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Philly Eagles' DeSean Jackson Apologizes for Anti-Semitic Posts; NBA Players Quarantined at Resort Ahead of Season Restart; Usual Critics Clamor for Coronavirus Bailouts; Houston ICU Nurse Shares Her Battle with Coronavirus. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 09, 2020 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:30:40]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Philadelphia Eagles' star wide receiver DeSean Jackson accused of anti-Semitism over a series of Instagram posts that were anti-Semitic over this past weekend. One of them included a deeply offensive quote about Jews attributed falsely turns out to Adolf Hitler.

Jackson has apologized. Will the team or league take action? CNN's Brian Todd has the latest.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's been one of the NFL most dazzling and best known players for more than a decade. But now, DeSean Jackson is desperately trying to salvage his reputation.

The Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver in recent days posted on Instagram quotes that are falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler.

The director of Philadelphia's chapter of the Anti-Defamation League says, the fact that it's not a real quote from Hitler isn't the point.

SHIRA GOODMAN, PHILADELPHIA REGIONAL DIRECTOR, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: So to see that on Instagram, from a sports figure, it was so jarring and hurtful and offensive. And that's what we want DeSean Jackson to understand, what he's spreading that kind of message, what the impact that has.

TODD: The Eagles whose owner and general manager are Jewish, issued a statement calling Jackson's posts "absolutely appalling." The NFL called them "highly inappropriate, offensive and divisive."

Jackson issued an initial apology saying "Anyone who feels I have hate towards the Jewish Community took my posts the wrong way. I have no hatred in my heart towards no one."

But then another apology saying, "My intention was to uplift, unite and encourage our culture with positivity and light. Unfortunately, that did not happen. I unintentionally hurt the Jewish community in the process. And for that, I am sorry."

DESEAN JACKSON, WIDE RECIEVER, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: I just want you guys to understand that it never was intended to be, you know, to put any race down or any religion down.

TODD: But according to "The Washington Post," Jackson had also posted an image on Instagram of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, calling Farrakhan powerful.

GOODMAN: He is a powerful speaker. The problem is that he has been known for decades to spew hate against the Jews and others and amplifying his messages is very dangerous.

TODD: The fallout from Jackson's postings probably couldn't come at a more sensitive time, just weeks after several prominent black athletes sent powerful messages against racism during the George Floyd protests movement.

MIKE FREEMAN, COLUMNIST, SPORTICO.COM: If you remember the African- American community and you want respect from people, you have to give that same respect. You can't tell people that we should be treated like human beings which is obvious, and then go and demean another group of people.

TODD: But adding to this controversy was a posting from Stephen Jackson, the former NBA player who was an inspiring voice during the George Floyd protests. Stephen Jackson seemed to support DeSean Jackson's now deleted postings about Jews.

Columnist Mike Freeman says so much for the goodwill that Stephen Jackson created over the past few weeks.

FREEMAN: And he said some really passionate smart things and was a really good, almost spokesperson for what's happening. And then now I think this destroys it all. It'll obliterates it all.

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TODD: Stephen Jackson is now saying he was not agreeing with the DeSean Jackson's post. He was agreeing with something from a conversation before getting on live about how to handle the fallout.

As for DeSean Jackson, NBC Sports Philadelphia is reporting that he's reached out to a Philadelphia area Rabbi for guidance on anti- Semitism. But will the Philadelphia Eagles cut or discipline Jackson, as some prominent Jewish leaders and sports columnist are calling for? We've reached out to the team for the moment. They're not answering that question.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

BERMAN: All right. Thanks to Brian. Let's talk more about this and also the current status of sports in general, particularly the NBA with teams now arriving in Orlando to begin playing at Walt Disney World later this month.

Joining me now from inside quarantine, my friend, Enes Kanter, center for the Boston Celtics.

And Enes, I want to talk about basketball in just a moment, but first, I know that anti-Semitism is an issue you care about because we did a panel together on the subject in the fall in Boston. So what's the lesson here? When you hear DeSean Jackson, or see him posting what he posted and Stephen Jackson agreeing with it? What's the lesson here?

ENES KANTER, CENTER, BOSTON CELTICS: Right. I mean, this is what I will say first, we need to think before we act or tweet or post anything, because when you're an athlete, you're one quote or your tweet or your post can inspire millions of people, or it can do the opposite.

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So if you if you're not educated enough about a situation, then just sit back and don't say a word about it till you know enough about that topic.

And for me, it's important to stand against all kinds of discrimination because I supported, you know, I support a motion against alongside Black Lives Matter protesters. And also I have been outspoken against anti-Semitism and led Islamic Jewish innovate events. So, I feel like we must work together to end all forms of hate and bring unity, because this is what I believe in.

It doesn't matter what your religion is, what your skin color is, what your background is, the most important thing in life is live your difference on a table and trying to find what we have in common. Until, you know, Elon Musk or someone else find another planet to live, this world is what we have. So we need to make this world better together. That's the key word, together.

BERMAN: All right, I know you feel that way. I can see you're in your hotel room in Orlando at Disney right now.

KANTER: Right.

BERMAN: Were you pretty much have to stay for two days. It's the first process in entering this NBA bubble at Walt Disney World. What concerns do you have on getting back to the court and doing this safely?

KANTER: I mean, obviously, if you look at the case in Florida, now has more positive cases than all Europe, obviously, it worries all of us. But I think the most important thing for us is just follow the rules.

And I believe in NBA, I believe in MVPA, the playlist issue (ph) or association, I think they're doing an unbelievable job for just taking care of the players and the coach and staff.

So I think right now the first 48 hours, like we said, we got to steam according to. We cannot even actually leave out room to get food, they have to bring our own food to in front of my door.

But I think you know, I trust NBA and I trust Adam Silver, the commissioner, they've been doing an amazing job leading this process. So, I think if you follow the rules there's not going to be any problem.

BERMAN: We just saw some remarkable pictures of them actually putting down a basketball floor inside a ballroom in one of these hotels. So the NBA going to enormous ends to try to make this work. Are you are you ready to play? I mean, you haven't been able to do one-on-one or five-on-five.

KANTER: Right.

BERMAN: And you're supposed to be having games in a few weeks. How close are you?

KANTER: I'm not going to lie. I did -- I didn't have that currency to wait. But, you know, I think if you look at all the players, we are all each have to go out there and play basketball if it's all safe. So I think you know, we have this now, three weeks period that we just want to try to go out and just try to get in playoff shape, not a normal shape, a playoff shape.

But I think, you know, I think we really got to get ready and we are hungry to go out there. So it's going to be exciting.

BERMAN: And I know you will deliver a championship for the Celtics. But there are things even more important than championships for the Celtics.

KANTER: Right.

BERMAN: Activism is so important to you. You quoting Alice Walker saying activism is the rent you play to be on this planet. You're going to put the message of freedom on your -- is already on your shoes, but on your shirt as your message of social justice is so important to you.

And your father, Enes, just released from prison --

KANTER: Right.

BERMAN: -- in Turkey after years of what you consider to be serious political oppression. Just talk to me about that.

KANTER: I mean, first of all, I would love to take my, you know, teammates, coaches fans and NBA family to, you know, to support me because it gave me so much hope and strength throughout this process because it's been seven years. I have been fighting against the dictatorship in Turkey and my dad is finally has his freedom.

But, you know, a lot of people are texting me about oh, you know, you should be happy now. You can relax now, you can have fun now. My fight against the dictatorship in Turkey is far from over. It just getting started because you guys know my story because I play in NBA. There are thousand families out there, their situation is way worse than mine. Now because of all this coronavirus, Turkish government decided to free all the serial killers, child rapists, human traffickers free, but they decided to keep, you know, political prisoners and journalists are in a jail. If the coronavirus spreads in jail, which has already did, there's going to be so many deaths in the Turkish prison. So I feel like we have to stand up for those people, for those, you know, or to keep fighting for their rights.

And I believe dictator (INAUDIBLE) is one of the largest terrorist organization --

BERMAN: Right.

KANTER: -- in the world and he must be held accountable for his crimes.

BERMAN: Enes Kanter, we appreciate you being with us this morning. We're happy for you and your family. Good luck over the next two days in quarantine. Keep the channel turned to CNN. We'll keep your company in your hotel room. Thanks so much for being with us.

KANTER: For sure. Thank you guys.

BERMAN: Be well.

So, did the payroll Protection Program money go to small businesses after all?

[07:40:01]

Some incredible political irony in a reality check, next.

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The sixth named storm of hurricane -- this hurricane season could develop this week and dump a lot of rain along the East Coast. CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers has our forecast. What are you seeing, Chad?

CHAD MYERS. CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm seeing a storm named Fay, F-A-Y, possibly develop over the next I would say really 12 to 24 hours off the East Coast of North Carolina.

This weather is brought to you by Boost, the nutrition you need, the taste you deserve.

So now this low that was in Florida and the Gulf of Mexico three days ago is now getting very close to the Gulf Stream.

[07:45:03]

It's going to really create a lot of rain from New York City all the way down through D.C. Could be two to four inches of rain. We're not really worried about wind or start storm surge. We're worried about very, very flooding rainfall that really is falling on an area that seen an awful lot of rain over the last couple of days. Today, though, we're watching for storms that will move into Chicago, likely somewhere around midnight, but they could contain some very large hail and even the possibility of a small tornado here all the way from about Aurora in Chicago. Not likely tornadoes, though, but still some very heavy weather rolling through, here's 2:00, 3:00 all the way to 5:00 and watch about the 11:00 hour. Things get very interesting for Chicagoland, we'll keep you advised.

BERMAN: All right, we have seen some serious storms here the last few days, Chad, we'll watch that very closely.

MYERS: Yes.

BERMAN: So this morning, we're just learning some of the businesses and organizations that received money from the PPP lending program and it's sending off huge irony alarms.

Some groups that have made their entire raison d'etre to fight government spending in bailouts just got one.

John Avlon with a reality check.

JOHN AVLON, CNN ANCHOR: Irony is dead, or at least small government conservatism. That's judging by the long list of hypocrites who happily took PPP loans, despite a lifetime of opposing anything resembling government assistance.

Let's start with the chef's kiss of this list. The iron Rand Institute, dedicated to the libertarians icon who famously argued that selfishness is good and government is bad. They folded fast when some free money came along, taken between $350,000 and $1 million from the government.

Or how about Grover Norquist Group, Americans for tax reform foundation. Now, Norquist famously said that he wants to see government, "The size where I could drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." But maybe they miss took that bathtub for a trough because Grover requested and received between $150 and 300,000 in taxpayer funds.

Conservative groups like Citizens Against Government Waste and Taxpayers for Common Sense also lined up to get their helping. And the president of FreedomWorks, famous for railing against Obama era bailout said, "I would love someone to give us free cash."

Suddenly, they're all Keynesians now.

Remember, Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian coalition lobbyists and author of a book whose original title was reportedly "Render to God and Trump," well, his faith was repaid with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Maybe I missed that part of the Bible where Jesus says, do as I say, not as I do.

But Trump friendly megachurches were also big time recipients of PPP loans. They were supposed to be for small businesses, just part of an overall $17 million haul. Like the Dallas church headed by Robert Jeffress, who said Trump's impeachment could open the door to a second Civil War. His flock got between $2 and $5 million.

Trump's son in law Jared Kushner's family businesses also got their slice of the pie, as did Trump's longtime lawyer Mark Kasowitz to the tune of millions. So did the businesses run by the family of Trump Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, happens to be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's wife.

A boatload of congressmen got PPP cash, even sometimes Trump supporter Kanye West, he's worth a pool bill.

Now, none of this is to suggest these groups did anything legally wrong. It's a question of ethics, living up to your own standards often imposed on others through political influence in the past.

And it's just the latest example of how the GOP's commitment to fiscal discipline was ditched once they got hitched to the self-styled king of debt, because the bailouts passed under Trump have already far exceeded those passed under Bush and Obama together. The national debt skyrocketed more than 5.2 trillion and the Trump administration strain to stop federal oversight of the trillion dollar bailouts in the CARES Act.

But you haven't heard a peep out of the Tea Party caucus. And some of their biggest champions are now in senior Trump positions including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Larry Kudlow who said, "You cannot have capitalism without failure."

So when you say the next recession, are we going to knee jerk, go back to too big to fail and government bailouts? The answer is apparently, yes, under your watch, but I'm sure Kudlow and the Trump crew will be singing very different tune whenever a Democrat is president. And that's your reality check.

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[07:53:24]

CAMEROTA: An ICU nurse in Houston, Texas had been caring for sick coronavirus patients around the clock at United Memorial Medical Center until she too got sick.

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TANNA INGRAHAM, ICU NURSE, UNITED MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER: I wouldn't wish this on my own enemy because I hurt from here all the way down, the base of my neck and it's getting any sleep is almost like it's impossible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you say to Madeline (ph) and Abigail (ph) right now?

INGRAHAM: Baby, mommy loves you and misses you. I hope you're having a great time in California. OK. I'm done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Joining us now is that nurse, Tanna Ingraham.

Tanna, we are so happy to see you out of the hospital. You know, listen, we were so struck by meeting you in Miguel Marquez's piece there and by the struggle that you were going through. So, number one, how are you this morning?

INGRAHAM: I'm better, definitely better than what I was and I still got a little bit to go. But definitely better.

CAMEROTA: We're really relieved to hear that. But how long were you in that kind of acute pain? I mean, at your worst in the hospital, what was your experience like?

INGRAHAM: Well, the whole 12 days that I was in the ICU basically, is, you know, I didn't -- I wasn't so severe. So then I got to come home and I'm still recouping right now. And -- But it's been a painful, honestly situation and getting over this because it attacks your joints, you know and it attacks my joints.

[07:55:08]

So breathing and stuff like that is, you know, I still have to use my inhaler. But it's -- I mean, we're -- I'm getting there, so.

CAMEROTA: Did being a nurse and having to be treated by your colleagues, did that make it easier for you like you got special treatment? Or did it make it harder for you because you knew all of the possibilities?

INGRAHAM: It made it harder. It definitely wasn't any easier. And I did not get any special treatment whatsoever. I didn't expect it either.

But just knowing everything of what could happen, you know, of, you know, the end insights and whatnot and it made it -- it was scary. It was really scary.

CAMEROTA: I mean, it is scary for regular people, it's terrifying. And this virus is so unpredictable. You know, you're -- you can be fine one day and then it can deter it and you had seen so much of that. And so, so what were the worst moments for you?

INGRAHAM: I think honestly the worst moment that happened was when I realized that I was positive. And it was like, literally, the script just completely turned. And just all of everything is getting short of breath. You know, it's having a hard time, you know, breathing and having this barking hacking cough. It was ridiculous.

But -- I don't want happen.

CAMEROTA: I can still see you. I can still hear you. INGRAHAM: Oh, you can

CAMEROTA: Yes.

INGRAHAM: OK. OK.

CAMEROTA: I mean, I heard about that, you hadn't been having, I mean, you correct me if I'm wrong, you hadn't been having bad symptoms until you got that positive result and then you thought, I'm doomed, and then it all deteriorated.

INGRAHAM: Well, it started, what was it, it started -- I lost my sense of taste and my smell. But in all honesty, being in an ICU, it's -- that wasn't even something I didn't even asked my patients, you know. I truly honestly didn't even know that losing, you know, those two senses were even -- have anything to do with COVID. And so when that happened, I didn't think much of it.

And then, you know, start talking to Dr. Barone (ph) and he said, you know, Tuesday, you know, come get a C.T., I wouldn't got a C.T. and my lungs were perfectly normal. There was no inkling of COVID at all.

CAMEROTA: And now do you know what your lungs look like?

INGRAHAM: They're getting better. Apparently, it was little bit more serious than I was told. I guess because he didn't want me to freak out or anything, but they were -- they're pretty bad. And it was in with two days of -- they just -- it just went so fast.

CAMEROTA: So, Tanna, how about your kids? Have you been reunited with your daughters yet?

INGRAHAM: No, not yet. The 25th and I'm counting down the days. I'm just praying that you know, I'm good to go, you know, so I can't see them.

CAMEROTA: Because -- have they said that they are not comfortable seeing you until you can show them a negative test?

INGRAHAM: Yes. I have, you know, my daughter's, you know, have a nine and a 10 year-old. The 10 year-old she's a very vocal. And Madeline said until I see a negative test and that means exactly what (INAUDIBLE) just what she said. And it kind of broke my heart. But, you know, but I mean, it's -- I'm glad that she's, you know, aware and is, you know, aware of the situation and how serious this is.

CAMEROTA: Yes. I know this has been really hard on you for so long. I mean, because being separated from your kids, there's those emotional wounds, and then of course, the physical that you're still recovering from. So we're really happy that you're on the mend, Tanna. Thanks so much for sharing --

INGRAHAM: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: -- sharing your personal story with us.

INGRAHAM: Well, thank you. I appreciate it.

CAMEROTA: We'll check back with you.

INGRAHAM: It's definitely you don't want to experience.

CAMEROTA: It really sounds like it. I heard that you said that you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy, including your ex-husband and girlfriend, which I really think says it all. So, Tanna.

INGRAHAM: Yes.

CAMEROTA: We're --

INGRAHAM: I don't know if she's going to fit that in. But, yes

CAMEROTA: We're really happy to see you feeling better. And we'll check back with you. Thanks so much.

New Day continues right now.

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