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Who Will Become the Bush Administration's Next Nominee for Supreme Court?; Falcon Flap

Aired October 27, 2005 - 13:35   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now the guessing game begins. Who will become the Bush administration's next nominee for the Supreme Court? The list is long, and probably more secretive than ever. So let's narrow the field with some of the most prominent candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Alberto Gonzalez is both a familiar face in the Bush administration and a familiar concern. Conservatives have urged the president to not nominate him. First, though, his qualifications. The 48-year-old Gonzales serve says as a U.S. attorney general. He previously worked in the president's inner circle, most recently as White House counsel, before that in a number of positions for the then-Governor Bush. Those appointments culminated with his placement on the Texas Supreme Court.

But some conservatives fear that Gonzalez is too moderate, although many influential Republicans have been impressed by his political savvy, and that he could be very powerful.

Gonzalez would be the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. Retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has said she would like a woman to replace her, and there are several candidates. One is Janice Rogers Brown, who won confirmation to a federal appellate court after a bitter and drawn-out fight on Capitol Hill. Conservatives would likely embrace Brown, and her outspoken comments against abortion. But Democrats have already denounced her as extreme. A long fight could likely greet Brown's nomination.

Or that of Priscilla Owen. Democrats had also blocked Owen's nomination to an appellate court, and leading Democrats portray her as Extreme, just like Brown. And in a similarity to fellow candidate Gonzalez, Owen, too, sat on Texas' Supreme Court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, we'll move on for now, but we'll have much more on what's next and who's next coming up on today -- later in the show.

(NEWSBREAK)

PHILLIPS: U.S. Air Force Academy again in the news for very unacademic behavior. The Falcon football coach, their most successful coach ever, is in hot water today for making a comment that some say makes him a racist. It's not the coach's first time he's been in trouble. Here's CNN's Sean Callebs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a humbling experience for the Air Force Academy's "winningest" football coach, Fisher DeBerry.

DEBERRY: It's my desire to make a public apology for the remarks that I made recently about minority recruitment,

CALLEBS: DeBerry is a powerful man, used to getting his way after 22 years as a head coach, 17 winning seasons. But by his own admission, this time he went too far.

FISHER DEBERRY, AIR FORCE ACADEMY FOOTBALL COACH: I have made a mistake. And I ask for everyone's forgiveness. I regret these statements. And I sincerely hope that they will not reflect negligently toward the Academy.

CALLEBS: DeBerry fumbled into this controversy after his team suffered a thrashing at the hands of Texas Christian University. The coach said the Academy needed faster players, more African-American athletes.

DEBERRY: African-American kids can run very, very well.

CALLEBS: Those comments fuel talk radio. Those against and those who support what he said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I read the comments, I didn't see it as a stab at any particular group. I saw it as more of a compliment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just stupid. I mean, he could have easily made his point by saying, we don't have the forces.

CALLEBS: DeBerry He has won 161 games here. And as a civilian contractor working for the government, records show he's paid more than $560,000 a year. A former player I spoke with recently who is now an Air Force officer and wants his identity protected, says the coach has immense authority here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They call him General DeBerry. They call him five-star General DeBerry. They say he's got the power of a five-star general.

CALLEBS: It's the second time in two years the 67-year-old has caused a public outcry here. A devote Christian, DeBerry was forced to remove a banner from the locker room last season that read, "I belong to team Jesus."

The Academy has been fighting controversies over the past two years, including allegations that evangelical Christians on campus have been overzealous in proselytizing other students.

Even with the issues of race and religion hanging over him, DeBerry is adamant he won't be forced to quit.

DEBERRY: There has been no consideration for stepping down from my job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So what do you think about this coach? Did he make a forgivable mistake or are we seeing a pattern of behavior? And would a less successful coach still have a job? Tell us, livefrom@CNN.com. Keep it short. We hope to read your e-mail on the air.

Well, straight ahead, tired of pretending, and seeking peace of mind. Reigning WNBA and MVP Sheryl Swoopes announces that she's gay and she wants the world to know about it. Up next, she joins me on LIVE FROM from Houston to tell us why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: This video just in -- or rather, live pictures now via our affiliate WSVN. That's out of Miami. But this live picture is in Pompano Beach, Florida. The president of the United States, as he's surrounded by his secret service there, greeting residents, getting hugs and kisses from a lot of people there, obviously, glad to see him.

The president trying to take a tour of the devastated areas there in Florida since Wilma hit. We've brought you live pictures throughout the past couple of days. Lack of water, lack of ice. A lot of people in certain parts of Florida pretty desperate for help, hoping to get some answering from the president as he starts to tour that area right now in Pompano Beach. We'll follow the president and bring you more live pictures as we get them.

Well, she's a legend on the court, with more records than we've got time to enumerate. But that long list happens to include three- time MVP for the WNBA. Sheryl Swoopes is also the first woman's basketball player to rate the honor of having a Nike shoe named after her. She's got game, that's for sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, we got Swoopes mixing it up with one of the -- (INAUDIBLE) and Sheryl Swoopes flips up from behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And now she's mixing it up off the court as well with the decision to come out about her sexuality. Sheryl Swoopes joins me live from Houston to talk about why she decided to take this step and what she thinks it means for her career. Sheryl, great to see.

SHERYL SWOOPES, WNBA PLAYER: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

PHILLIPS: Well, what happened, Sheryl? Was it a person, a moment? Something deep in your heart and you just thought, this is it, I've got do it now?

SWOOPES: I think it was a combination of all of those things. You know, I've been with my partner now for about six years -- seven years. And I just felt like I've been living a lie for at least seven years and have not been able to be who I am, haven't been happy and just feel like I've been sacrificing that part of my life. And you know, it got to a point to where, you know, I said, all right. I'm ready to do it, and, you know, there's no better time than the present.

PHILLIPS: You mention your partner, Alissa Scott (ph). Tell us about her.

SWOOPES: Wow.

PHILLIPS: Tremendous support.

SWOOPES; Absolutely. You know what? She's my best friend, first of all. We talk about any and everything. And, you know, like any normal couple, we have our fights and arguments and disagreements. But the love of my life and she has been there with me and for me through thick and thin and is definitely a big supporter of mine. And I couldn't be happier right now.

PHILLIPS: And, obviously, the two of you had to talk about this, a pretty huge move. And, you know, she's involved with athletics as well and I know that it's frustrating for you. And actually, I want to hear it from you, you know, whether it's any type of female athlete. So many times, you hear people say, oh, she's a really good athlete. Yes, she's gay. There's this stereotype. Does that just drive you nuts?

SWOOPES: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Because it's so not true.

SWOOPES: It's definitely not true. And I think especially when you talk about female sports -- it doesn't have to be just basketball or softball or soccer -- I think any time you talk about professional or women in sports, period. And as you said, especially if they're good at what they do, you know, there's got to be a reason behind that. And that reason is usually, oh, well, she must be gay.

And I think it's so unfortunate because it's really taken away what the focus should be on, which is just how great of an athlete we are. You know, we're just as good as the men are, we're just as competitive, we work just as hard. And we're fun and exciting and we're a joy to watch.

So it's very frustrating for me, as a female athlete, not just a basketball player, the fact that, you know, that's usually what people want to talk about when they talk about women in sports. Because there's so much more to what we bring to the game than our sexuality.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about some of the fears for a minute, Sheryl. I have other friends that play professional athletics, and they're gay, and they don't want to come out because they're very concerned about sponsorship. They'll say oh, no way, Kyra, such and such just took me on and there's no way I'm coming out of the closet. Did you ever feel that way, that if you did come out, there could be financial repercussions? That you could lose your job, that you could lose your big sponsorship, you could lose your tennis shoes?

SWOOPES: You know, I have to say that that has definitely been in the back of my mind. But until I watched the "L Word," and I saw Dana, who played tennis on "The L Word," and she came out and she had huge sponsorships. No, I'm kidding.

You know, obviously, I think that's a huge concern for a lot of people who are in my shoes and who are battling with whether they want to do it or and not. And that was in the back of my mind. You know, if I would have wanted to do this four or five years ago, I probably would have -- for the simple fact of, you know -- I don't know if I'd lose my endorsement deal with Nike, what is the WNBA going think, what are they going say? And you know, even more than that, you know, what are the fans going to say?

And those were huge concerns of mine. But I have to say after doing this yesterday and, you know, all of the media yesterday and today and in speaking with my sponsors, everybody has been very supportive. And it's just made it a lot easier for me and it's -- it just makes me that much happier that I decided to do it.

PHILLIPS: Now, let's -- well, let's talk about sponsorship for a minute, because you're coming out and talking about how you're going to represent this lesbian cruise lines. Now, it's not Nike, yet, you've had your deals with Nike. So it easier because this is a lesbian cruise line that you don't -- you're not so concerned? Or -- do you still have a deal with Nike right now? Is that -- now are you concerned about that? You know, play out the difference here among...

SWOOPES: No, I still have a deal with Nike. I'm actually with Nike for another five years.

PHILLIPS: How did they react to this?

SWOOPES: I spoke with Ray Pom (ph) from Nike a couple of days ago , and she said Sheryl, you know what, we're proud of you, we're happy for you, we support you, we're behind you. This isn't going change our relationship, and you know, if there's anything we can do, we're here for you, and that was very, very, very comforting to me just to hear that coming from her.

PHILLIPS: Sure.

SWOOPES: And with Olivia, going back to the first question you asked me about people being afraid of losing sponsorships, you know, I -- it's good to know that I can actually represent a company such as Olivia and not be afraid of losing my job, you know.

PHILLIPS: It's comforting.

SWOOPES: Absolutely. It's very comforting. You know, they're representing everything that I want to be able to do and, you know, that's live, and be free and be able to be who I am and, you know, there are other people who can relate to where I'm coming from. And Olivia is a very strong and powerful company, and hopefully the relationship that I'm going have with them will be one that will last for a while.

PHILLIPS: Sheryl, let me ask you about your son Jordan, named after, of course, your hero and friend Michael Jordan, eight years old. How is he dealing with this? How are you talking to him about this?

SWOOPES: You know, I try to not overwhelm him. Even though, in my opinion, he's the smartest 8-year-old I know.

PHILLIPS: He had to grow up fast. He's got a famous mom, and now this is a whole another step.

SWOOPES: But you know, there's only so much information that I'm going give him right now, and there's only so much he even wants to hear, but you know, we had a discussion about it the other day and, you know, he said OK. You know, he was fine with it. He knows, but he doesn't really know.

But again, I feel like what I'm doing right now probably couldn't have happened at a better time, and you know, Jordan absolutely loves his mom. He's very protective of his mom, which is, you know, the same thing I am, and I would absolutely do everything in my power to protect him, and I know it's going to be hard. I know it's going to be difficult for me. It's going to be difficult for him, because there are some mean and ugly people in this world, unfortunately, but hopefully I will be able to prepare him enough where when people come to him and say ugly things, you know, your mom is gay, or you have two moms, and you know, he'll be okay with that and he'll understand how to respond to that, you know, and we just got to cross those bridges when we come to them.

PHILLIPS: Well, Sheryl Swoopes, you're beautiful, you're smart, so what if you're gay. You're an incredible athlete. You're a tremendous role model.

SWOOPES: Thank you. Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Well, I thank you for talking with me today.

SWOOPES: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: My pleasure.

SWOOPES: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Coming up in the second hour from LIVE FROM, stranded in Mexico and looking for a way out. Just ahead, the latest on American tourists seeking federal help to get out of there.

Also, the latest from Washington as Harriet Miers withdraws as Supreme Court nominee. We're live with the latest.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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