Ernie Johnson Jr.

You can recognize that you've been gifted in certain ways and be very thankful for that, but it doesn't mean that you brag about it.

You can salute the flag. You can revere the flag. You can respect the flag. And all of those are fine. What you cannot do is use the flag as a blindfold. You can't use the flag as a blindfold and not see the things you've seen with your very eyes that tell you that what's keeping this country held back is systemic racism.

You're more apt to criticize an NBA player than you are a college players. Some of these guys are freshmen. They are learning the game. The other guys have taken it to the biggest stage there is. That's the NBA. So they are going to get more heat if they don't perform.

I sat in the back of the broadcast booth for ages watching my dad do his job. And not just watching how he did his job, but how he interacted with people and how he regarded his job.

What doing baseball means to me is it's a real touchpoint with my late father. This is what he did for thirty years. I was fortunate to share the booth with my dad for four seasons in the 1990s, so every time I do a game, it's a way to honor him.