The Josh Innes Show - JIS Classic: Josh Hates Participation Trophies on WIP

Episode Date: July 1, 2025

This is from 2016. This is clearly near the end of the road on WIP. This is a rant about Millennials and their mindset. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Uh, well D'Angelo Williams, uh, it follows the lead of James Harrison, another Steeler who, uh, last year said he was going to give back his kid's participation ribbon. And now D'Angelo Williams last night tweeted, I took it, talk about his daughter now, I took her field day participation ribbon and gave it back to her teacher. Then in the next event, she got first place. Let me tell you a little story. I've got a couple of little stories for you because I am a strong opponent of the participation

trophy and you know I went off on Millennials yesterday but I get down with guys like DeAngelo Williams I think Kurt Warner has talked about this as well about the participation trophy era of kids. Let me share a story with you couple stories. First of all you've heard me tell the story before about the time when a young Josh Ennis was on the Not even middle school basketball team. I was in fourth grade at Williamson Kennedy School in Poplar Bluff, Missouri I was like the only there were three white kids in the whole school and I was the only white kid on the basketball Team a little chunky guy and you know

We were a decent little basketball team played against Tyler Hansbrough when he went to the Catholic School him and his brother went to The Catholic School we beat them and by we I mean the black guys on the team, not me. I sat on the bench. But there's one award that's designated for the white guy on the team and that is called the most improved player. That's what the white guy gets. That's the award that's designated. So there's a high school basketball game at Poplar Bluff High School, the home of the mules, and at halftime they're going to give away these awards. And one of the awards announced is, Most Improved Player for the Williamson Kennedy School Grizzlies, Josh Ines.

Got my name wrong, whatever. So I go up and I get my medal. I'm so excited, right? So the next day I go to school and I'm walking up the stairs. It's a three-level school building, like an old school school building. I love those buildings. I'm at the office, the principal's on the second floor. And I stop in the office.

I didn't stop in the office. She brought me into the office. It looked like the principal and Uncle Buck. She had like the little mole and everything brings me in. Says, Josh, here's the thing. And I was wearing this medal to school. I was going like Flava Flav with it. It was like a giant clock around my neck. So I walk into the school, walk into the thing. And I was wearing this medal to school. I was going like, Flava Flav with it. It was like a giant clock around my neck.

So I walk into the school, walk into the principal's office. She says, here's the thing, Josh. That medal was actually supposed to go to one of the girls on the girls basketball team. You didn't win it, but you can keep that medal. But we want you to know something. You did not earn that medal. So you know what I said?

I took that medal and I threw it down on the ground. Actually that part of it I made up. I kept the medal. I was 10. What am I going to do? But mentally I got rid of that medal. I don't know where it is. I don't know where it is now. There's a couple of trophies. I was the top accelerated reader when I was in fifth grade. I was reading books on like an eighth grade level when I was in fifth grade. I used to be relatively smart. I've got those trophies buried somewhere. You know, I've gotten trophies for a lot of things, but I would not accept something that I did not earn. A couple of other things. You talk about the generation of people. You talk about guys like D'Angelo

Williams who say, no, my kid will not get a participation trophy. You've got to, my dad, and I tell you stories about my dad all the time, about how at baseball games, he would always yell through the fence, watch the ball Josh, Josh watch the ball, he's got to get a bigger bat. That was my dad. My dad would not attend sporting events that he knew I was not going to play in. So for the first two years I was in high school, my dad never went to games, did not go. And he didn't go because he said, Josh, I'm not going to waste my time watching other kids play. If you're not going to be out there, then I'm not going to do it. But I said, you know what, dad, I get it.

I understand. I understood where my dad was coming from. 14, 15, 16 year old Josh, you'd like dad to be there, but you say, you know what, I gotta earn that PT and my reward for earning that PT will be dad will show up. Now granted, when I finally did earn PT, dad still didn't show up, but that's neither here nor there. Then of course we can talk about present day, right? Present day.

I'm pretty much getting my ass kicked in the ratings right now. Let's be real. Real talk. We talk about ratings on the show. Had a great 10 months, I've had a lousy 5 months. That's reality. Some of the months were decent, last month was just a full-on beatin'. But the last thing I want to see happen is to somehow get a radio participation medal. Like nobody's gonna walk up to me in the real world and go, you know what Josh, you're getting your ass kicked by like five shares, but here's the good news.

We've all got together, we're throwing a party for you. We are so proud of you. And Spike and David Yadgrove and all these guys and the salespeople make a little tunnel for me and I run under it and they're like, we are proud of you, we are proud of you. you we are proud of you and we all get orange slices we all get juice boxes but you see that's the millennial way of doing things right we talked about Millennials yesterday and the way Millennials view things and why I don't

think athletes that are Millennials are as tough as guys of a past era here's some data for you as we talk about participation trophies and how vile and horrible they are and how they should be done away with. And if your kids have any participation trophies in the world, you should take them out back and burn them. First, you take like a sledgehammer to them, then you set them on fire and you say, go out and earn something, go out and win something, go out and achieve something. Because in the real world, you're not going to be given anything, except we've got a generation

of people now who feel like, yeah, I'm probably just going to be given anything except we've got a generation of people now who feel like yeah I'm probably just going to be given something. Did you know that according to a study over 30 there are 30.3 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 34 who still live with mommy and daddy. Between the ages of 18 and 34 30 percent of adults 18 to 34 still live at home with mommy and daddy and we live in a world, if you start just going with these participation medals, well then pretty soon, if I had to guess, then you're gonna say, well there's no valedictorians in school.

I know you hustled your ass off and you studied for four years and you got a 4.0, but you see, this guy on occasion went to class and he studied every now and then, and once he got a D. So he tried. So with him trying that way Yeah, you know we're gonna do we're gonna ignore that we're gonna just say no valedictorian

Or there won't be any Oscars for the best actors or no Emmys for the best television actors or no Grammys for the best artists and Also, there's the same way I feel about taxes as well If I have a skill and I go on I hustle that skill and I'm good at my skill and I get paid a lot Of money I shouldn't have to give back more because you can't go out and make money because you don't have the same skill I have a skill and I go out and I hustle that skill and I'm good at my skill and I get paid a lot of money, I shouldn't have to give back more because you can't go out and make money because you don't have the same skill I have. These are the way I view. These are the ABCs of me.

But what's most important to note, let me think of an equation here, right? A little math for you. You take participation trophies. So participation trophies plus millennials equals Sam Bradford. That's what you get. When you take participation medals, millennials equals Sam Bradford. So I respect a guy.

Let me tell you, guys like D'Angelo Williams, guys like Harrison, guys like Kurt Warner, people that get it, that in the real world, you're not just gonna be given stuff. I admire guys like that. I admire guys who look at their kids and say, all right, Sparky, here's the deal. You didn't do anything to achieve anything. And in the real world, you're not gonna be given everything.

It's like that song. Who sings the song? Is it 21 Pilots? There's an anthem for people, for participation trophy people that's on the radio right now. Is it called stressed, stressed out? Play a little bit of that. It's like the millennial participation metal anthem. Play that song. These are the kids out there that are going to be running the country at some point. There will be leaders of industry, the morons out there who are

just so stressed out because life's hard because I'm not suckling off the teeth. Oh no, oh no! Oh no, I'd rather sit at home and smoke pot all day than go to work. And your parents are part of the problem too. They're losers too that baby you. My dad would tell me Josh you're a moron. That was my dad. You know who a real father is? Kevin Arnold's dad on the Wonder Years.

You knew he loved you, but he wasn't going to sit there and cobble you all day. You were lucky to go to work with him one day. I just see people out there all the time, sports, life, whatever. You get all these morons out there that wanna be given something. Let me tell you something. I started doing radio when I was 14 years old. When I was, I think 14 was the age I got my first paying gig in radio, or at least on a real radio station, right? And I went there and I hustled that bad boy. And I had to produce my own broadcast, and I had to go out there and do commercials, and I had to hustle. And I had to, since I was 14, I've been reading on message boards about how much I suck. TigerDroppings.com

in Baton Rouge, they still talk about how much I suck. And Twitter talks about how much I suck. But I gotta get up and I gotta come to work but that's what happens with participation trophies and participation medals these pair by the way our parents they did they had no clue what they were doing take how old was your mom when you were born was she was like 16 17 yes no freaking clue what she was doing my dad at 19 didn't have a clue far as these parents didn't have a clue Adam's parents didn't have a clue. Adam's parents didn't have a clue, but they weren't reading books about it. Now everybody's trying to give you a book for everything. I've been reading these self-help books, right? As I read them, I'm like, I can figure this out on my own. I don't need somebody to sit here

and go, well, here's how you raise your kid. There is no right way, but I know the wrong way. The way these people are trying to raise their kids now by reading books and trying to follow a script for raising your kids. Then your kids become wackos that are afraid of the real world and they want to sit at home and smoke pot and write songs about how they're scared of the real world. I want to be a kid again and sit at home and play Nintendo and build rocket ships and smoke pot. I don't want to go into the real world.

I don't want to pay taxes. I don't want to do any of this. Oh God, or hold out for no reason. I don't want to go into the real world. I don't want to pay taxes. I don't want to do any of this. Oh God, we're hold out for no reason. As I said, you take, here's the deal. This is where you get the Sam Bradfords of the world. You take participation trophies, plus millennials, and you get dopes like Sam Bradford.

People that hold out because they're entitled and they feel like they should be given stuff. And that's the way this world is right now. Down with participation medals. Listen, I'm guilty of this sometimes too. You know, you'll read stuff and you'll get angry that people are ripping you for something, trying to tell you how to do things. Make your kids tougher. I don't want to live in a world where the NFL is filled with chumps that don't want to compete. I don't want to live in a world where basketball players are pussified or baseball players are pussified. Stop reading books on how to raise your kids. Kick it old school.

You know what? Sometimes you gotta kick it old school. That's the way the world works. Now 888-729-9494. I want to, yeah, thank you. I appreciate the applause, Adam. I know you're mocking me and that's fine, but I appreciate the applause. 888-729-9494. I want to talk to people today about this. 888-729-9494. I wanna talk to people today about this. 888-729-9494. It is an epidemic. And if I ran for office, that would be my main point. It would be taxes,

and it would be participation trophies in Sam Bradford. Basically, I laid out my campaign for you. I tell you, D'Angelo Williams is an American hero. So is Harrison, so are guys like Kurt Warner, who acknowledge that these moron kids that get babied all the time and get participation medals and daddy's reading books on how to raise your right, don't ever criticize your kid.

Don't ever do it. You know, sometimes your kid sucks at something. Sometimes you have to acknowledge that. I've always said this. People say, hey, your kid could be whatever he wants to be. You tell your kids they can achieve anything. Well, here's the reality. If your kid looks and is built like Rick Astley,

he's probably not gonna play for the Knicks. And you should probably tell him that.