Gov. Gavin Newsom has a podcast, and it’s about what I expected.
Earlier this summer, Newsom launched a podcast with sports agent Doug Hendrickson and Marshawn Lynch, one of the greatest and most entertaining NFL running backs of all time.
If it were just Hendrickson and Lynch, it would probably be pretty interesting. But including Newsom, who at best asks an occasional good question, makes this simply one more thing he does in lieu of governing California.
The trio are connected through Hendrickson, who was Lynch’s agent and Newsom’s high school friend. But there all cohesion ends.
I can only speculate as to why Newsom did this, but since most things he does seem to seek political advantage, and since this was conceived while he was still dreaming of the White House, I can only assume he thought this would drive up his favorables with key voting blocs.
It’s hard to overstate how disappointing this endeavor is. Marshawn Lynch is amazing, which helped him develop a cult following as a player for actions both on and off the field.
On the field, he was known for his unbelievably powerful and aggressive running style. Lynch’s “Beast Quake” run against the New Orleans Saints, where he knocked Saints’ cornerback Tracy Porter five yards away with a stiff arm on his way to 67-yard touchdown, caused a minor tremor from fan noise that was picked up by seismic monitors.
He’s a legend.
Off the field, Lynch had an adversarial relationship with the media that created hours of entertaining interviews of him saying things like: “I’m just here so I won’t get fined” over and over again.
Normally, being adversarial with the media doesn’t come off well. But it worked for Lynch because eventually it exposed a man who was actually unbelievably humble, sincere and likable. He’s known as a model teammate, and candid conversations only reinforced his great personality. To NFL legend Deion Sanders, Lynch replied when asked if he’s shy: “Nah. I’m just ‘bout that action, boss.”
It’s his humility, his kind-heartedness and his plainspokeness that stands in such a stark contrast with Newsom.
Publicly, Newsom seems to be none of those things. Compared to Hendrickson, who is pretty good on the podcast, Newsom’s contributions are usually jarring comments that draw the conversation back to him.
I listened to three episodes: one with no guest on the topic of college athletes getting paid, one with Lynch’s former coach in Seattle, Pete Carroll, and one with the best-known hype man in rap history, Flavor Flav of Public Enemy.
Those should make for interesting podcasts, and in many respects they were. But too often the conversation would sour when Newsom spoke.
Maybe I’m just a Newsom hater and blinded as a result. I’m comfortable admitting that’s entirely possible, but I don’t think I’m entirely wrong either.
Discussing the challenges student athletes face getting paid big money for the first time, which can expose a deep problem with money management (similar to rookies and lottery winners), Newsom said: “If you want to eat more, eat less so you can live longer.”
Newsom said it was an old saying, though I can’t find any evidence of that. Maybe it’s an old saying of his or he’s misquoting it. Either way, it doesn’t make sense and didn’t need to be said, though he explained it as a call for financial literacy and moderation.
While Carroll and Lynch were discussing how to get past failures on the field and in life, Newsom butted in with something about the Stoics and Marcus Aurelius.
For those who don’t know, Lynch and Carroll were at the center of one of the most controversial moments in sports history — a blown call and play at the end of the Super Bowl that not only cost the Seahawks the game but also ended what would have been a football dynasty.
In fact, knowing the two might discuss this moment is exactly why I chose this episode. At no time did the moment call for references to ancient Roman history.
When the trio gave Carroll the chance to ask Newsom whatever he wanted, Carroll demurred, and Newsom was all too eager to start talking about how he was the first governor to sign legislation allowing student athletes to get paid. He mentioned that he was the first so often that Lynch teased him about it.
Sadly for Newsom, the legislation got mixed reviews and when it was clear he wouldn’t be getting the praise he wanted for being “the first governor.” He lamented that it didn’t work out the way he wanted it to.
Now that’s something I would have asked Newsom about.
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During the Flavor Flav episode, Newsom said something about “as kids of the ‘90s” he remembered that there wasn’t “anyone bigger than Public Enemy.”
I was a huge Public Enemy fan and I can say that I’ve never heard anyone say there was no one bigger than them.
Maybe I’m nitpicking, but I just don’t believe he actually listened to them regularly. I could see him listening to The B-52’s or Fine Young Cannibals, but I just can’t picture him palling around with the Gettys bumping “Brothers Gonna Work It Out.”
I don’t know, maybe he loved Public Enemy, maybe he’s actually doing something special with the podcast, maybe I’m just a hater.
However, he won’t talk to California media, he has an incredibly thin list of accomplishments as governor and has spent far too much of his time traveling the country trying to build his brand. This just seems like one more thing Newsom does regularly that is not his actual job.
Matt Fleming is an opinion columnist for the Southern California News Group and CEO of Sower Strategies, a digital marketing and public affairs firm.