In observance of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., ESPN’s Outside the Lines will air a “Content of Character” roundtable discussion with the executive directors of the players unions for the NBA, NFL and MLB, the first time the three current executives have been on-camera together.
ESPN journalist and SportsCenter anchor, Jay Harris, moderated the discussion with Tony Clark, Major League Baseball Players Association; Michele Roberts, National Basketball Players Association; and DeMaurice Smith, National Football League Players Association.
Members of the panel discuss diversity and race relations in sports as well as their perspectives on leadership, minority representation among the industry’s power brokers and the future for young people aspiring to become players, coaches/managers and executives.
The discussion will air on Outside the Lines on Sunday, Jan. 18, at 8 a.m. ET on ESPN2 and 9 a.m. on ESPNEWS, with both airings also available on WatchESPN. Portions also will air on editions of SportsCenter throughout the day and will be available for viewing on ESPN.com.
Harris sat down with BSO to discuss the historic event, Dr. King’s ‘Dream’ and the state of the black athlete today.
BSO: Good afternoon Jay, thank you for joining us. Can you tell us what it meant for you, an African-American, to moderate such a historic, accomplished and diverse panel of union executives at the same time.
JH: “It was amazing. All three are great at what they do, bring different ideas and values to their positions and show that anything can be accomplished by anybody.”
“I’ve moderated many panels during my career — they all have their own life to them, and this one worked.” “I think it was because they bought into the reason behind the effort. They all have, and are living, Dr. Martin Luther King’s dreams — plural, because he had many.”
BSO: What does Black History Month mean to you?
JH: “Black History Month means a lot to me, my mom and my dad. Those who came before me, that made it possible for me to entertain and inform sports fans. It’s my — and our — time to shine. But it’s also kind of bittersweet for me. I love every February when it comes around, because I know it is the month that this part of American history is showcased. But it’s frustrating because I think many are kind of lazy with Black History Month. I love talking about Martin Luther King Jr. But we barely scratch the surface of Black history and its full impact on American history in the 28 days.”
BSO: Do you think they did a good job of addressing diversity in sports and the next generation’s opportunities to become on-field and front-office leaders.
JH: “I was so impressed by their willingness to embrace the project — the conversation leading up to the taping showed they all had a sincere like and respect for each other, and the conversation in general showed they were interested and engaged.” “My preparation was simple: I tried to be as minimal as possible — I knew who they were, I knew their backgrounds, and I knew we had some really great questions that would spark great conversation. I just had to ask the questions, get out-of-the-way, and listen.”
BSO: We’re not at the finish line yet, but are we living out Dr. King’s Dream to the fullest.
JH: “I think so. The jobs not done yet by any means, but there’s been an enormous amount of progress. I think you can see that by me (the moderator) sitting down the three top executives from the players union of the three tops sports professional sports leagues. All three of African-American descent and ethnic backgrounds. The journey is still on course.”