Latest / The Daily Play With Joy Taylor / Ernie Johnson Steps Down from Inside the NBA, Chargers Stay with Mike McDaniel, and Chiefs Add Justin Tucker

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Ernie Johnson Steps Down from Inside the NBA, Chargers Stay with Mike McDaniel, and Chiefs Add Justin Tucker · The Daily Play With Joy Taylor

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Hey guys, it's Joy Taylor. Thanks so much for joining me.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Make sure you hit subscribe and follow us on social
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: at the Daily Play Joy Taylor.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Oh, so sad. This will be the last year of
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Inside the NBA as we know it.
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  Speaker 2: It is my favorite sports television show.
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  Speaker 1: I think maybe of all time. I think it's one
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  Speaker 1: of the best shows on television.
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  Speaker 2: Ernie Johnson announced that he is stepping down as the
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: host after this season joining Charles Barkley, who has also
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  Speaker 2: stated that this will be his last year on the show.
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  Speaker 2: Here is some of what Ernie had to say in
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  Speaker 2: a video statement. He said, just to be clear, I'm
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  Speaker 2: not retiring, just cutting back. So this by no means
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  Speaker 2: is the end, just a turning of the page. I'll
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  Speaker 2: forever cherish every chapter that we have written with Inside
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: the NBA. It does kind of feel like retirement.
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  Speaker 1: Because this is the show that really.
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  Speaker 2: Defines this particular group together. I have so much respect
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  Speaker 2: for Ernie Johnson. He is the gold standard of hosting
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: in our fields. He is really incomparable. It's not an
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: easy job to do what he does, and he does
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  Speaker 2: it so effortlessly, so inviting.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: He has this completely unique charm.
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  Speaker 2: And what I've always really admired about their chemistry together
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  Speaker 2: is that there is this comedy element to the show,
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  Speaker 2: but also just a high level of respect. And EJ
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: has always commanded the most amount of respect on that show.
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  Speaker 2: It's an iconic role, an iconic show. so many unbelievable
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  Speaker 2: moments and I'm just grateful to have been able to
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  Speaker 2: watch so many hours of it. He has talked about
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: his recent health issues and the complicated nature of the
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  Speaker 2: talents and the original show and all the things that
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: are going on. But I just, I'm really sad to
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  Speaker 2: see this come to an end because really the combination
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  Speaker 2: of those personalities is one of a kind.
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  Speaker 1: It's incredibly unique. It has defined people.
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  Speaker 2: An era of sports television, and there will never be
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  Speaker 2: anything like it again. And some things just cannot be duplicated.
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  Speaker 2: And this will be a recipe that is lost. And
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  Speaker 2: I'm really sad to see it go. So I'm going
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: to watch as much of it as possible before it
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  Speaker 2: goes off the air. And even though he is not
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  Speaker 2: necessarily retiring, this show not being the same it's really
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  Speaker 2: the heart of the NBA and it's, you know, it's
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  Speaker 2: sad to think that these chapters are going away, you know,
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  Speaker 2: big time stars are retiring.
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  Speaker 1: You know, it's a turning.
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  Speaker 2: Of the page and there they're just, there's not going
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  Speaker 2: to be a show that can ever compare to it.
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  Speaker 1: It's just not possible. Switching over to the NFL, the chargers.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Had a very interesting year. By interesting, very bad. 0-6.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: But despite that, they are sticking with their new offensive coordinator,
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  Speaker 2: Mike McDaniel, former head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Current
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: head coach of the Chargers, Jim Harbaugh, made the decision
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  Speaker 2: after the organization's self-scouting of the bye week. He said,
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  Speaker 2: we're very confident in Mike and his talent, his work ethic,
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  Speaker 2: and his ability. We continue to be. I feel like
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  Speaker 2: every stone in any part that we could look better,
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  Speaker 2: that's the way we responded. McDaniel was let go in
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  Speaker 2: January after four seasons as the head coach of the
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  Speaker 2: Miami Dolphins. He joined the Chargers this offseason to work with, obviously,
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  Speaker 2: Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense. It's the worst scoring
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  Speaker 2: offense in the league, 15 points per game, 1-5. Also,
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  Speaker 2: bottom five in total yards and passing yards. I have
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: to be honest, I never really got the McDaniel thing.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not a.
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  Speaker 2: Big jokey joke person when it comes to things that
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: are serious. Obviously, I like a good kiki. I like
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: to have a good time. I like to talk about
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  Speaker 2: fun things. But when serious stuff is.
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  Speaker 1: Happening, I like for people to be serious.
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  Speaker 2: And I don't know that Mike McDaniel ever really felt
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  Speaker 2: very serious. And while I think being the head coach
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  Speaker 2: of the Miami Dolphins was a lot of good coaching experience,
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  Speaker 2: Diving into a situation with Justin Herbert, where the expectations
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  Speaker 2: are extremely high, which were not necessarily the case with
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: the Miami Dolphins. Obviously, Tua was on the line, but
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  Speaker 2: I think it was more of a, if you can
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  Speaker 2: fix this, great.
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  Speaker 1: If not, we'll learn from our mistakes and move on.
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  Speaker 2: This is a year that had very high expectations for
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  Speaker 2: the Chargers. For them to be 0-6 is abysmal. They
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: have the Rams coming up, Houston, and Baltimore. So things
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  Speaker 2: could go from bad to much worse. The defense hasn't
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  Speaker 2: been great either. They're bottom third in scoring defense. There's
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  Speaker 2: going to come a point with this organization where.
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  Speaker 2: The question has to be asked, is Herbert the right
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  Speaker 2: quarterback for them? And I think that Justin Herbert is
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  Speaker 2: a very talented quarterback. I think he's very smart. I
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  Speaker 2: think he has an unbelievable arm. He had an amazing
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  Speaker 2: rookie season. He's the ability to put up big numbers.
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  Speaker 2: I don't necessarily know if he's a winner. And unfortunately,
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  Speaker 2: so much about the NFL falls on the quarterback position,
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  Speaker 2: whether it's fair or unfair, that's how it works. So
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  Speaker 2: when you're touted with the talent that Justin Herbert has,
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  Speaker 2: and when you see the ability that he has, and
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  Speaker 2: the expectations are.
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  Speaker 1: Risen to a certain level, the numbers eventually have to match.
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  Speaker 2: And of course, also, I have always said this about
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  Speaker 2: Justin Herbert, he eventually has to be compared to his peers.
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  Speaker 1: And if you're comparing him to his peers, it's a failure.
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  Speaker 1: So I don't know what they can do there.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know if it makes a big difference for
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  Speaker 2: them to move on from Mike McDaniel at this point
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  Speaker 2: in the season. Probably after this year, the season is over.
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  Speaker 2: If things continue to trend the way that they are,
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  Speaker 2: I imagine he.
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  Speaker 1: Won't be there.
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  Speaker 2: But this has been a cataclysmic season for the Chargers.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: And finally, some less desirable news from the NFL. So
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: the Chiefs signed former Ravens kicker Justin Tucker to their
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  Speaker 2: practice squad. The former All-Pro kicker was cut by the
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  Speaker 2: Ravens last season after receiving a 10-game suspension for violating
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: the league's personal conduct policy. If you remember, he was
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  Speaker 2: accused of sexual misconduct by 16 massage therapists from eight
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: high-end spas and wellness centers in the Baltimore area, according
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  Speaker 2: to a report by the Baltimore Banner in February of 2025.
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  Speaker 2: The alleged conduct happened during Tucker's first five seasons in Baltimore.
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  Speaker 2: And as I mentioned, he was suspended for 10 games
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  Speaker 2: for violating the league's.
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  Speaker 1: Personal conduct policy.
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  Speaker 2: Andy Reid, he is known for taking on guys with
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  Speaker 2: off the field issues, said he's done a suspension and
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  Speaker 2: took care of that business.
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  Speaker 1: I'll leave it at that.
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  Speaker 2: We try to do our homework the best way possible
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  Speaker 2: and talk to a lot of people and make sure
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  Speaker 2: that things are OK. He declined to elaborate on the
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  Speaker 2: chief's vetting process. On Tucker, he said, I'm not going
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  Speaker 2: to get into all that. To bring him in here,
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  Speaker 2: I did some homework. He's here and he's on the
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  Speaker 2: practice squad, so we roll with it. He is in
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  Speaker 2: Kansas City, of course, because their current kicker, Harrison.
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  Speaker 1: Becker, is.
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  Speaker 1: Doing a terrible job this season.
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  Speaker 2: He missed five of 16 field goal attempts so far
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: this season. If you remember, Harrison Bucker has a history
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  Speaker 2: of his own, obviously not personal misconduct, but has been
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  Speaker 2: quite open about a lot of political issues that are
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: not necessarily very supportive of women. And This is a
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  Speaker 2: really interesting choice by the Chiefs. A source told Ian
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  Speaker 2: Rappaport of NFL Network that Tucker was one of three
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  Speaker 2: kickers who worked out for the Chiefs on Tuesday, and
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  Speaker 2: Bucker remained the only kicker on the Chiefs' 53-man roster
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  Speaker 2: Wednesday morning. Ravens released Tucker with three years remaining on
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  Speaker 2: a four-year, $ 22 million contract extension, making him the highest
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  Speaker 2: paid kicker in the NFL at the time. Obviously, Justin
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  Speaker 2: Tucker has been out of our purview for some time
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  Speaker 2: because he was suspended and then cut.
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  Speaker 1: But he was.
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  Speaker 2: Coming off of the worst season of his career, missing
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  Speaker 2: 10 total kicks in 2024, three more than any previous season.
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  Speaker 2: But he is, prior to that, obviously a tremendous, tremendous player.
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  Speaker 2: As I've already mentioned on the show, the Chiefs having
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  Speaker 2: a kicker that is having a season like Harrison Bucker
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  Speaker 2: is not ideal. Signing Justin Tucker to the practice squad
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  Speaker 2: was not the solution that I had in mind. Obviously,
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: people are taking notice of having these two men on
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  Speaker 2: the team. The Chiefs have never made any indication that
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  Speaker 2: they would ever move off of Harrison Becker, despite the
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: things that he has been involved in publicly and his
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  Speaker 2: position on a lot of conservative views that he has
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  Speaker 2: about women. And Justin Tucker having this scandal and suspension
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  Speaker 2: is is.
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  Speaker 1: A choice i'll say that by the chiefs and you know.
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  Speaker 2: There's really no way to contextualize it properly i think like.
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  Speaker 1: It's business. Andy Reid said he did his research.
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  Speaker 2: A lot of people feel that Justin Tucker maybe didn't
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  Speaker 2: even do anything wrong. There's obviously going to be a
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: contingent of people that think that he lied. There's a
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  Speaker 2: contingent of people that agree with Harrison Bucker and don't
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  Speaker 2: even think that he's problematic. So I would speak solely
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  Speaker 2: to the women who feel offended by this, who are
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  Speaker 2: fans of the Chiefs, who already don't like Harrison Bucker
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  Speaker 2: and feel a type of way about the Chiefs signing
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  Speaker 2: Justin Tucker, is that this should be a reminder to
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  Speaker 2: not put these organizations and these institutions on a pedestal.
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: At the end of the day, they're going to do
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  Speaker 2: whatever they need to do to win. They're going to
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: sign whoever they need to sign to win. As long
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  Speaker 2: as it is within the parameters of what is legal
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  Speaker 2: and what is allowed for the sport, they're.
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  Speaker 1: Going to do it. They always have and they always will.
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  Speaker 1: And I find.
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  Speaker 2: that with all the sensibilities that I have, the best
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  Speaker 2: choice is to.
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  Speaker 1: Separate art from artists.
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  Speaker 2: And that helps me not to put anyone on a
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  Speaker 2: pedestal and to look at things from a pure competition standpoint.
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  Speaker 1: And while that is really unfortunate.
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  Speaker 2: Saying that someone is a good guy or you like
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  Speaker 2: them because they're a good person or the things that
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  Speaker 2: they stand for is a very slippery slope. It's very
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  Speaker 2: slippery slope because this does not surprise me in the slightest.
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  Speaker 2: It's a very gross setup for sure. And it's been
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  Speaker 2: noticed by a lot of people, but it doesn't surprise me.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: The Chiefs are 5-1, and their next two games are Denver, Jets,
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  Speaker 2: and Atlanta. We will see if we see any action
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  Speaker 2: from Justin Tucker in that time. Thanks so much for
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: joining me. Make sure you hit subscribe.
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: Follow us on social at The Daily Play Joy Taylor.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: For more on this and other top stories of the day,
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: tune into The Daily Play with Joy Taylor at urban1podcast. com
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.