One of the most popular syndicated shows on music radio is The Breakfast Club. The show has made headlines in recent weeks with appearances from Rush Limbaugh and Joe Biden. On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Jalen Rose and David Jacoby were guests on the show.
Host Charlemagne Tha God asked Jalen Rose if athletes had the responsibility to speak out if they attended a protest in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
“Absolutely!” Rose said emphatically.
He pointed out that his office has a picture of the Ali Summit, where Muhammad Ali announced that he would not join the military. In the photo, Ali is surrounded by Lew Alcindor (before later changing his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Jim Brown, and Bill Russell amongst others. He called them “the greatest social warriors, the greatest champions sports has seen.”
Rose went on to say that there is a long history of America disregarding the message when athletes speak out. He noted that that phenomenon bled over into the sports media. It was hard to ignore when he was part of the launch of ESPN’s Get Up!.
“When we were launching the show called Get Up! in the morning, they started calling us ‘Woke Center.’ So, let me get this right. Because I have an opinion about my people being oppressed that makes me woke? Then it became coded, almost like ‘Make America Great Again’ or like a dog whistle. When you said those terms, we knew what side you’re on.”
Clay Travis of FOX Sports Radio and FS1 is largely credited with coining the term “Woke Center” to describe any ESPN show where the hosts expressed opinions on anything other than sports.
Rose went on to say that he sees that kind of criticism fading into the background. That is part of why it is so hard to ignore NBA players marching in protests around the country.
“When I see Jaylen Brown and Malcom Brogdon, with their amazing NBA contracts and security, get their voices or protests being heard on the front lines with Stephen Jackson, we need that! And the groundswell is going to continue to grow, because unlike the 60s, it’s not just black people,” Rose said. “It’s multiple people of different ethnicities that are tired of the oppression that is taking place in the United States of America.”
The Breakfast Club originates from iHeartMedia’s urban station Power 105.1 in New York City. It has 45 affiliates across the country and is also heard on the Armed Forces Radio Network. A TV simulcast airs on Sean “Diddy” Combs’s RevoltTV.
