Friend of the show, former All Pro linebacker, host of the Lights Out podcast. We welcome to the couple of Shawn Merriman. What's up, brother, what's up Sean? What's up? Fellas? How you doing? We are great, man, great to have you. Happy holidays to you and your family. And uh, let's before we get into the sports. Now. You are trying to get Congress working. You're working with this initiative to help local gems that are close to being closed. Uh.
It's called Jim co Jim's Coalition dot org. Can you kind of tell us about that? Yeah, you know, there's something I've been very passionate about. Man. As you guys know, I'm still gonna beat here, right, I still work out as much as possible. And there's a lot of other people out there too. Um. And I know we're talking about the restaurants being shut down in some sential businesses. But to me, in my opinion and how I always shoked by the gym, is the gyms are essential not
just to look up, but to feel good man. And look look at the uh you know, the mental health uh and the depression anxiety that's raised over these last ten months. And you're telling me that the gyms aren't essential enough to have people working in there. And there's gonna be thousands of gyms here man closing in the next sixty days or so. Um and four already closed down and not going to open up permanently. So it's just a shame that Congress isn't doing more to help
these local gyms out. Man. I'm really trying to get it out there so people signed, um you know, sign this petition and get Congress moving on it. Yeah. It's it's like that spirit tire that Chris has, you know what I mean, Like we need these gyms back open six you know eight, back that cag you carried around, ay Sean, we need we need to definitely talk about and um on on a lighter note, Uh, the fight where Nate Robertson got uh smashed there? What were you
surprised by that? Not surprised? What did you make of that whole thing? Uh? Christ and I always talk about a lot of guys think they're tough, but that doesn't mean you can box or get in the ring with somebody who's skilled. Right. No, you know when I came on on the show to you guys, and I said, he was gonna get knocked out sometime in the early second what we talked last time, and it happened early second.
And the reason why I said this right, because Nate Robinson is still an athlete, so you always have an athlete's chance to be successful, just be beating or something. So I knew he was gonna get out of the first round. Um, but I watched Jake Jake Paul trained for a year and I see this guy, I see the due sparring other professional fighters and go and tell them, tell him actually looking pretty good. So I I knew that it was gonna end very bad for Nate Robinson,
whether it was in the second round, third rounds. This, I knew something was gonna happen. And I tell these guys all the time, and I and I kind of transitioned in their combat sports over twelve thirteen years ago. You can play football, you can run some rounds, you can play back pick up in the basketball, you can go play sock and have fun. You can't play fighting. And I try to tell these guys that unless you you're sparring, you have the repetition going in there, Um,
you're not gonna have any success. And look what happened. I mean, he he was the meme of this decade probably, I mean it was, it was everywhere. And I feel bad for him. I feel bad form, but not that much because you can't go in there just thinking because
you're an athlete, you're gonna have some success. But Sean, when you get knocked out put to sleep like that, when I mean, that's going to be what he's remembered for, not that he was an NBA dunk champion, slam dunk champion, or you know what I mean, like like people will never forget that. That video will last forever, won't it. And and the unfortunate part is about it is that it is the fight game, right even some of the best who's ever done it, Muhammed Ali has been knocked
down before. You know it just it's bound to happen at some point in time. But if you get in there and you don't have a good showing, then it's really gonna look bad. Um. And you know, I'm in the process right now. And and transitioning six former UH athletes from others sports, four NFL players, two track stars and rugby, starting two big YouTubers into m M A UM we we actually I started shooting the show on it in about a month and a half. Um, and so it's gonna watch them to be kind of like
that type of thing. Yeah, yeah, because it's gonna it's gonna be showing. It's gonna be showing, um, you know, the transition and what it takes to go into M M A and the combat sports and show that you can't just walk off the street and think that you're an athlete and have to uh to success. But guys, listen, there's there's real guys. And I hate that this happened, right because there's real former athletes out there who can go, who can scrap. I've seen him in the gym. I've
either sparred against them or I've watched them work. And I just hope that the general public don't get this whole um, you know, mindset about former athletes transitioning into a former sports. But that's interesting because I see now, I think you're right. I've people are looking at Nate Robinson as representative of let's just say football and basketball players like man, none of them could step in there
and look good talking to remember Johnny Moreton. Yeah, but you know what we we always we always remember the ones gett knocked out, right, I mean even back when? Do we even back when they was? When I was talking about fighting some years ago, the first thing people were saying, what about Johnny Moore. I'm not Johnny Moore, don't that's it. But that's what we remember. We forget the Herschel Walker at forty some years old, came and want to come to right. Somebody needs to knock Kdall
Gil Kimdall Gill. I don't know if you remember kimda to get a basketball. Dad. Remember Michael Westbrook that played while receiving for the Redskins. He was he was a damn good fighter. So we we always, we always remember the ones getting knocked out. And it's even worse now because they're social media. Like that knocked out for name opposite. He's not gonna be able to go to the club in the year or two. He's not gonna be able to go nowhere because that thing is gonna be looming
over his head for a long time now there. And you I don't do you do? You? I know you do kind of everything? Mmm may boxing? I mean you even looking at bare knuckle fighting, like I want to add throw this out at you because you know these celebrity fights. I mean, now Floyd Mayweather's gonna fight Logan Paul, which obviously is kind of a joke, and and Jake
Paul's challenging everybody in their mother to a fight. It seems like celebrity fights where the guys aren't really experienced or necessarily great fighters, you know, but but they're known people want to see that. Does that interest you at all, like maybe a celebrity, like if you follow another former football player or you know, would you be interested in anything like that If it's just because of your celebrity,
people would probably want to see you fight. Yeah. And I've been saying, wow, I mean, I've talked about fighting other w W guys. I've been talking about fighting other football former athlete. And you want to box, It'll be m m A, It'll be m bazing because boxing boxing for me, I'm I'm past the stage they're gonna gonna do a box I've been training mm A, you know, practically for you know, over ten years. But I do think,
I do think it's gonna be a thing. And I've said this for the past couple of years, right, there's nothing wrong, and it's gonna be frowned upon by real boxers and the real boxing fans. It's gonna be frowned upon, like the fact that Floyd made whether it's fighting Logan Paul, people can't stand it and and I and I get it. But times has changed, you know. So if you put Floyd maybe Weather against Logan Paul, but you're feeling that
card up with other up and coming boxers. Now not only is it a great fight with that one, but now you're putting these other boxes on the map. So it's all about the promotion side of it. Uh. Me, personally, I've always been down will fight another athlete or another w W guy or another actor or somebody another I'm always down with that. I've been saying up for years if it comes about. But until then, man, I'm just gonna keep promoting lights out of Traine fighting and growing up.
All Right, I got one last question before you go, and and you know, be honest. I know you're honest. Guy, Drew Brees is coming back, uh this Sunday, And um, I've seen some players on TV say this like, look it's football baby, and you know his ribs, you know, we know the situation levin fracture ribs. Are dudes going to be going for his ribs? Well? Okay, So I so I played with Drew right in two thousand five when he was with the Charges and I was about
forty ft the way when he dislocated his shoulder. I mean it was one of the nastiest injuries. I mean it's literally get hurt like it sounds like a tree branch. That was just a snap and it was gruesome and he was walking over and me personally and a lot of other people thought that he would never play again. So personally, I think the Drew is gonna be fine.
I think they're probably gonna hit him up with some quarter zone the light of cane or something that just makes sure the pain is not there once you're tore it all. Make sure the pain is not there. But you have to think as a defensive player, Uh yeah, I might land on them and lay on them a little bit longer, you know, like that's that's definitely gonna cross your mind. But more importantly, going into this game, the game plan is hit get the ball out of
Drew Breese hands. So if I'm a defensive play a pass rush or de tackle. I'm stopping at the line of scrimmag You're getting my hands up because I know that there's gonna be flats and out routes and quick patterns. They don't want to get through hit And shouldn't they be called at this point barbecue ribs since they have blood on them? Just now, I call him the mcribb McDonald's and make ribs back. And I'll never eat ribs with no bones. That's why I don't eat the McRib
What kind of ribs have no bones in them? The one Drew brees gotta they keep slaying on them. That's our man, Shan Mary, and we always love having you lights Out host of the Lights Out podcast. To check it out, and good luck with your initiatives to man with the gym. I appreciate it, alright, alright, Happy holidays. That's Sean Merriman.