Former New England Patriots defensive end and Super Bowl XXXVIII & XXXIX champion, Jarvis Green in studio with RESPECT Magazine’s managing editor Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Photo Credit: Bryon Summers, The Shadow League

Former New England Patriots DE and 2-time Super Bowl champion, Jarvis Green checked in with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson and Scoop B Radio. Press Play Below To Listen! 

The NFL football season may be over, but the interest in the business of sports never really dies.

That said, not only are the New England Patriots AFC division champions, but they also have the distinction of having former players accomplishing a ton after their playing career.

Insert retired Patriots defensive end Jarvis Green.

A nine year veteran, Green went from winning two championships with future Hall of Fame QB, Tom Brady to peeling shrimp and CEO’ing his Oceans 97 company; a salute to his uniform number.

The shrimp dishes are the bomb, too! 

Jarvis Green’s Oceans 97 is a hit at QVC and more. Photo Credit: Oceans 97

The mere mention of being a CEO of a shrimp distribution company sounds off the predictable references to the Academy Award film, Forrest Gump and the character of “Bubba,” played by Mykelti Williamson, who knew about shrimp, the shrimping business and how to cook shrimp.

If you can’t name all of the shrimp, shame on you! Here’s Bubba in case you forgot.

But I digress. 

Green was more like Forrest. He learned about the business and his craft and took it to the next level.

Million dollar question: Why the shrimping business?

“I had opportunities to go do coaching,”  Jarvis Green told me on Scoop B Radio.

“I had opportunities to go do broadcasting, being an analyst, boot camps, clinics all that stuff, you know, with ESPN.

Jarvis Green won two Super Bowl’s with the New England Patriots. Photo Credit: The Advocate

Green cites owing a friend a favor as motivation for his career change. His friend already had a shrimping business that had 90 employees and access to 800 shrimping boats in Vietnam. Seemed promising. The kicker? His friend told him that he was going to sell shrimp in New England, the very place he called home and won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.

Show up, shake hands and kiss babies. Seems easy, right?

Sike!

Green did a 6-month internship and literally learned everything.

Step aside Bubba!

Jarvis Green is learning everything about shrimp and executing. Breaking shrimp, cleaning shrimp, handling shrimp and chopping shrimp.

He even learned the Vietnamese language. “I remember at some point they handed me a Rosetta Stone, Vietnamese,” Green jokes.

An unpaid internship, Green mastered his craft like Forrest. “Worked from the ground up,” he said. “From the first person in the shrimp plant, sweeping, mopping, cleaning bathrooms, cleaning the kitchen area.”

By the end of his internship, Green was one of the guys and gals on staff and was an asset; he even made purchasing orders to distributors.

He was becoming an anchor to the shrimping company the same way he was to his Patriots team that had the arduous task of containing the Philadelphia Eagles team who lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2004.

Fast forward to 2015, the former defensive line man is not just a businessman, he’s a business, man!

Oceans 97’s entry point into the shrimp industry was as a wholesale distributor of shrimp in partnership with companies like Dole & Bailey – founded in 1850 – currently the oldest butcher in North America.

Jarvis Green in the kitchen. Photo Credit: Oceans 97

Through the relationship with Dole & Bailey, Oceans 97 shrimp is distributed to major financial institutions throughout New England and other products remain available in multiple grocery retail locations around the country.

The shrimp is domestic, wild caught, Gulf of Mexico shrimp, caught by US Gulf Coast fisherman and processed in Louisiana. The product ships in dry ice directly to the customer and arrives ready for cooking a delicious and satisfying family meal or when entertaining.

His Oceans 97’s gourmet line features easy-to-cook meals of shrimp packaged in bags with four flavors of sauce to choose from: New Orleans Style BBQ, Cajun Curry, Chimichurri, and Garlic Butter.

In just two years, Oceans 97 experienced rapid growth and in July 2017, launched a line of its own value-added shrimp products, which debuted on QVC via both their television programming and www.QVC.com.

He chatted about it with JR Sportbrief

His friend’s vision came true and Green trusted his process. “I’ve been very tied down to all those opportunities,” said Green.

“When you taste it, it’s just on your pallet. It’s savoriness and it just sticks with you man, you want to go grab a glass of wine and just wash it down. It’s elegant, fine dining at its best for under $10.99.”

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The post Scoop B: Modern Day Forrest Gump? Former New England Patriots Super Bowl champ Jarvis Green winning in shrimping business appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Colin Kaepernick and Craig Hodges. Photo Courtesy of: Houston Forward Times

It doesn’t matter if you’re walking into a grocery store, Jewish synagogue, local gym, Muslim mosque, Baptist church, or flipping your television from ESPN’s First Take to Fox Sports 1’s Undisputed to catch NBA free agency, the same question is repeated over and over again: Will Colin Kaepernick play in the NFL this season?

For those tardy to the party, Last NFL season, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback refused to stand during the playing of the U.S. national anthem to acknowledge wrongdoings of African Americans and minorities like Eric Garner, Philando Castile who have been brutally murdered by police officers.”I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL network’s Steve Wyche during the NFL’s preseason last year.

“To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Kaepernick would later kneel instead of not participating at all while the national anthem was played during NFL games.

Kaepernick’s refusal triggered other athletes like the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, Houston Rockets’ Chris Paul, New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony and Chicago Bulls’ Dwyane Wade and WNBA players to become vocal about police brutality of minorities.

Kaepernick, who led the San Francisco 49ers to an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII, was in a contract year when took that public stance last season. Now an NFL free agent, it seems that nobody is willing to take a chance on him as even a backup in the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins are said to have had interest, but they’ve since moved on.

Craig Hodges and Michael Jordan. Photo Courtesy of The Odyssey Online

So will Colin Kaepernick play this season? Craig Hodges, a 2-time NBA Champion with the Chicago Bulls says it’s iffy. “He might get an opportunity, but if he is not in somebody’s training camp I don’t think he will play again in the NFL because out of sight out of mind, Hodges told me on Scoop B Radio.  

“And in the sport, unlike basketball where you might be able to sit out twelve months and still be able to come back and play, but the question becomes in that twelve months: “Is anybody even going to mess with you anymore?” Because they already said you are obsolete because you have been twelve months away from the game.”

Hodges if you recall, was blackballed by the NBA after he handed a letter to former U.S. President George H.W. Bush during the Bulls’ championship visit to the White House. The contents of the letter, according to Hodges made President Bush aware of  the mistreatment of poor people and people of color in the United States. “I did whatever I could to uplift the cause of our people man,” he said.

“And one night, we had the chance to go the White House right after we won our first championship. I had been writing letters to our congress people and to our senators to the mayor when I was a little boy and all the way through high school and it was just a continuous of that and a continuous  knowing that I part of the fabric and the fiber of human rights and people standing up for human rights.”

 

 

Check Out Craig Hodges On Scoop B Radio with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson

 

While Hodges took a stance after winning a championship with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and coach Phil Jackson in the 90s, another NBA player was vocal in Denver.

FILE – In this March 15, 1996 file photo, Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf stands with his teammates and prays during the national anthem before an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago. This was Abdul-Rauf’s first game back since he was suspended by the NBA on March 12, 1996, for refusing to participate in the national anthem pre-game ceremony. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision this week to refuse to stand during the playing of the national anthem as a way of protesting police killings of unarmed black men has drawn support and scorn far beyond sports. Through the years, “The Star-Spangled Banner” has become a symbol of both patriotism and politics. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

Former Denver Nuggets guard, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was nationally villafied after he refused to acknowledge the U.S. flag. Abdul-Rauf, who  converting to Islam, refused to acknowledge the flag in protest. He would not rise while the U.S. national anthem was played and as a result, ABC’s 20/20 and other television shows and networks drew national attention to Abdul Rauf’s public stance. As a result, Abdul-Rauf was suspended by the NBA and when he returned, he, the NBA and the Nuggets reached an agreement that he’d pray while the national anthem was played before games.

While Kaepernick is without a job in the NFL, Hodges believes that Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf had it worse off than he or Kaepernick. Hodges indicated on Scoop B Radio that he told Abdul-Rauf as such when the two he met in Chicago while Abdul-Rauf was playing in Ice Cube’s Big 3 Basketball tournament. “Colin Kaepernick has gotten to get a portion of what he is suppose to get salary wise,” said Hodges.

“Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was cut off from possibly being the greatest scorer in NBA history, that is the part that hurt me about him.”

Abdul-Rauf was ultra talented. The fiery guard out of LSU who went by the name Chris Jackson before his conversion to Islam was nasty! His scoring ability was unmatched and his jumper was deadly.

In his rookie season in the NBA he averaged 14 points per game and averaged a shade over three assists per game during the 1990-91 NBA season. Abdul-Rauf’s best year in the league was the 1992-93 NBA season. He’d average a smidge under 20 points and 4 assists per contest. He was lightning quick and his first step in his prime could genuinely compare with the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson Discusses Colin Kaepernick on Another Thing with Larry Medte and Fox News Political Expert Lt. Steven Rogers

On Abdul-Rauf, Craig Hodges added:

“I’m saying he is Islam and he understands all of that, but that is power for why that all went on. But at the same time, his potential in the game was so much farther than myself and I say even Colin for where he is in his career right now. But as far as what he was able to do for the game, I feel like Mahmoud felt it more than anybody.”

Shifting back to the gridiron, the ongoing saga Kaepernick saga is reminiscent of Michael Vick’s return to football after his conviction of running a dogfighting business in his home. The only difference is that Kaepernick has not broken any laws.

So here’s the million and seven dollar question: If Colin Kaepernick were to be picked up by an NFL team, would he kneel during the national anthem again?

“See once again, I’m pretty sure Colin Kaepernick isn’t going to take a knee anymore,” said Hodges.

“There isn’t a need to take a knee anymore. I think now it’s just a  matter of him wanting to play football. If he gets a chance to play football he is going to play football and do what he is capable of doing. Hopefully he gets that opportunity.”

Speaking of Michael Vick. In the past month, both he and Ray Lewis were vocal about Kaepernick’s decision and how the free agent could re-enter the program. Essentially, they both felt that he should either cut his hair or keep his political views to himself. “Often times we can be pressured into making comments on behalf of the larger enforcer,” said Hodges.

“That’s where we have to ask ourselves: if there really is a God in these situations whose side is he on? You know what I am saying? Then when brother’s make the decisions to say like: ‘Michael Vick, how stupid is that?’ So you are telling me that his hair as something to do with throwing the football? This man’s words are throwing footballs, Ray Lewis? So tone down your civil rights. So you’re telling me allow people to be murdered and maimed and it’s cool as long as I play football? Hell no man! How much more of a 2017 slave mentality is that? Let’s cut to the chase we have some slave garbage.”

Speaking of hair, r&b singer India Arie did explain to you in her song that she was not her hair!

Taking a cursory look at the NFL, there are others who have defining hair: the Houston Texans’ Brian Cushing has sported an array of styles, as have former Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu. Hodges deducts that corporate America is afraid of athletes like Kaepernick being unapologetically black. “Absolutely,” he said.

“Because when that happens you have no fear. Fear then is the key to the power structure. Scare the hell out of people and they aren’t going to move. So many of our movements have been penalized just because of the inaction and fear.”

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The post Former NBA Champ Craig Hodges: “Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was cut off from possibly being the greatest scorer in NBA history” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.