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a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters in new york. welcome to "alex witt reports." developing at this hour, some new reaction to the rnc censuring congresswoman liz cheney and congressman adam kinzinger for their role in the house probe of january 6th. that resolution receiving some major backlash for referring to attack as, quote, legitimate political discourse. fellow 1/6 committee member jaime raskin just telling me what struck him the most about that move. >> they're licensing political violence in america. they're essentially embracing insurrection and coup as a mode of taking power in the country, and one thing that was particularly alarming to me about it was that it wasn't even clear that donald trump was the one pushing them to do this. they've so internalized the command structure of the new republican party under donald trump as a cult leader that they just do his will without even being told.

>> it comes as former vp mike pence delivered his harshest rebuke yet of donald trump, saying his claim that he should have overturned the results of the 2020 election is, quote, wrong. meantime, overseas, new reporting from the "new york times" says according to ukrainian armed forces, portions of the russian military have reached, quote, full combat strength and appear to be in the final stages of readiness for military action should the kremlin order it. it comes as president biden sent more than 3,000 u.s. troops to nato allies in eastern europe and is keeping another 8,500 soldiers on standby and just a few minutes ago, chairman of the house armed services committee, adam smith, telling me why he's confident in that move. >> putin's whole goal here is to divide the west, divide nato and to drive us out of eastern europe. what we're showing, and i think it's one of the better moves by the biden administration, is that this is going to have the opposite effect. we are going to be more present

in eastern europe as a result of this, primarily because poland, romania, the baltic states, you know, they've always had a high level of fear about russia, but now that's going up. they want our help. they want nato's help. and to the extent that we increase our presence and strengthen our ties with eastern european nations, that shows putin that his effort to sort of redominate eastern europe, to bring back the soviet empire, is not going to work. joining us now, nbc's josh lederman, covering the president from wilmington, delaware, where the president is spending the weekend and matt bradley is joining us from ukraine. josh, we're going to start with you. russia and china appear to be forming quite a united front after that putin and xi meeting, so how's the white house reacting to it? >> reporter: well, china clearly one of the most important partners for russian president vladimir putin, alex, and it might seem like ancient history, but if you rewind the clock to 2008, the last time beijing hosted the olympics, it was on

the same day of the opening ceremonies that russia actually launched its incursion into georgia. so there is a history here of russia using these kinds of major world events as perhaps a distraction from military action that they are taking against their neighbors. and that's one of the concerns that u.s. officials have now. either that russia could do something during the olympics or potentially wait until it's over to then launch an attack. we heard from the top u.s. diplomat for asia, daniel, who was arguing that, look, if this were to take place during the olympics, it would serve to really embarrass china, to put beijing in the place of tacitly supporting or even endorsing an incursion by russia into the sovereign territory of a neighbor. now, as that dynamic is playing out over in asia, the u.s. continuing to try to head off

potential steps by vladimir putin to create a false pretext for a war in ukraine. pointing out and making public information that the u.s. says they have about russian plans to create a fake video that would depict ukrainian attack against russia, complete with fake bodies and all kinds of crisis actors that would basically be a propaganda effort to justify russian actions. that prompted quite a bit of pushback here in washington from reporters and others who said, look, show us the evidence if that's true because there's a troubled history of the u.s. making allegations based on intelligence not putting it all out there and then some of that turning out not to be true, so that's why i was so interested to hear what the chair of the house armed services committee, adam smith, had to tell you about that last hour. let's take a listen. >> i have not personally seen this declassified information.

i don't know that anyone has, and i think it would be helpful if the biden administration would show it to people. i think it's perfectly okay for reporters to ask, okay, you say this, okay, based on what? prove it. we're not just going to take your word for it, and i think the biden administration would be well served to provide that evidence. >> reporter: u.s. officials still closely watching all this play out even though the united states does not have a diplomatic presence at the olympics, choosing to boycott those games in beijing, alex, but in the meantime, the signs of a russian march towards conflict seem to be evident throughout the weekend with reports that russia has flown two bombers, nuclear armed bombers, over its neighbor, belarus, where, of course, russia has been pouring thousands of troops. the u.s. has said they could put up to 30,000 troops, potentially creating another avenue for a russia invasion into ukraine. >> yep. okay.

thank you for all that. appreciate the latest from that, josh. let's go to another shipment of u.s. military cargo to keep in this same vein of discussion. it has arrived in kyiv today as thousands of russian troops are massed on ukraine's border. matt bradley is joining us from ukraine once again. you have to wonder how the folks there, matt, are preparing and even reacting to these latest headlines, though i know you say in some parts along the border, it's been a constant state of stress and potential war. >> reporter: yeah, i mean, we're in a really interesting place right now, alex. this is actually, you've heard of kyiv, of course, we're in kharkiv, the second largest city of ukraine and kind of the undeclared capital of the east of the country. it's a large city, mostly russian-speaking and there used to be a place where there was a lot of pro-russian sentiment and vladimir putin could point to a place like this and say reliably that this was a place where the population might support him if

he were to launch an invasion. not so anymore. not after that 2014 incursion. a lot of people are no longer sympathetic to vladimir putin and russia, even though they, you know, i spoke with one woman today, she said, i was born in russia, i speak russian, i think in russian, and i would die for ukraine. we started the day off this morning, we were at a civilian training for basically just average schmos who are trying to volunteer to learn how to fight in case it comes to an insurgency. these guys are not going to be the first line of defense against russia, but they may end up being the last line, because once the russians move in with their superior ground, air, and naval forces, they could really, really run right over the conventional forces in a conventional battle against ukraine, and it will be up to what would essentially be an insurgency that would be led by people like this. so it was a really interesting day, watching these men prepare to take matters into their own hands and fight against the russians. >> and very interesting

commentary from that ukrainian, saying, born in russia, think and speak in russian, yet would die in ukraine. that's going to stick with me for a long time. thank you so much, matt bradley, for that. joining me now is new york congressman gregory meeks, chairman of the house foreign affairs committee. welcome, sir, good to speak with you and we're going to get to ukraine in just a few moments but i want to start with that putin and xi meeting in which they declared opposition to any expansion of nato and affirming taiwan is a part of china. let's take a look at the joint statement, which reads, in part, the sides reaffirmed their strong mutual support for the protection of their core interests, state sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and oppose interference by exernal forces in their internal affairs. so the question to you, sir, is, has the u.s. and its policy pushed russia and china closer together, and was this unavoidable? >> if two authoritarian governments who's doing this. the aggressors in all of this

has been russia. it wasn't the united states that has threatened russia or anything of that nature. it wasn't the united states who invaded crimea and georgia, maldova, taking sovereign territory. that's russia. and so in this case, with ukraine, they are making their own decision of which way they want to go. so, it is his saying that, here we are in 2022, and you see someone trying to be -- is being aggressive and taking sovereign property, and i would assume that that would be the same thing with china, trying to move in. and so it is a -- the reason why the western countries and democracy is at stake here and why we in the united states, along with our western allies and freedom-loving and democratic countries across the globe need to stick together to prevent the kind of

authoritarian governments that we currently see in russia and china. >> but there's a how here question, because the other part of that statement, putin and xi said, in part, friendship between the two states has no limits. there are no forbidden areas of cooperation. so, what threat does this tightening relationship pose to the u.s.? i mean, how can it be countered? >> look, i think that in this age of interconnectedness, global networking, global economy, if russia and putin ties hands and we stay firm with our beliefs, they will have -- and this is why the devastating sanctions that will be put on russia would cripple their economy, et cetera, and i think they will feel the problems from their own countries, because of what will take place there. so, the bluster of what they talk, i think that the key is to

try to see if they can make us -- break the unity that we have. the key is they see the unity that we have with our western allies, with our european allies, with our nato allies, with our allies, for example, in australia and india, moving forward, and so what they would like to do with this bluster is to see if they can divide us. if they can't divide us, then i think that you will see them move back. >> let's go to the escalating tensions between russia and ukraine. last week, you ratcheted up some frequent flyer miles when i met a bipartisan delegation to meet with officials in ukraine two days ago as well, there was a bipartisan classified briefing for house members, so given all that you have learned, sir, how close to the brink is the prospect of a russian invasion? >> well, i don't think that we really know. i don't know putin knows what he's going to do and what he's not going to do. and that's why i think that the

biden administration has done what it should be doing, and that is have a plan a and a plan b. the diplomacy road is open. and that's what we hope that putin takes. and dialogue and conversation will continue. and hopefully diplomacy will win the day, and they're still having that conversation. but should they choose a different way, that's why we've got to give the arms to the ukranians so that they are in -- they are prepared to defend themselves, and that's also why we had to send some troops to the baltics for -- to protect our nato allies. >> so, i'm curious how you see sanctions fitting into diplomacy, because you know the senate is inching closer to completing a sanctions package against russia. we have political reporting that senators in both parties are a little concerned, a, that it's taking too long. they're worried that russia could invade ukraine before they finalize it but there's an issue that's being debated and it's the timing, whether to impose

sanctions now or do it after an attack, so which one do you think would be most effective and which approach do you support? >> i support that we don't need to go now, because that then could give russia, say, well -- it won't then act as an deterrent. the deterrent is, if you go in, then this is what's going to happen to you. these devastating, crucial sanctions. and i think that also, what that does is solidify us with our nato allies, you know, you go in, prematurely, go in early, then it could endanger the unity that we already have with our european allies. you know, before i went to the ukraine, i went into brussels, and i met with our allies in both nato and the european union, and i saw the solidarity that we had right now with the position that we've been taking that if russia crosses that

line, how we will come together, and it won't be unilateral sanctions, it will be multilateral sanctions and that's what's successful. and i think that we need to continue on the path on keeping our unity with our allies together because as i said earlier, if, in fact, the russians could divide us from some of our european allies or nato allies, then that's a victory for them. so let's stay tight with our allies, let's move forward and if, in fact, they cross the line, let's keep that as a deterrent, but if they, in fact, cross the line, we have the plan b to make sure that they are -- the devastating sanctions will be then launched upon them. >> let me ask you one final question a bit closer to home, the focus there with the majority of your, sir, your district, which includes parts of new york city. crime is certainly up here in the big apple, about 38% overall this year, shootings up, transit crimes up a whopping 70%, car thefts almost doubling. new york's certainly not alone in this regard.

major cities across the country are facing crime surges and you know the president met with mayor eric adams and he said that the answer is to come together, police and communities have to build trust, make us all safer and the answer is not defunding the police. what are your constituents telling you? what do you think is the best approach to reducing crime? >> i think mayor eric adams has it right. i think that what we can do is we can have the appropriate law enforcement without them -- without -- and have justice and hold people accountable at the same time. my district, for example, we focus so much so on wanting and having an appropriate police department. we had another precinct being built in the district. but at the same time, it doesn't mean that there has to be an abuse of police, and i think mayor adams said it correctly. restarting his anti-crime unit and saying that he will hold

those accountable if, in fact, you break the rules. so we can go and get safety in our communities without having overly aggressive policing that causes individuals to be randomly pulled over without any probable cause. it was done -- you know, i'm a former prosecutor. it was done previously under mayor david dinkins and we can do it again in to regard. and i think that we've got the right mayor at the right time with the right message, the right knowledge to get that done. so i'm solidly behind the proposals that mayor eric adams has proposed. >> okay. new york congressman gregory meeks, thank you so much for your time. good to see you. well, it could wind up being the biggest moment in their lives, but they can't be in beijing to see it. how an alternative plan is helping the parents of olympic athletes next. plan is helping the parents of olympic helping the parents of olympic athletes next. the entrance they make, the surprises they initiate.

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it is the first full day of competition at the beijing winter olympics and while the games go on, so does the tension along the ukraine border. russian president vladimir putin attending the opening ceremony on friday. he is the highest-profile guest at those games following the decision by the u.s., britain and others not to send officials. this in protest of china's human rights abuses and its treatment of the uyghurs. on friday, putin and xi declaring their opposition to any expansion of nato. china shocking many by deciding to make a uyghur cross-country skier a torchbearer at the ceremony. china rejecting international criticism of its crackdown on uyghurs. and it came after house speaker nancy pelosi said u.s. athletes need to focus on competing and resist the temptation to speak out on china's human rights abuses. pelosi said athletes should not risk incurring the anger of chinese government officials because it is ruthless. and with family members of athletes unable to travel to beijing, because of covid restrictions, they are heading

to familiar ground. they are watching the competition from the olympic sports park where the 2002 games were held in salt lake city, utah, and nbc's gadi schwartz is right nearby. i wish i was there in park city, utah. it looks beautiful and i want to go skiing, seeing those mountains, but gadi, i know you talked to some of the families who normally would be cheering in the stands, of course, but they're instead watching back at home so what have they told you about watching their kids perform that way? >> yeah, despite these bluebird skies out here, the families we talk to say, to describe it as difficult is an understatement. i mean, you got to think about the little things, alex, that really put things in perspective. yesterday, i was talking to one dad who said he put 250,000 miles on the family's car just driving his son to practice. they have been there for those competitions. they have been there for all of those highs and lows, cheering them on in the stands, and now, to see their olympians going to the biggest stage in the world

and having to deal with all the uncertainty that you just mentioned, the possibility of contracting covid at any time, the paranoia that comes with that as well as the rising tensions geopolitically, they're also looking at the human rights abuses and the dangers of protesting against those human rights abuses, so these families are just hoping their olympians can block all of that out without the most powerful thing in the world, which is the powerfully grounding hug from their parents, those words, hey, everything's going to be okay. you got this. as those families watch, 6,000 miles away. could you imagine? we talked to one mom last night of one of the hockey olympians. she says watching her daughter play hockey across the world has been extremely difficult. here's what she had to say. i know there are cell phones and facetime and phone calls, but

what's missing? >> oh my god. seeing -- i mean, just that emotion. like, she scored a couple goals. she -- i don't know. i think you're always a kid at heart. you know? you score that goal, or whatever you do, you make a great play, or you do this, and you know, like, hey, mom. hi, mom. hi, michael. you know? and they look up and no one's there. i also think something that's interesting, as we were talking, the parents, how close this team has become, because they're their family now. they're who they have. and so it's a very, you know, i mean, it's a -- it's a dynamic that the whole world had to go through. >> reporter: and kendall coyne scofield's mom says she can't wait until she's home and she

hugs her but friend and family are barred from going to beijing to watch in the stands wauf covid protocols, covid protocols that we're feeling the effects of here in park city 6,000 miles away. we're at a cross-country track where another olympian, casey dawson, is training today. he tested positive for covid-19 about a month ago. he was told originally he had to get two negative covid tests to travel to beijing. that then changed to four. he's supposed to compete tomorrow and just yesterday, he got his fourth negative covid result so he's going to be missing his event tomorrow, but he's hoping to be on the next flight, next charter flight to beijing to be able to compete in the team event coming up soon. >> oh, let's hope so. okay, thank you for all of that, gadi schwartz from a beautiful place, park city, utah. let's go to new nbc news investigation which shows that books on race and sexuality are disappearing from texas schools in record numbers. among 50 books parents want banned in texas are these three. "out of darkness," the story of

a 1930s romance between a mexican american girl and an african american boy. "ghost boys" about an african american boy killed by police. and "white bird: a wonder story" about a jewish teen living in france after nazis seized power. joining me now, eddie glaude jr., author, chair of the department of african american studies at princeton university and also an esteemed msnbc political analyst. as we talk about this big number, 50. some of these books have been in circulation for years and years. why do parents want them banned? >> well, we find ourselves, first of all, it's great to see you, alex. we find ourselves in a moment of retrenchment. there are forces in our country that are really in a state of panic about losing, in some ways, the kind of cultural, you know, bearing, their cultural bearing, and so one of the reflections of that sense of

panic is this attempt to police and censor what our children are exposed to, and at the heart of it, at the heart of all of this, of course, is this idea that america must remain culturally and politically a white nation in the vein of old europe. >> well, that's disturbing. what about the difference -- if you can explain, between banning books and then just taking them off the reading list and thereby the implications for long-standing policies against censorship. >> yeah, so, the difference, of course, between removing texts from lists could very well be, you know, the language. it could very well be a choice with regards to the curriculum as curricula evolve, but banning books is a very different, different procedure. it's actually trying, alex, to dictate what we read and how we read, and when we read. and what's interesting about this, particularly with regards

to our children, the world is morally and ethically complex. it has -- it is fraught with all sorts of differences, with all sorts of challenges to how we make sense of it. if we're not equipped in some ways, by way of reading, to manage that complexity, we will fall into a kind of narrowness in our response. we will fall back on our prejudices, on all those things we already know and in some ways, we will make that world more dangerous than a better place. >> i'm curious the impact, how you see it. what happens when books have been outlawed? what kind of impact does that have on students in terms of the information that will then not be readily available to them and then how much should parents have a say in what information their children are exposed to? >> look, we should make a distinction between provincialism and parochialism. we often read those two as the same thing, as synonyms but they're not provincialism could be just the circumstances of

one's living, i happy to be raised in a small town in rural montana, which limits what i'm exposed to. parochialism is different. it is a choice to be narrow. it is a decision to block from view the complexity of the world and narrow one's sphere of concern, so when we refuse to expose our children to certain literatures, we're choosing narrowness. we're choosing a kind of parochialism that provides a kind of false comfort, a false sense of safety, an illusion, a fantasy about how we should understand ourselves, and parents should know better. we want to equip our children, i think, with the means to be decent people. you hear me, alex? we have to equip our children with the means to be decent human beings, and if we're not open to difference, if we're not open to difference, we actually cultivate the capacity to be other, you know, to be mean-spirited, to not be

concerned about that which we do not know anything about. it's a very dangerous, dangerous impulse. >> i'll tell you, though, but speaking to a parent of two kids, you're exactly preaching to the congregation, and the way i've tried to raise my kids with an open-mindedness and let them understand anything from religions to different race history to everything and it's just -- it makes them better suited to go out into the world and understand the people with whom they're going to work and live and associate, and it's hard to understand why someone wouldn't want to give that gift to their kids. but when my -- often, my last question to you, and that is, sometimes this kind of thing can backfire. "maus," the book that was banned in tennessee, it goes and tops the charts. what about the opposite effect of bans? and you know, hey, having kids that are teenagers and going through that phase, how much control do parents even have on content, particularly given the internet these days, right? to what teenagers will consume. >> yeah. particularly the internet.

of course there would be opposing forces. the fact that "maus" has become a best-seller again is a good thing, but we have to be mindful that the work is still happening, that people are trying to narrow the sphere of moral concern of our children. it makes sense that this is happening in a moment where we're trying to roll back voting rights. it makes sense this is happening in a moment where there's this talk about 1619 and 1776, talk about, quote, unquote, critical race theory. we are at a crossroads. we have to decide what kind of country we will be, and let's be clear, alex. we've been here before. think about mccarthyism. think about former slaves had to engage in illegal activity while they were slaves just to read. the danger of literacy. and its relationship to freedom. we have to be mindful of what these forces represent. and they represent an anti-democratic sensibility that we must respond to in kind.

>> what i say to all this is your students at princeton university are so lucky to have you teaching them and i'm lucky to have you come on our broadcast and share your thoughts, eddie glaude, jr. the next step in vaccination efforts in the u.s., what parents are saying as children under the age of 5 may soon be approved for the covid-19 shot. e approvedor f the covid-19 shot i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. this is a gamechanger, who dares to be fearless even when her bladder leaks. our softest, smoothest fabric keeping her comfortable, protected, and undeniably sleek.

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right now, a protest is under way here in new york city in response to the fatal police shooting of emir locke in minneapolis. this is one of several protests after police released body camera footage of the shooting. meagan fitzgerald has more on this developing story for us. so, what are we hearing from protesters today? >> reporter: well, alex, as you mentioned, we are seeing these demonstrations from new york to minneapolis. we know right now, folks are gathering in times square. later today, we're expecting another protest in minneapolis. last night, we saw a caravan of

protesters driving through the streets of minneapolis, honking their horns. these folks are frustrated. they are angry that another black person has been killed at the hands of police. i want you to listen to the sentiment of some of these protesters. >> i know personally, for myself, it definitely makes me angry seeing another black body killed, you know? just -- and discarded. so, i feel like the no-knock warrants, that needs to be a function, that needs to go away. and that young man wasn't even a target of that warrant, and yeah, if even myself, i have firearms at home, and you know, if somebody knocks on my door, whether they identify themselves as police or not, you know, i'm going to have a spooked response, so like, i really think the approach on policing definitely needs to change. >> reporter: that young man was 22-year-old amir locke. now, i want to get to that video and talk about it. before i do, though, a warning here that it is disturbing.

what we know is that police issued -- executed this no-knock warrant wednesday morning just before 7:00 a.m. they entered. they announced that they were police. according to locke's parents, he was asleep on the couch. police -- you can see him in that video underneath a blanket and that's when he sort of twists, and police say as soon as they saw a gun, that's when they opened fire. the interim police chief in minneapolis saying that it was a split-second decision. we are now getting some more context from his parents who say, look, first of all, we know he wasn't even listed on this warrant, but also, that he was licensed to carry a gun. he doesn't have a criminal record. he's a good kid who had dreams, and now he's died and his parents are saying they are fighting for justice. they want to make sure on a federal level that no-knock warrants go away so situations like this don't occur and also important to note that the mayor of minneapolis issuing a moratorium on no-knock warrants because he too is saying that he

doesn't want to see a situation like this happening again as they try and figure out next steps. >> we should never see a situation like this happening again but i'm glad they're working on it. meagan fitzgerald, thank you so much. tomorrow on "politics nation," reverend al sharpton will speak with the parents of amir locke and talk with civil rights attorney benjamin crump, 5:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. brian flores and his fight with the nfl coming up next, some new takes on his class action lawsuit and what will happen to his job prospects when this is all over. t will happen to his job prospects when happen to his job prospects when this is all over (wife) hi, honey! (man) like what? (burke) well, you'd get a discount for insuring your jet skis... and boat...rv...life... ...home and more. you could save up to forty-five percent. (man) that's a whole lot of discounts. (burke) well, we offer coverage for a whole lot of things, and you could save a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. (kid) sup, dad! (burke) seventeen-car garage you got there? ♪we are farmers♪

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the nfl is under scrutiny this weekend after being hit with an explosive lawsuit. former miami dolphins head coach brian flores is suing the league and three of its teams, alleging racial discrimination. flores claims he was mistakenly sent a text from new england patriots coach bill belichick congratulating him on the new york giants head coaching job before flores was scheduled to interview for it. now, that text was meant for another brian interviewing for the job, which brian dable ultimately got. flores claims he was only interviewed to satisfy the rooney rule, which is a league policy that requires teams to interview minority candidates. he also alleges that in 2019, before getting the dolphins job, the denver broncos never considered him a legitimate candidate for the job while being interviewed. also within the lawsuit is a claim that shortly after he was hired in 2019, dolphins owner

steven ross allegedly offered flores $100,000 for every loss that season. flores was fired from the dolphins despite two winning seasons in a row. now, the nfl denies his allegations and says they will fight this lawsuit. the dolphins, giants, and broncos also pushing back, releasing statements vehemently denying the allegations. well, joining me now is hugh jackson, an 18-year nfl veteran coach, most recently as head coach of the cleveland browns, now head coach at grambling state university and terrance moore, national sports columnist for forbes.com, also author of "the real hank aaron: an intimate look at the life and legacy of the home run king." that should be a best seller. gentlemen, thank you so much for joining me on the broadcast. terrance, to you first here. can you take a little deeper into these claims of what flores is calling sham interviews and the incentivized tanking? what could he allege that can prove racial discrimination?

>> well, a lot. and alex, let me begin with this. and this all starts and ends with the owners, which is why this is really a near impossible situation to solve. what i mean by that is, the owners of the national football league, the ultimate good old boys. i'm old enough to remember the flintstones, like the royal order of buffalos. that's who these guys are without the funny hats. all white guys except for the jacksonville coach who's pakistan-american, and you know, it harkens back to something that back in the early '80s, i used to cover the san francisco giants, the manager back then was frank robinson, the first black manager in the history of baseball. he told me something back then that applied not only to baseball but to society. he said that these guys, these owners like to hire guys they feel comfortable having breakfast with and that's what's going on here. the only solution, obviously, is to change ownership, get more blacks in there and good luck with that, because who votes for the owners for the national

football league? the owners. then the other aspect where you say, there's hope because we have black general managers now, six in the national football league out of 32 but that's not any hope. take two of those black general managers, one in chicago, one in minnesota, you hired white head coaches and people blamed that on the black general managers. no, no. that goes back to the owners again. they have final say, so that's what makes all of this very, very difficult. you can't change the ownership, at least not very easily. >> you make a good point, then. we should say there's only one black head coach in the entire nfl right now, with the steelers, mike tomlin, so let me play for you, terrance, what brian flores told msnbc about his goals with this lawsuit. let's all listen to that. >> and at the end of the day, this isn't about me. this is about black and minority coaches, black and minority leaders who don't get an opportunity to showcase their skills, their leadership, their

acumen, their intelligence, their abilities and whatever field it is, and in my case, and in the nfl's case, as coaches and leaders in this league. we need to change the hearts and minds of the people who make those decisions. >> so, terrance, just today, "the washington post" obtained this copy of a memo sent my nfl commissioner roger goodell telling the league's 32 teams, the nfl's hiring results have been unacceptable for diversity. so, does this indicate that flores's lawsuit is impacting the league in a way that he had hoped, i mean, is there any sense around the league that owners will make more diverse hires? i mean, you've got the commissioner saying you've got to do it. >> well, i mean, the commissioner has to say that because you have the lawsuit sitting right there. i want to tell you something, and i hate to be the pessimist here, besides the fact that the owners are the best way to solve this, the second best option is to have the owners and the few other blacks who are in position solve this and good luck with

that because, you know, you got terry fontal, for instance, wasn't of the six general managers here in atlanta, for the atlanta falcons, he was asked repeatedly down at the mobile at the senior bowl to comment on the situation, and he was like, i have nothing to do with this. i just want to concentrate on what's going on in the field right now. then you have a situation in detroit, a couple assistant coaches for the detroit lions were asked about this situation, and they both said that, hey, you know, everything's fine with us. and i bring that up because one of the things that brian flores wants in his lawsuit, he wants other people to join him. that's not going to happen very easily. one other quick thing. good friend of mine, former nfl player, sent me a text just yesterday, he wants to be a general manager, wants to be a head coach or something. he didn't get anything along those lines and he said that he's not sticking his neck out. so you know, it's tough. >> hugh, let me quick get to you with the allegation of your own in response to the claim that the dolphins owner paid flores

$100,000 for every loss in the 2019 season. you tweeted, well, jimmy haslam was happy while we kept losing. a twitter user wrote, jimmy haslam wasn't offering $100,000 per loss or he would be on the forbes list. to which you replied, trust me, it was a good number. the browns said, any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to lose games was categorically false. the owner telling the knoxville news sentinel, hugh jackson was never paid to lose games. that's an absolute falsehood. are you still suggesting the browns paid you to lose, and if so, can you share anything with us to prove that claim? >> yes, what i made very clear is that we came up with a four-year plan. it was a four-year plan that was put in place to incentivize the opportunity to not have a team that would have a chance to win, which there was compensation for it. obviously, there was no, i'm going to pay you $100,000 to

lose. we're going to do that. it was none of that. but if you seen the plan and if you understand just a little football, whereas, in the first two years of the plan, it had no winning, but it -- the last two years of the plan, in '18 and '19, it has that you needed to win ten games. and to me, that says a lot. >> where does your lawsuit stand? >> where does my lawsuit stand? i don't have a lawsuit. i went to arbitration. i tried to do the right thing through the league. i brought all this information to the league, used their process, through their constitution and bylaws, went to arbitration. i did not lose arbitration. i was never afforded the right to arbitration, even though it was promised to me through my contract and nfl's constitution and bylaws. >> so, then, what happened? how did it all play out? no lawsuit, you go to arbitration, and what was the end result? >> well, i was denied my rights

because arbitration because i signed a release agreement. they didn't care about the fraud or the tanking or my complaints of racism. so, they really just said, hey, look, we're going to let this go. you're not going to move on to arbitration. >> can i ask you, hue, about your thoughts about the nfl's hiring practices? i mean, nine head coach openings since the season ended. five have been filled. none have been filled with a black coach. i mean, is the rooney rule not working? and if it's not, then how the league become more inclusive? >> i think the rooney rule is not working. and i think we all can recognize that. and i think what was said just a second ago, that they want to hire people that look like them, i think that's very true. but i think brian has said something that's very clear, and it's the same issue that i had for a minority coach. we just want fairness. we just want an opportunity to compete for the job at a high

level, and the best person wins. sometimes -- and we want a fair opportunity. i think that's what we're all coming from but at some point in time, if we don't take a stand, it's never going to change. i'm concerned the minority coach is going to be extinct here, especially the chance to be a head coach or the leadership positions. >> hue jackson and terence moore, we have just barely scratched the surface on this one. it begs for much more discussion. i hope to have you both back. thank you, gentlemen. appreciate your time. coming up next, 28 names you need to know. why? we'll explain. names you need to know why? why? we'll explain. fingersticks can be a real challenge. that's why i use the freestyle libre 2 system. one. one-second scan one. numbers without fingersticks. now i'm managing my diabetes better and i've lowered my a1c from 8.2 to 6.7. take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. now you know.

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matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire it is black history month and to celebrate, color com, the platform addressing diversity and inclusion across the communications field, is shining a spotlight on 28 black women who are making history today. and joining me now, lauren wesley wilson, founder and ceo of color com.

welcome, lauren, and can i just say i'm proud to mention because this list includes some of my colleagues here at nbc, tiffany cross who precedes me here, sheinelle jones, a weekend anchor and anchors part of the "today" show. so, i'm really proud of their accomplishments. but walk us through your choices for this year's list and the impact that these women have had. >> thank you, alex, for joining me. every year, it is so hard to narrow it down to 28 women who are making history this year. so many of the cards that we love and the technology we consume, the brands that we love, there's a marketing and communication strategy behind it, and these women on this list are the ones responsible for why we like certain products, why we know of certain brands, and so that is why we narrowed it down to these 28 extraordinary women who are really making change right now. >> but it's beyond just business. i mean, why, big picture, is it so essential to have these

voices represented in communications and in news for these two that i mentioned specifically? >> well, they're reflective of america. we need diversity at the table, diverse way of thinking, diverse way of decision making, diverse voices, lead to a better product, lead to a better news, and it's just so important that we bring these voices together and highlight these women and their stories and the impact they're making. >> yeah, i'm going to have steve, my producer, put back this list again because i think, you know, the i spy with my little eye, i think yamichec alcindor is also on this list. she's underneath the 8. it's remarkable the accomplishments of these women, but here's what's notable. many on your list, lauren, they're the first black woman or woman of color to hold their positions. what does that tell you about where we are as a society, big picture? >> we're moving in a better direction. jessica is the first black

editor-in-chief of allure magazine. michelle turner, first host of "entertainment tonight," but it showcases that we are here. oftentimes, companies share that they don't know where to find executive women of color to lead their companies, and we push back, and we say, we're here, and we are represented, and you need to get to know our stories and you need to do some homework, you need to do some research, and this is why it is so important to bring this list to light. >> yeah. so, i'm curious, when you tell them they have won, what's their reaction? other than, really? that's cool. do they see it as a statement as well? >> yeah. i mean, i think it certainly shows their value inside their companies. it really highlights the work and campaigns that they have done, and many of these women are behind the scenes. you mentioned the women who are a little bit more visible, who have shows at nbc, but some of these women are really behind the scenes, doing the work and oftentimes don't get the credit and don't get recognized by their own companies or just the

industry as a whole, so this certainly does that and so many of these women have been very excited. we had a social campaign going on and we are sharing the stories for 28 days during the 28 days of black history month, and so join along. learn about us. follow us at colorcomm and get to know the work they're doing and the history they're making. >> totally worth it and i'm going to add one of my former bosses, a behind the scenes rock star, she was honored by your colorcomm group again, before, so lauren wesley wilson, thank you so much for coming and talking with me. let's have a date next year when you put out the list again. appreciate it. >> oh my gosh, i can't wait. next year is going to be even harder. thank you so much, alex. >> all right, that's going to do it for me on this edition of "alex witt reports." my friend, yasmin vossoughian, continues our coverage. friend,, friend,, continues our coverage if it works on nfl jerseys it'll work for you. seriously! just perfect!

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♪♪ good afternoon, everybody, i'm yasmin vossoughian. a very busy saturday afternoon. it's surprising apology from joe rogan today after racially charged comments from the podcaster surfaced online. former vice president mike pence sends shock waves through the republican party with a direct attack on his former boss. this is all happening as the republican party censures liz cheney and adam kinzinger in a statement that called the january 6th insurrection legitimate political discourse, the latest reaction to both of those major political