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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from

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<v Speaker 1>KFI AM six forty.

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<v Speaker 2>It's Later with Mo Kelly. Let's go beyond the box

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<v Speaker 2>Score with Jackie Ray. Jackie Ray is good to see you.

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<v Speaker 2>Let me ask you this. We knew that we're going

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<v Speaker 2>to have to answer this question, but now we have

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<v Speaker 2>to answer this question. The Philadelphia Eagles have decided as

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<v Speaker 2>a team to not go to the White House and

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<v Speaker 2>do the celebratory handshake with the President and be honored

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<v Speaker 2>by the White House.

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<v Speaker 3>Is it a big deal or not?

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<v Speaker 4>Obviously that's going to be depending on who you ask.

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<v Speaker 4>For most people who are paying attention, it is not

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<v Speaker 4>a big deal right now. A lot of the people

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<v Speaker 4>who are going to be upset about this are the

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<v Speaker 4>same people who would say, hey, you know what, athletes

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<v Speaker 4>shouldn't talk about anything political. And I think if you're

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<v Speaker 4>one of those people, then you should also say they

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<v Speaker 4>shouldn't have to do anything political either way, because going

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<v Speaker 4>to the White House symbolically means you support the president.

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<v Speaker 4>Not going symbolically means you don't support the president. So

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<v Speaker 4>if we don't want that to be a thing, if

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<v Speaker 4>we don't want athletes talking about or speaking their opinion

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<v Speaker 4>on the political landscape. Then I don't know why we're

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<v Speaker 4>still doing this at all. Honestly, it used to be

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<v Speaker 4>where it was just the president.

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<v Speaker 2>Whoever the president was acknowledgy greatness in sports, regardless of

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<v Speaker 2>the sport, regardless of the team. But to your point,

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<v Speaker 2>since everything is viewed through a political lens, and I

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<v Speaker 2>would say sports figures have more of a microphone because

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<v Speaker 2>of social media. You can have Lebron James, for example,

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<v Speaker 2>just fire off a tweet or some other social media

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<v Speaker 2>statement and it then becomes news. It wasn't like that

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<v Speaker 2>ten years ago. I understand how we got here, but

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not exactly sure why we got here. Why don't

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<v Speaker 2>we just say be done with it were there's no

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<v Speaker 2>more invites to the White House, respective of sports.

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<v Speaker 5>I think that's the best thing to do.

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<v Speaker 4>I know this might also be a trigger for some people,

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<v Speaker 4>but I've also said the national anthem shouldn't be played

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<v Speaker 4>at the beginning of sports. Now, for context, the national

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<v Speaker 4>anthem wasn't always played at the beginning of sports. That

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<v Speaker 4>became something that happened when the military wanted to do

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<v Speaker 4>a push for patriotism and then potentially recruits so this

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<v Speaker 4>was a marketing scheme. It wasn't a symbol of yes,

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<v Speaker 4>we're patriotic. That's not what it was. You have to

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<v Speaker 4>pick a side, and if you're on the side that

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<v Speaker 4>sports are just sports, it shouldn't be a political landscape,

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<v Speaker 4>then you have to take everything out of it that

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<v Speaker 4>is potentially political.

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<v Speaker 2>You've often said that athletes are people too, athletes are

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<v Speaker 2>citizens as well. Are you then suggesting that if we

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<v Speaker 2>take the politics out of sports, or the political element

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<v Speaker 2>out of sports, that then athletes should also shut.

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<v Speaker 3>Up and dribble.

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<v Speaker 4>That's a great question, but no, that's not what I'm

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<v Speaker 4>saying at all. Because all of us have a job

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<v Speaker 4>in nine to five that we go, we behave as well.

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<v Speaker 4>I don't want to say all of us, because clearly

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<v Speaker 4>there's one percent of us that don't, but most of

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<v Speaker 4>us have a regular job, and our thoughts and our

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<v Speaker 4>views we typically kind of keep to ourselves when we're

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<v Speaker 4>at that facility, when we're doing our thing. We also

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<v Speaker 4>have things that we volunteer at outside of work. We

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<v Speaker 4>have lives outside of work that are just as important,

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<v Speaker 4>and I think it's very important to make sure that

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<v Speaker 4>everyone remembers that. Speaking your voice is part of our

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<v Speaker 4>rights as Americans. So I absolutely am not saying that.

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<v Speaker 4>But what I am saying is you can't have it

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<v Speaker 4>both ways. You can't have it where you're saying, we

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<v Speaker 4>don't want athletes involved in politics, but we want them

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<v Speaker 4>to stand for the national anthem. We think you should

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<v Speaker 4>shut up and dribble, But now we want you to

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<v Speaker 4>go to the White House and co sign on a

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<v Speaker 4>president that for very much for this team. He might

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<v Speaker 4>even think that Jalen hurts. It might be a DEI higher.

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<v Speaker 4>So it's one of those things where you have to

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<v Speaker 4>be calculated in the way that you are moving and

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<v Speaker 4>what you are saying.

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<v Speaker 5>And if you are one of these people who are

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<v Speaker 5>who lead with.

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<v Speaker 4>Patriotism, keep that same energy across the board and don't

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<v Speaker 4>put people in positions that you say they should have

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<v Speaker 4>they shouldn't even be in.

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<v Speaker 2>We know right now it's NFL football. We know that

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<v Speaker 2>NBA basketball will finish up in June. We know that

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<v Speaker 2>historically basketball players have been more vocal than NFL players

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<v Speaker 2>when it comes to social media expressing politics and what

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<v Speaker 2>have you. Do you think that possibly before we get

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<v Speaker 2>to any final decision on whether the White House or

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<v Speaker 2>we give some sort of grand agreement about not going

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<v Speaker 2>back to the White House. Where do you think the

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<v Speaker 2>NBA might come out on this. Watching what the NFL does.

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<v Speaker 5>Adam Silver knows better.

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<v Speaker 4>What might be the knee jerk reaction if you're the

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<v Speaker 4>commissioner is to say, this is our policy, because they

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<v Speaker 4>have a national anthem policy, so they might want to

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<v Speaker 4>institute this is our policy with regards to the White House.

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<v Speaker 4>If we're going to the White House, we are all

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<v Speaker 4>going to the White House.

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<v Speaker 5>This is our policy. However, I think.

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<v Speaker 4>He understands his players and things that will not fly,

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<v Speaker 4>So I don't think that he's going to implement a policy.

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<v Speaker 4>I think he's going to leave that to the end

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<v Speaker 4>individual and the teams.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, the flip side is we want the players to

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<v Speaker 2>act a certain way. Now we have to expect the

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<v Speaker 2>president to act a certain way. The president chose to

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<v Speaker 2>show up at the super Bowl, the president chose to

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<v Speaker 2>show up at NASCAR. Would you then recommend that we

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<v Speaker 2>have an actual physical distancing as well. Yes, the president

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<v Speaker 2>is an American, but it's not a civilian in the

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<v Speaker 2>traditional sense. Should we pull away from having the president

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<v Speaker 2>or other political figures high level political figures going to

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<v Speaker 2>these sports events because they're obviously political photo ops.

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<v Speaker 4>That's a logical standpoint, But I don't know if that's

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<v Speaker 4>a standpoint we can really debate when we have the

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<v Speaker 4>leader of the free world making a fake Time magazine

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<v Speaker 4>and calling himself king and saying long Live the King.

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<v Speaker 4>So I don't think that we can have that conversation

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<v Speaker 4>now because I don't think we can have a logical

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<v Speaker 4>conversation about that. But I do think going forward, maybe

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<v Speaker 4>four years from now, then we do have to have

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<v Speaker 4>a solid conversation about what is your purpose? Why are

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<v Speaker 4>you going at these events where people have to have

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<v Speaker 4>a reaction.

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<v Speaker 5>People are in the spirit of cheering.

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<v Speaker 4>Rooting, for booing, whatever, So there's going to be an

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<v Speaker 4>automatic reaction from people when you attend an event like

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<v Speaker 4>this as a politician. So I think that there should

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<v Speaker 4>be the same guidelines that you want for the people,

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<v Speaker 4>you should set for yourself. And I think that's something

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<v Speaker 4>that we should expect from the White House. I just

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<v Speaker 4>don't think that's something that we can expect right now.

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<v Speaker 2>The temperature in America is increasing for whatever reasons. We

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<v Speaker 2>have the president's proclamations, we have the president's policies and

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<v Speaker 2>people are going to be impacted by that. Maybe you

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<v Speaker 2>know someone who is a federal worker who was laid off,

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe you are somehow impacted by dose. And I expect

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<v Speaker 2>using history as a guide in the past is prologue

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<v Speaker 2>that we're going to see more pronouncements from athletes speaking

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<v Speaker 2>out on these issues.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know what the answer is.

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<v Speaker 2>I do think it's kind of nih Eve, and I

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<v Speaker 2>kind of agree with your point. It's kind of naive

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<v Speaker 2>to believe that you're going to have athletes not speak out,

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<v Speaker 2>You're gonna have politicians come to professional sporting events and

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<v Speaker 2>then say, hey, you know, I don't want politics in

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<v Speaker 2>sports to mingle. So we're going to have to find

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<v Speaker 2>some sort of consistency in this somewhere, right.

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<v Speaker 4>Because if you don't, it's a level of hypocrisy. Now,

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<v Speaker 4>if you're saying the president shouldn't abide by any sort

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<v Speaker 4>of higher level of consciousness, which I think every president should.

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<v Speaker 5>I don't think that the president should be like.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I'm a fan of football, I'm just going to

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<v Speaker 4>go to a football game. No, you are a leader

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<v Speaker 4>of the free world, and how you present yourself matters,

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<v Speaker 4>So there should be a disconnect in some way. It's

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<v Speaker 4>a logical expectation to think that that disconnect should be automatic,

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<v Speaker 4>But I just think that right now we are not

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<v Speaker 4>in a logical time, So we just kind of have

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<v Speaker 4>to ride this one out and then look to the

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<v Speaker 4>future and say these are the things that should happen

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<v Speaker 4>going forward.

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<v Speaker 2>When we come back, let's talk about the NBA. Anthony Edwards,

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<v Speaker 2>who's probably one of the most talented guards in the

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<v Speaker 2>NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves, not only received his fourteenth

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<v Speaker 2>technical foul and on the verge of being suspended per

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<v Speaker 2>the NBA Rules and Code of Conduct. He's also being

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<v Speaker 2>asked about whether he is going to be the face

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<v Speaker 2>of the NBA or whether he wants to be the

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<v Speaker 2>face of the NBA. Spoiler, he says he doesn't want

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<v Speaker 2>to be. Let's talk about that when we come back.

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<v Speaker 2>It's Beyond the box Score with Jackie Ray here on

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<v Speaker 2>Later with Mo Kelly KFI AM six forty live everywhere

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<v Speaker 2>on the iHeartRadio app.

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from

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<v Speaker 1>KFI AM six forty.

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<v Speaker 2>KFI AM six forty, It's Jackie Ray and b Kelly.

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<v Speaker 2>Jackie Ray not everyone may know Anthony Edwards. He was

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<v Speaker 2>on the Olympic basketball team won the gold medal. He

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<v Speaker 2>is one of the most exciting players presently, also one

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<v Speaker 2>of the younger superstars in the NBA. The NBA has

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<v Speaker 2>always been about who is the face of the league.

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<v Speaker 2>In other words, when you think of the NBA, which

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<v Speaker 2>player comes to mind, be it a Kobe Bryant or

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<v Speaker 2>Michael Jordan or Lebron j teams going back in the day,

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<v Speaker 2>the Magie Johnson and Larry Bird who are like co

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<v Speaker 2>faces of the NBA. Today, the discussion is whether Anthony

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<v Speaker 2>Edwards could or should be the face of the NBA.

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<v Speaker 2>And he was explicitly asked that to which, and I'm paraphrasing, says, no,

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<v Speaker 2>I don't want to be the face of the NBA.

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<v Speaker 2>And so people talking about whether Victor or Wiben Yama

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<v Speaker 2>will be the face of the NBA. Is it necessary

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<v Speaker 2>or important to have a face of the league. The

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<v Speaker 2>NFL doesn't promote players like that. They promote the shield

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<v Speaker 2>the league. The NBA promotes players. Where do you come

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<v Speaker 2>out on that?

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<v Speaker 5>Historically that's been the thing.

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<v Speaker 4>If you really go back to when Michael Jordan became

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<v Speaker 4>the face of the league.

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<v Speaker 5>It's because the league was failing.

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<v Speaker 4>So the NBA has a model now that has worked

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<v Speaker 4>for them, where people good or bad, they gravitate to

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<v Speaker 4>certain players, whether it's you gravitate to Magic or Larry.

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<v Speaker 4>That was a rivalry and the league pushed that in

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<v Speaker 4>order to gain new fan bases. So I think the

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<v Speaker 4>league at one point had evolved past the need for

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<v Speaker 4>having a face of the league. They had a product

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<v Speaker 4>that was well watched, It was fun to watch.

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<v Speaker 5>People were die hard fans.

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<v Speaker 4>You had the bad boy Pistons out here beating up

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<v Speaker 4>everybody that you could. Everybody could hate them, or everybody

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<v Speaker 4>could hate the Knicks. It became this entity that drove

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<v Speaker 4>itself because the level of play was great, the teams

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<v Speaker 4>were great, the fan bases were great. So even though

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<v Speaker 4>you had faces during that time, I don't think it

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<v Speaker 4>was really needed. But now we're seeing a decline in

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<v Speaker 4>the level of play. The level of play isn't as exciting.

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<v Speaker 4>There's no such thing as a player. Well, I don't

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<v Speaker 4>want to say no such thing, but technically I think

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<v Speaker 4>I'm right on that there's no such thing as a player.

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<v Speaker 4>Just saying I want to start my career here, and

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<v Speaker 4>I want to end my career here. Now players are

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<v Speaker 4>saying I'll start my career here, but I'm going to

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<v Speaker 4>end with a team that's paying me the most.

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<v Speaker 5>So you don't have player loyalty.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm a strong example of not having team loyalty because

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<v Speaker 4>I go where Lebron goes. I'm not the only one

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<v Speaker 4>who thinks like that. You follow players around. So the

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<v Speaker 4>need for the NBA to have a face of the

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<v Speaker 4>league is necessary because the product is failing. But if

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<v Speaker 4>the NBA decides to invest in the game a little

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<v Speaker 4>bit more, it probably won't be necessary because the fandom

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<v Speaker 4>will be so intense that people are gonna watch their

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<v Speaker 4>favorite team regardless no one on if you're if you're

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<v Speaker 4>a Suns fan, you don't care about Anthony Edwards. You

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<v Speaker 4>care about who's on your team, and that's how.

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<v Speaker 5>You should be.

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<v Speaker 4>You should try to be building team loyalty over a

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<v Speaker 4>face of the league.

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<v Speaker 2>You've made some great points, So I'm gonna put it

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<v Speaker 2>just a little bit differently. Back in the eighties and nineties,

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<v Speaker 2>there were storylines between franchises. It's the Lakers history and

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<v Speaker 2>majesty against the Celtics dominance and Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

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<v Speaker 2>They embody that decades long struggle. Even into the nineties

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<v Speaker 2>with the Bulls and their dominance, you had consistent storylines.

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<v Speaker 2>Now you can't develop those storylines because players do not

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<v Speaker 2>stay so and also with fantasy sports and betting, people

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<v Speaker 2>care more about individual players than they do teams or

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<v Speaker 2>even the league. And the NBA has I think struggled

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<v Speaker 2>and failed in trying to reverse that trend or develop

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<v Speaker 2>something new because the product, to your point, is subpar.

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<v Speaker 2>And I get tired of all the excuses. I get

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<v Speaker 2>tired of watching these players run up and down the

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<v Speaker 2>court and pull up for logo threes, or they're running

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<v Speaker 2>a fast break and they pass it back for a three.

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<v Speaker 2>The skill set being demonstrated is less than I don't

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<v Speaker 2>care about the athleticism shooting lower percentage shots. Going back

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<v Speaker 2>to Anthony Edwards, he recently received his fourteenth technical foul,

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<v Speaker 2>and I believe it's fifteen or sixteen in the NBA.

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<v Speaker 2>If you get that in the season, you're automatically suspended.

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<v Speaker 2>Anthony Edwards, for all of his talent, is not as

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<v Speaker 2>let me say, marketable or as savvy as other players.

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<v Speaker 2>As far as the public presentation, and I think he's

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<v Speaker 2>self aware. He's saying, you know what, I don't want

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<v Speaker 2>to be the face of the NBA because I don't

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<v Speaker 2>want the pressure of everything rising and falling on me.

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<v Speaker 3>I just want to play basketball. Are you cool with that?

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<v Speaker 4>Yes, I'm cool with anybody who is self aware. And

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<v Speaker 4>to be fair, Michael Jordan might have had the same

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<v Speaker 4>amount of fouls if he didn't have a team of

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<v Speaker 4>people who protected him.

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<v Speaker 5>So the game has changed.

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<v Speaker 4>There was literally people who were on the team to

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<v Speaker 4>make sure that Michael Jordan was okay. And we all

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<v Speaker 4>knew that, and we used to all get mad about that,

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<v Speaker 4>but it pulled you in. But when you really think

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<v Speaker 4>about the league right now, it would either be Anthony

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<v Speaker 4>Edwards or John Moran.

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<v Speaker 5>We know John Moran is in the.

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<v Speaker 4>Rebuilding of his reputation right now because but he is explosive.

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<v Speaker 3>And Yoki studying even talk.

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<v Speaker 4>He does it, and Yokich will tell you really quick

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<v Speaker 4>he's ready to go home right now, right So he

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<v Speaker 4>is not the one.

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<v Speaker 5>I love Jokic.

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<v Speaker 4>I think Joker he's one of my favorite players because

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<v Speaker 4>of how grounded he is as a human. But that's

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<v Speaker 4>how that's me. I like the totality of players. I

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<v Speaker 4>like a great basketball player who's also a great human,

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<v Speaker 4>so that will draw me in. But that's not the

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<v Speaker 4>average basketball fan. The average basketball fan wants to see

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<v Speaker 4>something exciting. So to your point, I love Victor Wominyan,

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<v Speaker 4>but there is no way he could be the face

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<v Speaker 4>of the league because there is not an ounce of

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<v Speaker 4>explosiveness in that he's too big to be explosive.

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<v Speaker 2>And the thing, and going back to Joki, sorry to

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<v Speaker 2>interrupt you, I don't know if the NBA, and is

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<v Speaker 2>so very American based fan base, will embrace a foreign

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<v Speaker 2>born player as of yet.

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<v Speaker 4>That is a great point because Jannis said when Luca

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<v Speaker 4>came to LA he said it was great because he

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<v Speaker 4>wanted more Europeans to be in big markets so people

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<v Speaker 4>could start focusing on European players. So there's definitely a shift,

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<v Speaker 4>and it's interesting to me because we are very One

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<v Speaker 4>of the other downfalls of the NBA, in my opinion,

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<v Speaker 4>is the lack of us having the ability to attach

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<v Speaker 4>ourselves to young talent. Because now these players are going

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<v Speaker 4>to college, they're usually one and done, so we don't

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<v Speaker 4>have the opportunity to build up that fan base for

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<v Speaker 4>that specific player. The WNBA right now is the opposite.

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<v Speaker 4>These women are staying in college for three four years,

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<v Speaker 4>and so they're taking their fan base with them to

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<v Speaker 4>the w Now, when these kids are coming into the NBA,

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<v Speaker 4>what you're probably going to do is watch the combine

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<v Speaker 4>real quick, watch a bunch of his highlights, and then say, oh,

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<v Speaker 4>is he good for my team or not. But you're

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<v Speaker 4>not connected to that person as a player or as

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<v Speaker 4>a human. So there's a bunch of different places where

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<v Speaker 4>if I was a marketing person in the NBA, I

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<v Speaker 4>would say, let's take a step back. Sometimes, if it's

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<v Speaker 4>not broke, you shouldn't fix it. We fixed a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of things that are negatively impacting the NBA right now.

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<v Speaker 2>Well they need to fix something because there's a lot

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<v Speaker 2>broken with the NBA, and it's all about eyeballs. If

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<v Speaker 2>people don't want to watch, they don't want to pay

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<v Speaker 2>to come to the games. It's very difficult for that

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<v Speaker 2>any organization, much less of multinational global organization to grow

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<v Speaker 2>it's fan base.

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<v Speaker 3>It's Later with mo Kelly. It's always good talking to

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<v Speaker 3>Jackie Ray.

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<v Speaker 5>Yes, thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on Demand from

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<v Speaker 1>Kfi a M six forty