Steph Curry's Uncertain future with Warriors + Ryan Clark’s ESPN fallout | 7.27

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Right Time with Bomani Jones

Episode: Steph Curry's Uncertain Future with Warriors + Ryan Clark’s ESPN Fallout | 7.27
Date: July 27, 2026
Host: Bomani Jones (with Mike McQuaid)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into two major stories in the sports and media world. First, Bomani Jones analyzes the shifting landscape around Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors' approach to the post-Steph era. Then, the conversation shifts to Ryan Clark’s abrupt exit from ESPN, reflecting on broader media industry dynamics, loyalty, and the realities of working in sports media. The show also touches on viral sports moments, noteworthy pop culture stories, some light banter about influencer majors, and answers listener voicemails.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Steph Curry’s Uncertain Future with the Warriors

[01:36–16:50]

• LeBron Joins the Sixers:
  Bomani opens by briefly referencing LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers on a minimum deal and the implications for his status.

  “LeBron James is now a $4 million a year player, which means they're going to treat him like he's a $4 million a year player, even though he is, in fact, LeBron James.”
  —Bomani Jones [03:03]

• Warriors Preparing for the Post-Steph Era:
  Owner Joe Lacob publicly talking about planning for the “post-Steph” years while Curry is still an elite producer draws criticism from Bomani, who contrasts it with how franchises usually treat superstars near the end of their careers (like Kareem or Dirk).

  “This isn’t like saying that you’re preparing for the post-Kareem era ... Steph is still at his best, one of the best players in the NBA. Like, he still matters in that way. And you as a franchise still treat him like he is a superstar.”
  —Bomani Jones [05:15]

• Warriors’ Roster Strategy:
  There’s ongoing tension between maximizing Curry’s remaining years and the team’s insistence on planning for the future, referencing the “two-timeline” strategy. Bomani suggests this approach is squandering Curry’s still-elite window.

  “For the last seven years, the Warriors have consistently tried to figure out what they gonna do later when they got a right now dude.”
  —Bomani Jones [08:06]

• On Steph Staying Put vs. “Ring Chasing”:
  Bomani offers a nuanced take on legacy, sentimentality, and the “worth it” factor for players like Steph. Staying with one franchise till the end is rare and meaningful.

  “There is a charm to being a guy who stays with a franchise all the way through … those things matter and they’re memories you take with you.”
  —Bomani Jones [12:33]

• Calling Out Warriors’ Complacency:
  He argues Steph should confront ownership and management more forcefully about their direction.

  “At some point, you gotta step up, put your big boy star player pants on, go upstairs, and … be like, ‘Yo, so what are we doing here? What's the plan?’”
  —Bomani Jones [15:14]

Memorable Quote

“It’s amazing they won the championship when they did. And why did they win that championship when they did? Because they had Steph Curry.”
—Bomani Jones [14:36]

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2. Ryan Clark’s ESPN Layoff & The Sports Media Machine

[16:50–31:43]

• Fascination with ESPN Personnel Moves:
  Bomani talks about why media stories, especially layoffs and firings at ESPN, are so captivating to the public compared to any other network.

  “I don’t think there’s any network that anybody cares more about what happens with the people than ESPN … There’s no company like this.”
  —Bomani Jones [17:51]

• Ryan Clark as a Model NFL-to-Media Talent:
  Clark, like Marcus Spears and Dan Orlovsky, exemplifies ex-athletes who grind to become credible, respected voices, not just big names.

  “Those dudes really put in a lot of work at their craft … and he worked really hard. So I applaud him for getting as long as he did with the network.”
  —Bomani Jones [19:41]

• The Humiliation of Layoffs:
  Bomani compares the humiliating experience in broadcasting to the brutality of NFL cuts, arguing media jobs can be even more ruthless and impersonal.

  “It’s a humiliating feeling. And the humiliation of it is, like, truly the disrespect of it all. And Ryan went through that in a way I cannot really relate to.”
  —Bomani Jones [21:34]

• On Acceptance vs. Respect:
  The key reflection is the difference between being respected and being “accepted” in a corporate media setting—“acceptance” is rare, and no one is too good to get let go.

  “They might put up with me if they would give me the space to do my thing. That was kind of satisfactory for me. But especially if you ... challenge the status quo, the expectation is that you will not be accepted. That’s the whole point.”
  —Bomani Jones [25:28]

• “Too Good to Get Cut” Is a Myth:
  Bomani drives home the point that in media, almost no one is indispensable, unlike in sports.

  “Man, they’ll let anybody go in this job because it doesn’t work the same way. In sports, there are people who are too good to get cut. In this line of work, man, please, all they need is an excuse. And there’s no greater excuse than the word layoffs.”
  —Bomani Jones [31:18]

Notable Moment

“Once you make the call and you make the decision that you’re gonna kick it a certain way, the clock is only going to run but so long ... Acceptance is not just unlikely, it is not required. It is a luxury if you happen to receive it.”
—Bomani Jones [27:44]

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3. Sports & Culture: Social Segment Roundup

[34:33–43:42]

Jason Tatum’s Instagram & Jaylen Brown “Drama”

• [34:33–36:53]
• Tatum posts “I don’t want to be around somebody who thinks they know it all,” sparking rumors he’s subtweeting Jaylen Brown.
• Bomani and Mike riff on team chemistry, with Bomani noting, “He thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room ... it’s not just white people who think that about him—it’s cuz he’s annoying.”
  —Bomani Jones [36:13]

Mike Vrabel’s Puppy Press Conference

• [36:53–38:19]
• Vrabel brings a dog to a presser, likened to Nixon’s “Checkers speech.”
• Bomani jokes: “It’s all it takes, man. It’s all it takes is a dog. ... Just go win some games. If you lose games, it’s gonna take more than that dog.”
  —Bomani Jones [37:15]

Arizona State’s “Influencer” Degree

• [39:00–42:42]
• Bomani and Mike lampoon ASU’s new major teaching students to be influencers.
• Bomani: “This is a major that is intended literally to teach you how to not get a job ... This is a scam major.”
  —Bomani Jones [40:30]
• Joking forecasting: “What’s next? Adult concentration to the theater major?”
  —Bomani Jones [39:58]

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4. Listener Voicemails & Community Stories

[43:44–49:49]

Voicemail #1: The Legend of Poon Tang

• [43:48–45:30]
• Listener shares an amusing, real-life anecdote about a Vietnamese classmate with a name that became legendary at his high school.

Voicemail #2: The Bobblehead on Bomani’s Shelf

• [46:39–48:14]
• Listener asks about a Mike Krzyzewski (West Point-era) bobblehead seen on Bomani’s shelf; Bomani explains it was a gift after a Duke-themed show.

Voicemail #3: “White” Lamarcus, Father of Roller Coasters

• [48:32–49:49]
• Listener shares trivia that the famed roller coaster inventor, Lamarcus Thompson, was a white man in Ohio.
• Bomani: “What if it actually went the other way?” and marvels at the surprise, connecting it to long-held assumptions about who creates what.

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Memorable Quotes

• “You trade stuff like that if you want to. Ain’t nobody buying them expensive ass tickets to your new little building.”
  —Bomani Jones [07:38]

• “You cannot assume that you’re going to continue to come back every year, even like reasonably close to being as good as you were the year before.”
  —Bomani Jones [13:13]

• “In this line of work, man, please, all they need is an excuse. And there’s no greater excuse than the word layoffs.”
  —Bomani Jones [31:18]

• “I wish you would come in here and tell me that you got a bachelor’s degree in selfie studies. Are you serious?”
  —Bomani Jones [40:30]

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Timestamps for Notable Segments

• [01:36–16:50] Steph Curry and Warriors’ direction
• [16:50–31:43] Ryan Clark’s ESPN fallout and media layoffs
• [34:33–36:53] Tatum/Brown Celtics (Chemistry rumor)
• [36:53–38:19] Mike Vrabel’s puppy presser
• [39:00–42:42] Arizona State’s “influencer” major discussion
• [43:48–49:49] Listener voicemails (school legend, bobblehead, “White Lamarcus”)

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Tone & Style

Bomani’s tone is sharp, humorous, and reflective, with seamless blending of sports, culture, and personal experience. He’s comfortable holding institutions accountable, joking about pop culture, and sharing wisdom for those navigating sports and media careers.

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Takeaway

This episode offers a candid, insightful deconstruction of how legacy, loyalty, and market realities interact in both sports and sports media. It highlights the awkwardness of preparing for a legend’s exit, the pitfalls of corporate acceptance, the absurdities of modern influencer culture, and audience engagement through storytelling. Fans and newcomers alike will appreciate Bomani’s wit and perspective.

Transcript

[Bomani Jones]

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[Mike McQuaid]

Wave.

[Bomani Jones]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Right Time, a Wave original. My name is Bomani Jones. Thanks for listening wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for watching us on YouTube, subscribe like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. We got one of those media stories that y' all love. For reasons I don't understand. We'll get to that. Also, Arizona State doing the most Arizona State thing ever. Put a pin in that one. But first, you know LeBron decided on Friday, or at least he told us on Friday that he would be going to play for the 76ers. We talked about this. We did a YouTube exclusive on that for the audio audience because by now that dope stepped on man a so many different ways. Talk about LeBron making that decision. The, the, the one, the one part. The one part. I throw this out here. I believe I said somebody the other day, but this is the truth. And I don't know if LeBron ready for this. Andre Drummond made this point where he said that you got to be careful taking like a minimum deal just to get on and go from there. Because he's like, once you sign for a minimum deal, you a minimum player, right? LeBron James is now a $4 million a year player, which means they're going to treat him like he's a $4 million a year player, even though he is, in fact, LeBron James. That is. That's going to be. That's going to be an adjustment anyway. The most interesting thing that I think to have emerged after that actually isn't about LeBron. It kind of like. And it's not like this is something that we didn't notice happening already, but of the teams that didn't sign LeBron, the most interesting one, I think now has become Golden State. And it's interesting in a weird way because Miami just added Giannis. They are very interesting. Minnesota added Lamelo Ball. They are very interesting. Cleveland is interesting. Ish. Because they, you know, they. They kind of sort of running it, but back, at least it feels like they're running it back with the team that went farther than it's gone before, but we don't think it's good enough. It's a lot going on over there with them, but with Golden State, Joe Laum. Joe Lake is the owner of the Golden State warriors, and he don't know how to talk about people. I don't know if he knows how to talk to people, but I do know he doesn't know how to talk about people. Like, you may remember when they won the championship that one time and Lacob got on the mic at the parade and he gave credit to the staff for what a great job that staff did, for getting contracts done that got everybody on the team, which is a way of saying, hey, you did a great job of underpaying guys, you know, not at the parade. You gotta thank those guys when the players aren't around, right? Like, that's just not what you do. Joe LA doesn't know how to talk about people. We got a recent quote from Joe Lacob where Joe Lacob talked about this team, this roster as it stands, and how they are preparing for the post Steph era. This isn't like saying that you're preparing for the post Kareem era in 1988, where, yes, Kareem is still on the team, but it is an obviously diminished version of Kareem, and it is your recognition that, you know, Kareem's not going to be here forever. We're going to need to do something else. But again, Kareem's not the best player on the team, okay? Steph is still not just the best player on the team, not just a guy who sells all the tickets, but a guy that's still capable of putting up incredible moments. He's not the player that he was 10 years ago, but what you saw in the Olympics two years ago is the value as a guy like him, ages of a dude that can still produce in big moments, right? Like this is. Watching the soccer and getting a better understanding of what's going on there has given me a different appreciation. And you'll hear me talk about this a lot now. I'll tell you what Daryon remade that had that line about. I think he's talking about Messi was like, this is not a game. This. This game is not about consistency. This game is about moments. And it rewards people who come up in moments. Basketball is a game that places a higher value on consistency because unlike soccer, it's a lot more ways to give up and score points along the way, right? So the consistency part matters in a different way. But Steph is still at his best, one of the best players in the NBA. Like, he still matters in that way. And you as a franchise still treat him like he is a superstar. And if you believe that you have a superstar in that way, then what you need to do is do the best with having him right now, right? And for the last seven years, the warriors have consistently tried to figure out what they gonna do later when they got a, like, right now dude. And if you don't think that Steph is a right now dude, somebody does put a stamp on him and move them. But see, that might. That will require a little bit too much courage because Joe lacomb knows, or if he doesn't know, somebody has told him. You trade stuff like that if you want to. Ain't nobody buying them expensive ass tickets to your new little building. And to be fair to the warriors, also, they went and got Jimmy Butler. They had a bad break with Jimmy messing up his knee. So it's not as though the warriors, like, haven't done anything at all, but at the same time, they appear to be trying to ride this thing out without, like, maximizing it. The Draymond thing is interesting, and I actually give them credit for doing right by Draymond because Draymond opted out of his deal so that they can maybe get LeBron. And then when they didn't get LeBron, they brought Draymond back off. I am not positive that Danny Ainge would have done that. Are you right. Are you certain that Danny A. Would have been like, hey, Drayvon, deal's a deal. Or been like, so I know what we talk. Hey, I know. But like, Danny Ainge, with better words, would already trade Steph out of there. My question in this, and I don't read too much or see too much about this, I saw my guy, Marcus Thompson, Clark, Atlanta University's own. He said, at some point, Steph's gotta be mad at what the warriors have or have not been doing. But he didn't say that, at least not from what I saw. In a way that he implied that he knew Steph was mad about it. Like, are you mad? And I asked this not as a judgment of Steph. I asked this with a legitimate measure of curiosity because I think personally, where Steph is in his career and what I would assume is in his life, I do not use the term ring chasing in the pejorative way that most people do. Right? And what I mean by that is, are you not supposed to try to get on the best team you can? I don't think that's something to judge people for. Hey, man, like. Like what? What. What kind of team am I supposed to get on? Like, an example of ring chasing, if we were going to think about it in that context, is like, Robert Parish getting on the 96 bulls. Or is it 97 bulls? Whichever one he was on, Robert Paris wasn't doing nothing but clapping. He was over there with Buddha Ellis. You know what I mean? They gonna get a ring, but they're not really, like, contributing to a ring. They just on a team. John Sally with the Lakers, you just on the team, okay? If Steph Curry was trying to go somewhere and get a ring, he wouldn't just be a guy that was on the team like Oscar Robertson playing for the 71 bucks. It's not a guy that's chasing a ring. He's got going to a team that has a chance to win a championship. Like, I don't see it that way. But you are chasing a ring. If you make that call at the end of your career, that you're going to leave one of these places to go somewhere else. Like, you're doing it specifically for the purpose of getting a ring. You can say that with no judgment, right? That is a statement of fact. Is it really worth it when you get that ring if you already have rings? Right? So, like Oscar Robertson, what is the point of staying with the Cincinnati Royals? You got a chance to play with Lu Alcindor. Yeah, you go do that. All right? I mean, that one, that's absolutely 100% worth it. A hockey example for those of you who do that, Ray Bork going to the Colorado avalanche, absolutely 100% worth it. Like, it's the only thing that you got left to check off is that, and you go and do it. Boom, 100% worth it. Four time NBA champion, Steph Curry. It's probably not worth it to pick up and go somewhere else and try to figure it out. Also, as you yourself are in year 1018 is what we're going into with Steph Curry. We're going into year 18. There's no, like no guarantee physically what you're going to wind up being. You cannot assume that you're going to continue to come back every year, even like reasonably close to being as good as you were the year before. All of those things. I think there is a charm to being a guy who stays with a franchise all the way through. Like, there's something different about when Dirk has his last game and you see everybody in the arena there, everybody. So that only really happens when you stay with one team, right? Like that. That's a moment that feels kind of like graduation in a sense. Those things seem pretty cool to me. And I think at this point in my life, I'm sentimental in a way that I think those things are really valuable. And I think that those things matter in their memories that you take with you and so forth and so on and everything else. And even if everybody understands why you did it, it's not the same if you leave. I don't think it'd really be worth it for Steph Curry to leave. I don't really think that it would be worth it for Draymond Green to leave. If you still want to play, I get it. But in the end, I don't know from where I sit, I'm not these guys, they're wired different. But from where I sit, I question whether or not you're going to get the real payback off of it from doing that. But God damn, man, they go, stay on the team. You got to do something a little different than this. And even if you got an even, even if you do the exact same thing that you're doing, you have to say at every turn, if you're the warriors, this is the thing. Like we're doing the thing. We're trying to make it happen. And at some point, like, I feel like sometimes with star players, I'm trying to remember the first star player I ever said this about, but I was like, hey, man, at some point someday, you gotta step up, put your big boy star player pants on, you gotta go upstairs and you gotta get that coach fired. Like, sometimes that's the responsibility that comes with being the guy that ultimately has the last decision, right? That ultimately has the most sway. And at some point, I'm not saying that he's supposed to get Steve Kerr fired, of course. That's not the point that I'm making, though there's an argument for it. Most people in Steve Kerr's position would've got fired by now, not re upp the way that he was. See what I mean? They just keep running this thing back, right? But at some point, he got to go upstairs, and if he ain't doing it already and be like, yo, so what are we doing here? Like, what's the program? What's the plan? I only got a couple more years of this. Are you trying to win this or not? Because there's no good reason for you to not try to win it with Steph Curry, unless you don't think he's that good guy. And not only does that raise the question whether or not you think he's that guy, have you ever really thought that he was that guy? Because I, as someone who has a notorious list of times where I have underestimated what Steph Curry was capable of while also thinking very highly of him, I can relate to maybe being a little late to the program. I can relate to perhaps holding on to whatever your priors were too tightly in the face, even in the face of certain evidence, right? But you as a team. A lot of my holdups were paradigmatic, right? Like, a lot of my holdups were about, can you win playing in the style that they were playing? Clearly, you thought you could because you played in the style that you did. But then for the last seven years, even though you won a championship that year, I don't think that this franchise has acted like they got something special that don't come along every day, and you got to max it out. Ever since they went on that two timeline nonsense, they have been actively trying to prepare for tomorrow. And this league doesn't really allow you to play for tomorrow and play for today at the same time. It's amazing. They won the championship when they did. And why did they win that championship when they did? Because they had Steph Curry. That's why they still have Steph Curry. And this is not like the last couple years for the Lakers where, like, Kobe was cooked. So, no, we're definitely playing for tomorrow. And we just got him here to, like, sell tickets and make people feel better about it. That. That. That's not what's going on here, guys. You got the guy, and he's still pretty good right now. And you're out loud talking about what we going to do tomorrow. That's the beauty of being the owner. Can't nobody fire you for being stupid. All right, guys, we got ourselves into a media story. I wanna just realize something right quick. Mike, say hi to the people right fast. Ryan is out doing some things for a little bit. We got. Our buddy Mike McQuaid is here on the scene helping us out. My man. Welcome to the program. Happy summer. You know what?

[Mike McQuaid]

I. Yeah, it's been awesome. It's been. It's an honor. And I got big shoes to fill for, for Ryan, so I'm excited to be here. Now,

[Bomani Jones]

Mike, Daddy work at espn, so you're going to get off the screen while I talk about the rest of this stuff. Just making sure that you understood that I'm always looking out for you, big dog. Anyway, I said many times, I am fascinated by the way that you guys are fascinated by media stories. And I do my best to avoid a media story unless I really feel like I have, like, something truly positive to. Not positive, but just something to add to it. Cause I think. I just don't think it looks good, like, being a former employee of a company and constantly having something to say about the way that they do business or about the people who are still there. Anybody who knows me knows that, like, my outlook on the time that I spend at ESPN is I am just absolutely furious about all that time I spent at that entity that made me kind of rich and kind of famous. Wow. Beef. I got all the beef. No, I don't have the beef. I just don't. Right. Y' all like everything that a company does or whatever. But I don't have. There's no, like, lingering resentment that I have, like, toward that company. It just doesn't work that way. It is an interesting place. I'm just surprised at how interested the rest of you are by what goes on there. I've said before, and I think that maybe this is part of it, that a lot of it is just simply a function of the fact that in our business, we talk about the personnel dealings at other companies. And by other companies, I mean, like, leagues. You know what I mean? Like, part of our business is talking about people getting hired, people getting fired, scandals at their jobs everywhere else. So it's somewhat reasonable to expect that people would come back and look at our business that way in general and ESPN in specific. But, like, nobody looks at Fox that way. Like, nobody cares what goes on over there, for example. It's just not it. I don't think there's any network that anybody cares more about what happens with the people than espn. I don't have a great answer as to why. Again, I gave you a little hypothesis, but there's no company like that, other company like this. And Ryan Clark got laid off and, boy, that. And at the very least had the Internet in it. Tizzy. I can't quite always tell, like, if the real world feels that way, I want to say this. I know Ryan. I won't say I know Ryan well. That wouldn't be appropriate. But, you know, I've been in communication with Ryan for a long time. I've been in communication with Ryan since before he got to espn, like, when he was in the league. I believe that two things. One, fundamentally, Ryan is a good dude. Actually, three things. One, I think Ryan is fundamentally a good dude. Two, I think that Ryan was really, really good at his job. And three, you gotta remember, after Ryan left the league, Ryan went to Bristol and did an internship. And then he got on espn. Figured something out a few years ago, which was that they stopped hiring a lot of the, like, really big names to be on. And they hired guys who played in the NFL but weren't necessarily superstars. And what they wound up getting when they did that is guys that put in a lot of grind to get good at what they do, you know? And so I look at Ryan like that. I look at Marcus Spears like that. I look at Olofsky. Like, those dudes really put in a lot of work at their craft. Like, we're at a time in this industry where people who do jobs like mine, people by and large would rather hear athletes talk about those things, you know what I mean? And, you know, it's a little weird sometimes. And not often are those guys that good at their jobs. That is not applying to Ryan Clark. And those people I just named, man, they did it. They put in the grind. And he worked really hard. And so I applaud him for getting as long as he did with the network. And I know it doesn't feel good or it couldn't feel good to have things happen in the way that they did. As many of you know me, I once had a time on a Sunday where I was planning to come to work and ask for a raise on Monday, coming off vacation and I found out on Sunday that on Monday they were going to announce that the radio station was being sold. And then when they announced that the radio station was being sold that night, a friend of mine sent me a text and said that he was sorry to hear that my time slot had been given to somebody else, which nobody had told me. And so I called my boss and I said, has this time slot been given away? And my boss said to me, and I quote, I can neither confirm nor deny. And then I still had to go to work the day after that. You know, I say that to say I know what it's like to find out that you're losing your job, except they don't, like, really tell you about it. It's a humiliating feeling. And the humiliation of it is, like, truly the disrespect of it all. And Ryan went through that in a way that I cannot really relate to. Like, I see why that part of it was a story, you know? Like, what? You know, is that meme at that time that Harrison Barnes got traded and it got announced, but he was still in the game, you know, like this. Those sorts of things happen. Hey, hey, hey, you got traded, but they don't cut you in the middle of the game. Like, Ryan used to do the most cutthroat job in the world, playing football in the NFL. They ain't never come to you at halftime and be like, hey, hey, go ahead and take it in, man. Yeah, yeah, don't even worry about it, partner. Ain't no thing. Cover your shift. That's never happened. Like, that was terrible. I felt bad for him. I hated that it played out for him like that. But what prompted me to talk about this is something that I saw that he said on the pivot after the fact, and he was pretty emotional about what wound up happening. And he made a point, or he said something to the effect of, you know, he realized that he wanted ESPN to accept him as he was right. And that was the part that I wanted to talk about, because one, like, it kind of got into this interesting place that comes up when you talk about espn, where ESPN is not a person, and all it takes for you to get run out of there is one person to not want you to work there anymore. Like, no matter what the circumstances are, if they lay you off or they fire you or whatever it is, the reason is not the budget. The reason is because somebody didn't want you to work there no more. And it only takes one. Sometimes you get a bunch of people and it's A critical mass or whatever it is. Sometimes you need one person who don't want you to work there for you to not work there anymore. It takes one person who does want you to work there to save you. Right. Like my last year, there was. Because there was one person who came in and wanted me to work there and bigfooted a person who didn't want me to work there. And then the next year, nobody came to save me. And that dude didn't want me to work there anymore. And so I didn't work there anymore. That's it. At a fundamental level, and I don't know the particulars, what happened to Ryan was somebody didn't want him to work there anymore. They got. Whatever their reasons are, whatever it is, somebody did not want him to work there anymore. It doesn't have to be a bigger, broader thing about the whole company. It really only takes one. And then nobody else who necessarily, like, cares enough to save you. That's all it takes, you know? But when it comes to being accepted by the company, I say this, like, for just about everybody. And this is why I'm saying this, because it's not that particular to Ryan. Cause I don't really want to. Like, I haven't. I could talk to Ryan about this, and I haven't. You know what I mean? So I don't feel like I should be saying anything here to you that I would. That would be directed toward him. But I will make this point about being accepted by a large a company or whatever. It is especially related to the type of stuff that Ryan does and the things that Ryan is willing to talk about, and Ryan wants to talk about. What you hope for is that they will respect you. Now, them respecting you ain't gonna stop them from firing you. And quite honestly, them respecting you isn't gonna stop them necessarily from trying to embarrass you on the way out. But I know I felt like in the time I was there, there were probably certain people, people who did not like the types of things that I talked about in the ways that I would like to talk about them. But I definitely felt like those motherfuckers respected me, you know? But I never thought that that was a proxy or that was going to be enough to, like, quote, unquote, save me if it came down to it. But what I definitely never thought was reasonable to expect is that they would accept me as I was, because they're not obligated to. And they were probably never going to do that. They might put up with me if they would give me the space to do my thing. That was kind of satisfactory for me. But especially if you make the decision that you are going to make content or you are going to do work that challenges the status quo, the expectation is that you will not be accepted. That is what makes such behavior daring. And if you believe it to be courageous, that's why that is the case is because you will not be accepted for it. That's the whole point. That's the whole thing of it, right? And so once you make the call and you make the decision that you're going to kick it a certain way, the clock is only going to run, but so long, right? One day, one of those people that like, gets mad at you on the Internet, some avatar of that person is going to wind up being in charge. And like, when you think about what happens when people get in charge, like, imagine if somebody told you that you could go to ESPN and you can make all the changes that you ever wanted to make. Imagine how fast you would do that. That's the exact same thing that happens when you put people in these chairs or make or get them in the place of making these decisions. They get to create the network that they want to watch. You know what I mean? Like, that's exactly what it is that they get to do. And if I had to guess, that's what happened in this case. And now acceptance is unlikely. And I'm saying this not just to people who do this job, I'm saying this to people who do whatever the job is, no matter where you are, no matter what it is, if you make the decision to stand on your two, on whatever the thing is, the reward for doing so is all going to be intrinsically based on the fact that you did that. But in the end, it's never going to come around and then be like, yeah, you know what? I love you for that. You know, that's never going to be the case. That's not it. So if you're going to do it, you got to do it. And you go like, whatever comes next is whatever is going to come next. But acceptance is not just unlikely, it is not required. It is a luxury if you happen to receive it in that case. And I say that for everybody, everybody that comes close to doing anything like this, you got to make peace with that fact on the front end. That's how this job works. That's how this world works. You know, if you think it's right, you got to do that. You got to ride out with it on that And I'll say this for Ryan, Ryan stood on a bunch of stuff. And so for him, I hope that he can take satisfaction in that part. That part, in the end, will always matter way more than however things ended at that place.

[Voicemail Callers]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

I'll also say this last thing because I thought this was interesting and what Ryan had to say about it. An interesting thing about athletes working in the media space. And I talked to an athlete that works at ESPN who was talking about this, which was just like, he had to understand or learn how to navigate through, like, a corporate political structure because he's like, hey, baby, in my world, you just show up with a piece of paper and be like, hey, man, I have 1500 yards and 12 touchdowns. This the number for that. And that's what, you know, you negotiate off of that, Right. Ryan thought that he was too good at his job to get let go. And I'm not saying that to say that he was arrogant. I think he was too good at his job to get let go. Man, they'll let anybody go in this job because it doesn't work the same way. They just like, okay, well, we'll put something else in here and we'll do this and we'll shift this around. We'll pick those numbers up somehow.

[Voicemail Callers]

Right?

[Bomani Jones]

They don't think there's any of us, like, a very small number of us that they believe are too good to get cut. Very, very, very small number. In sports, there are people who are too good to get cut. You gotta be a real handful to be a problem and be and be good and they let you go. And this line of work, man, please, all they need is an excuse. And there's no greater excuse than the word layoffs.

[Voicemail Callers]

Foreign.

[Bomani Jones]

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[Mike McQuaid]

If you haven't heard, Bo Jayson Tatum posted on his Instagram story he was talking to some St. Louis kids and in the, in the tweet here, it says being around somebody that feels like they know it all. I don't want to be around that person. I don't want to be the smartest person in the room. I want to learn from somebody else.

[Bomani Jones]

Okay, so Mike, here's the thing. When I saw this bounce around, I was afraid that perhaps we were creating a story, right? Because everything he's saying there is true, right? Like that is, that is valuable advice to anyone who wishes to be a leader in terms of how they must comport themselves with the people who are around them. It's just that, you know, we know we got the Jaylen Brown stuff that's around there. So it become very easy for us to project onto Jalen. You know that he's talking about Jaylen Brown, right? That could have just been something he was talking about at a camp. Shit, that might have been a camp from like five years ago. Right? Like, you know how the Clippers go. Anything, Anything could have been the case. Except he put it out on his. On Instagram, where someone fully understood how we would take it and was still like, nah, press send. This gets me back to a point that I was trying to make to people when the Jaylen Brown stuff came up, which is he thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. It's not just white people who think that about him.

[Voicemail Callers]

Right.

[Bomani Jones]

It's just, hey, hey, I don't know who Jason Tatum voted for. You know what I'm saying? So, like, maybe, Maybe he. I don't know. I'm just telling you, the reason people think that about Jaylen Brown is not cuz he's uppity, it's cuz he's annoying. That is what the people are telling us. That's all I'm saying.

[Mike McQuaid]

Yeah. And I mean, then there's been clips resurfaced of when Jaylen Brown won the MVP trophy, and, like, Tatum's not there to, like, touch him or anything. So it's clear as day that's not his bad. That exactly. Like Mad Max.

[Bomani Jones]

They on a team together for nine years. That's not his man's. Yes.

[Mike McQuaid]

So moving on to Mike Vrabel. So he recently, July 24, he brought in a puppy on the podium for his press conference and made some headlines or made some waves on the Twitter space. You know, I think it's a nice. I would say a nice little thing to reclaim his image of what's gone on. So your thoughts on that?

[Bomani Jones]

Oh, he pulled up with Checkers, huh? You might be a little too young to know about this, but Google the Checkers speech. Richard Nixon had got caught in some big. I forget what the controversy at the time was. And he came on TV with his dog, Checkers and did a speech with him. It's all it takes, man. It's all it takes is a fucking dog. I would just say this for Mike Frame. I ain't gonna lie to you, brother. I had forgot about that whole other thing till you showed up with that dog. Cause when you show up with Checkers, I'm like, oh, we. We what? We covering up for big dog. And then it dawned on me. Oh, that's right. You had that little situation with you and Diana, buddy. Just. Just go win some games. That's the only thing that you could do here, is win some Games. Cause if you lose them games, it's gonna take a lot more than that, dog. I'm telling you this right now. Kirk Herbstreet wouldn't even be able to overcome it. You know what I'm saying? Like, you just need to go out here and get some dubs. That's, that's. I ain't. Like I said, I. Now you gotta be thinking about him and Diana again. And I had thought about that in a minute.

[Mike McQuaid]

And, and that's the thing too. Like, if he didn't do the dog, do people move on or.

[Bomani Jones]

I mean, there's nothing else for us to do with it right now.

[Mike McQuaid]

Exactly.

[Bomani Jones]

You know, now. Not unless you start, like, showing up to games. That would be crazy.

[Mike McQuaid]

Yes, it would be. And then the final thing is, you know, my alma mater, I like to call it the Harvard of the Southwest, Arizona State is now offering a degree to become an influencer at the Walter Cronkite School, which I graduated from. Um, I, I don't. I, I'm speechless about it. Like, what are your thoughts about, you know, now you can be a, a degree as an influencer and graduate within four years.

[Bomani Jones]

Mike, why did you go to Arizona

[Mike McQuaid]

State for sports journalism and the.

[Bomani Jones]

Mike, why did you go to Arizona State?

[Mike McQuaid]

To have a good time for four years.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, look here. I don't know if there is going to be a major. Me and my man are talking about this with a higher smoking hot per capita quotient than the influencer major at Arizona State. It's going to have a bunch of athletes in it, too. Partially because they want to major in it and partially because they just want to. They just want to be there. You know what I'm saying? Like, this is, this is, this is going to be interesting. And it's going to be interesting to see, like, how the, that, that pipeline doesn't. Arizona State got that pipeline to the, to the industry.

[Mike McQuaid]

Yes, they do. They. They have quite a few. It's not like the Syracuse to ESPN pipeline, but it's.

[Bomani Jones]

Yeah, like, like all I'm saying, I am surprised. Like, it's the next logical step. The Arizona State just go all the way and offer an adult concentration to the theater major. You know what I'm saying? Like, this is, like, this is the place to go and be like a particular archetype of white woman in particular. Arizona State has been to school for that and now a major. This is what's so wild to me about this major. It is a major that is intended literally to teach you how to not get a job. It's the only one. Like, people will talk about, like, liberal arts majors. Like, how you gonna get a job with that? There are lots of people who get jobs with those, right? The point of being an influencer is to not get a job, right? This is a scam major, by the way. Like, why? Because at some point, you know what you're gonna need to do? Get a fucking job, right? Like, that's all these influencers are like, yo, you think this is easy? Da, da, da. All this stuff, it ain't that many of them making money. It's a finite amount that are going to be making money. And after that, you need to go get a job. I. I wish you would come in here and tell me that you got a bachelor's degree in selfie studies. Are you serious? You can't be like, just about any degree. I'd be like, hey, a degree is a degree you got. I can't imagine. I went and got a PhD and now I gotta teach these kids how to do what. Nah, nah, nah, baby. Turn a little bit more to the side, right? Like, what are we talking about? What is this?

[Mike McQuaid]

I mean, it's a great way to make money. I'll say that. Kids are going to definitely sign up for it.

[Bomani Jones]

Here's what I'm trying to imagine. Let me be the parent and we paying God knows what the prices are these days. And you're like, what you want to major in? I want to be an influencer. I'm not paying for that. No chance. I'm not paying for that. Hell no.

[Mike McQuaid]

And the thing is, the simple skills that I was taught at journalism school of video editing and everything, you can do that by yourself now on YouTube or go like, you can go do things where you don't need a teacher. Oh, if you do this, we're like, oh, where you're guaranteed a following or guaranteed this. If you started two years ago before you enrolled, you wouldn't have to be there.

[Bomani Jones]

I'm not. Let me tell you what else. That influencer major is going to have a lot of papers written. But chatgpt, right? Ain't nobody signing up for that major to work hard. That's the opposite of the point.

[Mike McQuaid]

And I think, last thing, what school would you see? I'm just coming to mind, what school is going to follow up with this? That's going to be the next one. Because I could see U Miami doing it.

[Bomani Jones]

The University of Phoenix. Like, I don't like, see, I don't know. Miami takes itself a Little bit more. Seriously, that's the. That Florida State. Mayhaps you know, I say University of

[Mike McQuaid]

Miami because like that Alex Earl, those Cavender twins, those people have came from it. So would they want to bring them back in order to.

[Bomani Jones]

Ah, interesting question.

[Mike McQuaid]

We've got some voicemails here for you that we're gonna play.

[Voicemail Callers]

Coop.

[Mike McQuaid]

First one coming up.

[Voicemail Callers]

Hey, Bomani, this is a true story. And if I need to provide the yearbook photo to prove it, I'll be happy to do so. So I grew up in upstate New York in the 80s, and there was a kid in a class the year before mine that graduated. He was a first generation immigrant from Vietnam. And he kept his original name, which in our lingo is quite hilarious, but in their language is actually quite common. No lie. His name was Poon Tang. That was his name. And of course he was a cult hero at the school. He was in on the joke. Everybody was cool with him. We were not making fun of him by calling him by his name. But at his graduation, and my sister graduated in his class a year ahead of mine at graduation, when he crossed the stage, the entire audience of students said, poon. So after graduation, I was at lunch with my uncle, who had come in from out of state, older gentleman. And we were talking and he said, why did they boo that young Asian boy? That just wasn't nice. And so then I explained to him what his name was. And my uncle, with a straight expression looked at me, blinked, and said, that's just unfortunate. Anyway, thanks, Bo. Been a big fan for a number of years. Enjoy the program.

[Bomani Jones]

Hey, man, I appreciate you. And that's kind of like the homie LJ Hoes. You remember LJ Hose?

[Voicemail Callers]

Yep.

[Bomani Jones]

And I feel bad for LJ Hose. Cause like, he's like, that's my name. I don't understand what's so funny about it. And I hear you, but you the one that made your uniform number zero. Like, I don't know what else it is you expected us to do. And all due respect, y' all had the opportunity to change this. Now, like, poontang. Hey, man, you know, just go that way. I got a partner. He was married to a woman from Iran. And like, the custom apparently is like, as a term of affection or whatever you refer to. Like, I don't know if it's all women, but her mother, the woman's mother, he was supposed to refer to her by her name. And then you add the suffix khan to it, and her name was Farah. So he's supposed to call It Farrakhan. And he was like, hey, I don't. White dude. He's like, I don't really know if I. I don't know if I do that. Sorry.

[Mike McQuaid]

All right, on to question or voicemail number two.

[Voicemail Callers]

Hey, Bob, it's E. From the dmv. So it's been my busy season at work, so I've had to stream the show for the last couple months. I'm just now getting back in the office, catching up on all your YouTube content. And while I was catching up, I noticed you got some new knickknacks on your bookshelf. And one of those knickknacks appears to be a bobblehead of the Enemy from Durham. And I just got asked, what's. What's the deal behind that? Did you lose a bet? Is that an ironic gift from somebody near and dear to you, or is that. Is it possessed and you're safekeeping it? So if evil doesn't escape back into the world, Vegas again. I know you don't rock with them full stoppers from dark. Thanks, man.

[Bomani Jones]

All right, so my man is discussing. Is this bobblehead right here? It is a West Point bobblehead of Mike Shashefsky. And this was a gift to me from my guy, Sam Griffel. Hold on. Sam now works, I believe, at Spotify. He was a. He was a producer on Game Theory. And our first episode at Game Theory had our Duke museum piece that we did. And so as a gift at the end of season one, Sam gave me the Mike bobblehead, which I actually thought was a really cool, very particular item. And so I put that up there as a shout out to Game Theory. And yes, there's a bit of irony because it's Mike Shashi. But now ain't nothing changed, Big dog. Get that straight right now. You understand what I'm saying?

[Voicemail Callers]

Like.

[Bomani Jones]

Like. Like I'm. I'm true to this. Ain't nothing changing. That's why it's not a Duke Mike. It's West Point Mike Shasheski. But I mean, damn, that's a little tricky too. But anyway, there. There's an explanation. There we go.

[Mike McQuaid]

And the f. And the final voicemail.

[Voicemail Callers]

What up, brother? What up, Ryan? It's Jason down in Mo City, Texas. I had to call in for the show's favorite topic because I just had some history thrown at me, and it's too good not to share. So I love roller coasters, and I was just, you know, got sucked into a roller coaster trip on YouTube and I learned about the inventor of roller coasters. A man or not the inventor? I learned about the man who is most famous for developing gravity rides and roller coasters named Lamarcus Thompson, born in 1848 in Ohio, Bo. And yes, he's not one of ours. Well, Marcus Thompson back in 1848 is Lamarcus even ours? You talking about folks borrowing names of like Josephine Baker from the 40s. We talking 1848. And yes, there's a non melanated man walking around named La. Marcus L. A, capital M. Simpson, father of roller coasters apparel. How far back does this go, Bo? Love the show. Love the worst. Keep it up. Talk to y' all later.

[Bomani Jones]

You know, it's funny. Me and mine, we spend a lot of time getting our white people from stealing from us, fighting all off us. But what, what, what. What if. What if it actually went the other way? Like. Like some dude wrote a book a few years ago with the grand hypothesis, what if Ty Cobb really wasn't a racist? Blew my mind. He had a grand, compelling argument. Never thought of it could possibly be true. I thought when he said he was from Mo City is the show's favorite topic. I thought he was going to talk about how he went to elementary school with Joel, and Joel been hating ever since. No, he blew my mind with white. Lamarck is the inventor of the roller coaster. Damn. Like, remember what it was like when you found out that it was a black man that invented the Super Soaker? It was white Lamarcus that invented the roller coaster. Amazing. No wonder they don't talk about him. That's a historic. Hey, man. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks so much for joining us here. Wow. Thanks so much for joining us here on the Right Time. We do this a few days a week during the summer. Mike McQuaid's handling everything behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Hit the voicemail line. 323-596-7767. Remember, follow the right time. Subscribe like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. We'll talk to you guys in a couple of days. Take it easy.