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Nick Kasas Asked by NFL if He Likes Girls; Sitting Less Reduces Diabetes Risk; Schools Send Fat Letters; Jillian Michaels Talks How to Stay "Slim for Life"; Pope Benedict XVI's Reign Ends.

Aired February 28, 2013 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Another story. An NFL draft prospect says teams asked him if he likes girls. Nick Kasas said it happened during a recent scouting event when that's when would-be NFL players get a chance to show off their skills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK KASAS, NFL DRAFT PROSPECT: They asked me, do you have a girlfriend? Are you married? Do you like girls? Those kind of things. It was just kind of weird but, you know, they would ask you with a straight face. It's pretty weird. Weird experience all together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The NFL says it's investigating the claim and released the statement that, "Any team or employee that inquires about impermissible subjects or makes an employment decision based on such factors is subject to league discipline."

I want to bring in Carlos Diaz of CNN Sports.

Tell us whether or not this is atypical and whether or not this is legal.

CARLOS DIAZ, CORRESPONDENT, CNN SPORTS: It's not legal.

MALVEAUX: Not at all.

DIAZ: Any federal, local or state law says you cannot base employment on someone's sexual orientation. I can tell you, in the NFL, they signed a collective bargaining agreement with the players, saying you cannot ask this in interviewing questions.

But during the combine, we've had a lot of instances where teams will go that extra effort.

Dez Bryant, a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, was asked a few years ago if his mom was a prostitute.

These questions come up because the team is investing millions of dollars in these players and they want to know everything there is to know about them. By the way, Nick has gone on the record, saying he's not gay, you know, so that's -- it took him by surprise, but they want to know everything.

And you could say to yourself, well, they're asking the question not so much to ask are you gay but maybe to see how he's going to respond to that question. If he responds in anger or responds in any other way. But I think we're embarking on a point in football and in sports in general.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

DIAZ: Where we're going to have a gay athlete who's playing a sport at the time come out, because every athlete who comes out afterwards, after he's done playing, has said, I know of several athletes who are playing the game right now, whether it's football or baseball or basketball, who are gay. So --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Did they give a satisfactory answer as to why they asked him in the first place?

DIAZ: It's not confirmed they asked. Nick Kasas said he was asked. He told that to a Denver radio station. He's from Colorado. He told that to a Denver radio station. The NFL says, we're looking into this matter. We're on the player's side. We don't discriminate based on sexual orientation. So the NFL is investigating this right now.

But that's the thing. These questions are asked during the combine, and it's at each team's discretion whether they'll ask a certain question or not.

MALVEAUX: Carlos, what do you make of this? You cover this all the time. Do you think there's a change of culture within football, within athletics when it comes to gay players and being open?

DIAZ: Here's the thing. We live in a society where homosexuality is more and more accepted every single day. You're talking about athletes who are making millions of dollars. And you're asking to put your career on the line to become, if you will, the Jackie Robinson of homosexuality, being the first athlete to come out, because no athlete of major sports has come out while playing that sport. You have people making all this money. Do they want to put that on the line to represent something? I, in my own opinion, I think we are less than five years away from that happening. I think we'll see that in the next few years. And what I --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Five years seems like a long time to me. I don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

DIAZ: It's the culture of the NFL. When you talk about -- you know, we're here talking right now about a story about a team asking someone if they're gay. You know, I think that the NFL needle to come out and say, we -- we almost welcome it. Please, come to us if you want to play for broncos, if you want to play for the Niners, we welcome it.

MALVEAUX: All right, we've got to go. We have to leave it there.

We'll talk about this time and time and time again, I'm sure.

Carlos, I want stand up with me. Our audience is sitting. You have to stand up here because we have a story we're going to tell you about that you need to get out of the chair.

It's all for your health coming up next, Carlos.

DIAZ: Not a good story for me.

MALVEAUX: This is good for us.

DIAZ: Not a good story for me.

MALVEAUX: I'm telling you.

I can guarantee it.

(LAUGHTER)

Plus, Jillian Michaels, superstar athlete, of course, and fitness guru, is with us as well to tell us how we can stay "Slim for Life."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Do you find yourself sitting most of the day at the office and sitting hours at -- hours by hours on the couch at home? Not good for you, not because you're not exercising but you're not moving at all. But a new study find even a tiny change can improve your health.

Elizabeth Cohen and I are standing for this segment.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We are moving.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Just to make the point, right?

COHEN: Absolutely. Absolutely.

MALVEAUX: What did they find?

COHEN: These researchers in England put monitors on people and they could tell when they were exercising, when they were sitting, for how long they were sitting. And they found people who moved the most had the best blood sugar numbers, the best cholesterol numbers.

But what was stunning about that is it wasn't just the people who took a walk or went on the treadmill or ran, it was even just people who stood up while they worked or sat for an hour and then got up for five minutes. So, sort of the bottom line of this is just moving even a little bit helps.

MALVEAUX: So, break up. You can break up the standing --

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: Break it up.

MALVEAUX: -- and that will actually help you.

COHEN: Break up the standing or -- I have colleagues who have -- there they are --

(LAUGHTER)

-- who have set up their desks so they're standing. Standing requires -- there's William Hudson, my producer.

Hi, William.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Now, are they normally doing this or --

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: All the time.

MALVEAUX: Really?

COHEN: I work with William every day and he does this all the time. He is at that computer much more so than at his sedentary --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: And they're slim and trim.

COHEN: They are slim and trim. There you go.

(LAUGHTER)

And it's because when you're standing, you're using muscles that you're not using when you're sitting.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

COHEN: So, of course, it's great to run. Of course, it's great to bike. We should all do it. But even just those little things can make a difference.

MALVEAUX: That's very good. That's good to know.

Now, housework, I don't know how much you and I are doing housework. There's a lot to be done. You have kids, of course. Now, if you do less housework, right --

(CROSSTALK) COHEN: You know what --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: -- you burn more calories.

COHEN: -- more housework than I do.

MALVEAUX: That's true.

COHEN: Here's the study that looked at that. They looked at 1965, and they found women were doing much more housework than today. In 1965, women did 26 hours a week. In 2010, it's 13 hours a week. So, one of those big differences is that more women are working now, so they're sitting. And I don't want this story to come off as, come on ladies, let's just go back home and do housework. I don't want to say that, but it is more exercise to do housework than to sit at a desk. And so even housework is doing something. You're up, you're down, you're folding laundry, you're unloading the dishwasher. You're not sitting at a desk.

MALVEAUX: Just keep active.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: Just keep active. Just do something. If you can, don't sit at a desk for too long. When you have a meeting with someone, do a walking meeting. Set up your computer like William so you're standing up. All those little things can --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Maybe we'll stand. Maybe we'll stand tomorrow.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

COHEN: I actually feel more comfortable standing. I like it better. I'm not a big sitter. It's more energy, I think.

MALVEAUX: Free energy.

Elizabeth, thank you.

COHEN: Exactly. Exactly

Thanks.

MALVEAUX: Good to see you.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle important to all of us, of course, but something that some schools are promoting as well. But one school might have taken this a little too far. How kids were sent these so- called fat letters. I'm not kidding. Up next.

Plus, Jillian Michaels joining us live to tell you how you can stay "Slim for Life."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It is common for teachers to send letters home if a student misbehaves or gets poor grades, right? But now schools in North Andover, Massachusetts, they're letting parents know when they think the child is too fat. 10-year-old Cameron Watson's family received a letter indicating his body mass index was higher than it should be. The father says the second grader is not overweight. And now families are speaking out, why these letters are a complete waste.

Susan Tran, from our affiliate WHDH has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN TRAN, CORRESPONDENT, WHDH (voice-over): Cameron Watson isn't just a strong athlete.

CAMERON WATSON, PARENTS LETTER SENT FAT LETTER: I wrestle, play football. I ride bikes, play basketball, baseball, MMA.

TRAN: He's a tough fourth grader who didn't let a fat letter home get him down.

CAMERON WATSON: I know I'm not obese, so I didn't really care about the letter. I just crumpled it up.

TRAN: Letters like this going to plenty of homes throughout the commonwealth. The Department of Public Health says "32 percent of our students have a body mass index showing they're obese and these letters are to be a helpful tool to parents."

Cameron's dad says they're a waste. They don't take into account muscle mass.

MATT WATSON, CAMERON'S FATHER: No one wants to get a letter saying they're obese. That's a very strong, uncomfortable word. And we didn't see it fitting with our son, who is very active. He's very strong.

TRAN: While Cam continues to wrestle in elite clubs, his mom, a selectwoman in North Andover, is working with state representatives to stop these fat letters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think, all of a sudden, we have to wake up and say, the people of Massachusetts need to be told everything to do with their kids, whether it's, you know, to feed them a cupcake or to feed them broccoli.

TRAN: For Cam, he says he has the self-esteem to overlook a label but he's more worried about his friends who might not be as strong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: That was Susan Tran reporting. And coming up, Jillian Michaels joining us live. Her tips on staying "Slim for life." Plus, how motherhood has changed the way she looks at weight loss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Jillian Michaels takes no prisoners -- kid you not -- when she presses contestants on the popular "Biggest Loser" show to get in shape. She's pushing them to their limit, step up their game, and get healthy. Now the tough-as-nails guru is a new mom. She's got two kids and she is doing really well. Also has a new book out called "Slim for Life," featuring her kinder and gentler approach, shall we say, to life and fitness.

Jillian's joining us from L.A.

Good to see you.

Just watched "Biggest Loser" a couple nights ago. It's one of my favorite shows here.

So, people aspire to have your body, have your hair. What's different about this book?

JILLIAN MICHAELS, HOST, BIGGEST LOSER & AUTHOR: Gosh, well, thank you for that.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Good to see you.

MICHAELS: Here's really what's different, is I became a mom and started to appreciate that maybe a lot of what I'd ask for in the past was unrealistic. People are not going to get to the gym.

(CROSSTALK)

MICHAELS: Well, you know, there's a utopian world where you can get to the gym five to six hours a week. And you can make all your meals at home and afford to eat all organic. That was my fantasy. And then I became a mom and realized, this is not happening, and developed a deeper sense of empathy for all the ladies out there.

And I wanted to give people a set of strategies they can easily apply in their life so they'll lose the weight, they can afford it, they can access it and they'll keep it off. And also to help them deal with diet dilemmas, like cravings, hunger, finances, all of that. So, there's a solution for every problem.

MALVEAUX: So, Jillian, we're seeing these beautiful pictures of you and your daughter, adopted from Haiti. I know you have a son as well, you and your and your partner. And you write about sometimes you have to make the tough choices as a mom between spending time with your kids and working out. What do you?

MICHAELS: Honestly, I try to do both. So what I will try to do is say, OK, I will take my son and put him in a carrier and go to Runnion Canyon here in L.A. or I'll put my daughter in a bike seat and go for a bike ride on the beach. It's not a class and a 90-minute yoga class or -- it's the 30 minute exercise DVD while your toddler makes fun of you and crawls all over you. It's something, and something is better than nothing. That's the key, to try to find the balance and understand, yes, your life is difference and it's not ideal or perfect. By engaging in these simple steps, you can get healthy and you stay healthy.

MALVEAUX: Good to know. You are giving the rest of us a little bit of a break. We like that.

(LAUGHTER)

A little bit of a softer Jillian Michaels.

You talk about diet as well. We are doing exercise and trying to get that in, the young moms, and also diet. You say you are able to stick to an 1800-calorie-a-day diet. How do you do that?

MICHAELS: For me personally, I have free food. I say anything green I can have an unlimited amount. If I'm going to have pizza for dinner, say 20 percent of the time I like to have whatever I want. I can have a huge salad and fill up on that and, instead of wanting a half pizza or a whole pizza, because I have been known to be able to do that, I have two pieces. I choose the thin crust. And then you have that balance where you don't feel deprived but you are getting healthy at the same time and you're not overeating.

MALVEAUX: It was that 80-20 rule. The last time we chatted, you didn't let me have fried chicken. Does that work in your 80-20 plan, somewhere in there?

MICHAELS: Here's what I say about that. I would prefer you modify that recipe, and I would want you to coat the chicken with something healthier like maybe crushed nuts or do a healthier bread crumb. I would want you to bake it. But if you did the fried chicken, that's going to be your dinner, but you don't get enormous quantity of it, and you have to make better choices for the breakfast, lunch and snack.

MALVEAUX: All right.

MICHAELS: It really is about balance, that's the key, and finding the balance.

MALVEAUX: Fair enough.

Jillian, congratulations on finding balance in your own life, as mom and a fitness star and, of course, on "Biggest Loser" as well.

Always good to see you. We will aspire to try to be a more balanced life as well.

Thank you, Jillian. When we come back, the NEWSROOM continues with our special coverage of Pope Benedict XVI's retirement, going into effect in a couple of minutes.

We will be back tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: It hasn't happened in 600 years, but any minute now, a pope will retire, the doors will close, and the Catholic world will suddenly be without a leader for now.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

We will take you inside the new home where Benedict will spend the rest of his life.

Plus, inside the secret talks over who will take his place. We will break down the front-runners.

And the Catholic Church at a crossroads. What the next pope needs to do to win back believers.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. And I want to welcome viewers here in the United States and around the world.

Any moment, history in the making. For the first time in six centuries, a pope will officially retire. Give up his reign as leader of the catholic world. This comes hours after he left Vatican City by helicopter, saluted his followers that one final time as pope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING)

POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translation): Dear friends, I am happy to enjoy your sympathy. I give thanks for your friendship and for your affection.

(CHEERING)

POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translation): This is a different day for me than earlier days. I am no longer the pope, but I am still in the church. I am just a pilgrim who is starting the last part of his pilgrimage on this earth.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Fast forward to now. Take a look with me. Live pictures of the summer residence, Castel Gandolfo.

And this is where Becky Anderson is standing by for me.

Becky, as we mentioned, historic moment. Set the scene for me and walk me through what we will see.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pope Benedict XVI, as he remains for the next 2.5 minutes wasn't right when he said he was no longer a pope. That was in his speech from the window behind me an hour or so ago. He remains pope until that door shuts ceremoniously, and you will be witnessing history. At that stage, the Swiss Guards, the papal body guards for centuries, will abandon Pope Benedict XVI. He will no longer be the pope. He will be called his holiness going forward. He will spend two months here at the summer residence of the papacy. Popes have been coming here for 400 years. It is a stunning setting, and certainly a place where Benedict can begin his retirement, a place of quiet contemplation for a man who is extremely private. So that we will witness in the next couple of minutes.

Quite remarkable it seems here earlier on today. It's got to be said, Brooke, this square was absolutely packed. 10,000 people of the faith who live here, pretty much the only people allowed in to this town today, praying the rosary before they cheered, "Benedeto, Benedeto." He said thank you and good night. The last words you will hear from Pope Benedict XVI -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: 60 seconds away, as I watch the clock from what will be a popeless moment.

Becky Anderson there at Castel Gandolfo.

We keep these live pictures up.

I want to bring in our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, who is in Rome watching all of this.

Christiane, we are waiting for the moment. We are waiting for the doors to close.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, indeed we are.

What is so amazing is the fact that the crowd is still there and waiting for that last possible second to see the clock tick eight here in Rome. That means that the pope is no longer the pope.

I thought what was extraordinary today, in that speech that you saw, the message you saw from the window, he declared his papacy over a full 2.5 hours before his retirement. He said I am no longer the pope. That was at 5:30 local time. He was eager to get that done.

I am joined by John Allen, who is our senior Vatican analyst, and who has been looking into this for so long.

This is an extraordinary moment. We've said, really, all this week that none of us had ever seen this before, and neither have our ancestor, nor has anybody for 700 years. What are we going to see in the next few moments?