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My breakup body was shredded.
What's up, you guys?
I'm Rachel Demita and welcome to the Courtside Club today.
I'm super excited because I'm joined by an Emmy-nominated host.
You guys have seen him on E! and The Today Show, Justin Sylvester.
Welcome to the Courtside Club.
ESPN has some money, honey.
Hey, do you want me to call NBC and tell them about what's happening here?
I love the crossover.
You could come over to the sports world and do some stuff for us.
I'd probably get fired on my second game.
I wouldn't do anything but chase dudes around the locker room.
I'm like the worst.
I literally am the worst.
You are so lucky that, like, I don't have an ovary.
Because if I did, I would literally have a baby in every association.
Well, we will keep you in the entertainment space.
I'm just kidding.
But speaking of the entertainment.
The entertainment space, you've been absolutely killing it.
And it's so cool to watch your journey.
And I've especially been watching you on The Today Show lately.
Some of the interviews that you did there, it's where you've really been able to open
up and tell more about your story.
And that's something that we like to do on the Courtside Club, is give people a courtside
view into your life.
I thought we were going to be talking about everybody else.
I mean, we'll get to that point.
You know that we can share some gossip with you, right?
Don't you find it easier to talk to other people about their lives?
And not about your own?
When I go on other people's podcasts, it's kind of frightening.
They'll ask me a question and I'm stuttering.
But then when I'm asking other people, I'm okay with it.
Like when I see people who are like A-list celebrities who like talk about themselves
in third person or like are always ready for an interview, I'm like, this is – I envy
that because I cringe thinking that someone is going to listen to this and think that
I enjoy talking about myself.
You know what I mean?
But why would you cringe?
Because I think your story is something that people can aspire to and look up to.
And it's – I was inspired by your story.
Well, I like that part of it.
That's the upside of it.
But a lot of times, I always feel weird telling a story that's unfinished.
Like if somebody looks at my life and they're like, you know, this is it.
Like I look at my life and I'm like, you hadn't hit it yet.
You're still on cable TV, which is phenomenal.
But there are just other places that I want to go.
You know what I mean?
What are those other places that you want to go?
Like I want to do a stint on the Today Show and wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning.
Doesn't that sound so lovely?
Like what am I thinking?
So I was an intern and I did that for the local news in Washington, D.C.
where my call time was 3.30 every morning.
So that's what I did in college.
But I was doing nothing but like editing scripts and getting the host coffee.
So I didn't have like the fun part of that job necessarily.
By the way, at 19, that's lit.
Like if you're doing that at 19, you're good.
All you need is like a Red Bull.
Like you're fine.
At 35, waking up before the sun comes up is so brutal that you can't even –
like you're like – let me look at this direct deposit before I like lose my mind.
It is – it's a grind.
It's also a grind to –
to wake up and go to work and like most people have a job where there's a boss or a manager
that critiques their work.
But I have Twitter.
You know, I have Instagram followers.
I have people who watch the show that want to tell me when I said a word wrong, when
my outfit wasn't right.
You have YouTube comments that you'll also have on this episode.
You know, and I – it's tough.
It's like a tough thing because people think because you're in the public eye, you can
And at times, that's how it was.
How do you deal with that?
I look at other people's Instagrams that have worse comments.
No, no, no, no, no.
Yo, actually, I love this advice.
Let me explain it.
Let me explain it.
I have a friend who is – I used to work for this row housewife for Beverly Hills.
And when we first started the show, people – it was like a new genre of reality because
it was like kind of the first time that Twitter people and hashtags and all that kind of stuff
and hashtags, those things were really big.
And the shit that people would say to this woman was so outrageous.
And I realized it's because people thought that they knew her.
She invited them into her home every week.
And, you know, they tell this compelling story.
They add all this dramatic music and everyone has to pick a side.
And I used to – what I would do is – I don't even know if she knows this, but an
episode would drop on Thursday.
On Friday mornings, I would wake up at 5 because she woke up at 6.30.
She'd wake up at 6.30 and what I would do is I would delete some of the harsher comments.
So she wouldn't see them.
And I worked for her for five years.
I did this for five years.
And even when I quit, I would still do it for like a year after.
So you have her like Instagram login?
I have her login.
Yeah, but through her login still.
We should hack it.
She would kill us.
She would kill us.
I'm just kidding.
But like I would go in and delete some of the comments.
So when I get one or two, maybe five comments that are like, oh, my God, what's he doing
Or why he's annoying?
Or he's this or he's that.
I honestly will go to other people's comments or the shade room is really good about it.
The shade room, everybody's haters in the shade room.
They go crazy in the comments there.
Five minutes on the John, looking at somebody else's comments and I'm Gucci.
Do you ever respond to negative comments?
Have you ever heard the saying, I have time today?
Sometimes I have time.
Sometimes I want to have that time.
You want to do that.
And I have to like pull myself back.
You got to do it.
Sometimes you just got to do it.
And a lot of times what can happen is, and I'm going to say 80% of the time, you'll respond
back to the person, read them for filth and make them feel guilty about something.
Like this woman one time was like, why do you always hold a coffee mug?
And I'm like, oh, I had a mini stroke in college.
And sometimes my hand, when I'm doing something, my hand wants to do something.
So I hold something in my right hand.
So I, it looks normal.
And, you know, she said, it's so aggravating.
You're always with a pencil.
And I explained on my Instagram and I apologized for having a stroke at 19.
And the comments under this woman then felt guilty, but it was too late.
You activated me.
I had time today and I'm a Scorpio and I'm ready.
So then all the other comments, she emailed me and felt so terrible.
And I was like, you really need to watch what you say to people.
Because I'm not only a person, but I have a mother, I have sisters.
Like you need to be careful.
Everyone's a keyboard thug.
Can we talk about your, you had a stroke at 19 though?
I had like a little mini.
I didn't realize it until I was like later.
Like I had a really rough 2005.
I grew up in Louisiana.
Long story short, my dad died.
My grandmother died.
My best friend committed suicide.
And hurricane Katrina hit all in the same time that I was starting college.
And I remember waking up and thinking something was odd.
Like I thought this is weird.
Like I don't remember like the last like week or two and I didn't think anything of it.
I didn't know what was going on.
I didn't know what was going on.
I didn't know what was going on.
I didn't know what was going on.
I didn't know what was going on.
I didn't know what was going on.
I didn't know what was going on.
denial too about everything. And I thought, oh, I just had a little Bell's palsy. They say it's
like, you know, whatever when stress is happening. And I later went to the doctor like literally two
years later because it just kind of went away on its own. Yeah. And he was like, I think you had
a stroke and you didn't know it. And I was like, wow. I was unhealthy as can be though. I was
eating my feelings back then. It was a wreck. I mean, I don't think anybody would have been okay
to have all three people that were close to you obviously pass away. And then Hurricane Katrina
was devastating for the whole state. It was wild. Yeah. And I was volunteering at this place where
people could come for refuge. And the one job that I had was I walked around with my cell phone and
someone else's cell phone. And I went from bed to bed, just giving people five minutes to call
loved ones. So for three weeks, two weeks, I was like just at the PMAC center where,
LSU plays basketball, just handing out my phone and bringing my roommate's phone because
he couldn't have his phone at work. And I would just, that's all I did. Wow. Yeah. It was wild.
So what was that like? I mean, obviously people were taking refuge. Were they trying,
were their houses destroyed? Is that? They didn't know. No one, no one. They just had to leave.
They just had to leave. Like no one had a clue. And it's, you know, it's interesting whenever
you talk to people who have been through natural disasters on that,
on that level. I wasn't in New Orleans when that happened. I got out before everything,
you know, went down. But when you go through something like that, life is either to you,
life is precious or life is ****. You know, there are people who experienced Hurricane Katrina
and went back and nothing changed. Their homes still were, are still rotted. They are still
doing the same thing. They're still doing the same thing. They're still doing the same thing.
They're still doing the same things that they were doing before the storm. And there are people
in New Orleans who went back and said, you know what? This is my second chance. I'm going to get
my life together and I'm going to get this started. So for me, it was, my life needs to start.
So what happened from there to where you are now? How did you get that first call
to be on E? How did you get into entertainment? Did you, I mean, you were volunteering.
Yeah. Now you're on TV. You know what I mean? You said, but you wanted to restart your life.
So what did that look like?
So this is like a, my life has like, I'm a cat, but all nine lives have lived at once.
Does that make sense?
Yeah. I love cats.
Like, yeah. Like people say, oh, you have nine lives. You're a cat. I'm like, oh, I have like,
I have like nine lives, but they've all like, they're gone at once. So like a bunch of horses,
like in a state, like in a, in a race going at once. When I was like 14, I started working for
this wedding planner and she would have me work.
On the weekends. She booked me up for like 50 weekends out the, out the year. I would do these
bougie ass weddings for all these like Southern weddings, huge Southern weddings. Like when I tell
you like, like, you know, the Cheneys were at the wedding or like, you know, there's just like
things happening. Very Republican, very white, very bougie. And I was like the only black kid
in the front of the house. And, um, when I was 14, one of the girls whose bridal show,
we did was Allie Landry, who was, she was married to Mario Lopez. She was a Doritos girl. She was
Miss USA. She was like the first Doritos girl. She was an actress. She's the bomb.
She was like, oh my God, you should move to LA. And I was like, uh, you know, I'm 18. I'm 14 at
the time. I'm like, I can't really like just get up and go to LA. I'm in ninth grade.
Three years later when I was-
Wait, why did she say that though?
She was just like, oh, I like your personality. Like you should live in LA.
Like you're so funny. Like da, da, da.
So you're at a wedding pretty much the life of the party or she thought.
Yes. I'm like, I'm doing her bridal shower.
That's awesome. Yeah.
Fast forward to 21. Her friend was getting married. I was doing another wedding again.
She was a bridesmaid. So she was like, you should move to LA. And I was like,
well, you know, I could, I could do it. I had a few drinks at this moment and I was like,
I could actually do it now.
21 and graduating college. She was like, great. When do you graduate? I was like,
you know, first week of January. She goes, when do you think about moving? I'm like,
you know, maybe May. So she was like, keep me informed and I'll help you out. And
I got a phone call like two days before I graduated. And she was like, hey,
are you still thinking about moving here? I was like, yeah, like probably like in May sometimes.
And she was like, well, I have a friend who probably needs an assistant.
So you should move here next week.
I was like trying my hardest.
To be like, you know, I don't know. I'm kind of broke. I don't have any money. Like,
And she was like, I think you should just get here and figure it out. And you know,
I think blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, everything pointed to Nova. She was like,
it's going to work out. And I packed my car up two days later, oddly enough,
and just MapQuest was big then.
Oh my God. I remember.
You printed it out.
Printed it out, stapled it together, put it in a folder and drove.
I drove to Los Angeles, stayed at her house. And she was like, I have a friend who's starting
a reality show. And she doesn't know that she needs an assistant, but I think you can talk
her into it. And that's how I met Kyle Richards.
And that was the real housewives of Beverly Hills.
That's my first job in LA after I graduated.
That's insane. And then-
Yeah. Do you, do you keep in touch with her now?
Yeah, I'm like, let's talk to that. Let's talk to that bitch.
Yeah, we have Kyle's Instagram blog. And what are you talking about?
I talk to Allie all the time.
We go to dinner, you know, from time to time. We travel together. We just did a retreat in
Arizona. She's one of those people that you always want to keep in your life.
Because she's very good at manifesting. And she is a great mom, a great wife. And she puts that
first, but she always keeps her name. Her name and her brand is always relevant. And that's
something that people in Hollywood can't really keep in their mind. And I think that's a really
Yeah, that's dope.
And she's done it.
Yeah. And she became like, I mean, she gave you that little push that you needed,
you know, to take a big step.
I wouldn't say little push.
Okay. She pushed you off the ledge to get your ass to LA.
She shoved me right off the ridge.
Well, I love that. And now you're sitting here. And on the Courtside Club,
we do like to take a halftime break. I have a little game for you.
I know that you're really into pop culture, but sports crosses over into pop culture as well.
I have a lot of quotes here. Some of them are from the entertainment space. Some are from sports.
I'm going to see if you can name that person.
Who said these quotes. Okay. First up, this is the s**t that I did when I was young and I need
to own it. Is this Kyle Richards, Kim K, or Lisa Rinna?
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
Do you remember when she said that?
I think when she was in the closet in her room.
Oh, I didn't need the exact location.
Was that when it was happening?
Or like what she was talking about.
Was it the reappearance of the sex tape?
Okay. But I'm glad that you knew the exact closet that she was in.
Is she in a closet talking to this or what?
All right. This one, this one you might not have heard before.
I think everyone is ticklish. You just got to find the right spots.
Okay. What freak would say this?
Like what nasty dude would say this?
It's some nasty old white dude.
Derek Jeter, Michelle Obama, or Kevin Spacey?
Oh my God. Derek Jeter.
See, I threw a little curveball because he's a sports guy, but it's not really the
sportiest quote that we've heard.
I know, but no wonder he got Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson.
See, I love that you know everybody's significant others.
I'm really good at it.
Life is what happens.
Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.
Was this Elton John, John Lennon, or Frank Sinatra?
Life is what happens.
This is a tough one.
I will say that my manager, Brandon, that you know, threw this one in.
Okay. So he's a 58-year-old white man from Amaganza.
So he would love.
I want to say Elton, but that's too easy.
It would be John Lennon.
Because John Lennon would say that about having a baby, about, you know, leaving the
Beatles and having a baby or something.
I'm not actually sure when he said this, but you're correct.
Brandon's like an old white man who would listen to this, listen to John Lennon with
his top down and his SL going to get bagels in the morning in the Hamptons.
Wait, did you have a Louisiana accent?
And by the way, if I had one, I'd be further along in my career.
Because whatever this accent that you just did.
Before was pretty spot on the Hamptons one.
The bougie Hamptons.
You're pretty good.
I'm pretty good at.
I'm pretty good at bougie, like bougie people.
Any bougie accent I can do.
I think you've heard and seen a lot of that in your career.
I've been in the last mess so much.
Another sports related.
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Was this Wayne Gretzky?
Matthew McConaughey?
I'm going to go with.
Oh, you said sports related.
I'm going to say Wayne Gretzky.
Are we doing ASMR now?
Because we're both whispering.
I'm going to say Wayne Gretzky.
Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.
Was this Kevin Hart, Aaron Rodgers, or Babe Ruth?
I'm going to go with Kevin Hart for some odd reason.
This one's a throwback.
This one's a throwback.
This is Babe Ruth.
Oh, this is Babe.
Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.
So, you know, baseball.
By the way, I've never heard Babe Ruth.
I don't even know what Babe Ruth sounds like.
I don't even know if Babe Ruth even gave a quote back in the cut.
I thought he had won baseball.
I thought he won baseball and dropped dead.
That's like my thought of Babe Ruth, that he had that one game like Rudy, and then that
Never played again.
He did a little bit more than that.
And fortunately, he left us with that quote, which is pretty good.
Yeah, it's a good quote.
I hope you DM me that one.
And with that, it's time for the second half.
We talked about it a little bit, the crossover between entertainment and sports.
I know that you mostly cover the entertainment pop culture side, but what sports story was
your favorite to talk about or cover?
I think the sports story that was fun for me this year or any year was, I mean, the
last dance for me was kind of sort of...
The most mega thing, because that was my era of like, you know, back in the day when
the Bulls were coming up, it was like back when starter jackets were cool and there was
like these sweatsuits that you would want to get with all the gear.
But they're coming back hard.
They're coming back hard, but back in the cut, when all you wanted for Christmas was
a Chicago Bulls starter jacket, but you couldn't get it because it was sold out, so you had
to go with Orlando.
But you weren't really into Orlando.
You just were pissed.
We used to go to the mall, these kids these days that go to like for the Kanye drops and
shit, where they put out like 200 sneakers and they're like, oh my God, it's sold out.
Michael Jordan used to ship tens of thousands of pairs of shoes to Foot Lockers, and there
were people trying to line up and get them.
And even though you were there since 2 o'clock that morning, by the time you got in the store
at 10 o'clock, you had to get aside.
I realized I was two sizes too big, but you didn't give a shit because you just wanted
to show up at school with them, and you saved every dollar to make it to $175.76 with tax,
and you just wanted to get them.
It was a different era.
I think that era for me was so magnificent because there was no Instagram.
You didn't know anything.
You know, you just – nobody was accessible back then, and I miss those days.
Is that what you feel is different?
Is that what you feel is different from like celebrity and athlete culture now?
I feel like celebrity and athlete culture because we have – there's so much, you
Back in the day, you picked your sport.
Like you had your A sport, which was basketball.
You had your A team, which, you know, for me was the Bulls, and every team had two superstars.
You know what I mean?
There was two people on a team who you just knew by name.
They were the ones.
I feel like now, not every team.
I feel like with how the media covers sports nowadays also, it's not even – the teams
don't matter as much.
It is more about the individual players, but what we're seeing now is a lot of these
individual players and superstars are switching teams so often besides the Warriors being
that one team that like Steph Curry and Klay and all of them have stayed, but that makes
them a very likable team.
But now we have LeBron switching, going all these different places, KD doing the same
And then at the same time, I think you said the word accessible.
I feel like that's been something that's changed in sports also because everybody has
Everybody has an interview on some podcast or some outlet.
You know what I mean?
And Michael Jordan back in the day, it kind of gave him that like superhero feel because
nobody could touch him.
We didn't know what the heck was going on when he went home.
We all knew what was going on.
You read a tabloid or two and you can pick it up.
But you said something so interesting and I think a lot of times people put it on the
players that players switch teams all the time.
But in all actuality, back in the day, you're right.
Like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, they were not only connected to a team, but they
were connected to a city.
But the NBA became something bigger and they started treating these guys like they were
like chess pieces, trading them here, trading them there.
And back in the day, you went to a team and you stuck with a team unless someone called
you and said, listen, I want to win a championship here and I need you to do it.
I'm going to come with you and you're going to take the brunt, but we'll be fine.
Now I feel like players are just, it's all about the money.
It's all about what you can get out of it instead of having that loyalty to a city.
You know what I mean?
I think there's also the element of some guys want to live in different cities for other
And even LeBron being the easiest example, like would obviously love to come to LA because
he's getting into the entertainment space.
Well, who wants to live in Utah?
I mean, I'm from Akron, Ohio.
And so I also don't live in Akron anymore, you know, and it's, it's not a knock.
I love where I grew up and I'll appreciate it forever, but I don't want to be in Cleveland
Like, are you like, it's like, it's so wild.
Are you going to go to like Detroit or are you going to try to go to New York?
It is what it is.
But I think that people, there needs to be more of legacy players who, you know, Karl
Malone was Utah jazz.
Shaq had a moment in Orlando.
Penny Hardaway, you know, you just had Gary who played for the Sonics.
You know, you just had all of these people who were synonymous.
Allen Iverson with the Sixers.
Like you knew what time it was.
And when you bought a jersey, you can have that mother****** for years on end.
And now you have to like.
Buy a jersey because this one's going here and there.
And it's not the same.
It's not what it used to be.
But, you know, I think social media kind of ruined it for us, too.
Like, I don't want to know how many baby mamas you have.
I don't need Cam Newton on a podcast telling me about like the times he f***ed up and how
he had another baby.
Which is actually funny coming from you in a sense because the entertainment space is
different where like a lot of these storylines in the entertainment space is who you're going to be.
That kind of culture.
But you're saying with sports you like for there to be that separation.
I also like like there are a few superstars left in life.
And I'm going to give the perfect.
I'm going to give a perfect example.
Tom Cruise is a superstar.
I don't know where Tom Cruise is getting his coffee from.
I don't know who he's f***ing.
I don't know who, you know, where he's gone to, you know, get his oil change.
I don't know when he's on a first class flight or in the Emirates.
You don't know a lot about Tom Cruise.
So that fantasy for you is there.
You know what I mean?
And like you said, you didn't know a lot about Michael Jordan back in the cut.
Like I loved those moments.
I just feel like now we just know too much.
Do you think that that puts more pressure on today's players having, you know, the spotlight
on them at all times or them having more ways to mess up?
I actually think it makes it easier for them to make a name for themselves.
I think that it is a blessing and a curse.
You know, we don't have two, you know, superstars per team, but you have five people on a roster
who can make a name for themselves.
You have what we know who, you know, Tristan Thompson was, you know, if it wasn't for his
terrible pullout game and social media, probably not.
Would I know Devin Booker?
Like, you know, like, you know, like, it's like you, you see these people that have figured
out the social name.
Unfortunately, you picked the two where it's just like their dating life.
You know what I mean?
But still, but still.
It's the purest truth.
Would I know anything about, would I care or be invested in them if they weren't out
and, you know, in front of me all the time?
And the answer is probably no.
Like, but Grant Hill did it back in the day before social media.
Grant Hill was dating like a singer named Tamiya and it became this big old thing.
And what's his name who dated Eva Longoria because, you know, and it became-
Would I know who Tony Parker was if he didn't date Eva Longoria?
Was it on the cover of People Magazine for his wedding?
They just figured out the game and how to do it before anybody else did it.
But I think in a way too, because even my parents, I've interviewed a ton of athletes
for different shows that I've worked on.
And my parents actually get more invested in the show.
They get more invested in the athletes when they see their interviews, if they're nice
people or they have an interesting story.
And then they'll be like, oh, I want to watch the Utah Jazz because so-and-so is playing
for them that they, that's like a bench player though.
Who they didn't know before.
So I think whether it's dating somebody or just like having a cool moment in a movie,
it's those personal connections-
That make you more invested in the team since people, like you said, maybe aren't invested
in like a certain city as much anymore.
But it's harder to get those one-off moments.
To pop because there's so much going on.
I remember, you know, I mean, Space Jam, like that was huge.
Or like watching Sesame Street and you had this six foot seven dude next to Elmo.
Like, are you seeing like your favorite Arsenio Hall?
Shaq was on Arsenio Hall.
All your favorite superstars were making these big moves.
Now I just feel like-
Nobody's on Oprah.
Nobody's going on GMA.
Like, unless you're LeBron, unless you're, you know, Steph Curry, unless you're doing
those things, like, you don't get those moments anymore because it's so saturated.
But talk about a family who's branded themselves really well in the Currys.
Their family's so beautiful and cute and quirky.
It's just so smart.
Is there any storyline in sports right now that you've been following or that interests
It doesn't have to be basketball.
It could be anything.
You know, I've been following this whole Kyrie Irving thing.
Just, you know, when I go to the barbershop, I kind of tune in and try to act butch and
like listen to things and like, you know, like try to act like I'm like, you know, like
But aside from that, I love this Roger Federer versus Nadal.
I just, to me, tennis.
Tennis is one of those things I didn't grow up watching.
So now to jump in and have like this full like immersion of like this like bougie yet
classy yet raw sport and just to see the rivalry.
And it's two greats that we don't know if we'll see.
And you're also watching like, you're watching the last of a, of a, of a like just like a
Like one Serena Williams.
Which is not anytime soon.
Like, I don't know if anybody else is going to be able to do it.
Well, that's something that's interesting to me about sports because we're living in
a time where there are some legends in the making that we've taken a little bit of advantage
You know, the last one I feel like was, was Kobe or, you know, Tom Brady retired for a
second, but people like, but okay.
When Tom Brady leaves, when LeBron leaves, when Serena, Nadal, you know, who is next?
So it'll be interesting to see.
I think you'll have a, Joe Burrow will be a good move for you.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think Joe Burrow is going to be fun.
You know, he's not going to Johnny Manziel it.
He's going to come through.
He will not f*** us up like Johnny Manziel.
I'm so excited about that.
God, our Browns, man.
He did have it all.
He was going to be the one.
I think you'll have a moment.
I think Shaq's son is going to do same thing that his dad did.
Where he's going to brand himself.
And he's going to do that because his dad has done it better than anyone else.
Minus Snoop Dogg.
For some reason, Snoop Dogg's branding people.
But did you hear Snoop on Impulsive, I think it was, when he was saying that he's trying
to get to the level of Shaq?
Because he thinks Shaq is the only one who's done it better than him.
It's neck and neck.
It's neck and neck.
It's like super wild.
But Shaq has figured out a way to do it.
And I think he's going to not only make.
I don't want to make Sharif do it, but he's going to show him the way.
You know what I mean?
All right, people.
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Speaking of tennis, you've been playing a little bit.
I picked it up in COVID.
How's that going?
It's interesting.
I can say this because I know my tennis coach is not going to watch this or listen to this,
but he is the bomb.
I just always thought I was going to have an affair with my tennis coach.
And it hasn't happened yet?
No, I was just picking people based on, you know, like, oh, this guy's hot.
They're all Australian or British, and they're all hot.
And I'm like, I'm into this.
Yeah, I'm going to do the full waspy thing where I have like an illicit affair with him
and then have to like leave him.
And I went into it thinking that that was going to happen.
And the guy I had, it was close.
And then he was like, I have to move back to Australia, but I have this guy named Graham
who's going to like take over.
And I'm like, ooh, Graham, that sounds ugly.
Graham is like 55, like white, from like Long Beach, like looks like he's like, you know,
like he's like a lifeguard for like 90 years, like, and cute, but like, I'm not sleeping
But it's good because Graham is great.
And he's like my therapist.
And I'm not going to lie.
I'm not going to lie.
I'm almost ready to join a league.
Do you know what level you are?
The earliest one.
So like three, maybe.
So that's how I know the like rec levels.
Well, I can play.
I mean, I'm really good at playing.
I just can't serve yet.
I haven't gotten there yet.
You should join a league.
And honestly, there's going to be more hot guys in the league if you think about it.
But I have to get my, I don't have my look down pack.
I don't know what like my lettering is going to be.
Am I going to use my first initial?
Middle initial and last name?
Am I going to just do my first initial?
What country am I going to play for?
Am I going to do my 23 and me and figure out my, you know, Senegal?
Like, I don't know what I'm going to do.
I need to have my whole brand down pack.
Should I get a sleeve tattoo?
No one does that.
You know what I mean?
The options are endless.
The options are endless.
But I want to make sure when the doll whips my ass in the first round in three that I
look good while I'm going down.
That's what I always say.
Well, Justin, we are reaching the end.
We are reaching the end of the game.
So I have some courtside buzzer beaters for you.
Yeah, let's do it.
Sorry, I've been drinking this coffee like it was like the last hit of my life.
We have great coffee on the courtside club.
Tune in for more.
You could have gave me ice shoe water.
I probably would have.
Break down your ideal courtside fit.
I'm going to get one of those old starter jackets.
But the Bulls, right?
Or whatever game I'm going to with just a white tee, a cute chain, just like a Cuban
link with some cargos, some OJs, and we're keeping it at that.
Ideal food and drink combo while sitting courtside.
I don't know why I turn into the biggest POS.
All I want at a game is like a course light.
And I'm going to have a hot dog, but I'm going to eat it in secret because I don't want anyone
to see me eat the hot dog.
But I'm going to have it.
You know, there's a lot of cameras on you when you're courtside, so you got to be real
But I'm going to eat it on the way to the seat.
And then I'm just going to sit with that course light.
With that course light.
And just like it's like the best bottle of champagne I've ever had.
Oh, when I'm at a game, get ready.
What is the best game that you've been courtside or fieldside at?
That's a big one.
It's always, it's the weekend of my birthday.
It always gets lit.
And it's always daylight savings time.
So you get an extra hour.
That's a good one.
They know what they're doing down there.
Who was one person dead or alive that you would love to sit courtside with?
Oh, I want to sit next to Spike Lee.
I want to sit in between Jack Nicholson and Spike Lee because they seem like the most
passionate people.
And I just want to, because he got in trouble a few times.
I want to know what Spike.
Spike Lee's saying on the side of the court.
Or sit next to Drake when he's talking.
That's what I want to know.
He always like brings some sort of drama when he's sitting courtside, though.
He gets himself on camera no matter what.
He's like the Taylor Swift of a basketball game.
If you go to like an award show, you always see Taylor Swift like dancing on the side.
Some awkward dance.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
He's like the Taylor Swift of basketball.
By the way, so I was at All-Star this year.
And it was college.
College basketball game that they were presenting at NBA All-Star Weekend.
And there were three courtside rows.
Directly in front of me was Spike Lee.
And directly behind me was Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner.
So, yeah, it was cool.
I talked to both of them because I had interviewed Spike before, but I thought I had to tell you
I wasn't directly next to him, but, you know.
That's all you need.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And last question.
What is one event in history, it could be sporting or otherwise, that you would have
loved to have been courtside for?
And this is going to sound so stupid, and you're going to be like, I don't understand
why, but I would have loved to watch David Hasselhoff sing as the Berlin Wall was coming
I know that sounds so random.
I know that sounds.
It is, but it's okay.
I know it sounds so random, but I.
But like on all those like VH1 specials or like anything on like on CNN, they talk about
that monumental moment.
I don't want to connect with it, but I truly want to.
I want to be there to like to see it.
Because people felt like it was such a monumental moment.
So I just want to be there to experience it.
So I can say, oh, I was.
No, that's a good one.
Do you even know what I'm talking about?
Do you guys know what I'm talking about?
I mean, I know the Berlin Wall and I know who David Hasselhoff is.
I didn't know that they ever mixed.
So when I was a kid, VH1 was like.
I remember the summer we got like MTV or VH1.
And they used to do these like specials, like, you know, like what's happening or, you know,
And for some reason, that was such a huge moment.
And it was before things were broadcast all over the world.
But they made it like it was like.
But and I get it.
He's like German.
And like he was singing like as the wall came down.
And it was like, I think it would be like.
The equivalent of Maluma going to the wall when the wall gets broken down in 10.
Years when that wall finally comes down between America and Mexico and singing.
It just was like, I don't get.
I know it sounds so crazy.
And we've had some answers that are kind of like off, not like sporting events.
You know, I want to see that or when Diana Ross came in on that helicopter at the Super Bowl.
You don't even know about that one, do you?
No, but I know who Diana Ross is.
It's the greatest.
But I can only imagine, too, because, again, no social media, none of that.
She came in on a helicopter and left on a helicopter.
Like, not like, like, not like in a helicopter, like holding on, waving with that hair going everywhere.
Oh, that's so good.
Almost in the propeller.
It was like, literally.
Well, Justin, you're iconic.
Thank you so much for coming on the Courtside Club.
I'm so sorry to ESPN.
No, we're introducing you to the sports audience in case you ever want to make this crossover.
Let people know, by the way, where they can find you on socials and on TV.
You can find me at Justin A. Sylvester.
You can find me on Instagram or Justin Sylvester TV on TikTok.
Or you can watch Daily Pop every weekday at 11, 10 Central.
Thank you so much.
Make sure that you guys like and subscribe, and we'll see you next time.
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