    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [November 4, 1999]
    [Pages 1974-1977]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With Dan Patrick of ESPN Radio
    November 4, 1999

        Mr. Patrick. Mr. President?
        The President. Yes?
        Mr. Patrick. It's Dan Patrick with Rob Dibble.
        The President. Hey, Dan. How are you?
        Mr. Patrick. I'm great. I appreciate you calling in. I've been
    dancing a little bit, ad-libbing for an hour and a half, but I know
    you're a busy man. I just want you to know, I've been sweating.
    [Laughter]
        The President. I'm sorry. I owe you one.
        Mr. Patrick. You know what I could use, a hug right now is what I
    could use. [Laughter]
        The President. If I could give you one of those, I'd do that, too.
        Mr. Patrick. I asked the callers to give me some suggestions for
    you. And do I have to call you Mr. President? In all respect, it's a
    very personable show. Can I call you something that----
        The President. Call me whatever you want.
        Mr. Patrick. No, you tell me what to call you. I want it to be
    comfortable here, because, Mr. President, that puts me at a
    disadvantage, asking you sports questions. [Laughter]

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        The President. You don't have to call me anything. Just ask the
    question.
        Mr. Patrick. All right. Could I call you Bill?
        The President. You can call me whatever you want. It's fine with me.

    Team Jerseys

        Mr. Patrick. Okay. What are you doing with all those jerseys that
    you get when teams come to the White House?
        The President. Believe it or not, I save them all because I'm such a
    big sports fan. And when I get out of here, I'm going to put them all
    together and decide whether to either display them or take turns wearing
    them. But I actually save them all.
        Mr. Patrick. Have you put one on in the White House and maybe, you
    know, tossed a football or played basketball in them?
        The President. Yes, I played--I shot a few baskets with a Kentucky
    jersey they gave me the other day, not very long ago.

    President's Favorite Athletic Events

        Mr. Patrick. Now, what's the one event you would want to go to that
    you haven't been to, sporting-wise?
        The President. That I have never been to? I'd like to go to a Super
    Bowl, and I'd like to go to a college championship, now that the new
    football system is in.
        Mr. Patrick. You haven't been to the Super Bowl?
        The President. Never. I've watched a lot of them, but I've never
    been to one.
        Mr. Patrick. You know what? You can come with ESPN this year; it's
    in Atlanta. I'd be more than happy----
        The President. I've never been. You know, I have seen some great
    events. I went to the NCAA championship game in Arkansas, one in '94,
    and that's the only time I've ever been to that. And then I went to--I
    saw the women's World Cup finals this year when we beat China with the
    overtime, with the kickoff at the end, which was stunning. It was one of
    the most exciting athletic events I've ever seen in my life.

    SportsCenter

        Mr. Patrick. Set the scene in the White House when you're watching
    SportsCenter.
        The President. When I'm watching it?
        Mr. Patrick. Yes, like where are you and----
        The President. Oh, all right. Well, I watch it all the time, you
    know. I'm either in the kitchen, where Hillary and I and Chelsea, when
    she's home, we have our meals in a very informal atmosphere in the
    kitchen when there's no one else there, or I'm upstairs in what's called
    the Solarium; it's up on the third floor, and it's a big kind of sunny
    room. And I watch TV there at night, especially when my brother-in-law
    or someone else is staying with us.
        Normally, I'm watching SportsCenter either around dinnertime when I
    come in or late at night when I come in from an event and I'm sitting,
    visiting with other people.
        Mr. Patrick. Have I said anything stupid on SportsCenter that maybe
    you wanted to criticize or critique me? Because you can--you get
    critiqued all the time. Feel free; you can take a shot at me.
        The President. No, I don't think so. I think as long as I'm in
    office, I should be criticized but not return the favor. [Laughter]
    Everybody in America gets to criticize the President. That's part of the
    privilege of being a citizen.

    Athletic Organizations' Community Involvement

        Mr. Patrick. The President of the United States, joining us on the
    Dan Patrick Show here on ESPN Radio. You're a part of this new markets
    incentives. I know you're in New Jersey. The Nets are donating to the
    city of Newark, which I think is great. Do you see teams that don't give
    back to the community enough? The taxpayers build these stadiums, and
    maybe they don't get something in return for promoting and supporting
    their teams.
        The President. Well, let me put it in more positive terms with
    regard to the Nets. I think that taxpayers finance these things because
    they enjoy having professional teams in their communities, because they
    believe it brings their communities some prestige, and because they
    think it generates a lot of other economic activity. But I think that
    the opportunity for a professional sports team to give something back to
    the community on a scale far greater than anything that's happened so
    far is embodied by what the Nets are doing.
        I mean, this is a stunning thing that Lew Katz and Ray Chambers are doing
    with the Nets. And now, you know, they're partners with the Yankees, and
    so they've got a smaller percentage of the overall joint operations are
    going into community operations not only in Newark,

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    New Jersey, but also in the Bronx, where the Yankees are.
        I just think it's amazing. Here are these two
    guys that have made a lot of money, and they're
    going to dedicate almost 40 percent of the profits of this sports
    franchise to redeveloping the economy and developing the lives of the
    children of Newark. I think that is an amazing thing.
        Mr. Patrick. I think it's great. I think it's great, but I'm
    worried. We finance these stadiums. Should taxpayers finance the
    stadiums if we don't have any say on when those teams can leave?
        The President. The practical answer to that is that stadiums cannot
    be financed unless the political leaders support it. And so the
    political leaders should decide on the front end, I guess, what they
    expect out of the teams in return for financing the stadium.
        You know, it was interesting when Bob Lanier
    was mayor of Houston--one of the most popular mayors Houston ever had
    and a very able man--he let the football team go to Tennessee because he
    didn't want to finance a new stadium. So it's not like--nobody makes
    these communities do these things. They make their decisions. And I
    think if they think there ought to be some conditions or some
    requirements, that ought to be discussed with the owners in advance.

    PGA Golfer Casey Martin

        Mr. Patrick. We are going to have Casey Martin on in a little bit.
        The President. Good for you.
        Mr. Patrick. But you being the avid golfer that you are, do you
    think that having a golf cart is that much of an advantage in--I mean,
    the outcry over Casey Martin using a golf cart, did it surprise you? And
    where do you stand on that issue?
        The President. I'm for him. I'm solidly behind him. I think he ought
    to be able to play. The only way it would be an advantage to him, in my
    view, is if he really didn't have the debilitating condition in his legs
    that he has. So I think that to me, this is like the golf version of the
    Americans with Disabilities Act, you know, where we try to make the
    workplace accessible with people with disabilities who are otherwise
    just as good at work as all the rest of us.
        Well, Casey is just as good at golf and better than most of the rest
    of us, and he's got this condition, which will probably shorten his
    career, anyway. And so I think that the proper course is to say, ``Look,
    we can't let everybody start running around the golf course. We don't
    want to change the nature of the game, but this man has a unique
    disability which prohibits his walking around but doesn't prevent him
    from being a terrific golfer, and for however many years he can be
    competitive, we think we ought to give him a chance.'' That's what I
    think the rule ought to be.
        Mr. Patrick. I agree with you, and I just thought that it was
    interesting, the outcry from everybody.
        The President. What they're worried about, I think, is all the
    people who have to be the keepers of the tradition of any game or any
    club or anything else, they're always afraid that when they change any
    rules, it's a slippery slope, and pretty soon the whole character of a
    contest will be altered in ways that aren't good. But I just don't think
    that that objection holds water here.
        I don't know Casey Martin. I've had some limited contact with him,
    but he seems like a terrific young man. He's bound to be a courageous
    young man. He could have folded his tent in the face of his physical
    disability. He could have sat around feeling sorry for himself. And
    instead, he shows up every day, and he's obviously got a lot of courage.
    And I think that we ought to support that. I think that's in the finest
    tradition of the sport.
        So to me, it's not a difficult question. But I sympathize with the
    people who have the responsibility of preserving the traditions and the
    heritage of the game. I sympathize with them, but I just think all this
    resistance has been wrong. I think it's the right thing to do to let him
    get out there.

    Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century

        Mr. Patrick. Can I ask you one final question, aside from the
    question I just asked you?
        The President. Sure.
        Mr. Patrick. Who is the number one athlete of all time, in your
    mind? The Sports Century countdown of the top 50 athletes--who would you
    vote for number one?
        The President. Ooh.
        Mr. Patrick. Now, I know you released kind of a top 10; maybe it was
    a top 5. But if you

    [[Page 1977]]

    were going to single out one athlete, who would it be?
        The President. I believe the athlete in the 20th century that made
    the most important contribution was Jesse Owens, because he won the
    multiple Olympic gold medals in the face of Nazi Germany and against
    Hitler's racial theories. So I think he was both a great athlete who had
    to show an extraordinary amount of personal courage, and he did
    something that was of profound significance at the time.
        I think the most talented--physically talented athlete that I ever
    saw play, I think it would be a toss-up for me between Michael
    Jordan and Willie Mays.
        Mr. Patrick.  See, it's hard to go wrong. Once you get up to that
    stratosphere, then if you pick out somebody and--I always thought Jackie
    Robinson, to me, signified greatness as an athlete and what he overcame.
        The President.  Yes. Well, let me say, if you asked me who I thought
    made the greatest contribution to baseball, I'd have to say Jackie
    Robinson because he broke the color line and because he did it in a
    way--because he was a great player who was also a great human being.
    There's almost no way to go wrong here, but if you asked me who I think
    was the most--had the most stunning athletic attributes in my lifetime,
    I would have to say Jordan and Mays are the ones that I've physically witnessed. If you
    ask me--and I think Jackie Robinson, what he did was important. But I
    guess I would have to say the reason I picked Jesse Owens is because he
    did it up against Hitler.
        Mr. Patrick.  Mr. President, thank you for taking time out of your
    busy day. And you know, you're always welcome to talk sports on here.
        The President.  I love it. I loved talking to you, and I hope that
    more of our sports teams will follow the lead of the New Jersey Nets.
    What they have done is a great thing, and they're giving a lot of kids a
    chance at a better future.

    Jayson Williams

        Mr. Patrick.  Well, we have the Nets' Jayson Williams. He's on hold.
    I think you met him today, but Jayson will----
        The President.  Oh, I know him. He is a terrific young man, and he's
    going to be well enough to play soon. But it's not going to stop him
    from spending some of his time trying to give these kids a better
    future, and I hope more people will follow his lead, too.
        Mr. Patrick.  Mr. President, thank you, and we'll see you. Even when
    you're out of office, you want to talk sports, you're always welcome,
    okay?
        The President.  Thank you.
        Mr. Patrick.  I don't want you to feel like, that you're being
    neglected once you're out. You're still welcome here.
        The President.  You've got a deal.
        Mr. Patrick. All right. Thank you.
        The President.  Bye.

    Note: The President spoke by telephone at approximately 2:23 p.m. from
    Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, NJ. In his remarks, he referred
    to NBA New Jersey Nets co-owners Lewis Katz and Ray Chambers; former NBA
    Chicago Bulls player Michael Jordan; Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays;
    and NBA New Jersey Nets player Jayson Williams. Rob Dibble is Mr.
    Patrick's co-anchor.