Shownotes
Inspiring Youth With Personal Experience: "Just because you start a certain way doesn't mean you have to finish this way." - Antonio Gordon
We're thrilled to bring you Antonio Gordon, an inspiring community leader dedicated to youth development and community progress.
In This Episode:
- Reflections in Basketball: Antonio Gordon shares memories of playing with and admiring basketball talents. He talks about influential figures, including John Davis, and credits his ex-wife for her unwavering support.
- Legacy and Values: Antonio opens up about his desire to be remembered as "unselfish" and touches on the annoyance of selfishness. His humorous critique extends to social etiquette at barbecues and dealing with unexpected child drop-offs at social gatherings.
- Youth Development Initiatives: Both Kenneth and Antonio emphasize the importance of exposing youth to various career paths beyond sports. They discuss the need for strong parental guidance and developing programs that support children in all facets of life.
- The TNT Program: Antonio delves into "Thursday Night Thrillers" (TNT), a community initiative offering positive activities like basketball, along with essential resources such as meals and supplies. He reveals his plans to include children with disabilities in sports activities through a partnership with the Special Olympics of Ohio.
- Supporting Local Teams: Antonio shares his love for local sports teams, supporting the Cleveland Browns and Ohio State. His passionate defense of NBA star LeBron James underscores generational debates around basketball GOATs.
- Parental Pride: Learn about Antonio's heartfelt bond with his daughter, Kennedy, her proactive role in community initiatives, and the importance of maintaining high academic standards to secure her college future. Antonio also discusses his pride in both his children’s achievements.
- Community and Personal Impact: Antonio and Kenneth tackle community engagement topics, discussing how new shoes and accessories can boost youth confidence and the cultural importance of maintaining a fresh look.
Key Moments
00:00 Discussing community program "Thursday Night Thrillers".
05:06 Implemented resources I needed to reduce violence.
07:17 Vulnerability helps connect with and guide youth.
12:16 Athletic aspirations often lead to disappointment, depression.
14:16 Parents must prepare kids for life beyond sports.
18:23 Pushing too hard can drive kids away.
20:46 Excited for prom, living through children.
23:55 Helping others brings fulfillment and personal growth.
27:58 Considering comfortable, versatile shoes for everyday wear.
30:26 Hope for continued peace and adequate resources.
33:47 Dad influenced my education and basketball career.
38:32 Cookout pet peeve: Guests arrive unprepared, troublesome kids.
43:01 Expanding activities for inclusive youth participation.
46:10 Opinions on basketball GOAT differ by generation.
48:45 Whitehall parks and rec instrumental last 2 years.
52:27 Assemblies always ruin new shoes' condition.
56:07 Appreciation, podcast participation, community impact, informal chat.
talkofthecounty@franklincountyohio.gov
Copyright 2024 Franklin County Board of Commissioners
Transcripts
We are here for another episode of Talk of the County. One that I've been looking forward to for some time, because there's a, good things going on in our community, despite some of the negativity that we hear, surrounding our youth in, a sense of hopelessness in some cases around the future of our youth in in particular neighborhoods. But I'm here with Antonio Gordon, who is a valued community partner of Franklin County and the creator of Thursday Night Thrillers. It's a great partnership, that includes Franklin County, has military component. He has the whole city of Whitehall, behind it, the support of Whitehall Parks and Rec. Whitehall Police Department is truly a community affair. I was, blessed to have the opportunity to witness it, up close, this summer. And I I've been looking forward to the opportunity to just sit back and chop it up with, mister Gordon, and talk about, what led him to create, this program and what life experiences, make working with you such a passion.
Kenneth Wilson [:I mean, god yeah. I've seen you you give beds away. You gave at least one car away. Yeah. And we all know transportation, is so vital in in in many communities because it provides access to jobs, health services, educational opportunities, because we wanna make, improvements to transportation mobility in the county, but we're not there yet. And and not having transportation is a great barrier for people. But that's just an overview. Tell us tell me tell, listeners of, Talk of the County a little bit about, you as an individual and and and what led you to say that this is something that I could do, where a lot of other people would sit back and say, this is something I would like to do, but you did it.
Kenneth Wilson [:You did it. My understanding, you did it even before you had partners. You just you just said, if not me, who? Right. And just went about it.
Antonio Gordon [:I think sometimes, I feel like in order to help people, sometimes put yourself in those situations. And for some of these kids that that we do reach, I was these kids. Coming up in the North Lindon area, 9th grade dropout, of Lindon McKinley, wasn't really many things to do once you drop out, so you find yourself hanging with, you know, different type of people. I was blessed to go back and get my GED. I did enlist in the United States Navy, and that didn't work out. So I left there and, played college basketball. So I felt like with the way my life had went, with the things that I've done, I'm able to get back to the youth and and show them that just because you start a certain way doesn't mean you have to finish this way. So I think me having the the lifestyle that I grew up helped me, reach these kids, because I'm someone that they can gravitate to.
Antonio Gordon [:I can't tell you about being hungry if you've never been hungry, if I've never been hungry. So I think a lot of the things that I've implemented inside of TNT and Thursday night thrillers, I was that child.
Kenneth Wilson [:And, you use the diversity of your life experiences to connect to youth that are involved in TNT. Talk about the the actual results, and the results are what what really matters. You know, though, you know, the fact that there were no, you know, violence, no, you know, no beefing. They were just balling during these events. And tell me how you infuse opportunities in between the dribbles to just have real talk conversations, with the youth that, you've been you've had in the program?
Antonio Gordon [:Again, I think it goes back to when you were their age, what would you have wanted in that position to help you? So what I felt I lacked in in my upbringing as far as role models in the in the inner city and things like that, you know, I'm able to implement that. So putting the the DJ out there, to me, I felt was was a key component. Putting the police out there was a key component in the food. A lot of kids, that food would would have been their only meal that day. That so that that was key. So I remember leaving the rec center sometimes going at night and getting home late from playing basketball. And I miss dinnertime, so my little brother had already eat my food. So it's, you know, so implementing the things that I would have wanted at their age has really, I felt, helped me keep down the violence.
Antonio Gordon [:I had a older older OG's out there, like, guys that are older than me that's able to talk to these young men, guys like Esteban Weaver, former basketball players like, you know, Tony Cornett, like, just neighborhood heroes that are back to have children now, putting them in place to talk to the young men like we didn't have is a is a very, very big component.
Kenneth Wilson [:On that note, Antonio, talk about how important role modeling is and providing youth with the opportunity to see a strong black man that has flaws, has had bad experiences, but they've turned everything around. Talk about the value of that, because in many cases, youth can't get it right until they meet somebody that look like them, that talk like them, that came from where they came from. Just like you said, it's it's it's it's difficult to preach about experiences that you don't know nothing about.
Antonio Gordon [:Know nothing about. I think, the biggest key to that is allowing yourself to be vulnerable. You know, a lot of us don't allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be approached, to even talk about our past, but, once you've seen mothers bury their sons like I have, it makes you wanna get out there. It makes you wanna tell your story. Because, like you said, the kids aren't going to gravitate to anyone that they don't feel share the same lifestyle. You know, like, I can't go in Grove City and tell a kid about violence if if if all they know is probably an argument at home. So I feel like having the us guys who have who is flawed, who have failed in some capacity in life, going back and talking to them, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable is is helping them. Because when I was young, the OGs in my neighborhood, they didn't allow us to carry guns.
Antonio Gordon [:Like, even though they were drug dealers and things like that, they would allow us to play basketball for money. Now the older guys now, they're more willing to give one of these kids a gun and just tell them to go settle whatever they have to settle. So I think it's big for us to get back to what we had when we were growing up, which was the older guys out here communicating with them, playing basketball with them and things like that.
Kenneth Wilson [:Yeah. You you you you had, leaders leaders in the in the neighborhood that kept order.
Antonio Gordon [:Kept order.
Kenneth Wilson [:You and and now I I hear that a lot of neighborhoods don't have that same order.
Antonio Gordon [:No. They don't.
Kenneth Wilson [:So it's like total chaos. Chaos. Nobody says that, look. This ain't what we do. This ain't how we do it. And and you don't you don't even have the the credibility to even talk about doing that to nobody.
Antonio Gordon [:And they wouldn't do it. They're now sending these young men out there to handle problems that they got while they just sit back and play that play that role of of of the big dog. You know? So I feel like if you're not if you're not helping, you're hurting. That's how I look at it. If you're not helping them, you're hurting them because you you have a story. You have a background that can prevent them and their parents from from some sort of of discomfort.
Kenneth Wilson [:If if if you could rewind, the clock, what would you tell 15 year old Antonio Gordon?
Antonio Gordon [:Taking high school the
Kenneth Wilson [:same even being in the same situation is the same. What would you tell yourself if you
Antonio Gordon [:could today? I would take high school more serious. I went to Linda McKinley. I mean, it's that's self explanatory. But I don't think the school that you go to matters. It's up to you to handle your business. I think, I had a gift, and it was basketball. And and I think I chose being popular over handling my business while in high school. I wanted to be the, oh, he's good.
Antonio Gordon [:I I wanted to be the lunch lunchtime legend instead of of of the the basketball legend. And and I think that put a damper, you know, all my life. It had me starting life late, getting things you know, if you don't handle high school, I always say, if you don't do what you do in your teens, you'll be in your twenties trying to do what you did in what you were supposed to do in your teens. You'll be in your thirties doing what you were supposed to do in your twenties, and don't end up in your forties doing what you were supposed to do in your thirties. And I think getting off to a slow start by me, not doing what I was supposed to do in high school has me, now 40, doing what I should've done decades ago.
Kenneth Wilson [:Teenage fame is is is temporary. Can't get you no money. It's it's as temporary as it could get. And, you know, those that had teenage fame be the ones that, it seems like, wanna skip the class reunion. Mhmm. Because they they were popular when they were popular. Now as an adult, they ain't hot at nothing. And now I wanna have to go back and and and face up and then knows that wasn't popular.
Kenneth Wilson [:Fate just has it that they walk in with the hottest hottest car, the best little spouse. Yeah. And then he'd like you know, you'd be like, what happened?
Antonio Gordon [:What happened?
Kenneth Wilson [:T a that t a fame, they didn't have it, but that burned off. Yeah. It burns off, Ed. And I think that, also, our quest and we need more programs like Thursday night thrillers to expose youth to the rainbow of things that they can be.
Antonio Gordon [:Mhmm.
Kenneth Wilson [:Beyond what they see in their neighborhood, beyond anything within their reach in books.
Antonio Gordon [:Right.
Kenneth Wilson [:One thing, I think about is in athletics, you think about being, like you say, good in high school. You think about, you know, I need I need to I need I I wanna turn the triple double every once in a while. I need to have 20 points and 10 rebounds on the stat sheet, because that's going to elevate me to college, and then I'm a be one of the top 2% of of people in America to go play in the NBA and last more than a season or 2. Right. Or go beyond just suiting up for the summer league. And then when that don't work out, it's this big letdown. Some people go into depression.
Antonio Gordon [:It's the now what?
Kenneth Wilson [:It's the now what.
Antonio Gordon [:It's the now what?
Kenneth Wilson [:But one thing that I feel like even I did not realize that I won't use to realize today, you could not be that talented or your talent is not, good enough to get you to the professional leagues, but you can live in other aspects of sports.
Antonio Gordon [:Yes. You can.
Kenneth Wilson [:I mean, it's name, image, and likeness. It's working for Gatorade. It's working for, apparel companies. It's it's the whole business. It's the you can be a marketing person. You can be a sports person. You don't have to just take your love for sports and only be able to give up and translate that to being in your man cave, watching football from early in the morning until it go off, with the Pac 10 Conference late night game. You can actually build a career off of that love of sport.
Antonio Gordon [:And and that starts at home with us as parents. Let them know that, you know, when the ball stops, you still gotta keep living. You know, you're you're sometimes a injury away from never playing again. So I think us as parents have to make sure that those grades are right, those ACT scores, those sending the kid to college with a degree that's gonna help them after college. You know? So I think us, as parents, have to have to dig in more as far as setting them up. We have to set them up after college because sports won't always be there.
Kenneth Wilson [:No. But sports the business of sports will be there. You know? Even, professional sports, Olympic sports is is the entertainment opportunities connected with sports. There are so many opportunities that I wanna commit myself to trying to educate as many users as I can on on opportunities that I know exist for them.
Antonio Gordon [:Right.
Kenneth Wilson [:So that they don't get that sense of discouragement Mhmm. When the game is over. And it it's same thing happens to professional athletes. They had to decide what they wanna grow up be when they grow up twice. They dedicate their whole life to sports. And then when sports are over, then they got a whole rest of their life to live, then they gotta decide what they wanna be again.
Antonio Gordon [:Now what?
Kenneth Wilson [:Now what? So, I mean, that is, and everybody, no matter, even if you're good at sports and you're gonna play in division 1, I think that every athlete should still have a why that's even beyond the game. And keep that in their head and continue to build upon that.
Antonio Gordon [:Their y can be for their parents. A lot of us who are or ex athletes, a lot of the kids' y is because of their parents, and that won't work. So the kid has to find their their y outside of playing for their parents or because their parents want to or because their parents play. So that y is really the key factor in in growth. Because if you don't know why you're playing, then if you're not playing for you, then it won't work. If you're not doing anything for you, then it then it will never work.
Kenneth Wilson [:Yeah. I've I've talked to some, youth that have got the courage to tell their parents that your dream for me is not my dream for me, and I am going to pursue what I wanna do, and I need you to support me in that. And and, parents, that's that's a tough pill for a lot of parents to swallow.
Antonio Gordon [:I couldn't imagine my daughter You're telling that.
Kenneth Wilson [:I couldn't
Antonio Gordon [:I played basketball. My daughter plays for Pinkerton Central, so she came home and said that I I might cry. You know. But then again, you have to you gotta take you out of it. You gotta remove yourself and know that she has her own journey, and you gotta support it.
Kenneth Wilson [:Talk a talk a little bit about that. It's a it's a special bond between, a father and a daughter. It's just it's just different. Yeah. Let the listeners hear a little bit of this in-depth difference, how it's different. I'm a girl dad, so I I know it.
Antonio Gordon [:It really, my mother died in 2015, and, it it broke me. I I didn't have any closure. It was a lot of questions that I wanted to ask that I that I can no longer ask. So, you know, I never had any vices. I don't smoke. I don't drink. So I knew the only thing that would would get me through this was, you know, my children. So Kennedy, having, you know, having custody of her for the last 10 plus years, she's, took in more of the, my mother role.
Antonio Gordon [:Like, she's kinda she's a Gemini, so she's kind of aggressive. And,
Kenneth Wilson [:you know, you can't one thing
Antonio Gordon [:you can do is push your kids away by being too aggressive. So me trying to differentiate, whether it be the bad cop, the good cop, you got you gotta learn your kids and and and understand that sometimes the females are emotional. So, not forcing her to do certain things, trying not to push her to the streets. Because some of these kids are eager to you push them when they're gonna go out there. You know? Like, they they don't have no problem with going out to the streets, but, you know, I was blessed with with with 2 children that are that are that are amazing. And Kennedy has often checked me. Like, you know, you shouldn't do that. Why are you even doing that? Why are you even saying that? And, and I know where she comes from is she's lost a lot.
Antonio Gordon [:We both lost a lot, so I know where she comes from. It's from the heart. She she genuinely has my best interest, you know. Some of the TNT giveaways and things like that come from Kennedy. Even when we when we gave away the shoes on the opening night, you know, Kennedy took it upon herself to walk down the line and then come back and say, hey. We don't have enough shoes. And Kennedy left there and opened our TNT, ran over to Snipes, and bought another 150 pair of shoes. And I didn't even know about it, so I was just like, how'd you even get my debit card? You know? So, Kennedy, you know, great, great child.
Antonio Gordon [:My son's 20. Amazing kid. He's in Cleveland. He does nothing more. He didn't wanna go to college route, but all he does is work. But me being a high school dropout, you know, seeing my son walk the stage, seeing my daughter carry a 3.7, and this is not her senior year being recruited by division 1 colleges, I felt I felt like I won. And and that daddy daughter bond, especially with me losing my mother, is is something that that I I literally cherish.
Kenneth Wilson [:Yeah. That's the, parenting is a is a tough job, but it's the it's the most rewarding job that you can have. And and to see your kids just excel and say that, wow. They're gonna do bigger and better things than I could have ever dreamed of, is is where it's at. It's where yeah.
Antonio Gordon [:You know?
Kenneth Wilson [:You just don't you don't have a ego when it comes to your kids doing big things. No. I
Antonio Gordon [:can't wait for prom. Prom's coming up. You know, I didn't go to homecoming prom or anything. So I feel like when she go to prom in May, I feel like we both at prom. You know? That's how that's how I'm looking at it. I can't wait. You know? I I really I can't wait for for certain moments like that. So, in certain instances, I do live through my children.
Kenneth Wilson [:Yeah. I'm telling you, brother. They gonna the the prom and then a wedding, that's really I'm
Antonio Gordon [:not looking for you. I'm not looking for you.
Kenneth Wilson [:Yes. Really, that's gonna get you out of the woods.
Antonio Gordon [:I ain't I
Kenneth Wilson [:ain't in the mood
Antonio Gordon [:to give her away. Yeah?
Kenneth Wilson [:Don't don't delay it in there. Keep it keep it at a distance in your mind, but the reality is likely that at some point in time, it's gonna come.
Antonio Gordon [:I hope so. And and and if he do come Yeah.
Kenneth Wilson [:I know you wanted to I know you wanted to get a pet first. Right? She she and and she likes big dogs. So and I don't even want that because she she she
Antonio Gordon [:wants poor masters and and and dogs that eat what we eat. So I'm kinda, like, just focus on school right now. Don't don't get nothing.
Kenneth Wilson [:Don't get nothing. She want a big pet.
Antonio Gordon [:She want a big pet.
Kenneth Wilson [:So that's that you said she got that that aggressive person out. What position does she play?
Antonio Gordon [:She's a guard at Pickerington Central. Guard. Internationally ranked. They lost in the final 4 last year. The last 2 years, actually.
Kenneth Wilson [:Point guard or shooting guard?
Antonio Gordon [:Shooting guard. Kinda small forward.
Kenneth Wilson [:Combo combo combo player. Yeah. Pick pick pick, Pickerton has some powerhouse athletic programs. So and you said she carries a 3.7 GPA?
Antonio Gordon [:3.7. Yeah.
Kenneth Wilson [:That's that's on a roll
Antonio Gordon [:Never had under never had under a 3 point o. Ever. So that's, that was something that I felt I wanted to implement. You cannot play those sports without 3 point o because if
Kenneth Wilson [:you I mean, we didn't know they
Antonio Gordon [:was gonna take away the ACT. And and in my era, the ACT kept a lot of people from going to college. So my thing as a parent was, hey. If you're not a test taker, let's make sure we got the highest GPA possible to where you you can score lower if need be. So I was, on course with that the moment
Kenneth Wilson [:she's got In the eighties, the ACTs kept a lot of sent a lot of kids to junior college.
Antonio Gordon [:So that that was the main that was the main focus with some kids not being test takers. Let's just make sure your GPA is is very high to where you're you're you're able to get lower on your ACT.
Kenneth Wilson [:But setting the bar at the 3 point o is meaningful because, 2 point o is a is a a lot with, back in the day.
Antonio Gordon [:Yeah. Just showing up, signing
Kenneth Wilson [:your name. Let me get a 2 point o and,
Antonio Gordon [:Good to go. Let me
Kenneth Wilson [:go out there and be good to go. What you seem to be an intense guy with intense experiences. You, you do find joy through your your kids. I can see that. But what what what else do you do to, unwind and find, solitude?
Antonio Gordon [:Nothing really. The joy I enjoy helping people. Like I said, I I don't never wanna put a damper on my mother's legacy because she done what she could. But being able to give what people need, being able to give when people call upon you, it it gives you a a a different feeling, a different purpose on in life. So, like, me, my my whole TNT doesn't stop when when Thursday night dealers end, so the fact that we still help people throughout the year, helping people is really what what helps me. You know, trying to get rid of some of the things that I've done in my past. I think helping people is is, helping me evolve as a person. So I don't really look that's my basketball peers are young.
Antonio Gordon [:I don't go to to these parks anymore trying to talk about what we did in high school and things like that. It's over for me, and I realize that. So, trying to help the ones coming up, and and the people that are in need is what is what helps drives me.
Kenneth Wilson [:You got any hobbies? Shoes. You collect shoes?
Antonio Gordon [:Yeah. I I got a few.
Kenneth Wilson [:I mean, just just just for the listeners, you sneakerhead, as they call them. Just how many shoe pairs of shoes you got?
Antonio Gordon [:Couple.
Kenneth Wilson [:Because he don't want he don't wanna disclose talking to county listeners. He's he's in he don't he's not comfortable with how many pairs of shoes he might have. I I remember. Plus, he don't wanna he don't wanna know who the listeners are, so don't wanna totally disclose this this, chest of shoes he got. Or he probably got an insurance policy on them all anyway. If you smart. Sound like it.
Antonio Gordon [:If you smart. If you smart. If you smart. Yeah. I I that that is a hobby. Never smoked, never drunk, or anything. So, well, some people will spend on a bottle in the club. To me, that's a pair of shoes.
Antonio Gordon [:So I can wear that shoe over and over and over. That bottle gone that night. So shoes like, basketball years are over, so I think shoes is now is now my hobby.
Kenneth Wilson [:Do, do you buy shoes based upon, looking at them and see that they reflect certain aspects of your personality. Or do you buy shoes based upon, the value of shoes? Because I understand in the shoe world, you can buy a pair of shoes, and they are an investment because they just
Antonio Gordon [:Well, every shoe now every shoe now is an investment, but when you get 40 and you and you gain a little weight, I'm kinda more in the comfort now. So I'm going with the Air Maxes and things like that. So that that I'm trying to be cute days is over when you when you gain some weight. So I'm kinda into what makes my feet feel good at the moment. I have everything that then came out. Everything's coming out.
Kenneth Wilson [:You getting you say you're 40, but you ain't buying no hush puppies. Hush puppies would be a lot more comfortable than some Air Force 1 or some Air Maxes. Yeah. So You're still trying to have some swag now.
Antonio Gordon [:I got a little swag.
Kenneth Wilson [:Don't try to don't try to, put this over on top of the county listeners, and I'm going for comfort. I can name I can name some brands that could give you more comfort than them shoes.
Antonio Gordon [:I might I might have a pair, though. I might I might have a pair
Kenneth Wilson [:of boots. I I I'm yeah. I'm not trying to
Antonio Gordon [:I might have some SKECHERS. You know what I mean? I might
Kenneth Wilson [:I might have I might have some. They got these new ones there. I'm tempted to get a pair. Try not to get into the brands because, you know, it's so difficult for me to be bending over. I had to give me a I just got a new shoehorn the other day with the the the length on it because I can't I don't like bending over.
Antonio Gordon [:Now you're gonna start getting the shoes with no shoestrings.
Kenneth Wilson [:Yeah. You just slide it. The the heel stand up. You slide your foot in. Yeah.
Antonio Gordon [:I've seen the commercial.
Kenneth Wilson [:And you ain't even got to you ain't gotta put your finger in, get your finger stuck trying to get into the shoe. Just slide them in and go. I might have to get me a pair of those. I I don't know how well they'll go with my suits, but, if I get the black ones, I'll probably be good. Get a black pair, gray pair, and a bra and a brown pair of Talkative County listeners. And then I go he's going for comfort, though. I could think of a lot of comfortable shoes, but I wish that I like cars, and I cars are a lot more expensive than shoes. That's my that's my Yeah.
Kenneth Wilson [:Right? I'm in I'm in I'm in the cars. Hopefully, one day, I can get, like, like, about 4 or 5 different cars. I'll be happy. Alright. We're But I like shoes too. I like shoes. They I like shoes. They they're portable.
Kenneth Wilson [:But I know I ain't gonna even I would not even put my shoe collection. I wouldn't even put my couple shoes. I probably got a couple pair of shoes, if that's what you got. So hobbies are shoes. Joy out of giving to others. Come on. It's got to be you used to be you used to be the man. You you said you was a lunchtime.
Kenneth Wilson [:I'm not here at Rosemont. I definitely was there. What what you now you now you just you got it's gotta be some fun stuff about, about you that you you you holding back on because you was the I
Antonio Gordon [:mean When you
Kenneth Wilson [:was the man, you probably walked in the lunch room and, everybody just bowed.
Antonio Gordon [:The lunch room was in 2,002. We in 25, almost. So, I mean, you gotta let that go. And, I mean, yeah, that's probably the only hobby of shoes, man.
Kenneth Wilson [:They got, they got quite a trophy case at Lendly McKinley. There's a lot of lot lot of history. I've I've professionally known some former athletes there. So it's a lot of it's a lot of lot of history in, Linda McKinley. So to have been one of you say you, you know, being one of the better, basketball players to go through that program, but you say, that was then. This is now.
Antonio Gordon [:Right.
Kenneth Wilson [:Where where do you wanna be 10 years from now as far as your community impact?
Antonio Gordon [:I just want this streak of no gunshots, no murders, no violence to continue. If we can if we can continue to duplicate and make bigger what we already do on Thursdays, that trend of no murders, no gunshots, no nothing on Thursdays, like, in 10 years, I just hope that that trend is still there in 10 years. That's what I'm and the giveaways are are massive to where the the one part that, us as an organization are the only sad part about it is, at the at the end of the line, there's gonna be a kid that we can't serve because they came too late. We don't have their size shoe, or we're out of book bags, or the barber is done. So in 10 years, I I just hope that we're in a position to where we don't tell anyone. We we have enough and leftovers at the at the end of the night. So if I can look 10 years ahead now, I would say the the the no violence streak still continuing and to not be able to turn any kids away.
Kenneth Wilson [:Alright. Alright. Who would be your, all time favorite basketball player? And who would be the non athlete that you admire most right now at this point in your life to answer both of those questions?
Antonio Gordon [:Does it gotta be NBA?
Kenneth Wilson [:Pick a whole starting 5. You pick college. You pick pick
Antonio Gordon [:Does it gotta be high school or
Kenneth Wilson [:well, you remember. We don't wanna talk about high school. That was too long ago. And then she don't everybody don't know high school grades. So we
Antonio Gordon [:So the best players that I've seen play or that I would like to have played with, I'm a just say that. And I'm a keep it in my city. You got Isaac Jefferson. He's a GOAT out west. You got, Andrew Lavender. He's a GOAT. I was a You had
Kenneth Wilson [:them to play at Oklahoma?
Antonio Gordon [:Yeah. I was a shooter. So playing with them too, you know, you're gonna get the ball. Esteban is a real big brother. Called him several times for guidance. Even with TNT, hey, bro. I'm thinking about doing this, doing that. What should I do? He's always given guidance.
Antonio Gordon [:So and I never really got to share the court with him. He's a bit older than I am. But, so I would say Iky, Jefferson, Andrew Lavender. I would say Esteban. Never really passed me the ball when we played together, but I would say Taihan Johnson over there at the Kingdom League. He he he runs the Kingdom League. Very good program here. One more.
Antonio Gordon [:5. I need a big, don't I? Yeah. You gotta you gotta got all guard. Aiki can guard anybody, though. A big
Kenneth Wilson [:It's some it was some bigs. I don't know if you got to know him. I mean, it's it was a big it was a pretty good big right here at Whitehall.
Antonio Gordon [:I say Jerry Sellinger. That's somebody. That's somebody. But I would say, I would say young Jerry Sellinger because he's not too no. I'm a go Lendon. I'm a say John Davis. Yeah. Came out the same class.
Antonio Gordon [:Dad was a very, very role model, big role model to me. His dad is the reason why, I went to Cleveland Job Corps and got my GED and ended up playing college basketball. And John Davis is a junior, so, never got to share the court with him in high school. But we did play travel 35 together, and and it wasn't fair for a lot of people. So I I would say I will I will put John Davis in there. That's my big, even though he don't play big. Shoe lock jumpers. But he can go down there, though.
Antonio Gordon [:I I would do that. And the most inspirational, person, I would probably say, my ex wife. Taught me a lot. Went through a divorce. Still never not been there for me and my children. Has helped with TNT through the years. Made sure everything went well. And this taught taught me a valuable lesson about people.
Antonio Gordon [:Like, sometimes you when you get a divorce, you don't have to you're not on, at a you're not on bad terms. It just Mhmm. It wasn't right at the time. And I and I think that, I learned a lot from from a divorce. Exceptional person. Like, again, she's never not been there for me and my children, and, I've learned a a lot as a person, you know, from her. So, like, influential, I I would I would definitely say my my ex wife were.
Kenneth Wilson [:I think I'm gonna, be able to predict the answer, but I'm gonna ask you. Legacy is important. Leaving spaces better than they were when we arrived should be something that everybody should strive for. Mhmm. What is Antonio Gordon's, objectives around legacy?
Antonio Gordon [:You'll let you'll never know that until you're gone, unfortunately. You'll never know your legacy until you're actually gone. And I think your children when you're gone, I think only your children will truly understand the impact that you had, while while you were here. But legacy
Kenneth Wilson [:But in one word, what do you want people to to say, about you, when you're not here to hear it?
Antonio Gordon [:One word? Unselfish. That's a good word. Unselfish.
Kenneth Wilson [:That's a that's that's that's a good word. Because we live in a a me society Mhmm. In in many aspects. And, people that are unselfish, and it it fits your theory around giving Mhmm. And and finding fulfillment through that. What characteristic in people irritates Antonio Gorg? Selfish. Okay. The opposite.
Kenneth Wilson [:So, you know,
Antonio Gordon [:you know,
Kenneth Wilson [:the opposite. Selfish.
Antonio Gordon [:Selfish. Like like, a lot of people can take what can you get selfish.
Kenneth Wilson [:You don't you don't you don't like you don't like the the person that comes in the room and and and get the fork and stick it in the chicken breast first.
Antonio Gordon [:I don't like the person that comes to every barbecue and don't bring nothing, but they don't miss a barbecue.
Kenneth Wilson [:Oh, no.
Antonio Gordon [:But leave with a plate. You know what
Kenneth Wilson [:I'm talking about?
Antonio Gordon [:Not the
Kenneth Wilson [:not you don't you not even the ones that you good with the ones that bring the ice and the generic pop?
Antonio Gordon [:They stopped and got something.
Kenneth Wilson [:They bring the ice and the generic pop.
Antonio Gordon [:The big k? You talking about the big k? Yeah.
Kenneth Wilson [:They don't bring name brand pop. They don't never bring name brand pop. And they say, how much ice you need? And you just wanna say, I don't need any ice. Keep the ice with you.
Antonio Gordon [:But they brought something.
Kenneth Wilson [:You know? That's it.
Antonio Gordon [:Well, it's it's some cousin peas out there.
Kenneth Wilson [:Yeah. They they brought something, and then they prepare to fold that aluminum foil. Oh, they
Antonio Gordon [:don't know.
Kenneth Wilson [:Different ways to be able to take out a whole meal in some aluminum foil. They don't even need styrofoam.
Antonio Gordon [:A couple meals. A cup a couple plates at that. So,
Kenneth Wilson [:okay. Let let's let's talk about the cookout and the and the pet peeves around cookouts. What about the people that show up and it's happened to everybody. The people that show up at the cookout, they had all day to go to Target, to go to Kroger, to go wherever they had to go. But they get to your house, and they let out 3 of the baddest little kids that you ever wanna see and say, I gots to go to the store.
Antonio Gordon [:It's a rule.
Kenneth Wilson [:Yeah. You take them with you.
Antonio Gordon [:Watch your kids. Watch your kids. Complete I ain't gonna say what could happen, but just watch your kids because we're from the era where you you get whooped. And if you don't whoop yours over here, if you leave them with us, they gonna get whooped. So watch your kids.
Kenneth Wilson [:Because they you know, they gonna be they gonna be everywhere. Some coming up broke and be like, why you wear Target 3 hours?
Antonio Gordon [:Oh, they didn't have no ice, so I went to the gas station.
Kenneth Wilson [:I tell you, I mean, it's just like it's like cookout do's and don'ts. Don't come and leave your kids. Should've went to the store on your way. But do people eat their kids? With grandma. The cookout the cookout suggests then you had to, like, lock all the doors.
Antonio Gordon [:Can't go downstairs. Y'all can't go downstairs?
Kenneth Wilson [:You can't you can't probe all over you? What do what do people do, mister Gordon? You don't lock the you don't rope your dad, like, have rope like the museum. Don't cross this rope.
Antonio Gordon [:You just close that back door. Everybody we we we stuck in the backyard. You just close you just close that back door and keep keep enough chairs so nobody gotta go out inside.
Kenneth Wilson [:You I I mean, if I had to do it, I'll I I don't entertain like that now. But if you had to do it all over again, y'all both wish you could get you a, like, a porta potty or something. You ain't got any medicine.
Antonio Gordon [:I just wanted to say that. Put a porta potty in the corner. Put a little porta potty in the corner. You know, like like in the in the old days, how do you you had to use the bathroom outside. Like, just stick one of them under the tree or something.
Kenneth Wilson [:You you you hate to be rude, but, folks, you be like, don't go into my house and get lost. You you you got you had one job
Antonio Gordon [:to do. You start you start to count how long I was in the bathroom.
Kenneth Wilson [:You see, you had one job to do. And that would take so you had to go in the house. And then we could have a whole we could have a whole podcast about cookouts.
Antonio Gordon [:I mean,
Kenneth Wilson [:it's just it's just a it's like you just you have one and you'd be like, I'm not doing this.
Antonio Gordon [:No more. I'm not hosting ever again.
Kenneth Wilson [:Not hosting again.
Antonio Gordon [:But they always wanna come there, though. You got the nice house. That's the benefit of having a nice house.
Kenneth Wilson [:People wanna yeah. It's like that. Your grass wore out. Everything.
Antonio Gordon [:You have to send an invitation saying no kids.
Kenneth Wilson [:It's like, oh, yeah. Oh, I mean, that's just a thing, boy. You just like they just like everybody go do that. They go do that, then they don't. Either that don't come in here complaining either if you ain't bring nothing in. And they you can't people had a nerve come to your house and complain. Okay. So now we know about Antonio and Cookout.
Kenneth Wilson [:And don't let you if you if your kids are there, he gonna be the disciplinarian. You know, people don't do that no more, though. Yeah. They don't play about that.
Antonio Gordon [:Oh, my kids did. So they turned out they turned out well.
Kenneth Wilson [:It could be the disciplinarian to anybody's kids. Yeah. Anybody kids, they they left with you. They gonna be they gonna be putting And they all
Antonio Gordon [:and they always I said, your son did this. Well, why didn't you whoop him? Well, we didn't know we could, but not over here. If you leave him, I'm whooping him. If he breaks up. Ain't that that's a rule here. If you leave him, I'm whooping him. Because you're
Kenneth Wilson [:not gonna pay for it. You're not gonna pay
Antonio Gordon [:for it. You're not gonna pay for it.
Kenneth Wilson [:So if you leave me my whoopenny. If you leave me, he breaks up. They probably already know. They they probably found
Antonio Gordon [:out quick. Oh. That's why they didn't wanna take
Kenneth Wilson [:them to the store. You leave me, I'm a sit down because, miss miss miss mister Gordon don't play that. Hey, homie. No. What's that? Live in color you beat. Homie don't play that.
Antonio Gordon [:Play that.
Kenneth Wilson [:Homie don't play that. They used to live in color. So they already know they get left at your house. That's that's what's going on. So, what's next for t what's next for TNT as far as, the future? You working all the time beyond TNT as you said. What's next?
Antonio Gordon [:This year, we implemented, the flag football, which was a major hit because we're always there are always kids that don't play basketball, so I think the flag football was a major hit. But, Monday, I reached out to the Special Olympics of Ohio. Whitehall has 2 baseball diamonds on the side of the basketball court, so I was trying to, I wanted to implement, you know, the Special Olympics to come out there weekly, get them in t ball or kickball or something just to get them, outside and a part of the event. So that's what my goal is for for 25, TNT, is to add kids, with issues to to give them something to be a part of. So that that's my goal for 25, is to add them to it.
Kenneth Wilson [:You're looking to leave no child behind?
Antonio Gordon [:No child behind.
Kenneth Wilson [:Leave no child behind. That's that's that's that's a great goal for the for the, for the future. You touched, we off the record, we had this conversation. What's your, what's your favorite, sports team?
Antonio Gordon [:Browns.
Kenneth Wilson [:So you know you understand the value of, sticking with your team and perseverance?
Antonio Gordon [:The Browns. That's all I'm gonna say. Okay. I mean, the Ohio State makes up for the Browns, so I'm okay.
Kenneth Wilson [:Okay. You love it, but oh, I'm Ohio everything. Ohio everything?
Antonio Gordon [:Except for the Bengals.
Kenneth Wilson [:That's okay. I we we still cool. I'm a bingo fan. I'm a bingo fan, but we cool, though. That's why you that's why you don't talk of the county. I only put special people on top of the county. We we have a selective list of people that get to be on top of the county.
Antonio Gordon [:NBA. LeBron.
Kenneth Wilson [:Now that's that's that's that's good. Because I feel like a lot of people give LeBron unnecessary beef. Can't give
Antonio Gordon [:can you give a billionaire unnecessary beef?
Kenneth Wilson [:They give me my unnecessary beef, in my opinion. I I think they make people for everything he's been able to do, people find reason to be for criticism. Well, I'd be like, really?
Antonio Gordon [:Yeah. Like, that's what you got? That's what you that's what you're coming with? He he missed the layup with his left hand. Oh, okay. Cool. I always feel like, in in order to be the best, sometimes you gotta get paid like the best, and and you cannot argue with a billionaire.
Kenneth Wilson [:And that's why he I mean, he does his credit. He says what he wanna say. I mean, that's what, you know, he created barbershop, for example, to just to have
Antonio Gordon [:And they talk.
Kenneth Wilson [:A televised conversation. You know?
Antonio Gordon [:But you got your Jordan heads. You got your Jordan Jordan and Kobe fans are stuck. You know? So you can't really break through with them. But, outside of I'm just looking at the consistency, the longevity, the records, the range, the the whole totality. He's he's the GOAT in my eyes.
Kenneth Wilson [:I think a lot of it's general I think it's generational. Mhmm. A lot of people that were seeing Jordan just gonna say, Jordan is the GOAT, and they just say no. They they just won't hear nothing else. Even though, you know, that was a that wasn't really overlap in my opinion between Kobe Bryant, the late great Kobe Bryant and Jordan. But some people still will, you know, try to compare the 2, but they played in different different eras.
Antonio Gordon [:Different eras, different rules, different teammates, different everything.
Kenneth Wilson [:It was all it was all different, though. But the thing that I admire about, late Kobe Bryant was his tenacity. I mean, he he was just
Antonio Gordon [:I wasn't a
Kenneth Wilson [:fan. 4th quarter, he would just go for it. He just go for it. He would he would just he knew how to go get some when he needed to go get it.
Antonio Gordon [:I wasn't a fan. No. I was never a fan of Kobe. Amazing, but I was a Tracy McGrady guy. I was a Tracy McGrady.
Kenneth Wilson [:Underestimated. Underrated, I would say. Yeah. To for everything he brought to the table during the time he
Antonio Gordon [:I was a Tracy
Kenneth Wilson [:and, you know, maybe some of that was that he played in Toronto from the beginning.
Antonio Gordon [:They're like Kobe or Iverson, to be honest.
Kenneth Wilson [:You didn't like a. I.
Antonio Gordon [:Nah, I was a Mulberry guy. I was a mulberry guy and I couldn't never grow my hair. So I was mad. So I think that really,
Kenneth Wilson [:I think that did it.
Antonio Gordon [:I never made it past the first couple of months of the
Kenneth Wilson [:You could get you could get the coral.
Antonio Gordon [:I didn't get the corals, man. So I really was just never a fan. I just stuck with Mulberry because that was his rival. So
Kenneth Wilson [:Yeah. They were both they're battling pound for pound for pound for pound greatness. Well, is there whereas we, come to the end of this, conversation, is there, anything else, you wanna let our listeners know, or in your opportunity to get the word out about TNT? And if individuals want to is there a vehicle for individuals that wanna, donate or contribute or become part of the the TNT Coalition?
Antonio Gordon [:Yeah. We have a a website at real situations dot org.
Kenneth Wilson [:Real situations dot org.
Antonio Gordon [:Or you go to Whitehall. Whitehall, parks and recs have been very instrumental in what we've done the last 2 years. So, you know, kudos to mayor Bivens and the whole, Whitehall parks and rec staff. They've helped us with almost everything we've needed, strategically, physically, even financially. So, we're we're our door is open for anyone, you know, who wants to be a part of it because, you know, it starts with 1, but it doesn't have to end with 1.
Kenneth Wilson [:Do you think, that TNT can be replicated in other communities around the city?
Antonio Gordon [:I've actually reached out to, mayor Bibbs in Cleveland this week. I sent the email over to them because I I would really like to place it in, in Cleveland and see how it goes. They have basketball's big there. Outside basketball's big there. They also have a issue with team violence. So, I've reached out to some people. I've sent some emails this week about trying to get TNT there also.
Kenneth Wilson [:When I in the eighties, outside basketball tournaments were big at local parks, giving away, you know, trophies, giving away, different prizes. Why did that burn off? Me, it it went off like you know, it just kinda it went away like baseball diamonds.
Antonio Gordon [:I mean, with with us, I think the giveaway I I think the giveaways is is is is necessary. It's it's life. It's giving. It's it's fun. You gotta make people want to be at your at your spot. And I and I think the giveaways with the shoes, the haircuts, the meals, the tablets, the laptops, the car, the scholarships. Like, you're creating an atmosphere where people are, hey. I might go there.
Antonio Gordon [:I can get something to eat. Or I might want a TV today. I might want a a laptop today. Creating an environment where people want to be, I think, is is is key. And some people, you you know, you wanna be rewarded for showing up. Mhmm. You know? So Mhmm. I I think implementing things like that will will help.
Kenneth Wilson [:You think the haircuts are still still valuable? You tightly faded, but that's a that's a generational thing, you know, and, you know, I I understand the value. You know, I just clipped mine up this morning, you know, to keep for to keep my look fresh. But now it seemed like when I look at the youth, they don't they don't need much of a barber because they just, like, let it go everywhere. So
Antonio Gordon [:I think it's
Kenneth Wilson [:like Let it go.
Antonio Gordon [:I think in some situations, if you look at
Kenneth Wilson [:They let it go.
Antonio Gordon [:The giveaways that we provide, they're all built to give confidence. So you know how you feel when you when you put a shoe on. You a new shoe. You're like, yeah. This is
Kenneth Wilson [:Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? Nobody's stepping on no one near your feet. When you
Antonio Gordon [:get a new haircut, the first thing you do is look in the mirror. Hand you in the mirror. You look in the mirror. You know? So the giveaways and the haircuts and all that, they're they're strategically placed to give kids confidence. Because at TNT, despite what you're going through at home, a lot of these kids have dysfunctional homes. So for us, we're looking at it as, I can't take away what you're going through at home. But for 5 hours on Thursday, we're gonna redirect your focus. You're gonna come out here and have fun.
Antonio Gordon [:We you can get your haircut, get a pair of shoes. So our goal, really, is just to build that confidence. And sometimes, a kid knowing that somebody else does care despite what they're going through at home can can really go through a long way.
Kenneth Wilson [:Yeah. Yeah. That's you know, that is that's so true. And and didn't you just hate when you went to school? It seemed like when you wore a new pair of shoes, no matter what, the principal was gonna call for assembly or somebody wanna have a pep rally. Worst enemy to a new pair of shoes was the assembly or a pep rally. That mean you gotta go amongst the whole crowd of people. So you just, like, stay stay back behind the crowd. Try not to let nobody get up on your shoe because they like that like a magnet.
Kenneth Wilson [:You know? It's kinda like me at the at the at the at the store now. I'm trying to find a park on the edge because I don't want nobody to dent up against my door. That's how I used to be with my shoes. I don't want my shoes to get scuffed up just like I don't wanna dent in my car though now as an adult.
Antonio Gordon [:So a lot of those things are just, to us, confidence builders. You know, that those that's those were those why are those things are in place. So
Kenneth Wilson [:now is your is your shoe and your book bag game. The kid wanna have a good clean book bag.
Antonio Gordon [:$90. $90 for a book bag. 90.
Kenneth Wilson [:$90 for a book bag. That's steep, but the book bag is important. Because I I've been to the some schools, and I saw that the your kid wanna have the shoes, and they want the book bag to go with the shoes.
Antonio Gordon [:Because that's all you see. You don't see the book bag? You don't see the shoes? 9 9 out of 10, they all wear hoodies now. So you don't even see the shirts no more. Shirts don't even matter. So the book bag and the shoes is is what stands out. So we we were blessed to give away, you know, 500 book bags as well, towards the back of the screwdriver.
Kenneth Wilson [:We can talk about youth and hoodies too for some while on the podcast. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how, if you're between the ages of 13 and 24, you can wear a hoodie all year round.
Antonio Gordon [:No. They don't get hot.
Kenneth Wilson [:They don't get hot. They
Antonio Gordon [:have a different
Kenneth Wilson [:I don't know what.
Antonio Gordon [:They have a different type of skin or something like that. When we were young and we played outside, we wanted our shirts off. Now, they come to TNT with hoodies and mask, and I'm like, I hope you don't have asthma.
Kenneth Wilson [:I don't I cannot, for the life of me, podcast, listeners of Talk of the County, figure out how you can wear a hoodie when it's 85 degrees.
Antonio Gordon [:And jeans. They got jeans on too. It's
Kenneth Wilson [:I'm I've been trying to figure that out.
Antonio Gordon [:You can't.
Kenneth Wilson [:Because I'm just an observer. I just observe things, and I'm trying to seek to to understand, and I cannot feel like
Antonio Gordon [:I just They have different skin. That's all. I don't
Kenneth Wilson [:know how they wear. Just different skin. How do they wear a hoodie 12 months out of the year? And then they might wear to their credit, they will had a hoodie on, and it's a blizzard. And, like, wear your coat. Yeah. I got this one.
Antonio Gordon [:I get them on that one.
Kenneth Wilson [:I don't I
Antonio Gordon [:don't like coats, so I I I fill them on that one.
Kenneth Wilson [:They got one. They got one. They wear their hoodie too. Arizona Heat to, Michigan, New York, Northeastern. They can wear that there. They're walking through that with a
Antonio Gordon [:They go to New York without a hoodie on. It's gonna be a long day.
Kenneth Wilson [:I just don't you know? I'm wondering. I need to spend some time in Chicago and see how to use Yeah.
Antonio Gordon [:They go with a hoodie on. They go on. They go yes. A a a totally different day.
Kenneth Wilson [:Because that that wind hitting different in Chicago. I wanna see,
Antonio Gordon [:every which way.
Kenneth Wilson [:So I wanna say thank you, brother, for, doing this podcast. It's one I've been looking forward to. As we wrap this up, I'm wishing you the best. Big fan of what everything you're doing. You are a blessing to the youth in Whitehall and surrounding communities that, come out and participate in what you're doing. So, I'm just, was glad to have this opportunity to just sit down and have this informal chat, and we're gonna be able to share this and and and get the word out to more people. So
Antonio Gordon [:Appreciate you.
Kenneth Wilson [:Appreciate you. And, this is our conclusion of the TNT edition of of Talk of the County. And as I end every session, do you because nobody else has time.
