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Confederate Monuments Taken Down In Baltimore Daily Dose
BALTIMORE, MD – AUGUST 16: A woman takes a picture of a plaque near an empty pedestal where a statue of Roger B. Taney, former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and majority author of the Dred Scott decision, once was before city workers removed the statue August 16, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. The City of Baltimore removed four statues celebrating Confederate figures from city parks overnight, following the weekend’s violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Daily Dose: 8/16/17

Another day, another statue downed

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

3:37 PMOn The Dan Le Batard Show on Wednesday, we tried to have some fun after a very sobering day in America. Pablo Torre joined the show, and we talked about fried chicken, MLS and Filipino baseball players. Take a listen.

The United States is different today. There’s no way to describe the hardened disappointment that nearly everyone in the country feels after President Donald Trump took to a podium to defend neo-Nazis and white supremacists after a speech that was supposed to be about infrastructure. You don’t need to take a political side to be appalled by that. As a result, people all over the place are bailing out of various links to the administration. There are not two sides, unless you’re legitimately going to call yourself a Nazi sympathizer.

Speaking of presidents, Barack Obama remains as popular as ever. While all this other nonsense and violence overtakes parts of our nation, 44 tweeted a picture of him talking to babies in a window. For one, the photograph is adorable on every level. Secondly, the caption is even better. It’s currently got more than 1 million retweets and 3.5 million likes. You gotta know that this drives Trump crazy, even though he should probably be concerned with more important things. Behold the most famous tweet ever.

Baltimore is about that action. Instead of waiting for a situation like the one in Durham, North Carolina, in which protesters toppled a Confederate monument on their own, Baltimore handled it discreetly. Under the cloak of night, the city removed four more. Of course, people started in with jokes about how the situation mirrored that of the Baltimore Colts, famous for leaving town overnight in 1984. Those jokes aren’t funny. Statues that salute white supremacy and football teams ain’t even close to the same thing.

I don’t normally turn to the NFL for progressive thinking. But the way the league has handled the Ezekiel Elliott situation has been rather forward-thinking, if only because of the fact that the basic concept of believing women when it comes to accusations against athletes is not something we normally see. And now that the National Football League Players Association is appealing the Dallas Cowboys running back’s suspension, the league has responded rather forcefully, issuing a statement pointing out that victim-blaming and shaming is not the move, at all. Good for them. Here’s the rebuttal.

Free Food

Coffee Break: Kicks magazine is doing the Lord’s work. The publication about sneakers recently put out an edition featuring the Top 20 basketball shoes of all time, and I have no idea how they managed to whittle this thing down. But they’ve also got 20 different covers, which is tremendous.

Snack Time: You know what happens when you antagonize people at a rally inspired by hate groups? Well, people don’t like you, because that’s not OK. And that antagonism can come back to haunt you, big time.

Dessert: This is guaranteed to make your day.

Confederate Monument Protest Daily Dose
A toppled Confederate statue lies on the ground on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017, in Durham, N.C. Activists on Monday evening used a rope to pull down the monument outside a Durham courthouse. The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Va, over the weekend. AP Photo/Jonathan Drew

Daily Dose: 8/15/17

Durham goes hard in the paint

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

10:53 AMI’m back in the saddle with The Dan Le Batard Show on Tuesday, but if you missed it Monday, here you go. And for those of you in Bachelor Nation, you’re going to want to tune in Tuesday. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. EST on ESPN Radio.

Durham, North Carolina, ain’t messing around. Instead of letting their government get involved in tearing down a Confederate statue, residents did it themselves in plain view of everyone. And the memes that came out of that act are nothing short of amazing. Not only is a dude on the City Council dunking on people in his official email correspondence with constituents (see above), but folks are posing for pictures with the toppled monument, which is legitimately inspiring. But the best one, of course, involved Bubbachuck.

The Bachelor is back, this time in Paradise. Let’s not forget what happened over the offseason, if you will, which was that production of the show was shut down since a situation that unfolded between DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios was deemed inappropriate for the show. It was addressed on the program in a very strange manner, one that involved a) nearly showing the whole encounter and b) teasing it the entire show as if it were just some garden-variety controversy. Once again, it felt super slimy. Here’s a recap of the first episode.

It’s a well-known fact that strip clubs have some of the best food in Atlanta. Some would say the best chefs in the city, period, work at dancing establishments. There was a time when that would sound ridiculous, but when people tell you they’re going to the spot to eat the food, that’s the 2017 version of someone saying they subscribe to Playboy magazine to read the articles (which was a thing, for a while). Nonetheless, BET is capitalizing on this, and Yung Joc is hosting Plates and Poles, which highlights that culture.

The sports journalism business is hard. As is all of journalism. But in sports, because you have such a structured setup of teams, leagues, wins and losses, any coverage of a team has to be thorough by default for the effort to be worth anyone’s time. SB Nation built an empire on people basically doing that work for free or on a quasi-volunteer basis. Well, as it turns out, that system is pretty unfair and might actually violate labor laws. Here’s an in-depth look at how it all works.

Free Food

Coffee Break: There were a lot of rebukes sent the president’s way Monday. Stephen Colbert’s was funny, and Jimmy Fallon’s was a tad disingenuous because we all know who ruffled Trump’s hair on TV after he called all Mexicans racist. But Seth Myers’ was the best. Period.

Snack Time: We’re coming up on the end of summer, which means fall is around the corner. Which means that it’s time to get your pumpkin spice game up, whether you like it or not.

Dessert: Cardi B might drop a Spanish version of Bodak Yellow. God bless her soul.

Boston Reacts To Violence In Charlottesville, VA Daily Dose
BOSTON, MA – AUGUST 13: A vigil is held in support of peaceful anti-fascist protesters in Charlottesville, VA, in the wake of the violence after a white nationalist rally there, at the Boston Common on Aug. 13, 2017. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Daily Dose: 8/14/17

Trump finally speaks up about white nationalists

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

4:14 PMI just want to thank all the people I got to build and connect with at the 2017 National Association of Black Journalists convention last week. It was a great time, and doing the live ESPN Radio broadcast from the floor was fun. Speaking of which, I’m hosting from 10 a.m-1 p.m. every day this week.

President Trump finally denounced the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. It only took the better part of three days, after violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, following a rally of white nationalists. On the surface, that’s scary because it genuinely empowered groups like these, who believe they have the support of the highest leader in the land. From a global standpoint, it doesn’t look good, either, when your commander in chief would rather tweet than help the nation heal at a time of crisis.

Speaking of that violent situation, there’s a lot to unpack. The private militias protecting marchers. The guy who killed Heather Heyer by running over a group of people with his car. The tiki torches on the University of Virginia lawn being carried by a bunch of guys who have no real understanding of what discrimination really is. People love to say, “This isn’t the America I know.” Well, that’s not quite true. And one website is specifically outing the people who were at said rally, because they look pretty much like everyday people to the rest of us.

When the level of discourse gets ratcheted up, things can become testy. Such was the case at CNN on Monday, when Ken Cuccinelli, former attorney general of Virginia, decided he was legitimately going to tell another guest to shut up live on air. Unfortunately, that person was Symone Sanders, and she does not play that nonsense. To host Chris Cuomo’s credit, he put Ken in his place, but the entire exchange was indicative of the kind of back-and-forth that black women deal with every day of the week.

You can add Jermichael Finley to the list of non-woke athletes. The Green Bay Packers tight end came out with the worst take ever, tweeting that “athletes are looked up to & serve as roll models, leave personal opinions about race and politics alone. Do what you get paid to do & play!” His typo aside, it’s incredible to think that even after this weekend, we’ve got guys out here who find it inappropriate to discuss what happens when hate groups take over towns.

Free Food

Coffee Break: There’s been a lot of talk about the national anthem recently. But, to that point, none of us had heard Quavo sing it. I don’t even know what to say afterward, as I’m in shock about how good this actually is. I’d definitely stand for this version.

Snack Time: In this time of crisis, we have to find a way to care for ourselves. This video of a bird feeding fish with seeds warms the heart.

Dessert: Don’t forget: On Monday night, we return to paradise. Hope you’re ready.

dj turntable Daily Dose
Photo by Bildquelle/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Daily Dose: 8/11/17

Happy Birthday, Hip-Hop

Clinton Yates By @clintonyates

12:54 PMI have to say, this has been an incredible week. I’m loving New Orleans, and I got to see a live taping of Another Round, the podcast, which makes me extremely happy. NABJ is a good week if you’re in this business.

Remember when we talked about the impending doom of the world? When we worried about making sure we talked to all our old friends so they knew how much we loved them — just in case, you know, the world blows up because the president of the United States and the leader of North Korea are having a cucumber-measuring contest in their kitchens? It’s gotten so bad that credible people are genuinely suggesting that Twitter take away POTUS’s account. Until then, God help us all.

Hip-hop began on this day. At least, that’s when we celebrate. Back in 1973, the Bronx created the music that would legitimately make the world go ’round for the next 44 years and is still obviously going strong. It’s pretty remarkable when you think about it, as that’s not a particularly long time since Kool Herc decided to bless the globe with his talents. As a result, Google’s latest doodle is an homage to the art, and it’s got a super fun game involved too. Check out the history of how it came together.

If you want to know what is a bad idea, I’ll tell you: Making Nazi references in public places. And if you’re a media personality in a very prominent place, it’s definitely an easy way to lose a job. One guy learned this the hard way on Thursday. CNN decided to can Jeffrey Lord because in a Twitter back-and-forth (beware of those, kiddos) he legitimately used a Nazi salute. Dude then had the nerve to claim that the network was somehow caving to peer pressure by making that decision. That’s why they call it privilege, folks.

Leonard Fournette is a rookie. Leonard Fournette played at LSU. Leonard Fournette plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And Leonard Fournette thinks football is easy. Like, seriously. After the Jags’ preseason Week 1 victory over the New England Patriots, he straight-up said the NFL game is slower than he thought. Look, I don’t dislike this guy, but if he thinks that the first week out the gate on any level represents what big-time games are like, he needs some new friends. It’s the NFL. Dudes are going to be ready to destroy him based on that one quote alone. Good luck, homey.

Free Food

Coffee Break: Remember when we all thought that legalizing marijuana in places was going to lead to fewer arrests? Turns out, that’s not true. Want to know why? Because police officers love arresting black kids. In Colorado, arrests of black youth rose dramatically after things went legit. Shocker.

Snack Time: I’ve decided that my next international vacation is going to be to Japan. I also just might bring a skateboard along, because now we’ve got a guide on how to navigate Tokyo with a deck and four wheels.

Dessert: Guys, don’t do this. Trust me.

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