0:11

What's up, everybody. Welcome to the latest edition

0:14

of The stephen A. Smith Show, coming at you as I love to do it

0:16

at the very least three days a week over the digital airways

0:18

of YouTube. As you can see, I'm not at my normal studios.

0:21

I'm on the road. I've got a lot of stuff doing

0:24

covering the NBA Playoffs soon to be NBA

0:26

Finals. Nevertheless, I always want

0:28

to take a moment to give

0:31

pay homage to my subscribers

0:34

and followers. We've now clipsed over six hundred and

0:36

eighty two thousand, so I just want to say I

0:38

really really appreciate it. Keep the love coming. I'm gonna

0:40

always keep mind coming. Just make sure if

0:42

you want to continue to like and follow The Steven A. Smith

0:44

Show, click the bell in the right hand corner and

0:46

YouTube shall be the latest member

0:48

of the stephen A. Smith Show family. A lot

0:51

of stuff to get into today, so let me not

0:53

waste any time. I'm going to get into

0:55

Jalen Brown, I'm going to get into Draymond Green,

0:57

I'm going to get into Kenny Smith, going

1:00

to get hell. I might have to get into

1:02

p Diddy With the kind of stuff that I see going

1:04

all over the place in the news, the way they're

1:06

talking about him right now. And

1:09

of course I'm gonna get into the negro leagues and what

1:11

I mentioned, because there's a lot to talk about as

1:13

it pertains to that. But the first order

1:15

of business was last night, because

1:18

last night Minnesota Timberwolves

1:20

forced the game six. It was a winner,

1:22

go home moment for the t Wolves and

1:24

they didn't blink y'all. Carl Anthony

1:27

Towns found his three point stroke hit the four five

1:29

that timber Wolves avoided to sweep against the Mavericks with

1:31

a one O five, one hundred, winning Game four.

1:33

Towns at his best game of the series, twenty five

1:36

points, nine of thirteen, shooting four five from

1:38

three point range. Okay, Edwards mister

1:40

tripple double by one assists his tone seter

1:42

for Minnesota, who now forces a

1:44

game five. Let me say this, it

1:47

was an aberration. I'm

1:50

not talking about the win. I'm talking about the way

1:52

Luka Dancik and Kyrie Irvin performed.

1:55

Kyrie Irvin shot six to eighteen from the field,

1:58

hit a third of his shots. Lucas shot

2:00

seven to twenty one from the field, hit a third of his shots.

2:02

How long do you think that's gonna happen. How many times you think

2:04

that's gonna happen. I don't see that happening quite often.

2:06

Let me just be real about that. I just don't see that happening

2:09

a lot. I think we need to be mindful and careful

2:11

of that. I don't see that happening too damn often. That's

2:13

number one, Number two calll Anthony

2:15

Towns. He was shooting horrifically from three point range

2:18

coming into this game, and he finally showed

2:20

up. Deserved a lot of credit. Here's what I like,

2:23

if you're Minnesota. What

2:26

I love about last night is Anthony Edwards

2:28

shot eleven and twenty five from the field, finished with like

2:30

twenty nine points, ten

2:32

assists, ten rebounds I'm sorry, nine

2:34

assists, two five from three

2:36

point range again, eleven to twenty five from

2:38

the field, Anthony Towns

2:41

nine to thirteenth from the field. Nobody

2:43

else shot double digit attempts.

2:47

And that's what I think is something to be mindful of. With

2:49

the exception of maybe nas Red,

2:52

you really don't want anybody shooting the damn

2:54

ball too much other than Anthony Edwards and call

2:56

Anthony Towns. But in order for that to happen.

2:58

Call Anthony Towns has got to stay up up and be productive

3:01

and efficient, not just aggressive,

3:03

but productive and efficient in order for that

3:06

to happen. Anthony Edwards is that dude,

3:08

the Brothers only twenty two years of age.

3:10

Like he said after the game, he had never been swept before,

3:12

and he damn sure wasn't trying to let that happen. Now, give

3:15

the Minnesota timberwol was a lot of credit for the Pride.

3:17

Let's also remember something here as we think about

3:20

how the record for teams that

3:22

have been up three to zero in an NBA series

3:24

in playoff history is one fifty

3:27

five and zero. No one

3:29

has ever lost a three to zero lead

3:31

in NBA playoff history, But that does

3:33

not mean that it cannot happen. Boston almost

3:36

did it last year. One could easily argue if Jason

3:38

Tatum hadn't gotten hurt in the first eight seconds of the game,

3:40

damn it, then guess what Boston, who had

3:42

come back from an O three deficit to tie three to three,

3:44

might have pulled it off against Miami last

3:46

year. We don't know that would have been a better matchup than

3:49

the Devin Nuggets going up against Miami.

3:51

I can tell you that much, but that's neither here nor there. In

3:53

the end, the Boston Celtics are back in the finals.

3:56

Jason Tatum is healthy enough, Jaylen Brown is

3:58

healthy enough, and the bottom line is the Bay Celtics.

4:00

To hear. What I'm saying to you is

4:02

this. When you look

4:04

at Minnesota and you see

4:08

what Carl Anthony Town, what they look

4:10

like when Carl Anthony Town is balling,

4:13

it's something that we can't ignore. I'm

4:15

just looking at some numbers here that I think y'all

4:17

got a right to see when you think about

4:19

Karl Anthony town is what he brings to the table. They've had

4:22

nine wins in the playoffs. They beat Phoenix,

4:24

swept them in the first round. They took seven

4:27

games to beat Denver, Okay,

4:29

after being up two to zero on the road, almost

4:31

blowing the series, but they still want it. And then

4:33

they finally won a game after being down O three

4:36

to Dallas. That's

4:38

nine wins. Carl Anthony Towns

4:40

has averaged twenty point two points a game, fifty

4:43

shooting from the field, forty six

4:45

percent shooting from three point range. But in the sixth

4:48

losses, the three to

4:50

Denver and the three over games

4:52

one to three against Dallas, those

4:54

numbers dipped to fifteen point eight points, thirty five

4:56

percent, shooting twenty eight percent from three point range.

4:59

Carl Anthony Towns is the key. Anthony

5:02

Edwards needs help, and if Anthony Edwards

5:04

gets help, you gotta

5:06

believe Minnesota's got a chance. Remember, all

5:09

four games have come down to clutch time.

5:12

All four games have been decided by I combined

5:14

eight points. We can't dismiss

5:16

that. We can't.

5:19

So I'm looking at Minnesota right now, and I'm

5:21

saying I don't like blowout

5:23

y'all. So I want Minnesota. It's not just

5:26

that I picked because I picked them to win the series in seven games. But

5:28

I ain't mad at Kyrie Irvin and Luka Danchik

5:30

ended up in the NBA Finals versus Jaylen Brown and Jason

5:32

Tedan. Let me tell you that right now. But I

5:35

do want the series to go long. And

5:37

if Minnesota wins Game five, then

5:41

that makes Game six very pivotal

5:43

because Game six in Dallas, if you

5:45

are Minnesota and you going up in there

5:47

with a one game mentality, we just win

5:50

this game, and boom,

5:53

we force a game seven back at Minnesota.

5:55

You know how desperate and chaotic

5:57

and hectic that Game six in Dallas is gonna

5:59

be my advice to

6:01

the Dallas Mavericks and their fans everywhere.

6:04

Make sure no Dallas cowboy's in the building. Make

6:07

sure no Dallas cowboy's in the building, and

6:09

it's gonna bring you anohing but bad luck, nothing

6:11

but bad luck. I'm telling you that right now, Dallas

6:14

cowboys show up courtside flexing

6:16

and flording and all of that stuff like they champions'

6:19

is gonna contaminate the proceedings. It's

6:21

gonna get in the way and as a

6:24

result, the Dallas Mavericks is gonna lose that game too.

6:26

If they lose consuming, they lose Game five because they could easily

6:28

win Game five in Minnesota because they those

6:30

dudes when they want to be I'm just saying,

6:33

take my advice, stay

6:35

with me, be cool

6:37

about this. I know what I'm talking about, I

6:40

really really do. Outside

6:42

of that, Carl Anthony, Towns, continue to

6:44

play the way you played, and don't

6:46

foul out, and don't pick up a stupid foul

6:49

of foul out at the end of the game, filing

6:51

luke beyond the three point line. That just doesn't make any

6:53

sense. Don't do that, all

6:56

right, But props to Minnesota

6:58

for showing up out of way. They'd three

7:00

and oh on elimination games in this postseason,

7:04

three and oh twice against

7:06

Denver, and then last night they were on

7:08

the brink of elimination and staved

7:11

it off. I gotta give credit where

7:13

credit is due to those vellas, I really really

7:15

do. Let me get onto a different subject

7:17

now, because it's time to talk a little

7:19

bit about Bronnie James, the

7:21

son of Lebron James. Of course,

7:24

according to his agent, Rich Paul, Bronnie

7:26

will remain in the June Draft and officially forego

7:28

his remaining college eligibility. Bronnie

7:31

entered the drafts Combine earlier

7:33

this month. He was ranked ninety eighth in

7:36

ESPN's Top one of Your Prospects, But after

7:38

a strong showing at the combine

7:40

and drills and scrimmages according to Scouts

7:42

Value This ceterric et cetera, Bronnie klined forty

7:44

four spots to the fifty fourth ranking.

7:47

Now, several teams have reportedly reached out to James

7:49

for workouts. So far, he's declined all of them except

7:51

for his dad's Los Angeles Lakers and

7:54

the Phoenix Suns. Let

7:57

me try to keep my composure here and be cool about

7:59

this. First of all, I

8:01

wish of Brownie James nothing but the best.

8:05

By all accounts, are a very very nice kid,

8:07

exceptionally well raised by both Savannah

8:09

and Lebron. His parents, wonderful

8:12

family, wonderful family kid. They've got a wonderful

8:15

family. Lebron James deserves a lot of props

8:17

to that, and there's no crime in looking

8:19

out for his son. But

8:22

this is a time where I say, and

8:24

I've said on television and you're gonna see other people

8:26

saying it, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a

8:28

duck, it ain't the damn mongols. What

8:31

the hell do you think? With thinking? Here

8:34

comes Lebron James. Now, okay, you

8:36

go to the combine right, and

8:39

you're ranked ninety eighth,

8:43

and because of your performance, you're

8:46

conveniently upgraded

8:50

to the fifty fourth best

8:52

prospect as opposed to the

8:54

ninety eighth. Why do I bring up that? Why

8:56

is the magic number fifty four? Guess

8:59

who has the fifty fifth pick in the second

9:01

round of the NBA Draft, it's

9:04

the Los Angeles Lakers. You can't make this

9:06

up. You can't make this. I'm just I

9:09

mean, damn, you know, because

9:11

ladies and gentlemen, I don't know if you noticed or not, I'm not allowed

9:13

to say two plus two ECUs four. I'm just not

9:16

allowed. I mean, I don't know if you I don't know if you notice. That's

9:18

selling out, that that's

9:20

selling out, that that just helped the wrong

9:22

with me for pointing that out of all.

9:24

The spots you could have fallen

9:26

to, you could have fallen to sixty

9:28

fourth, you could have fell to forty fourth,

9:31

you could have fell to seventieth, you

9:33

could have fell to sixtieth, But conveniently

9:35

you fall of fifty four when the lake

9:38

has got the fifty fifth. Big really,

9:41

really, I mean it,

9:44

Lebron James, in case you don't know,

9:47

and I'm not saying that you're guilty of this

9:49

coincidence, I don't know, don't

9:51

care. Really, as long as your son is

9:53

healthy and thriving and living his

9:55

best life, I'm happy for.

9:56

The blunt Lebron James family. But what I'm

9:59

saying is, damn,

10:01

I mean, what you gonna

10:04

what's it gonna look like you did next literally

10:07

walked into a dot com site

10:09

or a newspaper site, or into a television

10:12

studio and wrote the damn script

10:14

for everybody fifty four

10:16

slots,

10:18

I mean forty four slots to fifty

10:20

fourth from ninety eighth when

10:22

the Lakers got the fifty fifth pick. I

10:25

mean, I know people

10:27

like to spit in our face and tell us it's raining, But

10:30

do you have to be so obvious, really

10:33

really stop it? That's one

10:35

thing I want to say about that. Here's the other thing, and

10:38

this involves JJ

10:42

Reddick, the soon to be new head coach

10:44

for the Los Angeles Lakers, barring something catastrophic,

10:46

ladies and gentlemen, he's the leading candidate for the Lakers job.

10:50

And I got a call from some people over

10:52

the weekend. Lebron James had nothing

10:54

to do with this. Stephen there, He has nothing

10:56

to do with this. He doesn't get involved, He doesn't want anything

10:59

to do with the next coach is going to be. He

11:01

doesn't talk to them about it. He doesn't want to

11:03

be credited with that decision. Blah

11:05

blah blah blah blah. Well, okay,

11:09

do y'all understand because this is what I

11:11

said to some of the people that caught me on

11:13

behalf of Lebron James. I said,

11:15

do you understand that the

11:20

superstar that he is, the iconic brand,

11:22

that he is, the individual that Genie Bus

11:24

looked me dead in the face and say, all I care about

11:27

is Lebron james happiness. That is my

11:29

priority. That Genie Buss the board

11:31

of governors, you know, part

11:33

owner for the Los Angeles Lakers, that Genie Bus

11:36

do y'all understand that when

11:38

a coach gets fired from the Los Angeles Lakers,

11:40

inevitably Lebron James has something to do with that. So

11:44

if you want to sit up there and say he has nothing to do with the

11:46

potential new hiring of a head coach like JJ

11:48

Reddick, are you going to deny

11:50

that he had anything to do with the firing of Darvin

11:52

Ham. You think

11:54

that if Lebron James stood up and said Darvin

11:57

Ham is my guy,

11:59

I completely support him, that gend

12:02

Bus and Rob Polinka let go of Darvin

12:04

Ham. You really think that would happen. By

12:07

the way, when has Lebron James spoken up for coach?

12:11

I don't recall, I

12:14

don't recall, but that's neither another

12:17

to back to JJ Reddick. JJ Reddick's

12:20

taking a lot of heat. He

12:22

doesn't deserve it. Doc

12:24

Rivers coached without any coaching experience.

12:27

Mark Jackson coach without any coaching experience.

12:29

Steve Nash coach without any coaching experience.

12:33

There's been several coaches throughout the NBA

12:35

history that went from the booth or you

12:38

know, court side doing color commentary

12:40

into the position of being

12:42

a head coach in the National Basketball Association.

12:45

JJ Reddick is clearly a brilliant basketball

12:47

mind, and do

12:50

I think that he's somebody that's

12:52

worthy of a shot, Yes, I do.

12:54

Do I also think there's gonna be cynicism on

12:56

a part of those in the locker room

13:00

that JJ Redick is talking to, assuming that

13:02

it's coming a directive is coming from Lebron

13:04

James as opposed to JJ Reddick. I do think that's

13:06

possible, yes, but I don't think that's a reason

13:08

not to give him the job. I think JJ's personality

13:10

is strong enough to get through

13:13

to the right people at the right time

13:16

as a head coach. Here's what JJ

13:18

Reddick can't help that

13:21

Lebron James decided to do a podcast

13:23

with him, knowing that

13:25

Darvin hand was on a hot seat. Now

13:28

I know everybody wants to come at me and they want to say,

13:30

look, man, that brilliant dude known as Maverick

13:32

Carter came to Lebron

13:34

James with this great idea for

13:36

a podcast. Respectfully, I don't want

13:38

to hear that shit. I

13:41

don't want to hear it. I'm not saying

13:43

it isn't true. I'm saying I don't want to hear

13:45

it. And the reason why I don't want to hear it

13:47

is because it ain't Lebron. Ain't some step

13:49

and fetch it kind of dude. As

13:52

many ideas as Maverick Carter comes to

13:54

him with, and as many things that he's willing to

13:56

listen to. Because Maverick Carter is that

13:58

brilliant, that does not mean that Lebron

14:00

James doesn't have a mind of his own. Maverick

14:03

Carter works for Lebron James. It ain't the other way around.

14:07

And don't tell me that Lebron

14:09

is some innocent ade sitting on the sidelines

14:13

just doing Maverick Carter's bidding.

14:16

Lebron signed off on it. What the hell you

14:18

doing signing off on doing a podcast

14:20

with a coach, knowing your coach is on

14:22

a hot seat coaching

14:25

the Lakers of all teams. Oh,

14:27

by the way, he disappears from he's

14:29

ultimately let go rather from

14:31

the job. And the person you elected to do

14:33

the podcast with is not a leading candidate

14:36

for the head coach a job. But Lebron

14:38

has nothing to do with that. I

14:41

mean, I know, I use that analogy.

14:44

Spitting in my face and telling me is raining, you

14:49

know, but there's also a difference between passing gas

14:51

and taking a dunk. All

14:53

you gotta do is look at the toilet. We

14:56

look at the toilet, we see shit. You

14:58

gonna tell us this gas or

15:00

you're gonna tell it what it is. I'm

15:02

sorry to use that graphic anology, but sometimes

15:04

it's necessary when you see people coming

15:07

to you and saying it's kind of bs. It's

15:10

ridiculous. At

15:13

the end of the day, at some point in time,

15:15

you just wish Lebron James would own it.

15:18

Yo, Man, is what I want is my head next head coach, That's

15:22

what I want. But to act

15:24

like he has nothing to do with it. Nothing.

15:26

All I'm gonna say is this, Maybe

15:28

it is true he has nothing to do with it. But

15:31

I've never known Lebron James

15:36

to be able to pretend innocence

15:40

when his fingerprints are all over something

15:44

when it's that damn obvious. Now,

15:48

whether you speak on it or not, you

15:52

got son to do with it. You

15:54

got son to do with it. So just

15:56

stop wasting our time with those kind of lives. Okay.

16:00

Let me move on to this last subject before

16:02

I go to break, because it

16:04

involves Kenny

16:07

Smith and Kyrie Irving, Kenny the Jet Smith

16:09

for TNT, the great Kyrie Irving

16:11

for the Dallas Mavericks, who may

16:13

be on the verge of winning his second NBA

16:16

championship, by the way, which is an

16:18

incredible story within itself. But

16:20

anyway, the

16:23

topic that I'm about to get into is a bit personal.

16:28

It involves Kenny,

16:30

my brother, my boy. Kenny Smith and I go back

16:33

decades. His brother, Vincent Smith used to train me

16:35

Lost Battalion Hall, Queens, New York, all of that

16:37

stuff. I got a scholarship basketball

16:39

scholarship because of Vincent Smith. Love

16:42

him to death. But Kenny Smith and

16:44

I go back that long Last

16:46

night, the TNT crew

16:49

was discussing the evolution

16:52

of Kyrie Irving this postseason because

16:56

Kyrie Irving obviously is gone through so much,

16:58

you know, accused of

17:01

anti semitism, on anti Semitic

17:03

remarks just because he betweeted something

17:05

and stuff like that gets suspended, having

17:08

to deal with some of the things he's had to deal with, the

17:10

whole COVID thing, and you know,

17:13

not wanting to play, not wanting to take the vaccine

17:15

and all of this sudden stuff, ultimately missing an abundance

17:17

of games, and you know, obviously things

17:20

going south in Brooklyn with him, Kevin Durant

17:22

and James Harden. You look at

17:24

those situations, you just found yourself saying, damn,

17:26

it's a bad situation. It's really bad. And

17:29

Kyrie's name was written all

17:31

over it. And then he lost the sneaker deal, and

17:33

you know, and all

17:36

he had was basketball. But

17:39

the evolution of Kyrie over in this postseason

17:41

has been nothing short of spectacularly. He deserves a

17:43

lot of credit for it. But that was also

17:45

what led to Kenny Smith revealing

17:47

a very private conversation that he

17:50

had with me about

17:52

my past critical comments of

17:55

Kyrie. And I shouldn't say past because

17:57

at the time we had the conversation that's

17:59

when it was going on, and that's when Kenny Smith called

18:01

me. Here's what he had to say last

18:04

night on T and T. We couldn't

18:06

play the sound, but here's

18:08

the quote. At one time, Steven

18:10

A was an advocate an advocate

18:13

about having a battle with Kyrie Irving. I

18:15

had to call Stephen I'm like, this guy's

18:17

from my neighborhood. I named like six

18:19

people and I said, stephen A, those

18:22

people mentored you. They mentored him,

18:24

so when you say something about him, you're actually

18:27

saying it about us.

18:29

And he said, I understood.

18:33

Charles Barkley naturally

18:35

followed up saying

18:37

this about Kyrie Irvan, following Kenny's

18:40

comments, quote, he self

18:42

inflicted himself talking about Kyrie.

18:45

He got to take some responsibility. I

18:47

think he's grown up. I think he's matured.

18:50

Stephen A and other people criticized him.

18:52

He rightly deserved it. You can't

18:55

go out there and be anti Semitic. He

18:57

deserved the criticism he got. He deserved

18:59

to SUSPENDT. But as a basketball

19:02

player, I think he's

19:04

really grown up. End quote. Let

19:07

me say this, both of them

19:09

are right tackling

19:11

Charles Barkley. First, Kyrie

19:15

did deserve to be criticized at the time that he was

19:17

being criticized, and

19:20

it's our job to tell a story. And

19:23

that's what I did when it was happening.

19:25

I spoke about what was happening.

19:28

So Charles Barkley's right about that, but

19:31

nobody's more right than my brother

19:33

Kenny Smith. Kenny

19:36

Smith did call me. And

19:38

when Kenny Smith called me, he

19:41

spoke to me and

19:43

he reminded me of guys. He mentioned

19:45

six guys. I'll give you three of their names. One

19:49

was Rod Strickland, former NBA player,

19:51

spectacular point guard out of De

19:53

Paul University and stuff like that. Rod

19:55

Strickland is the godfather of Kyrie Irving.

19:58

Another person was Gary Gary

20:01

Di Howard to be exact former deputy

20:03

sports editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer who was responsible

20:06

for getting me there when I was a high school

20:08

reporter for the New York Daily News. He was the one responsible

20:10

for getting me the college job at

20:12

the Philadelphia Inquirer. He's

20:15

also the former executive sports editor

20:18

for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. At

20:20

the time that Gary Howard was the

20:23

executive sports editor editor

20:25

there there were four and

20:27

ultimately reduced to two. Executive

20:30

sports editors in the country. Despite

20:33

their existing hundreds of newspapers,

20:36

only about two were black. Gary Howard

20:39

was one of them. He's a Bronx Natives,

20:42

very very close to Dedrick Irving,

20:44

Kyrie's father. They

20:46

grew up together and knows well. Gary

20:49

Howard is also a friend and a mentor of mine.

20:52

The other dude was Reggie Howard that

20:55

Kenny Smith was alluding to. Reggie

20:57

Howard, Isy's

21:00

brother coaches

21:02

a lot of youth in the Bronx. Very respected

21:05

street dude, very connected the whole

21:07

bit. And all of them talked

21:09

to me and they

21:13

weren't disagreeing with what I was saying, but

21:17

they were addressing the fervor with which

21:19

I talked about Kyrie,

21:23

and I really didn't see it that way. I

21:26

felt like I

21:28

had looked out for Kyrie Eving on many, many occasions

21:32

until I couldn't, and then I felt that his

21:34

attitude towards me had

21:36

changed, and it felt like betrayal. I let

21:38

that go. But then when his father, I

21:40

felt, came at me the wrong way,

21:43

I reacted like I react. I

21:45

ain't backing up and

21:48

it wasn't until Kenny

21:51

Smith placed that call to me that

21:54

I had to look at myself differently because

21:57

he reminded me of those

22:00

numerous people that

22:03

raised Kyrie. They

22:05

also influenced me. And

22:07

when I talked about Kyrie in the fashion

22:09

that I talked about him, it

22:12

wasn't just a reflection on him, it was a reflection

22:14

on them. And when

22:16

I looked at it that way, it

22:19

gave me cause to pause. And

22:22

then I remembered having an argument

22:24

on First Take on the ESPN with Jay

22:26

Williams, and Jay Williams wasn't even

22:28

attacking what I said. He was

22:30

attacking the energy and how

22:32

I said it. And I

22:34

thought about that and I said, damn,

22:37

it's got a point. And

22:40

then I ran into Kyrie

22:43

and we were at the Crypto dot Com Marena,

22:45

and Kyrie came up behind me, touched

22:48

me on the back and said, yo,

22:50

bro, at this point, it ain't

22:52

even about us. It's about

22:54

you and my dad and the way y'all

22:57

been going at each other, and

22:59

y'all got me caught in the middle of it. And

23:02

when he said that to me, it hit

23:04

home. I picked up the phone

23:07

live from the Crypto dot Com arene the sitting baseline,

23:11

and I text his dad and asked

23:13

his dad to meet with him, and

23:15

his dad, being a class act that he is,

23:18

agreed to meet with me in New York

23:21

City. A few weeks later. We met,

23:23

we talked, both of us apologized

23:26

to each other for how

23:28

we construed how one was coming at the

23:31

other, et cetera, et cetera, and we've been cool ever

23:33

since. And when Kenny

23:35

Smith brought that story up yesterday,

23:38

it reminded me of

23:42

the role that I play, the

23:44

responsibility that I have, and

23:47

I'm not one that usually gives a shit

23:50

what anybody thinks. I

23:52

stand on what I stand on. I feel the way that

23:54

I feel because I pride

23:56

myself and being mad enough to

23:59

acknowledge when I'm I'm wrong. If I think I'm

24:01

wrong because I think it's rare, but

24:05

I was wrong. And

24:08

for Kenny Smith to tell me that it

24:12

hit home in a big way because

24:15

we go back more than thirty years and

24:18

I can count on two figures how many times he's

24:20

thought I was wrong, and

24:22

so his friendship,

24:25

his brotherhood, means a lot

24:27

to me. But it also reminded me of

24:29

the brotherhood of all of those that mentored

24:31

and have been there for Kyrie, And

24:33

it reminded me of somebody like my colleague

24:35

oft ESPNJ. Williams. I

24:38

love Jay, but we definitely

24:40

don't see eye to eye on a few things. But damn

24:42

it, when he's right, he's right, and

24:46

he was right. I didn't

24:48

think he was right at the time. But

24:51

when you reflect sometimes and you see

24:53

things for what they are, you got a man up and accept

24:55

it. And

24:58

that's what I wanted to do. And

25:01

so I'm glad that Kenny Smith

25:03

told that story. I'm

25:05

glad that he said what he said because it

25:07

was one thousand percent accurate in the exact

25:09

context that he said he spoke to me.

25:12

He absolutely did he said he said at

25:14

one hundred on point. I've

25:16

been pissed a lot lately for having

25:18

my words misconstrued, for people using

25:20

it for clickbait, just to interpret

25:23

me saying something that I didn't say, because

25:25

I know what the hell of their agenda is. But

25:27

Kenny Smith didn't do that, and

25:31

I really appreciate it, and

25:33

I think that it's made me better because

25:35

of it. I'm not gonna be perfect,

25:38

but if I think I'm right, I'm not backing up. And

25:41

if I'm wrong, I will back up and I'll confess

25:44

to it publicly. And

25:47

I think the other thing that

25:50

I wanted to speak about was Draymond Green,

25:53

but I'll speak about that a little bit later on in

25:55

the show because the subject

25:58

is just as important to get to is

26:00

Jalen Brown. Now. I've

26:03

made news over the

26:05

last few days

26:08

about Jalen Brown because

26:12

getting back to the players in the Eastern Conference where

26:14

the boss of Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals

26:16

after beating the Indiana Pacers. Let's

26:18

call it what it is. Jaylen Brown was sensational

26:20

and he was named series MVP, taking home

26:22

to Larry Bird Trophy, and he deserved it. However,

26:27

Brown didn't think he was good enough to take

26:29

home to award with teammate Jason Tatum

26:31

averaging thirty points in ten rebounds. You

26:34

know, want to share the wealth to some

26:36

degree. Here's

26:38

what I wanted to say about Jalen Brown because

26:41

making news the other day, I

26:43

talked about on First Take how somebody

26:46

texted me and talked about how he's not very

26:48

well liked,

26:51

you know, and because he's not very

26:54

well liked, that factors into

26:56

his lack of marketability, the potential

26:58

of him potential easy for him not making

27:01

all NBA team that kind of stuff, and

27:03

so you got people that were in an uproar. I

27:07

was taken aback because Isaiah

27:09

Thomas, who's known me for thirty years,

27:14

decides to go on X rather than call

27:16

me to talk about

27:19

defending the character of Jalen Brown and

27:23

stephen A before you slammed

27:26

him, blah blah blah, reveal your sources. I

27:28

felt that was real

27:31

out of pocket by Isaiah Thomas. Number

27:33

one, because you know me. Number two, you know I'm not gonna

27:35

reveal my sources. Number three, you

27:38

know I'm right because

27:41

I wasn't saying it about Jaylen Brown. I

27:43

don't feel that way about Jaylen Brown, and

27:46

I know a lot of people got love for him. I

27:49

was saying there were others that say that

27:51

about him, and it's contributed to a lack of

27:53

marketability. And Isaiah went on to say he's very,

27:55

very marketable in that same tweet

27:57

on X that he never caught me about.

28:00

And obviously Jaylen Brown followed up and he was talking

28:02

about reveal your source. Steven, though I'm not going to do that.

28:05

You know better. But

28:08

for those who would doubt the

28:10

veracity of my words and

28:13

see this is not a Kyrie situation, because

28:15

again, at some point

28:17

with Kyrie and myself it got personal, which

28:20

is something that I openly

28:22

confess to publicly. He knows why. You'll

28:24

never know why because I'll never tell he knows why I got

28:26

personal. But

28:30

again not absolving myself from

28:32

that in any way in the case

28:34

of Jalen Brown, that's not applicable

28:36

here. There was nothing personal

28:38

going on. There's been nothing personal going on. I've known

28:40

Jalen Brown for years, got nothing but love for him.

28:42

But the facts are the facts, and I

28:44

think it's something that's worth being

28:47

noted because you simply can't get around

28:49

it, So why even try?

28:51

We have to take that into consideration. What

28:54

upset everybody was my

28:56

quote because we were asking the question as to whether

28:58

or not he was underrated on first take, and

29:01

I got a text message in the middle of

29:03

that segment where it said he's

29:05

not underrated, he's just not liked

29:07

because of his quote, I am better than you attitude

29:10

end quote. He knows it the same reason

29:12

he's not marketable, and that's

29:14

what had everybody in an uproar pissed

29:16

off at me reading that text. I

29:19

cover the league, I saw some radio

29:21

host or whatever going off talking about I'm not a

29:23

reporter and they compared me to rate you Maddow

29:25

or whatever. I'm not insulted about what

29:28

that pundit said because

29:30

theoretically speaking, he has a point and he's

29:32

right. What he's missing is that when

29:34

you sit in a chair like mine, when we're the number one

29:36

show for twelve years in counting every week, every

29:38

month, every year for twelve consecutive years with

29:41

a standard, so literally sitting

29:43

at my desk, I got people texting me with information

29:45

every single segment of every single show. He

29:48

left out that part. But I understand

29:50

that's not clickbait material, So I tell that

29:52

truth. I get it. But here's

29:54

the deal about Jalen Brown. For

29:57

me to validate my point, and one of

29:59

the as I got upset as everybody's acting, like I said

30:02

in the sulta word I quoted somebody saying something,

30:04

But I don't feel that way about Jaylen Brown. I

30:06

had I voted Jaylen Brown on my All

30:09

NBA thirteen, just so everybody

30:11

knows, okay, I voted him

30:13

on my All NBA thirteen, So

30:16

my words back up. You

30:18

know, my vote backs up what my words

30:20

said. But here's the point that

30:23

nobody has asked. Let me read something to y'all.

30:26

Damian Lillan and Giannisenthe Tokunmpo,

30:28

Yo Kicch and Murray, Stephen Clay

30:31

and Dre by the Way, Luke and

30:33

Kyrie, Joel Embiid and Tyrese

30:35

Maxi, Jalen Bruntson,

30:37

Julius Randall, Lebron James and Anthony Davis,

30:40

Zion Williamson and C. J. McCullum,

30:43

Jimmy Butler and Bam out of bio ladies

30:47

and gentlemen. Those are teammates.

30:50

Do you know that all of those dudes have shoe deals

30:53

and some have signature shoes. Do

30:56

you know that Jaylen Brown has neither

31:00

his contract ended with Adidas a while ago.

31:02

He doesn't have another sneaker deal. You

31:05

see that swish being covered

31:07

on the sneaker, the Nike swish. You see

31:10

that because

31:12

he doesn't want to be seen with that. See,

31:15

I'm giving you facts.

31:20

Now.

31:21

Does he deserve a sneaker deal? Yes

31:23

he does. It

31:25

doesn't strike y'all as a tabbit odd that

31:28

the guy that signed for over three hundred million dollars

31:31

that's on the Boston Celtics that

31:34

is considered one of the best players in the NBA

31:37

doesn't have a sneaker deal when everybody and

31:39

their mother seems to have a sneaker deal. That

31:42

don't strike y'all as a tabbit odd Isaiah,

31:44

where's the marketability? Where's that? Where's

31:48

the commercials? With's the endorsement deals? The

31:50

brother can play, He's been the

31:52

six conference finals, He's now going to the second NBA

31:55

Finals appearance. He wears a Boss of

31:57

Celtics uniform. Where's the marketability?

32:00

You would think he'd be more marketable. Jason Tatum

32:02

certainly has commercials. Jason

32:04

Tatums certainly has a sneaker deal. Jason

32:06

Tatum certainly has all of these other things going for him.

32:08

Where's it for Jaylen Brown. I'm

32:12

not saying it's right, he

32:14

deserves all of that, but

32:17

what I will tell you is, to

32:20

my understanding, he doesn't have a sneaker deal, and

32:25

he's a really good guy. So

32:30

where's the marketing? When

32:34

people say you're not liked, they're not talking about you

32:36

being disliked. They're talking

32:39

about you not being someone

32:41

that others want to market. That's

32:45

the definition in business

32:47

sometimes of marketability

32:49

or a lack thereof People

32:52

speculate about this stuff for Jaylen Brown all the

32:54

time. We don't

32:57

know. All

32:59

we know is that his talents and his

33:01

character demand that

33:04

he gets more than he's gotten.

33:07

Why not?

33:10

Those are questions for everybody else to answer.

33:13

I don't know. All I know is the text

33:15

that I received that was confirmed about three or four people.

33:20

That's all I know. And

33:22

by the way, saying somebody's not liked is not slander

33:26

I think Isaiah Thomas is a great man

33:29

who's accomplished great things. I

33:32

can assure you he's not liked by everybody.

33:35

That's not slanderous. It

33:38

really isn't a

33:42

lot of stuff to get into and not

33:44

next segment, and

33:47

I definitely will do that. There's

33:52

so much to get into. Nigro

33:54

leagues that's next on my mind.

33:57

We'll talk about that next right here on the Steven

33:59

Naspip Show of the that Ju Lewis's YouTube back one morning

34:01

minute. Okay,

34:08

everybody, you know what tom it is. It's time for Steven A's

34:11

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to one hundred dollars. Today.

35:02

However, I'm not selecting a sport.

35:05

Since we are coming off the Memorial

35:08

Day holiday. You got me to thinking about

35:10

being outside and cooking on the barbecue grill,

35:12

you know, what I mean. So I'm choosing more or less

35:14

than what twenty

35:17

and I have hot dogs eating

35:20

during the year twenty point five, to be

35:22

exact, That's what I said. Here's

35:24

my thinking. If you had asked me this question

35:27

a year ago, considering

35:30

my habits, my lack of good health,

35:33

my bad eating habits, and all of that stuff, how

35:35

many times I showed up at Madison Square Garden because I love

35:37

the hot dog with the soud crowd stuff like that. When

35:40

I'm home, I like to bake, I like to toast the bun,

35:42

put little man in a little ketchup, little soud crowd on

35:44

it, the whole bit. You know what I'm saying. You had asked

35:47

me that over a year ago, I

35:49

might have give you a different answer than I'm about to give you. But

35:52

a brother in shape these days, lost some weight, looking

35:54

in shape, feeling good, you know.

35:57

So I'm gonna have to go with less on

35:59

this one, less than

36:01

twenty and a half hot dogs

36:04

twenty point five less because

36:07

I'm about my health, about good

36:09

health, you know what I'm saying. Welcome

36:15

back to Stephen A. Smithshow right here over the digital airwaves

36:17

of YouTube. I want to get into a little baseball

36:20

where you don't have to be a fan to know that

36:23

integrating the Negro league stats into the overall

36:25

record books actually do matter.

36:28

Well.

36:28

It finally happened this week. Josh

36:31

Gibson, one of the greatest sluggers in the history of the

36:33

Negro leagues, is now listed as

36:35

Major League Baseball's new all time

36:37

career leader in bad and average. His

36:40

three seventy two career batting average moves him ahead

36:42

of Ty Cobb, who had a three to sixty seven

36:44

batting average. The MLB website

36:47

also shows Gibson overtaking Babe

36:49

Ruth in Korea slugging percentage.

36:52

Joining me to discuss this historic moment in

36:54

a big is a Baseball Writer's Association

36:57

of America Hall of Fame voter

37:00

and founder of the new website

37:02

mlbbro dot com, a

37:05

site that covers black and brown Major

37:07

leaguers. He was on a review committee for Negro

37:09

League stats, and he's a co host of

37:11

The Odd Couple with My Man, Christopher

37:14

Bussad on Fox Sports Radio. Ladies

37:16

and gentlemen, you know him as my friend, you

37:19

know him as a contemporary and a colleague.

37:21

Which you may not know is that We're

37:23

so close over the last thirty years.

37:26

I'm about to interview the godfather

37:29

of my daughter, the one and only Rob

37:31

Parker. What's going on, big

37:33

time? How are you man? How's everything man?

37:36

Steve? It is great to be on your show.

37:38

Thanks for having me. And how's

37:41

Nyla doing?

37:42

Matter of fact, she's

37:46

a nightmare. She's a nightmare, that's what she is.

37:48

Roight.

37:48

Let me.

37:48

She's a teenager. You know what, Hans Samantha

37:51

hauns Samantha. Teenagers. They're terrorists,

37:53

that's what they are. They terrorize their father, They lifted

37:56

terrorize their father at every turn. I'm

37:58

still trying to handle it, man, two teenage

38:00

daughters. Okay, I'm shocked, and I'm still alive

38:03

and walking up right. I ain't gonna lie to you.

38:06

Hey, it's a blessing.

38:08

And every time I get a chance to see Nyla,

38:10

you know, it means the world to me. She

38:13

came to my party for the

38:16

high school Hall of Fame.

38:17

That was awesome. I loved seeing her. We took

38:20

a great picture together. So it's so great.

38:22

Do you know she used you just a couple

38:24

of weeks ago, Rob, She said that she wanted

38:27

to go on vacation, and if I didn't let her go, she

38:29

was gonna call and tell you.

38:30

Did you know that? Oh see good,

38:32

I'm glad you better send her on vacation. Everything.

38:38

So I'm getting tired. I'm getting blackmailed by my teenage

38:41

daughter. But but we have to move on. We'll talk about her

38:43

another time. They talk about her.

38:45

Now.

38:45

You know I'm in love with her. You know she gets practically

38:48

anything she wants. You know, she drives me crazy. But let's

38:50

get to this baseball story. This is a big deal.

38:52

Rob you on the stat Review committee

38:54

to get this historic moment done. What's

38:56

their resistance from Major League

38:58

Baseball? Can you tell us that, no,

39:01

there wasn't resistance.

39:02

It was really about just authenticating

39:05

the number, Steve, to go back through the accounts

39:07

of the games. You know which statue

39:10

could count, which ones you probably

39:12

couldn't rely on to try to get

39:14

an accurate number. I mean, this was a real

39:17

testament by Major League Baseball to

39:21

correct the wrong. This was never

39:24

about a skills barrier, Steve,

39:27

this is about a color barrier. We

39:29

already know three of the greatest baseball

39:32

players who ever played played

39:34

in the Negro League.

39:35

When you talk about Hank Aaron.

39:36

And Willie Mays and Jackie

39:39

Robinson, they all played in the Negro League.

39:42

I mean, there's no doubt about the

39:44

talent.

39:44

Satchel Page came and played in the major leagues

39:47

when he was in his fifties and was still

39:49

good, you know what I mean.

39:50

So this was never about skill.

39:52

This was just racism that stopped

39:55

these guys from being able to compete

39:57

and play in the Major League.

39:59

Was it.

40:01

Collective racism? Did you attribute

40:03

this to that a former commissioner

40:06

Kennishaw or Landers, you know Mountain

40:08

Landers? Was it somebody else? Is

40:10

then an individual that stands out in your

40:13

mind from a historical perspective, rob because

40:15

I know you're in the story and on the sport of baseball. Is

40:17

there in this story? Is there a figure that stands

40:19

out in your mind that was most responsible

40:22

for negating the recognition of marvelous

40:25

African Americans who played in the sport

40:27

in the Negro leagues, like the Satul Pages

40:30

of the world, like the Josh Gibson of the world and

40:32

others. Somebody stand out in your mind?

40:34

Well, I mean, when you talk about Mountain Landers whose

40:36

name has been removed off of trophies,

40:39

and baseball has tried

40:41

to clean up.

40:43

You know, it's passed. It's an ugly past.

40:46

We know it.

40:47

It went on. It was the law of the

40:49

land and how people reacted and what I mean

40:51

the law.

40:52

People just accepted it and allowed

40:54

it to happen without standing up and saying

40:57

this is wrong.

40:58

And we know that

41:01

it changed baseball.

41:02

We don't know what Babe Ruth would have done had

41:05

he played against black or brown players during

41:07

his day. You can't hold it against Babe Ruth

41:10

because that was what he had to play against.

41:12

But it would have been interesting to see these

41:14

guys if they would have played during

41:16

that era. And you know, Steve, they used

41:19

to bondstorm and play All Star games

41:21

against the Babe Roots and the Lou Garrigs

41:24

and the Negro league players.

41:26

They held their own. They won plenty of games.

41:28

It wasn't like they got whitewashed

41:30

or beat up forty nine nothing.

41:32

You know, it couldn't compete.

41:34

So it's a shame that we didn't

41:36

get to see these guys compete

41:39

during that time on the major

41:41

league level. But I love what major League

41:43

Baseball is doing. Steve, you could have easily

41:45

tried to clean this up.

41:47

Hey, hand out some checks.

41:49

There are only three alive living

41:52

former negro leaguers. You could

41:54

have paid them off here some money, thanks

41:57

whatever, and move on. But Baseball

41:59

didn't do this. They've muddied the water by

42:01

doing this. And I'm sure there are plenty of fans who

42:04

aren't happy with the idea that Josh

42:07

Gibson now has the record

42:10

for the greatest batting average in the Major

42:12

leagues and its.

42:13

Not ty Cops. This is brown breaking

42:15

and earth shattering.

42:16

And not just that the three seventy two batting average

42:18

you just alluded to for Josh Gibson that's now in the record

42:20

books of passing ty Cops three sixty sevens

42:23

when Negro leaguers records for more than

42:26

twenty three hundred players were incorporated Tuesday

42:28

after three year research projects.

42:30

So let's point that out there. Gibson also became

42:33

the career leader and slugging percentage at seven eighteen

42:36

on base plus slugging percentage at one point

42:38

one seven seven, moving ahead of Babe Ruth

42:40

by the way, in both categories.

42:43

That alone should tell us what this

42:45

ruling means, what this decision rather will

42:48

mean for the history of the game, but

42:50

to elaborate on it more extensively, What do

42:53

you believe it will do for the history of the game.

42:55

I think it will give the Negro League players

42:57

their rifle place and their honor

43:00

for their talent and skill that

43:03

was ignored and maybe acted as if it didn't

43:05

happen. It happened, and these

43:07

guys were really good Hall

43:09

of Fame caliber players, not every single

43:12

one of them, but there were a lot of great players

43:14

who never got that opportunity that

43:17

Hank Aaron and Jackie

43:19

Robinson and Willie Mays

43:22

got. And you know, those guys are some of the greatest

43:24

players who ever played. So it's a shame,

43:27

but I'm glad they get being recognized

43:29

more with than just a plaque or

43:31

some statue somewhere. But these

43:34

are numbers that for years, for

43:36

in the history of this country, that people will be able

43:38

to look at and take a look at and say,

43:41

these guys.

43:41

Were talented and they deserve their praise.

43:44

I love what baseball's done here.

43:46

Refresher I memory. Rob Parker used to

43:48

write for the Cincinnati Enquirer, You wrote

43:50

for New York Newsday, You wrote for the Detroit Free

43:52

Press and the Detroit News. He had a local

43:54

radio show in Detroit. You've been covering

43:56

baseball for more than three decades. Obviously,

43:59

you are columnists in Cincinnati. You wrote a

44:01

lot about the Reds. You are a columnist in Detroit,

44:03

you wrote a lot about the Detroit

44:06

Targets. You were a columnists in New York. You wrote a

44:08

lot about the Yankees and the Mets. And

44:10

obviously you have a Hall of Fame vote, and

44:13

we don't have too many African Americans in

44:15

that position. Speak about

44:17

your experience covering

44:20

Major League baseball all of these years,

44:23

and what that was like for a black man

44:25

to be doing it, and why that makes a daylight

44:27

today so special in your eyes for

44:30

me.

44:30

Steves, thirty eight years I've been

44:32

covering Major League Baseball. My first

44:35

World Series was the nineteen eighty six

44:37

World Series when the ball went under

44:39

Bill Buckler's legs. Can you imagine being

44:41

a twenty two year old kid who

44:44

grew up in Queens as a Mets fan, you

44:46

know, taking a number seven train in the

44:48

Shay Stadium and I'm in the ballpark

44:51

for that game. I'm a Daily

44:53

News staff writer twenty

44:55

two doing baseball sidebars

44:58

at the World series.

44:59

So baseball is a part of my DNA.

45:01

You know, I've covered the NBA and the NFL for a

45:03

long time as well, but major League

45:05

Baseball is my lifeline,

45:08

is my true love. And

45:11

when I went to Cincinnati to cover the Cincinnati

45:14

Reds in nineteen ninety one,

45:16

the Cincinnati Reds are the oldest franchise

45:18

in the history of American sports, So

45:21

that's a story franchise. And

45:23

I was the first black reporter

45:26

to cover the Reds on a regular basis.

45:29

It was a big deal when they hired me, and

45:31

it was to me one

45:34

of the crowning moments of my career.

45:36

I enjoyed every single.

45:37

Minute of it.

45:39

The people of Cincinnati, they loved baseball,

45:41

they loved the way I covered it. I

45:44

had to deal with marg Shot.

45:45

You remember the owner, March Shot.

45:47

Steavey, Remember her with her

45:49

racist tendencies. Remember that, no.

45:52

Doubt about it.

45:53

She was forced to sell her team because

45:55

of the issues that she had when it came to

45:58

race and the stuff that she said. In

46:00

fact, Steve, here's a great story about me and

46:02

Cincinnati. So I wrote a column

46:04

saying she was running the Reds like a mom in

46:06

pop store. She didn't like the column,

46:09

so she had me banned from

46:11

eating in the press dining room. Right, So

46:14

the players found out that she banned

46:16

me from meeting. You know, when you cover baseball, you're

46:18

there from four to midnight

46:20

or twelve thirty. And so

46:23

Eric Davis was a star center fielder for

46:25

the Reds. He found out that

46:28

she banned me from the press dining room.

46:30

So recovering the game at Old Riverfront,

46:32

there's a knock at the door in the press box and

46:35

a pizza delivery guy says,

46:37

hey, is there Rob Parker here?

46:39

And I'm like, I'm sitting in the first row. I'm like,

46:41

yeah, I'm here. He comes down.

46:43

He delivers this pizza to me, and I'm like,

46:45

what is this? He says, Eric Davis

46:48

called and had this delivered to you.

46:50

Can you imagine Stephen this day and age,

46:53

a player sending

46:55

a pizza to a sports writer, you know,

46:58

making.

46:58

Sure I had something to eat? And

47:01

I'll always remember that.

47:02

It spoke volumes of Eric Davis, where

47:05

we were and reporter player

47:07

relationships. They respected the job

47:09

that we did. But my time in Cincinnati,

47:12

although it was briefed two years, was

47:14

one of the highlights of my career. I enjoyed

47:17

covering baseball every day.

47:19

One of the things that really bothered me about and

47:21

I said this this morning on my day job, on first

47:23

Take on ESPN, I

47:26

said, listen, I'm happy for the family of

47:28

Josh Gibson and any of the Negro

47:30

leaguas out there because of their ancestry

47:33

and how they're going to enjoy this moment of

47:35

recognition and what have you. But I get

47:37

so sick and tired of so

47:39

many of us being acknowledged

47:42

posthumously. It really rakes my nerves

47:44

because I think that it highlights and speaks

47:48

to the dereliction of morals, to be quite

47:50

honest with you, exercised by

47:53

some white individuals and position of power

47:55

who collectively went about the business

47:57

of trying to deny history facts

48:01

in the record books. And so I look

48:04

at it sort of bittersweet. As mad

48:06

Dog Russo said on first Take this morning, better

48:08

late than never, we understand that,

48:10

but it's still comes with the

48:12

level of frustration. Am

48:14

I wrong to feel that way, Rob?

48:17

Not at all?

48:17

And I get it.

48:18

I shouldn't always be after

48:20

the fact, or when people are gone and they don't

48:23

have a chance to relish

48:25

in those moments, and you

48:27

know those things are very special. You know that

48:30

people going into the Baseball Hall of Fame you want

48:32

to see that, you want to feel that, you

48:35

want to experience that. Those

48:37

things are precious in life. And

48:39

it's cool for the family. But for

48:41

all those guys who are long gone, you

48:44

know, they don't get to see this. I'm sure this is

48:47

amazing to Willie made who's

48:49

one of the three remaining Negro league

48:51

players. He's ninety three years old. On

48:54

June twentieth, Steve I

48:56

will be in Birmingham. Matter of fact, my site

48:59

MLB brought dot will be covering the event.

49:01

The Cardinals and the Giants will be playing

49:04

a Major League game at the oldest

49:06

stadium, Rickwood. Rickwood,

49:09

a Negro league stadium, is the oldest

49:11

stadium in the country in Birmingham,

49:13

Alabama. Will have a Major

49:15

League game there. Steve an intimate crowd

49:18

of about eleven or twelve thousand seats,

49:21

and Willy Mays played there

49:23

in the Negro Leagues, and it would be great

49:26

if Willy Mays is healthy and

49:28

able to travel to Birmingham,

49:31

Alabama at ninety.

49:32

Three years old and be able to be a part of it.

49:34

It will be a special, special moment,

49:37

and I love that Major League Baseball is honoring

49:39

the Negro leagues with a real game

49:42

at a at a Negro League ballplint.

49:44

From my apologies to Major League Baseball

49:46

and specifically commissioned to Rob Manfred. They

49:49

wanted me there, they wanted me to bring to your first take

49:51

there, but as you know, I'll be covering the NBA

49:53

Finals, so it was something that I couldn't commit to.

49:55

And I really really wanted to be on behalf of

49:57

the sport and forming a NEGA

50:00

league players and all the stuff that it entails, because

50:02

I think it would be an historic moment. So I'm

50:04

happy that you're going to be there. I'm really really

50:06

happy about that. Let me before I'll let you get

50:08

on out of here.

50:09

Man.

50:09

You know you've got a website to spotlight and

50:11

players of color in Major

50:14

League Baseball. Talk to us about that for a

50:16

second here and let it give somebody give us all some insight

50:18

about that.

50:19

Mlbbro dot com. We've been up

50:21

and running steam for four years. This

50:24

has been a brainchild of mine. It's twofold.

50:27

I wanted to make sure that we cover the black

50:29

players who are these guys, where

50:31

did they come from? Their lover baseball

50:34

make sure that we give them a shine and a spotlight.

50:37

Also, we also take a look back. We

50:39

do a thing called a bro You need to know where

50:42

we go back and we do features

50:44

on past players because we don't want that

50:46

to be lost in our culture. Who are

50:48

these great players, what did they do, Where'd

50:51

they come from? You know, and stuff

50:53

like that. We started with fourteen

50:56

people on this website

50:58

in.

50:58

Twenty twenty one.

51:00

We're now Steve up to eighty staffers,

51:03

many young brothers and sisters

51:05

who love the game and Steve.

51:08

It warms my heart every time

51:10

I get an email from a kid,

51:13

a young black kid who's in college, who

51:15

says, hey, Rob, can you teach me

51:17

how to cover baseball? And they

51:19

join the website. They do social media

51:22

videos, they write stories, they

51:24

go to the ballpark. So Major

51:26

League Baseball joined in with us last

51:28

year and partner. So

51:31

far, content now has appeared on MLB

51:33

Network, MLB

51:35

dot Com.

51:36

Steve to give these guys.

51:39

Some shine and the big thing is covering

51:42

the black players in the Major League but also

51:44

developing the next generation of

51:47

black baseball writers, broadcasters

51:49

and content creators and That's

51:51

the big issue for me is I want

51:54

to make sure when there's a baseball job opening

51:56

Saint Louis, that we have a brother or

51:58

a sister who's interested in love the game,

52:00

who has an opportunity maybe to get that job.

52:03

Rob Parker, before I let you get on out

52:05

of here, your concern for

52:08

the number of black players in Major

52:10

League Baseball. Last time I checked, it was at about six

52:13

or seven percent. I imagine that the numbers

52:15

are getting better. I love the changes

52:17

that Rob Manfred has incorporated

52:19

and implemented, starting with what's going on in the

52:21

minor league system and some of the things they've done

52:23

with the pitch count, the raising of the mound, you

52:25

know, taking the you know, nullifying some of those shifts,

52:27

those dramatic shift positions and what have you. I

52:30

love some of the changes that it's made because I think

52:32

it's invited more athleticism back

52:34

to the sport of baseball, which I think is

52:36

going to be a great, great thing, and as a result,

52:39

you're going to see black individuals participating

52:42

in the sport even more. I think it's going to be beneficial.

52:44

That's my take.

52:45

What about yours, absolutely

52:47

and the minor leagues.

52:48

There are plenty of black young black players

52:50

feed down in the minor league. So we've

52:53

seen that the shift and people

52:55

started getting back into baseball. We lost our

52:57

way for a while and kids weren't

52:59

interested and the game was too long and

53:01

too drawn out.

53:02

And the changes have definitely helped baseball.

53:05

I mean, I don't know.

53:07

I've been to games two hours and three

53:09

minutes, and sometime when it's all over, I go, I

53:12

don't feel like I ever went out.

53:13

You know, like I even did anything.

53:15

And it moves along and it still feels

53:17

good, not like it was bastardized.

53:20

At first, I was against it. I thought they were trying

53:22

to make the game for people who didn't like baseball.

53:25

But I think it's been a good thing by

53:27

Major League Baseball, and I think.

53:29

It's going to go to sport.

53:30

We're seeing some we get Let's say, let's

53:32

talk about major League baseball real quick. Two

53:34

of the top three players in the

53:36

game are black. Okay, we know

53:39

Shoe hal Time right the best

53:41

player pitcher and hit her. Okay,

53:43

we give show Hey the top spot. We got

53:45

Mookie Bets's number two and Aaron Judges

53:47

number three. So two of the top three

53:50

players in the game are black. So let's

53:52

make sure that we understand that baseball

53:54

has always been our game, always been

53:56

a part of our culture and our fabric,

53:59

and I want black kids to know that, embrace

54:02

it and play more than one sport.

54:04

Stop letting these AAU coaches and

54:06

people tell you you.

54:07

Can't do it.

54:08

Kyler Murray, first round draft

54:11

pick in the NFL first round

54:13

draft player.

54:13

Baseball, Major League baseball.

54:15

All right, that's the first time it ever happened

54:17

in the history of sports. And guess what, it

54:20

happened four or five years ago, not one hundred

54:22

years ago. It can be done if

54:25

you apply yourself and give yourself

54:27

another option other than just one sport.

54:30

Well, just well, you're you're practicing what you preach,

54:32

because just like you don't want players to limit themselves

54:34

to one sport, particularly if it's not baseball,

54:36

you playing basketball, football, you definitely want them to try

54:39

baseball as well. It's a lot of money in that, by

54:41

the way, too. If you can ball in your last long enough

54:43

through that monor of league system, ain't no question that

54:45

it could be beneficial for you financially. But

54:47

I'm bringing that up to say you also

54:50

are set to launch sports rap

54:53

radio. I mean, you don't

54:55

stop. You don't stop. You own a barber

54:57

shop, you had a hot dog stand. I

54:59

mean, every time I turn around

55:01

as the entrepreneur, you're doing something, and

55:03

now here you come set to launch

55:06

sports rap radio. I'm

55:09

talking about that's hip hop intertwined

55:12

with sports. Explain this, Rob, Explain

55:14

this, Steve, this

55:17

is.

55:17

My latest baby. We launched June

55:20

third. On this coming Monday in Detroit.

55:23

We will be the first all

55:25

black sports talk radio station in the

55:28

country. And you notice, Steve, you've worked

55:30

in sports talk radio and oftentimes

55:33

you know there just aren't enough of

55:36

us black people who are behind the mic

55:38

telling our story about our athletes.

55:41

And in Detroit about four years ago, and

55:43

Steve, you used to come to Detroit fill

55:45

in for me on my own show with the Man

55:47

Mark Wilson is today in Detroit.

55:50

Am I right, Yes, you did.

55:52

I did it a couple of times.

55:53

Absolutely, And I want you to know

55:56

four years ago, the sports station

55:58

in Detroit had zero zero old black hosty

56:02

zero in a city that's eighty

56:04

percent black.

56:05

I want to change that.

56:07

So I'm putting together this

56:10

radio station that we launch will

56:12

give opportunities to young brothers

56:14

and sisters.

56:15

Who want to have a career in sports

56:18

talk radio.

56:19

And my big dream is

56:21

that we create a network and then

56:24

sports Rap Radio will be a network

56:27

and there'll be a station in Philadelphia and

56:29

then.

56:29

Baltimore and d C.

56:31

And Houston and New York

56:34

and all these cities where black people love

56:36

sports talk, the barber shop talk.

56:39

You know that in first take that

56:41

kind of style on the radio.

56:44

So we're gonna do it here in Detroit, lay down the

56:46

blueprint for everybody else, and we want

56:48

everybody else to support us and.

56:50

To join in.

56:51

But sports rap radio is going

56:54

to be the next thing. And I've never

56:56

felt better about

56:58

a situation on opportunity, and I'm

57:00

thrilled about it.

57:01

Well, you know, I'm proud of you.

57:03

You know, I love you.

57:03

Know I'm happy for you. I'm happy for the odd couple.

57:05

You and my brother Christopher russaw y'all got a

57:07

great radio show. Keep doing the great

57:10

work. You know, I've always been here for you. You've certainly always

57:12

been there for me. You help me get my career started. For crying

57:14

out loud, love your mischeon. Looking forward

57:16

to talking to you and seeing you but I'm real proud and

57:18

that you're doing what you're doing with the sports Rap radio,

57:21

with the mlbbro dot Com, And obviously

57:23

I felt it was important to have you,

57:25

of all people on this particular subject

57:28

in regards to Major League Baseball and the

57:30

Negro leagues finally being recognized

57:33

in the history books. If anybody was

57:35

qualified to talk about this, it would be the one

57:37

and only Rob Parker. Appreciate your big

57:39

time. I'll talk to you sooner, right, CA.

57:41

Thank you so much, and you know I love you, man,

57:43

and I'm proud of you.

57:45

And I still remember the first time we met in nineteen

57:47

ninety two in this city in

57:49

Detroit at the NABJ convention,

57:52

and.

57:52

You came over.

57:53

They brought you over to my table and you

57:55

said you wanted to be a sports writer.

57:58

I'll never forget that day and the heights

58:00

that you've grown to and what you've done. I'm

58:02

proud every day. So I'm thrilled for

58:05

you. Nobody works harder

58:07

and nobody cares more than you.

58:09

So I appreciate you.

58:10

Thanks you a loving my brother. I taught you sooner right, I'll give

58:12

you a call later. You take it easy, okay, Steve, thank

58:14

you all right, the one and only Rob

58:16

Parker right here on the stephen A. Smith

58:19

Show over the digital airways of YouTube. Yes he works

58:21

for the other network. I don't give a damn. It's one of my best

58:23

friends on the planet. Okay, just as is

58:25

the case with Christopher Bussard and all of that stuff.

58:27

It's my channel, so you guess what my boy's

58:30

gonna be on from time to time. Just get the hell over

58:32

it, Okay. I wanted to transition

58:35

before I go to break about something that's

58:38

going on. It's called the Next Step Coaching

58:40

Initiative. Now what am I talking about,

58:42

Ladies and gentlemen? Before I go to break, I

58:44

want to give props to Pittsburgh Steelers head

58:47

coach Mike Tomlin in the NFL, of course, the

58:49

University of North Carolina Central basketball coach

58:51

Lavelle Moulton. Both men have

58:53

partnered up to create the Next Up Coaches

58:56

Initiative. It's a program designed

58:58

to help the development and advancement

59:00

of black coaches in college sports. The

59:03

program actually starts

59:05

tomorrow. That's why I brought it up.

59:07

I met coach Molten because

59:10

CP three, Chris Paul, the

59:12

point God himself. He and I collaborated

59:15

on the docu series a little over a year

59:17

ago, Why Not Us, and

59:19

it was highlighting the basketball

59:22

program at an HBCU known as North

59:24

Carolina Central, And through

59:26

that experience, I got to know coach

59:29

Lavelle Moulton, who I happened to believe is an

59:31

exceptional coach personally speaking, even

59:33

though the coach at North Carolina, you

59:36

know, North Carolina State and Raleigh did a damn

59:38

good job of getting them to the Final Four this year. I'm

59:40

one of those people who always fell a molten From

59:42

the moment I met him, I said, why is it this guy coaching at

59:44

North Carolina State? That's where he should

59:46

be. I know, you ain't gonna get to

59:49

Chapel Hill because they only hire their own. You

59:51

had to go to that school to be the head coach of

59:53

that basketball program, and Hubant Davis has obviously

59:55

done a phenomenal job. But I think that Lavell

59:57

Molton, if you put him in a position where

1:00:00

he had an opportunity to be a part

1:00:03

of a program that had the resources

1:00:05

to really capitalize off of, I think he'd do

1:00:08

an even greater job than he's done in North Carolina

1:00:10

Central. Nevertheless, his hard is always

1:00:12

in the right place. And obviously we

1:00:14

all know what Mike Tea Mike Tomlin brings to the

1:00:16

table as an outstanding coach and a champion

1:00:19

as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Considering

1:00:22

his tenure in the league seventeen years now that Bill

1:00:24

Belichick to step away, if I remember correctly, he's got

1:00:26

the longest tenure of a head coach international

1:00:28

football league. And it's just

1:00:30

amazing to me. And I felt it was an opportunity

1:00:33

to give props to two guys that

1:00:35

never failed to reach back and then extend a

1:00:37

help in hand to those less fortunate than themselves,

1:00:40

particularly and those aspiring

1:00:42

to be in their profession. So that's what this

1:00:45

is about. And I just wanted to make sure that everybody

1:00:47

knew it, everybody recognized that everybody was aware

1:00:50

of exactly what's transpiring, and to let

1:00:52

them know I'm wishing them nothing but the best and as

1:00:54

always, they have my support.

1:00:57

So I just wanted to make sure that we did

1:00:59

that all right. Coming up, Draymond Green

1:01:02

and yours truly buried the hatchet,

1:01:04

per se. More sol credit to Draymond

1:01:06

Green than myself. I'll tell you why up next,

1:01:09

So please stay right there in a minute, don't

1:01:11

go away. You're listening to steven a right

1:01:13

here and steven A. Smith Show over the Digital Airs.

1:01:15

YouTube back for more in a minute. Oh

1:01:21

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1:02:29

Stephen A.

1:02:30

Smith really pissed me off.

1:02:32

And the reason he pissed me off was because he hit

1:02:35

me and he's like, yo, it's been hard

1:02:37

for a lot of us to talk about you these last few

1:02:39

few days. And you

1:02:43

know, for me, I'm like, Okay,

1:02:47

it's been hard for me to watch, but

1:02:50

I'm watching it because I want to see everything that

1:02:52

everybody have to say. I know you got a job to do.

1:02:54

I know you gotta do your thing and say

1:02:56

what you gotta say. But now, at one point, did you say,

1:02:58

well, y'all are saying this person is

1:03:03

and this person needs help. Now I know the

1:03:05

person. Say what you want about the basketball

1:03:07

player, that's fine, but

1:03:10

I know the person. And by the way, it just

1:03:12

wasn't him to sit back and see

1:03:15

those that claim to know

1:03:17

and appreciate me as a human being. Just

1:03:20

flow with the narrative because it was easy

1:03:23

to do. I lost

1:03:25

a lot of respect for a lot of people.

1:03:27

Welcome back to Steven A. Spienshaw right here over the digital

1:03:29

airways of YouTube. That

1:03:31

was Draymond Green. A couple of weeks ago, Draymond

1:03:34

Green did to go to State Warriors on The Big podcast

1:03:36

hosted by Shaquille O'Neil. During

1:03:38

the interview, you heard him express his disappointment

1:03:41

that, you know, in terms

1:03:43

of his feelings, that I never stood up for him during the times

1:03:45

he's gotten himself into trouble on the basketball

1:03:47

court, or at least that one particular time. I

1:03:50

took exception to that because in

1:03:53

my mind, I've been one of the few in the media

1:03:55

who's repeatedly come to Draymond's defense when

1:03:57

others have it.

1:03:59

Well.

1:04:00

Last night, Draymond was on TNTs inside

1:04:02

the NBA and he

1:04:04

took the time to say this. He

1:04:06

said quote, I said something that

1:04:09

didn't come out the way I meant it. So I want

1:04:11

to apologize to stephen A. Smith. I said

1:04:13

it publicly. I want to apologize

1:04:15

publicly the way I meant for it

1:04:17

to come out. It didn't, so I was wrong

1:04:19

for that. I do apologize. You

1:04:22

know, I'm not the most

1:04:24

sentimental figure in the world. I ain't confront.

1:04:27

You know.

1:04:28

But it meant a lot

1:04:30

to me that

1:04:32

Draymond did that, and

1:04:35

I really really appreciate it, and

1:04:38

I'm very grateful to him that

1:04:40

he was classy enough to do that. That

1:04:43

he's the Draymond Green that I know and love. And

1:04:49

you know, when he did it, it shocked me. It surprised

1:04:51

me, but it meant a lot

1:04:53

to me because Draymond Green means a lot to me. You

1:04:56

know, when you cover sports, everybody

1:04:59

tried to act like you're supposed to have this

1:05:02

neutral position at all times, and

1:05:06

I have a philosophy that I have religiously

1:05:09

held onto my entire career. I'm

1:05:13

very objective and neutral when it comes to

1:05:15

your performance, not

1:05:18

to who you are. If

1:05:21

I don't know you, I don't know you. But

1:05:24

if I know you and you mean

1:05:26

something to me, you matter more

1:05:29

than somebody that I don't know that

1:05:31

doesn't mean as much to me. And

1:05:36

when I thought about what Draymond said, I'm

1:05:42

the relationship that I have with Draymond Green. Who

1:05:45

knows when we'll talk again. He's busy, I'm busy,

1:05:47

and you know, he probably still

1:05:49

is upsetting his own way even with the apology,

1:05:52

and I respect that, and I firmly

1:05:54

believe I didn't

1:05:56

really do anything wrong because I've always

1:05:58

spoken up for him. Is just that after the Rudy

1:06:01

Gobert and then the uh

1:06:03

use of Nurkic slapped inside

1:06:06

of a month, there's but so

1:06:08

much defending you can do when you're always coming to

1:06:10

the defense of somebody. But

1:06:14

as I watched him last night giving

1:06:18

that apology, I

1:06:21

didn't feel this need

1:06:24

to pat myself on the back, like, yeah, I was

1:06:26

right. I felt humbled

1:06:28

because I started thinking about Alan Iverson.

1:06:32

And I remember when I was in Philadelphia righting

1:06:34

for the Philadelphia Choirer, and Alan Iverson

1:06:38

had gotten himself into some issues with the

1:06:41

seventy six ers, his second stint with the

1:06:43

seventy six ers, and I

1:06:46

had to write a column about

1:06:50

Alan Iverson getting himself in trouble, and

1:06:54

basically I didn't give ninety

1:06:56

nine percent of the details. I basically just said,

1:06:58

you can't be out partying, and and

1:07:02

Alan Iverson was so furious and was so hurt.

1:07:04

We didn't talk for almost two years, and

1:07:06

by this time he had left the NBA, but he was living

1:07:08

in Atlanta, and I was hearing stuff

1:07:11

like, yo, man, it's so bad that if y'all run

1:07:13

across one another, it's gonna be volatile. And

1:07:16

when I heard that, I

1:07:19

contacted a couple of my boys and

1:07:23

I told him to meet me in Atlanta because I was

1:07:25

flying down because

1:07:28

the truth of the matter is, and it's something that I never really

1:07:30

talk about. I have boys everywhere, so

1:07:34

it ain't a city that I have

1:07:36

any reason to be hesitant to go to if I need

1:07:38

to go there. And when

1:07:41

I went there, we finally Gary

1:07:43

Moore made sure Allan Iverson

1:07:45

was there. Me and my boys,

1:07:48

Mark Stevens and a few others made sure we

1:07:50

were there. And me and Alan sat

1:07:52

down, and me and Ai sat down, and

1:07:56

within two minutes he silenced

1:07:59

me because

1:08:01

I was busy trying to explain what

1:08:03

did I do wrong? And

1:08:06

he says, stephen A, I

1:08:08

don't give a shit about none of that. People

1:08:11

have said a hundred times or worse

1:08:13

about me than what you wrote. It

1:08:16

wasn't what you said, it

1:08:18

was that it.

1:08:19

Came from you.

1:08:22

And at that moment, I realized more

1:08:26

was expected of me because

1:08:29

I knew him in ways he didn't allow most

1:08:31

people to know him. And

1:08:34

when I saw Draymond last night apologize

1:08:38

on national television to me and

1:08:42

I thought about what he said and how it had piggybacked

1:08:45

off of what Kenny Smith said and what Charles

1:08:47

Barkley had said, it

1:08:50

was like a flashball lit up in my head

1:08:54

with that essentially was what Draymond was saying.

1:08:58

I know him in ways most

1:09:00

people in the media do not know him.

1:09:04

I know what was going on with Draymond Green

1:09:07

when he hit Jordan Poole. I

1:09:09

know what was going on in Dreymond Green's

1:09:12

life when the Rudy Gobert's

1:09:14

situation happened, when the use of NURKD stuff

1:09:16

happened. I know what was going

1:09:18

on in Dreymond Green's life and some of his high

1:09:21

moments and some of his low moments because

1:09:25

he's allowed me to

1:09:27

know him in ways that most people.

1:09:31

Do not.

1:09:34

And that's what he was talking about. And

1:09:37

I didn't see it until

1:09:39

he apologized last night, when

1:09:43

he was going off on Shaq's podcast

1:09:45

about how he was pissed off. My initial

1:09:47

reactionment, what the hell you talking about been

1:09:50

defending you for years? What the hell are you talking about?

1:09:52

When KD sat up there after you slapped Nurkic

1:09:54

and he was like, I hope you get the help he needs. I called

1:09:56

out KD, who I loved, because I was

1:09:58

like, i'k wrong with you. You don't do that to a black

1:10:00

man. You don't do that to him. You know what anger

1:10:03

manage men, and you know the mental

1:10:05

stoff and what that connotates and how

1:10:07

they'll depict us as black men when you do

1:10:10

that. You don't do that, KD. I

1:10:12

remember saying that. But

1:10:16

that particular day where

1:10:18

Jay Williams and others was going at Draymond,

1:10:20

I couldn't defend Raymond because another

1:10:22

incident had happened. And

1:10:26

I looked at him apologizing

1:10:28

last night, and I said, that's

1:10:31

what he was talking about. It

1:10:33

was Ai, just what AI

1:10:36

was talking about, And so

1:10:39

lesson learned. I

1:10:41

can sit here and look at Draymond Green apologizing

1:10:43

to me, but the reality of the situation is

1:10:46

as grateful as I am that he apologized,

1:10:49

because I have defended him on an ordinate

1:10:51

amount of occasions. The

1:10:53

bottom line is I

1:10:56

saw a brother that

1:10:59

knew that I knew

1:11:01

him, that knows that I know

1:11:03

him, that was expecting

1:11:05

more of me in that

1:11:08

moment. I

1:11:11

understand, and he had

1:11:13

a point, which is why

1:11:15

I immediately went on X and I said, not

1:11:17

only do I accept your apology, I apologize

1:11:20

for anything that I may have done. I'm

1:11:23

not perfect, y'all. I

1:11:25

just strive to be and

1:11:28

I know that regardless of how some people

1:11:30

may feel about me, my heart's in the right place and I

1:11:32

try to do the right things. I

1:11:35

don't portray people's trust. I don't portray

1:11:37

people. I'll tell you where I stand.

1:11:40

I ain't moving from that, and if I'm

1:11:42

right, I'm not budgeting. But

1:11:45

if I'm wrong, if moderations,

1:11:48

modifications or alterations need to

1:11:50

come along with my take on a particular something,

1:11:54

I accept it.

1:11:56

I get it.

1:11:58

And I just wanted to say

1:12:00

that about Dremond. We

1:12:03

are pretty close, we have been,

1:12:07

and there's things that he's let me know

1:12:09

about him and his life that you will never

1:12:11

hear, same as AI. You will never hear

1:12:13

because I don't break those trust. It

1:12:16

ain't happening. But

1:12:19

I understood where he was coming from. I

1:12:22

still contend. I've defended

1:12:24

and defended and defended him, but

1:12:27

when he was talking the shack and

1:12:29

when he was saying I really pissed him

1:12:31

off. And I was the name he called by

1:12:34

name. There's only one reason

1:12:36

my name came up. Because

1:12:38

he expected more from me and

1:12:42

he felt I let him down. If

1:12:45

I can't own that, then

1:12:48

I'm not being the Steven that y'all know me to be. So

1:12:52

that's a situation and move

1:12:54

on from here, and we

1:12:58

all need to do better. We can

1:13:00

talk about sports, we could disagree, we do a lot of different

1:13:02

things, but if you can't

1:13:04

man up to your mistakes, you

1:13:07

ain't a man. And

1:13:10

that's why I'm owning up to whatever mistakes I may

1:13:13

have made. And I applored

1:13:15

Draymond Green for doing the same. I love that brother.

1:13:18

I believe in him. I believe he's gonna be a star in this

1:13:20

business when his career is over. But

1:13:23

he still got some playing days ahead of him and

1:13:25

some games to win. I wish him nothing

1:13:27

but the best always, no matter

1:13:29

how often or how infrequent we talk,

1:13:32

I'm always have love for that brother. That's

1:13:35

where I'm at with it, playing

1:13:37

and simple, one quick

1:13:39

mention before we get on out of here for the day.

1:13:41

As many of you know, I'm

1:13:44

gonna cast my brother the daytime soap Opera

1:13:46

General Hospital. Actually have a recurring role. My

1:13:48

character's name is Brick. I'm a surveillance

1:13:50

expert for the mob. Show up a few times

1:13:53

a year on the soap opera General Hospital. Have been doing

1:13:55

that for the last seven years. Over

1:13:57

the weekend, I

1:13:59

was incredibly saddened to learn about the death

1:14:02

of castmate Johnny Whackter,

1:14:05

who was fatally shot and killed leaving

1:14:07

after leaving his job at a downtown La

1:14:10

bar. According to police,

1:14:12

the thirty seven year old actor was killed when

1:14:15

he interrupted three men who

1:14:17

were attempting to steal his vehicles. Catalytic

1:14:20

Converter. I only

1:14:22

met him a couple of times. Very

1:14:24

nice guy. His

1:14:26

name is Brando is on the show. I've

1:14:31

spoken to numerous cast members, particularly

1:14:33

executive producer Frank Valentini, who

1:14:36

was heartbroken. Of course, Maurice

1:14:38

Bernard to start the show, who plays Sonny

1:14:41

Carinhos on the soap Arba General

1:14:43

Hospital. So

1:14:46

much senseless violence is going

1:14:48

on in this world. They said

1:14:51

that Johnny never

1:14:53

really confronted the individuals.

1:14:55

He just said hey, They

1:14:58

turned around and shot him and

1:15:00

ran. Thirty

1:15:03

seven years of age, whole

1:15:05

life ahead of him, snatched

1:15:10

because somebody was trying to steal a converter

1:15:12

from his car. And

1:15:16

that's the world we're living in. It's

1:15:19

sad. I'm incredibly

1:15:22

sad over it. Again, I didn't know him

1:15:24

that well. I'm sad for the people on

1:15:26

General Hospital who did know him well, who

1:15:29

are heartbroken and heart stricken over his

1:15:31

murder. But our hearts should

1:15:34

go out, all of our hearts should go out

1:15:36

to his family members and everybody and to

1:15:39

this loss of life, this senseless loss of life.

1:15:42

I remember when that young kid that

1:15:45

used to be on the Steve Harvey Show, Romeo

1:15:47

played Romeo. I remember when he

1:15:49

was killed and Steve Harvey stormed off the

1:15:51

air talking about the senseless violence that

1:15:54

exist. It's been going on for

1:15:56

a long time, but it seems to be going on in

1:15:59

this day and age more than ever before. Senseless

1:16:02

violence mayhem.

1:16:06

People's definition of happiness seems

1:16:08

to be inflicting pain and misery upon

1:16:10

other people. And

1:16:13

until we get we come together and

1:16:16

figure out a way to eradicate these

1:16:18

kind of people from our society,

1:16:22

it's only gonna get worse. I

1:16:25

mean, at some point in time it

1:16:28

does get to a point where you got to be the bully on

1:16:30

the block. You

1:16:32

see people going to jail and getting out the

1:16:35

same day. That ain't

1:16:37

gonna suffice. You see

1:16:39

folks committing crimes and with operating

1:16:42

with impunity. That's gonna have to change. And

1:16:45

if you look and you monitor what's going on in

1:16:48

this election cycle, you see people

1:16:50

speaking about that. You see fears elevating,

1:16:52

You see a lot of stuff going on. You

1:16:55

find yourself wondering whether or not that's gonna show up at

1:16:57

the polls as well. What

1:16:59

else in the case may be something has to be done. Something

1:17:03

has to be done, because

1:17:06

the things that we're seeing are so hanged and so disgusting

1:17:08

and so ridiculous, it's

1:17:11

hard to justify it.

1:17:13

Truly, truly is my

1:17:16

condolences to the whack, the family, to

1:17:19

the General Hospital family, to

1:17:21

anybody who knew him, loved

1:17:23

him, cared for him. Totally

1:17:26

totally senseless getting off from

1:17:28

work, going to your car. Did

1:17:32

it ever occur to you, if you're the robber, if you're

1:17:34

the villain out, did did it ever occur to you? All you have to

1:17:36

do is point the gun and

1:17:39

keep it moving. You

1:17:42

didn't have to murder them. My

1:17:47

condolences yet

1:17:51

again over

1:17:53

senselessness. That's

1:17:57

it for today's show, ladies and gentlemen. I

1:18:00

normally take your tweets, but to be quite honest with you, after

1:18:02

that, I'm not even in the mood too. Hopefully

1:18:04

I'll be back in the better new mood in the next couple of days,

1:18:07

more festive mood, and we can

1:18:09

revisit our normal, normally

1:18:12

scheduled actions on

1:18:14

this show. Until then, I'm gonna get on out

1:18:16

of here, y'all. Peace of love, God bless

1:18:19

hold on to your loved ones in this day

1:18:21

and age. You never know how long that's

1:18:23

gonna be for. Unfortunately,

1:18:26

until next time, Peace of

1:18:28

love,