I go. I grew up at ESPN literally I got there when I was 25 years old. It's almost all I know I had a

cup of coffee at the Boston Globe I was there for three years.

I now see that there is a world outside of ESPN.

I realize that there is life after.

You know, I know that there's something else, like when Morpheus was telling Neo, like, you know that there's something else like when Morpheus was telling me you know that there's something wrong with the world as you know it

It's like I knew something was out there, but I couldn't quite touch it and now that I'm free I'm like oh man this is what it's

supposed to feel like like I'm energized in a way that I was never energized before

and I couldn't be energized before because I was an agent of the system.

I don't even feel like I've tapped into my potential

at 40 years old because I've been in that box.

It's a hell of a box.

It's a big pretty box.

But I especially now, they're not the end all be all and I'm and I'm

only two weeks into it I'm like oh and everybody told me like yo when you get to the

other side you're gonna feel differently about it.

Michael Smith is one of the greatest sports broadcasters of the modern era, a really

smart brother who rose up through E-SPN's ranks alongside Jamel Hill,

moving from hosting his and hers with her a little

afternoon show to hosting the 6 p.m. Sports Center one of the biggest slots on the

network. When Michael and Jamel got that job it felt like a victory for the culture and people

celebrated like we had all won something.

And we had.

...