CHAMP BAILEY

corner of his era. A guy that, uh made a lot of receivers like myself, UH, study a lot of film from the University of Georgia. He goes, He's the only guy I know that actually goes by his nickname throughout his life, that people know him and you say Champ and people go Bailey, right. Welcome to the Cut to a podcast. Friend and also a guy that I I studied a lot of film on going against Champ. Bailey. Appreciate it. I like to start off. We we're just

gonna get to some just some ice breakers. Man. Let you let you settle down so you'll know what kind of uh really what what this is today today is all about you. Um, it's not about what uh people think of you any of whatever they may think or soon. It's just we're just gonna cut right to it and just talk about who you are. Champ Bailey in New Jersey. You know where you're from and all that stuff. But man,

what's what's some of your favorite vacation spots. I know you like to be light skinned, so go ahead and tell us some of your favorite vacation spots. You know, Well, thanks for having me, bro, I mean, you know how all about you. But we'll get to that, I think. Let me, let me let's just say, I hate leaving the country. So when we tell you so you so you are so Southern continued, You're exactly right already no, I already know. You know, the wife got you leaving

the country. That's what that's the problem. You know, I'm a little old fashioned to the point when i'm kind of I get stuck in my ways. You know. I like things to be a little routine, you know, I like like to know it to expect. So when I leave the country, one thing that's the staple in my you know, My life is food. And if I don't know what type of food I'm gonna eat, don't don't it,

don't even don't even go there. But you already know like that, that's that's this, This conversation is always going is going veer right right now because so you're telling me basically, you're a horrible person to travel with because all you're gonna do is complain about the food. I tell you what, it has a big part of what big That was a roundaby way of saying, yo, yeah someone you know, Okay, alright, so let's all right, let's let's let's change it. Then let's let's open minded to food.

But I love cat what so tell me some of your favorite restaurants? Then, favorite restaurants? Uh, breakfast? You know, breakfast is a big part of my neal. I love this restaurant called Snooze that uh colly moved to Atlanta. I think they started in Denver, and you know it's a big and I love a good steak, so steakhouse.

You know, I ain't like cracker barrel. What's what some of your favorite I like cracker Barrel, but it's not that was that was that was a softball pitch that you should have let go, but you want to try to knock it out of the park. Yeah, like I hoped too, don't know. No, not so you're I'm lot right now and I would not going and I would not going there and eat their food. I just yeah, you were you over there talking about Oh, let me get up, let me get those unlimited buttermilk pancakes. I'm

about to cancel our sponsorship. And I the reason I say that is, um man, I've I've traveled, you know, I've traveled with a lot of a lot of my folks, my some my homeboys, you know obviously with my fami and one of my boys. I'm not gonna one of my homeboys. I'm not gonna name drop them. But we went to London and this dude complained the whole time. Yeah, yeah, you know, he complained and you know he ends up eating but McDonald's of course pizza hug. No. So I'm

not that guy. Okay, thank you, I'm not that guy. My thing is, you can find good food, you just gotta pay for it, you know. It's just yeah, you're not gonna run up on you know, a local restaurant that you used to like you do back home. But name some of those local restaurants back home that that make you not want to leave the country. Well, there's a lot of variety. So there's this Greek spot called zeus Uh Greek food? What kind of barbecue spot in Buckhead?

I live in Atlanta, by the way, so uh fat mats um. Yes, it's varsity. You go to varsity? No, okay, good, I just want to make sure I'm checking. I'm checking. I'm in a file cabinet, checking my reference. Make just make sure because you can't be you can't be a judger of food and then find out you'll go to a Checkers a rally or you know some of that stuff. It's funny you bring up varsity. I went to use. We had a varsity basically on campus. I might have said, oh,

I know, I was just in Atlanta. My show was playing basketball, so I was just in Atlanta. So that's why when you said that. And see this is right up, this was right up my alley. So that's I've just been I've been sitting on uh was that two eight, five forty five. I've been sitting on all those highways in Atlanta, running up my toll. Uh quick pass, running up my quick pass. It was a forty dollar toll weekend. Or playing basketball. My someone's playing basketball. So uh, I'm

very much. I know a little bit about atlant of fresh in my mind of all the air quotes, great restaurants out there. Yeah, yeah, the thing. Yes, you better know somebody who knows some spots. Right. Oh yeah, because we walked in a few places. We walked in a few places and we walked straight on. I was like, nope, yeah, because I was over there by h I was over there by lake Point, the Lake Point facility. Oh see you way up north, that's that's like bro, I didn't

get to pick the location. I'm sorry. Well, here's the thing that's that's up north. That's more of Uh it's kind of touristy because they have a lot of events, sporting events up there. And you know, it's funny. I was up there not long ago, and I realized this is not the suburbs of Atlanta, like this is this is the country that So you were in Georgia, you weren't in Atlanta. It's a difference. Well, I stayed. I stayed in midtown, so I had to drive back and forth?

Oh wow, who did who did that to you? That's the long drive we use our marry our points brother, of course. Of course, listen, I never stayed in an area where there's a red roof fan. If there's a red roof fan in that proximity standard and standard, I just I ain't. I don't have no standards, and I'm still not standing in the red roof and I'm just not doing it here, you bro knowing you from Georgia, So let's just get into it. Where are you from

in a place you call your hometown? Uh? Folks in Georgia, South Georgia, small folk? Yeah? How many? How many stoplights on street? And street? Us? Four to five stoplights? We might have gotten another one since I left, Um, but very small, I mean less than five thousand people. Uh yeah, so oh so there's a chip, there's a champ Bailey Road. Then, well, up until I think two years ago, they did name a street after me. They named the football stadium after me.

So things have happened last few years. You said, oh up to two all right, So I thought they gave you that. I thought they gave it to you. They gave it to someone else. No, No, it took me getting into the Hall of Fame for all those things and materialized. Okay, all right, and so what growing up growing up out there? What what did you experience growing up as as as young champ oh man. You know, one thing about where we were from is you realize you don't have a lot of opportunities to get get out.

And when I say get out, it's not like we're running from you know, bad people or things like that. It's a it's a culture in my hometown that's just not sustainable for a young black man. For example. You know where I grew up. I mean, my dad is point out restaurants and things that he couldn't go into when he was a kid. Right, you know, Jim Crow was real and you see the results of that. And you know, I could go on about a lot of different avenues that my boys went down, you know, compared

to mine, because the traps were there. You know, you get in trouble, you're getting the system. That's what you're known for. So nobody has hope for you. And when you know, if you don't have people pumping you up and telling you that you could do things, and you don't see a lot of great examples. That trap is fat. You know, it's easy for it got to go off to college and come right back home because family makes

it easy. The town makes it easy. Oh, come back and work at the mill with your dad and your uncle, and but those are dead in jobs because there's no growth there. You're just a worker. So with that limited mentality, it's easy to get trapped there and and and really not go anywhere. You know, you end up there. I can go back home and see people that are doing the same things they did when I was in high school,

you know. So you know, I never wanted that, you know, it just took a few good examples to kind of get me on the right track and see that I had at the possibility of getting out and staying out and then being able to turn around and bring some value back home. That's that's what it was like growing up. Man. It was tough, but you know, we had each other. We leaned on each other, my brothers, you know, some of my boys that actually went on to do some

good things. But for the most part, man, I can name a lot of guys that are in and out of the system that I grew up with. I mean did a lot of dirt with and yeah they're still my boys, but boy, they went down the wrong path.

I remember watching your your Hall of Fame speech. What I thought was remarkable in you uh thus far you know, before COVID, before a lot of the racial tension, a lot of the conversations you and Ladinium are actually, I believe the only two modern guys that I I saw that implement I think uh, um straight hand as well a little bit um. But you guys really addressed um being black man and and and what it impacted and

what you saw um being young man. Because you guys grew up in the South, in the heat of the South where you know, like you said, Jim Crow and all of those things. What was that process like for you? And how did you come to that resolution that at the most important moment in your life, your your football career, I'm sorry, in your football career, and you took that time to address something that a lot of people don't

necessarily believe exists. Yeah, and that's and you say, they'm outful there a lot of people don't even know it's real, you know, And I think you know, one of one of the things when we get a platform. I think we all kind of have an idea of what people should do with their platform, right, But I think it's very unfair to expect young man like say, if I'm playing, if I'm in my twins, I don't expect any of these young guys to say a whole lot, right, Why

is it their responsibility? But now I'm a grown man looking back being able to reflect. Now I have this stage and this platform to really speak on it without real repercussions, Like that's what you worry about by not speaking? It's like, dang, what people gonna do to me? Now I jeopard out of my career. It's unfortunate, but that's

the world we live in. So now I'm looking back like, Okay, well i gotta say something like this is something that I really care about, something that I experienced, right, So, you know, I wanted to be as real and candid as possible, but get people to understand, like, it doesn't

matter what you think. This is my experience, this is what I see, this is what I deal with, and I know a lot of people just like so I just want people to listen, you know, just pay attention, have some compassion and some sympathy for what people go through all is of where they grow up. When you're a black man in this country, there's a certain it's a certain way you gotta walk around, right, There's a certain way you gotta carry yourself, you know, and we

don't have a lot of room for error. And I saw that in real time growing up, still see it to this day. And I just thought it was important to hear those feelings and you know, and and let people hear what I thought. What are some of the things that you experienced off the field that really shall shaped you to you come across You know, a lot of people don't know you, but you're not as quiet as you present yourself. You you you you're well round it.

You're you're you know, you're intelligent, you're smart, But you also quietly. You know, you you talk, you chit chat, you you go at guys. How were you able to keep that clean cut image? Honest? You don't know? You know, you know we were flung out together. We've been around each other, so you you know I am I mean, you know what I'm about I do. But it's like, you know, I think I always wanted to just be a professional, right you know, my idols were dal Green,

Dion Sanders, Michael straighthand Bruce Smith. One thing about these guys, you get them in the room one on one talk man talk about anything and everything to learn things you didn't know. And I and I carried myself that same way because when I'm in a professional setting, I'm gonna be a pro. Like in the in the locker room, I'm gonna I'm gonna be a pro. I'm gonna be a best team and I could be. That's just how it is in my job setting and when I'm around

other professionals, that's just the way I carry myself. But yeah, I could let I can let It was laid that just I guess the whole saying let your head down a little bit. You know, I definitely do that. But you know, I still know when my bread is buttered, and it's the way I carry myself, present myself, and more opportunities come to me now because of that. So I feel like that investment in my personality and the way I carried myself is really paying off. How exhausting

was that though? It wasn't you know, it was just it was who it was, really who I was because it was I did unconsciously in high school. I mean you could and as any of my coaches. I mean sometimes I thought I was a bad kid, but then I can I look over to the left and to the right and like, oh ship, I'm not doing what these guys are doing. You know. I'm actually showing up the work every day, no matter what we did right before real to go. You know. So I always accountable.

So I think that's where I hang my hat. I just want to be accountable and available. And that's really really what I live by. I mean even in business today. I just want to be accountable, available and just a man of my word. And that's and it just came natural. And then over time as I got older, I just learned, like there's a certain way you care yourself. I'm a listener first before I opened my mouth, because I just

know I don't know it. I love cut to It, and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie, where where at that's at? Cut to It on Instagram? What about Twitter? At? Cut to It? Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr. What about online? And you can follow us at cut to it podcast dot com, where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my

answers questions. Uh yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother, cut to a podcast dot com. So you you were with the that we call them the Washington Commanders. Now you know they are correctors if we don't, they correct us as if they've been the commanders the whole time and they just

last year. But then you go to Denver. You have been with Darryl Green, You've been with Dion, You had been in the nation's capital, and you know, you stayed in the South, but then you move, you know, closer to the South. But then you move to Denver. Tell us that to explain that transition between a little bit of comfort because you know, live growing up in growing up in Georgia. You know, you live if you live in Florida, you're pretty if you live in Florida or Georgia,

South North Carolina, Texas, I mean Tennessee, Alabama. You kind of stay in those areas, right you you you drive up and I mean living in North Carolina now twenty some years. I've been Atlanta, Georgia, Tennessee, Jacksonville. Somehow, some way, I'm staying over there. But then you go to Denver. That had to be a little bit of an adjustment. Absolutely, and you know, you gotta think I'm twenty five at the time. Yea at the time. Nevertheless, left the East Coast.

So the first my first impression of Denver, when that thought of going there came about, it was, damn, it snows. It Just that's the first thing came to my mind. And you know, but then I started thinking about the team, and I know I could play anywhere in anyweather, so I wasn't I didn't really like settled on that too much.

I started thinking about the team. I'm like, damn, but they're always in the playoffs, y'all gotta And then they started talking about, you know, well they might trade you for Clinton Porter's and I'm like, damn, I like Clinton Porters. Can we keep him and trade somebody else? You know, That's that's my thoughts in my mind, you know, because

I'm young, and I'm hungry, and I'm trying to get paid. See, I never really wanted to leave Washington to be honest, I understood at that point in my career the impact of that market, you know, being in the NFC East, I mean you got all the big market teams Philly, New York, Dallas, all the all the teams that are in the top ten as far as value and and fans. I mean, there is no fan base at the time that was more loyal than the Washington fan base. Even to this day, I get people come up to me.

More Washington fans than Denver fans come up to me and talk about that trade because they just they just had more history there. I mean, when I got to Denver, they finally got their first Hall of Famer. She watched it. That had several by the time I got so so the organizations were in different places. But one thing that was different is the owner in Denver was like night and day from the owner in Washington. Dan Snyder didn't draft me. And to get used to the fact that

somebody didn't want me in my prime, I didn't understand it. Right. I had been the four straight Pro Bowls, I'm twenty five, I'm young, I'm hitting my prime and this dude didn't want to This dude didn't want to pay me. I'm like, okay, well, there's nobody outside of Darrell Green the more successful at the cornerback position in this franchise on a consistent level. You had, you had guys coming in and out, but you didn't have anyone like it was Dell Green that

had been there, uh since the dawn of time? Yeah, right right. And then there was obviously Dion he was older, he had you know, he had retired and came back. And then there was you. Yeah, yeah, so it it didn't. I never got used to the fact that somebody didn't want me at that time. I mean, I'm like, you're not gonna find somebody else like me? And they tried, you know, but I knew that I was a different type of player, and I knew I should have been wanted.

I asked for a certain amount of money. They laughed at it, turned around and asked Mike Shanahan for it in Denver, and he smiled and said, no problem. And I'm like, that's all I needed. Somebody that wants me. He's gonna let me do what I do. I mean, there was no better transition for me in my career than going to Denver. The best thing that ever happened. Think about this. You just said that you were in your prime and one team did and one team didn't.

You've done some analysts work, You've been around the game for a long wanted. The things that is always remarkable about the NFL is how statistically you can be in one category. However, you asked five different coaches on five different teams, and they all have five different opinions, and most of them are negative when evaluating when evaluating product, like you were a product. Let's be honest, you're a problemt and Chap Bailey is in his prime playing well

not not really not like you're doing. I hate right, And there's only a few teams that valued you for what you were. Yeah, and the team that had you that was reaping the benefits from it, I didn't think you're worth it, yeah, which is baffling, you know. And and my thing is regardless of if I'm worth it or not, or you think that it's it's I understand. Sometimes you got needs, you got you got certain old you gotta feel right like there's it's always gonna be

that factor. But to me, they had two years to get a deal done with me, right, Like they had two years they saw me up close personal how I work and to be, you know, putting that on full display and auditioning for them every day the way I did, and for them to come to conclusion, we don't want that guy, I think it hurts a little different. Now. You can go ask somebody in the Green Bay Packers who hadn't seen a lot of me on a daily basis, and they just said, now we don't want that guy.

For whatever reason, I can live with that. They see you come to work, you you do what you're supposed to do, you do it the right way. And let's be honest, you on in the corner on the other side of you is you know, maybe not doing You're doing a lot of talking, but maybe not showing up the right way. You know. Yeah, yeah, absolutely right, And just that we're gonna get a little bit later too. The only different player, right, totally different, which which is fine.

But you know, I was what I was. I showed you what I showed you, and you still it still wasn't enough. So it so that their opinion affected me more than anybody else's opinion. How did it affect you, Well, it made me second at the time, at the time at the time. At the time, you gotta think I'm young. You know, I'm hungry. I'm just trying to get to that next contract, right, and I'm like, well, what am

I doing wrong that they won't pay me? But my agent would always check me, right, He's like, look, you're not one of the guys, like they didn't draft you. You know, that's not about the team. Summer I got drafted, Charlie Castle drafted me. So it wasn't there was never any real connection, right, So the next year they draft LaVar Arrington and Chris Samuels two and three. LaVar Arrington re up before I even got to come last year, like,

so the writing was on the wall. It was just hard to believe, you know, because like, you know, I've had some real success here, you know, and a little bit like what's really going on? You know, nobody could really explain it. We were just in a different time. You still got pretty much a young owner trying to figure out what the hell he's doing. And you know,

it was what it was. Man, Man, I've never told you this, and I've been I've been holding this, so you know, obviously I went to University of Utah and Georgia had played Utah State, okay, and we obviously we didn't play Georgia, but we had to play Utah State. So I you know, I was a dream house transfer, so I transfer. And at the time, social media is not social media. You know, internet is not even the Internet. So the West Coast, if you didn't play on the

West Coast, you really didn't know about East Coast players. Right, We're watching film. I'm in the University of Utah. We're watching film and we're watching Utah State, and so, you know, watching their defense and you play a little bit offense. But then I I think I used to call it pass or something, and I'm like, man, I gotta watch this dude, because they say he's playing both ways. So I'm gonna watch the defensive film. I'm not gonna say I was scared, but I would say I had to

take a few times. How about that? It super duper, bro. I've been knowing about you ever since Georgia ran through Utah State and you I don't even know which receiver it was what you was out there locking him down like it was like ordering a bag of fries through the drive through. It was so casual and so we gotta we get to play the Washington Commanders. Stephen Davis is the running back. You know. He came to Carolina and I'm gonna I have to go against cham Bailey.

Now this is how old and dated it was. I have VHS. Was the VHS? I think it was VHS or Beta on you? Right? And I had one tape on you because that's what they gave us. Hey studied this film. They said, studies has failed. So I studied that film and when we played against m you guys in two thousand three, you were the first player and my young career. I was in my third year, but my second year starting that, I was followed everywhere. I

can tell you right now. I studied the film. They should have gave me an instruction manual on how to study, because what I studied was not what I played against. I did not I played at Utah. I never expected a guy to follow me everywhere and be so close up on me that I can see him if he had a fresh shave, right, I can see if he was wearing contacts. And bro, I just remember you pressed

up against me in the first play. I gave you a little I gave you a little quick move and call a little en route and I got to spend the ball. You were like, okay, good job, good job, and I was like, I'm about to get this, ninja. I don't know what they talked about, what him, but they say you taught State. Hey man, that was that was the good old days. Because you gotta think, like

they really let me do what I wanted to do. Yes, they did, yes they so so after that the next play, I don't know if you remember, I gave the same move and you jammed me so hard that it made my not one both of my show the Past traps come off. I was not prepared. I was not prepared at all that we're gonna we're gonna stop. Because part of that is also why I win. A couple of years later when he was with Minnesota got what he got because when we played the Commanders, I only remember

going against you, mm hmm. Twenty four and eighty nine was only two people that were allowed to be in that area Coach Moose and had that guy. He was not allowed to cover me if I came on this side. You, hey, hey, he's over there. He you you told him to go move. And I never experienced that. They even lined me up I think like tight in or running back, and he lined up a damn linebacker. Look that's real. I was unprepared for linebacker. I was like, okay, they're gonna get

me free. He lined up a linebacker, I said, and I know I shouldn't come. I said, oh shit, you know I'm gonna. I used to look forward to win a receiver with move in the backfield or line up, because then I know you're not really going deep. So it's like, okay, I got I got a lot of I got more help in this little box because you can't. Man, I thought that was I thought that was my saving grace, not not no life preserve or nothing. I was just

in the water. So so you gotta think, like my mindset about you was, Oh, this guy's a great returner, he's tough, he's a dog. I can't let him get going like that was my thing. I can't let you just get comfortable, getting open, you know, having free releases, like once you get going, I've seen it, I've seen how you dog people. I'm like, no, I cannot let him get going because once he does that, it's over. It's over. You taught me. I was in that game,

you know, I was figuring out releases as we were going. Yeah, like I had never I had never been in that position in my life. I had never had to go against a guy, and I used it, and I used to say it. If I was driving a car, I pull up of the parking attendant and y'll have to be right there giving me my ticket. I walked up to the valet chaps like you key, Steve Right. I had never experienced that until that moment, because we were still early. It was like third or fourth game. I

was never I was never ready for that. I saw shadows. Oh, you know, you'll get a guy, he'll be there. But you were right there. You didn't want space off you on it did to be right there. And I was so frustrated because I never experienced that before, especially as a young man. Right especially I went to University of Utah. We're playing non athletic zone team, so I understood zone. I knew how to play in zone. I came out of college very well versed with the knowledge of how

to run routes versus zone. I was not used to that type of coverage, and I was so frustrated and discouraged. But I have a save. I had a saving grace, a receiver named Ricky Pro. And Ricky kept coming over and to me said, I know you're frustrated. This is the this is the part of being the number one, number one guy. You have to figure it out. Don't let him frustrate. You keep going taking everything he was doing this data right, So we go fast forward. I

think I had like three passes. Um they quit going to me because it was just you can go ahead and just remove me from the playbook. Basically that's what you did. But then we go in that end zone. We go, we're going in there, We're trying to drive and I'm in a slot and when I make that catch, the only reason I was able to make that catch is because you drugged me through the mud for three

and a half quarters. It was it was like it was like but you understand it was that was the only move I had left that actually meant anything, because after everything after that, everything got through boom boom. And so when I went up, I don't even know if you remember. I went up. So I gave a little release it was it's called huntry circle, and I was the streak. So they were running. They were running covered two, but Champ was man coverage because forty seven was forty seven,

uh forty one. It was a Caucasian safe. Yeah, Matt bon right, and so I run. I give it a little release, but instead of dancing like I kept doing, I gave him a little two steps and took off right and they and Jake throws it up and I jump up and grunt because I know everybody in the mom is gonna try to knock the snot out of me, and so I go up. Champ so smart. He jumps, but he doesn't jump all the way because he knew we both can jump, so he jumped a little bit

and waited too. I came when I was coming down to jump up so he could put those little skinny fingers through through me. But I already had figured it out, so I cuffed it and bowing hit me so hard he hit you, yes, and then Stephen Davis. Some people say it wasn't a touchdown. It was a touchdown. Don't matter. It was a touchdown. And what's interesting is I played against a lot of good corners. I played a lot of against a lot of great corners, but there are

some guys like you. You helped me because you were one of the best corners that I ever played against. And man, you did so much for my career that you didn't even know it. You you made me play chess for the very first time I've been playing football because most of the other corners it was checkers. It was a race to get king and then just kill a board. But I had to be strategic, man and all.

And so I've never really thanked the anybody for an ashal thee, but I appreciate it because you taught me so much and I've always had that respect for you. And then we fast forward against UM. We played you guys, the Carolina Panthers against against you with the UM with the Denver Broncos, and you were hurt. And I had like five like in that off season when I knew we were playing you, I told I want, I want

all his plays. I had all old every player you played the year before, So it was up the beta DVDs laser. I had all of your tation. I just watched it and watched the film. Then I think you had a labor or something. Yeah, I can't remember what I was out for But it was a night game, right, it was a night game. I just remember sitting over there watching you just run through. I was so hyped to play and he wasn't playing. Let me tell you something, Dre blin gonna, Man, I drugged Dre. That's one dude.

Don't care. He's not ashamed to anything. You'll tell Smith stiff on the hell out of it. He was like, man, he hit me in the chance and that you could just hit I'm like, yeah, that's Steve. But Dog, you ran through us. And he he ragged all the corner that was. He had that boy about the about the water jugs on a running play. I'm like, I'm like, are you better get because I never because I can't play. You know, was strongest on rag Dog and we had

the smallest one in the league. I won't say his name, but I'm gonna say his name. But I was so hyped to go against Chap. I wasn't hyped to go against because I got something. I just know I had to be on my pisa ques. I still had post traumatic stress from the last time I played, Right, That's what I experience. So then we fast forward to twenty two thousand five, and you know, we had traded for Rod Gardner and Rod comes to Carolina and him and Fresh Mood they used to be boys. And so Rod starts,

Rod starts talking to Smooth and I say something. I said something to Rock draft. They were drafted together, so I know, so they were real close, and so they're talking and I'm like, bro, man, we ain't you know, we ain't chit chatting with these with these dudes, and Smooth I guess at that time, yes, I don't remember what he could have said, peanut, butter and jelly, It

really didn't matter. And I took offense to him, and then I made it personal and I started going the last time you was here, you wasn't even allowed to cover me and the rest of his history. And and that was actually why that was the personal beef was actually it wasn't even personal. It was a I'm pretty sure friend wasn't even talking to me. Yeah, but I drummed up this like okay, cool, and so that was a whole that was a whole reason over it. And I guess we've been uh, I guess we You would

say we've been bicker and ever since. But I wouldn't really necessarily call it bicker because I did and really think about it. But yeah, well, funny story, um that before that night game, one of our backup quarterbacks came in the locker room. I think, y'all, y'all you were out pre game? Oh so yeah, so we were Denver. I was out in pre game and I had a routine and I would catch Brandon Marshall huh was catching passes. And the backup quarterback proceeds to tell me, he shoot me, yeah,

hey man, we're catching passes. Man, move on. Now, we were in Denver. I can respect that. Right at night we were in Carolina. He tells me to move and then best a man. The quarterback says, move you're talking about hot as fish grist. Yeah, so I think that go ahead. That added some still to that fire that night. Right. That's why Drey Black got in business. That's why. So what happened in your locker room? So yeah, so he he comes in the locker room. Man, you better go

get your boy out there. You better go get your boy. I'm like, what's going on? Man? Your boy Steve out there talking all this ship and got to y'all to y'all. I'm like, man, don't mess with this dude, Like why y'all gonna get him started? And I swear from the first snap, I was like, oh, it's about to be a long night. I mean, because I knew they already got to you, got you mad, got you talking, and I'm like, man, it's about to be a long night.

And I couldn't do nothing about it. I was just like, man, don't don't don't mess with him. If you get him talking, he's gonna come at me. The backup quarterback tells me, go on, we were working here. I mean to be honest, he wasn't the backup. He was probably third string of squad. You know, back quarterbacks travel regardless of practice squad or not. They travel, right, So I don't even think I didn't know that. I didn't know the young man. I could

not recall who he was. You know. It's funny, good, good dude. You love him to death, But boy, he made a mistake that night. Right. I would say he was pudgy for a quarterback. I saw he was. He definitely still. He had a retirement body, you know what, He had a cannon. But boy, you think but he man pudgy quarterback from Atlanta talks a lot like good dude, Man, good dude, you would love it, but not that night. I bet I would have. Good God, let's getting down

to it. Hey, Gerard, why did you get that T shirt? You mean this thing? Oh yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on by your T shirts, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. So what are you up to these days? Oh? Man? You know when I retired, Man, I'm not gonna lie. You know, I think when you play and you play a long time,

you think, Okay, I'm gonna retire and I'm gonna just chill. Yeah, you realize, like I can't just sit around, you know, I gotta be for you. Try though. You tried to, tried to the fullest. You know. I tried, you know, doing a little broadcast and didn't like it. How do you like that? I hated it? I hated it. You know, you think when you start out, everything is a little scripted, right, And I just didn't like I didn't like the setting of you know, going to l a putting on a suit,

being in front of the camera. Then it's kind of scripted. I couldn't really be myself, so it was just it was tough. It was a grind, and I didn't like that grind. I didn't like that. You know, I love talking about football, but now in that way, So I tried that issues. I'm glad I tried it though, right, So you know, I, you know, I tried to do other little things. But what I realized, man as out here in this real world, like people don't have accountability standards.

There's just everybody's out here for themselves. So you really want to get something done, you almost got to do it yourself. Oh I you know, I tried a few things invest in this on some real estate deals, and you know, people just don't care. Like everybody's out for themselves. So now I'm just you know, I do a few things here and there, but I partnered with bigger companies who actually, you know, got investors to worry about, and people bigger than me, you know, that are investing in

these companies, are spending time with these companies. So now I know the credibility comes in the door. Right when some of these companies. So you know, for example, I partnered with this company needs Peach State Health Plan and you know they provide Medicare Medicaid in the state of Georgia.

But their parent company is a you know, a global company, Fortune five company ran by this got it went to Georgia's So when I moved back to Atlanta, I realized the strength of my network just being a former bulldog, like wow, Like there's people everywhere all the walk cars and people I went to school with. They're are owning businesses now. So it's nothing for me to walk in a lot of different doors and just and just be part of their marketing plan or their messaging to some degree,

or if I'm doing an event, they come sponsor. So those are the type of partnerships I focus on now, and I leverage those to get me into deals that otherwise wouldn't be involved with. And that's kind of what

I focus on now. It's no heavy lifting. I mean, my sister, My sister does a lot of stuff for me, you know, you know, because I could trust her, you know, after going through different paths and different people, I'm like, man, I gotta just stick with my family and and work like that, and that's that's what I focus on now. So I'm fielding ship all the time, but I deflect of it because you got any time I gotta depend

on somebody else. It's gonna take you a lot to earn my respect and give you the benefit of the doubt. I can't. I don't go in with blinders on no more. You think people just want to work and do things the right way. That ain't the case. That ain't the case. People will shift on you in the heartbeat and keep it moving like it never happened. And that's happened a few times. And good for me, I can overcome. How

has it been for you and fathering? You know, now that you're you're your home or you're able to be locked in, you don't have you know, you don't have a you don't have tape to watch. You don't have UH treatment to go to or or or do you don't have these nagging things that UM being a professional athlete, um, you know you have to do. You know, my twelve year old he's so much like me, right, so he's like my older son. He's twenty one. Now. You know, I was gone most of the time, me and his mom.

You know, obviously didn't land well, I'm gonna say obviously, but we didn't last so there was a lot of absence there and to see how he came up compared to now, I'm full time with my twelve year old, so I see all the little things that he goes through everyday, school, you know, sports, he's a little athlete, and to be able to sit there and kind of have him focus on the right things. And I think that's what what I wasn't able to do with my older son, is have him focus on the right things

and like pay attention to the right things. For example, Like my twelve year old has had some bad coaches, and I'm like, I've had way more bad coaches than you have. Trust me, when you learn how to overcome bad coaching, you're on your way because you're gonna have an abundance of Like there's coaches out there coaching. They just got a job because they know somebody. So you're gonna come across that. You just gotta be able to

identify and move past them. Right, don't count on anybody to get you ready, you know, brother, that's in school practice. You better be a self motivated individual. So find out what motivates you and let that be your spark. So it's just just overcoming the negativity around you. Do you believe that our kids have more negativity around them than us? Well? No, or is it? Or is it? Is it because of social media? Media more accessible? I think percentage wise they don't.

When I think about how I grew up, the negativity was around me all the time, all the time, and then you and then you at the games, and it's there you at the games, just at the snack bar, it's it's it's deals being done underneath the bleachers right when you drive home or if you take the bus home, right or when you have to walk home. And me and my wife have this conversation, I say that, you know, She's like, man, it's just so much more now than our kids. I don't think it's more. I think it's

I think it's easily accessible in our face more. But it's always like we know, kids are you know, we call it sex trafficking now, but kids was on milk boxes and then the post office all the time. Seek content is more prevalent now, Like you see things more, there's more videos, it's more, there's more access to what's really going on in the world. But you also have

good things that your fingertips as well. Right, there's more good information out there, but to be able to discipher between the two, it's probably a little more challenging, right. I think for me growing up, we it was negativity everywhere. You see some positive things here and there, but it was in our face. It wasn't like I could go get on the internet and see what my counterparts are doing in l A. I never knew on the West Coast. It was all like right here in this little box.

And you know, if you don't know things are existing in this world, then you don't have any aspirations to do them right. So it was real like there's more examples for kids now positive things going on then when I grew up, because all I had was who I saw, who I was around uncle's, the you know, the older cousins and the neighbors, all those people that fell into those traps. There was more of that than somebody go off to college and get be a doctor, a great job,

to be a professor. That just didn't happen. Bro I can name on one hand how many people did that. When I was doing up if you don't mind me asking, knowing what you you said about your oldest and you know the situation with playing football right being in the height, being at the point of your career, moving to Denver. How are you able to stay engaged now that you're done and he's adult to mend that relationship. And I'm

assuming that relationship because I'm just speaking. I'm assuming because I got twenty four years, and I know there were things that I missed out on consciously and subconsciously that I didn't know I was missing out on because I was too busy trying to find my own way, how to be a professional, trying to figure out how to make how to get this second and his third and his fourth contract, and then also being a father at the same time and trying to be a husband at

the same time. I was gonna miss something, and I missed several things. You miss a lot, and I think you can't make that time up, like you really can't. And because those are some crucial years, because you know, as you know, as you're maturing as a teenager man, you absorbed so much ship I mean negative positive, You're just yeah, and I can't go back and get that I think now it has to be a mutual thing.

And that's that's been the struggle is because all he remembers is I wasn't there enough, right, So there's a little animosity, there's some, but then it also takes it often takes more than just me and him trying to do it. It takes our whole family trying to help, you know, his mom. So if I don't have that support, and it's really an uphill battle. So that's kind of where we are now, trying to figure out what that

looks like. My thing is, Look, I'm here. You call me, you want you want to sit out and talk, I'm here. That's that's my thing now, is I want to let you know that I'm here all the time, like there's no point in my in my day, then I'm not gonna make time you like. I think if I can make that message very clear, then that's the road to recovering what we have left together. And you know, I think he's at a point now he's trying to figure out who he is right, trying to figure out who

he is. You know, he's he went to college on a football scholarship. Now he's in limbo because he wanted to transfer, which is a whole another conversation, you know. So so it's it's it's me trying to give those advice, the advice that he needs, but also understanding that I'm still just dad, you know, and we all have that struggle with getting our kids to listen. You know what I'm saying. I think every parent their their kids are probably gonna listen to somebody else more than they listen

to the parent. You know, absolutely, I don't know anything. Yeah, you don't know ship that's all you done. You know nothing. And I'm like, man, anybody trying to walk down this path or being a professional athlete in any sport, like you can't have a better example than me, Like you can't have a better support staff than me. So that's that's that's kind of where we are. And you know, I don't I'm not the type of look back. I'm always trying to figure out how we go forward, how

we make things better. So you know, even with everybody and my family, brothers, sister, mom, that everybody, there's there's been some disconnect throughout the years, but you know, let's how we move forward. I'm a good natured, good hearted person, and I think they all know that. So that's always gonna precede me. So it always gives me a chance to men those relationships. All right, So that's your last one.

How's your how you? How's your skin coming along? Last time we saw what was the beginning of COVID and we were in Yeah, Beaver Creek. Yeah, like two of the most none scares you believe. He's like, stick, what are you doing? We both look at each other skin in the middle of nowhere. But I'll tell you what. I ski once since then. So I'm about to say waki every year, bro. But I remember you telling me at the time that you know your Utah days got

you right? So I never had it. Man. That was the first time I put a ski on my foot, and you lived in Denver. It didn't matter. The thing was I was playing football and I had never done Why would I risk going out here on this when I was all the time when I was playing, I never had anybody come to me and say, hey, you should do this. No. I was just always scared to do anything outside of training, you know, because I just ridden. Man,

I used to jet ski ski. Yeah, you were you were a bigger man than me because I couldn't do it. To this day, I still have a fear of falling, so you know you're gonna fall. I realized the snow was a little softer than the ground, so a lot. It's the trees that I get, you, Hey, but I get a kid out of watching my well. He was nine or eight or nine at the time. Man, my son, he got on those skis sail a few times and he was down to blacks. I mean it was, it was.

It was good to see. I'm like, man, I won't do I won't do blacks because, uh, my knees feels so good until I get on a black and then my knees I heard. Yeah, I'm scared of the greens. So you know that's where I'm at right now. So no, Steve Smith was scared of the champion, champion, scared of the greens on damn. Hey, Man, Appreciate you, bro always. Bro. You know what I'm here. Appreciate you. Just call me bro. You are a unique person. You are well worth it,

you are competent, and most of all, you're lovable. I'm Steve Smith Senior, I'm ger little John and this is cut to it. Cut to It with Steve Smith Senior. That Is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Balto Creative Media, The Black Effect and I Heart Radio.

For more podcast from i Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It, Executive producer Steve Smith, SINGR co host Gerard Little John, talent and booking manager Joe Fusci, social media teamer Wesley Robinson, and John Show from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Baltaschevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrek,

Production coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard about it, then, we're about to let you Now it's all old test