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Etan Thomas: Frank Isola has such a big problem with former athletes having podcasts like he always talks about it. Why do you hate that so much? Like we're not like we're infringing on something that he's supposed to have. It's supposed to be special to them. Kwame Brown: It’s like what else do you want from me?’ It's like ‘you already rich. You got money. You're already tall. You played in the NBA. Now you're going in my podcast page?! I think he mad.
Etan Thomas: Would you still leave the door open if a coaching opportunity did come and there was some interest? Even if it's as an assistant or whatever, you know, would you still leave that door open for NBA or college? Eddie Jordan: I would do it from a consultant role. My wife and I have such a great time together. We play golf together. I don't want to be leaving for road trips for a week or every other 10 days, going somewhere or being in practice every day, or being in the office for six hours. My life is a lot better now, right the way it is, but I would certainly do a consultant role or I would train somebody in the offseason here in Charlotte.
Etan Thomas: I see other coaches of a of a lighter hue, okay, I'll stay like that, that get opportunity after opportunity after opportunity. And they don't have the resume that you have… Eddie Jordan: And they include their sons on their staffs and everything else. Thomas: And so I'm just looking at it and I agree with the people who I was speaking to at Wegman's. I haven't heard your name come up or Mark Jackson's name come up when there are different openings. And I feel like I should be hearing your name come up. I think that you have built the resume for you to always be getting interviewed at least when new positions open. And just looking back at everything that you and people don't understand everything that you had to deal with when we was with the Wizards and we could talk about… Jordan: It's coming out a little bit. Thomas: There was a lot that you had to deal with and it didn't take away from the winning. Like we were still going to the playoffs every year if it wasn't for coming up against a young LeBron James for those three years straight, we would have even gone further.
However, former NBA veteran Etan Thomas, the No. 12 pick in the 2000 draft, contrasts how white Americans view the two based on their stark differences in speaking out against racial injustice. "Perhaps it’s because, unlike Clark, Bueckers has always been outspoken about issues off the court," Thomas wrote in a Guardian article. "At the 2021 ESPYs, Bueckers was named the college athlete of the year. She used her acceptance speech to celebrate and honor Black women in particular."
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Etan Thomas: If you were outraged when Kaepernick took a knee, told him to stay in his place, screamed he should never play in the NFL again etc etc but are praising Nick Bosa for having the courage to use his platform as an athlete to stand up for what he believes in…. YOU ARE A HYPOCRITE
Etan Thomas: And Giannis, he’s MVP status again this year and, like you said, has actually improved since last year. Kenyon Martin: "Listen, Giannis is the new Lebron. He can be in the MVP convo every season. And the only reason you don’t give it to him is because someone else is playing out of their mind that season. So yeah a lot has to happen before they’re the favorites over Milwaukee."
Etan Thomas was a basketball star at Syracuse and then spent more than a decade in the NBA with the Wizards, Thunder and Hawks. But basketball has only been part of his focus. A social justice advocate, journalist, interviewer and media commentator, Thomas’ latest book is called “Police Brutality and White Supremacy: The Fight Against American Traditions.”
Etan Thomas: I didn’t want to touch on any of this. I even tweeted that I was going to mind my business on this. However, since Kwame Brown posted that first video on his IG account (plus additional videos on IG Live and his YouTube page "Bust Life"), there have been multiple media outlets that have reached out to me to inquire if I would come on their show. They want me to get in the middle of what was going on with Kwame and Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, and my answer has consistently been an adamant, "No." I told them that they were not going to use me to fan the flames of this beef. When I first caught wind of it, I immediately tweeted that I hated seeing good Brothas beef to this level over something that could’ve (and should’ve) been fixed with a phone call, and I still stand by that.
Etan Thomas: I also have a lot of respect for all of them. I am still amazed at all of the work that Stephen Jackson has done around the world after George Floyd was murdered. I’ve interviewed both Stak and Matt for my show, "The Rematch," and for my new book on white supremacy and police brutality that I’m currently putting the finishing touches on (shout out to Haymarket Books). Kwame and I have been friends since we were teammates with the Washington Wizards for four seasons, so I have always been in his corner. I immediately ordered some shirts from his clothing line for me and my son. (We got "Momma’s Cooking" and "My Momma’s Son" shirts).
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Etan Thomas: I support all of these Brothas. I do believe they will eventually reach peace in their own time and show all of the world how Brothas can resolve differences peacefully, and then, maybe even work together and achieve something that Pac and Biggie never got the chance to do. Again, I fully believe that will happen in time. And when they do squash the beef and make peace, I want to hear all of the media who have been fanning these flames to be just as loud as they are now... but I doubt we will hear a peep out of the media about that. They love to promote drama and infighting, especially with Black people. It gets ratings and that’s why I emphatically told them all, "No." I’m not coming on any of your shows to join you in fanning these flames.
Etan Thomas: Listen, I love what y’all are doing, you and Stak. I love the fact that y’all have gone into this area of media. For me, I didn’t really like the media when I was playing and I feel kinda similar with y’all but y’all are doing it differently to give guys an opportunity. So, I love it. I love what y’all are doing. Matt Barnes: I appreciate it. As athletes, we always thought there was some sort of motive. There was a handful of people that you kind of trusted, but for the most part, you had to watch yourself with the media. That’s something Jack and I are trying to change, obviously. We’ve experienced pretty much everything that our guests have experienced and that gives us an easier intro and a different approach, which allows most of our guests to really let their wall down and feel comfortable speaking to us.
Thomas: What I want to talk about is not really a whole lot with basketball, it’s other stuff. So, you’ve been doing a lot with using your voice and platform, in particular after Stephon Clark’s murder. Now, you didn’t know him personally, but it hit home for you because it was in your hometown of Sacramento. First, let’s remind everybody of what happened with the case. Matt Barnes: Yeah, I mean basically there was some calls about someone breaking into cars and Stephon happened to be out, they chased him down into his grandmother’s backyard and shot him several times. I think there were six to eight shots in his back, but I don’t know how many rounds they let go. And like 99% of the cases in the United States the cops were not held responsible for the situation. I had happened to just be watching CNN that morning in my room with my twins and they heard Sacramento, so I was watching it and they were playing on their iPads, they heard Sacramento so they started paying attention and was like dad, did you know him? I’m like ‘Nah I didn’t know him,’ and they were kind of just confused and their confusion and hurt is what really made me kind of want to be like ‘Let me see if there’s something that I can do to show my kids that there’s ways to help in situations like this.’
Matt Barnes: So, myself, DeMarcus Cousins, I think the Sacramento Kings helped a little bit, a handful of people helped and we just made the experience a little easier for the family by helping with the funeral, getting people situated in hotels, and really kind of doing everything we possibly can to try to ease as much pain as possible from the family. With me continuing to use my platform and calling out the DA out there, Anne Marie Schubert, she’s a very crooked DA -- takes money from the police department all the time -- and has never really dropped the hammer on any situation out there, which is very unfortunate. But I think me with the platform I have and the voice that I have to be able to call stuff like that out it allows other people to see it and then other people start calling it. Hopefully, this will be her last term as DA because now everyone’s really awake about voting and how important voting is and hopefully we’ll be able to get her out after this last term she’s serving right now.