The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Anquan Boldin on the Players Coalition

Episode Date: June 14, 2020

Former NFL star Anquan Boldin explains why he left the league to form the Players Coalition, which is aimed at ending police brutality and holding perpetrators accountable. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17th. Angkwan Baldwin, welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Thanks, man, thanks for having me.

First things first. How are you as a human being? I feel like people don't ask them like that question anymore right now. How are you doing? Yes, that's true, man. People don't. Um, but I got to say, man, I'm considering. I'm doing pretty good. I mean, I have no choice. I have, you know, a wife and two kids that I have to look after, so, you know, I have to be to be okay to be okay to be okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay to be okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay to be okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay to be okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay to be okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay to be okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay to be okay okay okay okay okay to be okay okay okay okay okay to be okay okay to be okay to be okay to be had to be okay for people for a lot of his life though, you know, one thing that has set you apart as a human being is that you left the NFL to found like an organization that really is tossed with justice. You know, you set out to create the players coalition, which is an organization that has said, hey man, we're going to try and

make a difference using the NFL as a platform to get racial justice out there. Take me through a little bit of the why. You know, like everyone has a different story as to why they get into the work that they get into. Why was this the move for you? Yeah, for me, it was really important. Unfortunately, I lost my cousin, thous, th cousin, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, the thi, thi, thi, thi, was, their, was, was, thi, thi, was, was, the thi, the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is a, is a, is a, is a, is a, is a, is a, too.a. too. too. too. too. too. too. too, is a too, is a, is a, is a, is a, is a, is a my cousin at the hands of law enforcement. My cousin was a drummer in the band, and one night after a show he had just played with his band, he was on his way home.

Ended up breaking down on the side of the road, long story short, law enforcement office that killed him while he was on the phone with roadside assistance. So for me, seeing the pain that my family went through, seeing how long the process was before we felt like justice was served, I didn't want any other family to have to deal with that. And for me and my family, you know, although we feel like there's a lot of families in this country, man, that not only get justice but don't get their day in court. So I feel like with the platform platform the platform the platform the platform the platform the the the the the the the the the the th th th tha the that that the that the that the that that that that that that that that that that that this country, man, that not only get justice, but don't get their day in court. So I feel like with the platform that I had,

felt like it was more than right for me to speak out about these issues, but also try to come up with solutions. Let's talk a little bit about that, because, you know, I think there's two things that often, that often, that often, that often, that often, that's, that's, that's, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, is, that, is, is, is, that, is, is, is, they, they, they, they, that people have. You know, I've seen a lot of people in America say, oh, but if you're rich, if you're famous, if you know, then you're out, like it doesn't affect you. I don't know why you're complaining about this.

I don't even know why this is an issue for you. But you're just one of the examples of people who do get affected, because we're human beings, we're connected to other. because we're human beings, we're connected to other people, even if it isn't you, it can be a family member, etc. But talk me through what you've been trying to do in terms of creating actions and why you feel like it's it's your burden, you know, because you could have easily just walked away and said, hey man, this is horrible, this was painful and I'm out, but you've chosen to sort of live in that pain and try and, you and you and you and you and prevent, you, you th, you th, you th, you thin, you thin, you thin, you thin, you thin, you thin, you thin, you thin, you thin, you thin, you're thin, you're thin, you're thin, you're thin, you're thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th... th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, to thr. to to to to to to to to to to to try, try, thrown, thrown, thrown, the wise. Yeah, I think you know, like you said, a lot of people think just because you have money, you're out of it. But I can tell you that even after having money, you know, I found myself in in those situations where I'm pulled over just because of the car that I'm driving or the

color of my skin. So, you know, having money doesn't exempt you from. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. t, to t, te. to to te. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to try. to try. theee. the. the. the color of my skin. So, you know, having money doesn't exempt you from being black in America. If you're black in America, no matter what you do, no matter how much money you have, you're just black in America. And you still have to deal with the issues that come with that. For me, you know, me joining this work is because obviously I'm a black man. I'm raising two black boys. I have, then, then, then, I have, I have, I have then, I have th and I have th and I have th and I have th and I have th and I have thui. th. thui. thoes, I have thoes, I have thoes, I have thoes, I have thoes, thi, I have thathea, I have th. th. thiolk, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the the the the the th. th. thi. tho, thi. thi. the, the, the, the black the the thee the theiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. theea. the black th'm raising two black boys. I have cousins, I have a sister. I have two brothers that are obviously black. So, I mean, it doesn't just affect me. You know what I'm saying?

It affects my family as well. And for me, it's trying to hold these people accountable. And I think that's the, that's the thing that people don't get. And you have a lot of people asking, why are people protesting? Why is they're rioting? Why is they're looting? And the simple answer is because justice wasn't served right away.

I guarantee you had those guys been arrested, thi ththen or a day later, you wouldn't have everything that's going on now. And it's because we failed over and over again to hold people accountable. Mm-hmm. You played in a league that has become synonymous with, you know, law enforcement, military, etc. You know, the NFL, a lot of the imagery that you see on the field, it would be like police members and the military and they're very proud of that association. What that has created though is a conflict oftentimes between like the fans, some of the fans and many of the players, when the players speak out about issues of police injustice or violence in the communities. How do you relate to your fans or have you found a way to connect with them in a way where

you can use their passion for the sport that you played so well to try and help them understand what's going on in America? I think the thing that you have to do is just reach people at the level that they're at. You know, everybody doesn't always see things the same way. But I think if you humanize the situations that we're going through as a culture, I think people begin to understand. You know, you can liken it to a lot of different things,

but it isn't until it hits home with the person that you're talking to, that it really registers. You've been working hard to push the NFL in this space. And Roger Gaddell came out now and said that he doesn't feel like the NFL has done enough. And he wants the NFL as an organization to do more. Now, granted, the NFL doesn't make laws. The NFL isn't responsible for the police, so I mean, you know, the scope of what they can do is limited. But some people felt like it was lip service because of Colin Kappenik. Some people felt like it's a step in the right direction.

You know, you're somebody who's constantly been pushing the NFL. What would you hope to see the NFL do? Is there something they can do? And what would it be? Yeah, I think that's a good question because I think a lot of people are looking at the outside in that's not going to happen. But I think one thing that the NFL can do is look internally. Look at the policies that it supports. Look at the hiring practices that it has internally. When you're talking about a league that's predominantly made up of African Americans. How many African American coaches do you have? How many African American GMs do you have? How many African American owners do you have? So I think that's one of the things that they can look at. And as far as using the platform that the NFL have, you know, you have guys like

myself, guys that are playing currently, guys like Malcolm Jenkins, other guys that are on the players coalition. When we're asking for support of the NFL, it's not just monetary, but it's coming to these meetings with congressmenmen and senators. their their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi's thi. And, thi's thi. And, thi. And coming to us when we have these meetings with congressmen and senators and those that are in positions of power because then those conversations change. Because there are a lot of owners in the NFL that can guarantee that some of those people are in the seats that they're in because of their support. So when we ask the NFL, you know, to lend us your platform, it's coming to these meetings with us. It's understanding what exactly it is that we're fighting against. And I can tip my hat to Roger because he's come along on several of those occasions. He's come to us. He's come along with us when we've spoken to people in positions of power.

He's come and tried to see while we were doing court hearings, like, what's the process? So he, I can give to th th th to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to too, to try try to me, to me, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to me, to me, to me, to me, to me, to me, to me, to me, to me, to me, to me, to to me, the th..... tie, tie, tie, tie, try, try, try, try, tip, try, tip tip try, tip tip tip tip tip tip tip tip tip my, tip my, tip tip tip tip to see while we were doing court hearings, like, what's the process? So he, I can give him a, you know, kudos for trying to understand what exactly it is that we're talking about, trying to step outside of itself and put itself in our shoes and understand the issues that we're screaming about. It is interesting because, you know, sports has often the place where people say politics doesn't exist. You know, sports is often the place where we all go to escape. You just support your team, you have a good time, and that's that.

But it feels like there are moments in time when politics is inescapable. You know, there are issues that can't be ignored when people step onto a field. There are issues that athletes recently, you know, who came out and said comments that he then later took back and and and said look were insensitive When you look at the players, you know, when you're talking to all of the players, is there a platform or space where players the players togu? Is there a platform or space where players get together and hash these there's a disconnect. Let me put it this way, is do we work under the assumption that the players are always like these tight-knit communities when in fact it's just like the rest of society where people break off and think whatever they think?

Yeah, I think there's pockets where they are. I think you have a number of players that are on the same page. You have guys that are connected in that way way And then you have guys who have differing opinions. But I would say the one thing that I do think is true, that we're all fighting for the same cause. Might see it a little different of how we get there, but I think we're on the same page

that change needs to happen in this country. And we talk about sports, you know, everybody together. The one thing I'm happy that is not happening right now is that sports isn't being played, right? The world is at a standstill, right? Because think about it, had life been normal, you would have the NBA playoffs, you would have the NFL would be in OTAs. You would have MLB season would be underway.

You would have NASCAR, you would have PGA tournaments, you would have tennis tournaments, and everybody could be distracted by those things that are going on. But because you don't have sports, everybody's attention is focused on this one thing. And I think for us, this is the opportunity for us to really create change. It's an opportunity for us to really strategize and have a game plan going forward. So I'm actually happy that there are no sports, because there's nothing to distract people from the real issue that needs to be talked about. What would you like some of those changes to be?

There's a lot of changes that I would like to happen. Obviously, we know the over-policing and the African-American community is a big one. And I think one of the things that we're missing also is the immunity that's giving to law enforcement. Not only law enforcement, but to government officials. And that's one of the big problems. Like a lot of people don't really understand why there's a lack of accountability when an officer does something or what allows an officer like the guy in Minnesota to continue to be on the force after 18 complaints.

And we don't look at the contracts between the unions and the cities. And I think that's something that we need to start taking a look at. Well, Al-Aquan, I want to say thank you for your time. I know it's always painful to relive old memories, but what you're doing is amazing, and hopefully through your work and other people's work, there'll be fewer of these stories to tell. So thank you for joining me. No problem, Trip, thanks for having to the tho, tho, tho, tho, the, tho, tho, tho, the, tho, tho, the, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tha, tha, tha, tha, to, to thr. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to, to, to th. th. th. th. th, th. th. th. th, th. th. tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thr. thr, thr. thr. thr. thr. thr. to, toda, toda, today, thea, thea, toda, today, today, today, tha. tha. toda, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and the Comedy Central

Act. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change.

Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17.