Addressing the Pat McAfee situation

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I wanted to address a story that was printed just a couple of days ago in the New York Post where folks were alluding to some dispute that I allegedly had with my colleague at ESPN Mr Pat mckae it’s a few things that are incredibly important to say number one there is no dispute

Whatsoever Pat McAfee is my teammate Pat McAfee and I work together at ESPN there is no banishment from First Take or any other show he is more than welcome to come on first take in the future and I’m going to be more than welcome to come on his show I don’t know

How many times I have to say this but I’m going try this one more time not just relying on a statement or a quote that I issued through ESPN but I’m going to look into the cameras and say this to you nationally and globally I root for my

Teammates I root for my colleagues I don’t root against anybody the people out there who do that are idiots a rising bite a rising tide raises all boats if you succeed I succeed I cannot tell you how thankful and grateful I am to Pat McAfee to Shannon sharp to Ryan Clark

The list goes on and on individuals who had the courage to go out out there on their own and create a platform which ultimately evolved into a business that they could then monetize because you have linear networks and others willing to come on board and pay them for their content thereby enabling

Them to get paid while being independent contractors and business owners without necessarily being employees that is not something to hate on that is something to show gratitude ude for that’s why I’m thankful to the pat mcafe of the world that’s why I’m thankful and happy when I see the

Ratings or the numbers for Club Shay or the night cap or Joe Rogan getting a $250 million deal or Bill Simmons before him on Spotify or Dan leard Metar Media or all the smoke with Matt barondes and Stephen Jackson signing on with Dan leard and John ER and their team the

List goes on and on and on pay attention ladies and gentlemen the business is evolving and individuals who were employees who had nothing to rely upon other than their on air Talent have transformed and transitioned into being actual businessmen that is not something to hate whether it’s any of the names that

I mentioned the mcafe the LeBar the Shannon Sharps the Ryan Clarks the list goes on and on no that’s something to rever Joe Rogan is some somebody I admire Bill Simmons is somebody I admire Pat McAfee and Shannon sharp and Ryan Clark you know what courage it takes for

Them to go out on their own and to create platforms you know what courage it takes for a Brandon Marshall with I am athlete to strive to create his own brand and to establish his own entity you have any idea what level of gravitz that takes the risk that comes with it

The willingness to bet on yourself ladies and gentlemen I didn’t have that courage I was a straight up punk God bless my my mother’s wonderful Soul she was somebody that put her head down and punched that clock as a registered nurse and was about the business of going to work every day

Doing your job punching that clock going home getting your rest and coming back the next day to do it and looking forward to her pension in retirement the new generation thinks differently we ain’t trying to depend on the pension we’re watching the government and messing with our money and whether or

Not whether not the funds are going to be available in Social Security checks and Beyond what’s going to happen to our 401ks our IRA and all of that other stuff n we ain’t trying to do that we trying to do something bigger we’re trying to do something different we’re

Trying to do something more lucrative and all those individuals I mentioned including Pat McAfee are responsible for helping to position people like myself and others to do what they did years ago building what they built animosity anger friction tension please it’s gratitude I’m thankful to them all

Because they showed me the way and when everybody wants to talk about my money and my bag and my contract and all of this other stuff I’m incredibly grateful for what Disney and ESPN has done for me for years when they paid me years ago I was the highest paid person in the

History of ESPN at that time well since that time it wasn’t my time now my time is coming up again in less than 16 months we’ll see what happens but there’s no animosity there’s no anger there’s no hostility there’s no feelings of unfairness there’s none of that just

Gratitude for them put me in a position where I could do that cuz I wouldn’t have been able to do this show right here if it were not for ESPN allowing me to carve out something in my contract that gave me the freedom to do this I’m grateful to

Them just like I’m grateful to McAfee just like I’m grateful to Rogan just like I’m grateful to Shannon sharp and everybody else showing me the way wherever I go wherever I end up whatever I do I have all of them to thank my employers and my contemporaries there’s no gratitude

There’s no animosity here y’all there nothing but gratitude do you not see the smile on my face do you not see this beautiful Studio I was able to build do you not see what’s happening in my life God has blessed me all of these reports and people talking their nonsense keep on talking

It don’t mean a damn thing you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about I’m a team player we win where I go you know why cuz I don’t win alone I win because of all of those people that I mentioned and the help they’ve provided

Me and will continue to provide me and I will reciprocate in kind cuz that’s what teammates do but leave all that chirp and all you want to that’s that divide and conquer stuff going on it ain’t going to work this way it never will remember I said that