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Jemele Hill Talks New Book ''Uphill: A Memoir', Colin Kaepernick, Donald Trump & Overcoming Trauma
Oct 25, 2022
Atlantic journalist and former ESPN SportsCenter co-anchor, Jemele Hill writes about breaking her family's cycle of intergenerational trauma to become a respected public figure unafraid to speak her mind. She stopped by Sway In the Morning to talk about how the book came about.
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Jemele Hill Talks New Book ''Uphill: A Memoir', Colin Kaepernick, Donald Trump & Overcoming Trauma
https://youtu.be/vtNimJv11l8
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0:00
[Applause]
0:00
you gotta love her
0:02
true Seeker right there
0:05
true spitter right there citizens
0:08
she'll put it all on the line for the
0:10
truth we send her do it
0:12
she'll sacrifice it all
0:16
late night dinners can happen no more
0:18
when she
0:20
but she throws it all on the line
0:23
all that traveler and all those little
0:25
vacations they can't happen no more when
0:27
you throw it all on the line because
0:28
they'll fire you for what you believe in
0:30
or ask you to leave or force you to
0:33
leave or make it where you want to leave
0:36
a whole institution to come after you
0:39
climb over your back and won't let you
0:41
forget the truth that you spoke and then
0:43
twisted and
0:44
distorted and make it seem like it's
0:46
something that ain't
0:48
but the strong the strong will always
0:50
survive and they say the truth shall set
0:53
you free and the truth set this woman
0:56
free and you'll learn more about her
0:58
truth when you read her Memoir uphill oh
1:01
man we've seen her we've seen her
1:03
revolutionized the way they talking
1:05
right about sports give her a round of
1:07
applause for that right
1:10
we saw the National Association of black
1:13
journalists name her journalists of the
1:15
year we saw that did we see that
1:19
inaugural McKenzie cup was awarded in
1:22
honor of sports editor van McKenzie at
1:24
the annual pointer media Summit she won
1:27
that back in the day we know that right
1:31
God did
1:32
stood up against somebody sitting in the
1:35
most powerful seat in the world and
1:37
called that person out called out a
1:39
president
1:40
and he called her name back she did that
1:43
right yeah
1:44
yeah spelled it correctly
1:46
ladies and gentlemen welcome her back
1:49
when you talk about culture a lot of
1:51
times you you're misinformed you're not
1:53
even using it correctly but when we
1:55
affiliate culture with her we're being
1:58
100 accurate she is the culture give it
2:01
up for the one and only Jamil Hill
2:08
you had me wondering like run through a
2:10
brick wall after hearing that intro I
2:12
was like is he talking about me or
2:13
somebody else a pipe now
2:16
[ __ ]
2:18
with somebody let's go just have to say
2:21
[ __ ]
2:22
and it makes sense to me because
2:24
sometimes first time we ever hung out I
2:27
was just speaking about this we we had
2:30
we hung out at the White House y'all
2:31
that's a flex that's a
2:36
and we started communicating like we had
2:39
known each other forever and it was an
2:42
excitable moment so when I read in this
2:44
book that at one point your parents
2:46
decided to move to my hometown and raise
2:49
you in the tutelage of the environment
2:52
that has done nothing but build nothing
2:54
but just here we go change makers you
2:57
know just leaders you know vanguards
3:01
Trailblazers the fact that she grew up
3:03
in Oakland California it all makes sense
3:06
to me you could have knocked that part
3:08
out
3:09
Michigan Detroit baby what up though
3:12
uh sway put a lot on that um
3:16
I was conceived in Oakland
3:19
okay but it is true my parents uh they
3:24
moved out there my mother moved out
3:25
there when she turned 18 to to live with
3:28
my father and so yes I have some roots
3:31
in Oakland Oakland and Detroit we we are
3:34
cousins like first country Kindred
3:37
Spirits like everybody I meet from
3:39
Oakland down to earth
3:41
you know so much so many relatable
3:44
things that we have in common I I [ __ ]
3:46
with Oakland people hard yeah yeah
3:48
definitely forget it yeah then how does
3:51
this happen like Jamil Hill citizens of
3:54
Sway in the Morning walked in here with
3:55
Mike Mills and they started set tripping
3:57
and they froze all right how could you
3:59
be cousins was was swaying oh that's so
4:02
true eccentric with Mike music because
4:05
he went to that terrible University
4:06
Michigan State they know how to pick a
4:08
side right they flip-flop constantly
4:11
flip-flops no I Know Myself
4:13
where Michigan state is okay Michigan
4:16
state is an East Lansing Mike is from
4:18
Lansing yeah and the fact that he is a
4:21
traitor is unbelievable I just have to
4:24
go with the best option Jamil then you
4:26
should have went to Michigan you went to
4:29
the second best option no that's why I
4:31
love jamill to go number one number four
4:33
right now in the football standings
4:35
y'all
4:37
it's been a tough season but you know
4:39
what we always got smoke for y'all and
4:40
you know this yeah I know
4:45
and that's what you told us the year
4:47
before but that's what you told us
4:48
pretty much 10 out of the last 12 years
4:50
this year and we stay with a foot in
4:52
y'all there's an unranked team talking
4:54
to a ring team this is why I talk the
4:56
most [ __ ] okay
4:58
um
5:02
quiet with a 70s talk when the 10 is in
5:05
the room
5:05
[Laughter]
5:14
this is gonna make this ass whooping yes
5:17
trust me a little stick in here look
5:19
it's a little sticky turn your location
5:20
on when we beat y'all Saturday
5:26
all the way up at the big house you
5:28
wanna see me here
5:32
Monday he'll be here pull up waiting
5:34
here
5:36
this is not a game it is not a game I'm
5:39
talking all this but I'll tell you
5:49
both are great schools and both have
5:52
much respect for each other that's why
5:53
the Rivalry is so intense
5:57
so I'm trying to do radio yeah
6:02
because he's like I'm lying because I'm
6:03
on the radio right now
6:06
what did activism what was it primarily
6:09
in form was it because of the oaklands
6:13
as we bring it on back to Oakland no but
6:16
in all seriousness like my mother she
6:18
had such a love for the Black Panther
6:20
Party in particular because she ate at
6:23
their free breakfast program going up
6:25
and in Detroit and so
6:28
um activism being outspoken was always
6:30
in the family lineage but it's funny
6:33
because when people call me activist I
6:35
sort of don't know how to take that term
6:37
because the role of a journalist is not
6:40
necessarily activism but the more that I
6:42
think about it
6:43
our work is the activism you know it's
6:46
like the whole point of being a
6:48
journalist is a phrase that I often
6:50
heard in journalism school which is
6:52
we're supposed to afflict the
6:54
comfortable and comfort The Afflicted
6:56
right it's like journalism is all about
6:58
checking Authority checking the people
7:02
in power making sure they're doing what
7:04
they say they're doing finding out where
7:06
the money is like that's that's the part
7:09
of Journalism that I think
7:11
um is in many ways lost now but that was
7:13
why I became a journalist is the
7:16
accountability factor and also the
7:18
opportunity to tell stories that other
7:20
people aren't necessarily telling
7:22
especially about our people absolutely
7:24
Jamil Hill is here so that makes a lot
7:26
of sense
7:28
um
7:28
when you're you know a lot of us met you
7:31
through the World of Sports but even
7:33
reading this book I I said I read a part
7:35
of the book where you talked about I
7:37
want to go back and I might be mistaken
7:38
to the year 2003 maybe and you were
7:42
covering a story on Michael Phelps
7:45
oh right yes right yes okay and then it
7:48
was o4 summer of o4 right okay I'm
7:51
almost there you're close you got to be
7:53
impressed with this brain right here
7:54
that I was only a year off all right
7:57
um and George Bush at that time
8:02
was campaigning weapons of mass
8:04
destruction in Iraq right and I remember
8:08
Colin Powell because I was a big fan of
8:10
Colin Powell was the kind of like the
8:14
speaker for this campaign he was the
8:17
person that they put up front in it and
8:19
in the book you talk about realizing
8:21
that they lied about the weapons of mass
8:23
destruction uh at that time you were
8:26
covering Sports where you're covering
8:27
politics at that time I was not and the
8:30
the Genesis of that story is the fact
8:33
that me and my mother had gotten into an
8:35
argument I guess I felt the context my
8:37
mother is more conservative leaning and
8:40
we had gotten into a a heated debate
8:44
about George W bush and whether or not
8:47
he was being truthful about these
8:49
weapons of mass destruction as we all
8:51
know today he was not okay and so that
8:55
was but that politics were always of
8:58
interest to me and I know it's been
9:01
fashionable in the last few years for
9:02
people to pretend that Sports and
9:03
politics do not mix they've always mixed
9:06
Sports has always been intertwined with
9:08
culture race gender politics all of
9:12
those hot button issues and topics in
9:15
society and often as I told sports fans
9:18
you know the moment you go to a stadium
9:20
you're that's political that stadium was
9:24
voted on by taxpayers right um and a lot
9:28
of the issues that we see in wider
9:30
Society are relevant there in sports and
9:33
in many cases Sports has been ahead of
9:36
the rest of the society I mean Jackie
9:37
Robinson integrated Major League
9:39
Baseball in 1947. that was basically
9:42
about 20 years before we got the Voting
9:43
Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act and
9:46
so integration was already starting to
9:49
happen in sports before it kind of took
9:51
place throughout the rest of the country
9:53
and it's important that we understand
9:56
how the tentacles are related to one
9:59
another because Sports remains one of
10:01
the few things in this country we still
10:03
do together I got two more questions I'm
10:05
gonna let these four I got 50 more
10:07
questions but I'm gonna let these folks
10:09
get in because they love you everybody
10:10
in this room love you
10:12
um
10:16
Colin Kaepernick
10:19
I think
10:20
um
10:21
has been more important to our culture
10:23
than he's getting credit for
10:25
I feel like his journey his sacrifice
10:28
all that's gone on in his life not just
10:31
his career has been overlooked
10:34
um I think he's easier for us not to
10:36
continue to have conversations about
10:38
what the movement that he triggered
10:41
helped to change and who who's
10:43
benefiting from it now even though it
10:45
isn't it doesn't exonerate in my opinion
10:48
the NFL and atrocities that they've
10:50
committed over the decades when it comes
10:52
to inequality what would Jamil Hill
10:55
write about Colin Kaepernick
10:58
the good thing is that I get an
11:00
opportunity not to necessarily write but
11:03
to help Colin tell a story because I'm
11:05
the executive producer on his
11:07
documentary uh he's gonna have a 30 for
11:09
30 coming out on ESPN directed by Spike
11:12
Lee
11:17
thank you so the good part is that
11:21
um I'm able to tell this story and
11:22
there's a lot there's so much about
11:23
Colin that people don't know and just to
11:26
give you guys an example of the type of
11:28
person that he is and how he's ten toes
11:30
down on everything
11:32
when he was making his decision about
11:35
which Outlet to go with in terms of
11:38
wanting to tell a story his documentary
11:40
he called me now Kyle and I were
11:42
friendly but I wouldn't go as far as to
11:44
say we were friends and we after we
11:47
realized our struggles were sort of
11:50
intertwined in many respects because he
11:52
was one of the first athletes that spoke
11:53
out on my behalf when I was going
11:55
through all the controversy with Donald
11:57
Trump so before he made this decision he
11:59
called me and asked my opinion because
12:02
ESPN was one of the outlets that he was
12:04
considering in partnering to have his
12:08
documentary and one he did not owe me a
12:10
phone call but the main reason he called
12:12
me was because as he put it he didn't
12:14
want to undermine Me by going to partner
12:17
with ESPN because we had an awkward
12:19
party and you all know why Wow and I
12:22
just I was really flabbergasted by that
12:25
had Colin never called me I would have
12:28
been I would have wouldn't have thought
12:30
less of him ESPN to me was the choice
12:32
and I told him that I was like listen I
12:34
know what you've read and you know what
12:36
I've told you about my situation there
12:38
but they're the best vehicle to tell
12:40
this story and in a powerful way and
12:43
then he said okay I really appreciate
12:45
you being honest and then he called me
12:47
back 15 minutes later he said I tell you
12:49
what would make me feel really good
12:51
about doing this with ESPN is if you
12:53
come executive produce and I was like
12:55
you ain't got to threaten me with a good
12:56
time
12:57
yeah but I'd love to do that why not
13:01
collect one more check from ESPN yeah so
13:05
um so yeah and and we've been you know
13:08
filming and
13:09
um just hearing him tell
13:12
give people uh just some indication or
13:15
shed some light on what he's been
13:17
experiencing since he um decided to wage
13:20
his protest in 2016. it's remarkable I
13:25
mean he's just a outstanding person and
13:28
and Beyond the activism and what he's
13:31
done just the outstanding God so I'm
13:33
really happy for him I'm gonna let you
13:34
hold that oh look at that look at this
13:36
look at it look at slaves
13:53
let me tell you this day this day we
13:57
were at Viacom and Colin held a closed
14:00
room session
14:01
uh with a hundred Executives
14:04
um from Viacom and he asked me to
14:06
conduct to moderate the discussion you
14:09
couldn't record it you couldn't film it
14:10
you couldn't even take pictures to the
14:12
end and this is one of the pictures that
14:14
Nessa took who's like my sister from the
14:17
base so it had did you see the picture
14:18
of me in college you showed me many
14:20
times
14:21
shout out to Colin and that's a nice way
14:24
to both of them
14:27
the Memoir uphill
14:31
wow I'm listening to you speak Jamil and
14:34
I'm thinking to myself like we kind of
14:36
have these careers in the public eye
14:38
whether hip-hop or swaying I started out
14:41
now doing radio and television and film
14:43
and you had to deal with something very
14:45
public a lot of times we can get to deal
14:48
with some things privately you know
14:50
especially with record labels and stuff
14:52
like that
14:53
did you I at times I felt like this is
14:56
too much for me I just want to step away
14:58
with everything that happened to you in
15:00
a public eye did you feel like I'm done
15:03
like this is too much like maybe even
15:05
scared for your life possibly well the
15:07
death threats were real and wow
15:09
certainly one of the many ways getting
15:13
in that
15:14
um back and forth with the president
15:16
changed my life was that I had to move
15:19
and navigate a different way and that
15:21
was not easy to deal with because I I
15:23
was even though people knew me from ESPN
15:25
and I got recognized
15:27
um and even at times I would get racist
15:30
hate mail and all that kind of stuff I
15:33
never felt uneasy being in public once
15:36
that happened it was a game changer
15:38
where I didn't know you know that's the
15:41
thing when people don't realize when
15:42
you're in the public eye they know you
15:44
you don't know them right and so
15:46
suddenly I'm going to a Monday night
15:48
game and I have to have security and
15:50
other you know the FBI calling my agent
15:53
and letting him know that there was a
15:55
credible threat on my life so it's just
15:57
all that stuff was
15:59
it wasn't overwhelming it was more
16:01
surreal and I don't know if I had to
16:03
kind of keep it compartmentalize it that
16:05
way just for my own sanity but I never
16:08
thought about
16:10
um about it making me shrink who I was
16:13
that was not an option if anything I
16:16
would say
16:17
uh it made me more mold and determined
16:20
because like oh this is what y'all got
16:22
let me make you even matter if you I can
16:25
make you I can make you mad and so I
16:28
think by having that attitude
16:30
um people uh were really surprised but
16:33
as I write in the Memoir
16:35
um and I would you know when when people
16:37
read it that they'll understand why I
16:39
constantly said this is that Donald
16:41
Trump coming after me if I had to rank
16:43
that in the top 25 most I don't know
16:48
alarming things or traumatic things if
16:49
you want to put it in that bucket to
16:51
happen it wouldn't even make the list it
16:53
really wouldn't
16:54
the way I grew up what I've been able to
16:56
overcome those that's trauma okay the
17:00
president and an idiotic president at
17:02
that having something to say about me
17:04
the White House calling me to be uh to
17:07
be fired like that's nothing you know I
17:10
saw my mother struggle through an
17:11
addiction struggled through being a
17:13
sexual abuse Survivor my father
17:15
struggled through an addiction those are
17:18
things that stick more in my mind than
17:21
that in terms of having to overcome and
17:24
see some real adversity and struggle and
17:26
so you know as much as it may have been
17:29
the thing that gave me a higher profile
17:32
it's not something
17:34
that I ever considered would ever lessen
17:37
me as a person
17:39
Jamil Hill the Memoir is uphill I keep
17:42
saying it because I want y'all to order
17:43
this Myanmar it's um out tomorrow yes it
17:46
is out tomorrow New York Times
17:48
bestseller I'm claiming it you better
17:49
claim that it's a New York
17:51
to sell it's already there it's already
17:53
there come on name it and claim it
17:54
represent this Oakland representative
17:56
right here come on citizens okay go
17:58
ahead Tracy Oakland
18:00
says but in all honesty this is a
18:03
priority read like you have had are
18:06
continuing to have such an extraordinary
18:08
life Jamil one of the things I really
18:10
appreciate from this book especially you
18:12
being a black woman is sharing in detail
18:14
your salaries oh yeah yeah
18:18
right from the start in 2006 when you
18:21
had your column at ESPN and that was so
18:22
refreshing because oftentimes it's like
18:24
wait how much should I be getting paid
18:26
for something you know and compared to
18:28
someone else obviously we have so many
18:29
conversations about
18:31
um the gender pay Gap can you speak on
18:34
how you who taught you what your worth
18:38
is on a monetary level and how you
18:41
determine what the dollar sign should be
18:43
now especially since your profile is
18:45
risen well uh here's the thing is and
18:48
there's a there's a very intentional
18:50
reason why I do share salary numbers and
18:54
when I have speaking engagements I have
18:56
a circle of friends who tend to do
18:57
similar engagements and I'm always
18:59
telling them what I'm getting because
19:01
the they count on the silence they count
19:04
on the lack of information that's how
19:05
they underpay you right because if you
19:08
don't know what they could possibly give
19:10
you it works against you and I remember
19:12
a friend of mine this was a few years
19:15
ago she had done a place I had done the
19:18
speak engagement at they were they
19:21
wanted her to do the same one and they
19:24
offered her like maybe fifteen thousand
19:26
dollars less than me now I would
19:28
consider our profiles to be similar for
19:30
sure I mean you can probably even argue
19:32
hers is a little higher and they offered
19:35
me more and and this was before the the
19:38
Trump stuff it happened so it wasn't a
19:39
result of that and you know I put her up
19:42
on game I was like well this is what
19:43
they spent and so if they give you a
19:45
dime less than that then they're really
19:47
trying to get over you know what I'm
19:49
saying because what they offer you is
19:50
not all they have it's just what they're
19:52
willing to give you and so I think women
19:55
especially black women on top of that
19:57
especially knowing where we are in the
19:59
gender pay gap which is basically toward
20:00
the bottom
20:02
um we condition ourselves into thinking
20:05
that everybody even though we tend to
20:08
outperform but we have this mentality
20:11
sometimes that we're charity right that
20:13
oh they're giving me an opportunity I'm
20:15
very careful not to use that word and
20:17
give me [ __ ] yeah okay I got here for a
20:21
reason and with a lot of experience and
20:23
work and Sweat Equity I put into this
20:25
and so knowing what I bring to the table
20:30
um I my team is very aggressive and what
20:33
they seek for me and yeah there are
20:36
times where with people you know there's
20:38
a difference if sway called me versus if
20:40
you know IBM called me you know I'm
20:42
saying I'll do it for you for you I
20:43
appreciate it but not for Mike
20:53
but no I mean there is there is
20:56
something that is women it's a attitude
20:58
that we have to really adopt
21:01
um is understanding our worth
21:02
understanding our value and so in the
21:06
book yeah that's why I talk about my
21:07
first contract everybody assumed I was
21:09
making all this money because just
21:11
because they see my name in ESPN that
21:13
first deal was terrible it was it was
21:15
what they call a two and two a two-year
21:16
deal with a two-year option and it was a
21:19
company option I had so outperformed
21:22
that deal they were getting a hell of
21:24
discount they brought me in at 150 and
21:27
this is I was a independent contractor
21:29
so they didn't pay my benefits so like
21:32
when it's tax time it's tax time and
21:34
y'all know what that is right so it's
21:36
like you're paying for your own health
21:38
care
21:38
your old 401K all of that stuff and my
21:42
salary went up 10 000 every year so over
21:44
the course of four years I've got maybe
21:47
a thirty thousand dollar pay raise so
21:50
that is not sufficient given the fact
21:52
that I was on TV
21:53
probably you know half the year and
21:56
writing columns on top of that and I
21:57
looked at other people who were in my
21:59
same category and they making twice as
22:01
much as I am and so it really wasn't
22:03
until my third ESPN contract that I
22:07
really felt like I got more than um or I
22:11
got what I was worth or was starting to
22:14
I should say because even initially I
22:16
think my first
22:18
um couple years on his and hers with my
22:20
buddy Michael Smith Mike was making more
22:22
than me and we were doing the same job
22:23
all right that's interesting and so yeah
22:26
but it's not discuss your salaries oh
22:28
and this is why again bendy to be allies
22:31
in this gender pay Gap as well Mike put
22:33
me up on game it was like hey sis I just
22:36
want to let you know this is what I'm
22:37
getting and I was like okay all right
22:40
and
22:42
shout out to him for that and so when we
22:45
had the same representation too and the
22:48
good part is that the next deal the
22:50
sports center deal
22:52
um we were a both paid the same money
22:55
and
22:56
um uh I got a signing bonus that let's
22:59
just say was a financial apology
23:05
I want to lean into this it's not my
23:07
question I want to lean into that about
23:09
uh how individuals and corporations
23:11
entity they know that our weakness is
23:14
that we don't speak up and we don't
23:16
communicate with each other about what
23:17
our salaries are right I just went
23:19
through that recently A friend of mine
23:21
caught me up with the same kind of
23:22
dynamic and I told her because that was
23:25
the max they was offering her I told her
23:27
I was like that's my minimum right and
23:30
so she was like what right and then but
23:33
to your point we have to open up these
23:36
type of conversations in order to
23:37
empower each other to then go back to
23:39
the table to request more and demand
23:42
like no I have data that suggests you do
23:45
you are paying this and you have to you
23:48
have to have a selfless Spirit about it
23:49
in the sense that there are some people
23:51
who don't share that information because
23:53
they don't want to be judged for what
23:55
they're getting whether it be positively
23:57
or negatively and also a lot of people
24:00
have them into mentality of wanting to
24:02
be the only one in the room making money
24:04
yes right like if I tell any of my girls
24:07
or any of my people period hey I'm
24:09
making this and they wind up getting
24:11
twice as much because of what I told
24:12
them God bless you I am happy right
24:15
because at the end of the day the next
24:17
time I go back in I could be like but
24:19
you you paid Mike this so if you paid
24:21
him this then I deserve this so it's
24:23
like we have to not have that uh
24:26
mentality of wanting to keep everything
24:28
to ourselves like I don't want to be the
24:29
only black woman in the room the only
24:31
black person in the room I don't want to
24:33
be the only black woman making x amount
24:34
of money I want us all to be able to
24:37
make that kind of money and for that
24:39
matter have that kind of access to uh
24:42
the c-suites but I want to know
24:44
when it comes to equating money I'm
24:48
curious about activism does that equate
24:50
and you said you have the pulse on the
24:52
athletes in the Sports World we saw what
24:54
happened Colin Kaepernick LeBron James
24:56
we see what's happening with Serena
24:57
Williams Osaka they speak out right do
25:00
you feel athletes now are getting more
25:02
comfortable and in speaking out for
25:04
things that they stand for or do you
25:06
find that they are retreating back into
25:09
their bubble and not wanting to say
25:10
anything you know it is kind of a bit of
25:12
a mixed bag I do think it's been very
25:14
helpful that somebody like LeBron James
25:17
in his position has been so outspoken
25:19
because it's a different tone when the
25:21
best athlete in the world does it or the
25:23
best athlete or the best player in the
25:25
NBA when they do it because then that
25:27
gives a lot of cover for everybody else
25:29
and one of the reasons why I think
25:32
Colin did not have the support that he
25:35
should have was because the other
25:37
players didn't stand up I mean some of
25:39
them did not everybody but not enough of
25:42
them he didn't need the whole league but
25:44
he needed more people in prominent
25:46
positions in the NFL to have his back
25:49
and when they didn't the owners got the
25:52
message they could treat him and the
25:54
other players any kind of way and they
25:56
didn't understand the bigger fight like
25:58
even if you disagree with the method of
26:00
protest or the setting and thought that
26:03
no this is not a place to be doing this
26:04
at football games even if you disagree
26:07
with that understand it was about the
26:09
precedent being set for what they could
26:11
do to the next player that means the
26:12
next player they could take their career
26:14
away over this do you really want the
26:18
owners to have that kind of power the
26:19
answer is you don't but because they've
26:22
done that it's in a very specific
26:24
message to NFL players that if you do
26:27
this we'll we'll excuse a lot of things
26:29
we'll excuse you hitting a woman we'll
26:31
excuse you um bugs drugs will excuse you
26:34
being involved in the other criminal
26:36
activity what we can't excuse is that
26:38
because that creates a different Power
26:40
Dynamic that they don't want to upset it
26:42
wasn't necessarily about
26:44
um I mean the protest was one part but
26:47
the other part the owners didn't want is
26:48
Colin Kaepernick's influence in the
26:50
locker room because then you start
26:51
asking questions about why are we not
26:53
all getting guaranteed contracts uh
26:55
what's up with Healthcare what's up with
26:57
how y'all treat us when it comes to
26:58
concussions and other medical issues
27:01
start asking questions and they did not
27:04
want that to become a prevalent they
27:08
didn't want the critical thinking aspect
27:10
to become prevalent in the league so
27:12
when you ask me if players are
27:13
retreating I think it depends on the
27:15
league and the player I did we certainly
27:17
saw a wave of athletes start to speak
27:20
out and I can't really even say that the
27:25
female athletes that we saw speak out
27:27
see that's there every day they they
27:30
speak out Monday Tuesday Wednesday
27:31
Thursday Friday Saturday because they
27:33
have to fight for their respect all the
27:35
time so they're used to being vocal so I
27:37
wasn't surprised that the WNBA took the
27:40
steps that they did especially when it
27:41
came to the last Georgia Senate race or
27:44
people we have to remember before Colin
27:47
took a knee the Minnesota Lynx they
27:51
spoke out about philando Castile yeah
27:53
and the Minnesota the Minneapolis Police
27:56
Department was so upset they walked off
27:58
their post during their game because a
28:00
lot of off-duty officers worked security
28:02
for their games and they all walked off
28:04
the post and didn't want to work with
28:06
them anymore see people forget that
28:08
happened so women have been accustomed
28:09
to this fight but I I just think a lot
28:12
of athletes still see more reward more
28:15
risk than reward and so
28:17
um I love that the players it really did
28:20
start a different level of Consciousness
28:22
I just wonder if it's been sustainable
28:24
Jamil Hill this is why we love you Jamil
28:27
Hill uphill a memoir thank you my family
28:32
my Oakland yay yay go ahead and say
28:35
Camille go ahead and say it go ahead
28:42
listen I just want to tell all of you
28:44
that I love and appreciate what you all
28:47
do what you bring to my mornings be
28:49
especially I mean you guys are such a
28:52
routine for me so I could I'm a citizen
28:55
straight up you're a citizen you ain't
28:57
even asking
29:00
there was no permission I am a citizen
29:04
yes indeed I'm I'm knee-deep in citizen
29:09
so thank you all for um allowing me to
29:11
come on here and and talk about the
29:13
Memoir and you know thank you to all the
29:15
citizens out there because I love your
29:18
support and I love the energy y'all
29:20
bring to the show so this is wonderful
29:23
We are family
29:27
we love having you as a citizen and all
29:30
the work you're doing and this is
29:31
amazing
29:33
get the book
29:35
get the book and if you can't buy from a
29:37
black bookstore there you go speaking of
29:40
black we got Babyface coming up next
29:42
he's standing outside he's standing
29:44
outside Jamil yo baby face I'm about to
29:47
rush Babyface
29:51
[Music]
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