Macklemore vs Bob Kraft and the silencing of dissent, Arch’s apology, Tom Brady’s poetry, and the WNBA’s union has questions for the NBA

Testing testing testing testing one two three four five six. Let's do what dance Yeah, that sounded okay Hi charlotte Madeline. Hello, we're back We are speaking across an ocean and several time zones Wow, isn't that amazing the beauty of technology and two microphones It's incredible what you can achieve when you put your mind to it You know what always amazes me is on a news broadcast when they have an anchor talking to a reporter who is like in a war zone and I'm like how is the Wi-Fi like what sort of Router to remote router situation. Are they working with it? They can get that person broadcast on to television in America Yeah, they're like and now we're gonna go to Cindy at the bottom of the Mariana trench Cindy What are you seeing down there and you're like well how it's crazy? It's crazy. Well, thanks for saying it It's it's yeah, I don't either but um, maybe it's a really a really powerful Wi-Fi Wow, okay Oh, man. Well, we're back with another wonderful episode of this sports gossip show presented by us. I still charlotte's Oh, right. Oh, we forgot to say that. I said it today I maybe I say I blacked out. Well, you just didn't say it, but I just rolled with that. Oh, sorry. No, no, no It's fine. I kind of like I was fun to switch it up So maybe at the end of the episode you can do the right review like subscribe Please, please don't make me okay, I'll do it. I'll do it But I am gonna say up top since people are usually most people are usually listening right now For the most part you are people are listening after at the edge. Yes So I just want to say to all of our shareholders out there if you haven't done so please subscribe to us on YouTube Even if you don't watch us on YouTube it really makes a huge difference So do that and also rate give us a rating and or and or a review on Spotify or Apple or wherever you Listen to us, but you can also watch us on Spotify. So Means the world makes a huge difference. Thank you so much as always Thank you so much. You can listen and watch us so many different places and in so many different formats And and and so you can you can be in any mood when you listen and you know what that's the power of technology and two microphones And you know what we could start the whole conversation over again for right here um That's crazy. I I'm a little concerned that I didn't even notice that I was Doing something different, but you know, I that's art that's what I say and that's really beautiful Sometimes you gotta switch things up and that's the creative process and that's the power of female friendship And that's two people in a microphone. Do you know what wait? Do you know what shirt I wore today? Uh-oh walking around this place that I am that I won't just say where I am In Spain somewhere. I wore that power of um French power of male friendship or whatever it says nicks Rim Reaper on it. Yes. I got this amazing chubby chip nicks shirt that definitely was not authorized by The nicks or the NBA, but it's an unbelievable t-shirt and I wore that walk around and in hindsight I probably looked insane I mean if you think about it if you just saw someone walking around with the shirt and in Spanish in the US that just had a grim Reaper on it I'd be like, that's pretty metal. So I'm sure some I'm sure people thought you were really cool. Right. I hope so also Also more people in other countries speak English than Americans speak other languages. So they they get it But me wearing that t-shirt doing my laundry in the laundromat was probably a site to be seen I think it probably was I think it was probably a real a real If you will treat a little bit yet. Oh man. Well anyways, we have a jam-packed episode today, you know every week I'll send a text to Charlotte or Charlotte will text me. Oh man. It's a certainly enough to cover and then they're always is They're always is some mess to talk about and there's a lot of them Mm-hmm. So let's start with the Raiders Latest and most expensive edition for Nando Mendoza Who is a quarterback there? He announced so we we have Lauded this man in the past for his brand partnerships because he did one with LinkedIn Which was felt to use brand parlance quite organic considering he he posted on LinkedIn regularly and used it as if he would need to get a job in like You know the private sector which I guess the NFL is but not not the way most college graduates need to get a job So that was great, but Madeline. He's he he announced a new one recently That seems not quite as well. It does feel organic, but Not as funny. It's not as funny. So I don't know if they ever did a press release or about this partnership I could not find one But Fernando Mendoza apparently has a new partnership with open AI aka the creators of chat GPT And will be the subject of that movie not sponsored. That's coming out starring whose Andrew Garfield yeah as Sam Yeah, I'm excited for that Lucy Wait you two episodes in a row you name drop directors I just want people to know That I know who direction movies we yeah, we do know that hey can I just say something Yeah, I'm just putting this out there for any shareholders who have the plug to go to an early screening of the Elizabeth Holmes documentary that Nathan Fielder is doing Please let us know because I missed the window yesterday to get the tickets to the New York film festival. I forgot about it. So If anyone's got a plug because I'm really afraid. I'm gonna be spoiled and I don't want to be spoiled Madeline. Let's offline about that. Oh Okay. Oh, interesting. Okay It's a lot of about it. All right. Okay. I'm into whatever that means Um, we'll see all right Anyway, so yes, he announced a partnership with open AI and he talked about it in an interview He did with GQ and the reporter asked him, you know, you know, we know you have this new partnership with open AI And the reporter says I hear you genuinely use chat for meal planning and nutrition even before that came out How does that help blah blah blah? So he goes on Fernando goes on to say I get my modeling from the Raider's nutrition staff But I use chat GPT to help me actually maintain it then he goes on to talk about what food eats blah blah blah And then at the end this is the part that stuck out to me and I know probably for you to Charlotte He said it's able to be my personal operating system for nutrition filling in the voids for the times the Raider staff isn't with me which My first question was what about your brain I don't know that's still around even if the staff isn't Yeah, I guess I guess if we're calling our brains our personal operating systems And then we're outsourcing that work to a computer and then your computer becomes your personal operating system I don't know I just think with a lot of stuff that people put into AI I'm like hear me out. What if you thought about it for literally like 30 seconds. Yeah Like give it a give it a little thinksy for 30 seconds 30 seconds And also I just you know We're all these people who are like well AI is probably going to destroy humanity First of all that could just be a marketing ploy or they actually are not as powerful as I think they are I know but I'm also like hey if that's even in the conversation Maybe we just like But and I you know I'm I made a video about this on Instagram and I wrote a subset But I do think we should consider just unplugging the computers for a second I agree. Let's just unplug them. Everyone will be fine. Just a little unplug Yeah, and people will be smarter. Yes, they've done studies that show that like using AI first of like this actually makes you Dumber well yet because you're not using any critical thinking skills and you're relying on a large language model That well right to you act as your brain. I think of course like listen AI has been around. It's embedded in our society in other ways besides Chatchy that's obviously like the consumer-facing product now that people are using and over utilizing And of course there is a time and a place sometimes you need some help like if you're analyzing I don't know 100,000 documents Sure like yeah, that's probably sure a little bit more efficient to like run through computer I would guess I'm no doctor, but I'm just going to assume But to work on your nutrition plan when Fernando Mendoza has access not only to the radar staff, but he could just hire a Personal chef or a nutritionist that he could literally text who also has a brain and get their opinion You know if you don't want to if you don't want to figure out what you want to make for dinner I get it. That's fine. I understand that But you could just text another human who you could pay. You're making a lot of money It's not like he's strapped for cash Yeah, to just have someone on call you know what I mean? There are other options besides the computer As your first stop absolutely, you know, I think about this a lot in terms of technology where people use to hire other people to do things And then companies found a way to replace those people with technology, and now it's like instead of having a dishwasher instead of a person, I'm not saying that anyone could afford that anyway, because our economy's totally screwed up now. But it's like, instead, it's like, let's just replace people's brains with computers. And it's like, that's, we got to just put a pin in this, because these people, these billionaires who are making these technologies really don't necessarily care. If humanity keeps going, so when you outsource stuff to computers, you're really just helping them out. And I just think, yeah, Fernando, hire someone, give someone a job, help your local shop local shop local, small business Saturday, yeah, I agree, I agree. There are lots of other options here that he could have utilized before the computer. So it is what it is. It be what it be, it be what it be. Well speaking of the Raiders and a quarterback, Oh, Tom Brady, I like this Tom Brady, former quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, do you like I said that first, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots, who also is a part owner in the Las Vegas Raiders, which we talked about that a few months ago with his deal of Fox and how can he be a broadcast person and also own a team that he covers. But anyways, I digress. He did some stuff that we both don't know what we're going to say to each other about it, which is really vague. He's always doing stuff and here's what happened, Madeline said to me, did you see the thing that he did? And I said, yes, did it have to do with butterflies and Madeline was like, what? And then we were like, okay, I think we're each thinking of a different thing that the other one doesn't know. So we are going to surprise each other with two separate clips of Tom Brady on a broadcast Madeline, which, which would you like to start with? I'll start with yours. Okay. Okay. So I'm going to open the link Charlotte put in our doc. Okay. Wait. Wait. Tom Brady said this, I'm going to say it out loud. Tom Brady said during the Eagles Commanders game, which the Eagles won. He said, quote, he drops the ball in there like a butterfly with sore legs. Yeah. Never have those words been strung together in the English language. And you know what I'll say about that? Yeah, I could never, and I could never, you know, Madeline, you know what I'll say about that? What? That's poetry. No, it is. That's art. It is. That's poetry. That's art. Find me. Find us a computer who could even dream of putting those things together. And they asked him about it on the like the Fox post game thing. They had him come on and they were all like, Hey, man, what'd you mean by this? And he said, well, you know, it's just something I used to say when I was playing a butterfly with sore legs. And then he doesn't explain it. And everyone's still like, I'm sorry, I still don't know what you mean. I guess to me, it's like it was flying so beautifully that it didn't want to walk because its legs were sore, but do butterflies walk? No. I mean, they land. They land. They stand. They stand. That is one of the craziest sentences I've ever heard in English language. That is unbuttable. Butterfly with sore leg. I'm going to be saying it. Well, I'm going to start saying that because sometimes Charlotte knows as I get like cramps before I go to bed and my legs, I'm going to start telling you, I just feel like a butterfly with sore legs. You know what? Maybe that's a new tagline of the show. Maybe we need to put that on the mug. Because we're, listen, we are, we're soaring. We're not not tired. Yes. See, that's interesting. Now we're cooking. Thank you, Tom Brady. Anyway, okay. Now I will watch yours. Can I click on the link down? You can click on the link. I wrote, you know, it caps Madeline. Do not click. And then Madeline wrote Charlotte. Do not click. But now I think we can click. Yep. Okay. Here we go. So this is from the same game. And you might need to play the clip to yourself with sound. And then you can tell the world what he said. I can't understand what he's saying. He's saying. Let me hear. Let me play it myself. So I can get it correct. So Tom Brady goes, as the player goes down, he goes, yeah, the earth is flat. That's what it feels like. And apparently on the broadcast, they cut out when he said the earth. So he didn't get the is flat portion. But I guess this broadcast picked it up or something unclear what happened there. So my question is, is Tom Brady a flat earther? Because that's news to me. He. what? and yep, the earth is flat. Okay. So maybe he means because he got slammed down so hard onto the ground. And it's like you really feel the flatness of the earth when you're being slammed onto it. You know, that he can't. I don't know. I'm sorry. He's a lot of things. He can't be a flat earther. He can't. He can't. He can't. I think I don't think he is. I don't think so. But it is crazy for him to say that and the butterfly quote during the same game. What was going on in his brain that day? Also in the same clip when he. it's a guy, you know, taking another guy down, he says, and he said, "No way, not today." It's like he was doing slam poetry on this broadcast. Maybe Tom Brady, you know what I think he would really enjoy doing. What? Is the math story hour? Mm-hmm. Well, like a math story. Well. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Don't you think Tom Brady would enjoy having his name called Siri? Have you ever gone to one of this? Yes. Yes. And yes. Have you ever tried to submit your story and then I got in picked? No. Have you? I did. I did. No. I did. And you know what story I was going to tell? Oh God. No. I was going to time not going to do the whole story now, but I was going to tell the story about when I was in high school and I was quarantined in China during swine flu by the Chinese government. That's your crazy one. That was crazy. So that was like basically I gave the tagline because at the end, everyone who didn't get picked, you got to go up and say your tagline and they're like, "Oh, that was a good one." And I was like, "Well, you didn't pick me so." Well, you missed out. And the world will never know what that was like. And for the record, I didn't have swine flu. Well, right. Yes. Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Anyways. So Tom Brady. Well, look, I think that Tom Brady has the soul of an artist and that's that. And that's that. And that's that. Well, the funniest thing would be if it comes out later that Chad G.P.T. wrote those lines for him. I mean, we honestly, I just don't think it's possible. No, it's not. It's not. It's not. Later, like, I don't even know what sort of testing they'd have to do to like get the large language model to learn that that was words that needed to be put together in that context. I think there would have to be a glitch for a computer to put that together. For sure. All right. Well, Madeline, let's talk about something that happened right after we finished recording on Tuesday. We were talking about everything at Texas, where Texas, Peter, Ohio State, after the game, head coach Steve Syrkeesian blew off the ESPN reporter Holly Road and do the post-game contractually obligated press conference. And then Arch Manning and a bunch of what sound like guys in a press conference laughed about an AI video made that showed Steve Syrkeesian slapping Holly Road to the ground and running away. He has since released an apology on his Instagram story. Would you be so kind as to read everybody what that was? I would love to read it. He said, quote, "In my press conference yesterday, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video. There is nothing funny about it. It's easy to say. I didn't mean it, but I know my words and actions were hurtful to a lot of people. I do not take that lightly and I am deeply sorry for that. I specifically want to apologize to Holly Road for what she has personally had to deal with because of my comments. I have a ton of respect for her and appreciate her showing me grace in this moment. I need to do better and I will be more thoughtful going forward." So Holly then posted on X. She said, "Thank you, Arch. I appreciate our conversation about this, which will remain private apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another." And I think that we'll talk about the apology. At the very least, I do think this is a nice example of something being bad and going wrong. And whatever happened in that private conversation, I hope was sincere enough that it's not just a situation where the woman once again has to say, no worries. And I hope that it seems like Holly isn't someone I don't think who would say this if she didn't believe. Okay. I accept your apology. We're going to move on. Yeah. I agree. Doesn't mean you forget what happened, but it is a nice reminder that you can mess up. You can speak to the person that you hurt and you can if the other person is willing to give you grace, move on, but I don't know. I don't know. - No, I agree, I agree. I think it was hands very big of her. Let's say that. - Yes, that's what I was gonna say. - Yes, very big of her. I also think from a PR standpoint, what I do appreciate with this situation is how quickly Archmaning apologized because this could have been dragged out longer and I mean, it should have never happened in the first place, but whatever, we'll get to that, get to the actual apology. But I do appreciate that it was a pretty quick response to give an apology. Do you know what I mean? Whereas I often feel like they wait too long and then you're like, really now you're apologizing about this? - Right. - You've decided you wanna say something? - Right. - I mean, 'cause that was what yesterday, the game saturday, so two days, two and a half days. - Two and a half days. - Yes, saturday to Tuesday. - Yeah, so it's like, okay, in that sense, fine. Let's talk about his statement, because we were texting about it. And I think we have similar feelings, but then also maybe some conflicting feelings. I don't know about it. - Yeah, I mean, my first response was that it was a good apology because he is, I guess though, I think the bar for me is so low that the fact that art says I apologize, I made an insensitive comment. There's nothing funny about it. I hurt people and then he was specific about apologizing to Holly. I think that in that sense, it was better than a lot of what we get. I do think the fact that it was a story only, like a very ephemeral thing. And I think the fact that also he didn't say anything about violence against women is never funny. - Yes, that's my biggest problem with it. - Yeah, I think what I appreciate about it is that it's clear and direct. I think that is good. But to say in it, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video, but then doesn't specify, it's an AI video of your head coach violently slapping a reporter who was a woman. I think was a misstep and I don't really understand why they didn't include specifics around what the subject matter was because it's like, that's why people weren't mad because it was an AI video of like Holly Row dancing. I mean, sure, maybe some people will be mad, but I don't think Holly Row would be like that. - No, no. It's like, it was specifically people were mad because of what the coach is doing in the video to Holly Row. So just to not mention that in the statement kind of bummed me out and also to your point, the fact that this was on an Instagram story and not in feed on Instagram where there can be comments back feels like a way to hide behind your statement in your Instagram story because there are no comments. I mean, people could DM him, of course, complaining about his statement and the situation, but I do feel like that is certainly to calculate a choice to not put it on main, as they say. - Yeah, and then it goes away and you hope people forget about it. I think there is, we talked about this when we talked about the situation. There is a culture where violence against women and misogyny is so accepted in the sports world in society in general too. And I think something I didn't say on Tuesday that I've been thinking about since is there is, it has become that much more, okay, since Trump has been in office twice. And since it's, you know, these things are in the air we breathe and it is okay right now. There's a lot of misogyny in the air. And so it is still a little bit like, I don't know, I wonder if Arch and the people at the center of this understand why this was such a massive moment. 'Cause there are some comments on our Instagram video that we put out a clip of the show in Tuesday saying, like, people are acting like, you know, Arch killed people. And it's like, well, the reason that this got the, the uproar that it did is A, it's horrible and it's violence against women, but it also shows where we are as a society and what the sports world is okay with when they think no one's really watching or when there aren't a lot of women around. - Yeah, so I agree, I agree. I think it's depressing and I think the response on the internet is really disappointing, but also not surprising given the culture and who our president is to your point. So yeah, I'm glad he apologized. I think he apology could have been better, but at least he apologized sooner rather than later. So yeah, okay, we'll on to something that we have been talking about a lot in this show gambling. 'Cause it's true about a lot of people are thinking about this a lot of the time, including the leagues who have gotten into bed with these gambling companies. On Tuesday, the NFL, the NBA, the NHL MLB, and MLS sent a memo to state gambling regulators. And you might think, whoa, these are all men's leagues. They sure were. And the WNBA, the players union was like, oh, pardon me. And they said it is deeply disappointing given the public and troubling incidents of betting related harassment experienced by our members over the past several seasons. The NBA determined that WNBA players did not warrant inclusion in a joint statement intended to address this very issue. Terry Carmichael Jackson, who is a WNBPA executive director said, and the NBA owns about 42% of the WNBA. So this is something that very easily, like there's NWSL wasn't included in this PWHL. Like it was almost as if it's a continuation of what we're talking about where these men in these rooms are like, well, that's it. We took care of everything and just because it doesn't even cross their minds to consider that perhaps a woman's league might like to be looped into this and included. 'Cause it's not like women aren't getting death rates over betting. - No, they certainly are. And they're probably, I mean, I don't know the frequency, but I would imagine it's probably as frequent, frequent if not maybe more frequent than the men's leagues, I don't know. But what is interesting about it and the irony of the entire thing is that the memo had to do with concerns from these leagues about harassment that athletes were facing in regards to sports betting. I mean, we talked about this like the death threats, et cetera. And I said this on Twitter, but I'm like, um, guys, I think the calls coming from inside the house, all of these leagues have partnerships with these huge gambling companies. So I don't really know what to tell you here. It was, is this just optics that you're putting this memo out there for some weird PR reason because it doesn't work. You already have partnerships with these companies. So I don't really quite understand what the intention is behind it other than, yeah, they're like, we need more regulations. We need more laws in place to protect athletes against this harassment blah, blah, blah, blah. It's like, well, they, you guys are the ones who did these deals with these companies. So yeah, it kind of starts there. Yeah, this is a big time, um, you know, Tim Robinson and the hot dog suit saying we're all trying to find the guy who did this because what they're asking for is for, um, they want lifetime betting bans on anybody who issues death threats to players, cross state exclusion list, because again, gambling is a state by state thing, um, they want proactive account monitoring by sports books. So like if you're harassing someone, they want the sports book to say, hey, cut that out. And to me, it really is like putting a bandaid over a gaping wound where they're like, let's just, you know, it's like, well, someone's bleeding out. So maybe instead of putting like a Hello Kitty, um, little bandaid on it, we, you know, it's like, it's, it's, it's very difficult to take any of this, um, as if they're acting in good faith because it is very clear. It's like the leagues are the ones who cause the injury. Well, right, right. And doing this with the sports books in the first place. Yeah, and it's like, then you go, okay, well, why are these leagues having these partnerships? It's like, well, money follow the money. They're getting money from these companies. And obviously these leagues, it appears, care more about money than the well-being of their players by partnering with these companies that have people who use these tools to harass their own players. So it's like, okay, well, to me, this just reads as once again, these large institutions care more about money and getting as much money as they can and are now trying to backtrack and cover their dirty tracks with a little Hello Kitty Band-Aid along the way. And it doesn't work. And Madeline, we've said it before. We'll say it again, your company's not your friend. Not your friend. Your employer doesn't care about you. No. And athletes work, athletes are employees of companies. Yes. And the leagues are the overall arching company of their individual companies. So, oh boy, hello, brother. It's been, it's been a, we've got some bleak headlines. I know, really bleak. Well, speaking of a company man, Lane Kiffin, he is making his way back to his former employer. What's going on there, Charlotte? He sure is. Well, Lane Kiffin is the head coach of the Louisiana State football team on the whole legal name. Why not? It's a middle name state. He was the head coach of Ole Miss, which is in Oxford, Mississippi, and the Oxford Police Department ahead of the game on Saturday between LSU and Ole Miss, they have enlisted additional security. So the Oxford Police Department has a staff of 140 officers. They're all going to be working Friday and Saturday in various shifts. But they are also bringing in mounted patrol units, which are cops on horses from Mobile Alabama and New Orleans, New Orleans. I like that. Well, you know, I don't, I really read that one literally, who are going to be patrolling the square, which is like the center of Oxford, and they're going to have 19 officers on horseback, 13 from Alabama and New Orleans, alongside the six mounted officers who work for Oxford. Madeline, I've been to Oxford, Mississippi. Have you ever been to Oxford, Mississippi? No. Never been. It is haunted. It's definitely haunted. It's pretty crazy because it's this, you know, it's this sort of beautiful idyllic, it looks like a movie set, this 10th-a-town square. And as you're walking into town, it'll be like, here is where the Confederate army started burning everything down so that the Union soldiers couldn't get them. And it's like the, the history there. I don't know. It was, I know you're from Georgia. I, obviously, am from the Northeast. And I think seeing, I don't even really know where I'm going with this. It's just, there's a lot going on there. And on game day, it gets so crowded and these bars, there's one called the library, which is just like a whole concrete structure where I did a live show, which will just, there are a lot of people. Yeah, a lot of people, a lot of people. And a lot of people presumably drink it. Oh, yeah. So I'm curious how the game goes. And whether the increased security for Lane Kiffin will be necessary or not. Or I mean, I feel like he's just going to get booed a lot. I think he's going to get booed. I think it's going to, I think people are going to get so drunk that they're like, we're going to need backup. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's fair. Yes. It's more in town. That's sure. That's sure. And there's going to be fights probably amongst fans. I would yes. Because wouldn't you think like a bunch of LSU fans are going to go. It's not that far away. Yeah. Oh, for sure. I'm sure they will go. Yeah. Yeah. Of course. Well, that'll be interesting. We'll see how that one goes. Oh boy. Oh boy. See how that one goes. Well, speaking of oh boy, we got sent the story a lot. And we were going to talk about it on Tuesday, but there was just not enough time and also more information has come out. The Ed Sheeran, Macklemore, Robert Kraft, Saga heard around the internet. We have to talk about it. So we're going to. We are. So basically the TLDR is that Ed Sheeran is going on a tour. It's called the loop tour. Macklemore, the rapper, I guess, was going to open for him. He opened at two. One of them was at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where the giants play. And he said a big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so that I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very, very dear to my heart, free Palestine. This is in light of the ongoing genocide that Israel is committing against the Palestinian people. It is a very admirable thing to do because as it turns out, there is a lot of money that goes into making sure people don't say this. Yes. Yes. And some of that money comes from the owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, who has a lot of sway over all of the other owners of stadiums across America, it appears because Macklemore released a very lengthy statement, which I am pulling up, unless you have a Charlotte. Well, it's just like seven slides. It's really, really thoughtful. Yes. Basically, we won't go into it in detail, but you should go read it yourself, but he did start his statement by saying, I'm not sure how to start this, so I'm going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from the loop tour. And then he goes on to alleged that Ed Sheeran apparently told him that Robert Kraft had rallied other owners of stadiums across the US to make the same decision to essentially force Macklemore to step down from being on the tour. And then he was dropped from the tour. Yeah. And Kraft was asked about this. And Bob Kraft has an initiative called the Blue Square Initiative, which is the tagline is like, stop Jewish hate. You might notice a lot of NFL players or former players when they're not playing or on a broadcast, they have a little blue square, which is meant to signify, you know, stop Jewish hate. Robert Kraft has put 20 million into it. Robert Kraft is a big supporter of Israel. And I want to say something as a Jewish person. I'm Jewish. I was bought mit's foot. And, you know, I want everyone to know that as we go into this conversation. So basically, Bob Kraft said he gave a statement based on Macklemore's recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran shows in New Jersey in a broader history of anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community. We determined that his participation at these concerts, blah blah blah, Gillette would cross that line. He said it's not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf, even though it certainly seems like it is. He said their pain and loss are real with that advocacy. He should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, the United States, and globally blah blah blah doesn't need to play. So he goes on and on. He says Gillette has a long standing commitment to providing a well who environment for all guests. Here's the thing. I'm I'm so sick and tired of people conflating standing up for Palestinians and being against Zionism as being anti-Semitism. Yeah. That is not the same thing. I am Jewish. I am vehemently against what is happening in Palestine. What is real is what the Israeli government is doing to Palestinians and has been doing for a very long time. Saying free Palestine, there is nothing anti-Semitic about that. In fact, we all can only get towards some semblance of equality when everybody has human rights. Never again is something people say a lot about the Holocaust. My grandfather's family, a lot of them are murdered in the Holocaust. And to me, never again means literally don't never again to anybody. And the fact that we keep seeing these billionaires and these rich Jewish people co-opt the language of anti-Semitism to mean support for Israel does a disservice to the greater Jewish community and Jewish people who believe in civil rights and human rights and have fought so hard for that in this country, there are a lot of us. So it drives me absolutely insane. Yeah. And I think rightfully so, what's happening in Gaza is a genocide. And for those who aren't familiar, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry did conclude that what's happening in Gaza is a genocide, that Israel committed acts of genocide in Gaza. So to me, I'm like the issue isn't complicated. It's like that's what's happening. It's black and white. Israel is committing acts of genocide in Gaza. And so for Macklemore to basically be bullied out of performing on this tour by one of the most important and influential people in any sport, Robert Kraft, goes to show I think the links at which people in power will go to silence someone who they don't agree with and don't like what they say. And you and I talked about this before we recorded, but for those who don't know, can you share just what Robert Kraft's influences if we're just going to talk about the NFL in terms of his power over the other owners of public teams? Absolutely. Robert Kraft is one of the most important owners. I would say it's Kraft and Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys, who have really done the most to get what they want accomplished in this league. He obviously, he's owned the Patriots since the 90s, and he has won a lot of Super Bulls. And as we talk about a lot on this show, winning really fixes everything. Any issue in sports is very easy to ignore when you've been winning. And Kraft has a lot of power. So he and he's the one who basically told the other owners, hey, don't hire Bill Belichak, Bill Belichak didn't get hired. You could argue that was maybe a good choice in retrospect looking at UNC now. But essentially, Kraft has power that he's choosing to wield in a very destructive way in this instance. Yeah. And this wielding of power has severe consequences. So after Macklemore stepped down, all of Ed Sheeran's other supporting acts also stepped down from the tour, including Phineas, who is Billy Eilish's brother, also stepped down. So I don't know if this tour is happening, if the show is going to go on, if Ed Sheeran's just going to come out at 8 o'clock when it starts, and there's snow openers. He did release a statement which I think we can talk about in a second, but one thing I want to point out, I don't know if you saw this Charlotte, but Ed Sheeran was and maybe possibly still is under the new company represented by Casey Wasserman, who we've talked about on the show. Casey Wasserman is the entertainment executive. He's also, I believe, the head of the LA 28 Olympics committee, I think, or that organization. He was mentioned in the Epstein files, and so he was forced to sell his company, the Wasserman agency. They rebranded it. And so I don't know if Ed Sheeran is still represented, but from my understanding, when all this came out, I don't think Ed Sheeran said anything. I could be wrong about Casey Wasserman's mention in the Epstein files. So again, I think this goes what we're about to discuss his statement. I think reinforces Ed Sheeran's apathy it feels like about issues that matter beyond what's happening in Gaza. I mean, just using the other example with Casey Wasserman, that it's not surprising. I just thought that was an interesting detail in this situation. It's also interesting. Macklemore was very upfront in what he said. He basically was like, this was an uncomfortable conversation. I consider Ed a brother, but basically Ed is not willing to give up his apolitical stance, which I would like to remind everyone there is no such thing as being apolitical. You're either standing up for human rights or your silent or you're actively working against it. And I would argue that silence is a similar thing to actively working against it. So keep that in mind with Mackmore's statement. Yeah. Part of Ed Sheeran's statement, he says, I have always used my platform and music to bring people from all backgrounds and cultures together and this won't ever change. Those who have been to one of my shows will know that they are about unity, joy, escapism, love and a place for everyone to feel welcome. I am not complicit. I have my own personal views on this devastating conflict. That's because I choose not to speak publicly. It doesn't mean I don't have them and it doesn't mean I don't care nor doesn't mean I don't support causes in my own personal way. Now I would like to note that Ed Sheeran was photographed, at least as early as 2023, wearing the blue pin from the Blue Square initiative at a performance. So he's clearly at least spend some sort of partner or supporter of crafts organization for a while. So there is that detail. One thing I want to talk about, I don't know if you saw this Charlotte, but Caleb here on the comedian, have you seen his post about this, his Instagram stories? Because I really, I just want to pull it up and of course it's deleted. Let me pull it up on my screen shot at it. But Caleb here on the comedian, he's very funny. He basically posted his own version of what essentially Ed Sheeran is saying there, which I appreciated. He said, "Hey guys, I've seen all of the atrocities going on and I just want you to know I'm keeping the conversation open by saying nothing. I am a role model and then in parentheses product and it's important that I don't disappoint my young fans in parentheses, investors and shareholders by being political. My shows are something so much bigger than politics, they are commerce with a heart emoji." And that sums up this statement. I mean, you can go ahead and read it all for yourself, but I just loved that take on it because it's perfectly sums up Ed Sheeran's non-statement statement that is saying go-girl give us nothing. Totally. And when we were looking at the Bob Crafts at the Blue Square Initiatives website, which look, let me be clear, I think combating anti-semitism is great. I think that's doing so under the guise of having a lot of money tied up in Israel is disingenuous. And I think that again conflating Israel and support for it, saying if you don't support Israel, you're an anti-semit is unbelievably destructive. But yeah, when we were looking at that and we saw that there was a picture of Ed Sheeran wearing that blue pin from at least 2023, it makes you think, okay, this is a classic follow the money. How what has Ed Sheeran been involved with in Bob Craft money-wise, maybe that we don't know about? And again, I'm not saying if you've worn the blue pin, you are -- it just gets the semantics of the whole thing, like you have to call it what it is, which is a genocide. And you have to be very clear that you can support Jewish people and not support the state of Israel. Right. And I think to something -- the funny part of this is that I'm like, oh my God. So I have to be -- I have to, like, the thrift shop guy, the guy who sings the most annoying songs in the world, I have to be like, oh my God, you're an example of standing up and having a really clear stance and statement. I'm like, you're making me root for Macklemore? I know. I know. I guess we're rooting for him now. And the thing -- you know, the thing that Bob Craft was referencing in terms of a history of anti-Semitic rhetoric in 2014 or 2013, Macklemore put on what he called a disguise, which looked pretty much like a caricature of what you would to wrong it truly dress up as a Jew with, like, a big nose and dark hair. And people talked about it at the time. He issued a statement, he apologized. But I think that it's also acting in bad faith to say that someone who has done that and then apologized for it by advocating for another group of people is, quote, you know, once again, doing something. And so I just -- the fact that Macklemore, who never forget texted Kendrick Lamar after he won the best rap album, he said to Kendrick Lamar and he said, you were robbed. I robbed you. Like, this guy -- this is a guy that now -- you know, and so, look, it just goes to show that it's never the wrong time to do the right thing, never the wrong person to do the right thing, maybe. You know, like, good for him, I commend him. I just think it's very funny that like, I didn't have this on my bingo card as like Macklemore being the bravest political artist in 2026. No, this was not on my bingo card at all. And obviously, you know, we don't know, for sure, obviously, how Ed Sheeran feels about what's happening in Gaza. He does open his statement by saying, I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine, the suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. But I'm also like, okay, then, well, again, what are you saying here? So I think it's just unbelievably disappointing on his part. I have been to an Ed Sheeran concert, so I have been -- it is a pretty like, neutral experience. It's kind of like going to like a -- if elevator music was a political party, do you know what I mean? Just like, we kind of stand for a few -- we stand for things that are bad, but won't say what they are and won't quite tell you exactly what's going on. It's kind of the tone of his music. Honestly, that kind of sums it up. So it's not surprising that someone who puts out music like that would just kind of give us this apolitical statement in the year 2026. And I guess we are standing Macklemore now. And it's really wild that Robert Kraft is at the center of essentially a music and politics scandal. Yeah, I mean, it just -- I don't know if people always understand the depths to which the sports world has its tentacles in everything because of the amount of money tied up in sports and in the people who own it. And yeah, Macklemore and Sheeran is like, if you know, one limited two started selling like the hippie piece in love stuff from Woodstock where it was like people were trying to further the cause. And then limited two is like bison bell bottoms. That's a bad example, but you know what I mean. So I think two, it's just been interesting how many people in the sports world have also been quiet about this and how few athletes have said free Palestine or said this is wrong. And you kind of see why because there is -- there's a lot of value to their silence when you have someone like Bob Kraft literally canceling someone's tour. And Sheeran's backing band, they're an Irish band and they were like, we understand colonialism as Irish people. This was a huge opportunity for us to play this show and we can't do it. So it has been nice to see, I feel like the public sentiment has been much more overwhelmingly in support of the people who aren't going on tour in light of what Bob Kraft has done. So that's a good aspect of this. Yeah, it's wild. It's really crazy. You can be, of course, against Jewish hate as we are. My step-dad Jewish, my step-grandmother was a Holocaust survivor spoke across the United States about her experience in concentration camps. So that's on one hand and you can also say that what's happening in Gaza in Palestine is a genocide and yet if you say those things, you can still experience these consequences like Macklemore has from someone who has a position of money and power that even him as a very rich white man, he doesn't even have that much power as Robert Kraft. And I think it's just another example of how much money and power runs the world. Yeah, in all industries, it's crazy. It's also interesting because I think Macklemore has like seven of the top 10 songs on iTunes that are being bought right now. So it is also evidence that like you can make money from doing the right thing. Yeah. If other, if enough people agree with you, it also has raised Macklemore's profile in a way that like we hadn't heard much about him. So I think two, because he's a rich white guy, he's insulated from a lot of the he's able to speak and face fewer consequences than a lot of other people would be. So it's great that he is. And I would love to see more people in his position doing so. Absolutely. But man, never a dull moment, Madeline. Oh boy, never a dull moment. Never a dull moment. Yeah, I think that's our show. I think that's our show, folks. Well, you do the, you do the right review. I've got for you. Can I try? Yes, go. Okay, please rate and review, like and subscribe. It makes a huge difference. You can follow, you can subscribe on YouTube. You can follow. You almost had it. You can follow us on Instagram at sports gossip or on subsec sports gossip show. I'll talk about sports gossip show. And that's all I remember. 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