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00:00:28Transcription by CastingWords
00:00:58Transcription by CastingWords
00:01:00The biggest thing that happened in college sports was that game where we went back, SC, and played Alabama.
00:01:08Coach, this opener with Alabama, that's certainly no patsy.
00:01:11How do you feel about playing what may be your best coaching friend, Bear Bryant?
00:01:15Well, we talked about it and kind of arranged the game, and I think it's great that our school plays
00:01:21their school, and their people see our people, and our people see them.
00:01:26Alabama and Bear Bryant against USC in front of a crowd in Alabama.
00:01:32These were people, but less than 10 years before that, you couldn't even drink from the same fountain, you know,
00:01:38at these universities.
00:01:39There still weren't any black players south of the Mason-Nixon line.
00:01:43At USC, you have Jimmy Jones, and you had Clarence Davis, you had Sam Cunningham.
00:01:48The advantage we have at USC is we're playing the best players.
00:01:53They weren't there because they were black.
00:01:56They were there because they were great.
00:01:57And that was the way my dad looked at it.
00:02:01USC beats Alabama, and they're getting embarrassed.
00:02:06The fans in the stands, almost all of them white, it's not lost on them that Sam Bam Cunningham had
00:02:13an incredible day.
00:02:14Sam Cunningham of Santa Barbara, number 39, tearing on the play.
00:02:19Even if we're uncomfortable with that here, at that time, south of the Mason-Dixon line, we're even more uncomfortable
00:02:26with Alabama getting its ass kicked.
00:02:29That lopsided victory there, that was a big deal.
00:02:32That was a big game.
00:02:34And it did change a lot in sports, particularly in the southeast.
00:02:39And I think it was Coach Bryant coming over, and he and Coach McKay were like this, they're big buddies.
00:02:45And he said, that's it, I'm going to change the culture here of what we're doing.
00:02:52I remember the aftermath of what was written years later, that Sam Bam, my brother, and USC just reaped havoc
00:03:00down there.
00:03:01Just remember Bear Bryant, the interview of him saying, I've got to get me some of those.
00:03:07And, you know, I knew what some of those were.
00:03:11Alabama didn't have any African-American athletes on their football team.
00:03:15And you look at Alabama nowadays, how many national championships, oh my God.
00:03:21That's almost, I don't want to say a miracle, but that's like, you're talking about opening up an opportunity for
00:03:28not only African-Americans, but everyone.
00:03:31And my brother made an impact on America and American football.
00:03:39Junior Sam Cunningham flies over the top.
00:03:42When he got to USC, he would dive over the top, and he would say, Sam Bam!
00:03:49He was no joke.
00:03:52He had everything.
00:03:53So I had to earn and work hard to get what he had.
00:04:00My junior year, I began to receive letters from major universities.
00:04:05And here I am, 13-1 in high school.
00:04:08I'm thinking, I'm going to go to USC.
00:04:10Took a trip.
00:04:11And they said, well, if you're not starting by your third year, to give you a chance to make it
00:04:15into the NFL, if that's the case, we'll switch you to another position.
00:04:19And that was enough right there to say, well, I don't think you really want me to be a quarterback.
00:04:24So I said no to USC and yes to UNLV.
00:04:28My mom and dad passed away my first year of college in 1981.
00:04:33I had to grow up quickly.
00:04:35I asked my brother, Sam Junebug, I said, do you think I can make it into the NFL?
00:04:40He says, your arm is already as strong as the quarterbacks in the NFL, but you need to learn how
00:04:46to be a leader.
00:04:47There's Cunningham.
00:04:48He's 6'5", 190, only a junior.
00:04:51That's when I started that, working out in the middle of the heat.
00:04:55Third in the nation in total offense.
00:04:56Get off of my summer job and then go straight to the gym and work out and get the guys.
00:05:02And come on, man, we got to get, we got to get better.
00:05:05And I was like, we, we are good.
00:05:07And then we started believing, I started believing that I can do this.
00:05:13Randall Cunningham is a strong force.
00:05:16Our whole program has been built around him.
00:05:20Next thing you know, we're going to the California Bowl.
00:05:24Randall Cunningham already has made the Kodak All-America team.
00:05:27My brother, Sam, tells me, I'm going to be there and I'm going to be on the field taking pictures.
00:05:33Cunningham, three, a bullet pass.
00:05:35I'm on the field and I see my brother on the field taking photos and things.
00:05:39Cunningham going long.
00:05:40Oh, what a grab.
00:05:42I'm like, just in a zone.
00:05:44I was running all over the place and I ran for a touchdown.
00:05:48My brother was in the end zone.
00:05:50He high-fived me.
00:05:51He shows his ability.
00:05:52And I was like, wow, my brother's a professional football player and he's watching me and he's
00:05:57supporting me at my game.
00:05:59I was MVP of the game.
00:06:01Then I'm going to bowl games, the Shrine Bowl, the Hula Bowl.
00:06:05That kind of solidified me getting into the NFL.
00:06:09We have our first quarterback selected.
00:06:11I would say a lot of people, Mel, will have to be surprised that he is the first.
00:06:14A lot of people project Cunningham as a real project, but a guy with great natural ability
00:06:19takes a long time to get rid of the ball, but certainly move.
00:06:22He's been signed at 4-7.
00:06:23He could even play free safety.
00:06:25He's that good an athlete and he has that at speeds and certainly at 6-4, he has that side.
00:06:30No one knew that I had signed a $1.1 million deal for three years with the Tampa Bay Bandits
00:06:35in the USFL.
00:06:36Well, Norman Brayman, the owner, Mr. Norman Brayman, finds out that I had signed with the
00:06:43Tampa Bay Bandits and he said, I will never sign Randall Cunningham to a contract.
00:06:48It was like I had deceived him.
00:06:51No, I was looking out for my best interest.
00:06:53Randall Cunningham was part of this incredible new generation of Black athletes across sports
00:06:59who are just different.
00:07:01You know, they were born in the context of not remembering necessarily the Black freedom
00:07:06struggle of the 1960s and instead grew up more with the expectation that they should be treated
00:07:12like men and taken seriously.
00:07:19I think it's very difficult these days for people to remember that Black people in the
00:07:251930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, so many people were trained to be just perfect from the very moment that
00:07:33they stepped outside of their homes because Black people were so relentlessly hated on.
00:07:41Well, here they are together on TV for the first time, The Temptations and The Supremes.
00:07:46So, of course, that carried over into the Motowns of the world where let's always be neat.
00:07:54And then in the 80s, America was falling in love loudly with Black culture.
00:08:02Well, if you're feeling all right and you think you're on.
00:08:04A lot of the popular hip-hop by Sugar Hill, that was coming out of really a disco sound.
00:08:11My radio, believe me, I like.
00:08:13The hard breakbeats.
00:08:15It didn't look anything like Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.
00:08:18It didn't look like Melly Mel.
00:08:25And that was one of those moments where you're like, oh, my God, a star is born, right?
00:08:29Of a citizen, but I kick my fire away.
00:08:32Driving the culture.
00:08:33Rap music wasn't the only part of that, but it was probably the biggest part of it.
00:08:39That was just what was happening.
00:08:41But I couldn't survive without my radio.
00:08:43And also very aware that it was something that was very new.
00:08:46My next guest, my homeboys from Hollis, Queens, Run-D.M.C.
00:08:53Run-D.M.C. was amazing enough with hard times.
00:08:58And it's like that.
00:09:00And then Walk This Way, we're not just going to metaphorically kick down doors.
00:09:05We're going to actually show boots kicking down doors between worlds.
00:09:13It was a demonstration of the level that they reached, that they could do a collab with a world-famous
00:09:20rock star.
00:09:21Doing something together sends the signal.
00:09:24It sends the message that Run-D.M.C. is a big deal.
00:09:28We're starting now to see the very beginning of athletes who were reflective of the culture of hip-hop that
00:09:36was beginning to proliferate around the country.
00:09:38And Randall Cunningham was the first of those quarterbacks who really embodied that culture.
00:09:48This hip-hop thing is something that's fresh.
00:09:51Randall Cunningham is the perfect quarterback, the perfect black quarterback to come in the midst of all that.
00:10:00All the quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League up to that point.
00:10:05He changed the way defenses think about quarterbacks or had to think about quarterbacks probably as much, if not more,
00:10:13than anybody.
00:10:16The athletic ability Randall Cunningham had was devastating.
00:10:22I watched things this guy could do.
00:10:25It was shocking.
00:10:28He not just looked like us, but he played as we imagined we would play.
00:10:34That creativity and that artistry.
00:10:36He broke the mold and was signaling to us that mold doesn't fit us.
00:10:43Randall Cunningham was electric.
00:10:46He had a very powerful arm.
00:10:48Busted plays were not a problem.
00:10:51That could be part of the plan or just something that occurred to him.
00:10:55He was, at that time, a unique player.
00:10:59He had all the confidence in the world.
00:11:01The teammates had confidence in him.
00:11:03He was the right guy in the right place at the right time.
00:11:06And it was, it was just scary to play against.
00:11:10It's very difficult to defend something you don't know is going to happen.
00:11:28I remember this one.
00:11:34The highlight that comes to my mind, Monday night football game.
00:11:45I nicknamed him Gumby because he got hit, falls down, stumbles around and gets back up.
00:11:51Touchdown.
00:11:52You think you got him, you don't get him.
00:11:55I never felt like he was trying to make a statement.
00:11:58This is the way I play.
00:12:00There had been enough of a cultural shift and he did it.
00:12:02When I received an MVP and it was locally in Philadelphia, I went.
00:12:06I'm considered the top player in the NFL.
00:12:12It was a very fulfilling emotion that once again, it didn't kick in.
00:12:20Because you can't get caught up into that.
00:12:23A good kick.
00:12:25A super kick.
00:12:27Gets away from Megan.
00:12:29And is still running away from Megan.
00:12:32That is unbelievable.
00:12:34A quarterback takes a sack and then comes back and punch the ball 91 yards.
00:12:41And Randall Cunningham was a big deal.
00:12:43And Sports Illustrated just made it official.
00:12:47Sports Illustrated was ahead of his time in predicting that.
00:12:50I don't know that they thought it would take four decades.
00:12:55Turnover here will float.
00:12:57And a sack in the end zone is not outside the room.
00:13:00The point.
00:13:01Here comes Smith.
00:13:03There's Cunningham.
00:13:05Dodgers left.
00:13:07And puts it way downfield.
00:13:09For Fred Barnett who has the catch.
00:13:12And the race is on.
00:13:14There are no flags.
00:13:16And 95-yard touchdown.
00:13:19This type of play just defies description.
00:13:22And he just makes a play that only he can make.
00:13:26Boy, all the air has gone out of this stadium.
00:13:29And you know, they don't have a replay board here for these 80,000 folks.
00:13:33They're really going to have to wait until the 11 o'clock news to catch one of the great plays
00:13:38of all time.
00:13:40I developed a charisma and I saw opportunity.
00:13:48I wanted to be successful as big as I could become.
00:13:52From a quarterback standpoint, a black quarterback standpoint, he was the first one who understood he could do what John
00:13:58Elway was already doing.
00:13:59What Dan Marino was already doing.
00:14:01What Joe Montana was already doing.
00:14:03Doug Williams couldn't do that.
00:14:05James, Shaq Harris didn't have the opportunity to do it.
00:14:08He was a black guy doing those things.
00:14:11Randy?
00:14:12Speak up, could you?
00:14:13Got water in my ear.
00:14:14Randall is really the beginning of black quarterbacks as stars, as celebrities.
00:14:20So success came through different things off the field.
00:14:23Started my own company, Scrambler Inc.
00:14:26We're having a lot of fun with television and it's educational so it's good for kids.
00:14:31Randall, will you come and sign autographs for two hours?
00:14:33Randall, will you show up over here?
00:14:35Randall, we're going to pay you this amount.
00:14:36The next thing you know, my net worth started going up because I began to handle every single call that
00:14:44came in for me.
00:14:45And whether it was a candy bar, the Randall Cunningham bar, or Randall Cunningham potatoes, just people were coming to
00:14:50me.
00:14:50They wanted me to brand everything.
00:14:52I was like, not going to turn the money down.
00:14:53You only play football for so long.
00:14:55He was a forerunner of seeing the world as his oyster and that it could not be contained just by
00:15:03a football field.
00:15:04Is the white media setting him up to fail?
00:15:07How is he going to handle that?
00:15:18Any time you kind of curb what is available to an artist to express themselves, you're affecting the art usually
00:15:24in a way that's not that good.
00:15:25And eventually what they found was the message that was resonating and the kind of music that was selling, including
00:15:32in the suburbs, was not accommodating, was more realistic.
00:15:39The amount of bodacious energy in hip-hop and rap culture carried over into so many things.
00:15:46We're going to make things that really reflect us and how we're living and what our history looks like, all
00:15:52of it.
00:15:53Too punk! Too punk!
00:15:55What the market told the industry was, oh, you don't have to self-censor because that's not actually going to
00:16:03help you.
00:16:04How come in almost every song you guys do is always you guys against the police type thing?
00:16:10Because that's how it is.
00:16:11Our music, movies, television, and advertising regularly push the limits of decency and they bombard our children with destructive message
00:16:20of casual violence and even more casual sex.
00:16:24Oh, we always have backlash, right?
00:16:28I think that one of the things about American history is that progress has never been a straight line.
00:16:35I believe that the rap music promotes, by its very language and by its very actions, promote violence against authority.
00:16:44We've seen the backlash numerous times in American history to any amount of African-American success.
00:16:54I bought the Purple Rain album for our 11-year-old and I didn't know that Darling Nikki was on
00:17:00it and I felt that it was inappropriate.
00:17:02State lawmakers from Kentucky to Arizona to Ohio say that isn't enough and promise to introduce mandatory labeling bills when
00:17:10legislatures meet next year.
00:17:12What my concern is, is that these companies and some of these artists are engaged in cultural strip mining.
00:17:19They are selling explicit sex and violence to younger and younger kids.
00:17:23They take the money and they run.
00:17:25I think one of the main attractions to any kind of music is that you like the sound, but the
00:17:30lyrics are not unimportant.
00:17:32Tipper, thank you so much for being with us. I appreciate you being here.
00:17:36I think that when you think about black quarterbacks and kind of the template that people had in their minds
00:17:41for them, really for about 25 years or so.
00:17:45Randall, in a lot of ways, is the prototype, but he's the prototype in a way that's very important because
00:17:52he had proven himself to be so successful.
00:17:54He was special. Special to an era. Special to a time.
00:18:01Joe Namath gives you just the quarterback as being cool.
00:18:04Let Maxi not cool in your face.
00:18:11Randall is giving you that with a much different aesthetic, embodying a measure of black cool.
00:18:17And Cunningham on the roll.
00:18:20Being in the quarterback position, you're almost set up, if you're successful, to being thought of as a celebrity.
00:18:27Thinking about Randall Cunningham as a celebrity adds to thinking about him as a football player.
00:18:33Down to the sideline to Tom Jackson.
00:18:35MVP of this year's football, Randall.
00:18:37It's a dream come true for you.
00:18:39I started to believe that it was real.
00:18:43But you're only as good as your last game.
00:18:45We have been in contact with the National Football League, and they say they have never seen conditions like this
00:18:53for a playoff game ever.
00:18:55If they're going to score a touchdown, they need it now.
00:18:59Rush to the outside by Rivera.
00:19:01Left side intercepted.
00:19:03When the Eagles kept coming up short in the postseason, there's tremendous frustration.
00:19:08We get the two-minute warning with the Rams leading 21-7.
00:19:14First down, Philadelphia.
00:19:15Up the middle to Byers again.
00:19:18He tries the lateral.
00:19:20The Rams get the ball.
00:19:21Be covered by Kevin Green.
00:19:24And that should put the lights out for the Eagles.
00:19:28Who are you going to blame?
00:19:30And it all fell on Randall.
00:19:31I thought it was unfair.
00:19:33Final seconds tick away on an empty scene here at Veterans Stadium.
00:19:37An important game for Randall Cunningham and the Eagles.
00:19:41And it is going to end in a disappointing fashion.
00:19:49When you get to the playoffs, you face better teams.
00:19:53Randall has Hall of Fame talent.
00:19:56Hall of Fame, I'll say it a hundred times.
00:19:58For anyone to hold the fact that the Eagles didn't win a playoff against him,
00:20:04the fact that he would get blamed for that is moronic.
00:20:07I thought it became more personal because he had established this sort of stardom
00:20:15and the way he carried himself and the way he lived and the way he was kind of out there.
00:20:20That when you fall, you fall farther and you fall harder.
00:20:28You see number 95 here from the left side of the screen.
00:20:31Bryce popped a little bit low.
00:20:33A clean hit, though.
00:20:35And there goes a couple of ligaments.
00:20:36And they say that he'll have surgery tomorrow.
00:20:39I was sitting in that darn pocket, you know.
00:20:41That's not my style, you know.
00:20:45A lot of people have criticized Randall Cunningham
00:20:48because he runs out of the pocket so much.
00:20:50Well, I ran out of the pocket and I've been healthy.
00:20:52And when I come back, I'll be back to the old Randall.
00:20:56He's since as a quarterback.
00:20:58He's obviously a...
00:21:00I remember being on Philly radio and screaming and hollering back at hosts
00:21:04about some of the stuff they thought.
00:21:08Listening to callers talk about Randall Cunningham,
00:21:13it was so much racist stuff.
00:21:16I just could not believe what I was hearing.
00:21:19And it was the host of the show, it was the callers of the show,
00:21:22and it was, like, non-stop.
00:21:26And the descriptions and the depictions and the belief
00:21:30and how it was ascribed
00:21:32at a time in which we should have been way beyond it.
00:21:35I mean, it was, like, pure hatred.
00:21:39And I'm thinking to myself, if this was going on on talk radio,
00:21:42just imagine what's going on behind the scenes with this guy.
00:21:45It was, like, every day, 610 WIP radio.
00:21:49Is Cunningham worthy to be the starting quarterback?
00:21:51Is Cunningham washed up?
00:21:53And it's, like, can y'all talk about someone else?
00:21:57You know, what have I done to you?
00:21:59I haven't done anything bad.
00:22:00I do charity work, I visit schools,
00:22:03and I started looking at the things that I did
00:22:05and tried to justify it, which wasn't good.
00:22:08And it hurt me.
00:22:10And I'm, like, wow, man.
00:22:12And hung it up, and I was done.
00:22:15My heart was broken, for sure.
00:22:34How you doing, man?
00:22:36Time to get a little football action in now.
00:22:37When I went to Minnesota, it was just, it just happened.
00:22:41Good, good.
00:22:42It wasn't me maturing.
00:22:44It was people began to see me
00:22:47as the real person that I had become.
00:22:50Good job, good job.
00:22:52Nice play, Randall.
00:22:53A year and a half later,
00:22:54I'm the most valuable player of the league.
00:23:03We got it together in Minnesota.
00:23:04And Cunningham keeps running down to about the 11th.
00:23:08I absolutely saw a different quarterback.
00:23:14There's a deep downfield.
00:23:15Moss, touchdown, Vikings!
00:23:18Cunningham is going to work to Moss.
00:23:20He got great speed.
00:23:23Cunningham drops.
00:23:25Moss goes deep.
00:23:29Here's Cunningham.
00:23:31And caught by Randy Moss.
00:23:33Give to Smith, and a fleet quicker
00:23:35tossed back to Cunningham.
00:23:36Fires deep.
00:23:37Got Moss.
00:23:3810, 5, touchdown, Vikings!
00:23:42Cunningham crouches under the center.
00:23:44He's going straight ahead and dives into the end zone.
00:23:51Touchdown!
00:23:53What a good-looking drive that was.
00:23:59Born Again, that one gave me a lot of satisfaction.
00:24:02I cherished that Sports Illustrated cover.
00:24:06Because you're going to give it everything you've got.
00:24:08And that's what was created in us.
00:24:11Do everything on a whole nother level.
00:24:14Because you know what I saw?
00:24:16Shaq Harris,
00:24:18Doug Williams,
00:24:19and Warren Moon?
00:24:21Throw Vince Evans in there.
00:24:23Yeah, they gave me hope.
00:24:35I went into the wilderness,
00:24:37and then Minnesota was the redemption.
00:24:46The truth of the matter is,
00:24:47is that American culture at this point,
00:24:50what is truly American,
00:24:51is black culture to a large degree.
00:24:55Now this is a story all about how
00:24:58my life got turned upside down.
00:25:00And I'd like to take a minute,
00:25:01just sit right there.
00:25:02I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air.
00:25:05You can choose whatever examples you want.
00:25:14In West Philadelphia,
00:25:16born and raised on the playground,
00:25:18is where I spent most of my days.
00:25:19This was blackness in so many different ways,
00:25:23without offending anybody necessarily,
00:25:26but also being incredibly undeniable.
00:25:28I got in one little fight,
00:25:30and my mom got scared,
00:25:31and said you're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air.
00:25:33Like, we know black people took control.
00:25:38It is one of the few times we've seen white America have to catch up.
00:25:41It's had a profound influence on this entire nation.
00:25:46I'd just like to say that how delighted I am
00:25:49that we've now reached this moment
00:25:51when we can firmly announce the starting of a Fox News channel.
00:25:59We've been very lucky in being able to obtain the services of Mr. Roger Ailes.
00:26:04Roger Ailes created the modern grievance industry,
00:26:07so he created the backlash news industry.
00:26:11Ailes mainstreamed a certain kind of racism into American life,
00:26:15in certain ways doing the same thing for George H.W. Bush.
00:26:19Lukakis not only opposes the death penalty,
00:26:21he allowed first-degree murderers to have weekend passes from prison.
00:26:25One was Willie Horton,
00:26:26who murdered a boy in a robbery, stabbing him 19 times.
00:26:29And then he began to recognize that,
00:26:31wait a minute, if I could start a whole network,
00:26:34if I could just have people pushing these messages
00:26:37on a regular basis every single day,
00:26:39maybe even, I don't know, for 24 hours,
00:26:41like that CNN thing over there, I could get rich.
00:26:43All the news you need in 50 minutes.
00:26:45Before there was Fox News, we had right-wing talk media.
00:26:49I consider myself conservative, and I don't hide that fact.
00:26:52Political conservatives would talk about
00:26:55and espouse their politics on AM channels
00:26:59and one that emerges as the voice of white conservative America
00:27:04is this fellow Rush Limbaugh.
00:27:06The most-listened-to radio talk show in the universe.
00:27:09He's selling a version of America
00:27:14that harkens back to a period
00:27:17where black folk weren't as central to popular culture.
00:27:25Why? Because whatever I do here is right,
00:27:27because I'm the show.
00:27:29He had dreams of owning an NFL franchise,
00:27:31yet he found a home as a radio host
00:27:34and was always willing to play the race card
00:27:38when it came to people in the National Football League.
00:27:41Look, let me put it to you this way.
00:27:42The NFL all too often looks like a game
00:27:45between the Bloods and the Crips
00:27:47without any weapons.
00:27:49There, I said it.
00:27:57Randall's success opens the door for the 99 draft.
00:28:03But what Randall Cunningham said,
00:28:05that if a coach and general manager and a team
00:28:09had the willingness to back a quarterback
00:28:13that had those kinds of attributes,
00:28:15they could be successful.
00:28:16From the worldwide leader in sports,
00:28:18this is an ESPN News special presentation
00:28:21of the NFL draft.
00:28:22The quarterbacks, five of them,
00:28:24may go before halfway through the first round.
00:28:27And the talk was all,
00:28:28who's the best?
00:28:29Who should go number one of these guys?
00:28:31Keely Smith was coming out of Oregon.
00:28:34Dante Culpepper out of central Florida.
00:28:37Donovan McNabb out of Syracuse.
00:28:41Growing up, I played running back.
00:28:43Being in Chicago, Walter Payton was my guy.
00:28:47And so everything Walter did,
00:28:49that's exactly how I played.
00:28:51And in eighth grade, our quarterback got hurt.
00:28:55And the head coach called my dad
00:28:57and he asked,
00:28:58would he be all right to play a quarterback?
00:29:02And so who did I move to after that?
00:29:05Randall Cunningham was my guy.
00:29:08I grew up in an area called the Wild Hunters.
00:29:10It's an area in which it's not low-income housing,
00:29:13but the area in which you might see violence.
00:29:17And so a situation happened right next door to us
00:29:20and we ended up moving out to Dalton.
00:29:23It was exciting.
00:29:24We had our own rooms.
00:29:25We come home one day
00:29:27and people spray painted stuff on our walls.
00:29:30Windows were knocked out.
00:29:32It was an awakening
00:29:33where you start to learn a little bit more
00:29:35about the adversities of life
00:29:37and what you may be faced with.
00:29:39When I went to Syracuse,
00:29:41I had a football scholarship
00:29:42with the opportunity to play basketball.
00:29:45I felt like everything that I did
00:29:47on the basketball court,
00:29:49I brought basketball to football.
00:29:51I wanted to evolve my game.
00:29:53Donovan McNabb is most dangerous
00:29:56when he's running around the field,
00:29:58when he's scrambling.
00:29:59Watching a lot of professional players,
00:30:00watching film on Warren Moon,
00:30:05watching what made them great.
00:30:08That's when I started learning.
00:30:10So going into the draft,
00:30:13all I heard about was me, Achille, and Dante.
00:30:18It was always us three.
00:30:21I wanted there to be no hesitation
00:30:24of who's going to be number one.
00:30:26I wasn't going for two, three.
00:30:27I was going to be the number one pick.
00:30:29What a touchdown!
00:30:31Fake to him,
00:30:32and McNabb still has it.
00:30:33Leaves it down the field,
00:30:35and wide open.
00:30:35Harrison for the touchdown.
00:30:37Wow.
00:30:38Lowe and Johnson,
00:30:40and here's a sweep.
00:30:41And a first down from the corner.
00:30:44The last play of the game.
00:30:47McNabb.
00:30:48Throwing the other way
00:30:49for the tight end for Mitch.
00:30:51I don't believe it.
00:30:53I don't believe it.
00:30:54And we wasn't going to lose this game.
00:30:56And me being a man,
00:30:58I wasn't going to let us lose.
00:31:00And it was like,
00:31:01oh, the Cleveland Browns are on the clock.
00:31:03And at first, it was,
00:31:04you know,
00:31:05oh, well, Donovan is,
00:31:06you know,
00:31:07there's a lot of people projecting
00:31:08I'm number one,
00:31:09and then Cleveland
00:31:10take me to dinner.
00:31:12Well, I already had Philadelphia set
00:31:13at that day and time.
00:31:15Can we do it tomorrow
00:31:16after my workout?
00:31:18And they were like,
00:31:19oh, well, you know,
00:31:20we were leaving.
00:31:21I'm like,
00:31:22you're not going to watch my workout?
00:31:24And so that kind of in my mind,
00:31:26I was like,
00:31:26oh, okay.
00:31:27All right.
00:31:28Well, it was nice seeing you guys.
00:31:30Like, you know.
00:31:31But going into the draft
00:31:33is when things started to really,
00:31:35like, stuff started to come out.
00:31:36He displayed so much character
00:31:38and poise,
00:31:39and he's such a solid human being.
00:31:42I remember talking to a few guys
00:31:45in the Cleveland organization
00:31:46leading to the draft
00:31:47that they weren't going to draft me
00:31:51because they didn't want to start
00:31:52the franchise back off
00:31:55in Cleveland
00:31:56with a black quarterback.
00:32:00The Cleveland Browns selection
00:32:01is from the University of Kentucky
00:32:04quarterback Tim Couch.
00:32:06Hey, and I,
00:32:07you watch the video.
00:32:08I just sat there
00:32:08and I was clapping.
00:32:09I was like, you know,
00:32:10Tim was a cool dude.
00:32:12The mindset is
00:32:13the quarterback has to look like this.
00:32:15That's what happens.
00:32:16That's what makes you take
00:32:17Tim Couch over Donovan McNabb,
00:32:20you know,
00:32:21from my Browns,
00:32:22which is, you know,
00:32:24bullshit,
00:32:24shit, to be honest with you.
00:32:25So now the number two pick
00:32:27is coming up.
00:32:28And you know,
00:32:28the Eagles fans
00:32:29are hoping running back.
00:32:31We'll see.
00:32:32The Philadelphia Eagles
00:32:33select Donovan McNabb,
00:32:35quarterback,
00:32:36Syracuse University.
00:32:39You know, I'm happy.
00:32:41I'll get the hat
00:32:42and I'm just smiling
00:32:43when I'm getting booed.
00:32:44I think Donovan
00:32:46was a little bit defined
00:32:47by 60 drunks in New York.
00:32:49The mayor wanted Ricky Williams
00:32:51and so the radio station
00:32:53took these 60 drunks up there
00:32:55and they got all the publicity.
00:32:57I'm like, you know,
00:32:59smile, you know,
00:33:01and I gave the old school thumbs up.
00:33:03And so I remember
00:33:05going back into the green room
00:33:08and my dad's like,
00:33:10hey, it's okay,
00:33:10we're going to show them.
00:33:11That was another turning point
00:33:13for me where I realized
00:33:14not everybody's going to like it,
00:33:16but I'll show them.
00:33:23America didn't meet Michael Vick
00:33:25until January of the year 2000
00:33:27in the Sugar Bowl.
00:33:30Vick escapes.
00:33:32And I don't know
00:33:32if you've ever seen
00:33:33one man play football
00:33:34against 11 other players,
00:33:36but that's what that was.
00:33:38It was the most mind-blowing thing
00:33:40that any of us had ever seen.
00:33:42He's got his man open.
00:33:43He's got Davis.
00:33:44Never seen a quarterback that fast.
00:33:45Never seen one
00:33:46that could throw like that.
00:33:47Never seen anything like it.
00:33:49Touchdown, Virginia Tech.
00:33:50And I remember thinking
00:33:51at that moment,
00:33:52like, there's never been
00:33:53a Michael Jordan of football,
00:33:55meaning someone who could just
00:33:56impose their will on the game
00:33:57because it's such a team sport.
00:33:59Too many variables,
00:34:00too many bodies on the field.
00:34:01David's a great show,
00:34:02didn't they?
00:34:03Sure did.
00:34:03And I remember thinking,
00:34:04I wonder if this dude
00:34:05could be that.
00:34:06My balance is so important to me
00:34:09and now I have the opportunity
00:34:10to take care of them.
00:34:12So I've decided to leave
00:34:13with Virginia Tech.
00:34:17I was the beat reporter
00:34:18for the Chargers, 2001.
00:34:20The Chargers had the first pick
00:34:21in the draft.
00:34:22I'm ecstatic.
00:34:24I'm like, I'm going to get
00:34:25to cover Michael Vick.
00:34:27The head coach at that time
00:34:28was Mike Riley.
00:34:30Mike Riley was ecstatic.
00:34:32But we're all excited.
00:34:34This is going to be amazing.
00:34:35I get to sit behind Doug Flutie.
00:34:38They had a bunch of good players.
00:34:39Rodney Harrison was still there.
00:34:41And I was excited about
00:34:42going to the West Coast.
00:34:44Fly out to Virginia Tech
00:34:46for a private workout.
00:34:48Vick shows up with some friends
00:34:50and a guy who one person
00:34:51described as his bodyguard,
00:34:54which I'm sure was just a friend,
00:34:55who went by the name of Butter.
00:34:58And I knew right at that moment,
00:35:00there is no way
00:35:01they're going to draft Michael Vick.
00:35:08I loved everything about Syracuse.
00:35:11My coach, Kevin Rogers,
00:35:13told me that they were recruiting Mike.
00:35:15He was like,
00:35:15I want you to host him.
00:35:17Okay, tell me about him.
00:35:18And he told me about him.
00:35:19And then when he showed up on campus,
00:35:20Mike was so quiet.
00:35:24Donovan was an amazing guy.
00:35:26I was a big fan of his
00:35:28and I was able to visit with him
00:35:30and hang out with him
00:35:31and got to know me.
00:35:33And so we were just talking
00:35:35and I was like,
00:35:35what's up, man?
00:35:36He was just like,
00:35:36man, I'm just,
00:35:38I'm in awe.
00:35:40And I was like,
00:35:41what you talking about?
00:35:42He was like, man,
00:35:43like, I look up to you.
00:35:44Like, I watch you.
00:35:45Like, I want to be the next
00:35:48Donovan McNabb.
00:35:49And I was like,
00:35:49ah, that sounds good.
00:35:50I just want you to be
00:35:51the best version of you.
00:35:53You be the next Mike.
00:35:55The whole time I was there,
00:35:56I just,
00:35:57I was looking around,
00:35:58it was snow on the ground.
00:36:00I remember he said,
00:36:02but I need you to talk to my mom.
00:36:05And I was like,
00:36:06talk to your mom.
00:36:07So I talked to her
00:36:08and she was just like,
00:36:09Donovan, he's just so excited
00:36:10to be there.
00:36:10Like, but I need him to be here.
00:36:13I need him to be home.
00:36:14And I go,
00:36:15it ain't that far from Virginia.
00:36:17Like, they really want him here.
00:36:19And she's like,
00:36:20I just need him home.
00:36:22My mom would never be able
00:36:23to make it out here consistently.
00:36:25The way I know she'd like
00:36:26to support me.
00:36:27And so that hurt.
00:36:30So Virginia Tech
00:36:31has your mom to thank you?
00:36:33Absolutely.
00:36:34Absolutely.
00:36:35We built that relationship
00:36:36from that particular point on.
00:36:42They began gathering
00:36:43outside the theater.
00:36:45Then in the final hour,
00:36:46once again,
00:36:47the day of the draft,
00:36:49the night before the draft,
00:36:50the Atlanta Falcons,
00:36:51they traded up.
00:36:52Yesterday afternoon,
00:36:53the San Diego Chargers
00:36:54and Atlanta Falcons
00:36:55swapped the number one
00:36:56pick of the draft.
00:36:57I'm like,
00:36:58thank you,
00:36:59because the flights
00:37:00was going to kill me.
00:37:01Now my mom's closer
00:37:02and she can watch me play.
00:37:04This is the guy
00:37:05that's from the same place
00:37:06as Allen Iverson.
00:37:07And he's giving you
00:37:09kind of a young street
00:37:10blackness
00:37:11that had not been present
00:37:13at quarterback.
00:37:15Even the guys
00:37:16on the broadcast
00:37:16are like,
00:37:17we don't really know
00:37:18how this is going to go.
00:37:19The Atlanta Falcons select
00:37:20Michael Vick,
00:37:22quarterback,
00:37:23Virginia Tech.
00:37:24It doesn't really matter
00:37:25who I play for.
00:37:26You know,
00:37:27I didn't really care.
00:37:28You know,
00:37:28as long as I had the chance
00:37:29and the opportunity
00:37:30to play in the NFL,
00:37:31you know,
00:37:32I felt like
00:37:33that would be a blessing.
00:37:34They didn't say,
00:37:35I drafted you to be you.
00:37:37I don't know
00:37:38about the outside noise.
00:37:39I don't know
00:37:40what they're saying.
00:37:41I drafted you to be you.
00:37:45That was the crelude
00:37:46to Michael Vick
00:37:47and Donovan McNabb.
00:37:52Donovan McNabb,
00:37:53he was a Hall of Fame
00:37:55caliber player.
00:37:56He was a Pro Bowl player.
00:38:05He was one of the best
00:38:07quarterbacks in the league.
00:38:09That moment
00:38:10where Donovan McNabb
00:38:12is leading his team
00:38:13and he's not alone now.
00:38:15Michael Vick
00:38:15is a starting quarterback.
00:38:21Michael Vick
00:38:22is like
00:38:22nothing we'd ever seen before.
00:38:25You know,
00:38:26you got Donovan McNabb.
00:38:27Coming through
00:38:28at the last moment
00:38:29but escaping.
00:38:31McNabb
00:38:31rolling to the outside.
00:38:33Coming back this way.
00:38:35He's going to launch one.
00:38:36He's walking
00:38:36behind the line.
00:38:37A different type of player.
00:38:42Playing and rolling
00:38:44way down there.
00:38:56That was a real
00:38:58transformational moment
00:38:59from a league that
00:39:01just a decade earlier
00:39:03was majority African-American
00:39:05without any African-American
00:39:07starting quarterbacks.
00:39:13The E in ESPN
00:39:15stands for what?
00:39:17Entertainment.
00:39:18ESPN and other sports outlets
00:39:20saw what talk radio
00:39:22was capable of
00:39:23which was, you know,
00:39:25entertaining people
00:39:26with opinions.
00:39:26And they wanted to
00:39:27inject more opinion
00:39:29into their NFL pregame show.
00:39:31So what easier way
00:39:33to do that
00:39:34than just hire
00:39:34the most opinionated person
00:39:36they could find
00:39:37and have him spout off
00:39:38during the show.
00:39:39The most dangerous
00:39:41do you in the USA?
00:39:44I have postulated
00:39:45that for some
00:39:46we need to change
00:39:47the symbol
00:39:47of this country
00:39:48from the eagle
00:39:50to a dilapidated
00:39:51near-death
00:39:52dehydrated big sow
00:39:54with hundreds of thousands
00:39:55of little piglets
00:39:56attempting to suckle
00:39:57from this sow
00:39:58but there's nothing left.
00:39:59You know,
00:40:00you think about
00:40:00the absurdity of this.
00:40:02This was a guy
00:40:02who'd never played football
00:40:03in his life
00:40:04who had no,
00:40:05no basis
00:40:06of expertise whatsoever
00:40:07who was there
00:40:08to interrupt
00:40:09Tom Jackson
00:40:10and Steve Young,
00:40:11you know,
00:40:12great NFL veterans
00:40:13of the game,
00:40:14interrupt them
00:40:14and tell them
00:40:14they don't know
00:40:15what they're talking about
00:40:16with regard to football.
00:40:17I think the sum total
00:40:18of what you're all saying
00:40:19is that Donovan McNabb
00:40:21is regressing,
00:40:22he's going backwards.
00:40:23He basically said
00:40:23two things.
00:40:24He said,
00:40:25Donovan McNabb's
00:40:26not a very good quarterback
00:40:27and he said,
00:40:28there's this odd
00:40:30hexagonal conspiracy
00:40:31between the media
00:40:32and the NFL
00:40:33to make you think
00:40:34he's a good quarterback.
00:40:36I'm sorry to say this,
00:40:37I don't think he's been
00:40:39that good
00:40:39from the get-go.
00:40:41I think what we've had here
00:40:42is a little social concern
00:40:44in the NFL.
00:40:44I think the media
00:40:45has been very desirous
00:40:46that a black quarterback
00:40:47do well.
00:40:48We're interested in black coaches
00:40:49and black quarterbacks
00:40:50doing well.
00:40:50I think there is
00:40:51a little hope
00:40:52invested in McNabb
00:40:53and he got a lot of credit
00:40:55for the performance
00:40:55of this team
00:40:56that he really didn't deserve.
00:40:57That was a totally
00:40:59inappropriate statement
00:41:01by Rush Limbaugh.
00:41:03Donovan McNabb
00:41:04was a really good player.
00:41:06You know,
00:41:06if he was a marginal player
00:41:09and if you could make
00:41:11a reasonable case
00:41:12that some owner
00:41:13or GM or coach
00:41:15wanted to make
00:41:16a social statement
00:41:17at the expense
00:41:18of winning games
00:41:19and at the expense
00:41:20of a better quarterback
00:41:21who was sitting on the bench,
00:41:23if you could possibly
00:41:24make that case
00:41:25and if you did it
00:41:26in a nuanced way,
00:41:29that would be
00:41:30a valid thing to say.
00:41:31But they didn't have
00:41:33anybody better
00:41:33than Donovan McNabb.
00:41:36Actually,
00:41:37Donovan McNabb's
00:41:38one of the most
00:41:38underrated players
00:41:38of all time.
00:41:39He was basically saying,
00:41:41hey, he wouldn't even
00:41:41get a chance
00:41:42if he wasn't black.
00:41:43Now affirmative action
00:41:44has creeped
00:41:45into football
00:41:47and we're giving people
00:41:48chances
00:41:49who don't deserve them.
00:41:50There is just as much
00:41:51left-wing media bias
00:41:52in the sports media
00:41:53as there is
00:41:54in the mainstream
00:41:55news media.
00:41:56And I was simply
00:41:57making that opinion known.
00:42:00I took the
00:42:01African-American quarterback
00:42:02and I matched them
00:42:04to white quarterbacks
00:42:05who were producing
00:42:06at the same level
00:42:08on the field.
00:42:09And there was
00:42:09no great race conspiracy
00:42:11that was making out,
00:42:13you know,
00:42:13bad African-American
00:42:14quarterbacks
00:42:15to be better
00:42:16than they were.
00:42:17This comment
00:42:18that I made
00:42:18about McNabb
00:42:19and the Philadelphia
00:42:19sports media
00:42:20is not outrageous.
00:42:22It's only outrageous
00:42:23because some of the people
00:42:24who heard it
00:42:25have a speech code.
00:42:26Think about the power
00:42:28of what he was saying.
00:42:29Don't trust your eyes.
00:42:31Don't trust your ears.
00:42:32There's this incredible
00:42:33race conspiracy
00:42:35that you know nothing about
00:42:36that is infecting
00:42:38the way that you see
00:42:39Donovan McNabb
00:42:39and every other
00:42:40African-American quarterback.
00:42:42It's so destabilizing
00:42:44because, you know,
00:42:45fans had seen
00:42:46Donovan McNabb play.
00:42:47They'd seen him
00:42:48go to the Pro Bowl.
00:42:49They'd seen him
00:42:49take his team
00:42:50to the playoffs.
00:42:51And he was delegitimizing.
00:42:53He was taking that away.
00:42:54And it's really
00:42:56a preview
00:42:57of modern politics
00:42:58where an awful lot
00:43:00of the game
00:43:00is trying to get people
00:43:02to disavow
00:43:03what's right in front of them,
00:43:04you know,
00:43:05what's obvious to them.
00:43:06Rush Limbaugh
00:43:07quit what he called
00:43:08his dream job
00:43:09as a football commentator
00:43:10for ESPN
00:43:11after expressing
00:43:13an opinion
00:43:13over the weekend
00:43:14that Philadelphia quarterback
00:43:15Donovan McNabb
00:43:16was overrated
00:43:17by the press
00:43:18because he's black.
00:43:20It's in some sense
00:43:21impossible
00:43:21for Donovan McNabb
00:43:22to answer
00:43:23because anything he says,
00:43:25anything he does
00:43:26has now been framed
00:43:28as, you know,
00:43:29your understanding
00:43:30of him as marketing,
00:43:31this, like,
00:43:32charitable endeavor
00:43:33to make him
00:43:34look better than he is.
00:43:36Everybody was waiting
00:43:37to see what Donovan's
00:43:38reply would be.
00:43:40And I thought that
00:43:41it might have been
00:43:42his finest hour
00:43:43was the way he handled that.
00:43:44You know, he said,
00:43:45you know, people,
00:43:47comments like that,
00:43:48when I read comments like that,
00:43:49it makes me sad
00:43:50where we are right now
00:43:52and how we still
00:43:53look at the world.
00:43:54It showed me
00:43:55how smart he was
00:43:56and how savvy he was
00:43:59about not returning fire
00:44:00but taking the higher road.
00:44:04Comments like
00:44:04with Rush Limbaugh,
00:44:06what he said,
00:44:07almost basically
00:44:08calling me overrated.
00:44:11He's not the one
00:44:12that's doing it's the defense
00:44:13or, you know,
00:44:14and it's just like,
00:44:15oh, like I am out there
00:44:17playing the quarterback position.
00:44:18Like, I am out there
00:44:19with the ball in my hands
00:44:20at all times,
00:44:21but it ain't me.
00:44:22And what he realized
00:44:24and what he said later on,
00:44:25the way I could settle
00:44:26that argument,
00:44:27I had to go out
00:44:28and play better.
00:44:34And I think they won
00:44:3512 of the next 13.
00:44:3613.
00:44:4013.
00:44:4313.
00:44:4313.
00:44:4314.
00:44:4714.
00:45:04My proudest moment,
00:45:06I think probably
00:45:07making it to the
00:45:08NFC Championship game.
00:45:10Two African-American
00:45:11quarterbacks going
00:45:12head-to-head
00:45:13for the first time
00:45:14in the history
00:45:15of the NFL
00:45:16in a conference
00:45:18championship game.
00:45:19A historic day
00:45:20here in Philadelphia.
00:45:21We go to Philly,
00:45:21we might beat Donovan,
00:45:23I'll get the chance
00:45:24to go head-to-head
00:45:24with him.
00:45:25One of my idols,
00:45:27like a game that I watched
00:45:28for so many years
00:45:29and watching,
00:45:30you know,
00:45:31Troy Aikman
00:45:31and Steve Young
00:45:32and Brent Favre
00:45:33compete in those games
00:45:34and then it was
00:45:35me and Donovan.
00:45:36This is what it's
00:45:38going to be
00:45:38for the next 10 years.
00:45:40It's going to be
00:45:40me versus Donovan.
00:45:42And then,
00:45:43with plenty of time,
00:45:44fires,
00:45:45LJ Smith
00:45:46inside the clock.
00:45:48There,
00:45:49a little pump fake.
00:45:50Now over the middle.
00:45:52Krookler,
00:45:52what a throw,
00:45:53what a hit,
00:45:53what a catch.
00:45:56And he wants the crowd
00:45:57to give him
00:45:58a little more applause
00:45:59than that.
00:46:00Play action.
00:46:03Lewis,
00:46:05touchdown
00:46:05and they will
00:46:06celebrate.
00:46:07I appreciated
00:46:08that moment.
00:46:09The only thing
00:46:10I regret,
00:46:11I kept telling myself,
00:46:12it was really easy
00:46:13to get here
00:46:13and we'll get back.
00:46:15And when I look back
00:46:16on the journey,
00:46:17it really wasn't easy.
00:46:18You had to earn it.
00:46:20Finally,
00:46:21do you feel like
00:46:21the world's off
00:46:22your shoulders?
00:46:23No.
00:46:25But we got
00:46:26one more game
00:46:26to play.
00:46:27And that's the reason
00:46:28we set out
00:46:29to play this game,
00:46:30is to win
00:46:31the Super Bowl.
00:46:35It was two guys
00:46:36that I always had
00:46:37in my mind
00:46:38while I was
00:46:38in the playoffs.
00:46:39It was Doug Williams
00:46:40and Steve McNair.
00:46:42Because I wanted
00:46:42to win it for Steve
00:46:44and win it for myself.
00:46:46And I knew
00:46:46what it meant
00:46:47for all of us
00:46:48that Doug did it.
00:46:49But now,
00:46:50it's a new regime.
00:46:50I felt like
00:46:51I could carry
00:46:52that torch.
00:46:53And that torch
00:46:54is so meaningful
00:46:56to us
00:46:56as black quarterbacks.
00:46:57Bump in from McNabb
00:46:59over the middle.
00:47:02Touchdown.
00:47:05Blitz.
00:47:05McNabb throws.
00:47:07Touchdown,
00:47:07Philadelphia.
00:47:09Westbrook.
00:47:12Blitz coming
00:47:12from New England.
00:47:14The pass
00:47:16is caught.
00:47:17Got to keep
00:47:18as much time
00:47:18on the clock
00:47:19as possible.
00:47:20Another blitz
00:47:21from New England.
00:47:22McNabb over the middle.
00:47:23Pass is complete.
00:47:25And that's another
00:47:25first down.
00:47:26Down the middle.
00:47:27of the field.
00:47:29Lewis.
00:47:30Touchdown.
00:47:31And Philadelphia
00:47:32is not finished yet.
00:47:34And I just
00:47:35came up short.
00:47:36They're going to throw
00:47:37two Hail Marys.
00:47:39Down the middle
00:47:40of the field.
00:47:41The pass
00:47:42is picked off
00:47:42by Harrison.
00:47:46Rodney Harrison
00:47:47takes it in
00:47:48and nine seconds
00:47:49remain.
00:47:50And the New England
00:47:51Patriots
00:47:53are on their way
00:47:54to solidifying
00:47:57their team
00:47:57as an NFL
00:47:59dynasty.
00:48:00If I would've won
00:48:00that Super Bowl,
00:48:02things would've been
00:48:02a whole lot different
00:48:03for me.
00:48:04Now, do I regret it?
00:48:05No.
00:48:05I mean, things happen.
00:48:06And my life has been
00:48:07pretty good anyway.
00:48:08But what it could've been
00:48:10by winning that Super Bowl.
00:48:28I'm up at training camp
00:48:30in Greenville, South Carolina.
00:48:31and it's after one
00:48:33of the two-a-day practices
00:48:35with Andy Young,
00:48:37the great civil rights leader.
00:48:38And at the time,
00:48:39he was on the
00:48:41Atlanta Falcons
00:48:42board of directors
00:48:42and he's waving me
00:48:44to come across the field
00:48:45after I practice.
00:48:46And I go across the field
00:48:48and he says,
00:48:48you and I need to talk
00:48:50to number seven.
00:48:51Number seven
00:48:52being Michael Vick.
00:48:53So we,
00:48:54three of us,
00:48:55go over to his side
00:48:56and we're talking
00:48:58about things
00:48:59he has to do.
00:49:01This is how you should
00:49:02carry yourself
00:49:02off the field.
00:49:03You're in Atlanta, Georgia.
00:49:06Got to be careful.
00:49:07And he was very receptive.
00:49:09I mean, he was,
00:49:10and I remember
00:49:11Andy and I
00:49:12were saying to ourselves,
00:49:14okay, he gets it.
00:49:16He didn't get it.
00:49:18You know,
00:49:18I just had to take it
00:49:19serious, man.
00:49:20But still wanted
00:49:22to enjoy it
00:49:23and not lose sight of,
00:49:25you know,
00:49:27how fortunate I was
00:49:28to be in that position
00:49:29and I take it for granted.
00:49:30Michael Vick
00:49:31had a cultural cool
00:49:32that had not been
00:49:34seen before.
00:49:37Welcome to the
00:49:38Michael Vick experience.
00:49:39Pat,
00:49:40get the chance
00:49:40to treat him
00:49:40in the harness.
00:49:41Please wait
00:49:41on the next day
00:49:42in the chair.
00:49:43Do it.
00:49:44Enjoy the ride.
00:49:49Welcome to my ride
00:49:50where the point starts
00:49:52is a few tips.
00:49:53Remember,
00:49:53push up in the pocket
00:49:54zone center
00:50:09and it's
00:50:12going to be
00:50:14outside.
00:50:15Son, we gotta play the same game.
00:50:18We gotta play the ball.
00:50:19We gotta play the ball.
00:50:20We gotta play the ball.
00:50:21Just notice it's different teams,
00:50:24and it's different players.
00:50:25They saw Derrick Brooks, Brian Dolphins.
00:50:30Well, that's not in the playbook, but it should be.
00:50:33Damn.
00:50:36Good times.
00:50:37I didn't make those guys miss it like that,
00:50:39but it's a good commercial.
00:50:45Yeah, it's kind of dangerous, man, to have that type of money
00:50:50when you're really, really young.
00:50:52Randall Cunningham reached out all the time.
00:50:55Warren Moon reached out all the time.
00:50:57Rodney P.
00:50:58Man, there's just a bunch of them, man.
00:51:00They just always reached out, offered advice,
00:51:02and sometimes I listened, and sometimes I didn't.
00:51:07Star quarterback Michael Vick of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons
00:51:11is in serious trouble with the law.
00:51:13He and three others were indicted on charges.
00:51:16They ran a dogfighting ring out of Vick's Virginia home.
00:51:20So now everybody's like, what?
00:51:22Like, nobody could believe it.
00:51:23Like, what is Michael Vick doing fighting dogs?
00:51:25Michael Vick appears to have been a professional dogfighter
00:51:29in moving dogs in interstate commerce,
00:51:32high-stakes wagering on major fights.
00:51:34I was like, uh-oh.
00:51:36This city is about to get wrecked
00:51:38right down the middle over this.
00:51:40It is about to show its ass.
00:51:41Some of the things that he's said
00:51:42and some of the things that he's done
00:51:43has rubbed a large segment of this city,
00:51:47you know, the wrong way.
00:51:48Yeah, it was nothing nobody could do.
00:51:49I had more than enough people telling me
00:51:50the right things to do.
00:51:51I just had so much and was controlling my own life,
00:51:55thinking I was in control of my own life.
00:51:57I was just making my own decisions
00:51:58and doing what I wanted to do.
00:52:00Is a record-breaking NFL superstar
00:52:03a former number-one draft pick
00:52:06losing a $120 million contract over dogfight?
00:52:18They're starting.
00:52:19He's here.
00:52:26I recruited him to come to Philly
00:52:27because I believe that everybody deserves a second chance
00:52:32and everybody needs that person in their life
00:52:35to give them that opportunity.
00:52:37And when I talked to him, he didn't believe it.
00:52:39He was like, are you serious?
00:52:40I was like, yeah.
00:52:41Like, this is a perfect opportunity for you to learn.
00:52:44We can work together.
00:52:47Literally, I've seen the future for him.
00:52:49Felt like that torch was now mine to pass.
00:52:55I'll get you back on track.
00:52:57I can't, you know, explain how deeply hurt
00:53:00and, you know, how sorry I was, you know,
00:53:05once, you know, everything went down
00:53:06and I had to explain to my three kids
00:53:09what had happened, what had transpired.
00:53:12And it was my, you know, it was because of Daddy's faults.
00:53:17And that was the toughest thing.
00:53:18So, you know, I just want to say I asked them for a second chance,
00:53:23you know, to be a better father,
00:53:26to do the right things and to show them the way
00:53:28and how things are supposed to be done.
00:53:32Play action. Play action.
00:53:38Donovan McNam.
00:53:40Brian Westbrook out here.
00:53:43This McNam drops those.
00:53:44Got Vic standing there beside him.
00:53:46He is Vic now. He drops.
00:53:50This is really unbelievable.
00:53:53Donovan Nabb and Michael Vick working out.
00:53:58It's just really just astonishing.
00:54:00Let me see it.
00:54:17Speaking of Donovan, I knew I had a responsibility.
00:54:22Because that was all he talked about,
00:54:24making the position better,
00:54:26and making it more recognizable
00:54:27and allowing us to be us.
00:54:29And so we all appreciate one another.
00:54:32We all appreciate the journey, I think.
00:54:35And we all support one another to this day.
00:54:43It's a different mindset now,
00:54:45and guys like that now are getting a chance.
00:54:54What it means for a little kid,
00:54:58especially a little white kid,
00:54:59growing up to say,
00:55:02I want to be Patrick Mahomes.
00:55:04I want to be Jalen Hurts.
00:55:06That changes attitudes about race itself.
00:55:13When you look at where you come from,
00:55:17as a person of color,
00:55:18you're looking for someone to leave you.
00:55:21You're looking for someone to say,
00:55:24I can do it.
00:55:30It's not a detriment that you're athletic,
00:55:32and you can scramble,
00:55:33and you can get out of the pocket.
00:55:34It's a bonus.
00:55:35And that's what I'm seeing now,
00:55:37and it's just, it's made our game better.
00:55:41There are always sacrifices
00:55:42that the pioneer has to make.
00:55:44If you look at the lineage.
00:55:47So Marlon Briscoe and Shaq Harris
00:55:49had to figure out a way to even play quarterback,
00:55:52so that Warren Moon could see that
00:55:55and see that example, think,
00:55:57you know what?
00:55:57You're going to make me switch positions?
00:55:59I won't even start my career in the NFL
00:56:00because I will play quarterback.
00:56:03So that eventually,
00:56:05Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb
00:56:08and Steve McNair
00:56:09really have Hall of Fame careers
00:56:11so that today,
00:56:13so that in 2025,
00:56:15to start the NFL season,
00:56:17you look around
00:56:17and half the teams in the league
00:56:19have black quarterbacks.
00:56:23I'm just very proud
00:56:25that I played a small part in that.
00:56:27And whenever I talked to Doug,
00:56:29whenever I talked to Randall,
00:56:30you know, we're just proud of the fact
00:56:31that we were able to help this,
00:56:33that next generation
00:56:34and get more opportunities to play the game
00:56:36because now they're showing what they can do.
00:56:41For me, it makes me feel proud, man,
00:56:43because the stresses
00:56:45and the things that we went through
00:56:49to, you know, show that we could lead
00:56:52at that position
00:56:53and to see the emergence
00:56:55and the standards that are happening today.
00:57:00It makes you feel like,
00:57:02you know, your labor
00:57:04or my labor was not in vain.
00:57:35I've always thought that
00:57:36in the Hall of Fame. Yes, it's about stats. Yes, it's about numbers. Yes, it's about
00:57:44winning championships. But there's something to be said for impact that's
00:57:50beyond the numbers and beyond the record books. What kind of impact did this guy
00:57:57have on the game? That counts too.
00:58:10James Harris. I'm in college and I'm watching him and kind of emulating him and
00:58:18he's playing for the Rams in a playoff game at Minnesota against the Vikings and
00:58:23I go out there and watch because I want to see James Harris do his thing. I was
00:58:28always watching James Harris and James would be right there and he used to drop
00:58:32back and oh my stance stood tall in the pocket he would launch it and I was
00:58:36like number 12. Yeah. Welcome. Made me very proud to see someone like James that
00:58:45was performing on such a high level with such an air of professionalism. Not only
00:58:54his athleticism but his demeanor off the field and the way that he carried
00:59:00himself. He was a professional. You know Shaq was he was the man in LA. He was cool,
00:59:07calm and collected. I loved the way he played the game. He had a great arm and and I just
00:59:12loved everything about him. When I think about people really paving the way after
00:59:19hearing Shaq's story, I felt like Shaq was just alone and you know he just was out there.
00:59:25Just fighting and defending for himself and just wanted to make it work and make it happen. So anytime he
00:59:31call me I make sure I pick up the phone.
00:59:33You couldn't go in there without thinking about Shaq Harris, you know Joe Gilliam, John Walton, Jimmy Ray, you know
00:59:44Sandy Stevens. All them boys came to mind because that's that's that's the shoulders that you was off.
00:59:51I would see him riding around in his Mercedes Benz sometimes. That's that's what I want to do one day.
00:59:59I loved him as a player because he represented what I look like and I kind of modeled my game
01:00:05after James Harris.
01:00:08That's powerful. I mean I am humble. I don't think anything can make me more happy than seeing those guys
01:00:17pay tribute to me because it's such a brotherhood and sometimes only the group of us
01:00:28understand it. It helps the fact that I realize that I made a difference in their lives and that I
01:00:39was able to my play on the field and the way I carried myself gave them hope that one day
01:00:48they could play in the league.
01:00:51And it's right. And it's right that the best player play. We just wanted to be right. It's not about
01:00:59being fair. It's about being right. And that's all any of us ever asked for.
01:01:46You look at this wall just tell you what grandma was all about.
01:01:49You know. Just reflect back on how many great players we had. But you know what what we were built
01:01:57on is the four legends is named now.
01:02:00Oh yeah. Coach Havde, Carter J. Nicholson the man with the golden pin. Coach Robinson.
01:02:07And Prez. And Prez Jones. They were the legends. No doubt about that. Hey Shaq. James Hunter ran as fast
01:02:16as he want to run.
01:02:18Yeah. Hey man this this wall here. Something you remember all your life. Just walking down this hall. This experience
01:02:27before the best years of my life and I'm just happy I was able to play with so many great
01:02:33players. I don't think it's been twice. We were $100.
01:02:36But in my four years. This is the history right here. And we had some more.
01:02:43You know. It's hard to tell black folks to be.
01:02:48It's hard man.
01:02:51Hey man.
01:02:53Yeah.
01:02:53Yeah.
01:02:54Eddie G.
01:02:56Yes indeed.
01:02:59Wow.
01:03:00We owe him a lot though.
01:03:02We owe him a lot.
01:03:03Hellcat.
01:03:04For dear old grandma.
01:03:06Damn it to hell.
01:03:07Amen.
01:03:12Yes yes.
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