Made Of

On Feb. 11, 1990, Mike Tyson was 37-0 and the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Then Buster Douglas, a 42-to-1 underdog, knocked him out in Tokyo in one of the biggest upsets in sports history.To understand that night, you have to go back 14 months to a decision almost nobody talks about. In December 1988, Tyson fired Kevin Rooney, the last man in his corner still carrying what his father figure, Cus D’Amato, had built. Rooney found out from the newspaper.Part 2 covers how dominant Tyson was at his peak, why he cut ties with the man helping him win, and what it ultimately cost him. That includes Tokyo, a 1992 conviction, the Holyfield bite and a 2003 bankruptcy. Then it follows where his road actually led.I also share why this story hits home for me. It’s a story about grief, fathers, and what happens when no one shows you another way.

On Feb. 11, 1990, Mike Tyson was 37-0 and the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Then Buster Douglas, a 42-to-1 underdog, knocked him out in Tokyo in one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

To understand that night, you have to go back 14 months to a decision almost nobody talks about. In December 1988, Tyson fired Kevin Rooney, the last man in his corner still carrying what his father figure, Cus D’Amato, had built. Rooney found out from the newspaper.

Part 2 covers how dominant Tyson was at his peak, why he cut ties with the man helping him win, and what it ultimately cost him. That includes Tokyo, a 1992 conviction, the Holyfield bite and a 2003 bankruptcy. Then it follows where his road actually led.

I also share why this story hits home for me. It’s a story about grief, fathers, and what happens when no one shows you another way.

In 1988, Mike Tyson was 35-0 and the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Months later, he fired Kevin Rooney, the last man in his corner still carrying what his father figure, Cus D’Amato, had built. Rooney found out from the newspaper.Part 1 goes back to the beginning. A bullied kid in Brownsville with a lisp and a pigeon coop. Reportedly arrested 38 times by age 13. A juvenile detention center upstate, a counselor named Bobby Stewart, and a trip to Catskill, New York. There, a trainer named Cus D’Amato watched him spar and made a promise: listen to me, and you’ll be the youngest heavyweight champion of all time.Cus died a year before that promise came true. Kevin Rooney carried it the rest of the way.Part 2 covers the decision: why a 22-year-old champion cut ties with Rooney, and what it ultimately cost him.

In 1988, Mike Tyson was 35-0 and the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Months later, he fired Kevin Rooney, the last man in his corner still carrying what his father figure, Cus D’Amato, had built. Rooney found out from the newspaper.

Part 1 goes back to the beginning. A bullied kid in Brownsville with a lisp and a pigeon coop. Reportedly arrested 38 times by age 13. A juvenile detention center upstate, a counselor named Bobby Stewart, and a trip to Catskill, New York. There, a trainer named Cus D’Amato watched him spar and made a promise: listen to me, and you’ll be the youngest heavyweight champion of all time.

Cus died a year before that promise came true. Kevin Rooney carried it the rest of the way.

Part 2 covers the decision: why a 22-year-old champion cut ties with Rooney, and what it ultimately cost him.

In 2016, a backup quarterback knelt during the national anthem. Within a year he was out of the NFL, and he has not taken a snap since. A decade later, the question remains whether that was a loss.

In the second installment of Made Of, a former player who now works in human resources examines the aftermath from two vantage points: the locker room, where principle and focus often pull in opposite directions, and the front office, where a league weighs owners, sponsors and a politically divided audience. The episode traces the protest’s spread after President Trump’s 2017 remarks, Kaepernick’s collusion grievance and confidential settlement, the leaked owners’ meeting, and Jay-Z’s contested partnership with the league. It sets those against what followed for Kaepernick: the Nike campaign, the media deals, and a memoir that debuted at No. 1.

The conclusion is not a tidy one. Kaepernick gained a platform few athletes ever hold, and he lost the game he loved.

Ten years later, did kneeling cost Colin Kaepernick, or did it make him? Tell us in the comments.

Made Of goes inside the moment everything changed: what the decision cost, and where it led.

In 2016, a backup quarterback knelt during the national anthem. Within a year he was out of the NFL, and he has not taken a snap since. A decade later, the question remains whether that was a loss.

In the second installment of Made Of, a former player who now works in human resources examines the aftermath from two vantage points: the locker room, where principle and focus often pull in opposite directions, and the front office, where a league weighs owners, sponsors and a politically divided audience. The episode traces the protest’s spread after President Trump’s 2017 remarks, Kaepernick’s collusion grievance and confidential settlement, the leaked owners’ meeting, and Jay-Z’s contested partnership with the league. It sets those against what followed for Kaepernick: the Nike campaign, the media deals, and a memoir that debuted at No. 1.

The conclusion is not a tidy one. Kaepernick gained a platform few athletes ever hold, and he lost the game he loved.

Ten years later, did kneeling cost Colin Kaepernick, or did it make him? Tell us in the comments.

Made Of goes inside the moment everything changed: what the decision cost, and where it led.

In 2017, Colin Kaepernick was due $16.9 million on his contract. He never saw that money or played another down of football.

10 years after he first took a knee during the national anthem, we go back to where it all started. Who was Kap before the knee? A Black baby adopted by a white family at 5 weeks old. A Super Bowl quarterback at 25. A backup coming off 3 surgeries at 28. And a conversation with a Green Beret that changed everything.

In Part 1 of The Colin Kaepernick Decision, we cover:

• His upbringing in Turlock and the road to the 49ers
• The Super Bowl run and the $126 million extension
• The summer of 2016, and why he sat before he knelt
• What the decision really cost him

CHAPTERS

1. 0:00 $16.9 million
2. 1:46 Who was Kap before the knee?
3. 2:53 The rise: first start, playoff record, Super Bowl
4. 5:02 The $126 million contract
5. 5:49 Benched and hurt
6. 7:22 The summer of 2016
7. 8:44 Sitting, then the Green Beret
8. 12:30 The decision: Sept. 1, 2016
9. 13:51 What it cost him
10. 15:11 Braver, or less to lose?

Part 2 drops next Friday, Oct. 9: the locker room, the NFL, Jay-Z, and whether it was all worth it.

So let me ask you: benched and coming off 3 surgeries, did that make him more courage, or did he have less to lose? Let me know in the comments.

In 2017, Colin Kaepernick was due $16.9 million on his contract. He never saw that money or played another down of football.

10 years after he first took a knee during the national anthem, we go back to where it all started. Who was Kap before the knee? A Black baby adopted by a white family at 5 weeks old. A Super Bowl quarterback at 25. A backup coming off 3 surgeries at 28. And a conversation with a Green Beret that changed everything.

In Part 1 of The Colin Kaepernick Decision, we cover:

• His upbringing in Turlock and the road to the 49ers
• The Super Bowl run and the $126 million extension
• The summer of 2016, and why he sat before he knelt
• What the decision really cost him

CHAPTERS

1. 0:00 $16.9 million
2. 1:46 Who was Kap before the knee?
3. 2:53 The rise: first start, playoff record, Super Bowl
4. 5:02 The $126 million contract
5. 5:49 Benched and hurt
6. 7:22 The summer of 2016
7. 8:44 Sitting, then the Green Beret
8. 12:30 The decision: Sept. 1, 2016
9. 13:51 What it cost him
10. 15:11 Braver, or less to lose?

Part 2 drops next Friday, Oct. 9: the locker room, the NFL, Jay-Z, and whether it was all worth it.

So let me ask you: benched and coming off 3 surgeries, did that make him more courage, or did he have less to lose? Let me know in the comments.

Made Of goes inside the moment everything changed: what the decision cost and where it led. We believe inspiration is the most valuable currency in existence, and Made Of is where decisions become inspiration. If you believe that too, subscribe and join us on this journey.

New reels every weekday. Full episodes every Friday.

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Nobody drafted him. Not one team.And London Fletcher played 256 games in the NFL — which happens to be every single game of his sixteen-year career. He never missed one. Not for a hamstring, not for a bad week, not once.Here's the part that got me though. He left a Division One basketball scholarship to go play at a Division Three school, where nobody gets a scholarship at all. He went down a level on purpose. And that's the move that ends with him starting in a Super Bowl.So this one isn't really about being tough, man. It's about what happens when you make a deal with the work and you actually keep it. For sixteen years. When nobody's counting.In this episode: the couple in Cleveland who promised seventy-one kids they'd help pay for college, and what London did with that door. Why playing for free might build a better relationship with the work than playing for money. What the streak actually cost him — in his own words, and he's honest about it. How the guy who's always there quietly becomes the standard. And why he's still not in Canton, even though the players themselves voted him their award for character and leadership.If you're out here doing the work in a season where nobody's clapping for you, this one's for you.Made Of is a show that brings light to people's relationship with their work. The deepest inspiration is always derived from work product; London shows us why. New episode every Friday. Subscribe so you catch the next one.

Nobody drafted him. Not one team.And London Fletcher played 256 games in the NFL — which happens to be every single game of his sixteen-year career. He never missed one. Not for a hamstring, not for a bad week, not once.Here's the part that got me though. He left a Division One basketball scholarship to go play at a Division Three school, where nobody gets a scholarship at all. He went down a level on purpose. And that's the move that ends with him starting in a Super Bowl.So this one isn't really about being tough, man. It's about what happens when you make a deal with the work and you actually keep it. For sixteen years. When nobody's counting.In this episode: the couple in Cleveland who promised seventy-one kids they'd help pay for college, and what London did with that door. Why playing for free might build a better relationship with the work than playing for money. What the streak actually cost him — in his own words, and he's honest about it. How the guy who's always there quietly becomes the standard. And why he's still not in Canton, even though the players themselves voted him their award for character and leadership.If you're out here doing the work in a season where nobody's clapping for you, this one's for you.Made Of is a show that brings light to people's relationship with their work. The deepest inspiration is always derived from work product; London shows us why. New episode every Friday. Subscribe so you catch the next one.