Hour 1: Limited Fake Stephen A. Smith Runs For President

Summary

Summary of "Hour 1: Limited Fake Stephen A. Smith Runs For President"

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz delivers an engaging and multifaceted discussion in its February 6, 2025 episode titled "Hour 1: Limited Fake Stephen A. Smith Runs For President." Hosted by Dan Le Batard and Stugotz, the episode features regular contributors David Samson, Roy Bellamy, and Amin Elhassan. The conversation spans unexpected political candidacies, nuanced debates on transgender participation in sports, humorous impersonations, and current NBA trade news. Below is a detailed breakdown of the episode's key segments.

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1. Reflections on "Dan vs Dan" Show

Timestamp: 02:02 - 04:00

The episode opens with reflections on the recent "Dan vs Dan" event. Stugotz and David Samson discuss the event's execution and audience reception.

• Stugotz (02:05): "So Dan versus Dan was last night. Or Dan."
• Dan Le Batard (02:19): "I think that's the tagline predator movie poster used to say. Also applies here, potentially."

They highlight the large crowd and Dan's straightforward approach to meet and greets, emphasizing brief interactions over prolonged conversations.

• David Samson (03:16): "There are lots. There are photos of the crowds. The crowd size, guys. Very big."
• Stugotz (04:05): "Dan is genuinely appreciative of the love and support..."

---

2. Stephen A. Smith's Presidential Ambitions

Timestamp: 09:01 - 32:40

A substantial portion of the episode centers on the surprising news that sports commentator Stephen A. Smith is considering a presidential run. The hosts delve into polling data, potential political impacts, and the viability of such a candidacy.

• Stugotz (09:16): "When I heard the news that Stephen A. Smith decided he should run for office, I said that's a great American."
• Dan Le Batard (11:37): "It's a McLaughlin & Associates poll, and Kamala Harris is still leading the pack. 33% Pete Buttigieg, 9% Gavin Newsom, 7% Stephen A. Smith, 2%."

The discussion critiques the slim polling numbers for Smith and debates his potential influence compared to established politicians.

• Roy Bellamy (10:14): "He's a good guy. He's got real pizazz. I like him."
• Dan Le Batard (12:24): "He feels the gratification from the fans..."

The conversation also touches on the administration's handling of executive orders, particularly those affecting transgender athletes and USAID funding, highlighting perceived misprioritizations.

• Dan Le Batard (25:50): "It's an overblown political issue of our time."
• Stugotz (27:00): "The smallest population of helpless people... that's who you should worry about."

---

3. Transgender Participation in Sports and Budget Prioritization

Timestamp: 23:29 - 32:40

The hosts engage in a nuanced debate about the executive order limiting transgender participation in sports. They explore the implications for a small population of athletes and compare it to broader budgetary concerns like USAID funding.

• Dan Le Batard (23:59): "These are fewer than 10 college athletes... it's just insane to me."
• David Samson (31:30): "We're not saying pro or anti transgender. What the executive order was about is participation in sports."

The discussion critically examines how political narratives may misrepresent the actual scale and impact of these policies.

• Stugotz (30:09): "It's an 80/20 issue. We have to consider if they go through with these regulations..."
• Dan Le Batard (31:15): "The point of rights in this country is not that it's a popularity contest..."

---

4. Humorous Impersonations and Accent Debates

Timestamp: 20:41 - 42:19

Adding levity to the episode, the hosts partake in impersonations and debate the merits of different accents, particularly focusing on New York and Southern accents.

• Stugotz (38:31): "I feel like the Southern accent is the coolest accent."
• Dan Le Batard (40:13): "Water, Water."

They humorously critique each other’s attempts at accents, reflecting on cultural perceptions and personal preferences.

• Dan Le Batard (41:09): "I would say that to the untrained American ear, any British accent conveys a sophistication."
• Stugotz (41:27): "Geordie is people from, like, Newcastle."

---

5. NBA Trade Deadline Updates

Timestamp: 34:21 - 37:00

The conversation shifts to current NBA trade news, with a focus on the Washington Wizards' recent acquisitions and their impact on team performance.

• Stugotz (34:28): "The Brooklyn Nets are the worst team in the NBA now."
• David Samson (35:38): "Exactly."

The hosts analyze the strategic moves of teams like the Wizards and Nets, discussing the implications for the season's progression.

• Stugotz (35:16): "They got smoked."
• Dan Le Batard (35:27): "What does it mean?"

---

6. Closing Banter and Final Thoughts

Timestamp: 37:00 - End

The episode concludes with light-hearted banter among the hosts, reflecting on the day's discussions and teasing future topics.

• Mike Ryan (40:05): "It's a good one. You need to put that one in the Rolodex."
• Dan Le Batard (41:15): "I'm looking at the differences, the socioeconomic connotations of different British accents."

The hosts leave listeners with a mix of humor and thoughtful commentary, maintaining the show's signature blend of sports, culture, and current events.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Stugotz (09:16): "Stephen A. Would make a fine candidate."
• Dan Le Batard (23:59): "It's a little bit of a nuanced thing. We're talking about a tiny population of people."
• Stugotz (38:31): "I feel like the Southern accent is the coolest accent."
• Stugotz (34:28): "The Brooklyn Nets are the worst team in the NBA now."

---

This episode skillfully balances serious political discourse with humor and sports analysis, providing listeners with a comprehensive and entertaining exploration of current events and cultural debates.

Transcript

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[Mike Ryan]

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[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats podcast.

[Stugotz]

So Dan versus Dan was last night. Or Dan.

[Dan Le Batard]

I. I've been seeing folks the last dance. I've been calling whoever wins, we lose. I think that's the tagline predator movie poster used to say. Also applies here, potentially.

[David Samson]

It went great. Why are you did It. Yes.

[Stugotz]

Did you watch it?

[David Samson]

It was. I. I was getting reports the whole night.

[Stugotz]

Oh, who from people on the ground.

[Dan Le Batard]

There are lots. There are photos of the crowds. The crowd size, guys. Very big.

[David Samson]

That's Dan. Dan.

[Stugotz]

There it is. Dan's melting into the chair with.

[David Samson]

The only negative is that we had people in place. And I think that all of you will appreciate this more than I did. Dan showed up pretty much just to get on stage.

[Stugotz]

Dan Patrick or Dan Levitar.

[David Samson]

There was no green room situation. There was no prep. There was no anything. Just. He know nothing. Now, after the show, he did major meet and greets, major VIP stuff. No, no. But when you're on tour for a show, he. He did a full. Even Springsteen, Mick Jagger. You're getting there early. You're sort of getting set up. Dan went car stage.

[Roy Bellamy]

That photo is just hilarious. I can't tell where the chair ends and Dan starts.

[Stugotz]

It's just his head popping out of a chair.

[David Samson]

I was just trying to think if that's the outfit he wore to do the show on Tuesday that he recycled again for Wednesday. But it actually went great. It was. It was sold out. There were a ton of people who got to spend time with Dan after the show, which was Dan.

[Dan Le Batard]

Our Dan loves taking photos with the people.

[David Samson]

Well, the people love to be with.

[Amin Elhassan]

Not really. He doesn't love it. It's just a way to get out of whatever situation he's in. Come take a photo. Okay, now leave.

[Stugotz]

He doesn't have to talk that way.

[David Samson]

Oh, I. Is he? I.

[Dan Le Batard]

He would rather have 1,000 small talk conversations than one conversation.

[David Samson]

He feels the gratification from the fans and.

[Dan Le Batard]

No. And it's legitimate. Like Moss at Moss. Every year he does this.

[Stugotz]

Well, this is the thing. Dan is genuinely appreciative of the love and support, but also Dan is the anti Amin. Amin will go and give someone 15 minutes of show if it behooves him. Right. Dan is like, I don't want to do any show. That's why the photo is such a great opportunity. It's. I gave you the most meaningful interaction possible. That also cost me nothing.

[Roy Bellamy]

Dan will do show with them, but it'll be South Beat sessions. And he'll be like, when have you cried last? Are you in a happy place when you listen? He like, really wants to get in there.

[Stugotz]

Do we know what they talked about?

[David Samson]

I just know that I like how.

[Dan Le Batard]

The one thing we need reporting on is our own companies, which we don't.

[Amin Elhassan]

Have clips on for some reason. We could.

[Stugotz]

I could tell you what Kevin Durant is thinking this whole time, but I can't tell you what happened.

[David Samson]

You're allowed to talk about that.

[Dan Le Batard]

David was mad that we hadn't said the word Super Bowl.

[Stugotz]

No, Pete Alonso is actually what he was mad about.

[David Samson]

Well, I was upset about both because it's Thursday and I was picturing Adam Silver doing the Snoopy dance because Roger Goodell is on the back burner. There's shows and we have. We're sort of looking. It's been 40 minutes or 84 minutes. And there are other shows just getting to super bowl now, having started with Jimmy and the Warriors.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm just going to read the Chiron on first take. What will the super bowl come down to?

[Stugotz]

This is my favorite thing, cuz I saw someone tweeted at us yesterday or earlier this morning saying, please don't spend the show talking about Jimmy Butler and the Lakers trades and all that stuff. It's super bowl week. And I said the operative part of the word news is new. What's new? Super Bowl. If you tell me right now something we didn't know about the Eagles or the Chiefs that we've learned in the last 24 to 40 hours, I'm pleased to have that conversation.

[David Samson]

If it's just who the Chiefs have no injuries.

[Stugotz]

That's new.

[David Samson]

Yes. There's no one on the report.

[Stugotz]

Okay.

[David Samson]

It's pretty amazing.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's what I'm coming down to.

[David Samson]

That's big news.

[Stugotz]

All right. Okay. They're not hurt.

[Dan Le Batard]

What I would like to.

[Roy Bellamy]

And we covered it.

[Dan Le Batard]

What I would like to tell the NFL in this moment is you gotta earn it. Earn it.

[Stugotz]

Eugene Robinson, go out there, get arrested.

[Roy Bellamy]

Please don't want to earn.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm just saying. I'm happy to not talk about the Heat, trust me, but the NFL, I'm so far, Dan looking like a couch is the number one story coming out of New Orleans.

[Stugotz]

I mean, it's a pretty good story. And look at that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Look at that picture that Always Sunny, where, you know, Danny DeVito's climbing out.

[Stugotz]

He's all greased up.

[David Samson]

If he had gotten there earlier, we would have changed out the chair or his pants.

[Stugotz]

Can we do that?

[David Samson]

Oh, you can do anything with time or money. Well, always.

[Amin Elhassan]

I have a couple of questions. What decade do you have to be from to know what the Snoopy dance is? Also, Pablo, why do you think that people think you're a food delivery person?

[David Samson]

Do you not see how he dresses like a schlep?

[Stugotz]

Oh, that's why.

[David Samson]

That's why members Only windbreaker he's got that's slept the onset of a potential paunch for someone of his young age.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you have eyes?

[David Samson]

Hair is always messed up.

[Amin Elhassan]

It's a punch.

[Dan Le Batard]

I do have early onset paunch.

[Stugotz]

Ponch was a cop on this television show called Chips.

[Amin Elhassan]

That's not true.

[David Samson]

Oh, it's Erik Estrada.

[Amin Elhassan]

So he's growing an Erik Estrada.

[Stugotz]

Yes, but it passes as Italian for some reason. We're doing a show for Greg Cody only. Right.

[David Samson]

And he always walks around with bags. So Pablo's like, got stuff. And it's not organized. It's not like a briefcase.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm busy finding out stuff. Sorry.

[David Samson]

Well, he walks around the city and he's sort of collecting food and bags. And then I picture him walking into a lobby and being stopped. Like you're heading into Tiffany with the trophy. Like, people looking. You're like, what apartment's that for?

[Stugotz]

I picture you walking into Tiffany's and then thinking, where's the tall one from the Wet Bandits?

[Mike Ryan]

Daniel Stern.

[Stugotz]

Well, they're looking for Daniel Stern because.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

More of a Joe Pesci robbers by their gang name, the Wet Bandits.

[David Samson]

Is that how Daniel Stern is known?

[Stugotz]

Number one. Yes. Home Alone by far.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes.

[David Samson]

More so than city slickers.

[Stugotz]

Not bushwhacked or Rookie of the Year.

[Roy Bellamy]

Rookie of the year for me, man.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm just glad we got Roy in here. Roy. Roy got lured out with hot ice.

[Stugotz]

Celtic heat up the ice cubes.

[David Samson]

That's the best of both worlds.

[Roy Bellamy]

You know what? He might be rookie of the year.

[Stugotz]

It's Home Alone.

[Roy Bellamy]

I know.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's.

[Stugotz]

You guys are.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's a better role, though. That Rookie of the year is fantastic.

[Stugotz]

This is. This is like. What's Arnold Schwarzenegger known for? And you got to like, jingle all the way. No.

[Roy Bellamy]

Good flick.

[Dan Le Batard]

What?

[Roy Bellamy]

But remember when he stuck between the doors, knocking on the doors of the hotel room? Now help.

[Stugotz]

Now a can hit him in the face, and then he stepped on a nail with no shoe on.

[Dan Le Batard]

Hold on, hold on. I mean, Amin got Obama in his paint can hit him in the face.

[Stugotz]

Just then a paint can hit him in the face.

[David Samson]

Now that's snl.

[Dan Le Batard]

You just.

[Stugotz]

You just learned that I do a really good job.

[David Samson]

I hadn't heard it in person before.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can we get to Stephen A. Being a Democratic candidate for president, as Barack Obama has learned the news.

[Amin Elhassan]

Got a couple of presidents in here, too, if you need them.

[Stugotz]

Let me be clear. When I heard the news that Stephen A. Smith decided he should run for office, I said that's a great American. Now, some folks across the aisle don't like that. They want Skip Bayless to be the nominee. But I told my family, Sasha, Michelle, Malia.

[Dan Le Batard]

That gets me every time.

[Stugotz]

Stephen A. Would make a fine candidate. Now, Stephen A. Wait, hold on, Joe. Joe, wouldn't you agree with me?

[Roy Bellamy]

Listen, man, he's a good guy. He's got it. He's got real pizazz. I like him.

[Stugotz]

Now, Joe. Now, Stephen A. Is.

[Amin Elhassan]

He's the hands every time, right?

[Roy Bellamy]

Is he from Scranton?

[Dan Le Batard]

It's the hands and the losing breath as soon as he starts talking.

[Amin Elhassan]

What does Donald Trump believe about Stephen A.

[Stugotz]

Who does a good Trump here? I don't. I've tried, and I realized you don't. I can't do a good Trump.

[Roy Bellamy]

He talks sports, all right? He talks a little bit, and he doesn't do it well.

[Stugotz]

Okay.

[Roy Bellamy]

He talks way too much, if you ask me.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay.

[David Samson]

It's not terrible either.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, it's the only option we got.

[Stugotz]

This is.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is not terrible. It's a real binary equation. You're giving approval to.

[David Samson]

No, we didn't do the lips part. You got to do the lips. You have to have the flurry and.

[Stugotz]

The fingers a lot.

[David Samson]

You know, a lot of fingers.

[Stugotz]

You know who does a really good Trump? Brad Williams. Brad Williams does a really good Trump because he does the hand movements really well. A lot of people do good trumps. Godfrey does a good job.

[Dan Le Batard]

There's a lot of. There's a lot of Trump.

[Stugotz]

Are, buddy. Josh Rosen obviously does a great Trump. He actually makes money, has a Trump impersonator.

[David Samson]

How much money does he make?

[Stugotz]

Enough to pay his bills. Yeah.

[David Samson]

You know this. You've seen the W2.

[Stugotz]

I've seen Josh Rosen, and I've seen him play.

[Dan Le Batard]

He gets a W2.

[David Samson]

1099, probably.

[Stugotz]

It's not. He's not. He's not getting benefits on this shit.

[Mike Ryan]

And Brad Williams and Donald Trump, same size hands.

[Stugotz]

It's true.

[Roy Bellamy]

Nice.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well done, Roy.

[Stugotz]

But, guys, you guys aren't talking about the real president. We're talking about 20, 28, baby.

[Dan Le Batard]

2%. Stephen A. Is polling in this.

[David Samson]

What's the plus or minus? What's that? What's the margin of? I'm blanking. Someone please help me.

[Stugotz]

Margin of error.

[David Samson]

What's the margin of error on that poll? Please tell me it's more than 2% clear to me.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'll give you some of the details. It's a McLaughlin & Associates poll, and God, Kamala Harris is still leading the pack. 33% Pete Buttigieg, 9% Gavin Newsom, 7% Stephen A. Smith, 2%.

[Stugotz]

I've often said that if the fires happened on my watch, they would have been put out immediately because the fires don't want to make an enemy out of me.

[Mike Ryan]

Do we really see him as a Democrat because he said that he was independent years ago?

[Stugotz]

We heard that from not.

[David Samson]

You certainly can't come out as a Republican running for 28 at the moment because the thought is that there's going to be a third term in there. Right. That one.

[Stugotz]

Is that. Now are we talking. Is that where we are at?

[David Samson]

Well, that's not where I'm at, but that's been defined.

[Roy Bellamy]

The Constitution Classic.

[David Samson]

Oh, wow. We're not in the last four years.

[Roy Bellamy]

Can I try to warn you guys.

[David Samson]

Stephen A. Smith, I just want to tell you, picturing him at a debate, a presidential debate, thinking that he's doing one of his shows on espn.

[Roy Bellamy]

David is now stated a union. That's what Trump did at the debates, turned it into a. Like a. That's all it is. That's a reality show.

[Stugotz]

You want to talk to me about taxes? Come on. Let me tell you something about taxes.

[Amin Elhassan]

I'll trade them and then never actually say anything about taxes because all he's.

[Stugotz]

Got to do is just name out the resume of taxes. Now, we've had taxes since Eisenhower. He had him at 90%. We dropped them and they've been very, very beneficial. Roads, schools.

[David Samson]

He'd be almost the richest president.

[Stugotz]

Almost the richest president?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, almost.

[David Samson]

For real. I mean, he's about to sign and become the highest paid employee at espn. He'd have more. He's not already in theory, than even Trump.

[Roy Bellamy]

Maybe I'll take his spot at espn.

[Stugotz]

Oh, my God.

[Roy Bellamy]

That first signed with CIA.

[Dan Le Batard]

He did just sign with a major Hollywood talent agency.

[David Samson]

He did. They did a whole announcement about the speaker series. Now you can make a lot of money. There's a lot of 1099. Obama.

[Stugotz]

Yep.

[David Samson]

Ooh, cashing in Bill on the bill.

[Stugotz]

Was cleaning up on that circuit.

[David Samson]

You make appearances when you've been president.

[Dan Le Batard]

Some people rock it. Some people, I'm reliably informed, write books to go on the speaker circuit. Of course, like, that's the actual game.

[Stugotz]

He's going to go on a. He's going to go on a liar circuit.

[David Samson]

No, he's just going to cancel. He's going to make. Make appearances and then cancel.

[Stugotz]

By the way, I got a report from New Orleans here. Everyone's super bowl week.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let Me straighten up my chair.

[Amin Elhassan]

Does anybody do a George W. Or George H. Bush?

[Stugotz]

You work on that while I give you this update from New Orleans. Stu was looking for another Stu to do a competing Stu vs Stu show. He put out an ask for Stu Finer.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, my God, There it is.

[Stugotz]

Our New Orleans update.

[David Samson]

Is that news? It is that super bowl news because it's new.

[Stugotz]

Well, it's new and it came from New Orleans.

[David Samson]

And you're. Who's the source of that?

[Stugotz]

I can't reveal myself.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can we talk a bit about the thing that we saw at the White House yesterday?

[Amin Elhassan]

I didn't see anything at the White House.

[Dan Le Batard]

I want to show you, actually, I want to show you a clip that caught my eye. If we can play. Play something that. Chris Cody is very cleverly. There it is. Very good. And play.

[David Samson]

And Tommy Tuberville, a great coach. You know, his quarterback was named Mahomes. He was a great college coach. And I said, how good was he?

[Stugotz]

He said, you don't want to know how good. He made me into a great coach. He's a pretty good quarterback, right? Yeah, he was a good guy, too.

[Dan Le Batard]

I just want to be very clear about this. This is not a political take. Donald Trump does not know ball. Donald Trump does not know sports. He's around sports. He has spent money on sports. He shakes hands with people who play sports. He has no idea what anything is.

[David Samson]

Do you believe that someone writes that speech?

[Stugotz]

No, no, that's him. That's him winging it. They do write speeches for him. He wings it, though.

[Dan Le Batard]

That is him looking at Senator Tommy Tuberville and saying, you're the guy who coached Patrick Mahomes, famously. We all know that.

[David Samson]

How come no one in the background noticed that it was wrong?

[Roy Bellamy]

No one sets up a sound after we've listened to it better than Pablo.

[Stugotz]

Hold on, let me just point something out and play. Nobody, like, corrected him. How about Tommy Tuberville didn't correct him? He said he's a pretty good quarterback. He said, very good. Tommy Tuberville went with it. Yeah, I coached him in 2012 when.

[Dan Le Batard]

I was gonna correct the president. This is why I bring it up. This is what's happened again. I'm not trying to do a political argument here. I am just saying this is happening in 1 million different ways across all sorts of stories that are not actually anything this dude cares about.

[David Samson]

There are way more important things we could be talking about. But there's plenty of other presidents. When they welcome teams to the White House, there's speeches that are prepared and when they try to go off script. George Bush did that and made a mistake. You're not gonna correct him on the. What did he not. He said something about a game that he was. That he said that he had watched of our World Series and he hadn't watched it.

[Stugotz]

You didn't. You didn't correct him.

[David Samson]

Are you kidding me? You're with the president. I would have sworn in the White House.

[Stugotz]

I would have sworn that you would have interrupt. Yeah.

[David Samson]

Interrupt the remarks while presenting.

[Roy Bellamy]

It was Brad Petty that started not outlier.

[Stugotz]

I could absolutely hear Samson's voice from the background. He's behind.

[David Samson]

I respect the office. I wish people in the office respected the office, but I respect the office.

[Stugotz]

Would you have corrected him after he was done speaking?

[David Samson]

I may have.

[Stugotz]

There you go. I appreciate the kind words, Mr. President, but.

[Dan Le Batard]

Right.

[Stugotz]

You did that.

[David Samson]

Now that's funny. I didn't call him Mr. President.

[Dan Le Batard]

How did you address him?

[David Samson]

President Bush.

[Stugotz]

You said.

[David Samson]

Should I have said Mr. President?

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[David Samson]

It's interesting. I did not do that. I did not do that.

[Stugotz]

But you did. Correct.

[Dan Le Batard]

I wish you.

[David Samson]

We talked after you made all the.

[Roy Bellamy]

Marlins employees call you Mr. President.

[David Samson]

No. David, you know that if you had worked for the Marlins.

[Stugotz]

Yep. You would also wore a tie.

[David Samson]

David.

[Stugotz]

For at least a couple.

[David Samson]

Only until June. Only until the first sign that oh my God, is it hot in this frickin town.

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[Stugotz]

Lebatard no one else here is.

[Amin Elhassan]

Willing to do a Trump or a Biden.

[Stugotz]

That's not true, Dan. Okay, Tony, you can catch a thousand impersonations.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's not bad, man.

[Mike Ryan]

Finally. Pretty good, Stugach.

[Stugotz]

Yours is terrible.

[Roy Bellamy]

You just gotta get a little redder, a little pinker.

[Venmo Advertiser]

You're right there, man.

[Stugotz]

Yours is not that you're biting.

[Dan Le Batard]

What do you mean?

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, his is good.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's actually not bad. Not terrible. That's not terrible. We gotta come together. Little Southern, little Bush, little George Bush in that one.

[Mike Ryan]

This is The Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[David Samson]

Foreign. I'm down on Trump and what he's doing with the transgender and all the executive orders, but I just want to point out that what he did with Tuber.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tuber, Tuberville.

[Mike Ryan]

Tupper.

[Dan Le Batard]

He said Tupper.

[Mike Ryan]

Like Tupperware.

[Roy Bellamy]

Keep saying it, you'll find it.

[David Samson]

I, It's. I'm having, I'm having a hard time announcing it, except to say that I, I give him a pass on that.

[Dan Le Batard]

I do. Not in the least.

[David Samson]

I know, but I don't want him to know that I prefer my president not to actually.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, I see what you're saying.

[David Samson]

Spend time on that type of stuff.

[Dan Le Batard]

Sure. In a, in, in any other timeline, the idea that a president tried to make a sports reference and face planted would be otherwise not symptomatic of a larger trend.

[David Samson]

Agreed.

[Dan Le Batard]

A troubling tread insofar as the background of that video, which, to Chris's point, I did not do a great job of setting up. He surrounded. He's surrounded. He's surrounded by girls, young women, for what the C Span Chiron describes as the no men and women sports executive order. Speaking of telling people to play and to not. It's a ridiculous thing.

[Stugotz]

Wordplay.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a ridiculous thing. And I say that because, look, at all times, with what David referred to as the transgender. I'm trying to be somebody who you want to hear from, even if you think I'm going to be the guy who was in the tank for one side. I'm not in the tank for one side. I am just here to remind people that when you say this is a deeply unpopular issue. 80, 20, a winner for the GOP. 80 20, a winner for the mutated Republican Party. Which is true. Just please stop pretending like Democrats had been shoving this down people's throats. The idea that everybody, everybody on the left was so pro transgender that finally Donald Trump is gonna stand up to the big bully. It's just not what was happening.

[David Samson]

But we're not saying pro or anti transgender. What the executive order was was about participation in sports.

[Dan Le Batard]

And the good news is that there have been rules regulating participation in sports on the basis of hormones, testosterone. Look, an arguable debate, sure, we've done episodes about it, but they've existed. There have been regulations the entire time. There are fewer than 10 college athletes who are trans at all. Meaning that we're debating issuing executive orders, fear mongering about less than 0.02% of the population, while also casting that population.

[Amin Elhassan]

As the bully, the most effective strawman of all time.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's an 80. 20 is the 8020. It's a winner. And I'm not disputing that it is a winner for the Republican Party. What I'm saying is that this is something that I can't abide by because of a misrepresentation of the reality of it. Right? I'm not saying that it's not unpopular. I'm saying that we here who have cared about this issue, saying, actually, let's consider this population of people, let's consider that if they were to go through with these regulations, these hormone therapies to decrease their competitive advantage conferred by male puberty, if they were to do all of that, that they deserve a right to play. What I'm saying is that people who have been saying that and believing that, like me, have not been platformed to the point where everybody is saying, let's celebrate the trans athlete. It's been a relatively lonely journey for those people in particular. And so for Those fewer than 10 people who are just trying to participate in sports, being them, being cast as Goliath as the bully, as the big bad wolf by the president, surrounded by these. By these women as props, it's insane to me. So it's just insane to me.

[Mike Ryan]

Is this a Title 9 issue?

[Dan Le Batard]

Is this something that can be appealed in the courts? Roy, There are so many legal pathways shooting out of this, Title IX being one of them. And I guess I even hesitate to go to that point because I want to make the argument even more basic. The boogeyman you have created is not an actual concern, and it's just the most overblown political issue of our time.

[David Samson]

It was a platform issue that was used by Trump, and it gets people riled up. And he was able to take care of it. And then he was able to say that this is. I'm doing what I said I would do, which, by the way, is a whole nother subject. All the things he's doing, he said he was going to do.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes.

[David Samson]

Including this is what he campaigned on. And 70 is it. 70 million people voted for him, and he's doing exactly what they want. And this executive order on transgender participation in sports was one of them. And he's going down the line. This was just a press conference. That was one of ten that he had.

[Dan Le Batard]

All he's been doing, while Elon Musk has been doing the actual work of being president, has been holding press conferences and signing executive orders, which in reality are pieces of paper that just say, here's a take I have.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, that's my favorite part is that this is his favorite part of the presidency is feeling like he's doing something by signing pieces of paper that say.

[David Samson]

Think you're underselling an executive order. Now, it is true that you cannot unilaterally implement certain things in some of the executive orders, but all presidents on both sides of the aisle use executive orders.

[Dan Le Batard]

There are consequences to them. I am just saying this is the theater of. This is first take. This is Stephen A. Actually being very qualified for this part.

[Stugotz]

I could sign an executive order now.

[Roy Bellamy]

What about me?

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

But a majority of them either have to really have to go through Congress or a wholly unconstitutional. There is a reason why he's not going through Congress. One of them is because it takes actual work of governance. Another one is which. Another reason is which he does not have a huge majority in Congress. He has a very narrow. Like the thing that I am frustrated by is just the way in which we have lost any sense of proportion. Right. The smallest population of helpless people who are contemplating suicide at a rate of 1 in 3 are the big bad wolf. That's who you should worry about. Those people. Meanwhile, the victory that Trump won, again, it's crowd sizes. Right. The whole premise of this is he won so overwhelmingly that this is what the people wanted. He's just doing what they wanted. Look at how much he won by. We are misrepresenting basic statistics all of the time. And it's infuriating to be purely, purely just on a. On accounting level. Like I just. We're really just going to eat all these lies.

[David Samson]

Yes. For four more years and more maybe. And maybe more after that. But unconstitutional now. But when you pack the Supreme Court you have. And you assign the way he has, then you feel a little more emboldened with that branch of government. When you've got the tiebreaker, which he has with JD Vance in case there's a few Republicans who fall astray, which happened recently with one of the appointments. You feel emboldened as the president that you can use the three branches of government. What he does with these press conferences and the off the cuff sports references and various things. That's just appealing to the ignorant. And that's fine. All the presidents do that. What we should be far more worried about is the ramifications not of the executive order stopping participation of transgender athletes in sports. We should be far more worried about things that are. That he's doing economically, things that are happening.

[Dan Le Batard]

So let's Talk about, can we not.

[Roy Bellamy]

Be worried about both though? Hold on a second. Because I don't have the bandwidth.

[Dan Le Batard]

You have to pick and choose.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's.

[David Samson]

I have to.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's the problem though, right? Because if you are running a, for all intents and purposes, sort of fascist version of the American government, otherizing groups of people is what helps you. It's what helps you keep that pulpit. And by creating a boogeyman. The percentage of people in America who think that 25% of our population is full of, of trans folks because of the fear mongering that's been done by this administration and its cronies are part of why you have people so dug in on that side of the aisle is because they've created boogeymen out of nowhere.

[Dan Le Batard]

But these.

[Roy Bellamy]

And by the way, if this population is as small as it is, which it is, we should still be supporting them.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, that's. So look, I think there's a. The reason why it's been really hard to talk about the trans debate in the context that David is trying to get us to is because it is a bit of a nuanced thing. We're talking about a tiny population of people. And therefore if it's just gonna be a tiny population of people less than 10 college athletes, why are we prioritizing them and losing an 8020 issue, as they say? And what I'm here to remind everybody is that the point of rights in this country is not that it's a popularity contest, it's what is right or wrong. And at the same time, David, I want to acknowledge when it comes to the terror alert scale of how worried we should be about anything because it's a relatively small population, what's happening, say to usaid is something that, yes, we should also make room for if we're going to power rank the actual levels of concern, while also noting briefly that USA is also 0.2% of the budget. Right.

[David Samson]

So another population is having worldwide the diplomatic impact it's having. The fact that no one's talking about this or no one's, whether we're a sports show or not. If you're not paying attention to what is happening with the US aid and the fact that it's disappearing, then you're not paying attention.

[Mike Ryan]

It's as you're saying, yeah, pick and.

[Dan Le Batard]

Choose what you want to. But, but there's a, there's a through line here, Roy. Right here we have in USAID and the trans population of athletes, two groups that are relatively very small.

[David Samson]

I don't agree with your premise.

[Dan Le Batard]

Budgetarily, USAID is 0.5.

[David Samson]

USAID is so much larger than the impact of banning transgender participation athletics. It's not even. How can you mention them in the same sentence?

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm mentioning them in the same sentence because what we're doing here is forcing nuance into a false binary. It's not either or what we're Saying is right. USAID, 0.2% of the budget also massively impactful. For every foreign relationship we have, for all of these people who got into it for the right reasons, for everybody.

[David Samson]

With aids, everybody with HIV around the.

[Dan Le Batard]

World affected by disease globally, it is a massive catastrophe. I am also saying that even though there are less than 0.02% fewer twice I think we'll agree to disagree percent of college athletes who are trans. Also worth considering.

[Amin Elhassan]

It was obvious back in whatever year that was 2018, 2017, which the bathroom bill in North Carolina, it was sort of a test there. It's like, hey, my base, we can agree men should go to men's rooms and women should go to women's rooms. Right. Ladies rooms.

[David Samson]

Right.

[Amin Elhassan]

And yeah, but then that one shockingly sort of failed for them. So then the new one was, oh, boys should play boy sports, girls should play girl sports. Let's protect our kids. And that one just hit like, you know what? And so it's just been obvious what's been happening. It just happens that they have currently succeeded.

[David Samson]

Do you see a problem? I mean, I don't know that we should debate the concept of. I'd rather talk about the executive order and talk about the reason why he's doing that and how that is manifesting itself in issues that are far more impactful to way more people. So I, I just take umbrage with you saying that it's point like USA 0.02%. Therefore we have to consider in the same.

[Dan Le Batard]

But this is why, this is why it's in the same breath right now. It's because what Donald Trump and what this administration is doing all of the time is celebrating that they are defeating the bullies. The bullies in this case are trans athletes and they're the workers trying to get people AIDS medication who are actually a tiny percentage of the population. He's trying. David, it's a numerous.

[David Samson]

What part of budget is Gaza? I mean, are you going to start breaking down the defense budget and what we've done?

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm walking you to a place of agreement. I'm walking you to a place of agreement which is oh, God.

[Stugotz]

Oh, guys. The NBA trade deadline. It never stops this. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN and Tim Bontemps, the Washington Wizards are acquiring Reggie Jackson and a first round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for four second round picks. And Jared Butler. Mike Scotto of hoops. I've also is reporting a natural segue.

[Amin Elhassan]

From D.C. politics to D.C. basketball. Well done.

[Stugotz]

I mean, Reggie Jackson. That gives them a good bet. You know, the Wizards have won three games in a row. That's their. They're a season high in win streak.

[David Samson]

They said they're the worst. You said they're the worst team.

[Stugotz]

Worst team ever.

[David Samson]

They were. My pick of the day last night was the Nets over the Wizards. Coming off the win over the Rockets.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[David Samson]

Russell, two threes, back to back. Great game. You then get to play the Wizards, get some momentum. They're only given a point and a half under the draftkings line as of yesterday morning. And they got smoked.

[Stugotz]

They got smoked.

[David Samson]

The Wizards smoked them.

[Stugotz]

Yeah. Guess what that means.

[Dan Le Batard]

What does it mean?

[Stugotz]

The Brooklyn Nets are the worst team in the NBA. Now.

[David Samson]

Wait, you said the Wizards are the worst team.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, no, no, no.

[Stugotz]

Whoever loses to the Wizards.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, now there's the opposite of a championship belt.

[Stugotz]

Whoever loses to the Wizards is the worst team.

[David Samson]

Who are the three teams they've beaten? Is it the latest loss that becomes the worst?

[Stugotz]

The latest loss.

[David Samson]

So now the second to last loss. They're off the hook.

[Stugotz]

You're off the hook.

[David Samson]

Exactly.

[Stugotz]

Because the Brooklyn Nets have taken the as the worst team in the NBA. Look for a little bit there. The Denver Nuggets were the worst team in the NBA. That was when they lost. When Nikola Jokic had 56 points.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, right.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, yeah. They nich has 56 points and they still lost to the Wizards.

[David Samson]

I don't agree that you can keep changing your mind every day with the worst team is.

[Stugotz]

It's very easy. If you lose to the Wizards, you are the worst team in the NBA. Absolutely. So Minnesota is like, thank God we're off the hook.

[David Samson]

The Nets were a nightmare last night.

[Stugotz]

It was awful. That was awful. But yeah, four second round pick, four second rounders.

[Dan Le Batard]

The second rounder is a fun thing to me.

[Stugotz]

My favorite part of all of these deals, when they said they're sending a pick, they're sending two seconds for. I don't know if this is a thing that happens in any other sport, but in the NBA it's so much fine print. So for instance, the pick that they're sending Washington is the Less favorable of Oklahoma City, Houston, if between 5 and 30, and the Clippers in 2026.

[Amin Elhassan]

I never read those. I just ignore anything like that when I talk about pick swaps.

[Stugotz]

That used to be my job, Izzy. I had to write on a whiteboard where all the picks were going.

[Amin Elhassan]

How much does that pay?

[David Samson]

Wait, why is your. Was your handwriting the best of anyone in your position?

[Stugotz]

No, because I was the one who knew.

[David Samson]

Couldn't you have told someone who had better handwriting?

[Amin Elhassan]

Now, does anybody notice?

[Stugotz]

Front office wasn't that big, David. Like, we didn't have, like.

[Dan Le Batard]

I want to.

[David Samson]

28 grand a year.

[Dan Le Batard]

I want to unite. I want to cross the streams here. Right? So Elon Musk is sending all of these people, these programmers in to get into the budgetary software. What is the budgetary software of a pro sports team look like? Well, so far, it's a mean so far. I mean isoftware.

[David Samson]

Yeah, of course. Everyone's got software for accounts payable and accounts receivable. And you've got spreadsheets, a lot of Excel. There's a lot of Excel. There's a lot of people doing Microsoft Access, doing database formulas. So they can keep track of expenses, like of your show. And they can then calculate, like, how much a show is, and then you have revenue associated with it. It's a whole McGilla. So. And then it generates books. Plus there's budgets. So Every. There's about 250 budget departments.

[Dan Le Batard]

But is there a guy who's just yelling at some underlings? And the underlings are the people actually keeping track of everything?

[David Samson]

I'd say 12 people are yelling and 15 people are being yelled at. It's about a one to one.

[Stugotz]

What a mess.

[Dan Le Batard]

Everybody, everybody, everybody gets an underling. The underling to overseer ratio at this college is funny.

[David Samson]

You say that. You can't be an hourly employee and have direct reports. That's exempt first, non exempt. We can talk about that at anybody else.

[Amin Elhassan]

I'd love to talk about that. Does anybody else get excited when a means like New York accent slightly comes out the best? Like when he says, oh, and I'm like, that guy's cooler than he's letting on. Because the New York accent, I think, is the coolest of all the accents.

[Stugotz]

I don't think I have an accent.

[Amin Elhassan]

No, just it comes out just a little bit at a time.

[Stugotz]

Usually when I've been drinking.

[David Samson]

There's nothing more than your Stephen A. Smith imitation. That to me, is the coolest.

[Dan Le Batard]

The ultimate New York accent.

[Stugotz]

The coolest. No, the coolest voice is always gonna be 44. That's the coolest voice. You don't think that's a cool voice?

[David Samson]

Hey, it is good.

[Amin Elhassan]

But when you have a New York accent, you just get away with saying things that other people.

[Stugotz]

Sasha, Malia thinks.

[Amin Elhassan]

Michelle definitely thinks people can't get away with.

[David Samson]

All right.

[Amin Elhassan]

You say with a New York accent, you're mad corny for that. You say that with a New York accent, you sound cool as hell. I can't do the New York accent. You sound cool as hell. You're mad. Say that the way I just said it, and you sound like an idiot. You're mad corny for that, Pablo.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's funny because, sir, I grew up in New York and I don't have that accent. So I felt that actually hypothetically and realistically.

[Amin Elhassan]

Right. It's also weird that people just talk different.

[Stugotz]

I feel like the Southern accent is the coolest accent. Right?

[David Samson]

Drawl.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, because it always. Maybe I'm just always thinking of that Seinfeld episode where the Astros come up to New York and George is entertaining them. And then after they leave, he starts talking like them, calling them bastards and sons of bitches and stuff like that. And what's my man name? His boss at the Yankees walks by in the hallway and thinks George is blowing the deal by calling them bastards. Will you tell those bastards when I get down to Houston, I'm gonna kick their ass or whatever. And instead, it's a language of kind.

[Amin Elhassan]

Of love, but it's not cooler, like, oh, you can't be a hip hop artist with, like, a Southern accent, but, like, with a New York accent.

[Stugotz]

Oh, come on, Come on. The Southern accent is all it's at now. To me, the New York artists are Southern.

[Dan Le Batard]

The New York accent test to me is around water.

[Stugotz]

What's that? Water.

[David Samson]

Is it water?

[Dan Le Batard]

Water, Water.

[David Samson]

Not Long Island.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, that's. Yeah, you went a little too far east.

[David Samson]

Too far.

[Stugotz]

495.

[David Samson]

It's true.

[Stugotz]

I. I don't think of the Long island accent as a desirable accent.

[David Samson]

People do not want to have that.

[Stugotz]

They.

[David Samson]

And it's very easy to tell. It's as easy as the Southern draw is the accent off the lie.

[Stugotz]

The Southern draw has, like, it's like easy going. You can't rush me. Right. Well, I tell you what, you know that going. It's like, oh, just get to the point. Like. No, I'll get to the point at my pace.

[Dan Le Batard]

There was a study recently that I wanted to cite here about accents. Yeah, it was about British Accents and how we consider, of course, all of them, any British accent, to be of a certain, you know, stature. Right.

[Stugotz]

The standard British accent and the posh British accent.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the article.

[Stugotz]

We're not talking about Geordie's and Manx.

[David Samson]

And they sound more important.

[Dan Le Batard]

I would say that to the untrained American ear, any British accent conveys a sophistication.

[Stugotz]

I would tell you right now, to the untrained American, they've never heard of a Geordie.

[Dan Le Batard]

What is a Geordie? What is that?

[Stugotz]

Geordie is people from, like, Newcastle. You could look this up. It's a show called Geordie Shore. It was their version of Jersey Shore. You cannot understand a word they're saying. There's no way that sounds sophisticated. Oh, we'll go again. Wait, wait, wait. Well, that's what it sounds like.

[Amin Elhassan]

That's a good one. You need to put that one in the. In the Rolodex.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm looking at the differences, the socioeconomic connotations of different British accents. And Amin is right. This is a thing. This is a thing.

[Stugotz]

Geordies.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. Look, there was a study that tested how these things. How these things sound. Right? And I'm gonna. I'm gonna get to it in a certain. Okay.

[David Samson]

In the next episode.

[Mike Ryan]

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