LeBron James, Novak Djokovic, Folarin Balogun & Maverick Carter: LIVE at Fanatics Fest

Didn't catch the latest Roland Martin unfiltered podcast. Here's what you missed. There should not be a single law enforcement agency and it's not have body cameras. It's real. Black farmers have been under attack. This is just the latest example of them just slapping DEI on anything. It's raw. And I'm sitting here going. They are playing y'all for fools. Catch Roland Martin's Daily Commentary on the Black Information Network. And download Roland Martin unfiltered on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcast. Wherever you get your podcasts. Practice and championship happens every day, but trust in the process more than anything. I think when you trust the process of actually getting to that point. They'll want no heat. They'll want no water. You don't come down. Realize. Realize. That's just a turn. That's a turn. And by the way, I've been saying to trust the process since I was drafted in like 2003. I don't even know if in B was even born yet. But most of them are born here. And now, fanatics, please welcome to the shop, your co-hosts, Steelo Brim, and Travis Bennett, and our first guest, Maverick Carter. Please welcome Novak, Joker Bitch. Let me see how we do it. And look, Ron James. What up, guys? How's everybody doing? It's nice. You know, in New York, don't talk, I didn't know this many people knew you in New York, brother. Nobody's here for me. Oh, they have to steal all. They definitely not have a me. What they're here for? What they're going for? They're here for the ghosts. For sure. Right? What a pleasure. We get to sit with the ghosts. We got the ghosts here. Glad to be here, back at Fanatics Fest on the shop. This is amazing. We're in the amazing room. Before we kick it off, though, Ron, I think we're going to do officially hand over the keys to the shop. The shop we've been doing it now. Eight years? Nine. This is nine. This is nine. We were on it for nine, me, you, P, Randy. Obviously, it was Randy and P's ideas. It's been a wonderful run for us. But unlike you in Novak, I'm going to retire. I'm actually going to do it. I'm not going to waffle. I'm not going to a new team. I'm just going to retire and head to Stilo and talk also from Grassguys. Thank you. You have ACs on the shop. You're clearly the MVP of the shop. It was definitely the MVP of the shop. But now that you're ready to hang your jersey up in a wrap, there's why? Why now? Everything that we did with the shop from the beginning was always about creating conversation, bringing community together, bringing people from different walks of life. We did all the episodes. I always say, "My favorite one, people ask me." We drew Barry more on once. She was on the Kyrie, myself, Idris, Elba. She told this story about life and family. We were all crying, literally, crying tears. That's what the shop was always meant for. When you go back to the route to the shop, growing up, going to the barbershop, you brought all walks of life in and we really did that. We had a blast doing it. But it's time to pass that on and move on and give it to you guys. I think we couldn't have come up with two better hosts than you guys when you think about what you guys bring to the shop. It's just time. Everything has to end, guys. We're sure. Taking over the shop has been really fun. I feel like we're the better host and I truly deep down inside in the depths of my soul believe it. Me and Stilo. Talk, that's all. I feel just rock with me. Can't beat you two in a two on two game of basketball because you are a non-factor. You've hoot before. You're not buns, but you're not like, you know what I'm saying? He called you buns. I didn't say it. I think two on what we could dog you. You guys have no chance. Who's someone? What should we do? We can't just double you the whole time, apparently. Y'all think we can't beat him? I think you two couldn't beat him. I think he would beat you guys by himself. Y'all really think that? No. Us two can't beat him by himself? Y'all ain't never seen it. Move team, we all on. LeBron is okay. Very clear. Very clear. I'm happy to be the referee. We'll let that. But we ain't wasting time, bro. You know why we here? You knew what question we got to ask. We saved it right here for the shop. Where are you going? Where are you going, brother? We all want to know where you going, right? Where you going? The shop is losing right now. What are you going? Y'all know you can't hear all your answers at once. There he was backstage, Stilo said he was like, yo, you know the question I got to ask, like all the forces at the Air Force 1s, you'd be wearing a shit like they super dope. And then we get out of here and you pull that stuff. I had to wait, you know what I'm saying? It's for the shop. It's for the shop. We're not having an announcement to make this shit, guys. Oh, man. Oh, man. The whole entire world is waiting on this. They're waiting to schedule the game. They're waiting to do everything. That's crazy. That's crazy, bro. Oh, that was crazy. That was crazy. I can't believe the world, it really, I'm not joking, that the world is still like 23 seasons. 41 in the world is still like, where is he going to play? I'm like, you like get on with the shit. I'm like, I'm the man. I'm sick of it, I'm sick of it. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of it. Jesus, quite like, really? Where's the decision soon, but you know, it's a big decision. So, you know, I want to rush it, but it won't be a decision soon. I wanted you to play your last game in a football stadium so that you could have the most watch game in person, because I don't know what the most watch game is, but I feel like that would be the most amazing thing ever. That would be fine. That would be fine. If you want to make a break from basketball, you can always come play tennis, man. Yeah, exactly. Can we play doubles? Yes. By the way, we were talking backstage, no vac. How much longer are you going to play? Have you thought about it? What do you think? Yeah, I thought about it. Yeah. I have no announcement to make myself as well. Unfortunately, unfortunately, you know, playing for any team, individual athlete, but yeah, you know, just sitting next to LeBron and sharing the stage with him, it's incredible and so much admiration and respect. And we talked about it in the backstage, you know, keep going for 20 plus years. I mean, I resonate a lot with what he's been doing and the process that he's going through right now. Obviously, you know, what drives you? I mean, that's actually what question I wanted to ask you. It's like, what is the biggest driver? Who or what is biggest motivation for you to get inside of that arena over and over again? Yeah, I mean, that's a great question. I think one of the side of many, you know, is, you know, the younger generation and the kids that still like been following my career, you know, watch this kid right here. The kid just waved at me right here with my jersey on and it's like, that's like one of my biggest inspirations right there. Like, you know, there's kids that still are looking for their super hero to be out and come save the day. You know, so that's a deciding factor. And also, you know, my family is a big part of that too. Being able to inspire my boys and my daughter is a huge deciding factor. And then me just loving what I do. Like I love the game, the whole notion that these to stop is like, you see it will like. You know, R&B artists and musicians and things of that nature, you see it will like, you know, us in sports. There's always conversations like, when he's going to retire, he needs to retire. He's this age, he's that age, but why? But why? Why are we trying to force people that still doing what they do at a higher level? Why are we trying to force the narrative of it's time to retire? You know what I'm saying? You look at guys like Bruce Springsteen and, you know, some of the greatest, you know, musicians, they're still on the floor, the stones, they're just watching. They've been on tour for 56 years and no one's telling them they don't come to our city and go, you know, do a tour. So it's like, you know, if we still are dedicating ourselves to the craft, if we are still given to the sport, if we're not disrespecting the game or just, you know, we're giving everything that we have to the sport and we're still driving revenue. As well, why not? Why not still play it if you still love it? So I'm just trying to, you know, squeeze as much of a juice out of it as possible. No back for you. I watched you, I think it was two weeks ago when you played a match, five hours and 15 minutes. When you're playing in it, is there ever a moment where you're like, why am I still doing this? Or when you're in it, you're just in the game. No, when you're in it, you're in it, you're like, you're fully immersed in the moment and you're just fully present, you know. And you kind of, you know, we talked about it as well. on the backstage like body versus mind. I think everybody talks about ego, ego is the enemy, but you know what I mean? Like, ego as well is integral part of who we are and what brought us to this point. So when the body is letting you down, when you're shutting down, you can't you know, you're feeling you're tearing your muscle, you, whatever. It's always something happening. And you need an individual sport like tennis. You can't sit down for like, let me, let me cool off for 10, 20 minutes. Let me get my physio to rub, rub my thigh or whatever and then come back. So you got to figure it out. And I think oftentimes that's where mind comes into play. And that's where that ego is really, that self-believe, that self-talk of like being positive, optimistic and really understanding that mind over matter really works. And telling yourself, hey, I can do it. I can keep going. So I lost track of time after the first or second hour, you know, you're fully immersed, you don't even look at-- You don't even know how-- No, no, I'm just obviously I'm thinking about a result. I know what's happening. You know, I'm focused on that, you know, what needs to be done to win the match. But I'm not thinking about, you know, oh, it's too late. You know, my kids need to go to sleep type of thing. So you're just like fully in the moment. And in it's the best feeling, you know, honestly, like that's one of the reasons why I keep on competing in a high level is to be part of this iconic, epic, historic matches. Because this is what, you know, satisfies that inner child in me, you know, that passion and drives the love for the sport. And then, but then you had to bounce right back and play centered, was the best player in between that and then facing that monster of a guy in center. Oh, man. I wish I could have a few more days to recover. But didn't have that. And, you know, it's part of the sport, I guess, and I came out, you know, I got, it was a clean sweep from his side, you know, he beat me, but, you know, I went out and I gave it, gave it all, gave it what I can. I mean, as a competitor, I owe it to the sport. I owe it to myself, to my family, to the fans, you know, but recovery is the big one. It takes more time to recover nowadays. God. I have a quick question. In most sports, there's a team aspect of it and a coach in it. And in tennis, you're by yourself out there. Is there any part of it that you're just like, I wish I could just lean on somebody else, or is there ever a moment where you live on a coach or a what drive, like, what do you, how do you coach yourself within the game? Yeah, many times, to be honest, like, we just have, I mean, we just have one week in the entire season, at the end of the year, like the season finale, where we have the Round Robin format. So, everything else is a knockout format. So, you know, the US Open is coming up in four or five weeks. And, you know, if I'm having a bad day, I didn't sleep, you know, I've been throwing up whatever it is. And I'm just not feeling myself. And I lose first round, I'm gone. You know, the fans don't have a chance to maybe see me later in the tournament. And I feel like, with our sport, that's something that I would like to see change, to be honest, because you kind of also have to, you know, understand that the fans want to see the marquee players, they want to see the big stars, you know. They, so I feel like you need to have, like, couple matches guaranteed in the tournament. Is that, that's the one thing that I wish, like I love the, for example, in basketball, you have the season, right? And so, you can have a bad game, or two, or 10 games, or whatever, but you can still make the playoffs and win the championship. For us, it's different, you know. You can always play off. You lose it over the majors first rounds, you're out. You said the S&A tournament, that ball you did knocked off, is it? Exactly, exactly. Yeah. You got it, I must say, for me, it's like, the fan base, I want to actually, bro, I'm going to go back to the whole decision thing, we just talked about, but the fan base of where you might play and make a difference, was that help you in your decision? Well, yeah, I mean, that's, I don't want to say, it's going to help me make a decision, but you definitely, you know, look at, you know, fan bases, wherever you may go, and how they treat the team, and, you know, what's the, I guess, you know, what's the legacy that's been left there, whatever the case may be, you look at those factors, but it's not the deciding factor, you know, obviously, what's most important is, like, you know, you know, I want to compete, I want to compete at a high level, I want to, you know, join a franchise that kind of shares the same, you know, model as myself, and that's like, practicing championship happens every day, but trusting the process more than anything, I think, when you, you trust the process of, I've actually getting to that point. They don't want no heed yourself. They don't want no heed. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, come down. Realize, realize, that's just a turd. That's a turd, that's a turd, and by the way, I mean, I'm just saying, I'm just saying, trust the process, since I was drafted in like 2003, I don't even know, in B, it wasn't even born yet. Most of them are born here, yeah, yeah. That's what it is. - So, you know, so I'm sorry, I'm, you know, y'all always think I'm talking so okay, so we've got trust the process, and then, if you get to a place, you know, where's real sunny, or, oh my, yeah, just, just throw 'em off, throw 'em off. And, you know, but like, seriously, you know, the process is what's most important, because if you, if you just fully immerse yourself in that, then what the outcome will take care of yourself. If you already worried about the championship, or you already worried about the playoffs, or you already worried about what lies ahead, then you will skip steps along that journey. So, you know, being with a franchise, being with a group of guys, that kind of has the same model, like, shit, every year, it's been eight straight years of different champions. So, you know, everyone feels coming into the season, this could be our year. Every fan base, feel like, this could be our year as well. So, you know, being with a team that's, you know, kind of have that same model of like, well, we gotta put the working in right here in September, October, and then what happens down in World War II. - But, Brian, Brian, do you still love, you still love that process of getting ready for the season, going to the arena four or five fucking hours before us. Like a cycle, do you still love that feeling? - That does, as I've gotten a little bit older, and older, that's something that kind of always won, yes. But it does get to a point sometimes, you know, you get a little older, and, you know, you play four or five nights in four different cities, or you play a back-to-back, you know, in two cities that was four or five hours flight away. You, the next night, you sort of like, you sit there in a arena, and I get there, like you said, four or five hours before the game. Sometimes I'd be like, "What the hell am I doing here?" So, that's part of my process, that's part of my process, and why, and then I started, okay, well, you're playing at this level still in Year 23, which would be 24 coming up because of that process. So, yeah, it does get to you sometimes, you know. You know, you're being, like you said, you're flying to Milwaukee one night, and then it's a back-to-back in Chicago, and then you leave Chicago, you get a day off, you know, in Memphis on Thursday, then you play back-to-back into all of us on Saturday. So, it's like four different cities, four different hotels, four different bands, four different cities. - Do you have a loose track of what's sitting you in? - You definitely lose track of what hotel room, you're assing in. (laughing) I'd definitely be like, "I don't even remember what hotel room I'm in." Like, you just go to the room. - Just wait a minute, we're confused. (laughing) - We're confused. - Like, where am I? - Like, where am I? Four different time zones. So, definitely, it plays with you. - Didn't catch the latest Rollin' Martin unfiltered podcast? - Here's what you missed. - And the argument is, do you want to win? If you don't win, you have no power. - It's real. - Those are the very people who I always say vote against their own economic interests, and they complained about the very thing they were seeing. - It's real. - I knew that the issue of transgender athletes was not going well with a lot of black men. - Rollin' Martin unfiltered. - I went off. I said, "This is exactly what I'm talking about." - Y'all go scream at Chanel, but you don't want to see a black luxury company in the same bag. - Catch Rollin' Martin's daily commentary on the black information network. - 12 seats. Those are moving south. So, if you Democrats, you don't wait to 2030. You better be hitting the ground, going to heart in the south now. - And download Rollin' Martin unfiltered on the iHotRadio app, Apple Podcast. - Or wherever you get your podcasts. - Oh, yeah. - No, back, do you feel, obviously, you're not playing a team sport. Do you feel like you represent Serbia when you play? Or is it more of like a personal thing? You're just playing for yourself? - No, it's combined. It's all of it, you know, obviously. I fell in love with a sport when I was four or five, and it was kind of a sign of a destiny, honestly. No one in my family has played tennis or in my country, we didn't have any tennis tradition, really. So, and I was growing up in, you know, '90s, it was two wars that we've been through and, you know, economic crisis and adversity and war-torn country, control for years to play junior tournaments. So, all of it has strengthened my resilience, you know, and perseverance. So, I'm really thankful for that kind of upbringing. And even more so, because of those difficult times in the past, you know, you have that feeling of, you know, pride when you are out there representing not just yourself, but your country, you know, you carry Serbian flag on your shoulders anywhere you go. And I do miss the team format, you know. We have Davis Cup, you know, that's the biggest competition team competition in our sport. But I do miss that feeling. You know, I love when I'm playing doubles. or have someone sitting on my bench and being able to interact, because sometimes it feels really lonely being on the court. You have to, it's a beauty of our sport. You have to figure things out yourself, solutions, find out what strategies and by yourself. But at the same time, you feel like the more time flies by, you feel like the coaching should be allowed, even on the court, I feel like, why else would you have a coach? I'm more a proponent of that. And I think people relate to communities, they relate to teens. So I feel like in our sport, we have a lot of potential to develop that aspect as well. No back when I watch you though, there's two things I notice when I watch you. Sometimes when you're yelling at your box or talking to them, are you actually talking them or are you just talking to yourself? Yeah, it's both. It's both right? And then the other thing comes with you, when you're playing well, you seem to look the most pissed. Right. And then when it's not going so well for you, you like start smiling, is that like a thing you're doing to keep yourself, because you're out there by yourself for three or four hours. I'm sure you've deployed mind games with yourself, right? I mean, it's an emotional roller coaster, honestly. I mean, you're by yourself, so you've got to figure things out, and then it's something is wrong, you know, like. And then, you know, tennis is a very proper sport, you know, it's always been a sport. I think it's too proper. I agree. Yeah, I agree. Look, now you have microphones all over the place, I mean, you can't put a swear word anywhere. I mean, at least I do it in Serbian, but now I mean, the last 20 years, everyone over Southern understands my language, so I get warnings and fines and stuff, but you know, anyway, I, this is a way to get out and get it out of the system, you know? Yeah. You can't control. Sometimes you just need to get it out. And there's no one, like, in a team, you can in the huddle, you can talk to the coach, you can talk to them. Yeah, but we can, we can say whatever we want to say on the floor. Yeah. It's a lot of trash talk. There's a lot of trash talk, and it's a lot of cursing, it's a lot of, like, you know, we, we don't have those restrictions. Got it. Questions above the goal. Were you, were you ever, like, challenged, like, you know, are you expecting a trash song? But is it any, any player throughout your career that really, like, crossed the limits? Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's been a couple guys in my career. I see the thing is, I'm not a, I'm not a shit talker, but if you want to go there, then I can go there. And it probably is not, most, most times, I'm going to e-wail for you. But do you ever go out on the court looking for somebody, like, I need somebody to talk a little shit to me tonight? When I, when I, you know, it's never, it's never a player. But it is, like, if I'm on a road and I'm tired and I'm tired, I would definitely try to find somebody in the crowd to get motivated, just like, fine, or just, if it's a person in the crowd with a pony's jersey on and he looking at me crazy, I'll just like, just like, what the fuck are you looking at? Or, just to get me going, just to get me going here for you. Have you ever said anything to somebody like, damn, that was to me? I call you, I feel bad about a few words I've said before, not in my career. I had a question, but I know back then, Brian. I feel like every athlete, when you, you know, you're coming up, and you want to play at high level, where you all have to believe in yourself a certain way. But at one point, did both of you believe you could actually be better than your idol? Oh. Then our idol? Who is it? And though they're cool. And Brian, you may not feel that way. I feel that way about you. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I don't think that, I think my idol was my inspiration, was my drive, but it was never like my defining force on, I need to be, I want to be better than him. It was always my, it was always my competition, you know. So I didn't get an opportunity to play against my idol. He actually, but he was last was 0-2, 0-3, 0-3 was at his last one, MJ retired in 0-3 with the Wizard. So I didn't get an opportunity to go against him, but he was definitely my biggest inspiration as far as the sport itself. But it was like my competition, like when I came into the league, you know, Alan Iverson, you know, and Kobe and T-Mac and, you know, Vince Carter, Trace, I mean, sorry, T-Mac already, Paul Pierce, you know, obviously me and D-Way came in, me and Mellow came in at the same time. So like, Baron Davis was a beast at that time when I came in. So, you know, it was like, it was like my competition every night that I went against those guys every night. I was like, how can I, how can I get, how can I be better than him at some point, you know? And I know that, I knew I belonged, but I knew it was going to take time, you know. I was a number one player in the world as a high school junior and as a high school senior, but I knew when I got drafted, I had to start from scratch. I had to go back to ground level and I had to build myself up. So, you know, I knew that I belonged, I knew I was special, I knew I was born with a God-given talent, and then it was up to me to put the damn work in, and I knew if I just kept working on my craft, I could be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, that ever played the game of basketball. (Applause) No, who was your idol by the way, who was your idol growing up? Yeah, well, I didn't get a chance to kind of play against my idol, I mean, it was Pete Samper, Samper, that piece that I can see, and you know, those guys growing up, you know, they already retired when I got into the, you know, the professional elite level, but I got a chance, I got a chance to meet Pete in 2010, and I was like, never felt like that before, you know, I was like shaking and I asked him to hit a few balls with me, and it was a great moment, but as LeBron said, I resonated with that, you know, with what he said, I think it's really in the end of the day you create your own journey, your own unique path, you know, your career, and in that process, you're looking for inspirations, and of course, as you're coming up as a youngster, you know, you're looking up to someone who is paving the way, someone that you'd like to impersonate, his move, the way he played, et cetera, the way he behaved. But in the end of the day, for me, it was always also the case of like, how do I measure myself against, you know, the top guys, like Feather and Adal are my, to the biggest competition I ever had, and we shared the stage for like 20 years, and you know, Feather is like six years older, Rafa is a year older, so we were kind of close generation, and I was, you know, I was always measuring myself against them, like, if trying to figure out the way how I can be them on the biggest stage, but essentially, you know, you have to be your authentic self, you know, so you have to stick to that original path and create your own history. Got it, and then, what about the inverse of Steele's question? Now that you've been around for a while, there's young guys, there's Wimby, there's all these young great players, I was at the center, I was, how do you feel going against them? It's like, do you go like, I still got to compete with these young guys, you're like, should I'm older, I know I can't compete with them, how do you feel about competing now with the young generation now that you're the older generation? I want to kick their ass, everybody else, but to be honest, yeah, yeah, that's the answer. I'm like, when I see them play, you know, there's a contrast in styles with Feather and Adal, you know, really contrast in styles, I showed up as well, different, three of us were all different, and now, with Alkers and Sinner, you know, being the dominant force in tennis, these two guys remind me of myself so much, I'm like, I'm playing myself from one 10 years ago, and 15 years ago, you know, it kind of, it hurts me to feel that on board, I'm like, please, I mean, I know how to correct the code, but, you know, can I? So really, it's, no, I think it's always finding new ways to motivate yourself, to inspire yourself to be better, and, you know, I think the rivalries are good, they're important, so you've got to always find someone that, like, you find someone in the crowd or someone on the court that is going to, like, push you to be better. Yeah, absolutely, okay, yeah, I agree, I want to say thank you to Novak for being a guest today. Thank you, I was amazed. I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, in country to be a part of, you know, the ambition, you know, the energy and, you know, having the World Cup here with something that I wanted to be a part of and I was very proud to be a part of it. Do you feel the same? I want to know, do you feel the same sense of pride playing for the American team, even though that you haven't spent as much time already, even though you were born here? Do you still feel that sense of pride representing America? So definitely, it's just been amazing, it's been a crazy summer, I've had so many different experiences, you know, and being a part of the World Cup is really a dream come true and then to do it, you know, and home soil is beyond special. I love it. What's the biggest difference, like, as far as becoming a World Cup star versus your career prior to that? Is it just the world stage or is it the same thing in your head mentally? Now definitely say it's the world stage, you know, it's the biggest sport in the world. You can see the way the whole country is united and, you know, to be able to score and perform, you know, on the biggest stage is special, you know, that's what dreams are made of as a kid and to be able to do it, you know, that's something I'm going to be able to tell my children about, so I'm proud. But you played your youth career for England, right? Yeah. Do you know, well, like, were you closer to all of the guys on the USA team before you joined? No, I didn't really know anyone, you know, I was familiar with the sport. It's a sport, I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, do you want? Yeah, do you want, right? But now, I'm familiar with people, but, yeah, you know, the moment I joined was kind of when I was fully committed and then that's when I was introduced to everyone properly. Got it. When you're walking out on the field, is there like a song that's playing in your head, or is there something you're telling yourself that you're just like, like being in that mode, being like, I'm here, I'm doing what I dreamt of doing, or you just focus on the game at hand? I'm pretty focused. I mean, the song of the sort of tournament, you know, with the locker room was a Victorian Monet, or my mama, crazy, crazy random, but that's what the guy's going to do. Who picked the song? Who picked the captain? No, we have a guy on music called Tim Wehr. Tim Wehr? Yeah, that's what he was running, so that's what we was listening to. Got it, like I said, obviously the whole red card thing was fucking ridiculous and crazy. I mean, there's no way you could have been prepared for that moment, so when you were going through that in-between that game, and when you were, obviously the president got involved, what was the feeling, what were you thinking, were you just talking to family, were you talking to everybody, what was that like in-between the moment you got the red card thing getting back on the pitch? Yeah, you know, I've had red cards before my career, so for me, obviously it's not a nice feeling, but when I got the red card, I was shocked, I think most people were watching where, and I just had to try and accept it, you know, I went into the locker room to try and just support the team, I was hoping they got the win, which we did. And then yeah, you know, the events that happened after, you know, I couldn't have predicted to be told by the coach, you know, be ready, just be ready is what you told me. When did he tell you this? He told me that straight off of the game, but I was just thinking he was just saying that, just to be able to help the team and just to keep morale high, but then I think it was two days before the game against Belgium. You know, the news broke that I was allowed back in the game, and as you can see. But when you get a red card, football, are you allowed to practice when you're still practicing? You can still practice and stuff, and you can still, you know, they're still the same, the same routine, the only difference is you wouldn't be out with the team on the game day. But, you know, two days before I got told I was allowed to be back in, and for me, it was surreal, you know, I thought it was a joke at first, and then when I saw the reaction and social media and stuff, it was immense. Yeah, that is the power of sports, it's pretty, the powers became like a global story, like the president got involved in politics, and it was a whole referendum on like, is what's wrong with people, is people fucked up. What is your feeling? Do you think you should have been allowed to play it in? Yeah, you know, I think it's a woke up, you know, it's an event once every four years to the nice somebody, you know, that opportunity to represent their country just because of an unintentional challenge, you know, to me I don't really think that's correct, but, you know, I feel like things happen in the way they do for a reason, and, you know, the opportunity I've had in the awareness I've been able to have, you know, in this process, it's been something that, you know, I've cherished as well. Got it. Got it. What do you rank in your career? You represent the USA, Brian. Obviously, I represent the USA. How do you feel about, what do you rank in your career, something that you've accomplished? Yeah. I mean, it's major, like you said, you know, the Olympics is every four years, just like the World Cup is every four years, so, you know, it's the one time, you know, in a divided country which we know we have. We have a lot of, you know, everybody's once I hear or once I hear, but during the Olympics, during the World Cup, I feel like the whole country comes together and we all support one common goal, and that's to be proud to, you know, possibly win a gold medal or medal, no matter what it is, silver medal, bronze, whatever, just be, you know, unified, you know, so, you know, we're in the red wine blue, I played four, eight, twelve, and twenty-four or so. Damn. Yeah. All right. I already know four players, twenty-four, it's crazy. You know, to represent the red wine blue at the highest stage, like you said, playing against other countries, because they're all playing for the same reason too, to try to unify their country as well. So, you know, doing that means a lot. Brian, have you ever been thrown out of a game? Yeah, I got. How many times? I don't remember you ever. They once. What? That was I can go? Yeah. What happened to them? I don't think he got a good, nice rest. Like, I ain't, I got filed. And I was like, yeah, that's a, and filed. I was like, yeah, that's a fucking file. I ain't even like yelling. He gave me a double t. All right. We was playing Miami. I was in Cleveland. We was playing Miami home game. I would never forget. And I was cooking too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He was tripping. Is that the only game you ever been thrown out of? Yeah. That's the only game I ever been thrown out of. Yeah. What was early in the game? Well, no. Actually, I got thrown out too. Well, the altercation would have, in Detroit too. I got thrown out of that game too. Which one? Oh. Oh. Would be stew. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. Big stew. That was unintentional too. Yeah. I got a red card. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. I was like-- I was like-- He was chasing the shit out of me. Yeah. And I said, I better get this big mouth fuck out of me. Yeah. That's a big mouth fuck out of me. That's a big mouth. Yeah. Oh, and they threw-- they threw bumpy all out. Yeah. That's a big boy. But you was protected yourself. Yeah. I'm going to be sure he'll get-- They brought him in. Yeah. Between us real quick. Yeah. That was my red card, right? You've been thrown out twice. Yeah, twice. Twice. And how many-- was that? You said you had-- That was my second time. It was your second time. What happened the first time? And then to challenge again, so-- Oh, it's another one. Exactly. It ain't never your problem. Accidental challenge? Yeah. Yeah. I want to actually also-- when you-- obviously, you grew up in playing youth in England. I've played your whole career in Europe. Is it a different style that Americans play for both? And the rest of the world plays? Is it like-- What are the differences? Yeah, I would say the event, you know, out here is more of a-- it's more of an event. There's a lot more stuff going on. You know, it's probably better for the fans to come to a soccer game out here. Whereas in Europe, it's just more-- it's just more like a war zone, you know. It's one team against the other, you know, the fans are at each other. And, you know, I think the World Cup showed, you know, there were so many people, you know, kids and people who have never watched soccer before, you know, tuning in for the first time. And it was just an amazing experience. You know, my dream is for soccer to become a bigger thing out here in America. Is that your first time playing on U.S. oil? No, I've played on U.S. oil before. You know, we've had friendlies and stuff out there, yeah. This was the first proper-- First-- first 1%. Exactly. I feel like culturally we give you so much warranted praise on putting your people on. Do you actually believe your blueprint is transferable? Like, would you recommend other athletes and like entrepreneurs doing the same thing? I mean, no, I mean, I recommend people to do what they feel is best for them. It was best for their crew or it was best for their surrounding. I think all of our paths are different. Obviously, we are inspired by people around, either younger generations, older generations, whatever. I've been inspired by a lot of people. But I felt like that motto that I chose with me and my guys was the motto that I felt was going-- that I felt that was going to best fit my trajectory in my career, both on the court and off the court. But it all started-- the athlete today have to understand it doesn't start with the off the field or the off the court or whatever. First, you have to put the working into your craft. You have to be great at what you do. And a lot of those things, the majority, not even a lot. The majority of not all of it will take care of itself. You know, so like, you know, even though I had my guys, you know, doing the things they were doing off the floor, like I'm always told them, I'm gonna make sure that the basketball is taking care of, like, you know, there won't be, you know, a half-ass type of guy on the court not giving his all, not putting in the work, whatever, and then I'm asking y'all to put working. Like, I'm gonna ask you just as much out of y'all's I ask out of myself. So, when it comes to, can it be transferable or not? - Yes, it can, but it has to be authentic. It has to be authentic to you. 'Cause, I mean, one, people will see that. They'll notice when it's not authentic. Even though we're in a world right now, what a lot of shit is not authentic, originally, and you're getting away with it, but I think, you know, the real ones always rise to the top. - This is the battle over as well. (audience clapping) Yep. (audience clapping) - I'll say, what do you want? Like, as you're younger in your career, what do you want your actual legacy to be known for? Like, and there are other moments in your career where you're like, been surprised by your capability of like, what you've actually accomplished? - Yeah, I would say just this recent World Cup, you know, of course, as an athlete, you always believe in yourself and, you know, I'm sure LeBron will tell you, you know, that's one of the most important things to have a lot of belief in yourself. But, you know, overall, I want my legacy just to be remembered as someone he was there, you know, when it mattered, you know, I think there's a lot of high pressure moments and, you know, of course, you need a team, but I think there's individuals who make the difference and, you know, that's what I want to pride myself in. - Do you think in choosing to play for U.S. when you go back to London now, do people give you shit about it? I don't know, back in. - Yeah, I mean, that's been, not even just from this recent, this recent tournament, that's always been the case. You know, but it is what it is, you know, the most important thing is that I'm happy in my decision, you know, I'm proud of my decision and, you know, it is what it is. You know, it's not something I could change and it's not something I'd want to change as well. - Did you have family and friends pulling you like, "No, you can't do this, you've got to play for England." Was it, or was everybody unified in decision for you to go play for U.S. or are people like, "No, you should be playing." Well, you could've also played for Nigeria too. - Exactly, yeah. - You had three choice, three options. - No, my family and friends wanted me to play for the United States. - I did it. - Not for me, it was, it was pretty easy. - Oh, that's good, that's how, that's how. Yeah. (audience applauding) - Ron, looking at legends like Serena Williams who've come back to the sport and been eye-continent, is there anyone you look at that you're like, "Damn, I wish they had one more year in them. I want to either watch them again or play with them again. "Is there anybody you could think of off the top?" - Off the top? Ah, shit, that's a great question, Taco. I mean, I, no, not off the top of my head to, I mean, I wouldn't mind, like, it's a great feeling, and I'm a big American football guy. So like, seeing a two-minute drive with Tom Brady behind. (laughing) - That's right, but it's nothing like seeing Tom Brady lead a two-minute drive down four, down six, whatever, in a big game. Yeah, I missed those moments for sure. Like, that's the, off the top of my head, that's the first thing I come to mind. I agree with you on that. It's also, as sports fans, it is hard to watch legends. Like, you know, when you're a legend like Serena or Novak or LeBron or Tom Brady, even like Aaron Rodgers, like, I still enjoy watching Aaron Rodgers play. I still, it's hard watching legends go away. Like, you do, it does leave a void when someone that great leaves, and I agree with you, seeing someone like, Tom come back, I missed that. I like, I hadn't thought about it until you say it. But I miss it, or even watching Floyd Box. It's just like, when they leave. It was something misses from the sport. - Yeah, I mean, this is also, you know, it's culture and everything we're doing in all of our sports. So, like, I did get a little fix this past weekend. Like, watching Jay perform three straight nights. Like, you know what I'm saying? - I love him. - Like, that was the Tom Brady moment. Like, you know, to see Jay Rock, Yankee Stadium, three straight nights, and do it the way he did it in a fashion, the way he did it. You know, it was like, that was super dope. Like, so that was, that was my fix for the week. It's seeing the big home you do what you did on that stage. - Yeah. - I was there. (laughing) - Did you go to all three nights? - I went to the first two nights. The third now, I wanted to go to, but it was crazy. - Yeah, I mean, to watch him do it again was pretty, I mean, three nights, up there by himself, braggling out, obviously bringing people out, but it was great to watch him. And I'm sure, I haven't talked to him maybe yet. I'm sure he was like, damn, I missed this. I missed being out there. When you brought, when you were down, what were you missing the most about being playing basketball? - Yeah, the competition and atmosphere, you know, the lights. Like, you know, and I think, obviously the TV know, the, some arenas know, like, there's different levels of lights that they put on when they know it's a big game or not. They, you know, for sure, they be like, oh shit, he's in town. You know, throw them other lights on the night. So like, you know, you're gonna, you definitely, I know for sure I'll miss that. And then just like competing, like, we're all competing for one kind of goal. And that's to, you know, win that quarter or win that game or, you know, win that series or win that championship. So like, you won't be able to find that again when you like compete. And then you, the blood, the sweat, the tears, you know, everything that you put into a leading up to that moment. You know, this is the payoff. So yeah, you'll miss that for sure. You'll miss that for sure. Yeah, exactly. And for you, Flo, going, now, going, playing for US, now going back to Monica. When does the season start by the way in August? August, yeah. August, will there be a big adjustment now going back to your club, like, style of play, how you play, being back in that environment? Well, is it a big difference club in country? Yeah, there'll be, there'll be a change, I think, you know, in Europe, there'll be a bit more karma. And the issue for me, you know, I played on the biggest stage, you know, I've had your adrenaline, you know, I've had the buzz and I'm going to miss that, you know, so. Yeah. That's just motivation for me to continue to put myself out there, you know, to continue to play in high-pressure environments, because at the end of the day, that's why I enjoy, you know, that's what brings the best time here. When you were a kid, which club did you support growing up? Arsenal. I knew it. Yeah, yeah. You know what? I hate Arsenal. Oh, oh, hey Arsenal. I got a good question for you, Bala. What do fans not know you're a fanatic of? Like, what's something you're obsessed with? I'm a Game of Thrones house of Dragon. He's in the love island. No, I'm trying to-- [LAUGHTER] No, Brian. He's got a friend. Matt plays Badael. No, it's a good question. I would say ping pong. I'm very good at ping pong, you know, I'm taking bets. So that's my hobby. Really? Yeah. Hold back. You know that. Yeah, hold back, exactly. Did you play other sports growing up? No. It was just pretty, you know, pretty fortunate to just do what I wanted to do, you know. I only had one sort of goal to be a soccer player. And, you know, I've been able to achieve that, so-- Amazing. Amazing. [APPLAUSE] I mean, for you too, like, what advice y'all got for us doing a shot? We didn't do a whole set of shots, you know? Even if they say some bullshit, you know what I'm talking about. I'm not saying no. I'm not saying no. I would say have fun with it. Yeah. This is a lot of fun. Thank you, guys. Thank you so much. Appreciate you guys coming, but the have fun with it. And what I always try and do is just be yourself. Like, you guys are amazing. Be yourself. Be curious. And have fun. Be curious and have fun. Yeah, I think the reason why we had to success over the last eight seasons or eight years or whatever the case may be is just like, we literally treated the shot like our neighborhood shot. Right. Like, that's the concept, you know, my man, you know, our right-hand man, Randy right there. We, we came up with this because we wanted to be in a place where we felt like when our mom dropped us off on Saturday morning and left for hours, and we could sit up here and listen to the OGs all the way over there because we wouldn't get in our haircuts for like three hours. When you're in your haircuts, so you just sit over there and just listen to all the OGs go back and talk about everything that was happening in culture, everything that was happening in the streets, everything that was happening in sports, everything that was happening in life. Guys, I'll argue all day and then gap each other up on the way. And I'm like, yo, we back here again, excited? Who's that? And I'm saying so like, I'll just be real, have real conversations, like, guys like myself, young fellow right here, you know, nobody, you know, like, we, we, there's not many places where we can go and feel like we could just be vulnerable or just open up conversations and be real. So like, don't be afraid to just ask the questions, like, this is what it's about, man. It's what it's about. I appreciate it. I got it. I want to say thank you to everybody in fanatic space. Yes, yes. Thank you guys for watching this video. Let's take a flip. Yeah. Every Monday, you to stay on that, say hit the link, hit the link, hit the link, subscribe on Instagram. That's the same. I got it. Thank you guys. Let's go. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Come on, dude. Come on, dude. Here's what you missed people wake up and go oh damn wait and hold up. They changed all of that. Yes, it's real This is a whole sale attack. He is targeting black people in every federal agency. It's wrong. Why folks have never allowed that Reckoning to last more than a decade catch Roland Martin's deal Commentary on the Black Information Network. And download Roland Martin unfiltered on the IHOT radio app, Apple Podcasts. Or wherever you get your podcasts.