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Trucker Protest Against COVID Restrictions Spreads Across Canada; NFL Commissioner: Lack of Black Coaches "Unacceptable"; Biden Meets With German Chancellor Amid Russia Invasion Threat; Navy SEAL Candidate Dead, Another Hospitalized after "Hell Week". Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired February 07, 2021 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:48]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: In Canada, thousands of protesters have joined with trucker demonstrations against COVID restrictions that began more than a week ago in the capital.

Take a look.

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CABRERA: Ottawa's mayor has now declared a state of emergency. And the police chief is calling it a nationwide insurrection driven by madness.

Now we are seeing similar scenes in several other Canadian cities, including Toronto, Quebec and Vancouver.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Paula Newton, is in the capital, Ottawa.

Paula, what are they protesting specifically?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, the word is, it's not specific. This started as a trucker's protest and they were actually protesting the vaccine mandate brought in simultaneously between the Biden administration and Trudeau government here.

The issue, though, is that it struck a nerve with a small minority of Canadians who were just sick and tired of all of these restrictions.

And they want vaccine mandates lifted. Mask mandates lifted. All kinds of restrictions. And say they're not moving until it happens. All of this.

And you mentioned there were protests all over the country this weekend. And yet, the most surreal thing is happening here in Ottawa. They are hunkered down in tractor trailers and on foot.

[13:35:10]

You can imagine, to have the entire place gridlocked. Like there would be gridlock in front of Capitol Hill in Washington.

They are right outside the prime minister's office and they continually say they aren't moving.

What's happened, in the meantime, is residents in that area say they're being held hostage. That this freedom has essentially -- this Freedom Convoy, as they call it, has essentially imposed a lockdown on them.

I want you to hear now from Ottawa's police chief, who said, look, this has to end. Listen.

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PETER SLOLY, CHIEF, OTTAWA POLICE DEPARTMENT: The stories coming to me are breaking my heart.

I had my own officers who live in and around those areas and they and their children have not been able to sleep. They and their children have not been able to go to school.

This is crushing for those residents and their businesses. It has to stop. And we are doing everything we can possibly do to stop it.

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NEWTON: And he mentioned the school going virtual. This is the heartbreaking thing about all of this. The restrictions were being lifted. Those kids have only been in school for a few weeks.

Businesses in this area, especially restaurants, just allowed to open in the last few days. They're closed, Ana. They're closed because of this protest.

And as you heard, many people now saying it just absolutely has to end.

CABRERA: Paula Newton, in Ottawa, thank you.

Georgia gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams, is pushing back after being criticized for this now-deleted photo of her without a mask in this classroom full of elementary students.

The Abrams campaign suggests the attacks are politically motivated.

Saying in a statement, "It is shameful that our opponents are using a Black History Month reading event for Georgia children as the impetus for a false political attack."

Abrams' campaign also told the "Atlanta Journal Constitution" that she wore a mask to that school but later removed it so she could be heard by students watching remotely and for the photos on the condition that everyone around her was wearing masks.

Abrams' critics point out her role in pushing for more stringent masking policies in schools during COVID.

Turning now to the NFL under fire. Did Commissioner Roger Goodell just admit there's something to a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a former head coach?

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CABRERA: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is now speaking out about the lack of black head coaches in the NFL and he's calling it unacceptable.

This follows the bombshell lawsuit by former Miami Dolphins head coach, Brian Flores, alleging racial discrimination.

We're talking about a league where 70 percent or so of the players are black. But only one head coach is black. Two teams are currently without a head coach.

Joining us is Michael Locksley, head coach at the University of Maryland. He's also founder and president of the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches.

I am so glad to have this conversation with you. Thank you for joining us.

First, you have Goodell's statement using the word "unacceptable" regarding the racial make-up of head coaches. That comes four days after the league said Flores' suit was without merit.

Your reaction to how the league and Goodell, how they're handling this?

MICHAEL LOCKSLEY, HEAD COACH, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND & FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, NATIONAL COALITION OF MINORITY FOOTBALL COACHES: One, I'm glad to hear that they recognize what we have known for quite a long time, that the hiring practices of the NFL have not been fair to minorities.

And part of solving a problem is understanding the problem. And that's what, as a coalition, we've set out to do since our inception. And we'll continue to monitor this hiring cycle with the NFL.

CABRERA: I want to highlight a quote from Goodell's memo to league executives and presidents.

He says, "We have made significant efforts to promote diversity and adopted numerous policies and programs which have produced positive change in many areas. However, we must acknowledge that, particularly with respect to head coaches, the results have been unacceptable." Michael, why is that? Why have NFL efforts fallen short?

LOCKSLEY: You know, that's something that I think Coach Flores' lawsuit really -- and I've used the analogy, in the game of football, when they missed calls and there were things that happen within a game that weren't fair, they created a challenge process.

And that challenge process made the game fair. It made it transparent to correct issues within the game.

And what I think Coach Flores has done is thrown a challenge flag into the hiring practices of the NFL.

And what we'd like to see, as minority coaches, is for them to take the same energy and the same processes that they use to make the game fair and get it right, is to do the same in the hiring process where it's transparent, it's fair, and it's open.

You continue to hear that we don't have enough capable head coaches in the pipeline, which we've shown is just not true.

And so what we hope is that this challenge flag of Coach Flores and his team has thrown, we zoom out on it and look at the big picture and say, let's go under the hood like we do when you want to fix issues that happen within the game.

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Let's be transparent, open and fair about it, and figure out why these hires continue to not include minorities.

CABRERA: With all the work you've done in your organization, you've said you've not been able to crack the code with the NFL.

What do you see as the number-one barrier?

LOCKSLEY: Well, I think it's the ability to have communications.

As far as the college game has gone, one of the things we did through the coalition is set up an academy where we took the qualified minority coaches that we thought had the tools necessary to lead programs.

And we paired them with some of the top athletic directors across the country to enable them to have access.

And this access took over a year. That access that these coaches had -- we've been able to see three coaches move into head coaching positions.

Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame, part of our academy, Tony Elliott at Virginia was part of our academy, and Jay Norvell also moved from Nevada to Colorado State.

And we really feel like part of the issue is the development of relationships amongst the minority coaches that have the ability and access to some of these owners, which we just don't have at the NFL level.

CABRERA: It sounds like you have a possible solution here.

The NFL has tried to implement the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview candidates from historically underrepresented groups for head coaching positions and other top jobs like G.M.

But the bottom line is qualified black coaches still are not being selected, even if they're getting the interviews.

So I wonder how much blame or focus should be on the NFL owners?

LOCKSLEY: Well, I think it starts and ends with the owners. They are the ones that really make the decisions on these hires.

I think the intent for the Rooney Rule was a great intent, but the execution of it has not helped the situation.

And as I said at the start --

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CABRERA: Forgive me for interrupting.

Let's go to the White House. President Biden is meeting with his German counterpart.

Let's listen.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- Chancellor Scholz.

We've met before, but this is first time I am able to host you in the White House.

And it's good to have a chance to get to know you more personally. We're going to spend some time together, I hope.

To state the obvious, Germany is one of America's closest allies. We are working in lockstep to further deter Russian aggression in Europe and to address the challenges posed by China and to promote stability in the western Balkans.

Then we have to take on the pandemic, climate change, and among many other issues.

So we have a lot to talk about, Mr. Chancellor.

And I'm looking forward to us working closely together with you and this year during Germany's presidency of the G-7. Looking forward to that as well.

So welcome, welcome, welcome.

The floor is yours, sir, if you wish to say anything.

OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: Thank you for having me here. And, really, I appreciate very much that we have the chance to discuss all the topics you raised. They are very important.

We are closest allies. And we are working intensely together. And this is necessary for doing the steps that we have to do for fighting against Russian aggression against Ukraine.

It's a very important meeting at a very important time.

BIDEN: Thank you all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Let's go.

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CABRERA: Again, we have the president meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The new chancellor visiting the U.S. They'll discuss many topics, as the president laid out.

However, first and foremost, top of mind is this developing crisis between Russia and Ukraine, and Germany's important role in helping to hopefully bring a diplomatic solution there.

We'll continue to follow their meeting and bring you any updates from that as we get them.

[13:49:13]

Meantime, one Navy SEAL candidate is dead and another is hospitalized after completing what's known as Hell Week. Up next, I'll speak with a former SEAL who went through this grueling training and he's going to tell us what it entails.

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CABRERA: The Navy is trying to determine why one seaman died and another was hospitalized shortly after they completed the infamous SEAL training phase known as "Hell Week."

It is a grueling mental and physical test where candidates are kept constantly cold, hungry, sleep deprived and wet.

Navy officials say 24-year-old Kyle Mullen and the other candidate began suffering symptoms several hours after the Sailor's Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL class.

Jason Redman is a retired Navy SEAL. He's now a speaker, a coach, and author of the book, "The Trident." He served in South America, Afghanistan and Iraq where he was shot three times.

Jason, we know the Mullen death is under investigation. But another trainee is still in the hospital.

You've been through Hell Week. Help us understand just how grueling it can be. Walk us through a typical day.

JASON REDMAN, RETIRED NAVY SEAL: Yes, Ana. Thank you so much for having me on.

And first off, just want to say my deepest condolences to the Mullen family.

Obviously, going through SEAL training is incredibly difficult. And for him to make it through Hell Week and not be here just thoughts and prayers.

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Hell Week is the biggest crucible of SEAL training. And it's designed to be the ultimate test of an individual's metal, their commitment, their ability to endure massive pain, discomfort, sleepless nights.

Really, to say there's a day in Hell Week is a little bit of a misnomer because the timeline doesn't stop. You have don't have a morning and a night and then a little bit of downtime.

During Hell Week, you'll only get about, on average, three hours of sleep. And those three hours of sleep are spaced out at different times.

You may earn a little bit of sleep by winning a race. But, typically, from that time, from Sunday afternoon until Friday afternoon, you're going nonstop.

You are carrying around -- your boat crew is carrying around about a 300-pound rubber boat, a inflatable boat and it is on your head everywhere you go.

We average -- the average student or the average class will cover about 200 miles during Hell Week, running around with that boat on their head.

You will row countless miles out in the San Diego Bay and off the coast of California. You will do surf passage. You will do rock portage where you take your boat over rocks and heavy surf.

You're still doing evolutions. You're doing the obstacle. You're doing surf emerging or surf therapy training where you sit in the ocean for long periods of time with your classmates and dealing with the cold, dealing with the sand.

You do complicated problems as a class, so it's building teamwork. But you're navigating through.

And then it culminates with some the evolutions on Friday that simulate a little bit of a combat environment, that final crucible after guys have been awake and tired and physically and mentally emotionally exhausted in that final crucial before typically Hell Week is secured.

CABRERA: Wow. Wow. You just described so much and I appreciate that. When you think back to your Hell Week, what stands out most to you?

What was the most challenging task or exercise had you to complete?

REDMAN: For me, it would be Thursday night. And I'll be honest, it is very rare that students quit toward the ends of the week.

You have -- the majority of the students that quit -- and make no mistake, almost 80 percent of the class quits during Hell Week.

And for me, we had been told, or I had been told by a buddy, "If you make until Thursday night or if you make it to Wednesday morning, it gets easier."

And Thursday night was my hardest night of Hell Week. The temperature in San Diego -- I went through in March of '95 -- and the temperature in San Diego had dropped in the high 40s.

And we just continued, myself and my boat crew continued to fail at some of the evolutions we were doing, some of the races.

I'll never forget, at one point, in the middle of the night, I'm standing on top of a 10-meter platform with my arms out and the wind is whipping off the San Diego Bay at about 30 knots. I'm freezing,

And I remember my buddy's words, "Make it to Wednesday morning, it will get easier." And I was like, "I'm going to quit."

CABRERA: Oh, gosh.

REDMAN: And thankfully, I did not. I realized, if I quit, I wouldn't make it through training. So I sucked it up and made it through.

CABRERA: Just so much grit there.

I only have 30 seconds before I hand it off. But do you think there's any way to make this training safer?

REDMAN: I think they do amazing job making this training as safe as possible. Unfortunately, there's always a balance that we must have between training to the highest-levels.

Combat is incredibly hard. I owe my life to many of the foundations of SEAL training that overcomes the mindset. To be shot and bleeding out in an intense firefight. It is built in SEAL training.

We put tremendous safeguards in place. I know that the instructors and the staff did a great job.

I hate what happened to Seaman Mullen but I know for a fact that the medical assessments they do, they do multiple a day during Hell Week.

And I know if they had seen anything, they would have taken care of it in that moment.

They would have even possibly pulled Seaman Mullen before training ended if they there was anything that they saw he was in medical duress or had any deep concerns.

CABRERA: Jason Redman, I really appreciate your insights. Thank you for spending time with us today.

REDMAN: Ana, thank you for having me.

CABRERA: That does it for us. Thank you so much for joining us. Let's do it again tomorrow, same time, same place. Until then, join me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.

See you.

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