The word was you did not perform in the super Bowl show because the halftime show was because you are not vaccinated? Is that true?
Ah?
That was a rumor. Why okay, so tell me I'm such a rumor.
I was.
Tell me why ice Cube, legendary West Coast rapper was not invited to perform at the super Bowl. How is that possible? We get into it on this edition of Naked.
It's the greatest suspension entertainment can naked Wind carry Champion and carry Champion is going to be a champion, a champion, then carry Chappie and a champion and carry Champion then carried Sheppy.
Hey, everybody, welcome to you a new edition of Naked. So glad that you guys are all here. You're gonna enjoy today's episode. We have ice Cube on the show. This is his second appearance on Naked. When I initially started the podcast some three years ago, he was one of my first guests and he's always willing to come on and talk, especially if he has something he wants to talk about. And at issue for him now is the Big Three. He is talking about the league in
which he created and how happy he is it's doing well. However, ice Cube is running upgainst some problems, and it's fair. It's fair that he's running up against problems. I understand when you're new and you're a small business and you're trying to do things in a major way, you're going to find a few roadblocks. So, just by way of background,
i'll set the scene. In twenty seventeen, ice Cube, along with an entertainment executive, founded Big Three and the hope was that this league, which consists of twelve teams featuring former NBA and international players, would give people some form of athletic inertainment when there is none. The Big Three doesn't play when the NBA season is in. It is right after the season, and it goes honestly with the idea that there are very few summer sports. Makes perfect sense.
He's been able to amass some of the greats in terms of people who play for the league, who coach for the league. Some true legends are there. And I think it's interesting because he does a tour around different cities. In fact, they'll be playing at Barclays by the time you hear this podcast. They have done this for the last six seasons or so, and I'm very impressed. But what I didn't know is that Ice Cube has been trying to get the NBA commissioner and Adam Silver on board.
He's been trying to get Adam Silver to help him get more sponsorships to perhaps have the NBA partner with the Big Three, but that hasn't been the case, and he believes that they can work together. In fact, he said his own words, which you'll hear in the podcast, he and Adam Silver used to be friends and now
it's been a bit contentious. If you follow ice cubout any of the socials, you know that he's been talking about this daily and for lack of a better term, I think he feels as if the Big Three is being blackballed. And he is very honest about a meeting that he had with Adam Silver he talks about on the podcast today where he wants to see the Big Three go. The reason why I think this is important, especially in my world of sports, we're watching in real
time sports washing. That's what the term is. Sports washing. Saudi Arabia has already bought the PGA, they're moving to tennis, they're already in wrestling and racing. It's only a matter of time before they get to the NBA. You heard it here. I'm being honest. That's just what it is. Money conquers everything, Cash rules everything around me, y'all know
that's all. So with that being said, I asked Cube if in fact he would be interested in working with the Saudi Arabian the Investment Public Fund is what it's called, and he said he would rather keep everything here on American soil. But if it goes that way, it goes that way. It's an interesting conversation about what I thought was a family friendly league, the Big Three trying to grow, and those around him and his opinion, in Cube's opinion,
not allowing it to grow. We also get into, which I think is really super interesting, why the heck he was not at the super Bowl during the West Coast honoring do y'all.
Did, y'all?
Would you ask y'rself? Sad, why the heck was he not there? I thought it was because I heard a rumor. Clearly he clears it up. I thought it was because he wasn't vaccinated, y'all, he keeps it a buck. I was shocked by it all. And then finally I get into what's the biggest misconception about Cube. You guys will enjoy this edition of Naked, Sit back and relax as he gives. He gives us a little education, a small education on what's going on with the Big Three.
Champion and carry Chapion and carry Chepy.
What is your ultimate goal for the Big Three? Are you is it? Is it happening now or do you have a different vision or you want to grow it in a different way.
Well, we're going to the league. You know, the league continues to grow. We want to be a viable option for ballers who find itself for some reason. You know, with the NBA it's not always skill level. Sometimes it's a numbers game. It's only twelve spots per team or fifteen spots per team, so a lot of you know, quality great ballers get left out or washed out. So, you know, we want to have that place where you
could still play. You don't have to go overseas. You can play in front of your family and friends and fans here in America. Professional at the highest level. And how we're growing this sport is we're now selling teams and we're in the process of selling teams to owners and they'll put teams in different cities and we'll be able to grow, you know, from there and expand to sixteen teams and twenty twenty four and so on.
What owners are you selling them to? Are you selling to NBA owners? Are you're selling to people who have the money to buy the team. And what's the typical buy in if you don't mind sharing.
Well, I mean NBA owners want to buy in. Several big name owners have you know, show to show interest. But because of the bylaw that is in place that you know that Adam Silver and Martin Tatum, they can really wave it. They're they're saying the law says they can't invest in a competing league. Now out in no way, shape or form, anybody can see that this Big Three is no way competing and compete with the NBA. So we're not competing. So we think that claws need to
be dropped when it comes to the Big Three. Now, NBA owners can invest in pickleball, they can invest in the TBT League, which is the basketball league. They can invest in slam ball, which is coming back. But you know what makes the Big three so special at the end of the day, so we believe that you know, we're being basically looked at unfairly by those two or the top rast at the NBA as a competitive league and we're not.
Who do you so you're okay, So if you can test this, this law, this rule that they have created, how do you go about doing that? Because you guys aren't competing? Why why is it that you all are the issue? So how do you contest it?
It's what I'm asking, Well, I think you appealed to the UH players, you appeal to the to the owners to UH to try to talk to Adam you know, he's he's really the only force that's stopping this great collaboration. The thing is is we have a place for players in the NBA when the NBA doesn't. So you know, why would he stop. You know, he's not going to give Ice Man a head coaching job, or Rick Barry,
you know, or or Michael Cooper or you know. And these are guys who went through the NBA, you know, made the NBA what it is, and now they're coaching in the Big Three. It's head coaches and and they're trying to stop the league every way, shape or form. So it's just it really don't make crazy man sense, and so we just want we want somebody talked some sense in Adam Silver, because I think this is going to end up hurting his legacy more than he know.
At the end of the day, he's going to be known as the guy who tried to stomp out the only black All League in America with his former players and coaches. Don't make sense.
June twenty fifth, you released a video on Twitter and you called them a club of gate keepers. I want to make sure I have that accurate. Specifically. Later on, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, you said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is an opposition to Big Three, and you said they're blocking sponsorships from companies like Nike and calls them to question anti trust laws. He says, you say that you've had contentious meetings with them, and you don't understand.
Why do you know for a fact in terms of proof they they're blocking sponsorships, they're telling people not to sponsor the Big Three.
Yeah, I mean we've had you know, people we call, uh, you know from the c suite, the CEO, cmos, c os basically tell us that they can't do nothing because we haven't worked out a deal or whatever with the NBA, and so you know it's definitely them telling these not only sponsors, but also networks. We had a great deal going that got you know, somehow stumped out because of
our relationship with the NBA. So you know, we we've had people actually tell us now I don't want to name names because obviously they're scared of the NBA or nervous about their relationship with the NBA, so you know, they don't want to step on any toes when it comes to that. And so I just think it's so hell it's not right, pretty sad, and it has to be dealt with the best way we know how, which is you know, making it no publicly and then exercising all the rights that we have.
It reminds me of and it happens all the time. It's big brother, little brother. And when they have the power of most people, everyone wants to deal with the NBA. But it sounds like you're saying, for lack of a better term, they're blackballing you. Like they're saying to you, don't deal with them. If you deal with them, you can't deal with us. Is that what you're feeling?
That's what I'm f and that's happening too. You know, some of the major sponsors out there that that deal with basketball, you know, it's not a large pool, it's it's it's very small pool of major fortune five hundred companies that advertise and push their products through basketball. So having them talk to one let alone multiple, having them
talking to one network, let alone multiple. If you think about all the networks that that run basketball, you know, you can count them, you know, mainly on on one hand, and you don't need your thumb. So there's a very small amount of people we can go to to get this product more exposure. And to have them going to those people and discarding them from doing it is it's heartbreaking in and got a stop because at the end of the day, you know, they think they hurt nice
cue on one guy. You know, I pay these guys, so they're not hurting me. What they're hurting is the guys who depend on this check, depending on this exposure to continue their career, depend on this game the Big Three for a lot of mental health that we provide just by giving guys who are professional athletes place to play. So we're doing so much for people, so many people make a living off the Big Three and earn money
when the Big Three come to town. It's just a shame to have such a giant like the NBA using their might to stump us out. And what's crazy is it's not working, so they really need to stop.
Is it personal? Does Adam Silver have a personal issue with you? What does he believe about you that would make him think he doesn't want to be in business about with you?
I don't know, you know, like I said, the meeting we had, it was we was explaining to him what we were trying to do. We was actually offering the NBA a piece of the league free, and he basically said thank you, but no thank you. And then you know, we was telling them what we were gonna do with the league and that we thought that him not letting a few players play because they were under these like emotional contracts with teams, that we thought that wasn't right,
that we would fight that. And so he probably didn't like how to me and it And why didn't he like it? Maybe because we told him that he wasn't going to kill our league in the womb. You know, he probably didn't like that.
So now you have been very vocal about what is happening, which normally does not happen. That's the opposite of how I'm sure people handle the NBA when they're not happy with the NBA. And you have made it very clear that since its inception, your your league has been doing very well. Now you are hoping that somehow someone talks
some sense in Adam Silver. Do you think that relationship that you have with him as a foregone conclusion in terms of any type of mediation and working it out, Not at all.
You know, we're businessman, you know, you know we're not to me that far apart, but you know it's really a to him. You know. I don't, I don't, I don't. I'm not holding the grudge at all on that, you know. I think at the end of the day, we tried for six years to handle things behind the scenes, and when they continue to happen and they hurt the league, it's our job to do whatever we can to protect the league, and this is part of it, you know.
So I would hope the other owners see that this is no good for the NBA to take this position against the only black owned basketball league in America that has their former players I'm pretty sure their players don't like it because one day they may look up and find the Big Three as an option for them. So, you know, it really comes down to Adam Sewer and the Todd Brass to not consider us competition. They don't
have to get rid of the bylaw. I think what they should be worried about is, you know, I'm hearing that the ABA is coming back. You know, a bunch of foreign money is about to be you know, putting into five on five five excuse me, five or five
pro basketball. So what they really need to do is to be connecting with another American clan to make sure that we protect American basketball because at the end of the day, the money is gonna dictate where players go usually and if foreign money comes in with the a BA, they're gonna have a lot more problems to deal with than the Big Three.
Would you, and we've been talking about this a lot lately in sports about the Saudi Investment Fund? Would you take money from the saudiast to to build up Big Three and make it more competitives.
I would do what I need to do to protect the league and protect it and investors. But why should I want this enough American bread money people out here to to make it happen, you know, so we would hope we wouldn't have to go that route, but we are not taking any of our options off the table when it comes to the survival or the Big Three.
And then one one other question I want to make sure I'm clear on if you want to grow the league and you're asking owners, NBA owners more specifically to buy teams and put big and put the teams in their cities, is that what you were saying, not.
Just owners and jumps. We've been talking to a few Major League Baseball owners, a couple of NFL owners, so we're talking to, you know, people who won't who want to own a Big Three team. You know, the appreciation value team ownership is through the roof, so it's definitely a great investment. So we're just looking for the right people.
To do it.
And there are a lot of NBA owners that want to do it, but because of this by law, they can't. And that's a shame because these are basketball people who understand the game inside out and could help row the league and they and you know, they they love what we're doing. They love what we're doing for players. They're keeping them here in America so they don't have to go overseas. Heah play. So it's it's a great thing that we're doing and it's gonna work.
Hey, everybody, don't go anywhere. Cube has already broken down what happened with the Big Three When we come back. I also ask what's going on with the Super Bowl? He didn't perform? Why is that? He tells us in just a few moments, thank you for listening to Naked.
Every Champion and Kerry Champions to be a champion out of Champion and Kry Chappion and Kerry chap out a Champion and Carry Chapion and Kerry Chaps and entertainment and Naked Weird Kerry Champion and Cary Champion is to be a champion, a Champion and Carrie Champion.
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Hey, everybody, welcome back to Naked. Thank you for being patient and fast forwarding through the commercials. But we have to pay the bills. As we say, without further ado, here is a legendary West Coast rapper Ice Cube. I'm making it plain so I know that I understand it. You are very honest in the fact that you believe Adam Silver is blocking an opportunity for players and for the Big Three and for the basketball community as a whole.
There should be another option if you're if you don't play in the NBA, or if you're not in the G League and you're a young kid, there should be another option. And that option, in your opinion, is the Big Three. And you're finding Adam Silver saying no, I don't want to be a part of it because he fears the competition of the of what he believes people
will enjoy more than his than his league. But it makes no sense because you don't you're not playing during the NBA season, So I don't I don't get why there is such a back and forth or why he wouldn't want to support it.
Like I said, you know, it doesn't make sense, and we don't want to just think about those same old things and we always think about when things don't make sense. Okay, So at the end of the day, him the end of the day, At the end of the day, I don't understand why he will want to hurt former.
It's fair to say that if you as a black man, there may be an issue. There may be an issue there. It's fair to say that, not that we want to go there, but it's fair to say that that race always is a factor. It's never not a factor. It would not be not be true, especially in the time that we live in today, what's going on in the world as of late today, that just would not be true. Can you tell everybody when the next game is so I can make sure that I publicize this or where
can they go? Get the schedule? Big three dot com and get every all your TV schedule and who's playing?
Yep, Big three dot com. My next game is at Barclays and Brooklyn and this Sunday, and you know, we got games all day. We're celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of hip hop. Got submit on New York groups coming through like a mop and I'm gonna keep it moving. And Tony Allen just joined the league, which is great.
Congratulations, you're still doing it.
Hit barked in and we hit Mett. Yeah, you know he's still doing it. Coming together, yeah, coming together.
I'm very I'm very very happy for you. I'm happy to see your your dreams materialize. That's a beautiful thing. Speaking of dreams materializing, I had my full dream. I'm going to do a hard, hard, hard right turn here. So so you've answered this question, but I'm curious. I missed you at the super Bowl and we were like, where's Q Now. The word was you did not perform and the super Bowl show because the halftime show was because you are not vaccinated? Is that true?
No?
No, that was a rumor. Why. Okay, so tell me I was such a rumor.
I was.
Tell me why I wasn't You weren't invited to perform.
I wasn't invited to perform. I actually had to show that day too. I think it was Utah. They saw Lake City. Yeah, okay, I want to go back. Uh huh.
They do attribute to West Coast hip hop and ice Cube was not invited to perform. Is that what you're saying to me?
That's exactly what I'm saying. Okay, okay, So Trip, you know why, because I feel like, when I do the super Bowl, do it do ice Cube show? I get it.
I know you didn't.
Trip.
I'm talking about the people who want to tell you. I'm speaking for fans. I get You're fine. I'm talking about the fans who were like it just the the sentiment was very clear, it was special, but it just would have been on a whole nother level if Cube was there. Are you saying that they were like, we're gonna, We're gonna not include him. Is that is it because is there a personal issue there? Or is it because what you may represent somebody?
I don't. I don't.
I don't get why you're not invited.
I think it was really about uh songs and the artists that Dre you know, kind of personally touched in a way. Okay, they you know, we were in the same group. We kind of came up together. But but I left the group in eighty nine, like I left, I left the the group in eighty nine. Trey was a different producer in eighty nine than the years now. He's done different things between now and then. You know, Chronic Snoop fifty, Eminem, you know, those are when Dre
was totally fully matured as a producer. So I just think he he took more of the groups that were really under his wings. You know, we was in the group together, Okay, Okay, I guess so, okay, Well, this the only thing I can say that it was. It's no animosity.
I can tell you I felt the way you didn't feel.
No worry about it. I felt nothing. Yeah, you know, doctor Drayda left me off the songs before. So anybody know that's you know, he gonna gonna do what he feels is working and what makes the show right for the time and who you know. It's hard to understand some time with Trey is thinking, but you genis we roll with it. I mean when he called, were ready. When he don't call, We're still ready. You know what I mean?
All Right, I respect it. Look you you're not mad.
I can't be mad.
Let me let me didn't tell the Let me tell the Cube Hive did to chill out like we're all good over here. Then it's good, so good. So when you do the super Bowl, it will be the ice Cube Show. It will be it will be all about you and we'll and when you do do it, do you bring out anybody? Do you bring out?
Yeah? I'll bring out a few people. You know what I'm saying, I bring out you know what makes sense? But yeah, you know, I don't want to jump on nobody else should the man I'm kind of glad I was an axe, you know, because I'd rather wait and do it myself when it's an ice cube show.
Okay, we'll let this claimate it's done. Then it is done. All right, Then I'm there. I'm at that super Bowl. Make sure it's warm. Let's get a warm location. I want to I asked you about this past weekend. You performed the essence and I believe he forty.
Was with you.
Right?
How was that? How does it?
How does it feel to literally you just mentioned you were like you left the group in eighty nine, or it's so interesting. How does it feel to be a pioneer in this game and it's still so very young. We're celebrating fifty years of hip hop and it's still so very young even at fifty. But honestly, a pioneer in this game, what are your thoughts?
It feels great, like you know, as a younger, see, that's where you want to be. You want to be respected, influential, You want to have a couple of classic hits under your belt, and you know people give you love and respect wherever you go. You know this is where you want to be. So you know, I feel great. It could have won a whole different route, a whole different way, and so definitely better than being a one hittered quitter.
So having longevity and I feel blessed at a very high level for a long time.
Yeah, it doesn't happen, even in sports, like I say what you want about Lebron, like his shape, physical endurance, being in his prime for twenty years, it doesn't happen. And that is very much the equivalent of your career, the longevity, how you've been able to do different things, leaning into things that you know are better for you, or what you can do here like showing different sides. Did you ever think growing up in South Central that and maybe you did, but you'd be in movies, you'd
be this entrepreneur. Did you see this vision?
I mean I dreamed of it. All of this got you saw all of I mean I got it. No, I didn't see it. I dreamed of being in a position where I could be creative on different levels musically, you know, I could be as creative as I want
to be. And now movies, which teach you how to be creative in a three dimensional way, and now sports, which is creating a stage for great athletes to show you what they got, you know, so it's uh, it's all creating and I'm just I just felt blessed that I wasn't stuck in one area, like I wasn't just stuck doing records and nobody would know what I have to offer movie wise, and people love my movie so and now sports, I think people love the Big three
letter has something to do in the summer when it's born, you know, just envision the league as it grow and we have more games during the week and things like that. You know, It's it's sometimes hard to convince people what you got before they can fully see it. But if people give you a chance and grow with you, they'll see exactly what you was talking about. And I'm just blessed that I'm unable to do that in different areas.
Congratulations, I'm happy for you as well. I'd love to see you thrive, not survive, but thrive.
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What do you think is the biggest misconception about ice cube?
That? I mean.
Right, because when it's accept I mean shocking. Why would people say that because you don't smile? You very get you. You could do a half a smile. I see you do half a smile one time. But why do they think you're mean? Be Could you just mind your business and you say to yourself?
Probably because I'm direct and I don't try not to mince words. Sometimes they they meant because.
You know, yeah and wait.
But but for the most part, you know, I try to just be direct and yeah. Some people guess they like you, yes, yeah, yes, pleasant all the time. I don't know what the hell it is, you know it relas you be pleasant. I'm pleasant, but I'm just not, you know, always chipper, I don't know.
Schipper doesn't go with your swag. No, no, it doesn't go with that. The swag that you have. I don't ever see that, Okay, so if you had a choice, these are my closing questions for you, and you could go. I'm talking about your typical vacation. Would you want to go to a city or a beach?
Beach?
If you could take one item with you, like one thing you cannot live without on this beach, what would it be.
On?
You could take one thing? Yeah, iPad? Because what's on your what's on your iPad? That's how you do your business, is how you communicate iss your brain has all the stuff in there.
Yeah, I mean, you know it's it's it's a way to to enjoy, enjoy your vacation, but still answer them questions. They need to be answered, you know. So I don't mind. You know some people like when I when I go on vacation, I want to throw everything down. No, I don't want to wait ten days before I find out, you know, I mean tell me now, Yeah, I need to know, you know what I mean? As it happens, I need a you know, I need a on the on the same reporter you need what went? Now?
How did it happen? I don't want to wait ten days for something. I'm using that. That's going to be my new quote. I don't want to wait ten days if I happened, and then if you My other question then would be if you take your iPad and that's the one thing you need to you have for you so you can respond someone comes to you and says, you can only do one thing. You're really great at these two things, but you can only do one of the two. Would it be rap or would it be act?
At this stage career? Oh really?
Oh? All day? Yeah? Because you know I can make songs how I feel them. Movies are a comedy. You know, a lot of people that chime in, a lot of people have to bring their skills and talent to create one movie. But I could create, you know, three four songs in a day. If I'm moving, you know I'm rolling. So I like that that creative freedom, you know, lord and making movies.
I appreciate that. Ice Cube literally a trailblazer in every sense of the word, and someone who disbelieves in what he believes in and stands by it. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast and taking time to explain what's happening with the Big Three. My hope is that you get this worked out with Adam Silver. But if not someone else comes along and helps you build this to where you want.
It to be. Yeah, man, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. I'll come on anytime. The thing is me and Adam was cool before I started the Big Three. I bet, I bet. Yeah.
It's like it's like the this when the student becomes a teacher. You're like, wait a second, I thought you Okay, now, your competition it's it's the name of the game in every way, in every single way.
No problem, no problem, we not competition. We will we let's do this together and we don't make something you want unity in mangus. Yeah, of course, you know the players wanted to.
And I don't know why ice Cube would say. People think he's mean. It's just shocking, shocking, guy shocking, and I'm being sarcastic. That's the sarcasm dripping through my body right now. I definitely am afraid of that man. I don't know about y'all, but it's nice to hear his perspective, and I do. I do want to reiterate that he is very clear that he wants to work with Adam Silver. There is no beef. He wants to make it a friendly association not necessarily a competition in any form or fashion.
So this isn't an anti an anti Adam Silver podcast. It's just saying, Hey, this is what's going on. I want to bring it to the attention of people. Maybe somebody can help. Maybe Adam Silver is not seeing it my way. Maybe calmer heads will prevail. I don't know who knows, but I appreciate him for saying that. At the end of the day, he's trying to be a businessman. If you will. I want to get into something a little more personal, something that happened this past week with
affirmative action ruling. Every now and again, I use this platform to talk about things that I find completely unfortunate in society. But i'd be here all day if I did if I didn't do that in a way that I felt was smart. So today I'm going to try to do that in a smart way. So no affirmative action. Supreme Court rules that race cannot be a factor in admissions. Race as itself separates you from people, period, so that doesn't make any sense. However, they're okay with legacy admissions.
I mean, if your parent or grandparents went to a certain school, you automatically for the most part, are accepted into that school. That's called a legacy admission. You know, if my mom built a building at UCLA, you better believe anybody and our family is going to go to UCLA for the rest of their lives because we have a legacy there. If you will, that's what that means. And there are a lot of people who feel like affirmative action takes away opportunities for other qualified majority students
and that's just not the case. And I am speaking to you as a beneficiary of affirmative action. I went to UCLA, and when I was admitted into UCLA, it was very clear that standardized testing wasn't on my side. I did not do well on the SAT, but there are a lot of things that go into that. The school district that you're in, the preparation that you can
either pay for or get for free. We obviously could not afford to pay for preparation, so I was able to take these classes for free that my local high school offered. Now, if Tim goes to a high school and his parents are doing well and they can give him a different type of preparation for the SAT, you better believe he's gonna probably do better than me. And now I'm not saying Tim should be faulted because his parents have money and society has allowed them to flourish
in a different way than my family. But what I am saying is that I'm just as qualified. I just need the opportunity to show that I am so. Tim and Carey both enter UCLA. Carrie gets in with the help of affirmative action, and Tim gets in because you know, he has great grades and he did great on his SAT. But Tim and Carey both graduate at the same time.
Tim and Carey both go on to be successful. Carrie's arguably more successful, and that is the benefit of affirmative action someone who normally would not get the opportunity based on their circumstances. I cannot be faulted, but this country does allow that to happen. I should not be faulted for being born into circumstances that are underprivileged. I deserve to have an opportunity. I deserve to have the right to sit in classes at UCLA, learn and prove that
I do belong. Because affirmative action doesn't take your tests for you. Affirmative action doesn't do your exams affirmative action doesn't write the many papers that I wrote. Affirmative action didn't work the three jobs that I worked during my time in college. Tim didn't have to work. And I'm happy Tim didn't have to work. His parents had money. He didn't have to drive back and forth in the middle of the night from whatever local restaurant he had to host that so that he could pay for his
school books because his parents had money. And I am not faulting Tim, but what I am saying is that a system that doesn't take those things into consideration is unfortunate. We're not asking for a handout, We're just asking for a little help.
Up.
Hold the door open. Hold it open. I'll walk right on in and I'm gonna kick ass when I get there. I don't need you to do anything else but just hold this door open. I don't need you to give me any money. I don't need you to teach me how to read write, or take my or do the exams for me, or help me or push me through school and give me any extra special favor. Support is great, right,
I would love that, but I don't need it. And thank goodness, affirmative action was in play when I was at UCLA because I would not have had the opportunity to show those who did not believe that I could. And so in real time, we are watching our society remove very important rights for the marginalized. And I hear all the time, and I'm gonna get real real with you, guys, Carrie, what do you know about that?
You know?
You're successful, you have money? You da da da dah. Yeah, because I work hard, I absolutely do. But I still can't forget what I didn't have, and I still cannot forget how hard I have worked to get to this point. And I still don't forget that when I walk in a room, you see my color before you see me. And unfortunately, because society is not color blind, like the Supreme Court would like us to believe, it's always an
issue in some form or fashion. At this big old age, I'm still proving myself this big old age, I have to pull out my resume and tell people what I've done.
And I don't mind. But what I do mind is closing the door to those who are just asking for a little help in the sense of hold it open, you know how, like the visual of you're racing to get to an appointment, and you want to get on the elevator, and it's only one elevator and it's about to close, and you really don't want them to close the elevator because you got to get to this appointment. And someone is kind and generous enough to say, oh, no,
I got it. And you see this hand come out of nowhere and it holds the door open and you hop in and you're like, ooh, that's a relief. I gotta get ready for this appointment. I need to be there in thirty seconds. You really helped me out. I appreciate you, sir. What does it matter? What does it matter? What does it matter that person who helped the elevator for you, for me, for whomever, What does it matter to them? In fact, you should feel good about helping somebody.
And unfortunately we don't see it that way. Supreme Court anyway doesn't see it that way. Katanji Brown Jackson, Justice Katanji Brown Jackson, let me make sure I get that right. I'm a little too familiar. In her dissent and her message that she wrote, she said, no one benefits from ignorance, and that was an ignorant decision. Affirmative action does not take spots away from people who deserve them. It creates more opportunity for those who are overlooked, who are pushed
into the corners, the marginalized. It all levels out, it really does. No one is coming for your job, if it's your job. No one is coming for your college position, if it is yours to have no one And I know some of you don't see it that way. I know you don't, and that's fine, but we forget what this country was built on. We're not colorblind. We're not
we're not biased blind either. So my hope is that if you're listening and you know what's going on with affirmative action, you take some time to reach out to your local congressman, your local senator, whomever represents you if you know who that is, and send a note and saying you're willing to participate, you're willing to use your platform to talk about the benefits of affirmative action, or how can you help because this is a grassroots effort.
I'm off my soapbox. We'll be back next week with another addition of naked truly appreciate you off or listening