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CNN This Morning

Upsets Continue As Japan Beats Germany In Soccer Shocker; German Squad Covers Mouths In Protest Of Free Speech Crackdown; Violent Protests Erupt At World's Largest iPhone Factory; Workers Offered $1,400 To Quit & Leave World's Largest iPhone Factory; New Documentary Profiles Shaquille O'Neal's Life & Legacy; Elton John Marks Final U.S. Performance With Show On 5th Avenue. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 24, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Briana Scurry, she was, of course, the goalkeeper for USA's legendary 1999 Women's World Cup team. And she is the author of, "My Greatest Save: The Brave Barrier Breaking Journey Of A World Champion Goalkeeper." We're so happy to have you on this morning. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

BRIANA SCURRY, 2X OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST AND FIFA WORLD CUP CHAMPION: Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you.

LEMON: So, listen, there's a lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot of upsets and a lot of controversy. Quite frankly, a lot of attention being paid this time around to the World Cup. What do you make of this? Have you ever seen this much attention paid, especially to social issues?

SCURRY: Not this much, but the World Cup always has some kind of drama surrounding it. And it's interesting to me that, you know, FIFA chose Qatar as the host country. And when you choose the country, you choose the consequences. And Qatar has, you know, laws on the books against homosexuals. It's illegal and, you know, punishable to up three years in prison. So when you know that going in and you choose that country, you're bound to have some clashes and some, you know, disruptions in the football.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: The flip side of that is that because all of these players are speaking out, protesting, I think we can show people the German team covering their mouths in protest yesterday, saying it's not about making a political statement. They said human rights are nonnegotiable that brings these issues.

I don't think, you know, many people around the world knew exactly what the laws were in Qatar on this, and now they do, right? So they're -- I mean, how impactful have these protests been?

SCURRY: They've been incredibly impactful. I feel also, like you said, it's backfired.

HARLOW: Yes.

SCURRY: You know, the effort to say in the media that we're inclusive and then clearly stopping people who are wearing anything rainbow into the pitch, into the stadiums is a controversy. Obviously, it's a contradiction. It's a hypocrisy of what you're trying to say and what you're actually doing.

And so I think doing all of that has really brought to light more attention, way more attention than I think wearing a rainbow armband would have brought. So, I don't know. I think it backfired, and I'm excited about it. And I'm glad that these players are stepping up and being allies and to, you know, the gay community.

LEMON: Do you want to see -- if we saw the German team there, would you like to see more solidarity, you know, in the form of expression of solidarity, the human rights from the U.S. team?

SCURRY: I would. And I'm sure the guys have something in mind. I'm not absolutely certain, but surely they will show. And what I want more than anything for them is to understand the gravity of the moment. I think they do. This stage is the biggest stage there is, and not only to put in a great performance, but represent all Americans really well in the game tomorrow against England.

HARLOW: All right, let's talk about that game, right? What's it's --

SCURRY: Yes.

HARLOW: You have some advice about going in as the underdog. And also you've got a very close eye on Ghana.

SCURRY: I do, I do. So for the USA-England game, it's not all or nothing, but at least a point. So they got to go in there. They know that they're not favored because of the first two games that each team has played. England dominated. They absolutely dominated Iran the other day and they look fantastic. I've never seen England look so good.

And so it's going to be interesting because there's no pressure, really, from the outside world on USA, only pressure that they have on themselves. And so they come and put a great performance. Two halves, two halves together. I think they can get a point and maybe pull it a great upset.

LEMON: I think everybody can sort of throw their score cards out, if you will, right, Briana? Because all of these upsets --

HARLOW: So many upsets.

LEMON: What is this?

SCURRY: Well, actually, guys, you know, upsets are somewhat common in soccer, not just because it's a World Cup, but also because if you look at those two games with Argentina and Saudi Arabia, and then yesterday with Japan and Germany, the favorite team didn't put the game away early. They had multiple opportunities. It was only 1-0 going into the crucial minutes of the game at the end.

And the other team either got lucky or they got a break or somebody made a great play and a great moment. And so, if you don't put the game to bed early, when you have so many chances, upsets usually tend to bite you.

HARLOW: We -- I'm actually going to try to watch. I've never watched World Cup, am I terrible human? And I'm going to watch tomorrow. I'm going to watch. And all the crew in here is like so disappointed with me.

LEMON: The World Cup, and yet you criticize me for not being a fan of mac and cheese. That is unamerican.

HARLOW: I will be watching. Have a great, great Thanksgiving --

LEMON: Happy Thanksgiving to you, Briana.

HARLOW: -- Briana. Thank you. And congrats on the book.

LEMON: Yes.

HARLOW: On it.

SCURRY: Thank you.

HARLOW: Really congrats. Thanks --

LEMON: See you soon.

HARLOW: -- very much.

SCURRY: Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

LEMON: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

SCURRY: Thank you.

HARLOW: Violent clashes, we showed you them yesterday on the program, erupting at the world's biggest iPhone factory in China. This is a Foxconn factory.

[08:35:06]

Workers and police faced off and this morning we're getting a major -- word of a major development. We'll take you live to China next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back to CNN This Morning. And new this morning, the world's largest iPhone factory in China has now offered to pay new workers $1,400 to quit and leave their jobs. This is after violent protest between employees and security forces broke out at the Foxconn compound this week.

Selina Wang joins us again live this morning from Beijing. What's the latest?

SELINA WANG. CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, we've obtained new videos showing just how those protests at the Foxconn factory in central China turned violent. These workers, they've been angry about wages or angry about dirty living conditions and chaotic COVID rules. We know that squadrons of riot police rolled in to suppress the protesters.

In one video, you could see a group of police wearing white hazmat suits. They're beating workers with batons and metal rods. Another video shows workers tearing down those COVID barriers, masses of them, throwing the metal parts of the COVID barriers towards police.

[08:40:07]

We've also obtained another video that shows a group of workers that are working together to push over a police car. They're cheering and chanting as they push the car over. Now, Foxconn is desperately trying to calm things down. They are now offering to pay those newly recruited workers the equivalent of $1,400 to quit and leave the factory.

We've seen videos of workers lining up to leave, but that puts even more pressure on Apple. They need those workers ahead of the holiday season. They've already announced that these COVID lockdowns in China are impacting shipments and making them more delayed because this is where analysts estimate that more than half of the world's iPhones are produced, Poppy.

HARLOW: They are so tightly intertwined, Foxconn and Apple, and Apple is quite reliant on that factory. I know that you spoke with an employee at the scene of the protest. I wonder what they told you.

WANG: Yes, exactly, Poppy. Foxconn is the most critical supplier for Apple. I did speak to a Foxconn employee. This worker told us that scenes at the protest turned into a river of blood with police ruthlessly hitting workers. He also explained the payment issue here. So, weeks ago, there was a mass exodus of workers from the Foxconn factory after there was a covert outbreak.

People literally walked miles across highways to escape the terrible living conditions. To try and attract more workers in this critical time period, Foxconn went on this mass recruitment drive, promising higher pay, better bonuses. But this worker said that when new workers got to the plant, the pay package that they got was much worse than advertised and they felt cheated.

Now, Foxconn, for its part, is blaming the payment issue on a, quote, technical error. Now, Poppy, this is an unusual, rare public display of dissent in authoritarian China. But we have seen more violent clashes like this breakout during the pandemic as we see more and more cities --

HARLOW: Yes.

WANG: -- go into these draconian lockdowns, still in the third year of the pandemic. HARLOW: Right. The, you know, results love the zero-COVID policy that they continue to follow. Selina, thanks for following this for us.

LEMON: So coming up, I sat down with NBA legend. Everyone -- I mean, we have Shaquille O'Neal on the tracker (ph).

HARLOW: It's Shaq.

LEMON: Everybody knows who Shaq is. I talked to him about his documentary on his path to greatness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, NBA HALL OF FAMER: A young, medium level juvenile delinquent, when he decided to listen, when he decided to learn how to be a leader instead of a follower, changed his life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:46:47]

LEMON: So you know him as Shaq, but what was Shaquille O'Neal like before the bright lights of the NBA? A new HBO documentary tells the story of how the basketball superstar got his start.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meet Shaquille O'Neal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's up, baby?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mom always used to say --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something special about that one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take you back 13 years old, 6'9. There was a guy who says, you're 6'9 and you can't dunk. I gave him the beat down of his life. My father always told me, I'm going to make you better than I was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you boy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dad will always tell us, you all might hate my ways, but you love my results.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His words, if you listen to me, I make you one of the best basketball players ever. When I won the championship, my father says, you know how we roll, brother. Go get another one. Yes, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, I sat down with the NBA legend to talk about his legacy on and off the court. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Joining me right now is Shaquille O'Neal. You know him as Shaq. Hi, Shaq. How are you doing, brother?

O'NEAL: Hello, Mr. Don Lemon. How are you, sir?

LEMON: I'm doing very well. I'm very happy to talk to you about this documentary because you really open up and then you share all these details about your insecurities while growing up playing basketball as a child. You said that you weren't very good, but I mean, here you are, that's what you say. Now, you're a legend. Why are you talking about this now when you're a basketball legend?

O'NEAL: Well, you know, I felt that it was time. I -- most of the time, I only give people the part of me. I like to be a jovial guy, and as to be a friendly guy, a nice guy, but I wasn't always like that, you know, through trials and tribulations. You now have the character known as Shaq.

But what was I'm going to say was a really rough lifestyle kind of, but listen to my parents, listen to my coaches and follow my dreams and never gave up. And we all know the end result. So my message to the children is always listen to your mommy and daddy because they know best.

LEMON: Yes. Look, I relate to this because I was tall, you know, and then I stopped. I didn't get as tall as you, but I was never really --

O'NEAL: You were never tall, Don, stop it. You were never tall, stop it.

LEMON: I grew fast and then I stopped. But I wasn't real good at basketball. I was tall for my age and then, seriously, and then I stopped. But you said that you weren't particularly good at basketball, you weren't particularly good at sports. I can relate to that. But you put in the hard works, you got your legs and your arms coordinated. The sport didn't exactly come easy for you and I imagine that's another message that you want to share with kids.

O'NEAL: Yes. You just have to -- listen, it's not going to come tomorrow, it's not going to come today after tomorrow. You have to work. You have to continue to work. I really would like to thank Julius Ervin and Magic Johnson for inspiring me. Because a lot of times when I thought I wasn't good and I wasn't going to make it, I just used to watch them and say to myself, I want to be like Doctor J. I want to be like Magic Johnson. I want to be like David Robson.

So I like to thank those brothers for inspiring me to be who I am today. Thank you very much. Love you, fellas.

LEMON: Let's talk about this, our alma mater LSU. I can't believe, I mean, it wasn't until recently that you realized that I actually went to LSU that you --

O'NEAL: I never knew that, no. LEMON: I know. You met Dale Brown, who was a head basketball coach there. When I was going, I went there, I started going there in '84. I was on the ten-year plan, but, you know, I was there when you were there as well.

[08:50:07]

You met him when he visited your school at a military base in Germany. Why LSU? Why did you think he and LSU were so special?

O'NEAL: Because I was 13 years old and nobody felt like a player, nobody felt I was good. I went to watch this coach speak, and I asked him, how could I strengthen my lower extremities. Before I went to see him, I wanted to look in the dictionary and sound smart.

So the word I came upon was extremities. So I said, coach, could you send me a program to help me strengthen my lower extremities? He sent me the program. I did everything to a team, didn't make the team. The next year, wrote him a letter back. I was like, you know what, Sam? I just want to join the army.

He wrote me a letter back and said, no, there's a scholarship. If you want, you can become the manager, you know, you can be assistant coach. I just want you to get your education. I'll pay for it because I like you. You know, I like your approach, I like your family. I'll pay for your school.

You know, he offered to pay for my school. So then when I left Germany and went back to Texas and became, you know, the number one high school player, all these schools wanted me, but I was like, you know what? Before, I was a Shaq and nobody knew who I was, Dale Brown know who I was. So I decided to go to LSU.

LEMON: You did -- what did you do in three years, three seasons, I should say, before turning pro in your senior year. And this documentary digs into that decision to go pro. Do you still think that was the right choice?

O'NEAL: Yes, I think it was the right choice because, you know, I think I was actually too good for college basketball, and it was the point to, you know, financially help my family out. You know, kudos to my mother and father. I wanted to come on my sophomore year, but my father says to me, we've been broke for 17 years, we can't be broke for 18 years.

So, you know, he wanted me to really, really focus on education. He wasn't, you know, concerned or impressed that I could have possibly been the number one pick and make a lot of money. He wanted me to have an education, so.

LEMON: Yes. Well speaking of being --

O'NEAL: Great, great parenting right there. Speaking of being too good, let's see, 1992, you're Rookie of the Year. Numerous All-Star games, finals MVP awards. You are one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All Star Game MVP, Finals MVP award in the same year. Michael Jordan and Willis Reed being the only other two.

You have four NBA championship rings. I mean, what does that mean to you? Do you ever think about that? And what are the highlights for you? It means that our young, medium level juvenile delinquent. When he decided to listen, when he decided to learn how to be a leader instead of a follower, changed his life, changed his family's life, was able to follow all his dreams. Because it was points where I just used to do a lot of irrational thinking and just do a lot of crazy things.

But my father came and said, hey, man, this is the time of your life. You're 13 now. You're going to be a man in four years. In four years, you're going to go to college, you're going to be by yourself. One day you're going to get married, you're going to have children. If things are done right, you can have your own sneaker. You could do movies, you could do rap albums.

Drill sergeant told me all the things that came true in my life, and once I decided to listen, they all came true.

LEMON: You hinted last month that you will be the owner of an NBA team in the near future. What's up with that, Shaq?

O'NEAL: I'm still working on it. I wish I could give you more, but I'm still working on it.

LEMON: OK. Is that good news?

O'NEAL: Yes, I think it is. I think it is. But I don't really like to come out and say, I'm doing this, I'm doing that. I like to wait until the deal is done, and once the deal is done, I'll let you know.

LEMON: So as we say in the news, stay tuned?

O'NEAL: Yes, stay tuned would be correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Love that guy.

HARLOW: Pretty great interview.

LEMON: He's really great. And I love that he knows that -- you listen to your elders, listen to the people who know and have been there before --

HARLOW: A great dad.

LEMON: Yes.

HARLOW: That he had, right?

LEMON: Yes. A pretty great dad. His dad and also Dale Brown, the --

HARLOW: Yes.

LEMON: -- basketball coach at LSU. A lot of people didn't know that. Good guy. Good guy.

HARLOW: All right. So --

LEMON: Thanks, Shaq.

HARLOW: -- we have some --

LEMON: Happy Thanksgiving to you.

HARLOW: Thank you, Shaq. You have some fun coming up. Just days after saying his final farewell to the Yellow Brick Road, Elton John couldn't say goodbye without one last performance in New York City.

(SINGING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:58:41]

(SINGING)

HARLOW: Would you like to keep singing?

LEMON: No.

HARLOW: Don, he's been serenading me all morning. But this is, you know, the original. Elton John lighting up New York City literally. This week, on the heels of the Rocket Man's final U.S. top of his farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, he made one last surprise performance of his hit song, "Your Song", to help unveil Saks Fifth Avenue's annual window and light show.

(SINGING)

HARLOW: Great.

(SINGING)

LEMON: I mean --

HARLOW: The best.

LEMON: -- how could you not sing that? How could you not sing last night? We had so much fun.

HARLOW: How wonderful life is with you in the world.

LEMON: Oh yes, yes.

HARLOW: That was for you.

LEMON: Thank you, Poppy. Look, Billy Joel, that's us, hanging out with Billy Joel.

HARLOW: Last night.

LEMON: That was last night.

HARLOW: At the Garden --

LEMON: Yes.

HARLOW: -- Epic.

LEMON: And Poppy cut out early because she has kids. But Kaitlan --

HARLOW: No, I did not, because we needed one anchor here guaranteed this morning.

LEMON: Look, that's me and Kaitlan.

HARLOW: Oh, this is what happens when Mama leaves. When I leave, the kids party.

LEMON: We had such a great time. It was Kaitlan's first time at that -- you guys cut that video off early, like, don't do this. A boss was called. Take that down. She never been to MSG.

HARLOW: She was so great. She's got moves. I think she schooled you.

LEMON: Yes.

HARLOW: And "Uptown Girls", her favorite song. And so she got to hear it live from Billy Joel. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

LEMON: Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone. Thanks for joining us. Be safe. Eat too much, watch too much football. Just do it all today and just be grateful and happy.

HARLOW: We're grateful for you. Newsroom is now.