The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Postgame Show: Moving With A Smile

Episode Date: June 5, 2023

Ricky Williams joins the show to discuss Jaylen Brown's future in Boston, racism, and the value of an athlete's worth as a human being. Ricky also discusses his own legacy, how money influences society and happiness, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

¡Yor, ¿el que te va a hacer? ¡Tenerá un nuevo trabajo! Escuchéis lo que escuchéis, tapados los ojos. La calle vamos todos a cieras, pero lo más aterradores no saberen que confiar. Uy de las personas que os piden que mireis, si queréis seguir convirtiendo. Birdbox Barcelona, estreno en. I need to keep moving. Do a little mic check. He's not centered. There you go. Yeah. To put the bill Simmons pitch over. He hates you guys don't understand. He doesn't like playing within the lines. He never has like playing within the lines. Like the worst way to do this

artistically and creatively, if you want to kill his soul is to go ahead and move him around a lot into the place where you need him because we can't do me so well because we can't do me so well. I mean, well, could you want to tell everybody spiritual guru to f*** off? I got to be three inches to my left. You can't do the work. It's really my mind. When he said, move to the left, I was like, f*** off, but I was like, who's this? I didn't say that. I just said, but said move to the left. I was like, Oh, but I was like, who's this? I didn't say that.

I just said, but I moved with the smile. Well, you've been doing that one. You've gotten good. Moving with a smile for the comforts of others is something. I don't think you perfected anything the way you perfected that. Ricky Williams is with us here. And I want to talk to you about an assortment of things.

Ricky. So Jalen Brown seems to have an uncomfortable relationship with Boston and it's about to get worse because he was quoted in the New York Times. He's a smart person. He's a leader in the players association saying yeah, the racism that exists here in Boston, you know, it's not everybody, but it doesn't feel real good. And then he has an eight turnover performance in a game seven at home. And now people are saying he is not worth the money.

He does not deserve $290 million. The Supermax that'll make him the richest player in the NBA. I know you have to have a lot of thoughts there. So where do you wanna start? Taco, whichever part of that, you'd prefer to start. Well, I think the idea of, is it, is this person worth it? You know, and I think from an athlete's perspective, you know, I don't want to go down that taboo

lane I'm talking about slavery, but there is some putting a value on someone's, on someone's worth, in their ability to execute at the level you think they want to execute. And I think from the athlete's perspective, I always talk about fit because if you're in a place and you're not really feeling right about it, it's going to affect the way you play. I know money is usually the main part of these conversations, but I think eventually athletes have to prioritize quality of life. Well, what did you say last week? Don't go where you're tolerated, go where you're celebrated. I don't know not much money.

It's 50 million. And the Celtics can give him more than anybody, Ricky. So what cost I would ask you? Because it's 50 million, 20, 24, 25, 54 million the next year, 58, 62, 66 million. Nobody else can pay him like that. And if you're Jalen Brown, what do you do if They're the team that can give it to you. They're the city you could give it to that that can give it to you

But you're not comfortable. It doesn't feel like home. Yeah, I think every person every man has to make a decision of what their values are Where there is feeling at home whether it's him is he playing this game for the paycheck or is he playing it for something larger? If you play it for the paycheck, you just put your head down and you grind. There's something bigger and you value quality of life and the way you feel about yourself as a man. And sometimes you have to make difficult decisions. Now, if funny, I feel weird saying that

because in our culture, we value money so much. And it's like at some point, how much are we willing to pay for our peace of mind and our happiness? I'm going to read this quote to you from the New York Times. Jalen Brown on experiencing racism with Boston fans. I have, but I pretty much block it all out. It's not the whole Celtic fan base, but it is part of the fan base that exists within the Celtic nation that is problematic. If you have a bad game, they tie it to your personal character. I definitely think that there's a group or an amount

within the Celtic nation that is extremely toxic and does not want to see athletes use their platform or they just want you to play basketball and entertain and go home. And that's a problem to me. This is not a shy person. This is a thoughtful person. This is a person who does not want his voice smothered

by the pressures of city and fandom and sports rules. You can speak to what kind of muscling that feels like, correct? The inhibition of freedom, and it's just, it's not even a subtle pressure, Ricky. Well, it's like I said, you know, for me, it comes back really to the dollar amount. And it's like, you know, part of it is if you were dancing monkeys and I, and, and I mean that literally, but that's the reality of it. And we've colluded in this, in this

situation. And you know, and I don't see it changing until athletes start to change their attitude. Because to me, racist fans and of course, when you don't play well on their pissed off, of course, you know, we have these seeds inside of us that we are taught to hide, but when we can get pissed off, we can't keep them down anymore. Now, I think in any market where there's angry white people and their team loses, it just makes sense, you know, it's like you can't get mad at the boss, he's going to kick the dog. Knowing what you know now, you're Jalen Brown. What do you think you do? Well, you know, part of it is all hype, you know?

I say you put your head down and you make a commitment to the team, if that's what you want to do. And you transcend it. You know, I think, you know, I feel like my greatest legacy was how I handled all these situations. That's how we change racism. People have certain ideas about who we are. We act in ways where they have to question that.

They have to scratch their head and say, maybe this person is different. Maybe all of them are different. I think as a professional athlete, my opinion is you have to embrace that you're a symbol. Being a symbol means no one is going to see you as a human being. But how are you going to approach being a symbol? You think that's your greatest legacy, huh? I do. 100% because the legacy that continues, you know, people can say what they want to say, but as I continue to make choices in my life for people to have to scratch their heads, they have to change the way they can't put me in a box. And if they can't put me in a box, they can't put other men in a box.

And they can't put other African American men in a box. What else do you look at as legacy? Because you didn't mention family, Heisman trophy, football, spiritual adventure, Merrow, marijuana crusader, be yourself crusader, which is something that you're be weird and love yourself and embrace yourself. You didn't put any of those in that category. I've never I've never heard you say anything about your greatest legacy. It's to me, they're all connected of just changing people's minds. You know, we don't realize we get so rigid and thinking the life life is a certain way. And we shut out information that would destroy our belief systems. But to me, the greatest gift I ever had was destroying my stupid ass belief systems.

Was there a place above all others that you hated to play that whatever it was, the energies, the hatred, the toxicity, I don't want to be there. This doesn't feel good. This doesn't feel like sports and competition. This feels like divided south stuff. The NFL. The whole every everywhere you went everywhere. Well, it created a difficult situation.

Is like the rich white people have to they have to depend on us. No, and that's like that's not a comfortable position for it for anyone to be it. No, especially when they have Especially when they have the paycheck. It becomes a power struggle. And the funny thing about it is that we accept it. You know, we're like, oh, right, they're paying home. That's how it's supposed to be. You're talking about just the feeling of the league.

You're not even talking about stadium to stadium, right? You're talking about your actual employer. Yeah, because that's what sets up the whole the whole dynamic. I think if the if the league and the teams took care of the players, they wouldn't care what the fans are saying. When that's our that's our inner face and as long as we feel humanized by the team, all that other stuff doesn't really matter so much. But when it comes to contract negotiations and we become a number and then they're measuring us,

that I think that's where the trauma comes in. Do you recall one point above all others in your playing career where as an organization, you're looking at your organization and you're just wounded, your hurt, because you're like, hey, I'm a human being. Can you please just care for me? Like, comment your it with my

value to this particular economy? That's when I'm retired. That was a big part of my retirement decision. Is I was, and there's a moment as an athlete and we get to a certain age where our mortality becomes obvious to us. And then I think inner doubts come up is, we realize, Dan, if I don't have this,

I don't really have shit, you know? And it's scary. And then you realize that the team has all the power and you're in a contract negotiation and you're realizing, I'm not gonna be able to do this forever, I need something more than just the money. And I was in that position in 2004 and finally, I was finally up for a contract

negotiation almost and we started the conversation with the dolphins and their first offer. You know, but I looked at the offer I was like, did they not realize that they need me to win games? You know, and that they put all this pressure on me and they give me the ball every play. And they think I'm supposed to look at this and be like, okay, no, I'm a sensitive guy so I was a parent but that was part of my decision. I'm like, I'll show you how you do. I'll show you how you go. You did, and you did, you did. You take me out of this huddle and you watch how many games you lose because you're not handing me the ball Every plate but uh Ricky you're just you're you're counterintuitive so explain to the audience explain to America explain to the globe

Our relationship with money is so screwed up. It is so it is the root of every bad thing that we're doing to the globe and around the globe Yeah, you know and and I hate to it's not money money is not the issue It's the it's the value we give to money to me the whole point of money is happiness But if you're sacrificing your happiness for money, I think that that's where people get it get it twisted But you got hurt, right? Because you believe the organization has the responsibility to treat a player as a human being, a valued employee as a human being, not a disposable thing that can be thrown out

with insulting insults to the economy. I mean, I won't call that a human right in the United States, you know, I think that would be sacrilege, but I think if a team wants the player to be happy and they care about the sustainability of the relationship, I think it will be who's the team to treat the players that they value like humans. Speaking of which, one of the more confusing things I've seen recently in politics, Ricky, is the likes of Lou Holds or Tommy Tuberville, people who made the entirety of their name on coaching black bodies in a violent sport, then taking on political agendas

that are hostile and racist to black people. When a Tommy Tuberville appears and gets power from being that kind of politician as a former football coach, your thoughts or what as you watch that? Well, it breaks my heart because I think, you know, coaches, as you described them, have a great opportunity to really understand the heart and the soul of a different person, an African-American. And I think for them not to take that experience with them into politics is a huge waste. And if I play for one of those coaches, I'd be heartbroken.

Ricky, good talking to you buddy. We'll talk to you again next week, all right? Yeah, thanks for having me.