Lemon LIVE at 5 | Could Athlete Activism Fight MAGA Redistricting?

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0:16 Hello everybody.

0:17 Lemon Live at Five is on.

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1:01 So, again, I'm glad that you're here.

1:02 You probably saw the thumbnail.

1:04 I don't know what you guys think about this idea.

1:06 I actually don't think it's a bad idea.

1:08 When I say when we say boycott a black athletes

1:12 boycott or boycott I I forget which one we did.

1:15 Boycott white schools basically is what they're saying.

1:18 I think that should be the thumbnail.

1:19 Boycott white schools.

1:20 Why don't we put that on there?

1:21 Make sure that's it.

1:23 Because they're asking black athletes to stop participating

1:26 in these in these schools um wealth and livelihood.

1:32 And go to black schools.

1:33 Support black schools.

1:35 I don't know if that's going to happen cuz people are like,

1:37 "Oh, I got a football career.

1:38 That's the only thing you have." We'll see.

1:41 So, I want to start with a quote.

1:42 A reporter asked the president a very simple question today.

1:45 We're going to get to all of that by the way.

1:46 As he was walking out to Marine One headed to China, he said,

1:50 "Um when you are negotiating with Iran,

1:53 to what extent are Americans financial situations motivating you to make a deal.

1:59 Roll it.

2:00 I don't think about American financial situation.

2:04 I don't think about anybody.

2:06 I think about one thing.

2:09 I don't think about Americans financial situation.

2:12 Basically, he said, I think about one thing.

2:14 And he said it that so that Iran won't get a nuclear weapon.

2:17 Well, if he were being honest about it,

2:20 there was no intelligence, no imminent threat.

2:22 The intelligence didn't show an imminent threat.

2:24 And so, Donald Trump is once again lying and bullshitting you.

2:27 As Now, look.

2:29 As I have been saying to you guys every single day since this war started,

2:33 I mean, from the beginning, that Donald Trump didn't know what he was doing.

2:36 This is a war that we didn't need to get into.

2:38 When he started with the whole BS about they want a deal and and whatever,

2:43 I said to you, they don't want a deal.

2:45 That he's negotiating with his imaginary friends.

2:48 I even introduced you to my imaginary friends.

2:50 I told you my imaginary friends girlfriends name names when I was a kid.

2:55 My cousin, my first cousin, and I were like brothers.

2:57 We're a month apart.

2:58 We had these imaginary girlfriends that we would go visit.

3:01 We'd get dressed up in our Easter suits and go visit them in my grandma's shed.

3:04 And it was just that Look, we were kids.

3:08 And Donald Trump is doing the same thing except he's a grown ass man and he's

3:11 negotiating with imaginary people who obviously have no

3:15 power and or no intention to stop a war.

3:20 And so, he keeps talking about it.

3:21 He's a freaking broken record every single day.

3:24 And Donald Trump said without hesitating there,

3:26 without flinching, not even a little bit.

3:27 I don't think about Americans.

3:29 I don't think about Americans financial situation.

3:32 I don't think about anybody.

3:34 Not even a little bit.

3:35 And so, that was not a gaffe, not a slip, not at all.

3:39 He didn't It didn't slip.

3:41 He was telling you exactly where you rank in his mind, America.

3:45 And the answer is that you don't.

3:48 And so far, the war has now cost nearly 29 billion dollars of your tax money.

3:57 That came out in congressional testimony today.

4:02 29 billion dollars.

4:06 It was I think it was wasn't even supposed to be half of that.

4:10 And that's what Pete Hegseth is asking for from lawmakers today

4:15 to help to fund the war and everything that he wants to accomplish.

4:19 29 billion of your tax dollars.

4:23 Imagine where that money can be going to.

4:24 Why don't they take some of the money from that damn stupid ballroom?

4:28 Why don't they do that?

4:30 Our Washington D.C.

4:31 correspondent is Daniel Grinberg joins us now.

4:33 That was some fiery testimony and why the hell is he asking I mean come on.

4:38 Daniel, 29 billion dollars.

4:40 Damn.

4:41 Don, I can actually it's actually much worse.

4:45 He was actually there to ask for 1.5 trillion dollars for the next fiscal year.

4:51 That's right.

4:51 That you just you just quoted what the estimate is

4:56 going to be to actually pay for this war right now.

4:58 It's 29 billion that's up from the 25 billion that he said at the end of April.

5:02 So this war is costing taxpayers a lot but he didn't stop there.

5:06 He really was asking for 1.5 trillion dollars and basically

5:12 his rhetoric was do you support the troops or not?

5:15 Democrats said that's preposterous.

5:16 That's a lot of money.

5:20 Yeah.

5:21 So Don, I think also Andy, roll that sound bite.

5:24 Yeah.

5:25 [laughter] I don't I don't have that sound bite.

5:30 Okay.

5:30 You don't have Pete Hegseth?

5:31 He doesn't have Wait,

5:32 do you have the Do you have the Hegseth with him talking about the the fact

5:36 that when we're going to know when the ceasefire

5:39 because you all heard yesterday President Trump say,

5:42 all right, uh we don't know the the the the ceasefire is on life support.

5:46 That's what President Trump said yesterday.

5:48 Well, today the Secretary of Defense was asked during the hearing, "Hey, okay,

5:53 so when can Americans know when we actually are at peace,

5:58 when the ceasefire is in effect?" And here's what the Secretary said.

6:02 How do we know that the ceasefire is

6:05 is active or not active without any documentation?

6:12 We know.

6:13 It's evident and the ceasefire [clears throat] is in effect.

6:17 But you Is it Is it pages?

6:19 Is it Is it 15 points?

6:21 There's been different points that have moved around.

6:26 You know, is there any other How do we know?

6:29 You just trust that the President knows

6:31 that the ceasefire is active or not active?

6:34 As you know, for the most part a ceasefire means fire is ceasing,

6:37 and we know that has occurred while negotiations occur,

6:40 and there are lots of different discussions

6:43 with our negotiating team that are happening.

6:44 I'm there when those discussions are occurring.

6:47 Different drafts, different perspectives.

6:49 So it's a very dynamic situation where a negotiated settlement could

6:53 be the outcome here where Iran does not have nuclear capabilities,

6:57 and from the Department of War perspective,

6:59 we are here to support those options.

7:03 Um what Daniel, I mean what does that mean?

7:07 He said a whole bunch of nothing.

7:09 Well, different perspective, a ceasefire means a ceasefire.

7:11 He had no answer to that, and I'm sure that wasn't the only thing.

7:15 And he was even asked, "Hey,

7:17 so does that mean we should just trust when President Trump

7:21 says the ceasefire is over that it's over?" And he said yes.

7:25 So I I think Don, the takeaway there is that we just

7:29 got to listen to President Trump when he says the ceasefire is over,

7:32 that's that's when it's over.

7:34 That's when it's over.

7:35 Okay, so we'll we'll see with that.

7:37 What are the chances that he gets his trillion dollars that he's asking for?

7:40 Oh, we'll have to wait and see about that one.

7:42 I mean, that's $1.5 trillion is a big request.

7:46 And listen, he wasn't the only person,

7:48 the only Trump administration official on Capitol Hill today requesting money.

7:52 We also Cash Patel Wait, before you get to Cash Patel,

7:54 let me before you get to Cash Patel, let me ask you something.

7:57 Before you get to Cash Patel, can I ask you about Susan Collins?

8:00 Because Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski today,

8:04 at least they sounded they were saying the right things.

8:06 They were questioning him about about war powers about not,

8:10 you know, seeking Congress's permission or lawmakers' permission at all.

8:15 And which was quite a break from usually the whole

8:18 MAGA thing that you get where everybody sticks together.

8:20 So, he's not just facing headwinds from Democrats, right?

8:24 There's this, right?

8:25 He's facing it from Republicans as well.

8:27 You've got to remember, Don.

8:28 It is an election year.

8:29 Senator Collins of Maine is She's actually in a really tough reelection fight.

8:34 And so, you we we've seen this play out before where she has come out

8:38 during testimony and sounded like she was

8:42 really bipartisan questioning uh you know former officials,

8:46 but then towed the party line in the end.

8:49 And so, that's probably what would happen here during the funding request.

8:53 It's just an appropriations request,

8:54 so it's just simple majority is all it needs to pass.

8:58 Uh so, we can probably expect both of those senators to fall in line in the end.

9:02 All right.

9:02 So, Susan someone said it in the comment.

9:04 Someone said exactly what I was thinking that Susan Collins

9:07 is going to write a strongly written a stern letter.

9:12 [laughter] As she always I and she is very, very, very concerned.

9:15 So, and folks are very concerned about Cash Patel, you were saying.

9:19 Okay.

9:20 So, Hegseth was not the only Trump

9:22 administration official in the building behind me.

9:25 We also heard from the FBI director today.

9:27 He was here trying to get funding for next fiscal year for the FBI.

9:32 But, the thing, Don,

9:34 that's making rounds on social media is the exchange between

9:38 Kash Patel and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen where I mean,

9:42 I think we should just play it and talk about it on the back end.

9:45 All right.

9:46 So, there have been no occasions when

9:47 your security detail had difficulty waking or locating you.

9:50 Is that right?

9:52 No, it's a total farce.

9:53 I don't even know where you get this stuff,

9:54 but it doesn't make it credible because you say so.

9:57 I'm not saying it, uh, Director Patel.

9:58 I I It's been written and documented.

10:01 You are literally saying it.

10:02 No, I'm saying that these are reports, uh, Director Patel.

10:05 I I I Unlike Unlike your baseless reports,

10:08 the only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador

10:10 on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gang-banging rapist was you.

10:14 You know, the fact person that ran up a $7,000 bar tab in Washington, D.C.

10:19 at the lobby bar was you.

10:21 This suggests to me the allegations were true.

10:24 on taxpayer dime during the day was you.

10:28 Director Patel, come on.

10:30 These are serious allegations that were made against you.

10:33 They are allegations that you have hurled.

10:35 You drinking margaritas with a gang banger

10:37 it on just goes to show you This $7,000 bar tab

10:40 at the lobby bar has been filed by your own office.

10:44 to show the day.

10:45 That's you.

10:46 This is the ultimate example of hypocrisy.

10:49 Chairman, I will not be tarnished by baseless

10:51 allegations and fraudulent statements from the media.

10:54 The fact that you mentioned that indicates

10:57 you don't know what you are talking about.

11:01 So, let me set the stage for Yeah, you go ahead.

11:03 Go ahead.

11:03 Go ahead.

11:03 Go ahead.

11:04 Go ahead.

11:04 What were you going to say?

11:05 So, the exchange back there, there was a a report that came out in Atlantic

11:08 that it threw accusations at Kash Patel that, you know,

11:12 he's known to binge drink, that his staff has had to break into his home uh,

11:17 because he's been hung over and drunk.

11:20 All allegations he denies, by the way, but uh,

11:22 there's been also been allegations that he likes

11:24 to go to Las Vegas and party it up.

11:26 And so, he then was trying to lobby an attack at the Senator from Maryland,

11:31 uh, because he, if you remember last summer went to Sea Cott to visit Mr.

11:35 Garcia an undocumented immigrant who then was wrongly deported even the Trump

11:41 administration admitted that that he was

11:42 wrongly deported by the Trump administration.

11:44 So basically during that exchange there was a margarita

11:48 there but the senator has denied ever even touching it.

11:50 He says both parties didn't touch it but regardless you heard the FBI

11:54 director there try to use it and really try to deflect there.

11:57 So here's the thing though.

12:00 According to the reports I remember when I remember this was happening

12:03 at the time that the glasses were set up on the table

12:06 not by anyone who was with the two men and apparently there

12:10 were salt rims and whatever but there was water in the glass.

12:14 So it was just a huge deflection.

12:16 Yeah, so it's a huge deflection and it's a lie.

12:18 I mean and and Kash Patel who is the director by the way when you said director

12:22 of the CIA Kash Patel I was like

12:23 I can't believe he's saying director of the CIA.

12:25 I mean of the FBI excuse me Kash Patel

12:27 that it just sounds like you know if you had

12:30 if you had told that to me a year or so ago I'd be like you're you've got to be

12:33 out of your mind but we're in out of your mind

12:35 territory but look if he if he's a director

12:38 of the FBI and he can't figure out what's true

12:41 all he has to do is do a Google search.

12:42 All he has to do is do you know a fact check and it'll tell you the truth

12:47 about that whole incident which was completely made up

12:50 and look I don't know Senator Van Holland from anybody.

12:54 I don't know him from Adam.

12:56 I don't know if I've even met him before.

12:58 Maybe I have just from being in this world.

13:00 So I have no allegiance to him but the whole thing reeks of especially

13:05 since the person which I would have said it's interesting that you said that if

13:09 anyone deserved a drink at that time it would be the person who you

13:12 wrongfully deported and did not give them

13:16 their rights their fourth and fifth amendment rights.

13:18 So I would say hey Mr.

13:21 Abrego Garcia why don't you have a drink

13:24 because you need it because the government has you.

13:27 That's what I would have said, but you know, he's a better man than I am.

13:30 Go ahead.

13:31 Uh Don, all I'm going to say is I've been told by multiple sources

13:35 in the White House that these hearings

13:37 they're not there to actually answer the questions.

13:39 They are there to play to an audience of one, that being President Donald Trump,

13:43 and these administration officials know that if they do not spar

13:47 back with the senators or the representatives that are questioning them,

13:51 then they're going to end up just like Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem without a job.

13:56 And so they know if they come to these hearings, they've got to be fiery,

13:59 they've got to push back because Trump is going

14:02 to find out and if they don't do it, they're going to lose their job.

14:05 Daniel Grimes, Daniel I want to play something.

14:09 I wanted to put it up but I lost it.

14:11 Uh someone said a baby Don.

14:13 He is not a baby Don.

14:16 He's not related.

14:18 I mean, we only met what, 2 weeks ago?

14:20 We met during the White House Correspondents Weekend and I said,

14:23 I love your personality.

14:24 You should come work for me and you said, "Huh, funny you asked [laughter]

14:31 because I'm negotiating my next deal.

14:33 You want to help?

14:34 You I'm like, okay, come work for me.

14:36 Don, you know the amount of people the amount of people,

14:38 my friends, my friends who go, "Are you sure?

14:41 You and Don are you sure you're not related?" I'm like,

14:44 "Listen, this was not nepotism.

14:45 I met the man a couple of weeks ago, but Yeah, it was great.

14:50 I mean, look, go ahead.

14:51 I believe in like I believe in chance meetings like

14:54 that and you never know when you're going to meet someone.

14:56 He he was so adamant about you need to hire me.

14:59 I want to work for you.

15:00 He was telling everybody to come he's I think he told like Mehdi Hasan,

15:04 you told um Jim Acosta,

15:07 you told John Berman and everybody's coming to me saying TMZ guy,

15:11 they're like, this guy Daniel says you should hire him to be a correspondent.

15:15 And so I'm like, you know what?

15:16 I'm I'm going to do it.

15:17 So we're we're happy to have you.

15:18 Thank you so much.

15:19 Yes.

15:20 No, thanks for having me, Don.

15:21 All right.

15:22 We'll see you tomorrow morning.

15:23 Daniel Grams, our Washington D.C.-based correspondent there in Washington D.C.

15:26 Okay, so you had that testimony today,

15:28 but then also the inflation rate 3.8% annually, that is the highest in 3 years,

15:34 and that's confirmed by the government's own numbers this morning.

15:37 Gas right now is at $4.52.

15:39 It was $2.52.

15:41 $2.98.

15:42 This is the Okay, so it's $4.50 and it was about $3 back in the day,

15:46 which means just before this war started.

15:49 Back in the day, before the bombs started dropping.

15:51 Seven in 10 Americans, nearly 70% expect a recession within the next year.

15:56 That's according to a brand new CNN polling that is out today.

15:59 77% including a majority of Republicans say that his policies

16:03 have made the cost of living worse in their own communities.

16:07 And the man in charge says he has nothing to think about.

16:11 He is not going to think about it.

16:12 No, he doesn't think about Americans.

16:14 Not even a little bit.

16:16 And he followed by saying the only thing that matters

16:18 to him is preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

16:21 And so that matters, yes.

16:24 But caring about nuclear weapons and caring about whether

16:26 your people can afford groceries have been mutually exclusive.

16:31 I don't know.

16:32 I think you can care you can walk and chew gum at the same time.

16:35 Every president before him has had to do the same thing.

16:38 So there you go.

16:40 Now, we're going to talk about this uh it's pardon my French here,

16:46 bullshittery around the Supreme Court and what's happening

16:50 with voting rights and what Alabama did yesterday.

16:53 I told you this morning,

16:54 I woke up and I just the speed with which this white supremacy, racism,

17:00 bigoted movement to um decrease black political power

17:06 and to thwart the vote of black people, to suppress the votes of black people

17:12 in in elections moving forward is outrageous.

17:16 And we're going to talk about an effort.

17:17 Some people have a solution.

17:19 And that solution is related to one of the most powerful things in this country,

17:24 especially down south.

17:26 And that's sports.

17:29 And let me just go in deeper.

17:31 That's football.

17:34 At white colleges and universities in the south.

17:39 That's what they stand on.

17:41 And I know cuz I went to LSU.

17:43 That conversation after a word from our sponsors.

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18:45 All right, let's bring in some folks who can talk about

18:47 this cuz this is a story that's really been on my mind.

18:50 When I saw it, I was like, you know what?

18:51 This actually isn't a bad idea.

18:53 It really is not.

18:54 I want to bring in now Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson,

18:57 Jemele Hill, who's a contributing writer for the Atlantic,

18:59 the co-host of the podcast Flagrant and Funny,

19:01 and the host of the YouTube show Spolitics podcast.

19:05 Love her, and she's a dear friend of the show and a friend of mine.

19:08 Myron J.

19:09 Clifton is author and the co-host of the Voice Memos podcast.

19:14 Good evening.

19:15 Welcome one and all.

19:17 Um author Myron J.

19:18 Clifton, I have to ask you,

19:19 you're the first person I seen I don't know if you were the first person,

19:22 but you're the first person that I for me that floated

19:26 this idea that because of what's happening with voting rights,

19:29 because of Oh, you don't hear anything?

19:32 Tell him to dial back in.

19:33 Okay, so click him off.

19:34 So Jemele, I'll talk to you cuz you've been saying thing that black

19:39 athletes should stop going to these SEC

19:41 southern schools because that's where it's happening.

19:43 Do you Why do you Why do you agree with that?

19:44 I think that you do, right?

19:46 Um I'm a little torn about it to be honest Don because I'm

19:50 thinking about 2016 with Colin Kaepernick took

19:52 a knee to bring attention to oppression,

19:56 injustice, all the things that we see bore out to be truths in our society.

20:02 Some players supported him, most of them didn't.

20:04 He was alone and left on an island

20:06 and as much as there were black people who supported him,

20:09 what did they not stop doing?

20:10 They never stopped watching the NFL.

20:12 And my concern is that we're

20:14 asking these young people to sacrifice opportunities

20:17 for the sake of I understand a very important wider cause that yes,

20:21 SEC football is a it is a it's a nerve center.

20:25 Like they don't play in the south about their football

20:28 and we know what is generating all the billions

20:30 of dollars are these young black athletes whose talent

20:34 that they have been able to use to fortify these universities,

20:37 to build institutions, make many a white man a millionaire because of it.

20:44 The problem is that we will say, "Yeah, go go go,

20:47 yeah." and still be watching every Saturday Georgia games,

20:50 Alabama games, Tennessee games, like all of that.

20:53 And so for me, I actually think it's time

20:57 that instead of asking the young people or at least

20:59 the young people in these positions cuz I know a lot

21:01 of the civil rights movement was started by young people.

21:04 Think about the age of John Lewis,

21:05 think about the age of other activists that were important during the time,

21:09 we need to create the atmosphere for them to do it

21:13 and have them join a board and amplify because I just don't think

21:17 with what's at stake now for them asking young people to sacrifice

21:22 these opportunities [snorts] when we can't hold

21:24 up and do the minimal of sacrificing, I think that is asking a lot.

21:30 Do you don't Do you think that they would

21:32 have other opportunities if they went to a Southern University,

21:34 a Grambling University,

21:35 Texas A&M, Alcorn, all those things and they are exceptional

21:38 ball players that they may get if not the same opportunity,

21:41 similar opportunities?

21:43 No, they would not get

21:44 the same one because unfortunately through under-resourcing,

21:47 institutional racism,

21:48 we know that many of our HBCUs like Tennessee State is a perfect example.

21:52 They're old I mean, I untold millions by the state of Tennessee.

21:57 We know the position they've been put in.

21:59 And so, if you have a Ohio State or a University

22:03 of Alabama that is able to offer a kid a 5,

22:05 6, 7 million dollar NIL package, most HBCUs cannot simply afford that.

22:11 The other part of it, too, is in this past NFL draft,

22:14 not one single player from a HBCU was drafted.

22:17 Not one.

22:17 Wow.

22:18 And so, Wow.

22:19 again, um and it's by design,

22:21 what the positions that HBCUs have been put in, but you're

22:25 asking them to sacrifice something they've worked hard for their whole lives,

22:30 which is having the opportunity to provide

22:31 for their families and create a sense of generational wealth,

22:35 and to therefore leverage what they do at these universities to get to the NFL,

22:40 we're saying, "No, no, even though we can't even fortify our own support,

22:45 you go out there and make all the sacrifices while we comfortably

22:48 sit in our living rooms and watch

22:49 Tennessee football every Saturday anyway." Mhm.

22:52 Let me ask you this, T-Mel, okay?

22:54 Uh before I bring in the representative and bring Myron back in.

22:57 This is what I'm seeing from people, right,

23:00 all over because I said the very similar thing to that you are saying.

23:04 And someone said, "So, it's okay to sell out?" You see what's on the screen?

23:07 I don't know if that's selling out.

23:08 I think that's going after an opportunity, but what do you say?

23:11 No, I don't I don't think it's selling out,

23:12 and I think it's far more important um that people like

23:16 the representative that we have on that they lead this movement.

23:19 Uh you know, the adults in different positions,

23:22 or I'll even say this, I think athletes that have already gotten the money,

23:26 LSU, as you know this, Don,

23:27 has a very long terrific, fantastic history of NFL players, right?

23:33 That are currently in the league.

23:34 Justin Jefferson is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.

23:37 What is to stop Justin Jefferson from saying to LSU,

23:40 cuz you know they want these athletes to come back.

23:42 They want them to give money.

23:43 They want them to talk to recruits.

23:45 They want them to amplify their football team and their football program.

23:49 What if they said, "You know what?

23:50 We're not coming back.

23:52 We're not going to assist you until you make

23:54 a larger statement and join us in this fight.

23:56 We are not about to help boost and amplify your your football program."

24:00 I think that can be led by the athletes who have already done it,

24:04 who have already making the professional money

24:06 as opposed to the young people who yes,

24:09 they have an opportunity, and yes, they have some leverage,

24:12 but leave that on the folks that have done it and are

24:15 making the money or have made the money in professional sports.

24:20 Representative, what do you say to this?

24:21 Thank you for joining us, by the way.

24:23 We really appreciate it.

24:24 Of course.

24:25 Uh look, I definitely understand people's sentiment.

24:27 We're experiencing one of the most significant moments of a history right now,

24:33 and especially black history with the viscer-

24:35 evisceration of the Voting Rights Act,

24:37 and now with the destruction of majority black districts

24:40 in Congress and likely in state houses and state senates.

24:43 But where does responsibility lie for us getting

24:46 to this point helps us to determine where

24:48 we should go as relates to who is responsible and and and needs to do something.

24:53 Uh if we stopped watching football,

24:56 I I don't watch football, NFL, uh much anymore.

24:59 Maybe we catch a little bit of Super Bowl,

25:00 but I don't watch it anymore ever since

25:02 Colin Kaepernick was denied the opportunity to play.

25:05 Personally, that's just me.

25:07 But we did not collectively do that to the point.

25:09 We we have to make sure that our organizing

25:12 is in the vision and version of collectivism.

25:15 Like we all have to stop doing the thing

25:17 when there was the toy got toy target boycott, right?

25:21 I haven't been back to Target cuz the organizers,

25:23 amazing black women, they said don't do it.

25:25 So we have to make sure there's

25:26 some collectivism in telling poor kids in particular

25:29 not to take access to opportunities that could

25:31 actually lift their family out of poverty.

25:33 I don't think that's the solution.

25:36 Myron, this I as I was saying as you couldn't hear I said but you were

25:39 the first I don't know if you were the first person to float it float it,

25:42 but you were the first person I saw float this idea

25:44 why so and what do you think of this conversation?

25:46 So I I appreciate being on the show, Don,

25:49 and listening to Jamelle and Justin and the idea isn't new.

25:55 So it isn't my idea.

25:57 I did happen to create a flyer and it just hit the big

26:00 popular zeitgeist is over a million views on on Instagram right now and because

26:05 I knew with the gutting of the Voting Rights Act and everything that's happening

26:08 around voting and the restrictions and diluting

26:12 black political power that people were upset,

26:16 but there isn't always an avenue to channel that that anger or being upset.

26:21 I mean, we are in the midterms,

26:22 there's voting, but people wanted something else.

26:24 And I thought this was something and I hear

26:28 the different feedback that you don't want to deprive poor kids,

26:32 you don't It should be the adults.

26:34 It should be athletes.

26:36 It should be this and this and this.

26:38 And all those things could be true at at the same time.

26:41 Multiple things could be true.

26:43 We know only about 1 or 2% of all

26:46 all these D1 football players are drafted to the NFL.

26:49 And so we're talking about the masses,

26:51 but if you just look at the top prospects,

26:54 often times it only takes one, two, five.

26:58 It doesn't have to be all of them.

26:59 It could be a prospect saying, "I am the number one prospect.

27:02 I committed to Alabama.

27:04 I'm no longer going to go to Alabama.

27:06 I'm going to go somewhere else." And that somewhere

27:08 else could be anywhere else outside the SEC.

27:11 And people have talked about all

27:12 the divisions have issues with things politically related.

27:18 But we know in college football, SEC the SEC is king.

27:23 That is the heartbeat of college football and something has to be done there.

27:27 And I agree, it's not going to be everybody.

27:29 It's not going to be a mass boycott.

27:31 It was we did target, we did the Montgomery [snorts] bus boycott,

27:34 but something can be done and I was hoping to spur this type of conversation.

27:39 And like the representative says,

27:41 it has to be strategic, it has to be time-based,

27:43 it has to be something very specific,

27:45 and it has to be achievable achievable goals and metrics.

27:47 And I think we can get something done.

27:50 Representative, I have to say, look, I think it's a good idea.

27:53 I'm not an athlete.

27:54 Um, you know, it's a whole different

27:56 thing from getting opportunities to go to school,

27:59 getting scholarships, or whatever.

28:00 But athletics is a whole different that's a whole 'nother show to me.

28:02 So, you know, I'm not going to um it's not my bailiwick, let's put it that way.

28:06 But I think it would be great if we if we all stood for something.

28:08 I always say, um you have to be willing to sacrifice something.

28:13 And so, the speed with which these white men mostly,

28:17 but just white lawmakers or white people in general,

28:20 are moving in order to restrict black voting

28:23 and basically just do something that is completely racist,

28:26 is uh it it shouldn't it is shocking, it shouldn't be shocking,

28:30 but I'm just surprised that they didn't even wait 5

28:33 minutes after the Supreme Court came down with that ruling.

28:37 They started immediately.

28:39 So, there has to be an immediate solution

28:41 or at least a pushback or we're doomed.

28:44 No, that that's right.

28:45 So, there there to be a level of urgency.

28:47 And what I do love about this idea and what you just articulated is true.

28:50 There are probably some top prospects who if

28:52 they say they're no longer playing in the South,

28:53 some things will change.

28:54 I remember at the height of the Black

28:57 Lives Matter movement after George Floyd was lynched,

29:00 one of the top prospects for school in Mississippi said that he would not

29:02 play as long as the Confederate flag was a part of the state flag.

29:07 And other people like Stephen A.

29:08 Smith said, "Well, he know it's Mississippi.

29:10 Mississippi is Mississippi." And the next day,

29:12 Mississippi actually changed their state flag because

29:14 they knew the consequences for that financially.

29:16 And so, yeah, I think the mindset is in the in the right place.

29:19 There probably are five or 10 prospects who are black African-American who we

29:23 should be able to wrap our arms around who say, "Don't go play.

29:26 Go to Howard.

29:27 Go to some other places and we're going to be able

29:30 to wrap our arms around you as elected officials, as celebrities,

29:34 as media personalities to make sure you're actually taken

29:37 care of and your family's taken care of that I

29:38 think could put a dent in this conversation

29:41 and force people in the South to see things differently.

29:43 But to your point, there has to be places where we apply pressure.

29:46 Organizing, mobilizing,

29:47 and activat- activating political power in this moment in time

29:50 is one of the ways that we apply pressure.

29:52 Running for office, supporting candidates who

29:54 are running for office, donating your $1,

29:56 your $2, your $3 is a part of what you can do right now.

30:00 And not spending your money in places where

30:02 people do not value your humanity is deeply important.

30:05 Find those restaurants, those businesses,

30:07 those companies who love black people, who love everybody,

30:11 and who aren't trying to exploit us in order that we might be

30:14 a part of this plantation economy to invest your resources in or just save it.

30:18 Stop spending the money, period.

30:20 Let me Let me just interject here.

30:23 Um to Jamaal's point, as someone who grew up in Baton Rouge,

30:25 Louisiana, and I lived sort of in the middle here,

30:29 and on the north side of town was Southern University

30:31 and on the south side of town was Louisiana State University.

30:35 And all you have to do is just drive like into the gates of each

30:39 university and you saw the difference in the amount of resources that they had.

30:43 I mean, I went to LSU and it was abundant.

30:45 My family My mom and my sisters went

30:47 to Southern and then everybody else went to Grambling.

30:50 That's just what you did when you lived in Louisiana.

30:52 And so but the difference between these state uni- these universities,

30:55 there was no comparison.

30:57 So, you know, what it that is a big sacrifice,

31:01 but my and maybe it's easy for me to say that because I'm comfortable,

31:06 but I think that comfort is poison right now.

31:10 And and if you I think that young people

31:12 have to understand that you have to stand for something.

31:14 I mean, there are other skills that people

31:16 have than rather than being an athlete.

31:18 I don't mean to diminish that those skills,

31:20 but you have to be willing to sacrifice something and you know,

31:24 e- even perhaps it's beyond just folks, you know,

31:27 who are in that athletics boycotting these universities.

31:30 I don't know, but I something has to be done, Reb.

31:32 What do you say to that?

31:33 No, that in this moment in time, that is the question we have to ask ourselves.

31:37 What more can I do?

31:39 Right, 1950s and 1960s isn't coming back,

31:41 but 2026 is here and all of us have to ask ourselves,

31:44 what more can I do for the cause of justice?

31:46 What places can I not go to?

31:48 What places can I patronize?

31:50 What people should I be lifting up or voices should I

31:52 be making sure are getting heard in this moment in time?

31:55 And how can I be showing up in every circle that I am

31:58 in as an advocate against white supremacy and against

32:02 this elected authoritarian that's in the White House.

32:05 How do I do that?

32:06 Because that that that's what's going to be required because we'll

32:08 look back in 5 years and 10 years and people will wonder,

32:11 what did we do as we watched democracy continue to crumble?

32:16 And if your answer is, you know,

32:17 I just hoped and I prayed that things would get better, like that's not enough.

32:21 It should be something, right, that's tangible, something that's real, right?

32:26 Like I I started writing a post every single day about, you know,

32:29 from from the Equal Justice Initiative,

32:31 right, about racism, about inequality and segregation.

32:34 I I I start I don't care if you start a book club, right?

32:36 Find something that you are doing actively, put your hands on the problem,

32:41 and that may be protesting where you go to school,

32:44 that may be making sure you send your kid to an HBCU,

32:47 or just donating to the United Negro College Fund,

32:50 or Equity Alliance, Tennessee for All,

32:52 some of these organizations that do organizing.

32:54 But we all do, right, should feel I would say this, we should all

32:57 feel convicted to do more than whatever we've been doing.

33:01 And I'm saying that as an elected official who's been expelled,

33:04 uh as one who protested on the House floor last week, right?

33:07 Like a a brother who got detained along

33:10 with like I I understand the sacrifices a part

33:12 of this, but we all need to ask ourselves what

33:14 more can I be sacrificing in this moment in time.

33:18 It seems that we have very similar struggles, me, you, and Jamaal.

33:22 [laughter] THEY AIN'T THEY AIN'T THEY TRYING TO THEY

33:25 AIN'T CAME to put the handcuffs on me yet, you know what I'm saying?

33:28 But they put the handcuffs on the brother

33:29 They put the handcuffs on on on the rep.

33:31 I mean, come on now.

33:33 And they did it to me.

33:35 I've been lied on, schemed on, lied about,

33:38 talked about, mischaracterized, all the fired, arrested.

33:43 What else I I Look, I was there [laughter] last night

33:46 and I saw I saw um Vic Mensa and um Ali Ali

33:52 Siddiq and I said something we I we we were at the Webby

33:56 Awards and I had to the acceptance speech was five words.

33:59 You had to give a five-word speech.

34:01 And I said, "What should I say?

34:02 Something like F Donald Trump,

34:04 whatever." And they said, "Don, you've done enough.

34:09 [laughter]

34:08 Don't double down now." So I just said, you know, a free press is essential.

34:14 That was good.

34:15 It was a you know, but you know I wanted to say some But Jamaal,

34:17 think of it You're right.

34:18 I was as you were talking everybody was

34:20 talking I was thinking about what you said.

34:21 There are layers to this.

34:22 There are the booster clubs and the people who buy the, you know,

34:25 the the season tickets.

34:27 And then on top of that you got the the local sportscasters.

34:30 And then you have are national.

34:32 You you got, you know, all of those folks, and then you've got the athletes,

34:35 former athletes who are sportscasters, who are, you know,

34:38 high and on the boards and all of those things.

34:40 How does that happen in order to get people's attention?

34:45 That's my question.

34:46 So, I think what the representative said,

34:49 what representative Pearson said is is true,

34:51 is that it has to be a collective effort.

34:53 And what I didn't initially like about when this idea kind of started

34:57 floating out there in the atmosphere is that everybody was speaking in a they.

35:00 They need to do this.

35:01 They need to do that.

35:02 These athletes and I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

35:05 This is all of our problems,

35:06 and because we have not exercised that collectivism,

35:10 this is why when athletes do make these stances,

35:12 they tend to feel alone, and they get ostracized,

35:15 and then there's no support for them whatsoever.

35:17 And so, what I would say is that they

35:20 have to see this all as an entire ecosystem.

35:23 If you are, you know,

35:24 like I'm even though Syracuse is not in the middle of this, but I'm

35:28 thinking about the multi-million dollar donation

35:31 that Carmelo Anthony gave to Syracuse University.

35:33 And so many of these athletes give back

35:36 to their universities with their money, with their time.

35:39 If you are in a state that is

35:41 essentially executed a hostile takeover of black political power,

35:47 then you need to stop giving your money,

35:48 and you need to make it known why, both privately and publicly.

35:52 If you are a former athlete, if you are a booster,

35:56 if you are any of these layers of people,

35:59 you need to also exercise whatever leverage

36:01 you have to make sure that they understand, "Hey, this is unacceptable,

36:08 and we don't anticipate or we our expectation is that you will

36:13 take a a much bigger role in this fight." LSU, for example,

36:19 um uh Gary Chambers Jr., who I know you all know, he pointed this out,

36:23 and I was unaware of this, is

36:24 that the the dude that is uh channeling George Wallace talking

36:29 about how he is going to vote against or vote

36:32 for um these clearly discriminatory voting maps now forever,

36:37 you know, channeling those same words today,

36:39 tomorrow, forever, however George Wallace said it.

36:41 He's a announcer for LSU sports.

36:44 Yep.

36:44 Why is that like somebody like that who is making their living

36:49 off the talents of black athletes who's around them all the time.

36:54 That is what he is doing.

36:55 He's also at the same time subsequently taking away the voting rights

37:00 of what makes what is the racial makeup of their most money programs.

37:06 Why haven't you said anything?

37:08 And even I would say to the coaches, whether you be black or white,

37:11 Lane Kiffin got a whole lot to say about a whole lot of other things.

37:13 I'mma need you to say something about this, Mr.

37:15 $91 million man.

37:17 Uh Kim Mulkey who has who has made who has clearly

37:21 won championships because of players such as Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson,

37:25 I'mma need you, Kim Mulkey,

37:27 to step to the front of the class and say something about this as well.

37:31 So, I just think there just needs to be a lot of pressure

37:34 and we need to start having the conversation about all these coaches,

37:37 this athletic direct these athletic directors,

37:40 this entire ecosystem that has been allowed to benefit from the billions

37:45 of dollars that black athletes have generated for these schools, for the SEC.

37:50 If you are not if you loud and vocal about, you know,

37:54 other issues that are really less important and the well-being of your athletes

38:01 and the people and their families is not important to you,

38:04 then they don't need to go to your school and you also don't need

38:07 to be trusted cuz we see Tommy Tuberville acting a whole fool all the time.

38:11 And remember, this was somebody who was

38:14 in leadership over black athletes for decades.

38:18 Like that has got to be considered unacceptable.

38:20 And so, it's not just black people who need to step to the forefront,

38:24 but all these white people who also have been

38:26 making money off of what these athletes have provided,

38:30 they need to also be charged and expected to say something in this moment.

38:36 Jemele, you are reading ahead in the playbook

38:38 because that's what I wanted to talk about.

38:40 [laughter] And so with that said, watch this.

38:44 I don't think black athletes should play for my alma mater anymore.

38:48 I don't think they should be on the football field.

38:50 I don't think they should be on the basketball court.

38:52 I don't think they should be playing for any sport at LSU.

38:57 If Louisiana is going to gerrymander

39:00 black people out of representation in Louisiana,

39:03 then you guys should hit them where it hurts.

39:05 And that is by far LSU sports.

39:08 If anything is going to make the white people

39:12 in Louisiana care more about black representation and civil rights,

39:19 it's taking something away from their LSU sports teams.

39:22 If the top five recruits,

39:24 black recruits coming out of high school going into college said, you know what?

39:29 I'm not signing with LSU or Tennessee or any of these other

39:33 states that are going to gerrymander us out of out of representation,

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41:33 You know what?

41:39 A lot of people have been saying this.

41:42 This is right on time.

41:44 SEC the Southeastern Conference boycott a response

41:47 to the gutting of the Voting Rights Amendment.

41:50 South SEC universities support Republican

41:53 politicians who stripped away voting districts

41:56 that predominantly serve black voters while

41:59 making billions of revenue from black athletes.

42:01 Say all that.

42:03 56% of all black Americans live in the Confederate

42:07 states and as such they deserve political representation.

42:11 We are calling on all back football, basketball, track and field,

42:14 and other athletic programs to participate in this SEC athletics boycott.

42:19 And that's what we are talking about today.

42:22 And we're talking about with the person you saw there, Myron J.

42:24 Clifton.

42:24 He's the author and the co-host of the Voice Memos podcast.

42:27 Jemele Hill is here, contributing writer for The Atlantic,

42:29 co-host of the podcast Flagrant and Funny,

42:31 and host of the YouTube show Spolitics podcast.

42:34 And Justin J.

42:35 Pearson, an activist and Tennessee State Representative,

42:38 man of our time right now, uh joining us.

42:41 Myron, I'm going to ask you, Jemele raised the point,

42:45 she was reading ahead in my rundown, what about white allies?

42:49 What about white support?

42:51 Jemele's absolutely right.

42:53 Yeah, Jemele's absolutely right.

42:54 It should not just be us.

42:56 And you know, I made the point that I'm not sure if it was on that video,

43:00 but a different one,

43:01 when you strip away voting power from black representatives, well,

43:05 that also affects all the blue states

43:09 and districts because they depend on those black votes

43:12 to make sure that they get all the things that they want out of the government.

43:15 But they can't get those without the black votes.

43:17 And so, even though we are the face of be our voting rights

43:21 and voting power political power being stripped away by the the Supreme Court,

43:26 it will hit everybody.

43:28 It will hit everybody.

43:29 And so, to Jemele's point, yes,

43:31 there should be white athletes that also speak up and stand

43:34 up because they're also benefiting from their teammates who are black, right?

43:39 Whether it's college or pros, they benefit as well.

43:42 And I want to add another point she said,

43:44 that you know, how do how do you do it?

43:46 Everyone can do something.

43:48 And and I said earlier, whether it's a prospect opting out or changing schools,

43:53 you could also say, you know, before the game, we're not going to come out

43:57 until 30 minutes after the game is supposed to start.

44:00 We're going to do a protest like that.

44:02 And that gets the national news, it gets the focus and attention,

44:05 and you put pressure because it it's the stadium,

44:09 it's the broadcasters, it's the hotels, it's the travel,

44:12 it's all that that has impacted and it and they should all feel some

44:16 of the pain and they shouldn't get back

44:18 shouldn't be able to sit back on Saturday afternoon

44:21 with the greatest cocktail hour in in the world

44:24 down in South Carolina and cheer on all the all these black boys or if they're

44:29 in or if they're in the in college basketball,

44:32 black women and then the next day they're

44:35 in their gated communities voting against their rights.

44:37 That makes no sense and I I I do think I

44:41 do think we can hold our young people to that standard

44:45 because remember they are voting age and they're in the age

44:48 where they are the lowest percentage of people to vote.

44:53 Right?

44:53 That 18 to 29 vote at a lower percentage than everybody else,

44:56 but they are capable of voting.

44:59 And so if you look at a multi-pronged thing like representative says,

45:03 well then you also do voter drives.

45:04 You do voter registration.

45:06 You do all these things simultaneously to put pressure

45:09 and to take back what we shouldn't have to take back,

45:12 but we're what we're going to have to take back.

45:15 Let me ask you this.

45:17 Look, I again I would tell us you had Saturday

45:20 night in the fall that was that was the thing.

45:23 You put on your blue blazer and your khakis,

45:24 that's what people used to dress up to go to football games.

45:26 They don't do that anymore.

45:27 Uh [laughter] and your white bucks and you were I mean everybody went

45:30 and everybody was on the same team and that's a lot of money.

45:32 The hotels were filled, the stadium was filled,

45:35 concessions were filled, all the bars and restaurants.

45:37 So I mean look, it was it's a lot of money happening there.

45:40 But representative, can we really count on white support right now?

45:44 Come on, look at what's happening.

45:45 Look at what they're doing.

45:47 I mean, we can count on white support

45:50 that's actually showing up in this moment in time.

45:52 Right?

45:52 We can't hope for white support, but you know,

45:55 we were protesting and marching just yesterday and Uh,

46:00 I had a rally this morning launching our run for Congress

46:03 for District 9 and we had white folks who were there.

46:05 White people who are willing to sacrifice in this moment

46:08 is the only support we can count on.

46:10 And I mean, I can appreciate folks doing their Tik Toks and Instagram saying,

46:14 you know, this is what should happen, but are you going to stop?

46:17 Are you going to tell your family to stop going to SEC games?

46:20 Everybody's got to put something in and it can't just be uh,

46:24 black folks the only ones who are suffering and sacrificing.

46:27 It has to be more people.

46:28 It has to be a multi-racial coalition that wants to live in a pluralistic

46:31 democracy that white racist white Republicans

46:35 are doing everything they can to destroy.

46:37 And so, we can depend on the John Brown I'll say like this uh,

46:41 the John Brown type of white folks who are willing

46:44 to really sacrifice in order for us to get justice,

46:47 but it is not a moment in time where we can just pretend uh,

46:51 and all white people are going to be, you know, Kumbaya with us.

46:54 You've got to be willing to put something on the line and yes,

46:57 you might lose relationship with your Uncle Joe,

46:59 your racist Uncle Bob or whatever,

47:01 but we are literally losing our access to fundamental rights in this democracy.

47:06 So, if you're going to put something in, then

47:08 you can be a part of this struggle, but this isn't going to come easy

47:11 and everybody is going to have to sacrifice something.

47:14 Yes.

47:15 I love that.

47:16 Yeah, yes, that's my saying every time.

47:18 But here this is what I want to Jamal,

47:19 you know this before I before I get out of here.

47:22 Jamal, you know LSU and others, you know, Alabama, all of them,

47:26 they did not start accepting black athletes until they started losing.

47:31 Uh-huh.

47:31 And once they started losing football games, then they're like,

47:33 oh, we need to get some negroes on our team.

47:37 [laughter]

47:36 And if they stop losing the negroes on their team and they start losing,

47:40 then I'm just saying.

47:42 Yeah, well, Donny, you for those who study

47:45 college football and even for those who don't, just as a point of reference,

47:49 what changed in the South is I believe is Bear Bryant who took his Alabama team,

47:53 I think it was USC and you can correct me if I'm wrong Um,

47:57 Myron, but and they got waxed by a black quarterback and a black running back.

48:02 And my university, Michigan State University,

48:06 we were one of the first to integrate in the Big 10 because we realized that we

48:10 needed this type of talent from the south

48:12 in order to begin to dominate in college football.

48:17 And you're right, if if college athletes and black

48:20 college athletes can turn things in one way,

48:22 they can certainly turn it in the other direction.

48:25 And what I would say, and this is for, you know,

48:28 the Democratic Party or representatives in these states,

48:31 I think one way maybe you can hook

48:33 these athletes in to becoming more invested in this cause

48:37 is by dangling something that I know that they

48:40 all pay attention to and that's NIL money.

48:42 And Donald Trump and Nick Saban

48:45 and a lot of those college football power brokers

48:48 are trying to limit their ability to make

48:51 as much money as possible on their name,

48:53 image, and likeness and stop the steady flow of them defeating them in court.

48:58 So, my suggestion would be to politicians in those areas,

49:02 if you want the young people to also take a vested interest in politics,

49:07 talk to them about what the Republican Party is trying to do

49:09 to their NIL money and that might be the carrot that you dangle

49:13 that will get them involved in this other cause to where they

49:17 understand that it is certainly a vested community interest that's on the line,

49:22 but it's also a personal stake for you in the game

49:25 to why you should be opposed to what this party is doing.

49:29 Like you want to be able to vote these people

49:31 out of office that's coming out of your money.

49:33 Well, you won't be able to do that if black political power has been diluted,

49:37 if our representation has been taken away.

49:40 So, there's a personal reason why you should be invested in this.

49:45 Make sure you watch Reecie Outlaw, contributing writer to the Atlantic.

49:48 Watch her podcast Flawed and Funny and also her YouTube show,

49:52 It's Politics podcast.

49:53 Representative, what do you How can we help you?

49:55 What do you want to amplify before we let you go?

49:57 What's up?

49:58 Go to votejustinj.com, sign up for our newsletter.

50:01 We got petitions and things going.

50:03 And if you're able to donate, you can help us in that way, too.

50:05 But we're going to have some phone banking and opportunities for people

50:07 across the country to help us to win this a congressional race.

50:10 Myron.

50:12 You know what?

50:13 Uh I'm going to support you rep rep but also and also

50:17 wherever you are for your viewing audience and the viewing audience down,

50:20 wherever you are, you have midterms coming up.

50:23 You need to vote for the Democrat to get into office.

50:26 And that is the way we we're going to stop this from a long-term perspective.

50:30 And we need to make sure we vote in midterms

50:32 cuz we only vote at about a 30 to 40% clip.

50:36 And that is where we can we can get most control.

50:38 We can get the house back.

50:39 We can get maybe the Senate back.

50:41 And we can put a stop to some of the nonsense that's going on.

50:43 And we can build something heading into 2028.

50:46 Maybe they can convince the folks to let

50:48 the people who sign people up to vote vote blue.

50:54 [laughter] Go into those stadiums starting in September, August and September.

50:57 But now what you're talking about, that's that's a really good idea.

51:00 That's what I'm saying.

51:02 needs to be a mass organization at some of these games

51:05 to where people understand what exactly is at stake.

51:08 And they should embrace them.

51:09 The schools should embrace it.

51:10 They should.

51:11 Okay.

51:12 Thank you all.

51:12 I appreciate it.

51:13 I'll see you soon.

51:14 I really appreciate you guys coming on.

51:15 It's a great panel, great conversation.

51:16 Thank you.

51:17 Keep up the fight, Justin Pearson.

51:18 See you later.

51:19 Bye.

51:20 All right, Myron.

51:21 The older I get, the more I realize just how much

51:23 our personal information is floating around online without even knowing it.

51:26 And honestly, it hit me right after I had to deal

51:29 with it with friends who had charges on their credit cards.

51:31 And they told me all about the headache,

51:32 the canceling of the cards, changing passwords, dealing with all of it.

51:36 And it made me realize just how many companies

51:38 are collecting and selling our data every single day.

51:41 Your phone number, your address, even information about your family.

51:45 That's why I started looking into Incogni.

51:47 They help remove your personal information from data broker sites

51:51 and random websites that profit off of your private data.

51:54 And scammers use that information to make fake texts and emails look real.

51:59 I almost clicked on one myself recently.

52:01 Incogni handles the messy part for you,

52:03 contacting brokers, demanding removals, all of it.

52:06 Go to incogni.com/donlemon.

52:09 Use the code Don Lemon for 60% off.

52:11 That's i n c o g n i.com/donlemon.

52:14 The code is Don Lemon.

52:16 People always ask me what's on my nightstand.

52:18 What am I reading?

52:19 But when I first heard the story behind this book,

52:21 honestly, you know, it's it stopped me for a second.

52:25 Back during the Vietnam War, a college student uncovered lies coming

52:28 from the State Department and reported it.

52:30 He made national news and then suddenly

52:31 the FBI arrested him and charged him with crimes.

52:34 And the wild part is that happened 60 years ago.

52:37 Well, that student was George Polk.

52:40 And now he has written Bullies, Parasites, and Slaves,

52:42 a book about how people in power manipulate systems,

52:46 exploit others, and protect themselves while everybody else pays the price.

52:50 And reading it, you realize just how much it still feels familiar today.

52:54 Different decade, same playbook.

52:56 What I appreciate is that book doesn't

52:58 This book doesn't just point at the problem.

53:00 It pushes you to think differently about fairness,

53:03 leadership, and the kind of society we actually want.

53:05 Go to bps.online or text bully to 511511 to get your copy.

53:12 That's bps.online or text bully to 511511.

53:17 Text fees may apply.

53:19 Okay, and thank you to our sponsors.

53:21 We appreciate them because they do keep us powered.

53:23 Now, listen, we've been talking about all this in the beginning of the show.

53:26 I think that's a great conversation.

53:28 That's going to take some coordinated effort in order

53:30 to happen if you people start boycotting things.

53:32 And people who are not politically engaged and they see

53:36 dollar signs as it relates to football and and athletics,

53:40 it's going to be tough to convince them to boycott or take part

53:42 in of in in a movement where there's not an express lane to an opportunity,

53:48 and I certainly understand that.

53:49 But, as we've been saying, you have to be willing to sacrifice something.

53:52 So, if anybody tells you, you know, otherwise,

53:55 Donald Trump I don't care Donald Trump I don't care about Americans.

53:57 But, national security he cares about,

53:59 you know, uh Iran having a nuclear weapon.

54:02 But, national security and your kitchen table are connected.

54:05 National security and your wallet are connected.

54:07 It has never been I'm shocked that someone has not

54:10 said it and a reporter it has never been more connected.

54:14 The obvious example was happening today on Capitol Hill.

54:17 When he's like, "I don't care about Americans wallets or whatever.

54:20 I care about You're asking for 1.5 trillion dollars and you're

54:27 asking for 29 billion in order to fund the war so far.

54:31 What are you talking about?

54:33 When people can't afford to live you don't have a strong country.

54:38 It's it's hollowed out.

54:41 It's not people don't feel the same about it.

54:43 People aren't really as they are not in love with their country as much as you'd

54:47 want them to be especially not you because

54:49 Donald Trump's approval rating on the economy is 30%.

54:53 It's the lowest of his presidency.

54:56 70% of people disapprove of his presidency

54:59 of of what he's do doing with the economy.

55:01 Less than half of Americans still believe that if

55:03 you work hard you can get ahead in this country.

55:07 And that number has dropped 20 points that's since 2016.

55:09 So, that is not a bad mood.

55:13 People are broken.

55:14 They don't have faith in a democracy anymore.

55:17 And it's really honestly I believe in large

55:20 part because MAGA Donald Trump killed it.

55:24 And so, on Capitol Hill Hacksaw asked Congress

55:27 for 1.5 trillion dollars in a defense budget,

55:32 the largest request in American history,

55:34 and Donald Trump doesn't care about Americans' wallets and their financing.

55:39 Our finances.

55:40 And when Democrats ask about our weapon stockpiles being drained by this war,

55:45 Hicks has said the munitions issue

55:47 has been foolishly and unhelpfully overstated.

55:51 Always an excuse for everything.

55:54 When is it going to be a ceasefire?

55:56 When do you know is Well, I I Do you know the definition of ceasefire?

56:00 Cease Cease is fire.

56:04 What are you talking about?

56:07 What are you talking about?

56:09 It's all double speaking it's all BS.

56:11 And we all need to be keenly aware of it.

56:14 And we all have to be willing to sacrifice something.

56:17 That sacrifice could be if you can't sacrifice something uh financially,

56:22 perhaps you can go sign people up.

56:23 Maybe it's as little as you texting people and saying,

56:25 "Hey, you got your voter information together?

56:27 You Is your together?" Like, what's going on with you?

56:31 Maybe it's just talking to people in your neighborhood.

56:34 Maybe it's being just Maybe it's just paying

56:37 attention to what's happening around you in the news,

56:41 reading, watching independent media,

56:44 not sitting around watching food fights on cable news,

56:47 uh engaging in places where that that's constructive,

56:51 where you learn, that are informative,

56:55 and not watching the news and paying attention

56:58 to things as if it's a sporting event.

57:01 And then there's a round table of people talking about, "Well, you know,

57:04 this person was over here on the 50-yard line and this person

57:06 said this and he said this and then this happened." No,

57:08 you shut up, you're racist.

57:09 No, shut up, you fool.

57:10 What are you talking about?

57:11 You black, you the other F you, shut up.

57:18 No.

57:20 No.

57:22 Do something.

57:23 I know the calls are growing for black student athletes to boycott the SEC.

57:29 Beyond the people who are on our show today,

57:31 my friend DL Hughley DL must be stuck on a plane cuz I haven't heard from him.

57:34 I heard from him this morning, I haven't heard him.

57:36 DL Hughley, Ryan Clark.

57:38 I wanted to ask him all about that when I said

57:40 the folks who are former players and and and sportscasters, Ryan Clark,

57:45 streamer Myron Clifton,

57:46 who we had on, the B&B Empowered Network calling on recruits to decommit,

57:52 current players to transfer, fans to stop watching.

57:55 The argument is very simple,

57:56 black athletes generate billions of dollars for these universities,

58:00 and the states are those universities sit in are

58:03 erasing black voting power before a midterm election.

58:06 Those are the facts.

58:08 You cannot cash the check black athletes write every Saturday

58:13 and then wipe out their communities' political representation every Tuesday.

58:19 That's the argument.

58:23 And that has history behind it.

58:25 So, think about what you can do.

58:28 Understand the moment that we're in right now.

58:31 Understand what is important.

58:33 And support independent media where you have conversations like

58:38 this that are constructive and where you get ideas.

58:41 And if you want to know what you should be

58:43 paying attention to throughout the day and stories that we

58:46 are going to pay attention to that we update

58:48 you and sometimes we'll provide you even a 7:00 p.m.

58:51 sometimes.

58:52 I'm not committing to that all the time.

58:54 Um but it is check out our newsletter.

58:56 It's called the Lucky Lemon 7 newsletter.

59:00 It is on Substack.

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59:03 Let me see if Let me see if this dag on I haven't heard dag on.

59:06 Does everybody say dag on right?

59:08 When was the last time you heard somebody say dag on?

59:10 Um if this QR code works.

59:14 Even though my battery I have 20% battery.

59:16 I need to plug in.

59:16 Yeah, it goes right to the newsletter.

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