,

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Speaker 2: which back then really meant something.

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Speaker 6: The thing you have to understand about this era of

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Speaker 6: football is it's the last era in which the running

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Speaker 6: back was a god. Right after this, all of the

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Speaker 6: rules started to change, all of the quarterbacks started to

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Speaker 6: get better, and I think most people with in the

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Speaker 6: NFL consider that basically what's called the passing boom that

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Speaker 6: started around two thousand and eleven. If you look at

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Speaker 6: the stats and Sean Alexander had left the league by

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Speaker 6: two thousand and nine, I don't think that that's much

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Speaker 6: of a coincidence. I think that you saw this generation

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Speaker 6: of running backs with Danian Tomlinson, Seawan Alexander, guys like

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Speaker 6: that who put franchises on their back, And I think

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Speaker 6: that that's the most important thing to know is I

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Speaker 6: think people now look at the running back position as

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Speaker 6: replaceable or now what it was. Shawn Alexander was a

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Speaker 6: different era. Adrian Peterson another great example. Adrian Peterson won

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Speaker 6: the MVP Award in twenty twelve, and that was kind

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Speaker 6: of the last gasp of the running back positions in

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Speaker 6: quarterbacks ever since. Shawn Alexander belonged to a different era,

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Speaker 6: which in football terms, feels like a million years ago.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, totally.

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Speaker 6: The running back PSI and Shawn Alexander in particular, if

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Speaker 6: you look at him and you watch him play in

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Speaker 6: high school, he probably the coolest guy in the world.

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Speaker 6: If you saw him play in Alabama and I did,

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Speaker 6: it's the coolest thing in the world. The coolest thing

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Speaker 6: in the world is to say I have the ball

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Speaker 6: and I'm going to run through.

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Speaker 2: You, Beyon Seattle. Alexander briefly played for the Washington Commanders

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Speaker 2: when they were still called the Redskins, before retiring from

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Speaker 2: professional football in two thousand and eight. Seawn, his wife,

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Speaker 2: and their ten children reside in rural Virginia. Godall, he's

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Speaker 2: comfortable living in the obscurity that he tried hard to escape. So, yeah,

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Speaker 2: while I may have more followers on Instagram one hundred

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Speaker 2: thousand versus Sean's thirty nine thousand, sorry, he carries a

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Speaker 2: lot more weight with the people of Florence. And so

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Speaker 2: we knew that connecting with Sean was crucial to our

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Speaker 2: movement to change the Boone County High School team name.

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Speaker 4: I was a lady rebell, like, why.

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Speaker 2: Does that even the Boone County Rebels will stay the

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Speaker 2: Boone County Rebels with the image puts right here in

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Speaker 2: black and white, the friends a bigger a flag or mascot.

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Speaker 5: Any time you're trying to mess with tradition, you had

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Speaker 5: to be ready for its serious.

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Speaker 2: Backgrounds from Ninth Planet Audio, I'm Akhila Hughes and this

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Speaker 2: is Rebel Spirit episode eight.

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Speaker 1: Sean.

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Speaker 2: When we began our search for Shawn Alexander, I thought

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Speaker 2: it would be easy. This guy was on the cover

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Speaker 2: of Sports Illustrated multiple times. He was on the cover

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Speaker 2: of two video games. He was on TV rushing for

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Speaker 2: his team for nearly a decade. He's been nominated for

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Speaker 2: the NFL Hall of Fame pretty much every year for

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Speaker 2: the last ten years. He should not be hard to find.

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Speaker 2: But listener, I could not have been more wrong. Damn,

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Speaker 2: this man is online but never checks his DMS or anything.

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Speaker 4: Like, it's really weird.

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Speaker 7: Reach out to the Seahawks, I reach out to Alabama,

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Speaker 7: I reach out to the NFL Players Association. I feel

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Speaker 7: like his accounts got to be run by maybe someone

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Speaker 7: else or who knows. Maybe he doesn't know, so he

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Speaker 7: needs to pay them less because yet maybe he Yeah,

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Speaker 7: he just doesn't know how to check messages.

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Speaker 4: If I'm looking for a job, maybe I need to

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Speaker 4: put my hat in the ring.

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Speaker 7: Like.

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Speaker 2: We tried every email address in contact field we could

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Speaker 2: find on the internet.

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Speaker 1: Nothing.

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Speaker 2: A promising moment came when the NFL Players Association gave

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Speaker 2: us the email they had on file for his manager.

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Speaker 2: That email address bounced. We reached a speaking agent for

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Speaker 2: Sean who rebuffed our inquiry because they only repped for

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Speaker 2: paid opportunities. They told us to talk with his agent,

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Speaker 2: but gave us no contact. Finally, our producer, Elizabeth, used

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Speaker 2: her contacts in the entertainment industry to get what seemed

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Speaker 2: like a solid connection.

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Speaker 7: We've cried tons of different ways, but can you do

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Speaker 7: you have a way to seev As like a manager

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Speaker 7: or a publicist or anyway. Yeah, you can't find anything

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Speaker 7: about him besides just like a submission contact for that.

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Speaker 2: He's with Independent Sports and Entertainment, okay, and he's with

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Speaker 2: Ashley Smith Becker.

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Speaker 1: It says, okay, so let me try Ashley. Okay. I'll

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Speaker 1: also just ask around.

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Speaker 2: It seemed like we were onto something, but pretty quickly

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Speaker 2: we hit another dead end. Eventually we got what we

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Speaker 2: believe was a direct phone number and email address for Sean.

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Speaker 2: I sent an email where I pled my case, Dear Sean,

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Speaker 2: I hope this message finds you and your family well

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Speaker 2: rested and blessed. I'm Akuila Hughes. I'm a writer, comedian, podcaster,

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Speaker 2: and Boone County High School alum from the class of

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Speaker 2: two thousand and five. I'm working on a podcast for

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Speaker 2: iHeartRadio about the school and frankly, all roads lead back

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Speaker 2: to you. We spoke with parents, students, alum, the school board,

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Speaker 2: business owners in the area, the Florence y'alls, and it

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Speaker 2: is clear that your legacy in the area is felt

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Speaker 2: and appreciated by everyone who has been there since your

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Speaker 2: time at boone. You really are there, superstar are This

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Speaker 2: project is really important to Florence and we'd love to

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Speaker 2: speak with you for it. I know you're busy and

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Speaker 2: we don't need much of your time. Fifteen to thirty

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Speaker 2: minutes would be wonderful, less if that's all you have

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Speaker 2: from the research my producers.

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Speaker 4: And I have done.

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Speaker 2: You are still very much involved in sports and your

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Speaker 2: collegiate athlete rankings, doing podcast appearances and showing up in

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Speaker 2: person to celebrate the game. But more than that, you

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Speaker 2: seem to be a dedicated family man and we would

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Speaker 2: love to speak with you about all of it. Can't

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Speaker 2: wait to hear back and hopefully speak soon warmly. Akila Hughes,

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Speaker 2: we got no response. I called the number but just

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Speaker 2: got a voicemail. I sent texts, my producers sent texts. Nothing.

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Speaker 2: Even Kalais Campbell, the NFL star who helped Denver South

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Speaker 2: move from the Rebels to the Ravens, offered to reach

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Speaker 2: out to Sean.

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Speaker 3: I'm not probably touched with tomorrow. The current players are.

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Speaker 4: We have his contact. If you want to talk to him,

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Speaker 4: we will give you.

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Speaker 2: It would be very helpful, but to the best of

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Speaker 2: our knowledge, never got through. Then we found our way in.

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Speaker 2: We'll be right back. So Durant Alexander, Yeah, he's his brother,

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Speaker 2: message him.

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Speaker 4: I'm gonna message him.

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Speaker 1: Okay, this is good.

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Speaker 2: Even with our access to agents, publicists, and managers, it

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Speaker 2: is abundantly clear that the platform of choice for reaching

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Speaker 2: out and connecting with people in Florence is Facebook. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: so I can message Duran because we're already friends.

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Speaker 1: What should I say?

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Speaker 4: He was active fifty eight minutes ago.

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Speaker 1: He's on there.

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Speaker 4: I'm never on here. I'm gonna have to get back

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Speaker 4: off Facebook for you.

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Speaker 2: Let's say, hey, Duran, how you're doing. I'm working on

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Speaker 2: and Facebook paid off. I'm really excited because it's like

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Speaker 2: this is the closest we've gotten.

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Speaker 4: I mean, I feel like we've tried everything.

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Speaker 2: We've tried his agents, we've tried his like people who

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Speaker 2: have arranged others speaking in podcast deals for him.

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Speaker 4: I feel like there are feelers out to the NFL

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Speaker 4: it seems like we're very close.

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Speaker 2: So now we have a relative which who also went

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Speaker 2: to Boone County, so that's helpful. You know, I think

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Speaker 2: that he'll have at least a fair review of what

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Speaker 2: the school was like anyway, and also just maybe some

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Speaker 2: insight about the mascot.

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Speaker 4: But maybe this is the key to getting to Sean.

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Speaker 3: When I came through Boom with my brother, you know

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Speaker 3: you're talking about you, you can count on one hand,

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Speaker 3: maybe two.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, there weren't that many of.

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Speaker 3: Ken.

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Speaker 2: We weren't counting. To be clear, I was always counting

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Speaker 2: the black kids.

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Speaker 3: I'm like, all right, and we were relating to many,

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Speaker 3: you know what I mean?

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Speaker 2: Can you believe it? This is actually truly Duran Alexander

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Speaker 2: Shawn's brother and also an alum of Boone County High

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Speaker 2: School class of nineteen ninety four. If you'll recall, up

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Speaker 2: until now, we haven't interviewed any other black alums of

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Speaker 2: Boone County High School. So I was truly excited to

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Speaker 2: hear more about Duran's experience at BCHS and by extension.

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Speaker 3: Shawn's yeah school for me, you know, I mean to

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Speaker 3: I don't know, no one would know, but but the

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Speaker 3: day that you know, I'm from the mid nineties, so

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Speaker 3: we came up then and yeah, and honestly, like high

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Speaker 3: school was a positive experience for me. I was very

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Speaker 3: fortunate with the people that I came up with through

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Speaker 3: uh through middle school and i high school. You know,

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Speaker 3: very positive because you know, when I came through Boom

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Speaker 3: with my brother, administration, they tried to make sure that

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Speaker 3: you know, the time there that that you really were about,

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Speaker 3: you know, just learning and getting that opportunity. You know, myself,

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Speaker 3: I stayed very active and banned uh basketball, baseball. My

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Speaker 3: brother uh did basketball, baseball and football, and uh yeah,

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Speaker 3: you know, it just allowed us to to be have

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Speaker 3: a positive experience there being lifelong doing County. People like

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Speaker 3: you know, really like his His overall goal was just

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Speaker 3: to play on the football team and uh and make

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Speaker 3: it the state, you know what I mean. Our our

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Speaker 3: football team was that good, and that's that that was

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Speaker 3: the goal.

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Speaker 2: By the time Sean reached high school, he and his

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Speaker 2: brother Duran being raised by their single mother in low

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Speaker 2: income housing.

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Speaker 3: Our mom was was just all about just going to school.

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Speaker 3: I remember telling my brother when he finished his junior year,

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Speaker 3: I said, man, do you know if you had a

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Speaker 3: season that was like even half of this, like you

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Speaker 3: could get a college scholarship. And we were like, that's crazy,

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Speaker 3: that's that's insane.

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Speaker 4: No way, yeah, really you.

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Speaker 3: Know what I mean, Like so yeah, so it was

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Speaker 3: it was like it was exciting, but we just didn't

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Speaker 3: we we didn't even really realize that, you know, kind

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Speaker 3: of what what he was and what what was even

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Speaker 3: at stake. You know, you have to remember, like this

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Speaker 3: is before social media and before you know, you could

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Speaker 3: tap in and say who was doing what, So we

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Speaker 3: only knew that like, hey, you know, we're we're we're

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Speaker 3: really good, and there's a lot of people that are

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Speaker 3: coming out to to seem and he hadn't scored by

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Speaker 3: the end of the first quarter, They're like, hey's everything

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Speaker 3: all right? Is that? What's It was amazing because you know,

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Speaker 3: I mean, when you're in it like that and without having,

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Speaker 3: like I said, social media, you don't realize that what

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Speaker 3: he was doing was just so abnormal.

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Speaker 2: Duran's got a great point about the lack of social

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Speaker 2: media in the nineties and how that probably allowed the

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Speaker 2: students to sort of live within the bubble of their

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Speaker 2: own community and celebrate what probably now feels like a

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Speaker 2: golden age of their high school's history. But looking back,

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Speaker 2: I have to wonder what Duran remembers about the introduction

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Speaker 2: of Mister Rebel and whether he and Sean felt there

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Speaker 2: was any issue with it, or if, like most teenagers,

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Speaker 2: they were just having fun with their friends and trying

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Speaker 2: to win a state championship or in Duran's case, learning

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Speaker 2: the newest song for the marching band.

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Speaker 3: I was trying to even think like band wise, because

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Speaker 3: you know, old school, we were the rebel brigade, you know,

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Speaker 3: rebl brigade, and I'm trying to think like we used

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Speaker 3: to have like the the man on the horse right

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Speaker 3: with the you know, I mean, with the you know,

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Speaker 3: with the sword or whatever. They introduced mister Rebel, but

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Speaker 3: they had just changed from rebels like rebel color Confederate color,

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Speaker 3: and they changed it over to the kind of what

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Speaker 3: the blue and white or blues I mean, So they

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Speaker 3: made it so yeah, so it actually was one of

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Speaker 3: my one of my friends on the basketball team. So

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Speaker 3: his dad actually had the costume and wore it, you

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Speaker 3: know what I mean, And and he was, uh so

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Speaker 3: he was in that.

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Speaker 2: You know, yeah, yes, quick interjection, Judy and HB. Death

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Speaker 2: Ridge's sons, Mike and John went to b c HS

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Speaker 2: at the same time as Sean and Duran and played

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Speaker 2: on many of their same teams We're at.

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Speaker 3: Around that time, and it was really it was interesting.

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Speaker 3: That's when I even brought up the administration before, because

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Speaker 3: you know, I mean, like as it was making the changes,

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Speaker 3: you can imagine there were there were some people who

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Speaker 3: were who were for it, and they were yes, like

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Speaker 3: you know, hey, let's let's make the change. And some

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Speaker 3: people who were not, they they wanted to keep it

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Speaker 3: the old way.

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Speaker 2: The old way remember was waving the Confederate flag.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so you know, we we were We've been brought

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Speaker 3: into the office and sat down and what do we

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Speaker 3: think about rebels? What do we think that was going on?

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Speaker 3: You know what I mean, we had people, you know,

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Speaker 3: still trying to hoist the flag up at the school.

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Speaker 4: All right.

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Speaker 2: I just need to pause for a moment here, because

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Speaker 2: here's the administration of Boone County High School in the

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Speaker 2: early nineteen nineties bringing their top athletes into the office,

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Speaker 2: two of the only black students in the school, I

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Speaker 2: should add, and asking them what they thought of the

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Speaker 2: name rebels.

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Speaker 4: So all the way back then.

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Speaker 2: They knew, they knew.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and I just had a couple friends. They were

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Speaker 3: you know, they were in fights every other day.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, they were like, I'm going to fight you put

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Speaker 2: that flag away, right?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? Yeah, being that flag and act like you didn't

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Speaker 3: wave it. Yeah, we're gonna have a problem.

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Speaker 4: HB.

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Speaker 2: Death Ridge has mentioned in the past that he wanted

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Speaker 2: to get Confederate flags out of the school, and there

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Speaker 2: were students who were standing up for themselves, getting into

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Speaker 2: actual fights with racist bullies who brought it to events.

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Speaker 2: So Duran and Sean were clearly valuable members of the

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Speaker 2: BCHS community. They participated in sports, the band. They were

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Speaker 2: personally asked how they felt about the name rebel. So

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Speaker 2: I've got to ask him about the Biscuits. I know

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Speaker 2: I'm a glutton for punishment, but what if he loves it?

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Speaker 1: What do you.

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Speaker 2: Think of the Boone County Biscuits just as a name,

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Speaker 2: the boom can right Biscuits so or I feel like

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Speaker 2: it has the same syllables. It's if they want to

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Speaker 2: be proud of the South and their Southern heritage, the

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Speaker 2: Biscuits aren't proud.

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Speaker 3: I can't no, you can't no.

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Speaker 1: I can't.

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Speaker 3: I can't with you on now there is well you

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Speaker 3: know what I mean, because I still think even though

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Speaker 3: they're they're they're they're not good. There are a couple

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Speaker 3: of sports teams, you know what I mean that that

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Speaker 3: at least are decent, right for for Boone County, right,

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Speaker 3: you know what I mean, You're going to be hard

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Speaker 3: pressed to get some kids, you know, and we're gonna

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Speaker 3: circle and they don't feel us today everybody and one hand,

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Speaker 3: one hand.

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Speaker 2: In I think it's you know, as as a person

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Speaker 2: who didn't do sports, I love it, but I hear

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Speaker 2: you it's a hard sell.

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Speaker 4: All right, you know you.

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Speaker 2: Right, they're gonna get chumps. They're gonna get chumps if

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Speaker 2: they lose you. Yes, yeah, you you all saw that coming.

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Speaker 2: But despite not being a fan of the Biscuits, I

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Speaker 2: could tell he knew how out of sync Rebels is

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Speaker 2: with both the surrounding school's mascots and with the demographic

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Speaker 2: of kids who go there. Now, I told him the

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Speaker 2: story of Kalais Campbell helping Denver South change to the

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Speaker 2: Ravens and asked, if it's not Biscuits or Rebels, what

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Speaker 2: should it be.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I mean that's a great that's a

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Speaker 3: great question. Yeah, that's a good question because like I

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Speaker 3: could definitely see I could see ravens, you know what

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Speaker 3: I mean more than well.

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Speaker 4: You know, if it was gonna be something else. It's

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Speaker 4: like you have the cougars, you have.

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Speaker 3: Cooper is Jaguars, Yeah, Cooper's yeah.

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Speaker 4: So it's like, you know, it could be the panthers,

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Speaker 4: it's all.

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Speaker 2: It could be something that's like, you know, just an animal,

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Speaker 2: seems like it's gonna have the most longevity.

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Speaker 3: The other one is, you know, Rile is the Raiders,

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Speaker 3: so they'll have the you know I mean like the

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Speaker 3: pirate dude right with the orange bandanna and the you know,

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Speaker 3: the eyepatch or whatever. For Boom, like they've done so

384
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Speaker 3: much in that line, like you know and say, hey,

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Speaker 3: like we're not that. If you see the demographic of

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Speaker 3: Boom County, now, oh.

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Speaker 4: Yeah it's different.

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Speaker 2: I was like, I can't believe every shade of beige, brown, tan, dark.

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Speaker 3: Like, oh oh my goodness, right, I mean so many

390
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Speaker 3: countries are are represented, you know over there. You know,

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Speaker 3: we have in Florence in general, a huge just like

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Speaker 3: I mean not just black, but I mean a huge

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Speaker 3: African population like we you know, I mean, for whatever reason,

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Speaker 3: a number of kids from the Congo, Like we have

395
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Speaker 3: a huge Congolese population that comes through Collins Elementary.

396
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Speaker 4: I mean like the diversity you spoke to some students.

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Speaker 2: I mean like I truly spoke to kids who are

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Speaker 2: like I have no connection to rebels, Like it doesn't

399
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Speaker 2: mean anything. And I'm like, is it because you don't

400
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Speaker 2: have a mascot? And they're like, well, yeah, like what

401
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Speaker 2: is it? Like what even is it? Like they were like, my,

402
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,040
Speaker 2: my I guess my school spirit is the color blue

403
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Speaker 2: and let my friends go to school here.

404
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Speaker 4: And I'm like, we probably need a mascot.

405
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Speaker 3: Yeah, knowing the history, and I would say that their

406
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Speaker 3: effort to switch it from that, yeah, then it just

407
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Speaker 3: left it as like, yeah, like, hey you're rebel Star Wars.

408
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Speaker 3: If you want to try to go yeah.

409
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Speaker 1: You know what I mean, if you want to be

410
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Speaker 1: like vaguely.

411
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Speaker 3: Right, you know what I mean, I'm just you know,

412
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Speaker 3: old school rebel without a cause, I'm just James.

413
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Speaker 4: That's what they say, right, But I'm like that where

414
00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:48,440
Speaker 4: is the leather jacket?

415
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Speaker 3: Right?

416
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Speaker 6: Then?

417
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Speaker 3: Then you would expect, right, which would even still be kind.

418
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Speaker 4: Of dating the kids don't know that movie, right, you know, it.

419
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Speaker 3: Wouldn't be racially dated, but it would be weird, right

420
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Speaker 3: if if everybody was like trying to rock leather jacket.

421
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Speaker 4: Yeah, like they're greasers.

422
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Speaker 1: Up in there.

423
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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you know what's up? Yeah, that would be.

424
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Speaker 2: Hated for my mom, Like that's before she was born. Still,

425
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:14,040
Speaker 2: you know, like that's just not a thing. Yeah, And

426
00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:19,520
Speaker 2: once again we land ourselves back at James Dean. Hearing

427
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,280
Speaker 2: more about Duran's experience at boone made me realize we

428
00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:25,040
Speaker 2: had a lot of similar experiences. But what I find

429
00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,159
Speaker 2: truly inspiring is how much Duran and Sean have been

430
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Speaker 2: able to do for the community in recent years through

431
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Speaker 2: the Shawn Alexander Foundation. It's clear Sean has left a

432
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Speaker 2: positive mark on the school and Florence in general.

433
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Speaker 8: Seawn Alexander made an appearance this morning at Boom County

434
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Speaker 8: High School. He gave a pep talk at a breakfast

435
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Speaker 8: for Boom County's football team. He wanted to make an

436
00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,480
Speaker 8: impression on what it means to be a rebel. That

437
00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:50,800
Speaker 8: of course, is the school's mascot.

438
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Speaker 2: I know his support in changing the mascot would be

439
00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,280
Speaker 2: a game changer, so I am crossing literally every finger

440
00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:59,040
Speaker 2: and toe that somehow, some way we can at least

441
00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:02,080
Speaker 2: get our message to him, whether it's through Duran or

442
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,640
Speaker 2: any of the dozens of other avenues were trying. Nevertheless,

443
00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:10,520
Speaker 2: we persist more after the break. I can imagine that

444
00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:13,800
Speaker 2: right now you must be thinking, Wow, they're getting so

445
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,840
Speaker 2: incredibly close to Sean. He's definitely going to be the

446
00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:25,119
Speaker 2: next interview. Listener, prepare yourself to be disappointed. As of

447
00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,000
Speaker 2: our deadline for this episode, we have heard literally nothing

448
00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,840
Speaker 2: from Sean Alexander, which is more than a year from

449
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,400
Speaker 2: the first time we reached out to Sean. I'm sure

450
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,919
Speaker 2: he has his reasons, but I still can't help but

451
00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:39,520
Speaker 2: feel so incredibly deflated after getting so close in so

452
00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,200
Speaker 2: many different ways. We truly did everything we could possibly

453
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:45,440
Speaker 2: think to get in touch with Sean for this episode,

454
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,000
Speaker 2: but sometimes things just don't have the big, happy Hollywood

455
00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:49,959
Speaker 2: ending we all hope for.

456
00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,399
Speaker 5: I think when Colin Kaepernick knelt the first time, I

457
00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,359
Speaker 5: don't think he knew he would be blackballed from like

458
00:21:57,440 --> 00:21:59,480
Speaker 5: doing the thing that he loves at a very and

459
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:01,199
Speaker 5: you know, a thing that he's been doing. It was

460
00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:03,280
Speaker 5: doing at a very high level for a long time.

461
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,800
Speaker 2: This is Kevin Newin, a features editor at The Verge,

462
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:11,679
Speaker 2: where he publishes award winning stories about labor, business, and policing. Previously,

463
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:13,359
Speaker 2: he was a senior editor at GQ.

464
00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,359
Speaker 5: GQ does this issue at the end of the year,

465
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,040
Speaker 5: called the Men of the Year Issue. We put Colin

466
00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:22,520
Speaker 5: Kaepernick as one of several covers, and there's a photo

467
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:26,399
Speaker 5: shoot and it's kind of an unusual story because we

468
00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:29,480
Speaker 5: don't talk to Colin in the piece at all. He's participating,

469
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,880
Speaker 5: but he was being silent as part of his protest

470
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,120
Speaker 5: against police brutality and systemic racism.

471
00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,960
Speaker 2: We all remember when Colin Kaepernick, then the NFL quarterback

472
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,760
Speaker 2: for the San Francisco forty nine Ers, began his protest

473
00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:46,200
Speaker 2: in twenty sixteen by initially sitting and later kneeling during

474
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:50,520
Speaker 2: the national anthem before games. His actions ignited a nationwide debate.

475
00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:54,520
Speaker 2: Athletes have long used their platforms for activism, but Kaepernick's

476
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:58,120
Speaker 2: protest occurred in a Trump presidency and social media driven era,

477
00:22:58,400 --> 00:22:59,920
Speaker 2: when the country was openly to.

478
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:01,800
Speaker 5: I did it was kind of nuts to like look

479
00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:05,440
Speaker 5: back on and just see how far that traveled. Seven

480
00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:08,680
Speaker 5: years out or a little bit short of that, since

481
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:10,920
Speaker 5: you know, like we worked on this GQ issue and

482
00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:12,520
Speaker 5: it's disheartening.

483
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,639
Speaker 2: After the twenty sixteen season, Colin Kaepernick's contract wasn't renewed

484
00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:18,919
Speaker 2: by the San Francisco forty nine ers and he became

485
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,560
Speaker 2: a free agent. He has not been signed by a

486
00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,680
Speaker 2: single football team since. And so I had to ask,

487
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,480
Speaker 2: in light of what happened to Colin Kaepernick, is there

488
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,600
Speaker 2: any benefit for an athlete to stick their neck out

489
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:30,399
Speaker 2: for a good cause?

490
00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:32,600
Speaker 1: No?

491
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,199
Speaker 5: I mean I don't think there's You're right, like what

492
00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:41,000
Speaker 5: the NFL has done in silencing him, like it worked,

493
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,240
Speaker 5: that chilling effect is real. There are a lot of

494
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:48,040
Speaker 5: athletes that you know, yeah, they don't want to go

495
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,600
Speaker 5: on the record about this stuff because all it does is,

496
00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:54,879
Speaker 5: you know, harmed their their career.

497
00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:55,200
Speaker 9: Yeah.

498
00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:56,880
Speaker 5: Sorry, was the name of the running back from your house?

499
00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:56,960
Speaker 8: Oh?

500
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,840
Speaker 4: His name is Sean Alexander.

501
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:01,560
Speaker 6: Yeah.

502
00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,120
Speaker 5: I mean if he is like a Hall of Fame candidate,

503
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,520
Speaker 5: like he still doesn't want to, you know, piss off

504
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,280
Speaker 5: the NFL, so like it would be like great for

505
00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:11,520
Speaker 5: him to talk to you. I also understand why he

506
00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:12,040
Speaker 5: don't want to do it.

507
00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:13,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, like there's doing the right thing.

508
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,399
Speaker 4: And then there's also like the great personal cost.

509
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:20,600
Speaker 2: I mean, you're right, we haven't seen NFL players since.

510
00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:23,160
Speaker 4: Then, be like, well I'm gonna do it too. Yeah,

511
00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:24,920
Speaker 4: why would they?

512
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:26,439
Speaker 5: You know, Like I don't want to say that, like

513
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,320
Speaker 5: there isn't some progress. It's easy to you know, see

514
00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:32,920
Speaker 5: how silly an end racism thing is in the end zone.

515
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,119
Speaker 5: But like, I don't know, like we are, like the

516
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,680
Speaker 5: league is acknowledging a racism even.

517
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:38,480
Speaker 4: Again, Yeah that's the first time.

518
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:43,000
Speaker 5: So that's progress. The league so like funnels you in

519
00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,400
Speaker 5: a certain form of activism that.

520
00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:46,919
Speaker 4: They find appropriate.

521
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,359
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, they find appropriate. And I actually think the

522
00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:51,840
Speaker 5: even if you know, like some of the phrasing is

523
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:54,880
Speaker 5: stuff like you might find at a march, it's easy

524
00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:56,919
Speaker 5: to tune out because it's on the back of everyone's helmet,

525
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,320
Speaker 5: and once you start seeing the same thing everywhere, like

526
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,240
Speaker 5: it's no longer a form of agitation, you know, which

527
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:03,399
Speaker 5: just washes over you.

528
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:03,600
Speaker 3: You know.

529
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,280
Speaker 5: I feel like the path for activism tends to be

530
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:10,400
Speaker 5: to get noticed from media and then from there, you know,

531
00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:12,960
Speaker 5: try and get the message out that way. But yeah,

532
00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:14,919
Speaker 5: there's kind of like no silver bullet for this stuff.

533
00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:19,680
Speaker 2: I wanted Sean Alexander to be my silver bullet so badly,

534
00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:22,719
Speaker 2: But I know that's not fair. He's his own person

535
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,760
Speaker 2: and has his own motivations. Maybe he wants to run

536
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,760
Speaker 2: for public office someday. He likely values the support of

537
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,440
Speaker 2: the community for his philanthropic projects and doesn't want to

538
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:34,960
Speaker 2: risk alienating them. Or perhaps it's because he's been unfairly

539
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:37,760
Speaker 2: overlooked for the Football Hall of Fame for the last decade,

540
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,800
Speaker 2: and at this point his priority is preserving his athletic

541
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,840
Speaker 2: legacy and wants to steer clear of social or political

542
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,440
Speaker 2: debates that could overshadow his achievements or complicate his legacy.

543
00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,919
Speaker 2: But this is sports, and as much as people wanted

544
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,400
Speaker 2: to just be about what happens on the field, it's

545
00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:54,280
Speaker 2: about more than that.

546
00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:55,040
Speaker 1: You know.

547
00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:59,679
Speaker 9: The truth is that sports and politics have always mixed. Sports,

548
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:03,560
Speaker 9: policy takes race, gender, culture always have mixed, you know together.

549
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,159
Speaker 9: I mean, Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball in nineteen

550
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,480
Speaker 9: forty seven. That was twenty years before we got the

551
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,800
Speaker 9: Civil Rights Act, Okay, And it's like often sports has

552
00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:16,840
Speaker 9: been placed in the intersection of these monumental changes, if

553
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 9: not led the way when it comes to change.

554
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,239
Speaker 2: This is Jamel Hill, influential American sports journalist known for

555
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,760
Speaker 2: her dynamic career at ESPN, where she co hosted Sports Center.

556
00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:30,760
Speaker 2: Hill made headlines in twenty seventeen for outspoken criticism of

557
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,960
Speaker 2: President Donald Trump, calling him a white supremacist on Twitter

558
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,320
Speaker 2: after its infamous good people on both sides press conference.

559
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:38,920
Speaker 1: It was only bad people on one side.

560
00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:40,960
Speaker 9: Those are the people that came to charlettes Field, Virginia

561
00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,160
Speaker 9: with the intentions to spread Hey. I called the President

562
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,679
Speaker 9: on Twitter a white supremacist, and as they say, life

563
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,280
Speaker 9: took on. You know, my life took on something of

564
00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:55,119
Speaker 9: its own. You know, I'm a sports center anchor.

565
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:56,160
Speaker 1: That's not where.

566
00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:58,720
Speaker 9: That's not the type of fanticism what would expect from

567
00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:00,680
Speaker 9: a sports center anchor. And granted I did not say

568
00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,919
Speaker 9: this on air, despite people believing that I did. I

569
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,200
Speaker 9: said this on my Twitter account in reply to someone

570
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,840
Speaker 9: else who was defending Trump, defending white supremacists, and so

571
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:12,840
Speaker 9: I got into a back and forth. Those tweets blew

572
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:16,040
Speaker 9: up became an international story. The President called me out

573
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,679
Speaker 9: and said that I should be fired. Sarah Huckabee Sanders,

574
00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:22,679
Speaker 9: who was his press secretary, said the same thing at

575
00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:24,919
Speaker 9: a White House press brief raing, So it kind of

576
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:26,760
Speaker 9: took my name out of the realm of sports and

577
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:30,000
Speaker 9: put it into politics. And even though I've been interested

578
00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:34,080
Speaker 9: in politics my whole career, my main foothold is my

579
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:36,479
Speaker 9: main thing is sports. I've been a sports writer for

580
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,080
Speaker 9: almost thirty years now. So you know, I left ESPN

581
00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:43,679
Speaker 9: in twenty eighteen. The network was in a very uncomfortable

582
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,639
Speaker 9: spot after what I said, and it just felt like

583
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:48,200
Speaker 9: our relationship had kind of run its course. And I've

584
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,840
Speaker 9: done everything there. It was other things I wanted to

585
00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,160
Speaker 9: do with my career. I certainly wanted to get into

586
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,320
Speaker 9: some of the behind the scenes stuff that I'm doing now.

587
00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,400
Speaker 2: The Unite the Right rally was in August twenty seventeen,

588
00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:02,080
Speaker 2: and Trump stated and Timber twenty seventeen that NFL owners

589
00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:05,000
Speaker 2: should fire players who kneel during the national anthem, like

590
00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:11,440
Speaker 2: Colin Kaepernick. The intersection of race, sports and politics was inescapable.

591
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,520
Speaker 9: When you think about how the NFL has to wear

592
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 9: that stain of what they did to him, because I

593
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,159
Speaker 9: don't think it'll ever be forgotten. You exiled somebody who

594
00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:24,520
Speaker 9: only was speaking up for what is a humanitarian cause.

595
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:28,760
Speaker 9: You know, police brutality is something we should all be against.

596
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:29,320
Speaker 1: Right.

597
00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:31,760
Speaker 9: That doesn't have a side. It's like, no, you shouldn't

598
00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,080
Speaker 9: have the people who are paid to protect. You should

599
00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:41,800
Speaker 9: have unfettered, unchecked authority to brutalize, demean, sometimes kill the

600
00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:45,040
Speaker 9: citizens they are supposed to protect. But if you think

601
00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:48,959
Speaker 9: about historically how he's going to be remembered, there's the upside. Now,

602
00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:50,240
Speaker 9: he didn't do it for that because he's not that

603
00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:52,720
Speaker 9: kind of He's not that kind of person. It's why

604
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:54,640
Speaker 9: you haven't heard him talk very much to the media

605
00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:57,600
Speaker 9: since it's happened. You haven't seen him out like he

606
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,920
Speaker 9: that's not what he does. He prefers to do the

607
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,880
Speaker 9: work and make the impact that way. And I understand

608
00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:07,680
Speaker 9: that a lot of athletes look at it as well,

609
00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,720
Speaker 9: what if I, you know what if I piss off brands?

610
00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:13,200
Speaker 9: What if I you know what if marketers don't want

611
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:14,880
Speaker 9: to deal with me? And yeah, that's going to be

612
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:15,720
Speaker 9: part of the risk.

613
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,320
Speaker 2: But Jamel thinks that things are changing.

614
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,160
Speaker 1: I do think the sports audience has changed.

615
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 9: I think they now, especially younger people, they kind of

616
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,440
Speaker 9: want to know what these athletes are about, Like they

617
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,400
Speaker 9: want to know, do you stand for something? Or are

618
00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,480
Speaker 9: you just about making money or what are you doing

619
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,160
Speaker 9: beyond that? And part of the reason why I think

620
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:39,560
Speaker 9: that demand is being made more by sports fans is

621
00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:42,560
Speaker 9: because of somebody like Colin Kaepernick, is because of somebody

622
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,880
Speaker 9: like Lebron James, who's also been equally outspoken. And I

623
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,000
Speaker 9: know Lebron is in a different position because he doesn't

624
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,400
Speaker 9: want to work with Gobron right, so he's going to

625
00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:55,120
Speaker 9: get a level of protection that's in there. But I

626
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:59,200
Speaker 9: do think that there is a lot more openness for

627
00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:02,040
Speaker 9: it to be done. What I have enjoyed about covering

628
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:05,680
Speaker 9: this generation of athletes is that I don't think that

629
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 9: they are necessarily following that model that sort of Michael

630
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:11,840
Speaker 9: Jortan gave for the blueprint of the athletes in the nineties.

631
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,440
Speaker 9: The Republicans blast shoes too. I don't think that today's

632
00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,080
Speaker 9: athlete is really doing that. I mean, that's gen Z

633
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:21,720
Speaker 9: in general. It's like they you know, they're very they're

634
00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,920
Speaker 9: very outspoken with how they feel about things, and I

635
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:27,240
Speaker 9: think that's overall, that's like a very good thing.

636
00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,120
Speaker 2: Jamel Hill is the ideal person to weigh in on

637
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:33,360
Speaker 2: both our fight for the Rebel change and Sean silence,

638
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,840
Speaker 2: while I only dealt with Judy death Ridge. Jamal stood

639
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,120
Speaker 2: up to a president. Plus she has a deep understanding

640
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:43,080
Speaker 2: of athletes in the worlds they navigate, at least.

641
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,719
Speaker 9: In talking to I don't think that speaking out is

642
00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:52,560
Speaker 9: something that is required for every athlete. It is something

643
00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:55,040
Speaker 9: that not every athlete is equipped to do because I's

644
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:55,920
Speaker 9: some athletes speaking.

645
00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,880
Speaker 1: I'm like, you could have really been quiet, but that's okay, right,

646
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,400
Speaker 1: like you a big one silence was an option.

647
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:06,120
Speaker 9: Okay, I'm okay if you pass the mic, you know.

648
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,520
Speaker 9: So I think we have to be careful in assuming

649
00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:12,840
Speaker 9: that everybody's equipped to do it, and part of being

650
00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:15,720
Speaker 9: equipped to do it means that you have to be

651
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:20,760
Speaker 9: mentally ready for the backlash. Sometimes what prevents people from

652
00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:24,920
Speaker 9: speaking out is just feeling ostracized, because then people know like, oh,

653
00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:28,560
Speaker 9: you're one of those uh you just you speak out,

654
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,160
Speaker 9: you have opinions, you you're gonna make us challenge something,

655
00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:35,480
Speaker 9: you know, especially when it comes to mascots.

656
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,720
Speaker 1: I mean, asked Washington fans how they feel about when

657
00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:38,440
Speaker 1: their's changed.

658
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,080
Speaker 9: I mean people have this or even Kansas City Jee's

659
00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,040
Speaker 9: fans we've been called out about, you know, their behavior

660
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,720
Speaker 9: at games and the disrespect of the of the Native

661
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:52,280
Speaker 9: American and Indigenous communities. People are hesitant to change even

662
00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,720
Speaker 9: though they're wrong as hell. And when you become the

663
00:31:55,800 --> 00:32:00,719
Speaker 9: person who speaks out against something, especially that's something they

664
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:05,480
Speaker 9: look at as traditional, can it can go bad. And

665
00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 9: you know, even though Sean may not be playing, And

666
00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:11,480
Speaker 9: I'm not trying to make excuses from because I definitely

667
00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:14,040
Speaker 9: I get torn about this when I asked, like, should

668
00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:19,080
Speaker 9: athletes speak up? Because generally they are afforded with a platform,

669
00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:22,320
Speaker 9: with a certain amount of privilege that most people don't

670
00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:27,040
Speaker 9: have and I certainly come from. For me as a

671
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:28,800
Speaker 9: as a journalist is one of the big reasons I

672
00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:33,800
Speaker 9: became one. It's like your whole, your whole ideology should

673
00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,520
Speaker 9: be you're supposed to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.

674
00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,080
Speaker 1: We learn that a journalism school, that is the job.

675
00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:45,720
Speaker 9: Right with athletes, that's not necessarily the job, but they

676
00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:49,040
Speaker 9: are in a special position, especially as a black athlete,

677
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:52,760
Speaker 9: and especially to be able to have some conversations with

678
00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:56,960
Speaker 9: some people who might not ordinarily understand why something is wrong.

679
00:32:57,040 --> 00:32:58,560
Speaker 1: They're in a unique position.

680
00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:01,760
Speaker 9: But even after they have moved on from the game,

681
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:06,440
Speaker 9: there's still business opportunities, there's still alumni connections, there's still

682
00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:11,120
Speaker 9: other things that they have to consider, and maybe it's

683
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:13,960
Speaker 9: just something even though his voice could be very positive

684
00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:18,360
Speaker 9: and impacting change, maybe it's something he's just not comfortable

685
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:20,440
Speaker 9: with because thinking about.

686
00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:22,200
Speaker 1: The blowback feels like too much.

687
00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:25,880
Speaker 9: So, you know, I hope that it's something that Sean

688
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:31,120
Speaker 9: Alexander maybe thinks about. And maybe because you are, you know,

689
00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:35,440
Speaker 9: advocating for him to say something, maybe it's something that

690
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:41,240
Speaker 9: eventually he will. I mean, I hope he does, you know, personally,

691
00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:45,520
Speaker 9: because this, you know, the truth is like it just

692
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,640
Speaker 9: sort of speaks to of the many things that are

693
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:52,080
Speaker 9: wrong in this country, is that we don't denounce our racism.

694
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:53,320
Speaker 1: We build monuments to it.

695
00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:58,080
Speaker 9: And so that's the part that I hope Sean thinks about,

696
00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:01,400
Speaker 9: is that this is about a larger concept of why

697
00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:04,720
Speaker 9: we still are having trouble atoning from one of the

698
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,240
Speaker 9: greatest sins this nation has ever committed.

699
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,520
Speaker 2: Very young. If some of you are thinking Sean is

700
00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:19,880
Speaker 2: just a private person, maybe he doesn't want to be

701
00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:23,759
Speaker 2: involved with the media anymore, consider this. Sean has been

702
00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:26,640
Speaker 2: a guest on a few football podcasts just this past year,

703
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,160
Speaker 2: and there have been numerous write ups about him not

704
00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:31,880
Speaker 2: yet being in the Hall of Fame despite being nominated

705
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:37,040
Speaker 2: multiple times. Sean, if you're listening, let me say this Clearly,

706
00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,440
Speaker 2: your career alone is Hall of Fame worthy, but you

707
00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,719
Speaker 2: have a chance to be remembered for something equally significant,

708
00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:47,520
Speaker 2: one that resonates deeply with every student in your hometown

709
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:50,719
Speaker 2: who has felt overlooked. Did you know the Seahawks got

710
00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,520
Speaker 2: their name after a public naming contest with more than

711
00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:56,600
Speaker 2: twenty thousand entries. I bet you anything that if we

712
00:34:56,680 --> 00:34:59,240
Speaker 2: got the school to give entries, you'd be the perfect

713
00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:03,000
Speaker 2: person to pick the winner. Anyway, all that to say,

714
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:06,399
Speaker 2: the door is always open. Just feel free to reach out.

715
00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:08,759
Speaker 2: I'm on all the socials. Hit us up at our

716
00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:13,200
Speaker 2: email Rebelspirit podcasts at gmail dot com. Truly, however you

717
00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:15,440
Speaker 2: want to get in touch, we will be so happy

718
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:20,799
Speaker 2: to talk more with you. Even without Sewn Alexander, I

719
00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:23,319
Speaker 2: was determined to continue my journey and actually speak to

720
00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,400
Speaker 2: the school board about making this change. So in December

721
00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:29,799
Speaker 2: of twenty twenty three, just before the holidays, me and

722
00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:32,600
Speaker 2: my producers decided to spend one more week in Florence

723
00:35:32,719 --> 00:35:34,759
Speaker 2: and officially make our case in front of both the

724
00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:38,400
Speaker 2: school board and the BCHS School based decision making counsel.

725
00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:42,400
Speaker 2: Get ready for some impassioned speeches coming up next week.

726
00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:50,160
Speaker 2: Rebel Spirit is a production of ninth Planet Audio and

727
00:35:50,239 --> 00:35:54,720
Speaker 2: association with iHeart Podcasts. Reporting and writing by me Akila Hughes.

728
00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,680
Speaker 2: I'm also an executive producer and the host produced.

729
00:35:58,239 --> 00:36:01,880
Speaker 1: By Dan Sinker. Josie A. Zahm Our.

730
00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:06,080
Speaker 2: Assistant editor is Jennifer Dean. Music composed by Charlie Sun,

731
00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:09,719
Speaker 2: Sound design and mixing by Josie A. Zahmb Our. Theme

732
00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:12,160
Speaker 2: song is all the Things I Couldn't Say, performed by

733
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:15,359
Speaker 2: Bussy and the Bass, courtesy of Arts and Crafts Productions, Inc.

734
00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:19,920
Speaker 2: Our production coordinator is Kyle Hinton. Our clearance coordinator is

735
00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:24,480
Speaker 2: Anna Sun Andshine. Production accounting by Dilfried Singh. Additional research

736
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:28,360
Speaker 2: support from Janice Dillard. Executive producers for ninth Planet Audio

737
00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:32,120
Speaker 2: are Elizabeth Baquet and Jimmy Miller. Special thanks to Jay

738
00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:35,440
Speaker 2: Becker and the whole team at BLDG, the Florence y'alls,

739
00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:38,280
Speaker 2: Amber Hoffmann, Hillary Delaney, and Leslie Chambers.

740
00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:39,440
Speaker 4: If you have a.

741
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,160
Speaker 2: Racist mascot at your high school or are an alumni

742
00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:44,680
Speaker 2: of a high school with a racist mascot and want

743
00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:47,520
Speaker 2: to share your own experience. Please email us at Rebel

744
00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:50,640
Speaker 2: Spirit podcast at gmail dot com. We would love to

745
00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:51,200
Speaker 2: hear from you