3/26: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Yeah, well, also, these TSA employees are also employing a lot of patience because they are set to miss yet another paycheck tomorrow. Is it possible that we could see some of these call-out rates grow? It's definitely possible. Right now, roughly 40% of TSA agents in the Houston area have called out of work rather than coming in and working without a paycheck. So we could definitely see this get worse. The good news is there has been some relief here, at least at this airport, because the TSA rapid response team sent over two dozen folks here to assist with those passenger security screenings today. And I know TSA says that they may have to close some smaller airports if the partial shutdown drags on. What could that look like?

If those smaller airports are closed, it could ultimately take this situation from bad to worse, because you would then see passengers flocking to these major hubs, these major airports like the Houston airport and the Atlanta airport. But if it is done, it would only be done out of necessity. And that would happen if those TSA callouts continue.

All right. Shawna Mizelle in Houston tonight battling those long lines along with everyone else. We thank you so much. And we want to turn now to Capitol Hill and our Taurean Small to see what lawmakers are doing about all of this. Taurean, tell us about the latest proposal under discussion. Yeah, Nikole, a lot of lawmakers holding their cards close to the chest. I would imagine that means this is a sign of progress as those negotiations are happening behind closed doors. We're trying to piece together where things stand. We heard from Senator Hoeven, who said that it's pretty much all hands on deck. There's folks from the White House involved in negotiations, Republicans, Democrats. And they're piecing through where people will be willing to give, some places where they're willing to take. At the root of this, though, is reforms. Democrats are saying that they are unmoving unless they see some substantive reforms included in whatever proposals to the floor. The major problem that they had with this legislation that came-- with the language of the legislation that came from Republicans this week was the fact that this included partial funding for ICE without addressing those issues. Take a listen to what Senator Chuck Schumer said on the floor earlier today. Today, Senate Republicans are once again wasting time on voter suppression instead of paying TSA. Republicans have an amendment on the Senate floor dressed up as what they call common sense voter ID. But let's be very clear what this amendment is. It's a wolf in sheep's clothing, and it's a giant cover-up to cover up what their bill really does, which is dramatic voter suppression. You have Senator Schumer there, the Minority Leader, taking issue with the priorities seemingly being on that voter ID law. The SaVE Act versus these ongoing negotiations. And even though there is a bit of optimism we're hearing from lawmakers on both sides, there is still frustration and despair around the urgency of this. In fact, we heard Senator Kennedy-- heard from Senator Kennedy earlier today, and he said that he would be considering putting forth a unanimous consent motion on the floor to just get TSA funding, something that Republicans previously blocked. But we'll see if it's dire enough to get to that situation. Nikole.

Newly installed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was on Capitol Hill a short time ago. What role, if any, is he playing in these negotiations? Yeah, he was here to give a classified briefing on the state of affairs with DHS since he's taken over. It's unclear if he's directly involved with negotiations, but just based on what we're hearing from lawmakers, it sounds like it's all hands on deck. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a part of those conversations. He was a part of lawmakers or the conversation here on the Hill as a senator for weeks now. So he would be quite privy to where things stand with his colleagues and folks on the other side of the aisle.

All right. Taurean Small reporting from Capitol Hill. Thank you. Earlier today, President Trump held his first cabinet meeting since the war with Iran began and said the US operation is, quote, "way ahead of schedule." He also discusses the state of peace negotiations. They are begging to make a deal, not me. They're begging to make a deal. And anybody that saw what was happening over there would understand why they want to make a deal.

Ed O'Keefe joins us from the White House now. And, Ed, what else did the president say about the state of a war with Iran? Well, he has just said in the last little bit, Nikole, that instead of a five-day pause on plans to bomb Iranian energy infrastructure, he's now given it 10 days, until Monday, April 6 at 8:00 PM Eastern time. Talks are ongoing, and despite erroneous statements to the contrary, they're going very well, he says. So a signal that talks despite public denials by Iranian officials that there are negotiations underway. The president says they continue. And he said earlier today, in essence, Iran needs the deal because they don't have much of a military left. Take a listen. I thought, frankly, I thought the oil prices would go up more, and I thought the stock market would go down more. It hasn't been nearly as severe as I thought. I think they have confidence in maybe the American president and maybe the people sitting around this table. While he says the stock prices may have stabilized, we should point out that global economists today now estimate that US inflation, American inflation, could spike to 4% this year. That is more than they would want to see. And of course, gas prices now have climbed for 26 consecutive days, gained about $1 in the last month for the average cost of a gallon of gas. We've also seen mortgage rates uptick while applications for mortgages dip, Nikole, at the time of year when we usually start to see them increase as people start thinking about buying a home either in the spring or the summer. So there are signs of economic issues here at home, even as the president is suggesting that Iran is in more desperate need of this agreement. And very quickly on DHS funding. What more do we know about the discussions at the White House is having not only internally, but also with Congress? And is there any chance that the administration could take unilateral action to address some of these impacts of the shutdown, like, for instance, paying TSA workers? Yeah, no, no plans as of now, at least for the president to do that unilaterally. Obviously, that could change at any time. But in essence, they are keeping a tune of what's going on up at Capitol, as Taurean was talking about. They're not quite there yet. And the White House concedes that-- while the White House has had conversations about a number of ideas, they say, to quote, "blunt the impact of the democratic shutdown crisis," no preparations or plans are currently underway. The best and easiest way to pay TSA agents is to fund DHS. In other words, the White House and Democrats continue this staring contest. Both sides really eager, Nikole, to not be the first to blink, because if either side does, they're going to have to give a lot. And so far, at least, the political will remains on both sides. They just keeps staring. All right. Well, we hope somebody blinks soon. Ed O'Keefe, thank you so much. And speaking of blinking, want to turn to South Carolina Senator-- South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace. [INTERPOSING VOICES] Well, yes, maybe. I know you're running, but I want to talk to you about the war in Iran. I know that you were part of a House Armed Services Committee briefing just yesterday. You walked out. Tell us why. I did. I think the frustration was shared in that room between Republicans and Democrats alike. President Trump, I want to be very clear, has done an excellent job so far. We are winning. We have won. And now I believe we owe the American public, the American people, the men and women we're sending into war, we owe them an answer to the question is, how does this end? And I think there's some frustration between what maybe perhaps a Pentagon is saying versus what the public has been told. And I have grave concerns about the Washington war machine getting us into another 20 year plus endless war. And for what? And I'm unwilling to put South Carolina's sons and daughters on the ground in a battle in Iran. I don't want that to happen. Do you believe the administration has an endgame here? I don't know. I would like to believe that they do, but I haven't seen an exit strategy yet. And I think that's where a lot of us share the heartburn. I support the president. I think he's done a fantastic job. He goes in. He's very surgical. He's quick. But what I'm also seeing are folks that senators, for example, Lindsey Graham, who are trying to protract this thing, who want to send people into war, troops on the ground. Comparing this to Iwo Jima, I don't think so. We lost 7,000 Marines on the black sands of those beaches in Iwo Jima. This is not the same. It should not be the same. He has destroyed Iran's Navy. Trump has destroyed their missile capabilities. He has just taken to task everywhere across Iran. And now I believe it's time to secure that victory. We won, and now let's start rebuilding where we need to get our energy back on track and see where we can go economically in the long term because there's a lot of work to be done here. You brought up your fellow South Carolinian, Senator Lindsey Graham. And do you believe that his role is too outsized here in terms of his advice to the president? And have you conveyed that to him personally? I've conveyed that publicly. I am joined by my colleagues like Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna and Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. I've seen them make their public statements as well. I think we share that. And I've expressed that to the White House that Senator Graham has an outsized role. He needs to be taken out of the room. I don't want to hear him. He's the same guy that got us into Iraq, the same guy that wants endless wars, and that I don't support the Washington war machine. Like we've done a great job. The president has been very successful. Now it's time to start discussing what does exit look like. And he has a huge opportunity here-- I mean, to bring peace in the Middle East. We've taken Iran's missile capabilities out. We have obviously destroyed, in many ways, in most ways, their abilities to get a nuclear arm, I believe. And so I want to see us claim victory while we can and not elongate this into a never-ending war.

That being said, we know that there are more troops headed to the region. You've made clear-- [INTERPOSING VOICES] --That you don't want to see boots on the ground. So what is your message to the president as he weighs this decision? I want President Trump to declare victory. I want him to show the world what peace looks like. He's the strongest president in American history. He has the Board of Peace now. He's negotiating between Russia and Ukraine. There's an enormous opportunity for him here. He took out Maduro and Venezuela, where Hezbollah is. There are 14,000 Hezbollah agents and soldiers in Venezuela. He's cleaning up the cartels. He's doing all of this single-handedly. Let's take this win and not let not turn this into a never-ending war where we could lose potentially thousands of American soldiers. And I believe that will be devastating. The consequences are not only devastating for the loss of life, potentially, that we will have, but the economic consequences as well. So I want to see an exit strategy. And I want to see the Pentagon do better. The briefing yesterday left most of our questions unanswered, and I believe that there was a Senate hearing today. They were equally frustrated. And so you're seeing Republicans and Democrats alike demanding more answers for what we're doing, why, and when we're getting out. What does that mean, though, for a war supplemental? Are you willing to support one no matter the price tag? No, I'm not. I mean, we're talking about war powers resolutions now, and I hope that it doesn't come to that. We are in recess next week, which, by the way, we shouldn't be. The TSA needs to be funded. We should not be recessing. But I'm hopeful that when we do get back that we won't need a war powers resolution. But that's on the table for me and others if we come back and this is still where we are. Or if we put troops on the ground, that changes the dynamic overnight. And since you brought up the shutdown, obviously still not resolved, but hopefully close. What do you make of this potential offer that's emerging in the Senate? Obviously, earlier this week, Republicans put up this offer to potentially split off immigration enforcement and removal operations from the broader DHS funding. Is that something if it comes to the House, that you'd be willing to support? As long as we can get them paid because I'm seeing airport security as a national security issue. We've seen Iran make overtures of a potential 9/11 attack. No one wants to see that. When I'm looking at the potential for terrorism in the country, it makes me very concerned and cautious because Hezbollah isn't going to be flying here on a plane from Tehran. They're already here. And what are they going to do to take advantage of the vulnerabilities we currently have because we can't get along? And it's frustrating because no one wants people who are here who are illegal or violent, especially violent illegal immigrants who are rapists, murderers, and pedophiles. They should go. And that's what this argument is over. And it's at the safety and jeopardy of our nation's national security. I'm struggling with that. And I don't want Congress to go home until this is done.

So are you willing to stay in town? I'm willing to stay in town. I mean, I absolutely am willing to stay in town and get the work done. We have to for our nation's security.

All right. Nancy Mace, Congresswoman Nancy Mace-- hopefully, Governor. Well, we will certainly continue that conversation. Thank you.

Thank you for being with us. Still to come on The Takeout,the human toll of the partial government shutdown-- a TSA employee shares her story. Also, military analysis on the state of the war in the Middle East, a retired US Lieutenant Colonel joins me live. Plus, Collis temple junior broke racial barriers in 1971 as LSU's first Black varsity basketball player. Now he's advocating for college sports reforms in front of a Senate committee. The Takeoutreturns in 90 seconds. It's been more than a month since TSA officers received a full paycheck because of the partial government shutdown. Earlier, I spoke with Angela Grana. She's a TSA officer and the regional vice president for the Colorado branch of the American Federation of Government Employees Union. Here's our conversation. We know a lot of TSA agents have been working without pay for more than a month now. How are you able to get by? It's not easy. I'm feeling deflated. I'm feeling demoralized. I'm feeling unimportant and valued. My bills haven't stopped coming. They're still pounding on my door. And my bank account is empty, so I'm lost. I'm drowning. And what about some of your coworkers? They're sleeping in their cars. And if they're not sleeping in their cars, they're sleeping at the airport. They're selling their plasma, which I can't believe we got to do that. They're selling whatever they can to get by. They can't go get another job. They can't go do an Uber Eats or drive for Uber, because we actually have to have permission from the agency to work a second job. And right now, they're-- the legal department is shut down. So who do you ask? We're feeling deflated. We're feeling very unimportant and forgotten.

How is this compounded? Because obviously, we have seen two shutdowns prior. Of course, the one last fall was the longest on record. We're still trying to recover from that. Remember, you don't just have a bill. You have a late fee. You have a finance charge. You probably maxed out your credit card at that time because you supposedly saved for a rainy day. But since we live paycheck to paycheck, how do you save for a rainy day? We're one of the lowest-paid government agencies. It's just ridiculous what we've gone through. And our credit reports are actually now because they're damaged so badly, we could be disciplined for that because we're not allowed to have a bad credit rating. So the montage of issues is just it's beyond our control. It's a big distraction for us. Safety runs on our labor. And if we're distracted, that's a big issue for us.

What keeps you coming into work every day? Oh, my. I wear my uniform proudly. I understand my mission. I understand my mission's to protect the nation's transportation system. I love what I do. I like talking to people. I like finding out what their vacations are all about. My job is never the same every day. I'm always problem-solving, always thinking. And I swore an oath to the Constitution to uphold the values of our mission statement. And it's hard for me to continue day to day when all I can think about is, oh my God, how am I going to pay my next bill? And in terms of some of your colleagues, we know that hundreds of TSA agents have left the agency. What's stopping you and some of your coworkers from quitting? Exactly, exactly. We can't compete with the headlines of today-- the grocery prices, the price of gas, the war. We can't compete with that. We're just simple servants. And we really probably will never recover from the abuse and never, ever catch up on our bills. So we really don't know what is the incentive that keeps us. The seasoned workers that we've lost, we're never going to get those people back, and we're never going to get their knowledge back again. It takes a good two years to finish probation and to be really self-certified and really able to do your job on your own. What incentive do we have to keep us besides the fact that we like the job and we wear the uniform proudly? It's going to take us a lot to repair the damage that was done to our credit, to our bills, to our careers. We need to bring those seasoned workers back, offer them something to come back and offer the officer something to repair their credit. We know Congress may be getting close to a deal potentially to end this shutdown. What is your message to lawmakers at this time? Well, that would be fantastic if they were actually working on something because this isn't a left or a right moment. This is a right or wrong moment. And we count on you as politicians to do the right thing. We don't have a red line and a blue line for passengers. We are Americans. We are red, white, and blue. We believe in our positions. We believe. And we're dedicated to doing our careers in the Transportation Security. We believe that you guys should be doing that same-- have that same focus on your jobs and taking care of the people and not be cowards and backing down. Don't keep quiet. There's things to be said, and we need to have. We need to be paid. We shouldn't be letting security be at risk. All right, Angela Grana, thank you so much for joining us. My pleasure. Thank you.

The US is bolstering its military presence in the Middle East. Coming up, I'll speak with a retired Marine Corps Special Operations officer about what it signals about the war with Iran. You are watching The Takeout. At least 2000 US troops could begin arriving in the Middle East as early as tomorrow, with more expected to deploy in the region in the coming days. It's fueling speculation about whether or not President Trump will order troops on the ground in Iran. Retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Paul Weber joins me now. We really appreciate you for being here. As you know, thousands of Marines and troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are headed to the region. What do you think their purpose will be? Yeah so you can look at it through a couple of ways here. So I think with the muse, the Marine Expeditionary Units heading into the Gulf right now, it's going to allow Washington to have some deterrence and flexibility options. Each one of those consists of over 2,500 Marines, in addition to the sailors that are on board those ships. They'll provide rapid response. I think the one big thing to note is the deterrence they bring with them. It's going to force Iran to change their calculations on how they're going to handle and response to these things going on in the region.

When you say deterrence, do you think it could go beyond that in terms of boots on the ground presence? I haven't seen any signaling or indication that that's where it's going to go. But again, like with the movement of these troops and these units going forward, that option is there. It gives Washington, like I said, some credibility, coercive deterrence, and really what these policymakers if they want options. So they're there if they're needed.

Do you think it's possible the president could send more troops, more reinforcements? So I've spoken to some people that have significant ties within the region. And what they're seeing right now and have told me is that they're seeing requests of supplies, material being sent into the region. So what this tells me is like I think that more is possible. Sustained presence is possible. And this thing might drag out longer than we expect it to. President Trump today floated the possibility of taking control of Iranian oil. What would that potentially mean for this conflict? So I think if you look at Kharg Island-- and I view that as the jugular to Iran's economic prosperity. It controls 90% of the oil reserves and everything that flows in and out of that Gulf. Kharg, just for a reference, is about 8 square miles. The island of Iwo Jima was 9. So they're small. However, to seize an island like that, it's going to require a considerable sized force. It is a high-risk operation. Kharg is well within the threat rings for Iran's missiles, their anti-ship missiles, as well as their drone capabilities.

Yeah, we know that is very valuable to the Iranians. So is the Strait of Hormuz. And so can you talk to us more about the long-term implications that this war could have for the Persian Gulf? Yeah, So I think what you're seeing now is the Iranian strikes on some of the Gulf states, I think have kind of backfired. And you're seeing a push towards a closer relationship with the United States. Specifically, I think the United Arab Emirates called out today that any use of Iranian coercion to block the strait is viewed as economic terrorism. And when we look at it through that lens, you're seeing, they're viewing this much more strategically, just commercially at this point. So I think what you're seeing is starting to coalesce as kind of a new Gulf order that has moved much closer to the United States than I think Iran ever wanted.

And then lastly, we heard a short time ago-- the president announced, I believe, on Truth Social that he is going to extend this pause on military strikes against Iran's power plants. What does that indicate to you? I think it indicates to me that we're going to start seeing some political jockeying right here. They still have the credible use of military force at this point to use part of the 82nd Airborne Division going forward. And of that, you have the command and control node of the 82nd. And that's significant. That allows them to go forward. And now they can begin planning. They have an actual command-and-control function in theater for their synchronization. It's going to give them some time to set some of this up in case these negotiations stall, and they don't work out.

All right. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Weber, thank you so much for being with us. Thanks so much for having me.

Coming up, Democrats are looking to flip a Senate seat in Maine, but they have to get through a grueling and expensive primary first. We've got some new polling to dig into with our reporter panel. You're watching The Takeout. Welcome back. A new poll from Emerson College finds progressive candidate Graham Platner holds a significant lead over Governor Janet Mills in Maine's closely watched Senate Democratic primary. Platner has a 27-point advantage, and 13% of voters said they are undecided. The Democrats are hoping to unseat longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins in the general election. I want to bring in our political reporter panel now. Daniella Diaz covers Congress for notice. And Matt Brown, who covers the same beat for the Associated Press, as do I which is why we see each other all the time. But nice to have you all in studio. So, Danielle, I just want to get your take on these numbers. I've been watching this race really closely. I think it's one of the most interesting primaries that is taking place in the country. Of course, we saw what happened in Texas, but this is really a test about an older candidate. If Janet Mills were to be sworn in, she'd be the oldest senator ever sworn in Congress historically. And then Graham Platner, an outsider, an oyster fisherman. The fact that he's ahead and he's not really the establishment pick by Democrats is saying a lot about where Democratic voters are right now. And another thing to point out is in this poll, he's actually ahead of Susan Collins, should it be a match-up with Susan Collins, something that I think is very much worrying Republicans right now because they would like to keep that seat. They need that seat for the majority. So a lot of warning signs for Republicans on this, but also Democrats, when they really were hoping Janet Mills could be the pick.

Yeah. And we heard from her earlier today. She did an interview on MS Now. Let's take a listen. [VIDEO PLAYBACK] Thom Tillis said it publicly. Probably shouldn't have politically, but he said it publicly. He said we want Graham Platner to be the nominee of the party in Maine, because Susan Collins can't wait to run against him. That's a Republican saying that. [END PLAYBACK] I mean, Matt, obviously Platner has some baggage, some controversies that he has tried to overcome, but could those be liabilities if he ends up being the one facing off against Collins? I mean. Absolutely. Look, Graham Platner is a genuinely polarizing candidate in the most academic sense of the word that you can say. He truly has inspired so many Democratic base voters in Maine and beyond. And that's why national progressives have really invested in this race. They're bringing him to his rallies just this Saturday. There's going to be a very large progressive rally that Platner is going to be at, alongside other mainline progressive candidates. At the same time, the controversy is over. The alleged Nazi tattoo and other instances show that Republicans are, in many cases, licking their lips at the opportunity to potentially attack Platner and the general because they believe that they have the advantage. This really goes to the identity of the Democratic Party at the moment and what they believe is going to resonate with voters. Do they trust that voters are going to find Platner resonant in that his charisma that's clearly resonating with the base is going to be able to make it to moderate voters? Or is this going to be a situation where the Democrats are not in touch with what persuadable middle of the road voters in Maine and elsewhere are going to be receptive to?

Yeah, I want to switch back to what's happening on Capitol Hill. Of course, this ongoing partial government shutdown. We saw the House take yet another vote on Homeland Security funding. Let's take a listen to what Mike Johnson had to say of following that vote. [VIDEO PLAYBACK] We have now, again, for the third time, we just funded the entire Department of Homeland Security. I understand what the Senate is doing. John Thune, Leader Thune, is in a terrible situation because he has Chuck Schumer in the Democrats over there refusing to take care of business and do their job. If they break away that subset, I suppose we'd have to fund it through reconciliation and find some other means. But it's a shame that only one party on Capitol Hill is willing to fund all of the security and safety of the American people. We cannot believe it's come to that, but it has. If the Senate gets that through the Senate, will you put it on the floor? We'll have to see. [END PLAYBACK] So interesting there that obviously, we know that the House Bill doesn't have the votes in the Senate, but now it sounds like the Speaker isn't necessarily committing to taking up whatever emerges out of the Senate. Why is that?

Well, what you're seeing here is really we're reaching a crisis point in these negotiations. I mean, Democrats don't feel that they need to budge on this because of the impasse that they are on on regulations for different DHS officers, especially when it comes to ICE. And given that the White House and the House now that you're seeing, are showing that they're willing to maybe bypass the Senate in certain ways, the president just now floated the possibility, we understand, from senators to declare an emergency order at the same time that some airports are saying that they are going to potentially have to just cease TSA operations entirely. That crisis moment is causing folks to potentially even go further into their holes here and take crisis measures from the administration's perspective, or potentially even more obstinate measures from Democrats. Yeah. And turning to another controversy on the Hill. Danielle, of course, we have the House Ethics Committee, which is holding a rare public hearing on fraud allegations against Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. Tell us a little bit more about this case. She's been accused of using FEMA funds that were granted to a company that she owns for personal use. This is a major allegation. It's been very difficult for her to be able to defend this. And Democrats are also not necessarily defending her either. Look, Speaker Mike Johnson has been very clear that this needs this process needs to play out, which is interesting because a lot of this has happened in his own party. But we're hearing from Hakeem Jeffries, not necessarily-- the Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, I should say, not necessarily defending her, but saying we need to watch how this hearing goes. It's a public hearing, which is very rare. It's happening as we're speaking right now, and it's going to be really important to see how this plays out considering should there be any sort of action in this hearing that makes her look bad. We could see potentially an expulsion vote from Republicans who have been threatening that or anything else that could happen on the House floor to censure her, because this is a serious allegation that she has to defend. But clearly, Democrats are not coming out of the woodwork to defend her. They understand that this is serious. All right. Daniella Diaz, Matt Brown, we'll see you back on Capitol Hill, I'm sure, in the very near future. But thank you so much for being with us. Thanks for having us.

Well, millions of sports fans tune in to March Madness. Congress is reviewing whether college sports needs reforms. Coming up, I'll speak with a former player pushing for changes at the collegiate level. You're watching The Takeout. Welcome back to The Takeout. A Senate committee held a hearing today to discuss possible reforms to college athletics to protect players, both during their athletic careers and after. Yesterday, I spoke with Collis Temple, who was a part of today's hearing. He was the first Black player for LSU varsity basketball in the early 1970s. Really, just want to start off with this issue of student athletes. Are student athletes still student athletes, or are college athletics now just almost like a professional league? Things are really evolving in an amazing way, because there's a major debate going on across the nation and across the spectrum of college athletics. And the question is, do we have these young folk playing and their priorities or athletics, or is their priority school? And how long will this process take place before there's a clearing of what has to take place to make sure that we're in a better place for these student athletes? What more specifically are you hoping to see from lawmakers on Capitol Hill? Well, I think that it's important at this juncture that some safeguards are put in place to help with the process of making sure that student athletes have the proper opportunity to participate in this college athletic piece and get them prepared to move on in life. Sports is a short-term piece that will fade away much sooner than later. And then all of the college athletes have a lifetime of experiences to look forward to. So the preparation is so important. And just like in any other venue, when you talk about a scientist, a mathematician, or an accounting person, you get this baseline of experience in college, and that's what propels you to have a lifetime of success. And so most of the athletes are not going to play professional sports. So it's far more important for them to be student athletes first.

And in terms of being those students, I know two of your sons actually played basketball at LSU before we saw some of the changes that we're now witnessing, kind of in this current environment. Do you wish or think they should have been compensated for their play? It would have been great for them to be compensated. The reality of it is that at that particular time, the concept was making sure that the student athlete was prepared for life after athletics. And so it was important. It was a part of the mantra in my household to get my sons to understand that you use college athletics as a means to an end and not an end within itself. And so that's really important. And like I said, 99.9% of the young men and young women who play college sports will not become professional athletes. So the key is they need to become professional people. And that's why this process of talking about making sure that things are put in proper perspective are done right now for the future of college athletics, for the future of high school athletics because this can bleed into a lot of areas that will cause a real stain on this process. As we mentioned at the top. You became the first Black varsity basketball player at LSU. Take me back to your time there back in the early '70s. And how have things evolved in your view in terms of college athletics in this landscape? Well, when you talk in terms of the timeline that I was involved in, I was on the-- I went to LSU on the heels of a lot of racial issues and a lot of racial unrest in our country. Because right after Martin King was killed in the spring of '68 and after the Olympic exercises in Mexico City in '68, and the guys who raised their fists in protest to what was going on in this country, there were a lot of challenging times that were involved in my life. And of course, it's changed quite a bit. But as I look at the landscape of what's taking now-- taking place now, it in many instances is almost a repeat performance. Because when you talk about the social unrest that's taken place in our country in the last couple of years, it likens itself to what took place back in the late '60s, early '70s. So I guess history maybe repeats itself. That's one way to look at it. And finally, I guess, what do you hope or what would you like to see in the future going forward? Well, I'm hoping that just from a sociological standpoint and an economic standpoint, that the young athletes that are given an opportunity to play in college, learn to become responsible adults and learn to be people who turn into assets for themselves and to their families and make the best of an opportunity to be a college athlete. I hope that we can improve on those opportunities. If you go back and reflect on professional sports, it's unfortunate that the majority of the African-American athletes who are fortunate enough to play in college and then get to a level of professional sports, over 50% of these young folk are financially insecure, and they have major problems throughout their lives-- challenges of not having to-- not being able to attain the kind of success that you would hope that they would be able to do. So it's about more than money. It's about a process of learning to become a responsible person, and that's a challenge, especially when you put a lot of money in front of guys whose families nor themselves know how to manage those resources. Yeah, very valid point. Well, I would be remiss on a much lighter note, since we're in the middle of March Madness, if I did not ask you who you have winning the tournament. Who's in your bracket? I assume yours is not busted yet, like mine. I'm looking at Arizona, but anything can happen in March when it comes to college basketball.

That's right. Well, we have part of the Sweet 16 here in Washington as well as you. We thank you so very much for joining us, Collis Temple. I certainly appreciate this opportunity to sit with you. And go LSU Tigers. That does it for The Takeouttoday. The Daily Report is coming up next.