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Bill Cosby's Alma Mater Cuts Ties With Him; Quintavious Johnson Sings National Anthem On NFL Opening; Exclusive Interview With Benjamin Watson

Aired November 28, 2014 - 15:30   ET

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


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bill Cosby's alma mater cutting ties with star as new allegations of rape have been surfacing. More than a dozen women now, at least 15, have accused Bill Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them. The comedian has refused to speak publicly and his lawyers denying most everything and refusing to discuss others.

So with me now Alison Kosik from CNN Money on what exactly has happened to UMass?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, many of us may not realize that Bill Cosby got a masers and doctorate in education at UMass Amherst. And actually "the Washington Post" came out and reportedly saying that there was some controversy when he got these degrees saying you know, what he did, he didn't take enough course work, he even got credit for appearing on "Sesame Street". But the university, not cutting ties with Bill Cosby because of that, cutting ties because of these rape allegations. The university coming out with this statement.

Take a look. Bill Cosby has agreed to resign as an honorary co-chair of UMass Amherst capital campaign. That's a fundraising campaign. He no longer has any affiliation with the campaign nor does he serve in any other capacity to the university.

Now, no other details were given just that statement. Also another university, High Point University that's in North Carolina actually over the summer, he was added there to the board -- the board of advisers because the university said that Bill Cosby quote "used his talents to create positive change." They also cut ties reportedly with Bill Cosby. So this is just yet another blow to his reputation.

BALDWIN: All right. Allison, thank you. I got all Alison Kosik for me.

We are now one week away from CNN's holiday tradition, CNN Heroes an all-star tribute. But until then Anderson Cooper checks in with last year's CNN Hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, AC 360 (voice-over): In 17 years, Chad Pregracke and his team picked up eight million pounds of trash from America's rivers. Last November, for his inspiring work, Chad picked up a big honor.

The 2013 CNN hero of the year is Chad Pregracke.

One year later we caught up with him to get an inside look at what he does and how he does it. At the heart of his work is a massive 800- org stores the huge piles of trash of Chad's team collects. It looks like a floating junk yard but --

CHAD PREGRACKE, 2013 CNN HERO WINNER: Welcome to CNN friends (ph).

COOPER: It's also Chad's part time home.

PREGRACKE: So pretty much everything is reclaimed or recycled out of the old buildings, old barns.

COOPER: The goal is serious but there's definitely a quick in this work.

PREGRACKE: So this would be our creepy doll collection. Why do we have it? I really don't have any idea other than we find a lot of creepy dolls.

COOPER: And trash isn't all he needs to look out for on the river.

PREGRACKE: One of the safety concerns is actually the flying carp. They really do fly out of the water in high speed and they get rather big.

COOPER: It's all part of Chad's work, work that also includes growing trees. Chad started this environmental effort in 2007 but he was able to expand it after being named CNN Hero of the year. In the end Chad's crusade is about much more than cleaning rivers.

PREGRACKE: It's about people taking action in their own communities and that's what it's all about. That's how you change the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: December 7th. Set your DVRs now. Watch it on TV. It's being called the year's best national anthem and the boy, you heard me the boy singing it, big day for him today. Twelve now 13, happy birthday, Quintavious Johnson. I promise you we'll play it four. It will give you chills. We got the big interview today on this day after thanksgiving as he's been route to another gig. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: NFL fans at the Bears/Lions game were very thankful for one 12-year-old boy because he belted out one heck of a rendition of the national anthem. His name, Quintavious Johnson. Let me say this again because you are about to hear a lot more about this kid, Quintavious Johnson. He is a former contestant on America's Got Talent. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now to honor America, please join 12-year-old national sensation, Quintavious Johnson as he leads us in the singing of our national anthem.

(QUINTAVIOUS JOHNSON PERFORMING NATIONAL ANTHEM)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I need a minute. I need a minute. I mean my goodness. Here you are. You dropped everything after such a night you had. You were joining me from the baggage claim of San Francisco's international airport on your birthday. I would sing for you but I don't want to shatter glass. That's more your thing. Happy birthday.

QUINTAVIOUS JOHNSON, 12-YEAR-OLD: Thank you. Thank you. Fun birthday so far.

BALDWIN: Pretty good. I'm amazed you're not in a row of the airport incognito because you had such a big night. I'm curious if you had to sign any autographs yet, Quintavious?

JOHNSON: Yes.

BALDWIN: How many?

JOHNSON: Plenty. I can't count.

BALDWIN: That's a boy. That's a good answer. That's a good answer. So talk to me about last night -- I mean, you killed it. You killed it. Were you nervous at all?

JOHNSON: I wasn't. Last night, I do what I do every time I pray and then I just get pumped up. I just get excited. Adrenaline rushes through my body and I go out there. While I'm singing I just like not even -- don't think about it. It just happens.

BALDWIN: It just happens. It just happens. How did this, where did this gift come from?

JOHNSON: It definitely came from God, of course. And everybody on my mom's side sings so the whole family on my mom's side. I mean, you can just close your eyes and pick one and they will sing. So God and family.

BALDWIN: OK, God and family. Did you grow up, were you itty-bitty and you started singing? I mean, who were your big influences?

JOHNSON: Well, I was 11 months when I started singing and my big influence --

BALDWIN: Hang on, hang on. 11-months-old? How did you even know how to sing at 11-months-old, Quintavious?

JOHNSON: Well, I was always an early baby. I was let walking at four to five months. Talking, full sentence at six and seven months and then I started to sing at 11 months. BALDWIN: Amazing. Are you a Mensa? Please continue. So your

influence, sir.

JOHNSON: Whitney Houston, the young Michael Jackson, Maria Carey, Luther van Johns, just like all the greats.

BALDWIN: All the greats. Well you, sir, are great as well. I know you have a lot of gigs ahead of you. And I will be able to say I knew you when.

Quintavious Johnson, happy birthday. Good luck. I want an autograph.

JOHNSON: All right. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you. That was awesome.

Here's something else that's getting traction online. The thoughts of another man, we'll show you Benjamin Watson. You may know him. New Orleans Saints, anyone, writes his thoughts about what's happening in Ferguson on his facebook page. And those words have been liked more than 700,000 times. And I get to talk to the man whose words are resonating with so many of you out there. He ran from practice to join me on TV on CNN. Benjamin we appreciate you. We'll talk live on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

You know, you've been watching. We've been reporting this week on the reaction to the grand jury's decision to not indict police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown.

But there's this essay, it is making the rounds online that's resonating with hundreds of thousands of people. More than 750,000 people have given it thumbs up on facebook and that's just facebook. Almost half a million have shared with it friends. It details one man's very real, very candid range of emotions about what happened in Ferguson.

The man who wrote this essay joins me now. He's NFL player of the New Orleans Saints tight end Mr. Benjamin Watson.

Benjamin Watson, it is truly an honor and a plea sure to have you on.

BENJAMIN WATSON, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS PLAYER: Thank you. It's an honor to be here, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So you and I were chatting a little bit this week about your piece and an asked you because it's much more poignant coming from you than from me, two of your favorite paragraphs, can you read those for me?

WATSON: Yes. I will. Luckily I have my iphone.

BALDWIN: Thank you. WATSON: I want to read about being an introspective. The first one

is I'm introspective because sometimes I want to take our side without looking at the facts in situations like these. Sometimes I feel like it's us against them. Sometimes I'm just as prejudice as people I point fingers at and that's not right. How can I look at white skin and make assumptions but not want assumptions about me. That's not right.

I'll go down and the second paragraph that I think kind of struck a chord with me was the last paragraph of the piece. And it is kind of how I closed it up, kind of on a positive note because after thinking about all these emotions and going through them, I'm encouraged because of this.

I'm encouraged because ultimately the problem is not a skin problem it's a sin problem. Sin is the reason we rebel against authority. Sin is the reason we abuse our authority. Sin is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. Sin is the reason we riot, we loot and we burn. But I'm encouraged because God has provided solution for sin through his son Jesus. And with it, a transformed mind and heart, one that's capable of looking past the outward and seeing what's truly important in every human being. The cure for Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamara Rice (ph) and Eric Gardner tragedy is not education or exposure it's the Gospel. So finally, I'm encouraged because the gospel of his mankind hope.

BALDWIN: What -- you know, its one thing for all of us to have conversations around the water cooler or on the football field or what have you this past week. But I'm curious, Benjamin, what specifically possessed you to take the time to write this and then have the courage to share it?

WATSON: Great question. I do a little bit of writing, and I wouldn't consider myself a writer by any stretch of the imagination. But I do from time to time like to write about things that I see in football and kind of relate them to life, or to even to spiritual lessons. So I do some writing at times.

But after the Monday night game, we didn't hear the announcement made. And so, after the Monday night game, we came on and heard about it, turned on CNN, turn on FOX and just kind of saw what was going on, saw everything that was going on in Ferguson. And my heart went out to the people there. My heart went out to both sides.

And you know, over the course of the next day, we had that next Tuesday off. So I was with the kids. I made -- you know, I helped make breakfast. And then I went out to get a couple of things and so I started getting my thoughts together because there are so many emotions in this one event. And I wanted to get it out to kind of flesh out how I felt about the situation and didn't really know how I was going to write this piece or didn't know the format it was going to be in.

But throughout that day, I literally took my iphone and started typing in the note section. And by the end of the day, I'm actually sitting in the parking lot of a Target on Clear View Avenue in New Orleans. My wife was in the Target. The kids were in the back. And she was getting some things, actually, for a few homeless people in the city and I just started writing. And I finished it, sent it off. I don't even know how to logon to my facebook.

BALDWIN: Benjamin!

WATSON: I'm serious. I do twitter, but facebook, I'm not that good at.

BALDWIN: It's alright. You get a pass.

WATSON: I will be honest with you. And then, you know, I sent it to the folks to put it on there. And then a couple of hours later, my phone died and my wife was looking on her computer and she said Benjamin, did you post something? I said, yes. I posted something. And she said, everybody's blowing my facebook up and asking me questions. And I actually looked and I was really speechless and floored by the response that it was getting. You know, that was two days ago on Tuesday -- actually three days ago on Tuesday. Now we're where we sit now.

BALDWIN: I mean, you know, you and I were talking this week over twitter as you were saying that you were overwhelmed. And I think -- I mean, I've had discussions on my show about your piece. I'm just thrilled to actually talk to you about it. And I think one part that really resonates with, you know, a lot of America is the "I'm sympathetic" section, where you talk about, I'm sympathetic to the officer. I'm sympathetic to Michael Brown and so much of America really perceiving. this story as divided along racial lines.

I talked to Lz Granderson on the show yesterday and her said, his biggest frustration he was ion Ferguson, he saw it all. And he said neither side is sympathetic to the other. That's a problem.

WATSON: Yes. And I think that's a natural reaction. That's why I started off by saying that I'm angry. It's OK to be angry and to identify your emotion as being angry because like I said later, we like to protect our own. And because of our life experiences, whether it is being a black American or a white American, because of stories that you've heard overtime, because of injustices that have happened, because of maybe being accused of something you didn't do or maybe being accused of being racist when you're not.

We have these certain histories and we react because of those. And so, you know, anger is OK. But when you get past that first level of emotion, it's important to understand, why are you angry? And then take it a step further. Am I any different than anyone else if I'm in their situation? And I think the sympathetic part, you know, I've had a lot of teammates that came up to me and actually read it. It was that really warms from my heart. Because for them to actually come to say they enjoyed the piece. But I think it was what a lot of people were thinking but didn't know how to express it. And for whatever reason, God gave me the words to put on paper and it kind of resonated with a lot of people. But I think it's really important that we take a step back sometimes and think about the other side before we make accusations and assumptions. BALDWIN: Sit in the silence, let it flow, be it on paper or in the

note section of your iphone. You know, so much, I think, also, Benjamin, of this about discussion about preconceived notions, about police and involving minorities. And let me keep you up of a commercial break. I want you to sit and think and (INAUDIBLE) this. If you have ever been pulled over for something minor, and how your interaction, being an African-American male in our country, if that would be different dealing with a white cop? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And we're back live from New Orleans with Benjamin Watson, tight end with the New Orleans Saints. Penned this phenomenal essay that's now on his facebook page for anyone and everyone to read, like and pass along.

And so we were just talking. I was asking you on the other side of the break in the wake of everything that's happened in Ferguson, a lot of the discussion has been about, you know, biases or preconceived notion from police in dealing with minorities and communities. And I'm wondering just for you when you have, assuming within the world, guilty, you've been pulled over for something minor by a police officer, what was that like for you?

WATSON: Well, I've had my fair share of traffic infractions. I'm not a model citizen when it comes to speeding sometimes. And sometimes making a right turn when I shouldn't. But I have been pulled over before. And honestly, Brooke, when I get pulled over, I do think about what is going to happen and how do I make the situation move as quickly and safely as possible.

So I do things like hold my hands where they can be seen and I do things like, you know, be respectful to the police officer. Because you hear and you see so many stories where a lot of things go wrong. But I think the most important thing is to realize that while I have these maybe experiences and why I react the way I react, you have to realize that the police officer that's coming to you, he may have some experience in his past as well.

And so, there's two sides to this. I think the main thing is that you realize that you obey the law, you do what's asked of you, you present your license and your registration, you say, yes, sir. And the hope is on his side, his fears are alleviated and you're able to have the transaction without anything bad happening.

But when you hear so many different stories, it's natural to come into a situation like that with certain baggage. And that is a reason why it's important first of all to acknowledge that and understand that the guy on the other side is coming from the same way you are.

BALDWIN: In the 60 seconds I have remaining with you, sir, let me ask you. We talked so much about this on a micro level. How about on a micro, on a day-to-day basis, how can we, you know, black, white, whatever, improve this?

WATSON: Well, honestly, I think I point to it in the very last paragraph that I read. And I'm encouraged because things aren't the way they used to be, you know. We all have grandparents. They told us how things were. We've all seen documentaries. We are definitely making progress. But I think on an individual, on a micro level, the issue is not really skin. The issue is sin.

And I firmly believe that the issue is that internally we are flawed, internally, we need salvation from our sin. Internally, our sin makes us prideful, it makes us judgmental, it makes us prejudice, which leads to racism. It makes us lash out at people that don't look like us. It makes us look pass -- look pass evidence to protect people that look like s. It makes us do all those things. It makes us flash out on anger. It makes us point -- it makes us -- our sin, does in us makes us do those things. And the only salvation for this sin is the gospel. The only way to really cure that was on the inside is understanding that Jesus Christ die for our sins.

And so to me on a micro level --

BALDWIN: Oh - and just like that, we lost him. I know, I heard you guys wrapping me - I just couldn't let him go! Benjamin Watson, thank you so much. Good luck on the game Sunday.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. See you Monday. Jim Sciutto up next.