00:00So the Kings, this is a big topic, John, the Kings hot mic situation.
00:05And for people that don't know what I'm talking about, first of all, get on social media because it's been
00:10the rage of everything.
00:12Sacramento's media day became a story about the people covering the players, not necessarily the players themselves.
00:20So a live stream picked up reporters discussing Ben Simmons's and Zach Levine's appearances between interviews.
00:30Physical appearance.
00:31Yes.
00:32The conversation that these people had now, they haven't come out officially and said who they are.
00:38Two women and it sounded like a man and a man in the background as well.
00:43So there was personal criticism of the players.
00:45There were comments about their attractiveness.
00:49The reporters obviously didn't realize that they were being live streamed and broadcast and their identities.
00:55Like I said, they weren't established, but it just spread everywhere.
00:58This is a widely criticized moment for the Kings and the Kings media.
01:04So, John, like the question is like how much that changes the relationship that we see between these reporters and
01:12the players that they cover?
01:13Because, you know, people across the NBA and people across media are like, oh, this is bad.
01:19You can't do that.
01:23So, okay.
01:25We know who they are.
01:26They've been identified.
01:27Yes.
01:27Yes.
01:28Detectives on social media have done their job.
01:30Didn't take long with a hot mic and then you go to Ben Simmons being questioned and you have women
01:35biting their lips and, you know.
01:37So, here's the thing, man, if there were two men caught on a hot mic at a WNBA training camp,
01:47breaking down the physical appearance of these women, there would be hell to pay for these men.
01:56So, there should be no difference for these females, period.
02:01End of story.
02:02If you, and this is the weird standard and the difficult place you get in when you have women in
02:09these spaces evaluating male athletes and vice versa.
02:13When these things happen off camera, off mic, but when these things get caught on a mic, it magnifies the
02:21complications of having women involved this closely to sport, to male sports.
02:28One of the experiences that I had, and I can tell you right now, I have the utmost respect for
02:36Lisa Salters.
02:37I was covering the Lakers.
02:39This was like a decade ago almost when Kobe Bryant was still playing.
02:42It was a Christmas Day game.
02:43It was the Lakers against the Celtics.
02:46Kevin Garnett was in town.
02:47That day I met Manny Pacquiao, turned around, and realized he was at my hip.
02:51And I was like, what?
02:54You were the, okay.
02:57But Lisa Salters' level of professionalism in a locker room full of naked and half-naked men above approach.
03:08She couldn't have been more professional in that environment.
03:13And I thought everybody worked, everybody operated like that because that was my first crack at the business like that.
03:21I was wrong.
03:22I was absolutely wrong.
03:24She had set the bar too high.
03:27She had set the bar way too high for some of the things I've seen and I've heard since that
03:32moment.
03:33And so every time I get an opportunity to talk about Lisa Salters and her professionalism, I always tell that
03:38story and I always take my hat off to her.
03:40But some of this other stuff that I've seen around sounds a lot more like the hot mic you heard
03:45than what I experienced with Lisa Salters firsthand.
03:49Yeah.
03:49And, you know, now there's questions, right?
03:52Like, oh, should these women be fired?
03:54Like, should that guy be fired?
03:56Because he was kind of like egging them on.
03:58Like, oh, what do you mean by that?
03:59It's like, relax.
04:00Like he knew the mic was hot.
04:01Yeah, yeah.
04:03So I think the question should be, John, like which part of that crosses the line the most?
04:09Like, was it them discussing their, like Ben Simmons and Zach Levine's appearances or was it just attacking someone personally?
04:16Because we've seen this before.
04:18Like, reporters attack players all the time in terms of how they play.
04:23Maybe they get nasty with their attitude, whatever.
04:26That happens all the time.
04:27But when you're discussing their appearances and their attractiveness, that's where it enters a different category, right?
04:34If you would fire a man for this, you should fire these women for this.
04:38Now, I'm not saying you should do either.
04:40I'm just telling you in your own, like when the guy in Caitlin Clark's first press conference, he did this
04:46to her and she didn't do it back to him.
04:49And he said, well, if you do it back, well, you know, we'll get along better.
04:52That guy got barbecued.
04:54That guy got barbecued for holding up, bang, correctly, correctly.
05:00And he deserved it.
05:02I'm glad you said that because I felt the same way at that particular point.
05:05He absolutely deserved it.
05:08These women, you form your own opinion about it.
05:11Should they be fired or should they not be fired?
05:13They should absolutely have to sit down and explain why they put themselves in that situation.
05:18When the microphones are off, you can say whatever you want.
05:22But when you're in a room like that, you have to assume every microphone is on.
05:26And I was taught that a long time ago in local news.
05:30If there's a microphone in the room, you need to assume that it is on, period.
05:36And they, you know, failed 101.
05:38So if that causes them to lose their employment and a job of that nature, then that's on them.
05:45And they got to be better the next time around.
05:47I'm not saying they should be fired or never work again.
05:50But when you put your personal opinion out like that in a professional environment, it looks terrible.
