COLIN KAEPERNICK Talks His Failures, Gay Teammates, Jay-Z

See Adam on tour https://theadamfriedland.show/pages/tour -- JOIN THE FRIEDLAND FAMILY FOUNDATION / PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAdamFriedlandShow/join -- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheAdamFriedlandShow -- Buy our merch!: https://theadamfriedland.show/collections/new -- Listen Now on Spotify—The Adam Friedland Show - Season Three Episode 4 | Colin Kaepernick X: https://x.com/adam_talkshow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theadamfriedlandshow TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adamfriedlandshowclips YouTube: Subscribe to @TheAdamFriedlandShow here: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAdamFriedlandShow Subscribe to @TAFSClips here: https://www.youtube.com/@tafsclips — #adamfriedland #theadamfriedlandshow #ColinKaepernick Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Before this,

• 0:05Speaker 00

  there's this.

• 0:08Speaker 00

  As you celebrate the game, take a deeper look at its roots. The people grow in the grass, paving the lots, welding the goalposts, inspecting every football. The hardworking people that make every Sunday possible. Carhartt is proud to outfit the crews behind the game. Visit carhartt.com/jointhetrades to learn more.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by EA Sports FC27. Welcome to the world's game. FC27 is introducing The Grounds, where the streets meet the stadium. Connect with friends, go pro, and express yourself, on or off the pitch. Play FC27 with the ultimate edition September 18th. Learn more at EA.com. Rated E for everyone, includes in-game purchases including random items. The Grounds is only available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2 versions.

• 1:01Adam Friedland?

  I have a question for you. Do you think the "Sarsaparilla Banner" is a good song?

• 1:06Speaker 03

  No.

• 1:07Adam Friedland?

  You just think as a song it's whack?

• 1:10Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's a bad song.

• 1:11Adam Friedland?

  Do you think, what would be a better song? Just, if you were gonna choose a, just, let's assume America's not being bad anymore. Let's assume it's, we loving it, we're cooking, right? And you want to give us our theme.

• 1:28Adam Friedland?

  March Madness.

• 1:30Speaker 03

  Great choice.

• 1:30Adam Friedland?

  March Madness.

• 1:31Speaker 03

  Great choice.

• 1:31Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 2:01Adam Friedland?

  You got a legacy position. Quarterback on the Niners.

• 2:04Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 2:05Adam Friedland?

  That's like, American royalty.

• 2:07Speaker 03

  That's cream and a crop.

• 2:08Adam Friedland?

  This is Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Civil rights leader, and it turns out, he's a real Swede. Who's cooler, Young or Montana?

• 2:22Speaker 03

  He ain't really come around much.

• 2:23Adam Friedland?

  Who like, has more aura?

• 2:26Adam Friedland?

  As a guy?

• 2:27Speaker 03

  I would say Joe.

• 2:28Adam Friedland?

  Joe, yeah. You can't.

• 2:30Speaker 03

  His legacy is like, yeah, he just went out and I won Super Bowls.

• 2:34Adam Friedland?

  10 years ago, he led a protest that became international news. And most recently, he's written a book about it called "The Perilous Fight." Uh, yeah, print the questions. I hate my life, dude. Wow.

• 2:50Adam Friedland?

  Wow, can I ask you every question I have?

• 2:52Speaker 03

  I think you're doing it right.

• 2:53Adam Friedland?

  Shut the fuck up, dude. If I was on Sunday, you played in the Super Bowl! You started at quarterback in the Super Bowl! In your first, like, what, 7 games?

• 3:03Speaker 03

  Game 10 of starting was the Super Bowl.

• 3:08Adam Friedland?

  So, go to... Oh my god, and your coach was playing his brother?

• 3:13Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 3:14Adam Friedland?

  Oh my god, and on the other side of the field, there was Ed Reed? And Ray Lewis? This is the scariest thing ever. I'm Adam Friedland, and welcome back to The Adam Friedland Show. As Colin Kaepernick put it, "Next month I'll be at Comedy Works in Denver, and in November, catch me at the New York Comedy Festival Town Hall." Tickets are still available, adamfriedland.show.

• 3:39Speaker 03

  At that point in time, like, Ray, we weren't worried about, he was on the tail end of his career. Like...

• 3:43Adam Friedland?

  I would worry. I don't know about the game, but I would worry.

• 3:46Speaker 03

  No, we're actually, we were trying to get him in space. Like, that was part of the game plan.

• 3:52Adam Friedland?

  Not in Atlanta, hopefully.

• 3:55Speaker 03

  But...

• 3:58Adam Friedland?

  Space is better than Atlanta.

• 4:03Adam Friedland?

  Well, guys, Colin Kaepernick for QB1.

• 4:08Adam Friedland?

  University of Nevada, Reno, Wolfpack, a bullshit school that stinks. Of course, we all know that the UNLV running rebels, the best, the best college, the football program is dogshit there. They've never been good at football. Basketball, we cooked.

• 4:26Speaker 03

  We, we were always excited to play UNLV.

• 4:29Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 4:30Speaker 03

  It was gonna be a good game for us. I also love how much you know about football.

• 4:35Adam Friedland?

  I love ball so much. Can I tell you something? Just, this is a good theme for the conversation. In the context of activism, just the way sports makes me feel, independent of that, it just makes me forget how shitty life is a lot of the time. And it's like, you guys are ready to do so much for us. What's come across in my research, I'll stop talking after this, is the difference between your experience as being someone that does the thing, and my experience as being someone that appreciates it. So like, for me, I like the fact that if I'm sitting next to some redneck dumbass, right? And we are rooting for the same team, I like the fact that for that 3 hours, we're like, squad. Right?

• 5:19Adam Friedland?

  That's really beautiful to me. But for you, you're a human being that lives in the real world, and the expectation of you to not be a human being that lives in the real world is unfair.

• 5:30Speaker 03

  Yeah, I mean, I think, simply put, like, no one wants to see how the sausage is made.

• 5:36Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 5:36Speaker 03

  Or what goes on behind the scenes. They just want to see the end product. And the end product is amazing. Like, it's entertaining, it's competitive, it's all of those things. And there is that element of, yeah, when you show up and you're cheering for the same team, like, you have a camaraderie around that city, or the team, or the players you're cheering for. But there's also the reality of the players of like, yes, that's going on also. As soon as I step off this field, I still have to operate within society.

• 6:07Adam Friedland?

  Obviously, you were, you just got fucked. Like, you just got, you probably just got fucked, and in front of everyone, and it was, we were all like, what the fuck? And then, the game was on, and we're like, that's, we're not gonna watch the game, and then, I think we all... To tell you the truth, we all watched the game. We were lying when we said we didn't, but the game is so good. It's so interesting, like, kind of the difference of the eyes that we view it through. Cause you don't watch NFL anymore.

• 6:36Speaker 03

  No. I've gotten to a point that I don't want to, I try not to support things that I think are detrimental to us.

• 6:43Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. Kind of everything is, right?

• 6:48Speaker 03

  That's the space of like, how do you do, how do you think, support the things that are least damaging? Cause they all have impact.

• 6:55Adam Friedland?

  You were exploited as a laborer by an ownership class. Like, that's so real and close to home for you, I imagine.

• 7:03Speaker 03

  You have an ownership class that you know is working counter to the benefits of the majority of their employees.

• 7:12Adam Friedland?

  They all do.

• 7:13Speaker 03

  The majority of their communities.

• 7:14Adam Friedland?

  I do these guys too, yeah.

• 7:17Adam Friedland?

  I'm working counter to all of them. That's what an owner is, right?

• 7:21Speaker 03

  So, sorry, y'all. We'll, we'll have a conversation after.

• 7:24Adam Friedland?

  No, we're not gonna have a conversation. This is a great opportunity for all of you. No, I'm just kidding. No, no, I feel like...

• 7:31Speaker 03

  They're gonna unionize right now.

• 7:33Adam Friedland?

  I feel like I work for them.

• 7:35Speaker 03

  But to that point, it is counter to the interests of the players.

• 7:39Adam Friedland?

  Your mom's a nurse?

• 7:40Speaker 03

  She was, yeah.

• 7:41Adam Friedland?

  Why'd she, why'd she let you do this crap?

• 7:45Adam Friedland?

  Why'd you choose football? You were nice at basketball?

• 7:49Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 7:50Adam Friedland?

  What are your stats, senior year?

• 7:52Speaker 03

  I don't know. Probably like, somewhere 15 and 20 points a game.

• 7:56Adam Friedland?

  And boards, dimes?

• 7:59Speaker 03

  I was a, I was a shooting guard, so I played 2 and 3.

• 8:02Adam Friedland?

  Who's your comp? NBA.

• 8:07Adam Friedland?

  I'm such a loser.

• 8:08Speaker 03

  That's, that's a great question.

• 8:11Adam Friedland?

  Paul George.

• 8:13Speaker 03

  I would take a Paul George.

• 8:14Adam Friedland?

  I'm like Steph. My game is very, very much like Steph.

• 8:18Speaker 03

  You're going with Steph?

• 8:18Adam Friedland?

  Steph with Wemby's defense, I would say.

• 8:23Adam Friedland?

  You threw 94 in high school?

• 8:26Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 8:27Adam Friedland?

  You had 2 no hitters?

• 8:29Speaker 03

  Yeah. One with pneumonia.

• 8:33Adam Friedland?

  And then, football, what, you, do you get like, state honors or something, or what? A million touchdowns?

• 8:40Speaker 03

  I think I was all-state in football. I think.

• 8:44Adam Friedland?

  Wait, and was your GPA?

• 8:47Speaker 03

  4.5.

• 8:48Adam Friedland?

  Do you, wait, have you ever think about guys that are like, they're not popular, and they're also stupid? They're called losers. Do you ever think about them? You got both things?

• 9:02Speaker 03

  Well, I appreciate that.

• 9:03Adam Friedland?

  Or you got some nerd to get you 4 and 1/2, maybe? No, I'm just kidding. Were you nice to the nerds?

• 9:10Speaker 03

  You gotta be nice to everybody.

• 9:11Adam Friedland?

  You were a nice jock?

• 9:14Speaker 03

  I mean, I ain't looking at myself as a jock.

• 9:17Adam Friedland?

  What are you talking about? You, I heard those stats, you threw 94.

• 9:21Speaker 03

  Yeah, but I...

• 9:22Adam Friedland?

  Anyway.

• 9:23Speaker 03

  So, one of the things, growing up was like, I was always telling you, you're nice to everybody. It doesn't matter like, skill sets, position, any of that. So, it's like, I didn't, it wasn't like, oh, I'm a jock, like, you gotta, you gotta treat me a certain way.

• 9:37Adam Friedland?

  Really?

• 9:37Speaker 03

  It's like, no, we all got our different talents.

• 9:40Adam Friedland?

  When you were in college, and you set a, the first quarterback and only quarterback in Division 1 FBS, FBS college football to have passed for over 10,000 yards and rushed for over 4,000 yards, you also worked at the college campus store, and no one, no one knew who you were.

• 10:01Speaker 03

  As I got later in my career, more and more people knew.

• 10:04Adam Friedland?

  What an idiot. You ever try to turn any of this into a little bit of pussy?

• 10:11Speaker 03

  See, if we had NIL dollars, I would have been in a different position.

• 10:18Adam Friedland?

  Why, you would escalate? You were ready to-

• 10:20Speaker 03

  Could have escalated. Also, we had to work over the summer to pay rent.

• 10:25Adam Friedland?

  It's so unfair that you got given these gifts and not me, because first of all, I would have been making a ton of money with or without NIL if I were you. If I was the quarterback of a Division One program, two, I would have been had so many girlfriends. Basically, in every town, I'd go to Boise State, have a blue girlfriend. Do you ever go there and you'd be like, "What the fuck is this field?"

• 10:51Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's the first reaction when you get there.

• 10:53Adam Friedland?

  It's stupid.

• 10:56Speaker 03

  Well-

• 10:57Adam Friedland?

  Why are they the only ones who do that?

• 10:59Speaker 03

  It's smart for them, because they wear blue jerseys, so they blend in with the field.

• 11:05Adam Friedland?

  What are they, the fucking, the Pacific Theater in World War II? You're not allowed to do camouflage?

• 11:12Speaker 03

  Apparently you are.

• 11:13Adam Friedland?

  You're from like, near Fresno? Where, Central California?

• 11:17Speaker 03

  North of Fresno, but Central California, yeah.

• 11:19Adam Friedland?

  Are you the GOAT Central CA at Joshie? Josh Allen. Is he Central CA also?

• 11:29Speaker 03

  Oh, I'm not sure where he's from.

• 11:31Adam Friedland?

  Bro, if you and Josh are from the same place, six-fo, mobile, big arms?

• 11:38Speaker 03

  I know he's not from Turlock.

• 11:40Adam Friedland?

  What's your town like, Turlock?

• 11:42Speaker 03

  Was a lot of agriculture growing up. Now it's gotten a little bit bigger.

• 11:46Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 11:46Speaker 03

  But it's very small-town vibes. Like, the big moments for us growing up, we got an AMC Theater, and we got In-N-Out. Those were like game-changing moments.

• 11:57Adam Friedland?

  Animal style, bro.

• 12:01Adam Friedland?

  Dude, California does kind of, that is quarterback factory, I feel like.

• 12:07Speaker 03

  You, because you have to go out, California's a big enough state where you have to go out and compete all the time.

• 12:13Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 12:14Speaker 03

  And it has good enough weather where you can do a year-round.

• 12:17Adam Friedland?

  What age were you when you dunked first time?

• 12:20Speaker 03

  I didn't dunk till I was, I don't know, freshman, sophomore high school?

• 12:28Adam Friedland?

  I didn't get pubes until like, between sophomore, junior. Serious. In sixth grade, two kids had sex, and I went home and I cried. Because I was like, "We're just kids. Now we're having sex."

• 12:43Adam Friedland?

  You've had the best life ever. I'm sorry about the NFL, but like, you dunk? If I had one dunk, I would die tomorrow. Just one clean, just, oof.

• 12:54Speaker 03

  We can train you up for it.

• 12:55Adam Friedland?

  I know, I have to do plyometrics. All right. A major theme I see career-wise is like, you being put into backup roles and then earning your spot. So that first happened at Reno, right?

• 13:09Speaker 03

  First happened while I was eight years old.

• 13:11Adam Friedland?

  Really? Who were you, who was, who was the?

• 13:14Speaker 03

  So, every level from eight years old, 10 years, or 11 years old, middle school, high school, college, NFL.

• 13:23Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 13:24Speaker 03

  Always put in a backup role.

• 13:26Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 13:26Speaker 03

  And then had to earn my spot in.

• 13:28Adam Friedland?

  You think that that was racially motivated, or?

• 13:30Speaker 03

  I mean, whether intentional or not, I think so.

• 13:33Adam Friedland?

  You got the badass attitude probably, too.

• 13:35Speaker 03

  Yeah, I was always pissed off.

• 13:39Adam Friedland?

  You seem like such a nice guy, too.

• 13:41Speaker 03

  I try to treat people with respect, but also like, on the field, you're competitive. Like, I, once you step between lines, it's like, no, I'm coming to take the crown.

• 13:54Adam Friedland?

  Okay, you get drafted to the NFL, second round, fourth pick. Jim Harbaugh, quarterback whisper, takes you, second round. There's some bums, bums ahead of you. Jake Locker, who else? What's that other guy? Blaine Gabbert. Blaine? No, shut up. Come on, we're not gonna ponder, yeah. Gabbert, also a bum.

• 14:16Adam Friedland?

  Just play it, just play it. But no, you get, Harbaugh wants you, and he knows the position, right? And you're backing up Alex Smith.

• 14:25Adam Friedland?

  Is it true, in my thinking, was Alex Smith bad for five years? He was a number-one pick that was kind of struggling until the year, your rookie year, I feel like.

• 14:34Speaker 03

  Yeah. I, I think he had bad coaches during that time period.

• 14:40Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 14:41Speaker 03

  Alex is a talented player, brilliant, was instrumental in my success and growth. I think he finally had a coach that understood the talent that the team had.

• 14:53Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 14:53Speaker 03

  And put him in positions to be successful.

• 14:55Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 14:56Speaker 03

  Without that, you can take the best quarterback and put him in terrible situations, and they're gonna look bad.

• 15:02Adam Friedland?

  You love Alex. Great guy. Seems like a great guy.

• 15:05Speaker 03

  Oh, incredible.

• 15:06Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah. But when you're a backup quarterback, effectively, you're waiting for him to either like, suck so bad and your team to suck, or a terrible him hurting himself, right? Is there, is that weird? You're like, you have a walkie-talkie on, and you're just waiting for some guy's life to get, right? What is that like?

• 15:27Speaker 03

  It is a weird dynamic, and there's a lot of quarterback rooms that are not great because of that dynamic. But for me, I always approached it, after prepare, like I'm a starter, and I have to make it so obvious that I'm better, that I can get that spot?

• 15:49Adam Friedland?

  In practice.

• 15:50Speaker 03

  In practice.

• 15:50Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 15:52Speaker 03

  And also, for me, I was trying to find times in the game where I could get coaches to be like, "Oh, we'll give you a couple plays here, a couple plays there." But ultimately, typically, it's because the team is bad, or they get hurt.

• 16:05Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 16:06Speaker 03

  And in the NFL, you know at some point, someone's gonna get hurt. Like, that's, you're gonna get injured.

• 16:12Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, same.

• 16:14Speaker 03

  So, and then at that point, it's, all right, I have to take this and run with it as far as I can.

• 16:20Adam Friedland?

  You go on a generational run. I mean, that Packers game, I was like- The thing is, the way, I don't know if you've ever heard this, like, when did you know you had just fucking wheels?

• 16:33Speaker 03

  College.

• 16:34Adam Friedland?

  You were 4'4", 40, is that right? I'm just saying things like I know with that.

• 16:42Adam Friedland?

  I bet you I'd be like nine and a half.

• 16:43Speaker 03

  That just means fast.

• 16:45Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, but that's like, that's like a back. That's like a running back speed, right? But you're so tall.

• 16:49Speaker 03

  Running back receiver.

• 16:50Adam Friedland?

  The way your legs look like they're moving on TV is like you're not running fast. Then, when you see the miles per hour against like, an NFL secondary, like, defender, right? You just see that you're like, miles per hour, it is kind of how O.J. Simpson used to look. Glider. I'm not saying as a guy, bro.

• 17:13Adam Friedland?

  He had 2,000 yards, bro.

• 17:16Speaker 03

  But-

• 17:18Adam Friedland?

  Also, he was falsely accused of killing his wife and her boyfriend, Ron Goldman.

• 17:26Speaker 04

  Shaq here. What's it like to buy a car from Carvana 100% online and get it delivered to your door? Let me tell you. Your car is here, Mr. Shaq. Thank you, Mr. Carvana guy. Can't wait to take it for a spin. Only the best for you, Mr. Shaq. Hey, have you always been so big, tall, and handsome? Not always. I was 6'10" once. Seven days to love it or return it, Mr. Shaq. Not that I would. You never do. No, I never do. So buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. See our seven-day return policy at carvana.com.

• 17:58Adam Friedland?

  I'm just kidding. Anyway, Cap, but no, what I mean is like, it was like, you're just a graceful, graceful runner. Kind of like O.J. Simpson from the Naked Gun movies. Have you, I don't know if you've seen it.

• 18:10Speaker 03

  I'm gonna go with the Usain Bolt rapper.

• 18:13Adam Friedland?

  Well, Bolt, also, like, he looked like he was chilling.

• 18:15Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 18:16Adam Friedland?

  And he was tall.

• 18:17Speaker 03

  Because he's 6'5".

• 18:18Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 18:18Speaker 03

  So just, the strides are longer, so it looks like you're not going as fast, but you're covering ground.

• 18:24Adam Friedland?

  What does scoring a touchdown feel like?

• 18:30Speaker 03

  Feels amazing.

• 18:35Adam Friedland?

  What's better, like, busting or a touchdown? Super Bowl. Just, please, I'm never gonna get a chance to ask anybody again. I know you've been through a lot.

• 18:44Speaker 03

  Is this like a 1:00 PM on Sunday game, or is this like, Super Bowl?

• 18:49Adam Friedland?

  15-yard run, Super Bowl, your first year.

• 18:53Speaker 03

  Oh, Super Bowl touchdown run.

• 18:54Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah. How many busts would you say that that is?

• 18:58Speaker 03

  It's hard to quantify.

• 18:59Adam Friedland?

  It's gotta be like, a lot of, yeah.

• 19:01Speaker 03

  Yeah, it would be a lot.

• 19:03Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 19:03Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 19:04Adam Friedland?

  Best feeling of your life?

• 19:07Speaker 03

  Yeah, definitely up there.

• 19:09Adam Friedland?

  Okay. After, so you got the, you got the headset on, did you go visor as backup quarterback, or just headset?

• 19:16Speaker 03

  What do you mean visor?

• 19:17Adam Friedland?

  You know, sometimes they have a visor.

• 19:19Speaker 03

  Oh.

• 19:20Adam Friedland?

  Like a, like a-

• 19:21Speaker 03

  Oh, no, no, no.

• 19:22Adam Friedland?

  Or, you went backwards hat? Fitted?

• 19:25Speaker 03

  I would go fitted.

• 19:25Adam Friedland?

  Fitted headphones, Bose headphones. What is the point of, who are you talking to on that thing? The quarterback?

• 19:31Speaker 03

  So you don't get the full headphones, you just get an earpiece, so you can listen to the play calls.

• 19:35Adam Friedland?

  You can't like, tell him the wrong play, so he fucks up, and you could go-

• 19:39Speaker 03

  No. They'll give you that freedom.

• 19:41Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. So you're sitting there, you're like this, game's over, do you take a shower?

• 19:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 19:48Adam Friedland?

  You shower after just not, for just-

• 19:51Speaker 03

  Well, you gotta do all the warm-ups.

• 19:53Adam Friedland?

  Oh, you gotta do the warm-ups.

• 19:54Speaker 03

  So-

• 19:55Adam Friedland?

  So third string, he does calisthenics, he sits, he gets to sit, he doesn't get the headphones, right?

• 20:03Speaker 03

  No, they still get headphones.

• 20:04Adam Friedland?

  And then he gets to shower with the-

• 20:08Adam Friedland?

  It's the weird-

• 20:11Adam Friedland?

  That's kind of the best job in the world, like, who are the guys that are like, career second string? Like, Luke McCown kind of guys.

• 20:18Speaker 03

  Oh, the, I think the most historic one was Chase Daniels.

• 20:22Adam Friedland?

  Chase Daniels. He made like, 80 million dollars, and he just showering with guys.

• 20:30Adam Friedland?

  That's all he needed to do. That is, I'd do that for free.

• 20:37Speaker 03

  You got into the wrong career then. Should have been getting paid this whole time.

• 20:42Adam Friedland?

  Dude, no, I don't, well, I have to pay the gym. What did you like, spend your first check on? What was the first stupid thing you bought?

• 20:52Speaker 03

  I actually didn't do any major purchases.

• 20:55Adam Friedland?

  You're such a good guy.

• 20:55Speaker 03

  Because I was terrified of going broke.

• 20:59Adam Friedland?

  I would buy so many Hellcats. I would invest in so many cousins' restaurants. Yeah, if my cousin wants to open an all-gold surf and turf restaurant in the St. Petersburg, Florida area, of course. So you're responsible, you had investments and stuff?

• 21:17Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 21:18Adam Friedland?

  What, did you have a condo?

• 21:20Speaker 03

  I had a townhouse.

• 21:25Adam Friedland?

  Played in the Super Bowl. Locker room culture, right? So, baseball locker rooms, you play baseball, you got Dominicans wearing the skinniest jeans. And then you got MAGA, you got like farm boy, like mong- like, just like, you know, like, just low, like, too many chromosomes, right? Then you have NBA, you got like confident Euros, and then nowadays, like, people's Suns. Like, that's the rest of it, right? WNBA, you just have lesbian race war, basically.

• 22:05Adam Friedland?

  That's what they say. They say Katelyn Clark is like Hitler or something. Why do they talk about women's basketball that way? It's the most racist coverage of any sport. They make everything about white versus black. Do you notice that, or no? Sorry.

• 22:23Speaker 03

  Yeah, there's a good amount of that.

• 22:25Adam Friedland?

  Why do they get away with it? Because it's the girls, and none of us are watching because they don't, because they don't know how to...

• 22:31Speaker 03

  There's, there's people watching.

• 22:34Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 22:36Speaker 03

  Ratings are going up.

• 22:38Adam Friedland?

  Other girls, probably.

• 22:40Speaker 03

  That's alright.

• 22:41Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, whatever. So, what are like the cliques like in a locker room? Obviously, you got like guys from Florida, you, you have like people from MAGA guys, and like, black guys from the deep south, like, how does an NFL locker room gel? Like, how do you become a team when everyone's from such diverse backgrounds?

• 23:03Speaker 03

  I feel, I feel like I'm setting myself up here, but typically, it's by, uh, position groups.

• 23:09Adam Friedland?

  Okay.

• 23:10Speaker 03

  So like, defensive lineman, they become a collective.

• 23:13Adam Friedland?

  So they're like psychos?

• 23:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:15Adam Friedland?

  Psychos?

• 23:16Speaker 03

  Uh, depends.

• 23:17Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 23:18Speaker 03

  Depends on the day.

• 23:19Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. O-line, Christian, white, Iowa, Big Ten.

• 23:24Speaker 03

  So this is the part, as a quarterback, you, you want your, your offensive lineman to be a little grimy.

• 23:30Adam Friedland?

  Really? Oh, dirty?

• 23:32Speaker 03

  Not dirty, but like...

• 23:34Adam Friedland?

  Tell me more, this is awesome.

• 23:35Speaker 03

  They have to be willing to like, go toe-to-toe with people and try to bury them.

• 23:39Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 23:40Speaker 03

  Like, they can't just be like, oh, I'm doing my job, like, no, you want...

• 23:45Adam Friedland?

  But it's like a little gay. It's like, don't touch him, he's mine. You don't...

• 23:54Adam Friedland?

  What? Cut that, cut that. He's a civil rights hero, why am I saying shit like that? He, don't hit, you're hurting him. Spill the tea. I heard a 10% deal.

• 24:08Speaker 00

  Somewhere out there is a Chevy truck, and the person who drives it, well, is a Chevy person. You probably know one, your buddy, your sister, ones who always show up, they're the first to rise, the last to leave. They always have that little extra something, and maybe you've got it too. Chevrolet, together let's drive. Visit chevy.com/truck to explore the lineup.

• 24:36Adam Friedland?

  10%. Is that true?

• 24:40Speaker 03

  I don't know, but...

• 24:42Adam Friedland?

  What percentage?

• 24:43Speaker 03

  Just, I mean, just looking at odds, like...

• 24:45Adam Friedland?

  Are there guys that are out of the, the closet to their teammates, but not publicly?

• 24:49Speaker 03

  Um, oh, that's a good question.

• 24:55Speaker 03

  I'm not sure, but there, I mean, there were players on our team that, I don't think came out, but I think players who were kind of like...

• 25:02Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 25:04Speaker 03

  You don't, you don't have to hide it anymore.

• 25:06Adam Friedland?

  Who's the gayest guy on your team?

• 25:10Speaker 03

  I'm not outing, I'm not outing people over here.

• 25:13Adam Friedland?

  Why do I have this conversation? Where does it come from? The gayest guy on my, our team is me, so it's chill, dude, don't worry. What's the worst you ever got your bell rung?

• 25:23Speaker 03

  College.

• 25:24Adam Friedland?

  Really?

• 25:25Speaker 03

  College. Sean Weatherspoon.

• 25:27Adam Friedland?

  Can I see a video of it?

• 25:28Speaker 03

  You can probably find it somewhere online.

• 25:30Adam Friedland?

  I want to watch you get fucked up right now.

• 25:32Speaker 03

  Um, oh, it's terrible.

• 25:34Adam Friedland?

  How bad is it? How's your mom like you?

• 25:36Speaker 03

  Bad enough where I thought I broke my jaw.

• 25:38Adam Friedland?

  Pull it up, Sam. Your mother was a nurse. Where did she work? Arkham Asylum? Why did she let you do this? You threw 94.

• 25:50Speaker 03

  It's a great question.

• 25:52Adam Friedland?

  What percentage Democrat, what percentage Republican? At the NFL. And what percentage like doesn't even know the concept of a president? What percentage thinks Roger Goodell is the president?

• 26:03Speaker 03

  Of the United States?

• 26:04Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah. There are probably a couple guys.

• 26:08Speaker 03

  It's probably like 2 or 3%.

• 26:12Speaker 03

  Democrat, Republican? I would say it's probably 70, approximately 70, 30.

• 26:16Adam Friedland?

  70 Democrat?

• 26:18Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 26:19Adam Friedland?

  What? They're rich.

• 26:22Speaker 03

  It's 70% black people in the NFL.

• 26:23Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, but the brother's kind of like trouble.

• 26:26Speaker 03

  Uh...

• 26:27Adam Friedland?

  A little bit. He got, he's like, I guess rappers like him, though.

• 26:31Speaker 03

  That's fair. But that, they're not football players.

• 26:35Adam Friedland?

  I have a question for you. Do you think the, uh, "Star Spangled Banner" is a good song?

• 26:40Speaker 03

  No.

• 26:41Adam Friedland?

  You just think as a song, it's whack?

• 26:44Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's a bad song.

• 26:45Adam Friedland?

  Do you, what would be a better song? Just, if you were gonna choose a, just, let's assume America's not being bad anymore. Let's assume it's, we loving it, we're cooking, right? And we, you want to give us our theme.

• 26:58Speaker 03

  Hmm.

• 27:02Adam Friedland?

  March Madness.

• 27:04Speaker 03

  Great choice.

• 27:05Adam Friedland?

  March Madness.

• 27:06Speaker 03

  Great choice.

• 27:07Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah, I think, honestly, that is a good pull, no? If March Madness was our national anthem?

• 27:12Speaker 03

  Not mad at that.

• 27:13Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. Would white people, what would we do, though?

• 27:17Speaker 03

  Cheer it on.

• 27:18Adam Friedland?

  The bat, no, but we want to say every, we, not that, that word, obviously. If the national anthem had the... Okay.

• 27:28Speaker 03

  I mean, that, that's where you got to self-edit.

• 27:31Adam Friedland?

  I'm just saying, it's in the song. No, okay. I want to talk about you going on this run, right? You're, you're a backup quarterback, you're young, you, you played four years at Reno?

• 27:43Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:44Adam Friedland?

  So, you're like 26, right?

• 27:46Speaker 03

  Oh.

• 27:47Adam Friedland?

  Is that right?

• 27:48Speaker 03

  No.

• 27:49Adam Friedland?

  24.

• 27:50Speaker 03

  I came out, yeah, 23, 24.

• 27:51Adam Friedland?

  Okay. So, you find yourself in the Super Bowl your first year.

• 27:53Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 27:54Adam Friedland?

  That second year, the league had kind of caught up to like the, our, the run pass option thing, but you adjusted too. You came out 400 yards first game, week 16, you rip a 90-yard run. I want to talk about the NFC Championship game. You lost the Super Bowl barely, you were one play away from going to the Super Bowl two years in a row.

• 28:17Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 28:18Adam Friedland?

  In your first year and a half as a starter in the NFL. Just walk us through the Sherman Crabtree sequence, and what was going on there? Because it is such an iconic moment. The ball's coming out of your hand, right? Is it going in slow motion? This is the movie I'm painting in my mind.

• 28:34Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 28:35Adam Friedland?

  Like, what, what's going through your mind? Are you like, I'm going, I'm going to the dance again?

• 28:39Speaker 03

  Oh, yeah.

• 28:40Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 28:41Speaker 03

  I mean, you have a one-on-one matchup, so you're also like, alright, one-on-one, worst shot here, it's an incompletion.

• 28:47Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 28:50Speaker 03

  You take that shot, and you're like, oh, we're going to the Super Bowl. This is fourth quarter, I believe we're a two-minute drive at that point.

• 28:56Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 28:57Speaker 03

  And, it's like, we're going back-to-back, and we get, we get a tip ball, and it doesn't go our way.

• 29:02Adam Friedland?

  Seattle went on to like, destroy the Broncos?

• 29:07Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 29:08Adam Friedland?

  In your mind, are you like, I would go to the Super Bowl?

• 29:12Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 29:13Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 29:14Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 29:15Adam Friedland?

  And, and coming off that, you would have had one, one appearance, two appearances, one Super Bowl.

• 29:20Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 29:21Adam Friedland?

  Fuck.

• 29:22Speaker 03

  Exactly.

• 29:23Adam Friedland?

  Did that, did that run through your mind that summer, or is like, does that still run through your mind?

• 29:27Speaker 03

  Oh, it, you always play that scenario out.

• 29:31Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 29:32Speaker 03

  Like, oh, we're that close, and if they blew them out in that way, I, that probably would have been, you play it out, is that probably wouldn't have been the outcome if we're playing too.

• 29:44Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 29:46Speaker 03

  Which, who knows?

• 29:48Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 29:49Speaker 03

  But then, at that point, you get to, alright, we have to go and prepare for the next season, and get ready.

• 29:53Adam Friedland?

  You were injured in that next season, but you were still playing because you were waiting to renegotiate your extension, is that right?

• 30:01Speaker 03

  No. I was still playing because our doctors lied to us.

• 30:04Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 30:05Speaker 03

  Or lied to me.

• 30:06Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 30:07Speaker 03

  So, I kept playing.

• 30:09Adam Friedland?

  Did they, did they hurt? They just gave you what they give you?

• 30:14Speaker 03

  This is the part, they didn't give me anything because they told me there were contusions, or bruises.

• 30:18Adam Friedland?

  How geeked is everyone playing in the NFL?

• 30:21Speaker 03

  Uh, different variations.

• 30:24Adam Friedland?

  Aaron Rodgers said he was on Perks set the whole time. He was like, future.

• 30:30Speaker 03

  There's people on Perks, there's people on Tour It All, there's people that are drinking before the game, smoking before the game.

• 30:37Adam Friedland?

  They're blazing?

• 30:39Speaker 03

  Oh, yeah.

• 30:40Adam Friedland?

  That sounds awful. Can you imagine, dropping a pass to the end zone, you're like, everyone in my life hates me? Why did I say that earlier? I think I'm getting cheated on. So, the team, kind of the core of that like, solid team you had, kind of falls apart.

• 30:57Speaker 03

  They should bury everybody out.

• 30:58Adam Friedland?

  Everyone goes.

• 30:59Speaker 03

  They should bury everybody out.

• 31:00Adam Friedland?

  This episode is brought to you by Major League Baseball. There is nowhere left to go, two teams, one championship. Watch the World Series, yeah, the World Series, presented by Capital One, on Fox and Fox One. No time like October. Visit MLB.com/Postseason to learn more. The next year, I saw the guys you were throwing the ball to, you're under Chip, who the fuck were those guys? They had a Selick that wasn't Brent?

• 31:27Speaker 03

  You throw to another Selig.

• 31:30Adam Friedland?

  Tom Selig.

• 31:32Speaker 03

  Garrett.

• 31:33Adam Friedland?

  Garrett Selig?

• 31:34Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 31:35Adam Friedland?

  What in the fucking 2K creative player is that? Garrett Selig?

• 31:40Speaker 03

  Garrett, great guy.

• 31:42Adam Friedland?

  Great guy, I agree. I've, I've, I've, you know these guys.

• 31:46Speaker 03

  Great guy.

• 31:46Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 31:48Speaker 03

  Not, he's not a Hall of Famer.

• 31:50Adam Friedland?

  No, no, far from it. You were throwing to like guys named like, they were literally were the East West Bowl, uh, Key and Peele sketch. Tyrell Smoochie follows.

• 32:01Adam Friedland?

  Story, no, okay, that's.

• 32:04Speaker 03

  I'll say this.

• 32:04Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 32:06Speaker 03

  I, I love my teammates.

• 32:09Adam Friedland?

  Okay, I'm not gonna ask you.

• 32:10Speaker 03

  And how they showed up. We also were not the most talented team in the league.

• 32:15Adam Friedland?

  So you have three surgeries. After that 2015 season, you're rehabbing that next, that next summer.

• 32:21Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 32:21Adam Friedland?

  One thing that stood out to me is like, the proximity of you losing all your muscle mass, you're like, you're not in playing shape. You're like in pain, right? You're trying to like, your knee, your thumb, I think, and your shoulder.

• 32:36Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 32:37Adam Friedland?

  It's your whole thing, everything, right? And, uh. Was it that summer that you began to like formulate your plan for your protest?

• 32:49Speaker 03

  No, that had been.

• 32:51Adam Friedland?

  Had that been prior?

• 32:51Speaker 03

  That had been years in the making.

• 32:52Adam Friedland?

  Okay. But you must have been pissed if you were about to do those protests and you also just, your fucking knee and shoulder and the thumb hurt.

• 33:00Speaker 03

  Oh.

• 33:01Adam Friedland?

  I would have been like, I can't wait to fucking protest.

• 33:06Speaker 03

  At that point, it kinda looked like a walking safety video.

• 33:08Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 33:09Speaker 03

  Like, I got a sling, I got a cast, I got a knee sleeve on.

• 33:12Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. Had you been like watching the news a lot that summer and seeing like police brutality is because you just had more time, time off or whatever?

• 33:19Speaker 03

  I mean, during the time that I was rehabbing, you're able to see more because you're not just in meetings and practice all the time. You get more time to read, more time to research. And then the, going into that season, I mean, Mario Woods is killed. Alton Sterling's killed, Valando Castile is killed. Like, all of those are very public and they're all on video. And at that point, it had already been years of seeing.

• 33:44Adam Friedland?

  Mike Brown, Ferguson, Trayvon, yeah.

• 33:47Speaker 03

  Seen Tamir Rice, you see Sandra Bland, um, you see Freddie Gray. Like, this wasn't a new thing. But it had reached a point where it was like. Alright, are we, what are we gonna do? And that was always the conversation of, what do we do? How do we move this forward? How do we try to address it? And now ultimately led to the protest.

• 34:09Adam Friedland?

  Even if it was just like you like, I don't fucking feel like standing up for some fucking song right now, I'm pissed off. After 9/11, the flyovers and the huge flags became a, became a thing.

• 34:20Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 34:21Adam Friedland?

  Like in stadiums. And like, I think that that's the way I remember it being perceived is like, you were going against like that like post 9/11 imagery that was like in NFL stadiums.

• 34:31Speaker 03

  Yeah, I mean, a lot of paid patriotism.

• 34:34Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 34:34Speaker 03

  Um, millions of dollars that went into it.

• 34:38Adam Friedland?

  The, the NFL has to pay for it too? They have to pay like, no, the army has to pay the NFL?

• 34:43Speaker 03

  They get paid. So the NFL being like, hey, we're patriotic. It's like, no, you're getting a check.

• 34:50Adam Friedland?

  The NFL is getting a check for, for the gas and the plane that we bought to fly over it.

• 34:55Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 34:55Adam Friedland?

  Stadium. What a ripoff.

• 34:59Speaker 03

  All taxpayer dollars, dear taxpayers, um, if you want dollars going to things that actually help you. Maybe the flyover is not the thing.

• 35:07Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, I just realized that because I thought that the tax dollars were going to create stuff. The first two games, you sat on the bench, you were like, fuck this, right? And then you like got a, you were in a press conference, you were like, yeah, I don't want to fucking stand for the, like, I'm pissed off right now. This like, America's being very evil to black people right now and I don't want to fucking stand for a song that I don't even like that much. But like the third game, you spoke to, uh, Nate Boyer?

• 35:37Speaker 03

  Spoke to Nate Boyer before the fourth game.

• 35:40Adam Friedland?

  Before the fourth game, and he suggested that it would be more honoring the flag if you took a knee.

• 35:47Speaker 03

  False.

• 35:47Adam Friedland?

  Whose idea was the knee?

• 35:49Speaker 03

  Eric Reid.

• 35:50Adam Friedland?

  Oh, your teammate?

• 35:51Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 35:52Adam Friedland?

  Why are people in this league where they're literally sacrificing their cognitive abilities? Why are their contracts able to be like canceled? Like.

• 36:03Speaker 03

  It's, it's a great question.

• 36:05Adam Friedland?

  It seems to be like a labor dispute where your union didn't adequately support you.

• 36:11Speaker 03

  I mean, the union is terrible.

• 36:13Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 36:14Speaker 03

  Like, every other major league has guaranteed contracts.

• 36:18Adam Friedland?

  In baseball, you make like a billion dollars and your, your translator gets to gamble away five. It's amazing.

• 36:29Speaker 03

  You know, you want to be able to pay the people around you, so you need the guaranteed contracts.

• 36:32Adam Friedland?

  But why does the NFL not have that?

• 36:36Speaker 03

  Like, also players need to be more adamant.

• 36:39Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 36:40Speaker 03

  It would take one weekend of no football happening and they'd have guaranteed contracts.

• 36:45Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. They're obviously terrified of other players taking the knee, right? They're terrified of Trump in 2016 running for president and saying, well, fire all those bastards, what do you call you? Like.

• 36:59Speaker 03

  Uh, SOBs.

• 37:00Adam Friedland?

  You can say it, dude. You don't cuss?

• 37:03Speaker 03

  I try to avoid it.

• 37:04Adam Friedland?

  You don't cuss?

• 37:06Speaker 03

  I, I cuss, I just try to avoid it.

• 37:09Adam Friedland?

  Okay, fine. Do you think that the NFL and the NFLPA says, when you get in trouble with your guys and you, you, you get up to mischief with your people, we'll protect you? When you're dogfighting, we'll welcome you back. When you're, go to Atlanta.

• 37:30Adam Friedland?

  Wait, by the way, you know.

• 37:34Adam Friedland?

  But if you fuck up our paper, if you, if you make Trump start saying that the NFL is woke and people start trying to protest the NFL, then you're fucking done.

• 37:45Speaker 03

  Yeah. It's a bad union.

• 37:47Adam Friedland?

  I mean, like, is that what did you in?

• 37:51Speaker 03

  I think it was the collusion among the owners and I, I think it was. I think it was twofold or a few different factors. One, the alignment to Trump was one component of it. Like, they're donors to Trump. They raised millions of dollars for him.

• 38:06Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 38:06Speaker 03

  So they were aligned to him. And the second part is, within the protest, there's both, hey, we don't, we don't want to have to support this. And there was also the realization, and I think this is the one that's critical for players to understand, was understanding the power of collective action. And I think players realizing the power they have gets to a place of, oh, we're 70% of the workforce as black players.

• 38:37Speaker 03

  You're gonna give us guaranteed contracts or we're not gonna step on the field.

• 38:40Adam Friedland?

  Did you feel abandoned by your colleagues?

• 38:43Speaker 03

  Some.

• 38:45Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 38:46Speaker 03

  And some, some were right there by my side through all of it and beyond.

• 38:51Adam Friedland?

  Actually, speaking of Mike Vick, he did, the guy whose number you wear, he said that you should get a haircut.

• 38:59Adam Friedland?

  And Ray, Ray Lewis said that your girlfriend pissed off Steve Biscotti. Biscotti, what is it, fucking Cookie?

• 39:10Adam Friedland?

  And OJ, OJ said you made a bad choice. You know that? OJ Simpson.

• 39:14Speaker 03

  I did not know that.

• 39:15Adam Friedland?

  The guy who you modeled your running, your run game after.

• 39:18Speaker 03

  I did not model my run game after.

• 39:21Adam Friedland?

  Yet somehow, all of these men had a path to redemption. Ray Lewis, of course, returned to the NFL after just going on a trip to Atlanta.

• 39:30Speaker 03

  You know, strings, strings attached to the return.

• 39:34Adam Friedland?

  Did Ray Lewis kill someone in an Atlanta Super Bowl weekend?

• 39:42Speaker 03

  Maybe.

• 39:45Adam Friedland?

  Good answer. Mike Vick, obviously, he did his time. He was offered redemption. OJ Simpson, of course, one of the most beloved, he was falsely accused of one of the most beloved comedy actors. Uh, why, why weren't you similarly offered a path to redemption?

• 40:06Speaker 03

  Because they didn't have leverage over me.

• 40:10Adam Friedland?

  But maybe you also just didn't have, do anything to, to need to redeem yourself, right?

• 40:15Speaker 03

  Well, that as well.

• 40:17Adam Friedland?

  So there was no way of redeeming yourself from doing nothing?

• 40:21Speaker 03

  There, there's no redemption there, but the path to get back into the NFL didn't exist, um, in the same way of those instances because there was nothing to be able to leverage over me.

• 40:33Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 40:33Speaker 03

  Like, hey, if I.

• 40:36Speaker 03

  If I help you get you, get you off, like, just make sure you do the things I need you to do when I call you.

• 40:43Adam Friedland?

  Who was the most surprising person to show support?

• 40:53Speaker 03

  Most surprising.

• 41:00Speaker 03

  I'll say in the last, uh,

• 41:04Speaker 03

  in the last years, few years, I've had more and more people, like the deep south, white people.

• 41:11Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 41:12Speaker 03

  Come up and be like, you know what? I used to hate you. I was wrong about you.

• 41:18Adam Friedland?

  Cause you actually were doing free speech and you actually did get canceled. Which is what they all think is happening to them, right?

• 41:27Speaker 03

  Which is really.

• 41:28Adam Friedland?

  Isn't that like ironic that like you actually got canceled and as a free speech warrior?

• 41:34Speaker 03

  The hypocrisy of it is pretty remarkable.

• 41:37Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 41:38Speaker 03

  It's pretty, pretty solid cognitive dissonance there.

• 41:41Adam Friedland?

  You were raised by white parents, adopted parents?

• 41:44Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 41:45Adam Friedland?

  How did that affect your relationship? I, I understand that they showed you support throughout that time.

• 41:52Speaker 03

  We, we eventually got there.

• 41:54Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 41:55Speaker 03

  Did, did not come out the gates that way.

• 41:57Adam Friedland?

  Well, your mom said when you were getting cornered, I was like AI, that you were being a little knucklehead.

• 42:03Speaker 03

  Something like that.

• 42:05Adam Friedland?

  Would it be chill if I got cornered, I was like AI? If I was on vacation in Jamaica?

• 42:12Adam Friedland?

  And I was there only with black people? And they said I should do it.

• 42:18Speaker 03

  You have to do a photo shoot as part of it.

• 42:20Adam Friedland?

  Alright dude.

• 42:23Adam Friedland?

  Where do you think the movement's at? Like, how satisfied are you in, in the impact you had? Because you did inspire people and even a shady way as it panned out. The players, uh, commission or tribunal or whatever the owners put together, they have donated money to prison reform and stuff. And it wouldn't have happened had it not been for you.

• 42:43Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 42:44Adam Friedland?

  Do you feel dissatisfied or satisfied or like where do you feel, where are you at? Like just seeing what's transpired in the last 10 years?

• 42:52Speaker 03

  I think there's been good things that have happened and impact that's been had broadly. I also think we're in a moment where police killings are up, whereas a society is not a great place. So.

• 43:03Adam Friedland?

  And NFL players really haven't kind of stepped up since you.

• 43:08Speaker 03

  Well, I, I think the, the NFL accomplished what their goal was.

• 43:13Adam Friedland?

  To pay it off?

• 43:14Speaker 03

  To be able to pay, pay it off and just silence players.

• 43:18Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 43:18Speaker 03

  Send a message that if you do try to do something or say something, like we'll come for you.

• 43:24Adam Friedland?

  What do you think the response would be today if it was 2026 and you did what you did?

• 43:30Speaker 03

  I think it would be very similar.

• 43:33Adam Friedland?

  I feel like it'd be worse.

• 43:36Adam Friedland?

  Cause everyone, when I like was doing research for this, everyone's like, you know, I see, you know, I understand why you're doing this. But like you can't disrespect the troops. But really in their minds, they were like, why, just listen to what you're told, right? Nowadays, I feel like people play fast and loose with racism, way more than they did 10 years ago. It's probably as a result of having Trump for the last 10 years.

• 43:58Speaker 03

  Yes, I would also say, I think that's a minority. I think most people are in a space of, we're fed up with Trump, we're fed up with the administration where things are going.

• 44:10Adam Friedland?

  He stinks.

• 44:11Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 44:12Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. What, you ever think he said anything funny? What's the funniest thing? Has he ever made you laugh one time? Sometimes he does.

• 44:21Adam Friedland?

  Not so much anymore, but. Cap, come on, bro. He's dropped a couple of bangers.

• 44:27Speaker 03

  Like what?

• 44:28Adam Friedland?

  One time he was getting a, he was at the Easter egg roll and a kid gave him a hat to sign and he signed it and then he just threw it.

• 44:37Adam Friedland?

  Pretty funny.

• 44:39Speaker 03

  You see, I think he had a Halloween one where he put candy on the kid's head.

• 44:42Adam Friedland?

  On the minion? Yeah, yeah. It's pretty funny. You gotta give it to him. Listen, broken clock, bro. He's a terrible guy. First ballot Hall of Fame hell. First ballot Hall of Fame hell, of course, we all know that. So you tried out for the Raiders, uh, 2022 and you lost, they, they gave the spot to a guy named Nick Mullen. What was that like?

• 45:09Speaker 03

  I mean, the workout was great.

• 45:11Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. What's this Nick Mullen like?

• 45:15Speaker 03

  I don't know.

• 45:17Adam Friedland?

  Doesn't sound like shit to me.

• 45:18Speaker 03

  He wasn't, he wasn't there when I was there.

• 45:20Adam Friedland?

  During your time, like post 2016, when you've asked, when you've gone and had visits with teams. So the first two visits, I believe were with Seattle and Pete Carroll and Baltimore. Am I correct?

• 45:31Speaker 03

  Uh, we didn't do a visit, but we're in conversation with them.

• 45:35Adam Friedland?

  Did you ever at a certain point say, uh, I, I won't be a backup, like I have to be a starter? Did you have any demands on teams or were you like, I'm just wanting to get on a fucking 52 man or whatever it is? And I'm gonna work. I'm used to be a backup.

• 45:49Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 45:49Adam Friedland?

  I just want a shower. I just want a shower.

• 45:57Speaker 03

  No, no demands.

• 45:58Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 45:58Speaker 03

  As far as being a starter. I mean, we, we even went so far, um, to say, oh, I'll, I'll take a practice squad position.

• 46:09Adam Friedland?

  Really?

• 46:10Speaker 03

  Yeah, because.

• 46:11Adam Friedland?

  I could probably get on that, yeah.

• 46:13Speaker 03

  That's, probably could, we should have stuck you in.

• 46:16Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 46:17Speaker 03

  But we, we went to that length to be able to prove the point that.

• 46:21Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 46:22Speaker 03

  If I step on a field with other players, players know. Players know if you're good or not.

• 46:27Adam Friedland?

  Well, Brady and Rodgers both said that you should, they both went to bat for you.

• 46:31Speaker 03

  Yeah, they both said I should be playing.

• 46:33Adam Friedland?

  Did Russ hit you up to show love?

• 46:36Speaker 03

  No.

• 46:47Adam Friedland?

  Heard you're having.

• 46:56Adam Friedland?

  Okay, I have to ask you about this. I don't really care, but you ever ask Cam Newton, what's with all the hats?

• 47:05Speaker 03

  No, I haven't.

• 47:07Adam Friedland?

  I've, I've always wanted to know. Next time he's, just text him. In a basic sense, this is a competitive sport. There are different franchises. The NFL is owned by all of its owners, right? And they're all franchisees. But effectively Jerry wants to win a Super Bowl. He's not like just happy to have a nice stadium, right? Effectively, these guys all want to win, right? If there's a shortage of quarterbacks, how can you get all 32 guys to be like, I'm gonna suck more and not get capped?

• 47:37Speaker 03

  Well, winning isn't the number one priority for the owners.

• 47:40Adam Friedland?

  What, they just let Bob Kraft do it every time?

• 47:43Speaker 03

  No, they're, they're just focused on making money. So like, if the protest leads in some way to players organizing. Yeah.

• 47:52Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 47:52Speaker 03

  Just great piece within the NFL. Very good at socialism amongst the owners.

• 47:58Adam Friedland?

  Yes, us too.

• 48:00Speaker 03

  Phenomenal.

• 48:02Speaker 03

  Not for other people though, just, just for them. When you're guaranteed a rev share as part of owning a team, like you're gonna make money regardless.

• 48:12Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 48:13Speaker 03

  Versus, hey, we're, we're gonna make sure that players don't collectively organize to get guaranteed contracts or hold us accountable in any form or fashion. They're gonna prioritize making sure that doesn't happen over trying to win a Super Bowl.

• 48:26Adam Friedland?

  Within that group of owners, like who, who has the outsized power and like who, who really calls the shots like?

• 48:32Speaker 03

  I mean, you have, you have Jerry, uh, Jerry Jones, Bob Kraft, uh, John Mara.

• 48:38Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 48:40Speaker 03

  I think those are three of the key power players.

• 48:42Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 48:43Speaker 03

  Within that, Cronkite maybe in there. I'm, I don't, I don't think he's,

• 48:48Speaker 03

  I don't think he has as much influence.

• 48:50Adam Friedland?

  Who's the most evil one?

• 48:53Speaker 03

  It's a great competition.

• 48:54Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. I like Shahad Khan. I like his style. He's got the mustache. He's from England. He built a pool at the Ja, the Jaguars stadium. Just for no reason.

• 49:06Speaker 03

  Is that, is that because he's the only one that's not white?

• 49:09Adam Friedland?

  No, I didn't realize that because I see them as the owners. I see them as the, the masters.

• 49:18Speaker 03

  He does have a great look for it though.

• 49:19Adam Friedland?

  His look is so elite.

• 49:21Speaker 03

  Great look for it.

• 49:21Adam Friedland?

  And his suits are sick. He owns Fulham Soccer Team. They just stink. Has the dream been extinguished? In your, the back of your mind or in the heart, your heart of hearts, do you think like if you got a shot, you, you would take it seriously? Or is that, is that dream extinguished at this point?

• 49:38Speaker 03

  No, of course.

• 49:39Adam Friedland?

  No way.

• 49:41Speaker 03

  I still train, still make sure I'm ready. So all I need is one of the owners to open the door.

• 49:47Adam Friedland?

  At what point do you feel like, you're like, fuck these guys? Cause I, actually this is embarrassing, but I, I saw a clip from Charlamagne the God. And he said, if you feel that way about the, he was talking about you. If you feel that way about the NFL, why have you spent the, the last decade trying to get back in the NFL? If it's a racist organization, why?

• 50:08Adam Friedland?

  And also what questions do you have for Charlamagne the God?

• 50:14Speaker 03

  Well, I will say, in relation to Leonard's comments, I, it's a similar conversation that we see from a lot of MAGA, a lot of right-wing people that are racist. It's like, "Oh, if you don't like America, why don't you just leave?"

• 50:32Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 50:33Speaker 03

  It's like, "Oh, if you don't like the NFL, why would you ever stay there? Why would you try?" Because I have a passion for the game, I also should be able to be treated equally to pursue my dream of playing football. Doesn't mean I have to like the institution.

• 50:49Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. Well, the institution, the badge is cool. The guys, the owners

• 50:54Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 50:55Adam Friedland?

  are really cool.

• 50:57Speaker 03

  No.

• 50:59Adam Friedland?

  Did you ever, Bob Kraft got yanked. Do you remember that happened?

• 51:03Speaker 03

  Oh, yeah.

• 51:03Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. He got an old-fashioned.

• 51:07Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 51:07Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 51:08Speaker 03

  Jed recently.

• 51:10Adam Friedland?

  Jed who?

• 51:11Speaker 03

  Jed York.

• 51:12Adam Friedland?

  Who's that? Which one is he?

• 51:13Speaker 03

  He's the owner of the Niners.

• 51:15Adam Friedland?

  All these guys have to pay to get their dicks checked?

• 51:18Speaker 03

  Apparently, it's a thing.

• 51:20Adam Friedland?

  Obviously, this is the thing you've done your entire life, right? What happens next, you know?

• 51:28Speaker 03

  Once you're done playing, you have to figure it out.

• 51:31Adam Friedland?

  It sounds so sad. Wait, you're like, just gonna start being a, like...

• 51:38Speaker 03

  You figure out adulty about the other side.

• 51:40Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 51:40Speaker 03

  Now, if you have a lot of success there, you don't really have to worry about that. If you manage your finances correctly, if you're building relationships correctly, like, you can take that and run with it. But, for a lot of guys, they have to go back and they're figuring out what the next career is.

• 51:57Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 51:58Speaker 03

  And basically have to start over from scratch.

• 52:00Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 52:01Speaker 03

  And then build from there.

• 52:02Adam Friedland?

  And what are you thinking? Dispensary?

• 52:05Speaker 03

  That was, that was one of the considerations.

• 52:10Adam Friedland?

  So, one of the kind of awkward things about this, you getting fucked, and your life getting fucked unfairly, is that like, as a result, now it's brought you to these worlds that are like, somewhat like elite in a lot of instances. You have a Lumi?

• 52:28Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 52:28Adam Friedland?

  Which is what? That's an AI firm?

• 52:30Speaker 03

  AI education company.

• 52:32Adam Friedland?

  What does that do?

• 52:34Speaker 03

  So, we help improve students' literacy within K-12.

• 52:38Adam Friedland?

  Okay. And then, Mission Advancement Corp., you spoke at a Wall Street Journal Tech Live Conference next to Ted Sarandos, Netflix CEO Hans Zimmer from Batman Begins?

• 52:50Speaker 03

  I don't think I, I don't think I was-

• 52:51Adam Friedland?

  You've got a book now?

• 52:52Speaker 03

  On stage with that.

• 52:54Adam Friedland?

  Is it, does it ever feel like, does it ever feel like, if my life didn't get fucked, I wouldn't be able to be... And I'm not saying it's like, you're lucky. I'm sure you'd rather just be at the Super Bowl, right? Than writing dumbass books. I mean, it's a great book, everyone, please. But like, having to write a book sucks way worse than being in the Super Bowl, right? Not knowing how to read and play the Super Bowl is what I wish I could do. You know how to do both, right?

• 53:20Speaker 03

  We know how to read.

• 53:21Adam Friedland?

  I'm not saying you, but, is that weird? Right? Like...

• 53:26Speaker 03

  It is weird a little bit. I would say part of it, a lot of those things I was doing prior as well.

• 53:33Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 53:34Speaker 03

  Because, once you make it to the Super Bowl, like, those doors are already open.

• 53:39Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 53:41Speaker 03

  It is, it is weird on the tail end, some of the spaces that you get invited into.

• 53:47Adam Friedland?

  You went to Michael Rubin's party ever? The white party?

• 53:50Speaker 03

  No.

• 53:50Adam Friedland?

  You've never been to that?

• 53:51Speaker 03

  No.

• 53:52Adam Friedland?

  That sounds evil, whatever's going on over there.

• 53:56Speaker 03

  Close relationship with Bob Kraft and the other owners, so, I don't get invited to those parties.

• 54:01Adam Friedland?

  Should we go?

• 54:03Speaker 03

  He's gonna crash it?

• 54:04Adam Friedland?

  Hell, yeah, bro.

• 54:05Speaker 03

  We're just gonna bring everybody with us.

• 54:07Adam Friedland?

  Wait, if they don't let us in, it's racist.

• 54:14Adam Friedland?

  Guys, I'm being too big of a goof for talking to a civil rights hero. Are you having fun, bro?

• 54:21Speaker 03

  With this?

• 54:22Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 54:22Speaker 03

  This is amazing.

• 54:23Adam Friedland?

  All right, let's talk about this bitch-ass Sean Carter.

• 54:26Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 54:27Adam Friedland?

  So, it seems as if you took the dinner with Jay-Z over the one milli. Do you regret it?

• 54:33Speaker 03

  I did not. I would, I would take the...

• 54:36Adam Friedland?

  No, it seems like you had dinner with this gentleman, and now he's talking crap on you.

• 54:40Speaker 03

  I did not have dinner with him.

• 54:42Adam Friedland?

  I've, I've seen this online, like, he had a freestyle at his concert at Yankee Stadium against you, and it's odd to me as to how that transpired. It seemed like during, during your, like, 10 years ago, he was going to bat for you.

• 54:57Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 54:57Adam Friedland?

  Like, where, why are we at this, what's going, why, why?

• 55:01Speaker 03

  I mean, he's trying to get a check.

• 55:03Adam Friedland?

  Should you battle, should you make a "they not like us" about him?

• 55:06Speaker 03

  Hmm, we, we could think about that.

• 55:10Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 55:10Speaker 03

  I know some people that could help.

• 55:12Adam Friedland?

  Really?

• 55:13Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 55:13Adam Friedland?

  Do you know Kendrick Lamar?

• 55:15Speaker 03

  Literally.

• 55:16Adam Friedland?

  Do you know Drake?

• 55:17Speaker 03

  No, I don't, I don't know him on personal. I've come across him a couple of times.

• 55:21Adam Friedland?

  Is he chill?

• 55:23Speaker 03

  Yeah, he's always been cool.

• 55:23Adam Friedland?

  Really nice, really nice, yeah.

• 55:25Speaker 03

  He's really cool.

• 55:26Adam Friedland?

  I've always thought that, yeah. I would love, I would love, he's my number one guess. You're seeing this from 10 years ago, right? And you're seeing this from like, you've had this weird path.

• 55:36Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 55:38Adam Friedland?

  Like, a lot of guys like fade away, right? Like, in sports? And you have this like moment of glory. Maybe that's like better? I don't know. If you were just the third-string guy taking showers, right? Instead of just like, "I went to the fucking NFC Championship and the Super Bowl, and then I just fucking became a civil rights guy", it's kind of a better move.

• 56:04Speaker 03

  Mine is losing the $150 million.

• 56:08Adam Friedland?

  Whatever, dude.

• 56:09Speaker 03

  Like, that, that part's not great. I mean, that's probably a low end now.

• 56:14Adam Friedland?

  Where do you see the movement at now? Like, I watched Premier League. For years, they were taking knees before

• 56:23Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 56:23Adam Friedland?

  before matches. I mean, like, you did affect things, and then it kind of got co-opted by this big corporation. And, do you feel like we've seen change? Or do you feel like we've regressed culturally?

• 56:38Speaker 03

  I think both.

• 56:39Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 56:40Speaker 03

  There's areas that we've seen change occur.

• 56:43Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 56:44Speaker 03

  And we've seen that in the work that we've done directly with Know Your Rights Camp. There's also areas that, I mean, we're definitely going backwards. We see a lot of what this administration is trying to do.

• 56:53Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 56:55Speaker 03

  We're at a point in this country that people are comfortable with people getting snatched off the, snatched off the street by ICE.

• 57:02Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 57:03Speaker 03

  That's become the norm. We're also seeing, to me, we're seeing the undercurrent and wave coming of people rejecting that. That's what gives me hope as far as where we're headed. We're seeing that show up with who's getting elected in politics right now, too.

• 57:19Adam Friedland?

  I feel like you were kind of the last moment that we had, which is like, you know, it's, when I hear about Ali, right? Being the champion, and being like, "Fuck going to Vietnam", like, American, basically saying the same thing as you, except he went to jail at the prime of his career. You just had, you just drank water on a bench. I'm just playing, bro. But like, yeah, it felt like that was like a powder keg, and that was like a moment. But I feel like Kyrie kind of talks about Gaza, but like, we haven't really had a moment since then. Are there other athletes that have come to you and expressed that they want to?

• 57:57Speaker 03

  Yeah. There definitely have been. I think a lot of them are scared of the repercussions on the other side of it. And I think being able to shift that and build support around them is important.

• 58:11Adam Friedland?

  How far could you throw a football?

• 58:13Speaker 03

  About like 75, 80 yards.

• 58:15Adam Friedland?

  76, 81.

• 58:18Speaker 03

  That's why I...

• 58:21Adam Friedland?

  Dude, Reno sucks. Call Kaepernick, everyone. Did you guys have fun?