‘Pivot Podcast’ Hosts Reflect on Their Fondest Father’s Day Memories

Former NFL stars Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder Jr. and Fred Taylor showcase the relatable rapport from their popular podcast during a chat with SI centered on family stories.

The Pivot Podcast features a trio of retired NFL stars—Fred Taylor, 47; Ryan Clark, 43; Channing Crowder Jr., 39—in varying stages of middle age. The demographic makeup of the hosts is part of what makes the show’s tenor so compelling. They’re giving viewers an inside look at athletes and locker rooms. But while guests address playing careers, games and every other typical element of sports lives, there’s also a distinct, ahem, pivot into what happens afterward.

Many segments turn naturally toward parents and children, whether guests are speaking of their own parents or their own parenting. Like when Chris Paul addressed how his daughter had been bullied at school over his NBA career. Paul even brought his son, Chris Paul Jr., with him to the taping, and he told the group their willingness to discuss fatherhood, transitions, fears and the rest attracted him to The Pivot in the first place. Perhaps the vibe helped him to open up (quite eloquently) about the bullying and the importance of strong, Black fathers in his life. Same for Ken Griffey Jr., who addressed both sides of the father-son dynamic for professional athletes who follow their fathers into the same sport.

Since the show’s tenor adds to its relatability, an idea formed. Why not ask these hosts about Father’s Day and let them play off each other, forming a roundtable of sorts. The result is a hilarious exchange, edited only for length and clarity.

Crowder, Clark and Taylor have come together to create a popular podcast that touches on a lot more than just football / Courtesy: The Pivot Podcast

Sports Illustrated: What’s your favorite Father’s Day memory? I’ll start: getting my dad, a lifelong Broncos fan, tickets to their victory in SB 50 for an early present.

Channing Crowder Jr.: Mine’s not as joyous, because my dad wasn’t around that much. But it would be me, as a father, from when my son was born. This was when I actually became a father. He’s 11 now, and I got a chance to celebrate, and my wife did a great job. I have a picture at home where she got a picture of the first fish we ever caught together. She put it in a frame; Happy First Father’s Day, I love you, Daddy. He’s the third Channing Crowder.

SI: How big was that fish and has the size grown over time?

CC: Well, the problem is … we have a picture. Fishermen love to lie, but I can’t, in this instance. It was a two-pound bass. I had him, at six months old, on a bass boat in the Everglades with alligators all around. My wife wasn’t happy about that! It’s funny, because the other day, we caught a largemouth, 65-pounder. We’re gonna put the two pictures next to each other.

Fred Taylor: I bought my dad a home in Long Island, Bahamas, where my family is from. I had been trying to get me over there for about 10 to 12 years. And my first time was leading up to Father’s Day. It was just him and me. We left everybody else behind. That was the first time since he had gotten out of the military that we really took a trip. It was all catching crabs and touring the island. That’s my heritage. I had an opportunity to see the home that he built, and just spend those moments with him drinking a lot of beer and eating island food. So that was my best Father’s Day. Period.

SI: Mike-drop story, wow. Go ahead and follow that one, Ryan.

Ryan Clark: Geez, a house. Thanks, Fred! Mine is easy. In 2013, the Miami Heat played the San Antonio Spurs. It’s Father’s Day weekend. And I took my dad and my son to the game. We got out there on Friday night. We stayed the entire weekend. It’s actually the weekend I met Charles Barkley. But the thing I remember the most is: I was able to be there with my father, after his sacrifices, hard work, all the things he had taught me, all the things he had done. The father I am today is because he taught me, loved me and supported me. But my dad’s also the greatest grandfather, like that any kid could ever have. He’s everything to all of my brother’s kids, my sister’s kids. To be able to have my son there, share that moment with him, was special. The way I love my son, the way I support him, the way I am with him is because of what my dad showed me.

SI: The cycle of life, love it. For the group, what’s the best Father’s Day gift you ever received? Mine: a coffee mug from my kids that says World’s Okayest Golfer.

FT: Mine is simple, because my kids don’t really buy me gifts. They bring home stuff from elementary school, things that say You’re the Best and little ornaments or frames they made. I saved all those over the years. I cherish those little things. I don’t know why. But I’m somewhat of a hoarder. I have nothing of any significance from my childhood. HBO got all of my photos that my grandmother had and lost them! The ones I have, I’m blurry as hell. I want to save stuff for them.

RC: O.K., so this is the best-worst gift I’ve ever gotten. I do not like dogs. I just don’t. For four years, my kids begged me to get a dog. And finally, I decided, O.K., I’m getting the dog. I tell them: I’m not doing anything with the dog. So I got the dog. I tell them, Hey, I ain’t doing nothing with this little dog. It’s your dog. Leave me the hell alone. Turns out, the dog only likes two people in the entire house: me and my oldest daughter. I’m walking the dog, feeding the dog. The dog lays on my lap as I watch film. The dog is so mean to everybody else, they decide to give her away. And I’m heartbroken, because I have now bonded with the dog. I don’t like dogs, but I love my dog. And they just give the dog away! I came home from work. Frickin’ dog’s gone. Never to be seen again.

SI: What was the dog’s name?

RC: London. And so I’m heartbroken. I’m pissed off. So they decide, on a whim, for Father’s Day, they’re gonna buy me the same type of dog. But here’s the thing. I don’t like dogs. I like that dog. You gave him away, you big dummies! So they put together this brilliant plan. They drive three hours. And was the dog cute when I got home? Yes, but … so this dog ends up being untrainable and not very smart. He also seemed to have some sort of social anxiety. He definitely had separation syndrome. But that’s the gift.

CC: Along those lines, my wife asked the kids, What do you want to get Daddy? For her, I said, massages and facials and pedicures and manicures. Well, I guess the kids got locked into that. I’m not a manicure/pedicure/massage/facial guy. But that was their recommendation. I was apprehensive; I don’t want nobody rubbing on my feet. My feet are disgusting. I think they did my nails. I don’t want people, like, putting oil all over my face. But I came around. I got my face done, too. I still can’t do the feet because I feel too bad for the ladies doing it. But this opened my eyes to the pampering of myself.

Former Steelers Pro Bowl safety Clark has been appearing on ESPN’s airwaves since 2015, and started The Pivot Podcast with Crowder and Taylor last year :: Tori Lynn Schneider/USA Today Network

SI: Let’s do quick hits on all kids. My 5-year-old, Blake, has a mullet and is missing two bottom front teeth. I taught him how to say, Who’s ready for some hockey? He’s funny, inquisitive and loves climbing. My 20-month-old is Camryn. We call her Frank the Tank, because she destroys everything in her path, including my face. She also already eats like [Takeru] Kobayashi.

RC: My oldest [Jaden] is super creative. She has worn 17 million hairstyles in the last year. And she’s absolutely stunning in all of them. My son [Jordan] is a college football player who grew up extremely privileged in NFL locker rooms and behaves as if he’s had to work a real job since he was 2. He actually has a chip on his shoulder, because he’s working for his next meal. My youngest, Loghan, is the happiest, most overly bubbly human that’s ever walked the face of the earth. Every teacher, every administrator, always wants her around them. Because on your darkest day, she makes you feel like you’re the best thing in the world.

SI: Where do you think this chip comes from? My son needs some adversity, and yet, when we went hiking in Hawai‘i, he rode my shoulders to the top, then said, Daddy, you and many others told me I could not do this. I, of course, had not said that. And there wasn’t anyone else around.

RC: For him, a lot of it was watching me work and understanding what I thought it took to be competitive. Making him wake up at 6 o’clock before school to train. Waking up on weekends in the offseason, when his friends were doing other things. That’s a large part of continuously proving to people he doesn’t get things because of his last name.

SI: I also cannot recall you in a different hairstyle.

RC: Oh man. A few years ago, my hair was super long; I let go. When I played for two years, I had a mohawk; I’ve had an Afro. I’ve done a ton. She doesn’t get it from me, though. She can do it because she’s beautiful, with freckles, and every hairstyle works.

FT: I’ve got six kids. I got five boys, but my oldest son [Kelvin] is the only football player. He was drafted by the Niners in 2016. Loves football. My daughter [Nataraja] is next in line. She’s a computer software engineer. My next son [Inari] plays musical instruments. He hasn’t perfected any of them, but he plays them all. My next son [Austin] is the opposite of my daughter. He doesn’t build software; he builds computers. My son [Braylon], he’ll do anything for an electronic device. He’s a madman that way, loves phones, iPads, tablets, anything with a power switch. My last son [Canyon], we went out with a bang. He wasn’t supposed to make it, be here, so his middle name is Phoenix, because he rose from the ashes. He’s similar to Ryan’s daughter, sweetest person in the world. It gives me no power.

SI: Do you feel like you have your own personal Village People group?

FT: Kinda. Sorta. I always say we have a basketball team and a bench player.

Taylor ranks 17th in the NFL all-time with 11,695 rushing yards, the vast majority of which came from 11 seasons with the Jaguars :: Tori Lynn Schneider/USA Today Network

CC: I named my first after myself. I was named after my dad. So he’s Channing Crowder III. I blessed him with my name. But I cursed him with my personality. He’s just like me. He’s hardheaded. Argumentative. It’s great. He’s gonna be great as a grown-up, but it’s tough as a kid when you are acting just like me. It’s like raising myself. We both have dreads and a very … abrasive personality. My daughter [Ava] is the lover. Sweetest thing in the world. She’s fancy, like my wife. She plays tennis, wants her hair done. My wife played tennis at Howard, so she’s a competitor, too; we all are. But she wants cuddles and gets out of bed in the middle of the night just to come hug me.

I didn’t want any girls, because I didn’t know how to raise girls. I always said, all boys, I want 10 boys, I want to raise boys. Now, I want more daughters, because they’re just so loving and caring. And our youngest [Chaz], he’s our COVID baby. He’s so spoiled because he has two older siblings and me and my wife. He didn’t see another human being other than his family members for a year and a half. So he’s just boring as all can be. But he’s a jokester. Like even at 2, he does stuff; he tries to make you laugh. He’ll run around you and look back to see if you’re laughing. He got that from me. And that’s better than my abrasive personality!

SI: Had you not had a girl, you could have gone full George Foreman. Every kid named Channing!

CC: You know what? I might have gone that way, if my wife wasn’t way more intelligent than me.

SI: Group, give me your best dad joke. I’ll keep mine relevant to this Q&A. We’re about to, ahem, pivot back into the show.

CC: My kids hate it, and I love it at the same time. Why is the chicken mad?

GROUP: Why?

CC: [Makes chicken noise, sounds like BACH-KAW!]

[Laughter.]

CC: My 2-year-old will hit me with the punch line these days. That’s progress!

RC: What do fish use to get high?

SI: What?

RC: Coral reefer!

SI: I’m going to steal that one.

FT: I don’t really have one.

RC: What was yours?

SI: The pivot, into the show?

[Crickets.]

SI: The joke was using the show’s name to switch topics!

[Still crickets.]

SI: Moving on! Guess my dad jokes need practice. How do you carry your fathers into the show? How do you carry your kids? Do you? I’m not trying to put words in your mouths.

RC: My dad’s like the better version of me. I have more negativity than my father has ever had in his life. My pops is just positive all the time. But adversity is also nothing to my dad. You know, hard times, bad days, none of those things even registered. That’s what I take into every show, what I take it every day; we’re gonna do the best we possibly can. That’s the thing I carry with me. My dad cares about everybody. He loves everybody. And he always shows that. And that’s the other thing I bring to the show every day, especially when you’re working this close with three people all of the time. If you don’t care about them, if you aren’t concerned about them in some way, there are zero ways for this to work.

CC: Early on, me and my father weren’t that tight. But through getting drafted by the same team, NFL team [Miami], we reconnected. Now, we’re tight, boys. And I will say, sadly, what I got from him is that I talk just like him. I know it’s nature, not nurture, because I wasn’t around him that much as a kid. But we talked and laughed the same. I would also say his work ethic. Like as soon as he retired, he got a job coaching at Penn State. And then he went into coaching. He went and became a mortgage broker, then he started working with the city. And he didn’t take a day off in like 13 years!

FT: For me, it’s simple: brotherhood and fellowship. Nothing fancy about it. Everything I’ve talked about in the show is from some experience. I am with my boys, and that’s how we interact. We’re speaking from our perspectives, about life, being open and candid and honest. It’s fellowship, giving back in that manner. Nothing fancy, just simple, real-life stuff.