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Civil Rights Icon Congressman John Lewis Passes Away; Civil Rights Icon C.T. Vivian Passes Away; Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) of Washington D.C. Interviewed on Her Friendship with and Legacy of Congressman John Lewis; President Trump Comments Publicly on Passing of Congressman John Lewis; Democratic Candidate for Senate in Georgia Jon Ossoff Interviewed on Being Mentored by Congressman John Lewis; Tampa, Florida, Mayor Jane Castor Interviewed on Steps Being Taken to Reduce Coronavirus Spread; Coronavirus Cases Continue to Rise in Southern California and Arizona; Fifteen Women Accuse Washington Redskins Staffers of Sexual Harassment and Verbal Abuse. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired July 18, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:01:08]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Top of the hour now, we're seeing an outpouring of reaction to the losses of two civil rights icons, gone within just 24 hours. Congressman John Lewis died overnight at the age of 80, his battle with stage four pancreatic cancer ended, just hours after the passing of Reverend C.T. Vivian, a longtime friend and confidante of Dr. Martin Luther King Kr. President Trump has ordered the White House and other federal buildings to fly their flack flags at half-staff for the remainder of the day, however, we have yet to hear from the president directly. Instead we're told he was out golfing this morning. He has not released an official statement or tweet, even though other White House officials have.

Our correspondents are standing by with reaction to Lewis' death. Let's begin our coverage of the passing of John Lewis with Jeremy Diamond at the White House. Jeremy, is the White House saying anything about a possible upcoming statement or any other action?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Fredricka, across the aisle in Washington, there has been an outpouring of support for the death and the passing of Congressman John Lewis. The one notable voice who has been absent from that conversation is President Trump, though. President Trump notably feuded with Congressman Lewis before he was inaugurated as president in January of 2017. And it appears that President Trump still isn't able to get past that even in light of the passing of Congressman John Lewis.

We have, however, heard so far from the White House press secretary as well as Vice President Mike Pence who offered this statement, which I'll read to you now. "Congressman John Lewis was a great man whose courage and decades of public service changed America forever, and he will be deeply missed. John Lewis will be remembered as a giant of the civil rights movement whose selflessness and conviction rendered our nation into a more perfect union, and his example will inspire generations of Americans."

And while the president has issued more than nearly four dozen tweets or retweets last night since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, since we learned of his passing, again, the only thing that we have seen in President Trump's name is his proclamation lowering the flags to half-staff for the rest of today. But no statement of condolence from the president, and frankly, the fact that the vice president has put out a statement indicates that President Trump has no intention to do so. It's extremely rare, Fredricka, to see the vice president put out any kind of statement before the president does. And so that appears to be where things stand. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much at the White House.

For more reaction, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us. Suzanne, despite battling with stage four cancer, I understand that Lewis was still working nearly up until the end. He was working most recently with Reverend Jesse Jackson.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He was, Fred. It was really quite extraordinary to see and to talk to people who have been in recent contact with the congressman. This was just the last couple of weeks or so, he had reached out to a number of lawmakers, to staffers, and just plain everyday regular folk, to thank them and to try to inspire them. It was really somewhat of a goodbye tour in some ways that those, particularly for the Congressional Black Caucus.

But Fred, I do want to share some very special photos that we obtained today. This was through the National Bar Association's incoming president CK Hoffler, and this was on March 2nd of this year, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, as well as Congressman Lewis, they're really kind of supporting each other. You can see it physically, emotionally, mentally, these two iconic civil rights leaders holding each other up. They were planning an online conference with Xernona Clayton, and she also very much a civil rights leader in her own right.

These pictures were taken at Lewis's Atlanta office, and this is the time when he was going back and forth, back and forth for his treatment, between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta.

[14:05:00]

But of course, they wanted to go ahead and get together in an online fashion at the end of this month. That is no longer taking place. But it really does underscore just the tremendous amount of integrity and dedication that he had to his work. I want you to listen to the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church about Lewis' final days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, PASTOR OF EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH: I received a call several days ago from the family asking that I make my way to the home. And I was there at his bedside. I exchanged a few words with him, told him how much I loved him. And he said I love you too, brother, somehow mustered the strength to say that. But I have to say that even in his weakness there was a deep sense of resolve and strength, courage and dignity, the kind that we have come to associate with the likes of John Lewis. We lost a true hero yesterday, but the work is left up to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Fredricka, we also saw him at the Black Lives Matter Plaza, that in Washington, D.C., this was just weeks ago, really wanting to put forward that message of supporting the young people, supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and the next phase forward, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton is a longtime friend and colleague of John Lewis. Congresswoman, good to see you.

REP. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D-WA): My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: What are your thoughts and feelings today?

NORTON: Well, my thoughts really go back to when John Lewis and I were both youngsters on the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and never dreamed that we would both become members of Congress of the United States. We never dreamed it because, frankly, that would have been impossible.

John's pioneering work, though, prepared him for what he had to achieve to become a member of Congress. Remember that when John led SNCC, as we called the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, that was a deadly act. This was when segregation was a matter of law in the south of the United States, and when he himself was beaten more than 40 times. He was risking his life each and every one of those times.

He led by example. When the rest of us saw what John was doing, people like me, who were in the Mississippi section of the movement, and Mississippi was the last of the states to be opened, understood that this, too, can happen everywhere. It was his own leadership, leadership that did not occur until the youth movement was born in the early 60s. Remember, the Civil Rights movement began with the Montgomery Bus Boycott. That's ordinary adults just refusing to get on a bus. It was not until the sit-ins that John Lewis became prominent, and that you had a youth section of the Civil Rights movement which he went on to lead.

WHITFIELD: And I was going to say, as a teenager he's involved in these sit-ins. And while you are a foot soldier in your own right, as you mentioned, in Mississippi, and he's your contemporary, in a way, though, did he inspire you? And if so, how did he inspire you, even though you were a contemporary?

NORTON: In a real sense, John did. Now, we were both in SNCC, and when I went into Mississippi, I was going in to parts of the south that even John had not gone into. Young and foolish, I could only think of John's example. And John's example inspired not only me, but it inspired Bob Moses, the legendary leader of SNCC, in Mississippi, inspired me to go to Mississippi where otherwise I would have been very reluctant to go, and where he later came and helped lead the movement. His example is what is most important. John was really the most important disciple of Martin Luther King Jr. And at that time, there was no youth movement. He is responsible for helping to create it.

WHITFIELD: And so then, fast forward, here you guys were kids, and then you too have been a lion as a delegate and now congresswoman on Capitol Hill, working alongside Congressman Lewis. What has that working relationship, that friendship, that lifelong commitment been like for you two?

[14:10:09]

NORTON: Well, it mattered a great deal to both of us to begin our lives in the Civil Rights movement with no thought of going further, except proceeding as people usually do. And to end as colleagues once again, in the House of Representatives, this was a joyous reunion, and I frankly am very proud that two members of SNCC got to Congress in the first place.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, you, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton are timeless yourself. I've been talking to you since I was a cub reporter, and you're timeless and ageless. Thank you so much for your memories and sharing so much about what you know and love about Congressman Lewis. Appreciate it.

NORTON: Of course.

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in Jon Ossoff, a Democrat who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia. Jon, good to see you. You have a very special relationship with the congressman as well. And there are very few people who are able to say he not only endorses me in my run, but he is going to appear in ads advocating for me, and I am carrying the baton. Tell me what that has been like for you, and what this day is now like for you upon his passing?

JON OSSOFF, (D) GEORGIA CANDIDATE FOR SENATE: Well, like so many, I've been grieving, since I got the news last night, and you know, deeper than the loss of the political supporter. It's the loss of someone who has been a mentor, who has been a spiritual guide, who in times like these of great confusion and unrest, you can always count on as a steady voice and a moral compass.

I think that John Lewis was called the conscience of the Congress for a great reason. He had that steadfast moral compass. And he oriented us all with his leadership. He was someone that I could always call if I was struggling with a personal matter or struggling with something in public life, and immediately feel that his clarity of purpose and the way that he viewed the world through a prism of love and compassion. His legacy is immortal, though he may be gone. And I know he will continue to guide us with his words and with all that he has done in his life. WHITFIELD: You've said that you read Congressman Lewis's memoir

"Walking with the Wind" for the first time when you were just 16 years old. And you then wrote him a letter and ended up spending time in his office after he received your letter. And it's such an interesting parallel to the letter that he would write Dr. King when he was just 15 years old and then they would be forever friends. So how did Congressman Lewis, besides his book inspiring you, but how has this relationship now shaped your career in politics?

OSSOFF: Well, I wrote him that letter with no expectation even of a reply, and he not only replied, he invited me to come and work for him. And I was just a kid, and this was this great man with all of these important responsibilities. But he took me under his wing. And it wasn't just that brief time I worked in his office. He has taken me under his wing and been a constant guide and a friend ever since.

And I remember him taking time out of his busy schedule to sit down and have lunch with me as a young Jewish kid working in his office. He told me the stories of how rabbis and Jewish activists had marched alongside him in Selma and through the south during the Civil Rights movement. And we discussed what it meant to bring communities together. We discussed his vision and his ideal of the beloved community that he and Dr. King had championed. We learned about how he taught the principles of nonviolence in church basements at a time when they were all working at risk of death. He had his skull fractured marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge for voting rights.

And amidst this grief, what I try to summon is to hear his voice and what he would say to all of us now, which is to get on with the work that must be done, to carry forward that legacy and the inspiration that he continues to provide, because he and his colleagues from that era achieved great things, and they achieved greatness, but the struggle continues.

WHITFIELD: It does indeed. Jon Ossoff, thank you so much, thanks for sharing your members of your relationship with the late Congressman John Lewis.

OSSOFF: Thank you, Fredricka. Have a good one.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

And this just in to CNN now, President Trump offering his first comment on the passing of John Lewis. He tweeted this moments ago. "Saddened to hear the news of Civil Rights hero John Lewis passing. Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family."

[14:15:05]

This is the first comment since news of the congressman's death last night. Trump has tweeted or retweeted more than 40 times since news of Lewis' death broke, but, of course, tweeting on other matters.

And we'll have much more on Congressman John Lewis straight ahead, but first this poignant message from his friend and colleague, Congressman James Clyburn. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): The country lost a hero last night. The movement lost an icon. And I lost a personal friend. John and I first met back in October 1960. We were in Atlanta for an organizer meeting of what became known as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, commonly known as SNCC. That weekend was transformative to me. John and I enjoyed almost 60 years of friendship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[14:20:21]

WHITFIELD: As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, some areas of Florida are running out of places to keep all of the sick. The state has the highest number of cases per capita anywhere in the U.S. In Miami, hospitals are already at max capacity. The state has paused further reopening plans and has now instituted a mask order for public places. But with the number of cases in the state over 337,000, some worry it may be too little, too late.

Joining me right now, the mayor of Tampa, Florida, Jane Castor. Mayor Castor, good to see you.

MAYOR JANE CASTOR (D-FL), TAMPA: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: So what are your biggest concerns? What are you going to do about hospitals reaching capacity?

CASTOR: Right. Well, we're blessed here in the Hillsborough County area. All of our major medical facilities, all five of them, are working very, very closely, hand-in-hand. They've made a great deal of advances in the treatment of the COVID-19 as well. So we're not seeing as many admissions, and we're also not seeing the need for ventilators. And for the number of cases that we have, which you had indicated is the highest in the nation as a state, we've seen relatively few deaths from that, although any death, clearly, is significant. But it's the surge in the positive COVID-19 cases that really have us on alert here, and we're taking every step that we can to reduce that number.

WHITFIELD: So what do you attribute to what sounds like more manageable, a more manageable situation there in Tampa compared to other cities throughout Florida?

CASTOR: Well, one of the things that we have done, a lot of the counties have made decisions, and I have made decisions on behalf of the residents of the city of Tampa. Early on we put a mask order in place three weeks ago. And so we've seen significant adherence to that out in the community. The county put a mask ordinance in over two weeks ago. And so that, I believe, is starting to show positive results. We're seeing a flattening out in the number of those cases, and we're counting on seeing a downward trend in the number of positive cases here. But we're clearly not out of the woods yet. And if we need to take

additional steps and go backwards, we will. But it's the last thing you want to do. We just got back up on our feet economically. So we're doing everything we can, in concert with our residents to really stop the spread of COVID-19 in the city of Tampa.

WHITFIELD: This afternoon, Governor Ron DeSantis said the White House's Coronavirus Task Force will be sending 30,000 supplies of the drug remdesivir to treat COVID patients throughout Florida. Will that be helpful to your area? If so, or even if not, have you received federal support in your city?

CASTOR: Yes, that will be helpful. That's one of the advances that they've made here. We're fortunate to have the University of South Florida School of Medicine right in our downtown area. And so the advances that they've made are the proning position of the patients, the infusion of humidified and heated oxygen that really lowers the need for ventilators. And then, as you said, the use of remdesivir, and also the plasma from those individuals that have the antibodies that have already had COVID-19. And so the combination of that seems to be very helpful here in the city of Tampa.

And we are welcoming of any federal aid that you can possibly get. That's been a challenge in the past, and any assistance that we can get from either the state or the federal government, we're all for.

WHITFIELD: And what are your biggest concerns about the upcoming school year? That seems to be the number one thing that any parent in America seems to be consumed by right now.

CASTOR: Yes, and rightfully so, because I did an interview the other day, and someone said something about the governor had ordered the schools to open, and the secretary of education had done the same. And I said that decision is going to be made by the parents in our community. If parents don't feel that they're sending their children into a safe environment where they can focus on learning, then they're not going to put them back in school.

[14:25:05]

So I personally see in our area a delay in the opening of schools, and then we're going to have to take some innovative steps. We've already mandated -- I say "we." The superintendent of the school system has already mandated the wearing of masks, and then the attempts at social distancing as much as possible in the classroom environment.

WHITFIELD: Mayor Jane Castor of Tampa, thank you so much. All the best. Stay well.

CASTOR: Same to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, the nation is remembering Congressman John Lewis today. Take a look at this mural in Atlanta that honors a civil rights leader. Our coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:30:14]

WHITFIELD: Today, we are mourning the loss of two civil rights icons and remembering the historic roles they played in pushing for social and racial justice in America. Congressman John Lewis passed away last night after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. The 80-year- old was the last survivor of the big six Civil Rights activists led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Reverend C.T. Vivian also passed away yesterday. He was 95 and died of natural causes in Atlanta. Like Lewis, Vivian was part of the Freedom Riders, and both men helped lead the 1965 march for voting rights on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, a protest that ended with marchers being tear gassed and beaten.

Reverend Vivian had a long history of fighting for civil rights. President Barack Obama awarded Vivian the highest civilian honor in the nation, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2013. That year was also the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. I had the honor of sitting down with Reverend C.T. Vivian back in 2013 where he reflected on the significance of that historic march.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Could you have believed 50 years ago that the march would be as indelible, have this indelible place in history?

REV. C.T. VIVIAN: We knew it would have an imprint, but I never thought it would be this deep. And think what we're talking about, really, without that victory, we wouldn't have an African-American president. And I never thought, I never thought we would have one for this century

See, remember this, Martin King led a moral and spiritual movement. He did not lead a political movement. And his remarks and his great statements don't back up a political movement. They back up a moral and spiritual understanding of life.

WHITFIELD: So now you're on a mission. Or you continue to be on a mission. It has really been your life --

VIVIAN: That's it. That's precisely.

WHITFIELD: -- to be on a mission.

VIVIAN: Precisely.

WHITFIELD: The president made it very clear that the 16 recipients of this Presidential Medal of Freedom, in his words, goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours.

VIVIAN: That's exactly right.

WHITFIELD: So what does it mean to not only be one of the 16 recipients, but to share this day, this honor, with the names like Ernie Banks, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, Ben Bradlee, Sally Ride, posthumously? VIVIAN: It sounds good. But let me tell you, if it doesn't allow to

you help other people, it doesn't matter who you got them with and it doesn't matter what the honor looks like or where it comes from. You see what I mean? It's that only the things that help you help somebody are really worth the effort.

WHITFIELD: So this, in your view, is not an honor to represent that all you have done, but instead you say this is incentive to continue to do more?

VIVIAN: Of course. Of course. And you got it exactly right. We have proven that we can solve social problems without violence if we choose. And that means at every level.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Reverend Vivian's pledge to fight and keep fighting was as constant as the smile that you would see on his face. Always jovial, always hopeful and optimistic about the day when we were all treated with equal dignity and respect.

We'll be right back.

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[14:38:3]

WHITFIELD: The U.S. has shattered another daily coronavirus record with more than three million cases and nearing 140,000 deaths. And among these alarming figures, health officials have continued to warn that hospitalizations are getting out of control in some very hard-hit areas. CNN's Paul Vercammen is in Los Angeles where that city's mayor is joining the chorus, warning things are heading in the wrong direction. Paul, what are you learning?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's right. And Fred, the mayor wants to stem the tide. He says this testing is critical. So here we are at the Crenshaw Christian Center, the mayor saying yesterday 62 more deaths, 2,885 new cases. Now, this center is run by L.A. City Fire, and Sean Penn's CORE group, and they're trying to really get testing done here in the heart of the African-American community. So far they've tested more than 120,000 people here.

And let's look at these deaths in Los Angeles. You've got 577 Asian residents, 400 black residents, 1,750 Latino resident, 971 white residents. And what the mayor is also suggesting is this is no longer a situation where you're seeing just seniors being ravaged by COVID- 19. He really wants to get the message out to younger people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI (D-CA), LOS ANGELES: And for those of you who think that young people are immune, that's simply not true. Thirty percent of people severely sick in the hospital are younger than 40 years old. And 8.4 percent of those infected in California are kids who are younger than 18 years old. (END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:40:00]

VERCAMMEN: And another big development in California, Governor Newsom coming out, and he has said that school will be online for most of the districts here in the state. That includes here in Los Angeles County and San Diego County. Those are the two biggest districts. So they are going with web, if you will, instruction for now. Counties can come off the governor's watch list if they meet certain criteria in terms of stemming the tide of hospitalizations and positive cases, but that's something that we're just going to have to wait and see. And for now, most of state will knoll resume school in the coming weeks. Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Vercammen in Los Angeles, thank you so much.

Texas is also seeing a disturbing rise in new cases and deaths. On Friday, the state reported another 174 new coronavirus deaths, setting a new record for the third day in a row. Nueces County, which encompasses Corpus Christi, says at least 85 babies under the age of one have tested positive for coronavirus.

Despite all of that, the Texas Republican Party is moving forward with plans for an in-person convention after winning a week-long legal battle. But the state's Republican governor is defending his order requiring a statewide use of masks.

Arizona, meantime, remains one of the hot spots for coronavirus. Cases in that state have been on the rise since June, and so have deaths. The surge in cases is also starting to fill up hospitals. The outbreak is now threatening to overwhelm medical centers in the sunbelt state.

Dr. Matthew Heinz is a hospital physician in Tucson. Doctor, good to see you again. So what has changed since the last time we spoke a couple of weeks ago?

DR. MATTHEW HEINZ, HOSPITALIST AND INTERNIST: I'm really sad to report that not a lot has changed. We are still seeing thousands of new cases every day. We are still within surge capacity for ICU utilization across the state, as well as overall hospital bed utilization and those surge levels, which are not sustainable long term. And unfortunately, I guess the one change that I would say that has occurred since we last spoke is that we're starting to see the mortality, or the death rate, catch up. Just today 147 people in the state of Arizona died as a result of coronavirus. Yesterday it was 91, 58 the day before. So that is jumping up, unfortunately, by leaps and bounds.

WHITFIELD: And if these cases continue to be on the upward trend, can Arizona hospitals, medical centers, health workers keep up this pace?

HEINZ: I don't think they can. I think that we're all working at the surge level and meeting the needs of the community at this time. But this is not something that can be sustained long term, which is why it's so important that we have the governor here and across all of the other red zone states. If they don't already have a mask requirement, please put one into effect, and consider at least a 30-day lockdown to keep people at home, to prevent the spread of this virus, and to prevent us from overwhelming our health centers.

WHITFIELD: Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are your colleagues feeling overwhelmed?

HEINZ: Yes, I think we all are. And we're doing our jobs. This is what we love to do. This is what we trained to do. But the people are so, so sick, and it's just so heartbreaking to see. And they can't have families with them in the hospitals anywhere because of the risk to the public. And it's just, it's hard to see that so many times, and to see folks succumb to this and sometimes die again and again. It's just a terrible virus. And we need to do everything in our power to make sure that no more people have it. You probably have heard that Maricopa County is bringing in 10 refrigerated units to augment their morgue capacity. That's just horrendous.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it really. Dr. Matthew Heinz, thank you so much. Hang in there, and, of course, be well, and we continue to wish the best for all of you and your colleagues.

HEINZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, 15 women accuse Washington NFL staffers of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. One of them joins me live next.

But first, a quick programming note. In an all new "United Shades of America," W. Kamau Bell examines how the idea of white supremacy shapes American laws, language, and societies to this day. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very conscious about that. And I remember when you were a little guy, six, seven years old. And there was a drugstore we would shop in, and as soon as we walked in the door the store detective would follow us.

[14:45:06]

I said be really careful, and I pointed out the store detective because we were always being watched.

W. KAMAU BELL, HOST, "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA": I remember that lesson, and it sticks with me today, so much so that I'm aware of when I'm in stores even now as a fully grown adult where my hands are. And then as a kid I was aware of it because I didn't want to be arrested. Now as an adult I've become aware of it because I don't want to be killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Catch the new episode tomorrow night at 10:00 right here on CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:4]

WHITFIELD: More than a dozen women are now accusing former staff members of Washington's NFL team, the Washington Redskins, of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. Several former employees and two journalists who cover the football team detailing disturbing allegations covering a span of 13 years in a bombshell "Washington Post" report. At least two of the accused Redskins staff members have been fired, and another had retired. CNN has not been able to reach them for comment.

The team has hired attorneys to conduct an independent review of the matter and to help set new employee standards. Joining me right now is Emily Applegate who worked as a marketing coordinator for the Washington football team and is one of the accusers who has decided to speak out publicly. Emily, good to see you. Why did you decide to come forward?

EMILY APPLEGATE, FORMER WASHINGTON REDSKINS EMPLOYEE: First, thank you so much for having me on today. I think that it was a conversation that we had so many times, me and my co-workers when we were there, and then even our time after we had left the organization. It was always something that we brought up all the time. And finally, we had an opportunity to get it out there, and I felt that it was important in order to have people take us serious and have people believe, we needed somebody that went on record. And I felt very comfortable doing so. I knew that going out, I'd be able to start making a change, and having this conversation, and hopefully making it better for women in sports that are currently there, or those young women in college that want to work in sports.

WHITFIELD: What would happen while you were there, when you felt people were acting inappropriately, when you felt harassed? What would happen when you would try to report it or issue a complaint about it?

APPLEGATE: There was no opportunity to do those things. There was one woman that was in the HR department, a very nice woman. However, I don't know if there was any really HR training for her. If we actually wanted to go file a complaint, I don't believe that it would have gotten past just us filing it, or sending an email over to her. Somebody that is a young woman making $30,000 a year and not producing income for this team is not going to be taken seriously and is not going to be chosen over the CMO of the company.

WHITFIELD: And this was a dream for you and for many others to work for this organization, to work with the Washington Redskins, and then to talk about what you spelled out in the "Washington Post" article as just not being taken seriously and being harassed on a regular basis, what was your -- what was that moment where you said it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to help fix things here, as long as I stay here, that it's time to, that I'll have to move on, and try to be a change agent after I leave?

APPLEGATE: For me, I was really fortunate to find a position with the University of Texas in their athletic program, and that place, I can't say any bad things about it. It was amazing. At the same time the story was breaking out at Baylor, which got me involved in the Austin community to help women of sexual violence. So then there came a time when the dream of working in sports just wasn't going to be going anywhere anymore. And in order for me to make a change as best I could, I needed to make a career change, which now I'm considering law school. So --

WHITFIELD: The NFL has released a statement, saying in part, "These matters as reported are serious, disturbing, and contrary to the NFL's values. Everyone in the NFL has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of harassment." So given that statement, what do you hope will happen? And what do you believe will actually happen?

APPLEGATE: What I hope will happen is they do actually take this serious and have teams make a change. Because it is not just the Washington organization, it is other teams across the NFL, it is teams across the MLB, the NBA. I have a lot of friends that went on to different organizations, and it's unfortunately something that happens, and not just in sports, in all industries.

So I hope that they do try to implement new procedures and policies at these places, and I do hope that they hire the people that will make sure that people are held responsible for their actions. There needs to be a well-educated HR team to handle these situations.

[14:55:04]

WHITFIELD: Emily Applegate, thank you so much for being with us. Be well.

APPLEGATE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN Newsroom continues with Ana Cabrera right after this.

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