2/2/26 7PM: Will Giannis Stay or Go?

This is the truth unfiltered with Denise Thomas and Dr. Ken Harris.

I think before we ask the question, how are we going to fix it?

The most important question that for a number of these topics that we're going to break down is

do the powers that be want to fix it? Everybody blames everybody.

The city blames the county. The county blames the state. The state blames the city of the county.

The county blames the city of the state. It just goes round and round, but in the end,

the only person that that's hurt is the rent.

Live at the Avenue. Here's Denise Thomas and Dr. Ken Harris.

You're listening live to the final hour of today's live broadcast of the truth unfiltered with

Dr. Ken and DT. Thank you all so much for tuning in on this cold but it's a new day.

It's a new day and we're here. So that's what's most important. It is the first day of February.

And this is also, which I am always very, very excited about. This is the first day of Black History Month.

So wishing everyone a Black History Month, happy, happy, happy Black History Month.

Now speaking of Black History and y'all bear with me because I am big on people's identity,

their name, and I still struggle with pronouncing correctly my brother Yannis's last name.

Now this is not a sports show, but speaking of Black History, actually speaking of American history,

Greek history, Wisconsin history, Milwaukee history. Yannis could be heading for a new home.

Now as you heard during the break, we just got beat. The Milwaukee Bucks had a fifth consecutive loss

to the Boston Celtics, 107.79. It's almost like 30 points. If we got Yannis,

if you are not familiar with Yannis, and because this is not a sports show, I'm not going to get into

all his stats, but I will say this, he is definitely arguably regarded as one of the greatest players

in power forwards of all time. Of all time. I remember traveling to Israel, in particular,

I was in Tel Aviv, probably about, I don't know, maybe three or four years ago, 2022, all over

in shopping districts. Yannis, pictures everywhere. Yannis is a brand. He's a global

brand. And for over a decade, has been for Milwaukee and for the Milwaukee Bucks organization

way beyond a super athlete. He's been a symbol of resilience, pride, and what's possible

when talent meets work ethic. And I've always admired Yannis for that. But now the vibes might have

shipped a little bit because just recently ESPN reported that our two-time MVP Yannis may be

ready for a new home. Now, the NBA has a tread deadline. Just in case you didn't know, February

the 5th, that's this week. And man, the NBA is buzzing like a block party in Brownville.

Now, why this matters because if this really goes down, there's going to be so many impacts

for Milwaukee for the state of Wisconsin. Our siding unlimited talk and text line

is 855-616-1620. One of the things I have a question for you, our value listener, is what does it mean

when a franchise icon considers leaving the team that drafted him? Because one thing I could say

about Yannis, he has been extremely loyal to the Bucks, to Wisconsin, to Milwaukee. And he's been

very engaging. And if he does leave, what does that say about our ability as a city and as Milwaukee

Bucks organization to build a team that supports generational greatness? Because without Yannis,

if Yannis is to stop Bucks based on the NBA's February 5th trade deadline,

I mean, looking at the roster and looking at the fact that we have lost 5 games consecutively,

I'm a little nervous. I'm a little nervous because again, it will challenge a lot,

it will have a lot of impacts. Now, some of us are probably thinking Denise, that's just what happens.

That's what happens. It's business. There's nothing that, you know, we could do. Yannis has given

us enough. Now, on Instagram, Yannis is one of his recent Instagram posts. I interpret it as a

more of a motivational message, but some people are thinking that it could be a tease. So in the post,

on Instagram, on his Instagram page, it says, two rare to blend in, two real to switch up.

And I've seen so many rumors on the internet too. Like, Yannis has already been traded,

it's just ridiculous. But in terms of his page, two rare to blend in, two real to switch up.

What do you think that meant? Do you think that Yannis is going to step away from the books

based on the NBA deadline, trade deadline of February 5th? Do you think this, what could have been

Yannis's last game with the Milwaukee books based on the fifth consecutive loss and getting beat

by the Boston Celtics? Almost 30 points. Our sighting unlimited talking text line is 855-616-1620.

Let me know what you think, because again, this is going to be huge. He has been heart beat for the

city. Yannis has put Milwaukee on the map. He's been very engaged in social impact initiatives

and just his overall presence. It just transcended the way that basketball is played or has been

played. And again, I'll say it one more time. Yannis put Milwaukee on the map. Because if you say

Yannis, they're automatically saying, oh, Milwaukee, wait a minute, where's Milwaukee? Wisconsin, okay.

So what does it mean when a franchise icon is considering leaving a team that drafted him? Does

it speak to how his team values championships versus longtime cultural investments? Should we

just be like, hey, Yannis, thank you for your contributions. We wish you the best.

Because if Yannis leaves, whether it's based on business or whether it's family, whatever

the decisions are, maybe it's a combination of both. One thing I do know is that Yannis literally

lived his life to find the odds. Coming from having Nigerian descent, growing up in Greece,

just wanting to play basketball and provide a life for his family, his parents, his brothers,

and now his wife and their children. So based on all that, he's been very loyal to Milwaukee.

And I know a lot of people will be very devastated, including yours truly, however, I get it.

I get it. And so, Yannis, if you're listening, thank you for all your contributions, whether you

stay here or not. Thank you for everything that you're bringing, have brought to the city and the

state of Wisconsin. Because I'm going to tell you all right now, you got Miami Heat, New York

mix, Golden State Warriors, they are pushing hard to acquire Yannis. Like right now,

and what's interesting is that Miami and Golden State from a temperature climate standpoint sound

pretty good right now. Some insiders have even speculated that Yannis may have already played

his final game in a Bucks Uniform. Even the deal doesn't happen before February the 5th.

So whether it's now or later, the NBA world is watching, no, the world is watching,

the world is watching Milwaukee right now to see whether or not Yannis will remain a Bucks player.

So more to come. I just had to get that off my chest. Again, I know this is not a sports show,

and I'm sure ESPN Milwaukee is going to be covering this all week long, because again, the NBA

trade deadline is February the 5th. What is that, Evan? Is that like what Thursday or Friday of this

week? I want to say Thursday. Be Thursday. What do you think? How do you feel about Yannis? You think

he's saying or leaving? I don't think he's leaving by the deadline. With the calf issue, he's dealing

with right now. I know team, they're saying the teams aren't going to be scared off of that,

but I think teams are going to want to see him play some healthy basketball or wait till the

off season. But I know for Yannis and the other teams, it's best to get him by the deadline,

right now he can eligible to sign a new Supermax extension in October. If he gets traded in the

off season, it pushes it back to January. But I think he ends up staying. I think him and the Bucks

figure out a path to keep him in Milwaukee and keep him here to put a team around him that's

going to be competitive, but maybe that's just me talking with my heart more than my brain,

but I guess we'll see. Yes, we will. No, thank you for that. The bottom line is that the Milwaukee

Bucks, they are a for profit organization. They are a business. The reality is that if Yannis leaves,

that's obviously going to have or needless to say an impact on fan engagement, ticket sales.

I mean, we just built a multi was it almost it was an astronomical price. I know that it was

probably a couple hundred million dollars to build faster form. And I travel all the time and

vice reform is probably one of the most fascinating venues, especially when it comes to the game

experience. So for the past what four or five years, no longer than that, I think that the

Bucks have been playing at vice reform. I think twenty nineteen was the first season there.

Yeah, it's it's just been it's been nothing but great. So more to come when we come back from

break again, it is Black History Month starting today through the twenty eight. And I want to get

into what what I what I feel is an interesting topic. And I and I hope that for listeners, however

you identify, I definitely want to hear your thoughts. But we're going to get into Milwaukee

Bend versus Milwaukee now. In particular, how has the city changed? Whether you're Black or whether

you identify as Black or Brown or not? How has the city of Milwaukee changed? How how has

South Eastern Wisconsin changed over the decades when it comes to integration and community across

different ethnicities and families in the cities? We come back. We're going to dive into that.

We're going to talk about schools, neighborhoods, all of that. But has there been progress? Does it

feel like there's been progress? And and what feels like this is still the same. Our sighting

unlimited talking text line is eight five five six one six. I got it now, y'all one six two zero.

That's eight five five six one six one six two zero. This is the truth unfiltered with DT

and Dr. Ken Harris. We will be back. Welcome back to the truth unfiltered

Good evening. Good evening. It is Sunday February 1st. We are coming to you live from the NX

Welp Management Studio. We were listening to the truth unfiltered with Dr. Ken and your girl,

yours truly DT, the effective communication coach. Hope you're having a great weekend. And again,

thank you so much for tuning in. It is Black History Month. Today is the kickoff. And for the next

28 days, we will be celebrating excellence and just being mindful and even being reminded of all

of the great notable leaders that have contributed so that all human beings, all Americans

can benefit. And you know what I love about Black History Month? It reminds us that excellence

has always lived in our communities. The missing lesson was never effort. I want to be clear,

it was never effort. It was strategy, timing and the freedom when oftentimes doors were refused

to be open. And I know that for many of us, we've been hesitant, anxious, nervous, or just,

you know, hey, we don't have to celebrate Black History Month anymore. And please understand that

Black History Month is US history. It is US history. And so I want to just celebrate

some names that you may not have heard, but we should know because their work today,

it continues the legacy and the resilience and innovation. Because again, Black History isn't

just history. It's also unfolding before us right now. So here are some unsung Black History Makers.

And I just want to share them with you, especially for those that are innovators or educators

and even those in tech. Juan E. Gilbert was a pioneering Black computer scientist whose advocacy

and research helped dramatically increase people of color representation in computing and engineering

education. Angela Benton, the founder of New Me and that's N-E-W-M-E. One of the first global

startup accelerators for entrepreneurs of color. Shout to Angela because I'm definitely

an entrepreneur of color and helping people of color tech founders raise millions in venture capital.

And I'm not going to forget about our young change makers.

Mari Coopany, also known as Little Miss Flint, is a youth activist and philanthropist,

almost couldn't say that, whose letter to President Obama helped secure hundreds of millions in

water infrastructure aid for Flint, Michigan. And last but not least Jerome Foster, who was

environmental activist and founder of one million of us empowering youth voices in climate justice

and civic engagement. Again, want to make sure that we understand these innovative, even the young people,

Black History Change Makers. And I hope that every community that has its own living history

continue to help make sure that our voices, our stories, our impacts are part of US history,

American history, world history. So happy, happy, happy Black History. What I hope that these

modern heroes, because I know for the most part, whenever we talk about Black History, it's usually

the same. And not to disregard their contributions, but there are more notable Black leaders

in this country. And even doing things right now, besides Oprah Winfrey, President Barack Obama,

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., there are a number, significant number. And so I hope that

these stories and these coverage of these individuals just inspire you and also educate you.

And as you're starting your week, think about who in your community is making history right now,

because this is what we do. We honor, we recognize, and we make sure that we are contributing to this

thing called legacy and to this thing called history. So when we come back, we're going to get into

a conversation, because I know a lot of us are still dealing with this about the whole myth of,

when I was growing up, and I probably shouldn't say myth, but I feel like it's a myth now. But when I was

growing up, there was this mantra that said, if you work hard, you'll be rewarded. If you work hard,

you'll be successful. Is that still the case? Or is it now a bit? If you work hard, you'll be

rewarded. And for many of us, that was a first lesson that we gained from our parents.

Is it still relevant? Is it still about hard work? Is it still about showing up and staying late?

Or showing up early, I should say, and staying late? Is it still about that? Is it still about

do not complain? Because I remember my father would always tell me, don't complain at work.

Don't be a liability. Be an asset. Get there early. Timeliness is everything. Because when you're

early, you're on time, when you're on time, you're late. These are all guiding principles that

my father instilled in me as part of being a professional worker. So,

are we still living in an era of where your work hard will be rewarded? Or is it now about

doing everything fast? And getting rewarded instantly. Because also, the instant gratification

is impacting a lot of areas like the number of degrees. College degrees are being earned.

So, we come back. Let's get into it. When I hear from you, again, our citing unlimited

talk and text line. You can talk. Call in. Let me know your thoughts. You can text 855-616-1620.

And if you've already text, I apologize. I'm going to have to get with Evan, our incredible producer,

and see what's on our truth, or excuse me, our citing unlimited text line. And I'll make sure

that I read those when we come back. So, stay locked in. You were listening to the truth. I'm

filtered. I am holding it down for the remaining 30 minutes of girl DT right here on 620 WTMJ. Stay

locked in.

Host for the remaining of the show. Yours truly DT, the effect of communication coach.

Let me say that like I mean it, the effective communication coach. It is Sunday, the first day of

February. And as we are kicking off Black History Month, I want to wish everybody a happy,

happy Black History Month. Now, I did not have visibility to our citing unlimited talk and text line.

Let me give you that number again. I want to give a shout out to our valued listeners who sent in

some comments about ice. We were covering ice earlier in the first hour. And we talked about

Yannis because again, the NBA trade deadline is February the 5th. And a lot experts, sports experts

and commentaries or comment. I can't even say the word, y'all. Commentators are saying that it's not

looking good for for Milwaukee to keep Yannis. Evan, when we have coming in about ice, I want to

make sure if anybody had any questions or any additional information, I can respond accordingly.

Just more a couple of comments. Peter, frequent tech, sir, from the 262, quote, my daughter lives

in Minneapolis and a diverse neighborhood. And she's witnessed people who look a certain

way targeted approach by ice and public places while they're cooperating and trying to tell

agents they are citizens. And they show them proof and the agents ignore them. And we're very

abusive and we're detained regardless sometimes for a day or more before being released.

But ice apparently has, I don't know if this is true or not, but a secret arrests quota. And

there's everything to meet them regardless of the gallery and do process.

Wow. Well, first Peter, thank you for sharing that comment. I will definitely keep your

daughter in my thoughts and prayers for her safety because I know as a parent, whenever you are

watching the news and it's happening in the same city of where your daughter or your child lives,

that's not a good feeling for any parent. So my, listen, I'm sending good vibes out for your

daughter and for the entire city of Minneapolis. This is why it's so important to understand our rights.

And there's so much information that is being published. But this boils down to understanding the

law, understanding the Constitution, understanding state laws, contacting your local elected official.

And I know again, I hear the eyes rolling. But let me just share something that I shared with

my children, my adult children the other day. We are all standing on the shoulders. And I don't

care how you identify. I'll even go as far as back as the Revolutionary War, where what is now

known as the Americans protested and broke away from the British government to then create the

U.S.A. Everybody has benefited from protest. Like, think about in the literal sense of the word

protest. There is not one person that can sit in the comfort of their home and say, well,

I'm anti protest or I'm anti because I, you literally are one of the beneficiaries of that.

Protesting has been existing, protesting, challenging government. It has existed way beyond the

existence of the United States of America, which by the way is celebrating this year. It's 250

birthday July 4th, 1776. This year will be the 250th birthday of the United States of America.

Shout to all my 76ers because we turn 50. Can you imagine that we're just 50? We're just 200

years younger than the country. That makes us very young. I'm going to start saying that out loud

more because I feel a lot younger when I said it that way. But in all seriousness, going back to Peter's

text, we got to understand the law. We have to build relationships and we cannot give up. We cannot

quit because we're standing on the shoulders of people who could have walked away and quit many times.

And protesting is part of our constitutional rights. So please understand, please get the

information and know how to engage, when engage, when not to engage because it could be you.

Please understand, it could be you. We enter the comment about ICE or did we have another comment

about Yanis Evan? We have one more question about what's going on in Minneapolis and then we have

one regarding Yanis, which one you want me to go to. Let's stick with Minneapolis right now.

So from the 920, I have a friend who lives in Minneapolis last week. She asked me for money to

hire an attorney. Her mom and 14-year-old son have been taken. I don't know where her mom,

I don't know her mom's citizenship. She's 38 and all four of her children were born here. Her

son has never been to Mexico. She told me a couple years ago she's eligible for do a citizenship

and never pursued Mexican citizenship. She has no idea where they are and has no contact. I'm

unable to help her. I support targeted enforcement. This really hits home. I don't know where when or

how they were taken or if they are together or were together. Well, first of all, thank you for

that question. And I want to, what I'm going to say to you, I want to preface it that I am not

a customs enforcement expert. I am not in any shape, former fashion, authorized to speak on

behalf of customs and immigration, but I will say this to you. There are a number of up-to-date

resources where you can learn and I'm doing it with you. Trust me, where you can learn about

U.S. immigration, especially as it relates to customs enforcement or ICE laws, your rights,

your friends, your cousins' rights, as well as your citizenship. Because it's very important that

we understand the do's and the don'ts when it comes to the citizenship process. So please,

please I encourage you right now to visit the U.S. immigration and customs enforcement website.

There is an official website where you can understand your rights and that website address.

I'm going to give it to you now is www.NILC.org. This is where you're going to understand your rights,

the checkpoints, what you need. And there are guys in both English and Spanish. And this will

help you understand what ICE can and cannot do and what to do if ICE contacts you, what documents,

and also visit ACLU because that's an organization that's going to really help outside of the U.S.

immigration and customs enforcement website understand your rights. So this is going to cover every

aspect of an encounter with immigration agents, ICE raids and detentions. You can also visit

any website, I shouldn't say any website, Google websites are specific to immigrant rights and

ICE info. Because there's going to be a number of reader and user friendly because I'll tell you

right now in situations like I'm like communicate with me like I'm a third grader. I don't have time

for all those eight syllable words and you know when I go to the website see 20,000 words no

give it to me straight and simple. And I can tell you right now you will be the judge of that but

definitely Google community friendly and user friendly guides regarding your rights. And as far as

understanding immigration laws here in the United States visit the United States citizenship

and immigration services website that is also known as US CIS and the official government site

for immigration law applications and policies. So being able to understand where relatives have

been deported or where they are in custody green card information work authorization refugee

information again finding out where your loved ones are as well as any updates to the law

and processing times that's where you go US CIS and that website is www.uscis.gov.

You can also visit immigrationlawhelp.org and that is where you can find free or low cost

immigration legal services in your state including here in Wisconsin. And again that is the

immigrationlawhelp.org immigration lawhelp.org. So I hope this gives you some some helpful

information because please understand you have rights even if you're not a US citizen.

You can refuse to open your door especially if there is no warrant. The one thing that I'm going

to be doing now is in addition to my driver's license I'm going to be carrying my passport

because I don't want no smoke and please if you if you are detained and you're with a family

member a loved one please ask them to not intervene ask them to record give them your you know

your information and keep but please do not intervene because that's when it's escalates

and I know the natural reaction especially if we see a loved one a family member a friend getting

detained and I've seen it all across social media but that is what is going to cause escalation

and it could end up detrimental I'll just say that so please use the internet

in terms of official guides official websites official information to help you understand

what you can do to prevent or how you react where your loved ones are located and even

free or heavily discounted legal assistance you are listening to the truth unfiltered

when we come back we're going to wrap this up but great questions thank you so much for tuning in

because here are the truth unfiltered we want to make sure that we're giving you and that's the

unfiltered truth stay locked in are citing unlimited talk and text line for the last 15 minutes

of this show we definitely want to hear from you 855 616 1620 we'll be back welcome back to the

truth unfiltered

I appreciate y'all tuning in I see y'all on our 620wtmj ex coverage formerly known as Twitter

it's 97 y'all watching me right now love it thank you you could have been anywhere in the world

but you chose to be here and for those listening thank you as well this has been a great show

I missed being here so I'm glad that we're back and I'm actually going to be broadcasting this show

live next week it's going to be in our sister station 101.7 the truth part of the good karma

brand family I'm going to be broadcasting live next Monday marked your calendar

on 101.7 FM the truth I'll be broadcasting live right after Dr. Ken's live broadcast truth in the

afternoon with Dr. Ken which you can listen and view every weekday from 46 p.m. central standard time

now as we're wrapping up and I have this conversation with a lot of folks especially

and I'm only saying um because I was trying to come up with a politically correct word

let's just say this there is still a lot of back and forth on this concept of if you work hard

you'll be rewarded now when I was growing up it was like an inheritance like there was no question

about working hard and I'm an unfiltered this truth because a lot of folks will say things like

I'm not gonna say a lot of folks a lot of racist people which I know are none of us here on TMJ

but a lot of racist people think that black people are lazy black people want handouts black people

are lazy black people are uneducated they don't know how to work hard when it actuality let me

remind those and I'll just speak from my experience and I'll gotta say I'll be 50 years old in

May I have literally my entire professional life as an employee I can the countless times where I

had to work twice as hard twice as hard just to get a 3% merit increase and I see somebody who

doesn't look like me that didn't put even a third of the work that I put in and gets promoted

my father would teach me if you work hard you'll be rewarded and I know this again is very

generational because when you look at now that that mantra is a little outdated now I have two adult

children my daughter will be 31 in April my son will be 28 next month so I have adult children

and I can tell you now I did not change or disrupt that mantra of working hard and you'll be rewarded

but the question is because again my kids are adults now so that should be sale do we still

give our children the incoming workforce the the gen zers and the gen I think it's now is it gen I

can't do the next generation the most recent generation but any who does that question still

mean the same do we still use the whole advice of if you work hard you'll be rewarded

now I want to be fair because in today's climate especially with the the artificial intelligence

component it would defeat the purpose of AI to enforce working hard but what does that mean in

today's generation because for previous generations including mine working hard was about staying

employed okay I always was like look because layoffs we're not new layoffs we're my boomers that

we're my gen exers we are not older millennials we are not new to layoffs especially for the gen

exers because we all overcame 2007 through 2009 where you literally were walking on eggshells

you were just like okay please let me have a job today but you worked hard to stay employed to stay

alive to stay safe to have a family and being loyal to your employer was it wasn't always just

about the values but it was also hey if I'm loyal to my employer maybe they'll be loyal to me

which we then bound was not the case so back then the the working hard it wasn't necessarily

about getting ahead it was about not getting laid off or not getting pushed out

and today the whole reward that looks completely different eight by five six one six one six two

zeros are citing unlimited talk of text line is hard work the same what does that mean

because I don't tell you right now if you tell a younger generation like a younger millennial

or an older Jen's ear that hey if you work hard to get a steady paycheck that ain't gonna work

hey if you work hard to get a pension that definitely ain't gonna work hey if you work hard

you'll have health insurance and we know that's not going to work

so what is it going to take to incentivize our incoming generation to not only work hard but how

do we define what hard work means because the new generation is definitely strategic

they want visibility they want autonomy they want they want to they want to go from business

analyst to chief marketing officer within a year I want mental health days I want work flexibility

so if I want to work from home Tuesday through Thursday do a half day in the office on Monday I mean

these are all realities in terms of working hard and I remember you know if you if you quit your job

nine times out of ten you had a job waiting on you exit plans now very different I mean they

even have a term quiet quitting so leaving your employer now it's not a failure it's literally like

the way to get to the next step I think a lot of times when I reflect on my parents generation

boomers traditionalists leaving was a sign of disloyalty

and nowadays leaving is just it's Tuesday so what what advice are you giving so the parents

that are bringing the new generation of professionals what advice are you giving them now

and what do I need to change in terms of my vernacular when talking about hard work and being

rewarded what is what is reward me when you are conditioning and socializing employment with your

children and and how do we honor the wisdom that we receive from our elders without passing down

these servile strategies that we know no longer serve eight by five six one six one six two's throw

look we got about two minutes viewer viewer anyone see now I'm showing my generation

because I really want to understand again how are we honoring our our elders but also respecting the

way that we know that what our elders taught us about hard work is not relevant in 2025 and excuse me

2026 me I'm just thankful that my children are indulged in doing quite well my son he's fully

employed full-time employee takes care of himself my daughter she's currently attending the University

of Evansville earning her doctorate her PhD in clinical psychology I'm going to just say this

thank you thank you so much I want to take a little bit credit for that thank you thank you so much

well listen I want to thank you guys and ladies for tuning in and as we close because we had a great

show and this show was only great because of your listenership and your viewership so thank you

thank you so much we do not take that lightly because we know that you have a choice now podcast

trillion stations all these alternatives and you were here with me for two hours so I appreciate that

just want to leave you with this please before you ignore before you roll your eyes and

regret you say here we go look at it from this lens please consider this black history month reminds

us that hard work has always lived in the black community and even so this country and so the the

evolution of work it's not about working less it's about working wiser with strategy with time

maybe I'm answering my own question and even when you need the courage to move when a lot of things

are changing such as AI hard work kept us alive and it will continue and so now it must help us

thank you all so much I love you tell somebody you love them wishing you a safe

warm prosperous reductive week take care