All Day Podcast
All Day Podcast: 3/15/17
New video in the Michael Brown case, and famous black sports parents
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Justin Tinsley was out this week cheating on us with another podcast (just kidding, we love you, Amin) so Martenzie Johnson filled in. A couple of us went to the movies over the weekend and there was more than the usual talk about grocery stores because a snowstorm was preparing to hit the Washington, D.C., area.
Other than that, we talked about the new video that’s surfaced from a movie called Stranger Fruit that premiered at the SXSW Festival last week. It features never-released footage of Michael Brown’s visit to a Ferguson, Missouri, convenience store, the same one that he was accused of stealing from before he was shot dead in the street by police officer Darren Wilson.
Lastly, there’s the story of the basketball world, the Ball family. The question is, does dad LaVar Ball rank on the level with black sports parent legends Earl Woods and Richard Williams? Right now, Ball might seem nuts for constantly talking up his sons and making all sorts of wild claims about his abilities, but let’s not forget that people felt the same way about the previous two dads, as well.
Basketball
LaVar Ball says he could have beaten Michael Jordan back in the day
And he wants a $1 billion endorsement contract for his sons
Don’t ever accuse LaVar Ball of not aiming high. The father of UCLA’s Lonzo Ball has made his presence felt in recent weeks, and this time he’s set an asking price for his sons’ sneaker deal: $1 billion. Somehow, this is the least outlandish thing he’s said all year.
There was the initial declaration that his son, Lonzo, only had plans to play one year before going pro, an awfully bold comment for a sport where fate and futures can turn on a dime. Then, he claimed that Lonzo was better than Stephen Curry. He famously declared that Lonzo would only be playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Following that, he got into a public spat with Charles Barkley, a feud that felt like two uncles arguing at the cookout. Most recently, he claimed that he himself was a better basketball player than Michael Jordan back in his day, which is laughable.
https://twitter.com/PrinceMarcus_24/status/841418647465820160
Can we stop asking Lavar Ball questions when we already know he not backing down from anything.
— 𝕂𝕠𝕗𝕚𝕖 (@KofieYeboah) March 14, 2017
The apparel contract stuff is real business, though. For his three sons: Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo, he’s asking for the 10-figure number from one of the big companies and says that if they don’t get it, they’ll start their own. Some have speculated that his loud antics could potentially hurt his sons’ future college or pro careers. LaVar himself says he’s not doing anything more than protecting his kids from exploitation. His approach brings to mind two other patron saints of black sports parenting, Earl Woods and Richard Williams.
Woods was known for his driving style on Tiger, who eventually grew up to revolutionize the golf world. Williams was even more maligned, as he was coaching and raising not one, but two girls in Venus and Serena, who’d eventually become the two most popular tennis players on earth by a wide margin. In short, the methods to their madness were effective.
But the Balls are in a different situation. For one, they’re playing basketball, a sport that’s already undergone its cultural boom for the most part. We’re not talking about primarily country-club sports that for various socioeconomic and cultural reasons had not accepted brown faces for the most part. It’s basketball. At this point, Lonzo is just another kid who might go No. 1 overall in the NBA draft, while LaMelo, the youngest is not bolstering his reputation by scoring 92 points in high school game under questionable circumstances. Of course, there’s also LiAngelo, the forgotten Ball.
Maybe if I had a dad like Lavar Ball I wouldn't be on here everyday seeking your approval
— yc (@yc) March 13, 2017
LaVar Ball has 3 kids, all receiving full ride scholarships, and the eldest is going be #Top5 in NBA Draft. He deserves applause– not scorn. pic.twitter.com/AV3IL9STUm
— LEFT⚫️ (@LeftSentThis) March 13, 2017
But if his three sons turn out to be something like Tiger Woods, Venus and Serena Williams and, say, LeBron James combined, then that $1 billion number isn’t that outlandish. People are already saying that Lonzo is the second coming of Magic Johnson, which on its own, if true, makes his starting point in negotiations understandable. Ultimately, that’s the issue — there’s no way to know if that’ll be the case.
Don’t expect LaVar to back down. You might poke fun at the way he operates, including down to the way he named his kids, but he’s just continuing a family tradition. His own brothers are named LaFrance, LaValle, LaRenzo and LaShon. He won’t be backing down just because a couple of people think he’s too loud. At 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, I’m not sure a lot people are going to be able to make him do so, either.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 3/14/17
Larry Sanders is ready to play ball again
2:15 PMA good part of the nation is covered in snow, so here’s to hoping that everyone out there is safe and has enough food to last a couple of days should that become an issue in coming days. Snow days are fun, but can be very annoying.
Rep. Steve King is riding for all the wrong things. After saying that he didn’t want to rebuild this country with “someone else’s babies,” he’s doubled down. No. 1, he made it clear that he meant exactly what he said, in all of its white supremacist glory and, secondly, he’s added to that by pointing out that he doesn’t think this will ever be a so-called minority-majority nation, because blacks and Latinos will be too busy fighting with each other for that to happen. That’s about as reckless a statement as we get from a congressman.
If we’re ever going to get to Mars, there’s one thing we have to think about: procreation. Because if we’re going to be inhabiting the red planet, as it seems so many people are looking to do, it’s not going to be enough to just keep shipping people out there to keep the place populated. Someone’s going to have to start having babies, born as Martians. Which means that the business of sex in space is a serious one. And the science behind how that would work for humans is actually fascinating.
Last week, it was the 20th anniversary of Biggie’s death. We’ll always love Big Poppa, of course, but one of the women who held him down during his time was of course his wife, Faith Evans. It’s sad because unfortunately her music career has always been sort of overshadowed by the fact that she is B.I.G.’s widow, but Evans has bangers, y’all. If anyone can give you a reasonably level-headed breakdown of what exactly was going on in those hectic years of regional battles in rap, she can. She sat down with Desus & Mero to talk about the old days.
A couple of years back, Larry Sanders walked away from the NBA. At the time, he’d violated the league’s drug policy a few times and ostensibly left basketball due to mental health issues. It was a tough story because many couldn’t understand why he’d leave so much money on the table in the prime of his career. But, in the time since, he’s emerged as an artist of multiple disciplines. Now, he’s coming back. The center has signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who need help after Andrew Bogut’s season-ending injury. It’s a heck of a gamble, to say the least.
Free Food
Coffee Break: There was a time when The Big Bang Theory was a major part of my life. I loved that show. I grew away from it and since then it’s become one of the most popular shows in America. Now, CBS is launching a prequel series for Sheldon’s character, which is all wrong. That needs to be set aside for Raj. Come on, y’all.
Snack Time: Toads get a bad rap. Somewhere along the line they were associated with ugliness, which doesn’t help their cause. But, for the most part, they’re pretty chill. Check out this story of a guy who makes hats for one. Love it.
Dessert: Behold, the best GIF from the White House Press Room of all time.
Locker Room Lawyer, Episode 14: Andre Iguodala and the N-word
The 2015 NBA champion recently delivered some racially charged postgame remarks
5:50 PMIn this week’s edition of Locker Room Lawyer, Clinton Yates and Domonique Foxworth take the case of Golden State Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala to The Undefeated courtroom.
During a postgame interview after the Warriors’ 103-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 10, Iguodala delivered the following racially charged remarks.
“We gotta score more than the other team. Yep, they want dumb n—-s, so I’m going to give y’all a dumb n—-s.”
“Nope, no clue. I do what master say,” Iguodala said after he was asked whether he knew he and three of his All-Star teammates would be sitting the next night.
Couple interesting postgame Andre Iguodala quotes tonight pic.twitter.com/4F44eZnVtM
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 11, 2017
Iguodala’s comments might have been a poor choice, but neither Steve Kerr nor our Locker Room Lawyer Domonique has a problem with what he said. Clinton doesn’t either, so there isn’t much of a debate. But we discuss the matter anyway. After the taping of this episode, the NBA penalized Iguodala for his words:
Warriors forward Andre Iguodala has been fined $10,000 by the NBA for making inappropriate comments during a postgame media interview.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) March 13, 2017
Check out the video, and if you have any professional athlete in mind (past or present) who needs the Locker Room Lawyer’s representation, feel free to email us at allday@andscape.com with episode ideas. Also, check out our weekly All Day Podcast, as well as Domonique and Clinton every Sunday on The Morning Roast.
Black Lives Matter
Video calls Michael Brown ‘robbery’ in Ferguson into question
Not that he deserved to die over the matter, anyway
New footage challenges the police narrative that #MikeBrown committed strong-armed robbery! https://t.co/LTD4QjqnqY pic.twitter.com/kKSFjC4nv8
— Ashton P. Woods (@AshtonPWoods) March 12, 2017
What if I told you that the entire of the case against Ferguson, Missouri’s Mike Brown was built on a lie? Some of you would say that such a thing was obvious. Others would say that you needed proof. Probably even more of you would say that regardless of whether he committed a petty crime, he certainly didn’t deserve to be shot dead in the street by a police officer.
Now, we know what happened the day before Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson killed Brown. To review, in case you forgot about the shooting that sparked the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the entire situation started like this. Wilson was responding to a robbery call when he approached Brown. That exchange clearly ended with Brown dead and bleeding in the street, with Wilson stating that he feared for his life and thus had to kill him.
If you are surprised that the police lied about #MikeBrown, you're one of the reasons the protests in #Ferguson & beyond were so necessary.
— Sam Whiteout (@samwhiteout) March 12, 2017
Mike Brown was in a bodega trading weed for cigars. Weed, you know the stuff making dispensaries millions of dollars? That stuff.
— 🌹 Ferrari Elite Sheppard (@stopbeingfamous) March 12, 2017
But as for the case, there’s new evidence from a movie by filmmaker Jason Pollock called Stranger Fruit, which shows the initial purpose of stopping Brown at all might be in question, thus leading to a couple different problems. No. 1: Why did the police call this a strong-arm robbery to begin with? And, secondly, how is it possible this video is just now coming to light?
This New York Times story explains the blow by blow, but the gist of it is that Brown returned the next day to pick up something that was his based on an arrangement made earlier. He didn’t just walk in cold off the street and decide to start arguing and pushing people to steal cigars. One can see how omitting that large part of the story would be critical in smearing someone’s name, which is exactly the tactic that leads grand juries to not charge officers in fatal shootings. The law enforcement official gets the benefit of the doubt, while the victim who can no longer speak for himself is painted as “no angel.”
Mind you, this is all predicated on the notion that even if he had done all this, would it have been reasonable to gun him down in the street? It was not. After the nation protested and people started whipping out cellphones everywhere in order to protect themselves, we see it happen with enough regularity to give major pause. Not that black folks haven’t been telling people this for years — but whatever.
I don't understand why the Mike Brown video is being treated as a revelation. He shouldn't have been harassed and murdered to begin with
— Ur Fat Uncle (@themrd81) March 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/GaziKodzo/status/841034238287843328
Whether he robbed a store or not, Brown’s life was stolen from him. The fact that he didn’t rob it and everyone at an official level knew it and did their best to suppress it is only more heartbreaking in the context of the value of black life.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 3/13/17
Michelle Obama gives a little help to Yara Shahidi
12:30 PMThe Morning Roast produced a fantastic photograph this week, which features me, Domonique and Mina riding on a motorcycle with a sidecar. You’ve got to listen to the episode to get it, but it’s actually pretty funny, stand-alone.
I wouldn’t be able to tell you who wrote my college recommendations if I tried. What I do recall, however, was that being one of the most stressful and shameful experiences of my life. Nothing says, “I’ve wasted my whole high school career” like not knowing where to begin on that front, but luckily it worked out, I guess. But for black-ish actor Yara Shahidi, she drew upon a rather awesome resource in her quest for higher education: Michelle Obama. I mean, I can’t imagine that anyone will say no, at that point.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is living in a different time. For whatever reason, he decided to show solidarity with a Dutch politician who is looking to “de-Islamize” the Netherlands should he be elected to the country’s top post. By doing so, he drew on some hyperracist philosophies, saying “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.” If you’re wondering, yes, that’s a mindset rooted in white nationalism with a little sprinkling of supremacy on top. Even other Republicans are saying he’s way out of pocket.
Here’s the thing about President Donald Trump’s “America First” outlook: It’s not effective. Hypernationalist economic policies never really have worked, because, think about it, isolation is just a dumb way to try to make money. Guess what! I can do everything myself! Oh, yeah, well you can also sell those things to yourself because no one wants to deal with that. Certain industries, aka most, can’t survive without global participation. Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party ruined Germany’s fashion industry and some are worried that Trump’s America might do the same here.
NASCAR is full of thugs. That’s what people would say if most of the drivers weren’t white guys, but alas, they’re just hard-nosed men who love to grind, right. In all seriousness, these pit row fights have become what feels like a regular part of the racing these days. This time it involved Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. At this point, they might as well make it an official part of the race. Just set two guys up in an ad-hoc boxing ring right there on the infield, and let willing participants duke it out.
Free Food
Coffee Break: In 2017, music radio program directors aren’t the ones moving the needle when it comes to picking the music that tops the charts. That tastemaker job now has been taken over by those that curate playlists for streaming music services. Check out this profile of Spotify’s Tuma Basa.
Snack Time: I don’t like to make fun of guys and their weight problems after they leave whatever league they play in, but this tweet about Antoine Walker is funny.
Antione Walker built like somebody grandma now pic.twitter.com/C6nu8kcSwt
— TG. (@TGTheTruth) March 13, 2017
Dessert: Here’s a story about the life of a Jesuit-owned slave from Maryland in the early 1800s. For perspective.
What Are Those?!
What Are Those?!: 3/10/17
John Ross’ record-setting 40-yard dash in Nikes and Paul George’s debut signature sneaker
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Marcus Matthews is back from vacation. You know what that means? A new What Are Those?! podcast! Marcus returned from a trip to Colombia, joining me to chop it up about what types of sneakers he packs for trips and the key to finding exclusive shoes in any given destination.
On this week’s show, we also discuss the decision of former University of Washington wide receiver and NFL draft prospect John Ross to wear Nikes instead of Adidas cleats while running the fastest 40-yard dash in the history of the NFL combine. Ross ran a 4.22, breaking Chris Johnson’s nearly 10-year-old record, and if he would’ve worn the Adizero 5-star 40 cleats while doing so, Adidas would’ve given him his own $1 million island. Nope. He went with the Nike Vapor 4.2 cleats, and his reason behind not going with Adidas is glorious.
John Ross response on why he didn't wear Adidas shoes and attempt to win island is FANTASTIC! 😂😂😂pic.twitter.com/Kz4G5jZT4k
— TotalProSports (@TotalProSports) March 4, 2017
Adidas after John Ross ran that time in a pair of Nike. pic.twitter.com/NYkw1XIxBG
— Jacques Slade (@kustoo) March 4, 2017
Next up is a what we all love to do when it comes to sneakers: Debate! Nike recently debuted the first signature sneaker in Indiana Pacers star Paul George’s career. The question is, Should PG-13 actually have his own shoe? Marcus argues why he shouldn’t. I argue why he should.
Lastly, if there’s one thing we learned this week, it’s that Marcus is holding out on the heat! He’s got a pair of “Must Be The Honey” LeBron Xs that he’s only worn a few times. He’s thinking about selling them. Right now, they’re on eBay from $1,650. What should he do?
Give it a listen, and if you have any feedback or show ideas, feel free to email us at allday@andscape.com.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 3/10/17
Nicki Minaj replies to Remy Ma, sort of
3:00 PMIf you missed The Morning Roast filling in for The Right Time with Bomani Jones, you can check out all three hours. We’re on again this afternoon from 4 to 7 p.m. EST. You can listen live here.
Nicki Minaj is taking a different route. Look, how she chooses to address her beef with Remy Ma is her choice, but she’s taking an interesting path to an attempt at victory. After Remy Ma came for Nicki’s whole life with “shETHER,” the latter took quite a bit of time to respond. Now, she has, but with three separate songs, two of which are collaborations. Ultimately, she’s probably made the better tracks, which will gain her more cash in the long run, but in the world of musical insults, this wasn’t exactly an earthshaker.
Nicki should have put EJ on the track… #NoFrauds pic.twitter.com/XVYTHT22me
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 10, 2017
Here’s the thing about Get Out. It’s the circumstance that’s the most terrifying, not the specific jump-out moments. The premise seems normal, then something extremely bizarre seems to be unfolding, only to give way to something far more sinister that, if you were paying attention, you might have seen all along. But as extreme as that conclusion is, it only works because the plausible deniability of the situation being real actually makes sense. You know why? Because black folks go missing all the time and nobody cares.
The dreaded hour lost to sleep is here again. Daylight savings time, the thing that’s been responsible for so many missed classes, botched job interviews and otherwise blown appointments is coming up this weekend. For some people, the change is life-altering. Sleep schedules are not easy to establish, and one switch of the clock can throw you all off. It doesn’t bother me that much personally anymore specifically, but when I was in high school it was the death of me. Here are some tips for surviving the change.
So, the Washington NFL franchise is still up to no good. On Thursday, Washington fired Scot McCloughan and did so with all the class in the world. Sike. A team official completely threw the former general manager under the bus, claiming that he was such a constant drunk that it was impossible to work with him. Meanwhile, the culture there among the front office wasn’t any different. Back on the field, now, quarterback Kirk Cousins has signed with the team, which means that if the team want to start shopping him, it can. What a mess.
Free Food
Coffee Break: It never ceases to amaze me when countries discover massive monuments or statues just chilling underground or underwater. And, now, in a Cairo slum, archaeologists have uncovered a massive statue that just from the picture looks like it’ll take a while to unearth.
Snack Time: If you’ve somehow managed to make it this far throughout the day without seeing this video of a dad talking on television then having his kids bust into the room, you must live under a rock. It’s hilarious.
Dessert: Here’s a great video to get your weekend started, kiddos. The Weeknd in full Michael Jackson mode.