Crime in Sports - #337 - Jonestown... Or Idi Amin?? - John Brisker

Episode Date: January 10, 2023

This week, we look at a man who never met a fight that he didn't like. He fought his way from the projects, to college, where he did a strange combination of extracurricular activities. He was the most feared man in the ABA, regularly punching out both opponents & teammates. His time in the NBA was cut short by his violent nature, so he went to Uganda to hang out with the dictator, Idi Amin... and was never heard from again. Or, did he die in Jonestown, with his aunt? Or, is he still alive somewhere, hiding from his problems? Introduce yourself using your fists, turn basketball into a contact sport, and be called "Lebron James with anger issues" with John Brisker!!Check us out, every Tuesday! We will continue to bring you the biggest idiots in sports history!!  Hosted by James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman  Donate at... patreon.com/crimeinsports or with paypal.com using our email: [e-mail]  Get all the CIS & STM merch at crimeinsports.threadless.com  Go to shutupandgivememurder.com for all things CIS & STM!!  Contact us on... twitter.com/crimeinsports [e-mail] facebook.com/Crimeinsports instagram.com/smalltownmurderSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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A first listen is waiting for you when you start your free trial at audible.ca. Each week on the Mr. Ballin Podcast, now available wherever you get your podcasts, you'll hear strange, dark, and mysterious stories about inexplicable encounters, shocking disappearances, true crime cases, and everything in between. So go listen to Mr. Ballin Podcast, Strange, Dark, and Mysterious Stories on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Crime and Sports. Yay! Oh, yay indeed, Jimmy. Yay indeed.

My name is James Petrigallo. I'm here with my co-host. I'm Jimmy Wissman. Thank you folks so much for joining us. We are excited today for another... We're excited every day Crime and Sports lives to fight another day. And it does today. and we have a really fun episode and this is the type episode that we couldn't do in the old format because yeah we couldn't fill three hours with it but the story's so crazy it needs to be told and it's a wild story

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which you're going to get for crime and sports we're going to talk about players attacking fans yeah yes that came up with ty cobb of him having that during that time period it was a very common thing to happen and it kept happening and we've talked about the vernon maxwells and stuff before but we'll find some more some kind of lesser known ones and talk about it when players attack fans. And then for small town murder, we're going to talk about Nazis on drugs. Hey, hey, hey. Yes. What were the, what the hell was wrong when we're talking Nazi Nazis, Germans in the forties

here in thirties and forties. And, uh, what were they on? Obviously we know the army was on meth, but what was, what were the leadership on to come up with these fucking ideas we'll find out all about it because it is a wild scene speed balls and all sorts of crazy shit it's crazy patreon.com slash crime and sports is where you get all of that and more the more is a shout out because you're going to get a shout out uh at the end of the show where jimmy's going to mispronounce your name, even though he would love to get it correct. He really would. I'm trying real hard.

He's certainly not going to, though. So that said, let's get into this. We have a wild show here because this guy's nuts, and one of the weirdest endings we've ever had in a story, ever. Oh, tell me more. We're going to talk about John Brisker. B-R-I-S-K-E-R. John Brisker.

You've never heard of him probably. Never. We mentioned him a bit in the ABA bonus episode we talked about because he's one of the legends of the ABA in terms of fighting. And also he's a great player. But he's described later on by a teammate as LeBron James with an anger problem. teammate as LeBron James with an anger problem. So if you can picture that, he's a big, stocky, good scorer who will just knock you out for no reason. So imagine that basically here.

John Brisker, his nickname was heavyweight champion of the NBA. So that tells you a lot right there. Had ABA before that, then NBA. He's born June 15th, 1947 in Detroit. He is a Ham Tramk. How the hell do you say that? It's a part of Detroit here. Ham Tramk, Michigan is the high school he went to here. Now, his brother said it started early with the fighting. His brother, Ralph, said he never backed down from a good fight. He wouldn't necessarily instigate it, but he wouldn't run away as a child. He's a tough guy.

Here is an article from February of 1972, a little excerpt from this article from Sport Magazine. And this is a quote from John here because he has teammates later that go go i don't even know where he's from or like if he had a family i don't know like he didn't talk about that stuff at all so to get yeah to get kind of background on him is is doesn't happen very often not easy so he says quote we moved 15 to 20 times when i was growing up getting out of places because we couldn't pay the rent. When I started high school, I lived at the back end of a project. There was a basketball court 15 feet from our door.

It was all dirt. Then I had a lot of things frustrating me. So I take my frustrations outside and get rid of them shooting a basketball. That makes sense. I used basketball to forget living in that place. I knew by then there were better things that other people had nice things. I'd ask myself, why can't we have them? If the world is so stingy, so corrupt that they could put me in that little spot in the project and make me stay there, man, the project is a trip.

My whole life was that lousy project in school. I'd go from the project to school to a job and back to the project i got to asking if there wasn't something else so yeah that's his uh he realized early that the world is very difficult because yeah he had it be very difficult for him so as a kid that hurts because like you either look at it in a way of like you there's nothing else there's just this horrible shit yeah uh or what's why are we so why are we why is it us why do we have to deal with this yeah and well when you hear about other obstacles he had to overcome here like what was wrong with his mom and stuff like that like you go jesus christ yeah he would go why me why does why does my life suck what i do

yeah which would explain maybe why he didn't talk about his background too much to his friends here. There's nothing to tell. A guy later on who has a lot of quotes about him because he wrote a book, a guy named Slick Watts, who was a player with Seattle Supersonics when he was on there, John. He said, quote, I never heard too much about his background. His mom, his dad, his brothers and sisters. He never went into that. Very private around his teammates a lot of the and sisters he never went into that very private around his teammates a lot of the times not some of them that he was close to it would be different

but um now mom her name is ernestine uh she raises three children which there's ralph who's the younger brother and then there's john who's the second child and i believe he has a sister an older sister so he's from uh west side of detroit his mom is partially paralyzed so she doesn't get around real well at all does she have a stroke do we know i don't well i don't think we ever find out exactly what happened to her but she's partially paralyzed her husband took off when john was five so you know old enough to remember him taking off. And she sold old clothes and did odd jobs to keep money coming in. There's no 401k in that. No, there really isn't.

Jesus. He started working eight hours a day, John did, from the time he was 11. Eight hours a day from the time he was 11. 11. 11. And this isn't the 20s. This is the 60s. You know what I mean? it's the late 60s

or the mid 60s with a big thermos of coffee as an 11 year old well i got a long shift tonight i'm gonna see if i can pull a double got gotta go i'm gonna see if i can uh pull a double here you know get some overtime he uh caught pneumonia at a car wash at one point, so he stopped doing the car wash. A car wash in Detroit? Yeah, he was working at a car wash. You're going to catch pneumonia that way. So he became a janitor in a bunch of buildings. So he'd go to school at night and then at night he'd do janitorial work around basketball. In the morning, turn in his keys and sit down and then sit down and learn

did this until he's 18 jesus and uh this makes a lot of sense he says quote i feel like i missed a part of my childhood yeah i'd say so the part the part when you come home from school and don't do a janitorial job for eight hours when you're 12 that part probably the part where you don't have to do taxes john holy shit he's like mom i gotta work out jesus christ my w-2s aren't here yet this is ridiculous mom they've lowered head of that had a household for christ's sake lucky for him he's big because he turns out to be 65 250 he's a big dude big strapping muscular guy i mean he looks like a modern nba player when you look at his pictures you go oh that guy looks you could plant him right in today's game and he would look exactly you know like he belongs he does not he's not like an out of shape guy from back then

yeah uh he said i lied about my age and i had to keep switching jobs because they'd find out so he was big enough to be able to go, yeah, I'm 16. And they go, yeah, sure. But then they go, oh, you're 12. You can't work here until 11 o'clock at night. That's not allowed. So their mom. Well, then he said they tried to take us away from my mother one time, but she got out of the hospital and she struggled. I look at her now and think how easy it would have been for her to just quit and give up but all three of us went to college so yeah i mean i see what he's saying but what yeah how how easy would it be to quit what do you what do you do is that just suicide what do you do i mean quit and give up at that limp into the street and get hit by a car like what put yourself on an ice block in the

lake michigan and just I don't know. Get the bus schedule and just crawl into Fifth Ave or whatever the busy street is in Detroit. Not sure. Yeah. Whatever the hell that is. Yeah. I don't know how you'd quit. But yeah, he but John is extremely athletic. His family, his whole family is athletic, as we'll talk about at the end of this, too. He first started boxing a bit because he's a fighter and uh but he realized that he was just really good at basketball so he started playing basketball more he's got a gift i mean the guy as much as he's a fighter the problem is he's remembered only as a fighter because he fought so much but then you look at some of his games and some of

his stats and you go holy shit like if he't a fighter, this guy would be remembered as a, an amazing score, like a top tier guy. So, um, he said in Detroit, if you're tough enough, they named playgrounds for you.

That's what, that's what he said. And actually years later, the playground he played in between the high school and some parks, some shitty little playground, they named the court after him. Eventually, the city did. So it worked.

Yep. His mom had a stroke. That's what happened with the paralyzation. Yeah. He said the government wanted to take us kids away from her, but she went to work and raised us. He actually, in high school, played with Rudy Tomjanovich. Is that right?

Yes. Isn't that interesting rudy t was a tough son of a bitch he was he's the guy who got hit real hard oh yeah he got hit real hard yeah fucked his whole face up and he's like maybe a whole life maybe coaching is better for me he almost explode if if not for skin he would have exploded yeah rudy's face his whole head popped up his hair went poof and that little thing the skin's the only thing that held it together yeah um and also spencer haywood was there too spencer haywood will be an aba star and then end up going to the lakers later

on spencer haywood he'll make a great episode too we'll do him eventually he's one of these guys that had all the talent in the world and just did so much coke he fucked it all up okay it's one of these guys that had all the talent in the world and just did so much coke he fucked it all up. It's one of those guys where you're going, oh, you're just, oh, he could have been one of the greats, everybody says. So he said they used to drive by a Buick dealership and boast about buying a Buick Electra when they turned pro. When they turned pro, I'm going to be buying that Buick Electra right there. Can't wait. Wait till I have my Buick. Oh, man, I'm going to get buying that Buick Electra right there. Can't wait. Wait until I have my Buick. Oh, man.

I'm going to get my Buick. As all young boys do. We all sit and dream about our future in a Buick. I'm going to get me a bunch of hot women and put them in my Buick and drive away. You're going to see me in my Sable. Oh, they're going to love it. That's a Mercury, actually. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Mercury. It's a Buick LeSabre. LeSabre. There you go. The Buick Electra, a deuce and a quarter, he called it, the deuce and a quarter model. He said we had to fight our way throughout Detroit. That was what he said.

But he was on a team with Rudy Tomjanovich. Spencer Haywood went to a different school, so he hung out with him, but they weren't on the same team. A lot of colleges recruited him, Brisker, actually, yeah, because he was a big deal. He's a great player. And he thought about going to Michigan State, which is kind of where you go if you're from Detroit. It's kind of a lot of those guys end up at Michigan State. He passed it all up to go to what college, you think?

What's he going to pass up the hometown powerhouse for? DeVry. Almost. Toledo. What? Yeah. Not North Carolina or, you know, UCLA. Toledo.

Toledo, which he regretted later, he said. I'm sure. He said, quote, Toledo made me the best offer, car, apartment, wardrobe. That's why he went. Because back then it was just open. And he's a kid from the projects. You gave me the essentials to run a life. Yeah, I'm going there.

Car, apartment, wardrobe, some cash in your hand? Yeah. Sounds great. projects you gave me the the essentials that to run a life yeah i'm going car apartment wardrobe some cash in your hand yeah sounds great and i play basketball and fuck college girls for the next three years sounds four years sounds terrific you're gonna give me uh food shelter and clothing yeah yeah i'm in i don't have those he said they offered him all that he said man i asked where do i sign i didn't care what school it was he was like i'm getting all that shit great i don't care where it is but when i got fascinating what desperation will do for a person yeah well he just didn't know and he said but when i got there i saw people against me because of my color i hadn't experienced prejudice before

and i started asking questions i didn't get any answers i changed then i got hostile i wanted to know why i couldn't live in this world too i'm still asking so yeah he said in high school there was no racial shit which is super weird in you know because it was early it was right but it was before all the think about this's born in 47. So he's in high school in, you know, 63, 64. This is before the riots in Detroit, you know, the late 60s. This is before all that. So he said – This is the boom of the auto industry there, too.

This is a big deal. This looks great. But it would be him, Rudy T., and Spencer Haywood riding around in the car. And if you don't know who any of those guys are, two of them are big black guys and one of them is a big white guy. And they're just hanging out together, which seems fine. But back then, he said that that was normal for him. And then he got to Toledo and it was everything. Everybody's kind of separated racially.

And he didn't like that at all. And he was like, what the fuck is this about? You know, he's just used to Detroit. There's black guys, white guys. We all go to the same school. We play on the same team. Whatever, you know. Let's used to detroit there's black guys white guys we all go to the same school we play on the same team whatever you know think about this it was different yeah he said he never never thought about it before but in his sophomore year toledo was 20 and 1 and ranked number 10 nationally is that right yeah well think about it rudy too is a good nba

player too yeah and he went there too he went to to Toledo also, I think. Yeah, I think he ended up there too, if I'm not mistaken. So he, later on though, he kind of became less of the focus of the offense when they got a big center and he was upset with racial conflict. But he didn't just play basketball, Jimmy. He played football in his sophomore year. a college for college doing both things yeah and he hadn't played football in high school that's a whole new world for him that's how beastly athletic he is and just unbelievable he's a big i mean you don't get in his way he will run you the fuck over so it makes sense but you got a scholarship for basketball but you're also playing football oh if that's not enough you know what else he does is he the janitor no he's not the janitor that's a good guy i was gonna say

i'll give you a hundred guesses and you'll never guess it janitor would have been my first guess too yeah he plays the tuba in the band what the tuba he's a gifted musician too i mean he plays i don't know it seems hard it's only a few buttons though right seems like half of it is carrying it half of the tuba would be carrying wielding that thing around not bumping it into other people in the in your marching band that would be part of it so tired i played the tuba today yeah half a block with a tuba play yeah man the walking is a bitch it's a lot though it's just i it's 40 it's like you know it's heavy forearms are killing me it's real heavy so uh the basketball coach didn't want to offer him didn't want him to play basket to play uh football or play the tuba he just wanted to

play basketball and he's like no i'm gonna play football and uh the tuba. He just wanted to play basketball, and he's like, no, no, I'm going to play football and the tuba. He actually got offers for tryouts from three NFL teams as well because of his size and athleticism. Back then in the 60s, teams were looking for athletes, and elite athletes didn't go to the NFL. It's not like it is now. The NFL, and you can trace this, and a bunch of the guys from back then have talked about it. It's a big kind of an open thing.

In the late 60s when they started drafting for Vietnam, that's when football started getting elite athletes. Before that, they played baseball. But baseball, if you get signed to a professional contract when you're 18 at a high school and then go, you can be drafted into the army and go to Vietnam. But if you go to play football and you're in college for four years, you can't get drafted. So a lot of the guys played football to not get drafted into Vietnam. So that's how football, all that athlete stream ended up starting to go to football instead of baseball, and it's just continued ever since then. Wow.

That's absolutely – yeah, a lot of the guys said that. I could have played football or baseball, didn't want to get drafted and go to NAMM, so I played football. That's how a lot of guys ended up in the NFL. So when we celebrate in February, we're basically – when we have the Super Bowl, we're just basically celebrating. Thank God for Vietnam. Thank God. Yeah. Vietnam was the best thing to happen to the NFL ever.

It literally was. Because that's what they do, too. Colleges would go to these kids and go, listen, I know the Royals are looking at you. I know you're getting looked at by the Tigers, but you go there. You could get drafted. You'll be in a rice paddy knee deep. You could be the shit tomorrow. Yeah.

I mean, you could be that. Whereas if you come play with us down at Alabama, it's four years. In four years, boy, our war will probably be over. We'll probably be drafting people in four years, and you'll be in the NFL, pal. The NFL. Keep your guts on the inside. If you're a scared teenager, sounds good to me.

Keep your guts on the inside and let's fuck them up. We're going to fuck up your brain, not your guts, boy. See, that's what we're going to do. You won't remember your name, but you'll know that you weren't shot in a jungle, so that's going to be better.

Oh, you'll be scrambled, but let's wait for 30 years for that to show up absolutely baseball always had the advantage of they give you money so if you're some 18 year old kid in the city or a farm boy or some shit like that and they come to you and go i'll give you a ten thousand dollar signing bonus you go holy shit boy and you sign right up. But if you're going to spend that money in Vietnam on hookers on your R&R rather than doing what you want. In four years, do whatever you want. Yeah, so that was the thing. And then they would offer the guys all sorts of stuff. Do you come here?

We'll give you a few bucks. We'll give you a wardrobe, an apartment, and all that shit. We'll give you food, water, and shelter. Yeah, and no one will shoot at you. Not on purpose, anyway. I mean, maybe at Texas because that guy shot from the belt you never know but still also depends on how racist uh you get in toledo yeah you never know so he actually there was a an issue on the team where um there the coach suspended a black player and Brisker got mad. And he said, Nichols, meaning who's the coach, Nichols was from Toledo.

When the black and white thing got into the papers, I was the villain because he came out and said he was mad. He said he had the bright idea the black players were a separate group. That was the split. And I fought him over that because we'd always been together as a team, but it got to the point where my hair was falling out and I developed an ulcer. Oh my,

it's causing him so much anguish and anxiety. He was put on the bench and there was racial stuff and he, cause he was put on the bench cause he was talking in the papers. And so, yeah, he said he was just totally fucked up in the head. Hair's falling out. Hair's falling out.

He averages, let's see, uh, his freshman year, where totally fucked up in the head. His hair's falling out. Hair's falling out. He averages, let's see, his freshman year, where's 14 points a game. His sophomore year, 14.9 points a game. And we're talking shitloads of rebounds, too. Nine and a half rebounds in his freshman year. So good. 6.8 in his sophomore year. So he's doing very well. Then he doesn't play very much in his junior year.

Only plays in six games because that's all this shit's going on here um so he he's doing everything like that uh playing his stuff he's starting to get moody starting to party a little bit more yeah and he he settled most of it a lot of it was the the racial stuff got him very mad. Rudy Tomjanovich said he got a little frustrated at that time. Yeah. And you could tell. He said, this is Brisker's quote, his full quote here, In the summer of 68, just before my senior year, I was informed by the coach that I would have to do everything he wanted or I wouldn't play ball for him again. I couldn't do that, so I told him I didn't need him.

Even if I couldn't play basketball for him, I was talented enough to do something else. And he led the football team in receptions that year as a receiver. So that's crazy. As an athlete. Can you imagine being so good? So athletic that you can just. And then you wedge that giant frame into a tuba is the tuba the one that goes around you i don't know if it goes around you if you're hanging off the front of you yeah i mean it seems like it would go around crawl through right i think that's the tuba it's huge the tuba yeah it's like a it's like a brass cello it's a gigantic fucking what's that giant one that you gotta slide into that into? That's got to be a tuba, I think, right? They probably come in different sizes, tubas, too. Lizzo plays it, right?

I would assume. I think she plays the flute. Oh. She might play the tuba, too. I don't fucking know. The tuba's, yeah, the little kind of cradle. What's that giant fucker that you've got to wedge into? I have no idea.

It looks like a steam pipe for an old building. Yeah, it comes out over your head. It's a stupid instrument is what it is. It's like some sort of weird exhaust system. You're playing. I play the Harley pipe. That's what I play. I play the Harley exhaust.

Yeah, I play custom pipes. Giant wind horn. That's what I'm going the Harley exhaust. Yeah. I play custom pipes. Giant wind horn. That's what I'm going to look up. Instrument. And then you keep telling me more. And we'll... Well, I'll wait until you get to the bottom of this. All right.

I don't think the instrument matters, to be honest with you. And even if you bring it up, 45 people will tweet us about it anyway. So why waste the time on the show? Someone will tell us later. Great point. It's an alpha horn. I don time on the show? Someone will tell us later. Great point. It's an alpha horn. I don't know. Yeah.

Everyone will tell us anyway. So he still wanted to play basketball, though, Brisker. Okay. He said, every day for two weeks after football practice at 3 p.m., I would go to practice with the freshman basketball team at 7 p.m. Doing both was a hell of a strain on my body, but that's how badly I wanted to play. Yeah, coming from college football practice

to go do basketball practice is insane. You can't do both of those in the same day. That feels very tiring. Holy shit. So he said he's on the bench and everything like that, and that's when he said he developed an ulcer, started losing his hair. He said, and he has hair, so it's not like he goes bald after that.

He ends up growing it back. Sounds like a pregnant woman, though. Yeah, just got too many hormones or something. A little bit, yeah. Too many vitamins coming in. He said, at the same time, other things started to go badly. My grade average took a dive. I decided to quit the team, and it became a big controversy.

It was played up as my not being able to make it academically when it was actually the coach and me not making it in any way. I didn't feel that staying at Toledo would be worthwhile. The only thing I could have accomplished was to hurt somebody and ruin myself. Jesus. While I still had my pride and self-respect, which they couldn't strip me of, I left.

Yeah. You can't take my pride. Yeah. He did that. So he got a job job he worked a bunch after that he's working i assume he's doing janitorial work or some sort of of the like and then he ends up in the philadelphia's baker league in the summer this was a big deal back then this was a summer league that pro guys would come play in this league like it was a it was yes

a basketball league that was played outdoor i believe it was outdoor uh some of the games were outdoor but it was like a hardcore summer basketball league back then and uh like i said pros would come to stay in shape because that's where the good games were young guys this is where you get seen scouts came here it was a big deal and john played in this league and does a great job and really uh you know gets a lot of attention well the other thing is you get a lot of pro players coming and seeing you next thing you know they go back to their teams and they're like hey there's this kid that plays here and there this motherfucker's bad i saw him doing this and that and then you know drafted. And that's what happens. In 1969

he's not in the regular NBA draft. He gets drafted in the first round by Philadelphia in the supplemental draft. Now NBA draft though, first round, number one pick 1969, Jimmy. You might actually get it.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Yes. That's why I said you might actually get it because you guess abdul-jabbar yes that's why i said you might actually get it because you guess him a lot in 69 69 drafted out of ucla to milwaukee and we told the story about him in the aba in the bonus episode by the way then right yeah it was lou el cinder at the moment but he almost uh ended up in the aba but but they fucked it up. Full story's on Patreon. So he's also, John Brisker, is also drafted by the Pittsburgh Pipers at the time, who were the – No, that is an ABA basketball team. Baseball.

What fucking baseball team is that? I was looking for a curveball in the story. I don't know. He plays football and basketball. Is it really a stretch? Who knows? He signs with the Pittsburgh Pipers, a hockey team. Like, what?

The first professional cornhole team. We didn't even know he could skate, but apparently he never skated before, but he's so good and athletic, he just put skates on and muscled them into the ice. He doesn't so much glide on the ice as he makes himself a trail. He really just makes himself a divot the whole way through so uh he the pipers also draft him and he ends up

signing with the aba because the nba didn't offer him shit for money so aba offered a few more bucks but not much so he ends up in the aba he's got to kind of prove himself now the pipers were the defending champions when he got drafted so that's great that's great but their team completely fell apart when they at this point because they won the title but didn't make any money so they started selling off their players and shit okay so that's the kind of team they were they go 29 and 55 in his rookie year there that's not good no couple different coaches it's kind of a mess uh john though 21 points a game 21 points 5.7 rebounds 1.7 assists out of the small forward spot and sometimes power sometimes power forward at 6-5 too he plays too yeah i mean he he plays

28.2 minutes a game he's he's in it man he He's in it. You get that out of a rookie, that's a fucking tremendous deal. Yeah, and back then, too, you would get that out of rookies. Guys would be the MVP as a rookie in the ABA. Yeah, they'd get these dominant, especially a center could come in and dominate because there was not a lot of good centers. The NBA, when they started competing salary-wise with the ABA, the first and foremost thing they did was lock down centers because back then the game was all post.

So if they took the centers, that was it. The NBA was screwed, which in the end, it opened up the game. You're playing against a team with a good center, and your center is garbage. Now you've got a shooting guard as your double team, and that's a mismatch all day you can just dominate on you well then you get you get guys wide open if you have a center who knows how to kick it out you got a lot of problems and when it comes to that so fighting becomes his main reputation though okay and mind you 21 points 5.7 rebounds 1.7 assists per game yeah it's

outstanding as a rookie in any league uh here but fighting the aba award points for fighting did you get like no but if he did if he did he'd average 43 a game 43 points a game he would have been like by like killing it way above anybody else taylor swift is soaring high her every move captured in the news cycle and devoured by her devoted fans. She's broken billboard records and made Grammys history, not to mention becoming a billionaire in the process. But along the way, Taylor has had to wage war, first by taking on a very powerful, very famous manager, Scooter Braun, and then by going up against the biggest live events company, Ticketmaster. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wondery's show Business Wars.

We go deep into some of the biggest corporate rivalries of all time. And in our latest season, Taylor Swift will shake up not only the music business, but Hollywood and the NFL. Follow Business Wars wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. The wait is over. So far, you're not losing. The only thing you're losing is my patience. Quickly, I see that.

Bing! The queen of the courtroom is back. I didn't do anything. You wouldn't know the truth if it came up and slapped you in the face. I see he's not intimidated by anything. I can fix that. New cases. She wanted to fight me.

Leave her. A long. Okay, so, um... This is not a so. This is a period. Classic Judy. Did you sleep with her? Yes, Your Honor.

You married his cousin. His brother. That's not him. Yes, ma'am. I would make a beeline for the door. The Emmy Award-winning series returns. How did I know that? I have a crystal ball in my head.

It's an all-new season. It's streaming. You can say anything. Judy Justice, only on Freebie. Judy Justice, only on Freebie. He knocked out a guy named Sam Smith in Kentucky who played for the Kentucky Colonels, who was a big, giant guy, and he just fucking knocked him out cold on the court. That was his original reputation, and the ABA was made from that because he was a much bigger guy and John just knocked the fuck out of him.

Actual knockout. Oh, yeah. They said the guy looked just like Joe Louis, too, his face. So it was funny. He looked like a giant Joe Louis, the boxer. They said Smith, the big guy, swung twice and then Brisker swung once and knocked him the fuck out. Countered with one punch. Yep.

He's obviously out of the game. And they said after that said oh don't fuck with john brisker that's a that's a bad dude took two gave one and he's still standing no shit uh one of his coaches said brisker had three talents shooting rebounding and fighting he said no one ever knew which order they'd appear from day to day is the problem you never knew what john and then uh spencer haywood said john was lebron james with an ang with anger issues that's telling that's some serious shit i know but that's who he was that's the kind of something i don't tell you it says expletive that's the kind of expletive you were looking at i assume motherfucker would be the probably yeah detroit yeah that's the kind of expletive you were looking at. I assume motherfucker would be the. Probably. Yeah. Detroit. Yeah.

That's the kind of motherfucker you were looking at. Sounds right. There it is. If you've ever heard Spencer Haywood, that's what he would have said. Well, Andrew. Not Andrew. Jesus. Samuel.

Yeah. Samuel L. Jackson. Not Andrew Jackson at all. Very different people. But I would pay to hear. I'll bet they both don't like each other. I would pay to hear Samuel Jackson dress they both don't like each other i would pay to hear samuel jackson dress down andrew jackson that would be hilarious that would be the funniest fucking thing in the

world we'd have to obviously dig him up he's been dead for several hundred years almost 200 years but still i feel like i would like i would enjoy that put out like a hat on him in a military uniform i'd love to if we could reanimate i want to see his face as it happens yeah he would absolutely hate it i know that much he would certainly hate it so um and we talked a little bit about a couple of these guys in the uh or at least warren jabali in the aba bonus episode but the two biggest toughest guys were warren jab Jabali and John Brisker in the whole ABA. That was how it was. Brisker was killing it.

We'll tell you more of his stats, but he does very well. Brisker, everybody, it's weird. People like him, but then they're scared of him, so they don't want to get close to him. It's an interesting thing. A guy named Billy Knight says, Going to college at the University of Pittsburgh and playing on the team, I got to see a lot of ABA teams and got to know guys like Connie Hawkins and John Brisker. Connie Hawkins is amazing.

He's a legend, as you know, being a Suns fan. Yeah, and as a career being robbed from him, all of everything. Oh, yeah. What a of everything. Oh, yeah. What a nice person. Well, yeah. The ABA saved him. The ABA was the, he went to the ABA and was just the dominant player in the ABA. And that's when the NBA and the whole thing went through the court and he ended up going,

he got, he really did well. He went to the NBA, got a huge contract and got a big settlement also for them keeping him out for all those years. He would come to our school so much. Really? Like schools in Arizona. Wow, he's a legend, man. He's amazing. Every year it felt like he was there to give a speech about staying in school.

And what a guy. That's a fucking – he is an amazing player, like incredible player. People just the way they talk about him when he was younger, he was like, you know, just beyond amazing, especially for a big guy like that. So, uh, he said, those guys used to work out with us at the pit field house. The first time I played a game against Brisker, he just turned toward me and busted me in the mouth. Some college kid. He's just playing a pickup game with.

He said, I mean, for no reason. He just punched me in the mouth and stood there waiting for me to do something about it. I didn't do anything. He just scared me. You think there was no reason? Yeah. What was the result? I'm sure that was the reason.

Yeah. Afterwards, I bet you played him a little softer. You weren't quite boxing him out so hard. I bet he scored pretty well that day, huh? Yep. Matt Calvin, who's a really good guard, a really good ABA guard. He was great. I think he played in the NBA before and then went to the ABA.

He said, John Brisker scared everybody. Even the guys on his own team were frightened of the guy. He had a perpetual chip on his shoulder, but I was a guard, so he didn't pay much attention to me he liked to pick on the big guys yeah that's the kind of guy he is too brisker will go who's the toughest guy on that team oh good i'm gonna punch him today like every little prison mentality say every game was day one of prison for this guy like gotta make my reputation prison Prison orientation at game day. Every fucking game. Every game.

Charlie Williams, another guy here from the ABA, he said there was a real contradiction to Brisker. He was an exceptionally talented player with a good long-range jump shot, almost downtown Freddie Brown-like range. He was a great player, too, downtown Freddie Brown. He was vicious under the basket and got more rebounds than a 6'5 guy should. He had good all-around basketball skills and really was an excellent player. But his personality was something else. Say something wrong to the guy, or at least that he thought was wrong, and you had this feeling that John would reach into his bag,

take out a gun, and shoot you. Jesus Christ. In training camp, if John sensed there was a guy who might take his bag, take out a gun and shoot you. Jesus Christ. In training camp, if John sensed there was a guy who might take his job, the rookie was in trouble. John would physically take that player apart. The guys on the other teams were just scared of him and the guys on John's team were very

leery of him. He's just a wild card. Oh, he'll punch you. He'll knock you out. Being a teammate means nothing in terms of whether you'll get punched or not. Piss him off. He's teammates. Yeah, he's just a wild card. Oh, he'll punch you. He'll knock you out. Being a teammate means nothing in terms of whether you'll get punched or not. Piss him off. He's punching you. I want you to win, but me too. I'm going to win on this team at the same time as we win.

He said, quote, being a fighter is a part of my game, but it ruins any evaluation of me as a player. I come on the floor. Everyone expects a fight. That's not right. I just protect what I am and I don't back off. But not everybody's fighting every game. That's the difference. You have to, you know, there's.

Does he. Do you think that's from just from childhood? Like because he had to scrap and fight to survive. I guess he does that as an adult, too. He's got a real. He doesn't have to anymore. I don't know if it's that as an adult too he's got a real he doesn't have to anymore i don't know if it's that or i mean it's also a matter of like if you're growing up if you're growing up with a lot of other kids around and your mom's like something's wrong with her and shit the other kids might say something and you gotta fucking beat them up so you know

you might feel like he's always defending a lot i'm not not sure. And he's just angry. Yeah. Yeah, he's definitely angry. He's mad. Dick Tinkham, who's an executive in the league there in the ABA. Dick Tinkham. Yeah, we talked about him a lot in the ABA episode. That's a bad name. So many guys, unfortunate dick names back then. So many.

Jesus. He says, quote, the legendary Brisker story was that in one of its training camps, Pittsburgh brought in an ex-football player who was supposed to control Brisker. The football player was supposed to get into a scrimmage with Brisker, and the first time Brisker stepped out of line, the football player was supposed to flatten him. There. We're going to keep him under control. Well, the two guys started going at it.

Then the football player said said the hell with you i'm going to get my gun and do this with me and brisker said quote if you're getting a gun then i'm gonna go get my gun i go in too now we're gonna have a shootout on the court then the two guys ran off the court in different directions presumably to get their guns the coaches took one look at all that and called off practice before somebody got killed. That's the ABA, though. That's fucking amazing. John Vanek, who is an official, he said,

One time I was officiating a Pittsburgh game and Brisker was late coming onto the floor for the second half. Turned out that he had a fight in the dressing room with one of his own players. It's just constant. Steve jones here another guy he says quote wendell would fight anyone this is about um this is about yeah this is about wendell ladner who's a big hillbilly uh total redneck guy who could barely talk and did a commercial and couldn't say tortilla i like him already we talked about him yeah he said they said wendell would fight anyone in his second pro game we played denver and wendell got in with wayne hightower and right away hightower backed off he just didn't want any part of wendell the next day we went to pittsburgh back when the condors had john brisker who was the meanest guy in the league before the

game Brisker said to me I hear you've got this tough white kid on your team and that's how good the ABA Grapevine was Wendell was in the league for only two games and a ready word was out on him I told Brisker Ladner can fight I wouldn't mess with him and Brisker said we'll find out tonight

someone else is tough I'm gonna fight him don't worry i can't wait to see it that's fucking crazy so he said pittsburgh had a bad team and a very selfish team brisker was out there shooting the ball every time he got it trying to get his 30 once brisker got his 30 points he decided it was time to go after wendell john threw an elbow at ladner who didn't pay any attention to it and just ran down to the other end of the court. The next time down the court, Brisker threw another elbow,

and Ladner went crazy. It became more like two bulls trying to gore each other than a basketball fight. Those were just two big, strong, rough guys. In their next game, they got into a fight at the jump ball to start the game. Wow.

But eventually they learned that neither guy could beat the other. They just scrapped to a draw every time. Oh, my God. So another, Rudy Martzke, said Wendell was crazy. He'd stick his head into Brisker's dressing room and yell, Hey, John, we going to go at it now or after the game? And then they'd laugh, go into their dressing room, and then fight on the court.

So it was just like. Now we want to give them a show. It wasn't hard feelings at all. It was just like. That's what we do. We fight. Yep. So, yeah, Jack McMahon, who was a coach for the Condors when they turned from the Pipers to the Condors, he said, quote, nobody would get in his way about Brisker.

If he got fouled, he'd get up and punch the guy who fouled him wow imagine that in the game imagine lebron james gets fouled gets up drills james harden right in the fucking forehead just pow knocks him down that'd be wild but and keep going every time the difference between that league and this league is that they're playing to actively draw fouls now where league is that they're playing to actively draw fouls now where they're yeah they're they're playing to actually score buckets now it's all bullshit strategy of winning at the foul line it's fucking asinine so now it'd be like that'd be instigating now yeah watching chris paul stand up and punch somebody the pow the aba that was a

rougher game they said you'd have to be you'd have to really knock somebody down to get a foul like there was you weren't tapping somebody's wrist to get a foul that doesn't happen they weren't doing that um he said that quote uh brisker one moment he said am i thrown out he punched a guy then asked the ref am i thrown out do I go home now? The ref said, I told him, yeah. And he said, well, I'll get my money's worth. And he went back? Oh, yeah. Then he watched him.

Brisker made his way around the floor like he was heading to the locker room. And just when the guy that he got in a fight with stepped up to the line to take his technical foul shot. So he was at the line with nobody else around. This is when you're all alone at the foul line isolated just when that brisker bolted onto the floor and punched him in the back of the head got my money's worth is what he did there and his teammates said he was a really nice person do anything for kids that's all it takes that's what it is he's nice to the kids piece of shit as long as you go to the burn unit and hand out teddy bears you're an angel go over there sign a couple basketballs take a couple of pictures and you're a great guy it doesn't matter what the fuck you do

holy shit so 70 71 season he uh averages 39.1 minutes a game, so a lot. 29.3 points a game. Almost a point a minute. 9.7 rebounds. So he's averaging essentially 30 and 10. Why don't we know who he is? With three assists a game as well. That's ridiculous.

Those are silly numbers. Those are peak LeBron numbers. Those are really good numbers. Not bad. For sure. So one game in Salt Lake City, in the Utah Stars, they held a John Brisker intimidation night, they called it, an official night, where six of the state's professional fighters, including ex-middleweight champion Gene Fulmer and his brother Don, sat at courtside. Actual boxers. They brought in boxers to do that.

Brisker didn't give a shit, obviously, here, but they said they thought it was fun. It was very funny. So, yeah. His coach said, Jack McMahon, John intimidates people. He goes to the basket like no one I've ever seen. Guys run away. It's like a parting of the seas. In like no one I've ever seen. Guys run away. It's like a parting of the seas. In 20 years, I've never seen that before.

Most guys go to the rack trying to get fouled. He goes to the rack. If you foul him, he's punching you. So you get the fuck out of the way when he goes to the rack, essentially. That's how that works. One game in New York against the Nets, he had a huge, huge day there. He loved playing in New York. He thought it was the greatest thing in the world.

They played a doubleheader one day at Madison Square Garden. Not the same teams, but four different teams played a doubleheader. It was a big deal for the ABA trying to get out to a bigger market. That's when they had the Miami... Remember we talked about the Miami Floridians ball girls?

They made a big deal and the press came. So they said for three quarters, Brisker wasn't that great. He was shooting a lot, not doing so much. But then in the fourth quarter, he just went off. Turned it on. Turned it on. He made nine straight shots, including two three-pointers in there. Wow.

He was six for 24 coming into the fourth quarter. Then made nine straight, including two three-pointers in there wow just was on he was six for 24 coming into the fourth quarter then made nine straight including two threes the last three-pointer tied the game at 109 109 at the end of regulation going to overtime yep um so they went to uh the guy well on the three-pointer it was blocked is the weird part tom washington the guy who blocked it said i couldn't understand it he re-controlled the ball after i blocked it and shot it a second time and it went it was a swish that was in the air with three seconds left yeah wow he caught it and fucking shot it again somehow reset himself and shot it again which is pretty goddamn wild so um he loved

the garden he said new york fans are a lot different than Pittsburgh fans. You know why the Knicks are so good? Because at the time they were good, everybody. I know they haven't been for decades, but they were really good in the early 70s. They are inspired by the fans. It makes you feel good to play before real fans. Even though they are from New York, they recognize good players. I don't know what that means.

I guess on other teams. Despite those asshole New Yorkers. I mean, even though they obviously don't see very much, I think they're all right. He said, after we were on five in a row, we were expecting 2,000 or 3,000 fans to come out, but we barely had 1,000. It becomes disappointing to play just before the concessionaires in Pittsburgh.

So he goes, here, it's fun. And 1971-72, he plays 42.1 minutes a game that year jesus 28.9 points 9.1 rebounds 4.1 assists he's incredible that's really good um really good uh he started he's a lot different than he was before. Rudy Tomjanovich, who's been playing in the NBA, comes to visit him in Pittsburgh in 1971. And he said he was totally different. He said, quote, he was wearing a dashiki and talking about going to Africa. He said he just, yeah, he totally, he got into like the whole black power movement. Yeah.

And like the, not so much the Panther thing, but like the, like kind of Africa movement. Yeah. He got into that sort of thing. Not so much the Panther thing, but like the kind of Africa movement. He got into that sort of thing. So October 13th, 1971. This is during the World Series, by the way. There's a World Series game going on here in Pittsburgh. So this is fucking wild. He ends up, he gets arrested when he refused to get out of a taxi. It stopped. It's a World Series series game and the taxi was reserved oh a bunch of the taxis there was an area for reserve taxis

that were there you know from for players for media for whatever the fuck he just hopped in one of them was like take me here and the guy said can can't. It's reserved. Sorry. And he said, well, I'm not getting out. You're fucking, you're taking me there. And he ends up being, there ends up, cops end up coming and there ends up being a large brawl between him, the taxi cab driver, and several cops. What do you get charged with there? Loitering? Well, he faced arraignment on charges of assault and battery, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. Yeah, those are the ones that you get for that.

Those are the ones that are after the fact. Yeah. We'll drop loitering and hit you with these. Take those instead. And two of the cops end up in the hospital for a couple of days after this. He didn't make the team bus trip back to Wheeling, West Virginia, where they were playing the Dallas Chaparrals that night. Jesus Christ. At an exhibition game.

The coach said, we sent him home and told him to get some sleep because he was bruised. His ankle was banged up and he was obviously beaten. That's what a team spokesman said. According to the Condors here, Brisker attended the World Series game where the Pirates beat the Orioles 5-1 with a woman friend of his. I believe this is his future wife. He'll get married to her next year. Michelle is her name. He, this is from the

newspaper, he and the unidentified white woman left the game early. That didn't need to be said probably. The woman is fine. So that Brisker could catch the team bus in plenty of time. So they left the game, wanted to go get the bus. He waited 30 minutes for a taxi, then climbed into the first one that pulled up by the press gate. John said, this is from the team, John said the driver refused to accept him as a passenger.

The driver claimed the cab was reserved and told John he had to get out. Brisker claimed the driver had no right to refuse transport to an orderly passenger to their destination because the taxi drivers technically have to take people. So the driver called the police, and several policemen forcibly ejected John from the cab. He said they hit him and called him a black bastard. Okay. Now he thinks, as they say that, he's doing this because I'm black, because they're certainly doing this. Yes, it feels like it is. That should be a hate crime.

And it might have got a badge. And cab drivers back then, too, are pretty notorious for picking and choosing black people. Yes. I mean, they might have been looking for some dorky press guy at the press gate. But at the same time, it might have been somebody called the cab also for them and they were going to come outside now he took it so we don't know what happened we have no idea so the police this is the here's the two versions now we'll give you that's the team version okay the police said that and then we'll give you brisker's exact version the police said that brisker and a woman companion were arrested outside the stadium and taken to headquarters. The woman companion was not charged.

They said Patrolman Howard Trojanowski and Rudolph Sablo. I told you, you got to put, they put a fucking, we got one Polak, every one of these Midwestern cities. We need a Polak and a Guinea. Where are they? Come on, what do you got? Hey, Rudy, you come here. We're putting you with Trojanowski. Come on.

Get used to her to get her now. Get in the car. You had a problem with it? Take it up with the local. It's not my problem. I'm sorry. That's city ordinance. I don't know what to tell you.

It's one Polack and one guinea. That's what they told us, and that's what we're doing now. I don't know. Get out there. It's for the image. I don't get it. I don't understand it personally, but you know what? We're going to go with it.

Okay. It's every Midwestern city. That's how they all are. So Trojanowski was reported in good condition in the intensive care unit afterwards. Jesus Christ. Those words don't go together. After suffering not only beatings but attack of chest pains too he gave put him into a heart attack here oh jesus so uh a stadium

guard at the time said quite quote it was the greatest fight i ever saw i was here for ali i was here for George Foreman. I've seen it all, man. They didn't fight two people, so this was better. I saw Rocky Marciano, Joe Lewis. It was nothing compared to this, boy. This was a brawl. This was two cops and one giant fucking basketball player duking it out. He scared the cops so bad the man had heart palpitations.

Yeah, he was in intensive care, for Christ's sake. So they're talking about him. He's going to face charges for this. They actually decide to press charges on him. There was a delay of a month because the legal proceedings came to a halt after. This is amazing. Necessary papers were never forwarded to the district attorney's office from the magistrate's court. The actual formal filing was never forwarded to the district attorney's office from the magistrate's court the actual formal filing was never forwarded never so i don't know if that guy was just a like a fan it was like we'll keep his thing back here the papers were nowhere to be found but then

they showed up yesterday morning and officials promised quick action so they just popped up somebody hid them i think someone put them under something. Oh, there they are. So, yeah, they said that's how they're how they're going about it. Well, he said, quote, if I knew how it was all going to work out, this is after the fight and everything. This is funny. work out i'd have jumped and asked them to drive uh drive the wagon downtown but he basically he said if i knew how this whole thing would have went i would have skipped the fucking uh cab and just jumped in the police wagon and said take me to the station and none of us have to deal with all this shit it would have been easier take me to the station or that guy's going to the hospital yeah three people are going to the hospital he said but i want it clear that i didn't hit anyone if i had there wouldn't be any doubts that i had i just tried to tell them that i wasn't a criminal and to talk things over they wouldn't listen when they tried to handcuff me i just tried to shake them off which was

apparently throwing them around like a fucking like a wrestler with two managers or something. To the point where a stadium security guard said, it was the greatest fight I ever saw. Just shaking them. And he didn't even throw a punch according to him. So that's pretty funny. At the 71 All-Star game, this is Van Vance here. He says, Brisker intimidated the whole league, meaning the ABA. It was at the 1971 All-Star Game, and after it was over, I saw Brisker wandering through the stands.

I said, John, who are you looking for? He said, Jack Dolph, who was the commissioner. I said, why do you want the commissioner? He said, I want my All-Star money right now. I'm going to shake him off i'm gonna shake that money out of his hand he was still in his basketball shorts look wandering through the stands the game was that close to just just ended and he's like i want my money for playing in it so um he said i want my all-star money right now dolph came by just then and brisker said i want

my 300 dollars dolph started to say something and brisker repeated i played in the game i get three hundred dollars for being in the game i want my three hundred dollars brisker had that look about him so dolph just took out his wallet peeled off three one hundred dollar bills and handed them over to brisker never mind there's paper okay yeah he's about to tell him well, you'll get it on your next check. Yeah. I played. Excuse me. Stop talking.

Pardon moi. No more words. No, no, no, no. It's going to be punching or money. Those are the two things that could happen here. That's so funny. It's fucking great. With the commissioner of the league, this isn't even like.

Right to his face. Right to his face. No, no, no, no, no. No. No more talking. Imagine Rasheed Wallace walking up to David Stern in the stands after an All-Star game in 1997 and be like, I want my All-Star money now. And Stern being like, it's on your check. Fuck that shit. Stern starts peeling money off wow uh that year he had back-to-back scoring

nights of 53 and 50 points in two different games so that's he's a great player um the condors general manager said i thought he was a hell of a competitor and the best player we ever had or i ever had connie hawkins would be the best they ever had he said i thought he was a hell of a competitor and the best player we ever had or i ever had connie hawkins would be the best they ever had he said i thought he was a star player he played great i never had a problem with him he played hard for me makes sense he told me to say yeah otherwise he's gonna hit me i'm pretty sure but he knows where i live so i invited him to dinner one night. Pretty terrified of him. They were saying how at the time basketball really didn't have the structure to help guys out who had any kind of problem. If a guy, I mean, not that, I don't know if he had a problem or not, but let's say he went to a team and he said, I think I have an anger problem.

I'd like to go to a therapist for a while. Back then they'd go, oh, John's crazy. And they'd make plans to get rid of him when his contract was up you know what i'm saying whereas now they'd be like all right yeah go to a therapist here's a guy yeah take a leave yeah the team has five of them pick one whichever one you want so it's a different type of thing one guy said john was the kind of guy who if you talk about that kind of thing let's have a round table talking it out shoot we might have to fight john ourselves that's spencer haywood so he's. Shoot, we might have to fight John ourselves. That's Spencer Haywood.

So he's like, the team didn't want to talk to him about it because then we got to fight him. Someone else, he needed to have it himself or his mom needed to yell at him or some shit because it wasn't working. Another player said, I had a taste of fear with him, but I respected him because he always took time with me.

It's a teammate of his. One of the coaches, Tom Nasalky, said, I think John had a lot of mean bones in his body. He said one of his players would warn him around him that John's in his Dracula bag. In other words, he's acting like a vampire. Yeah, he's angry. Now, he did get knocked out good in one game, which is pretty funny.

Tom Nasalky says this, quote, When I was coaching Dallas, we were on a nine-game losing streak, and we went into Pittsburgh. Before the game, I got a telegram from our owner, Bob Folsom, and while I was opening it, I was afraid that I was getting the ziggy, meaning he's getting fired. He said, instead, the telegram said, Just want you to know that we're behind you

and we think you'll get things turned around, which means we thought about firing you and we decided not to, so get your shit together. That's what that means in sports. Otherwise you don't need a vote of confidence if you're just doing fine. I know I'm doing fine. What do you mean? He said, so I had a great feeling going into the game,

because he's a moron and doesn't know manager speak, obviously. He said the Dallas GM was Bob Briner and he used to let me keep a checkbook. So if a guy played a great game, I could give him a couple hundred bucks as a bonus right on the spot. Oh, that's cool. So with all that going on, I wanted to do something dramatic to end our losing streak. Brisker had just been kicking our ass all year i mean beating the hell out of us so i told the team the first guy in this room who decks brisker will get 500 a bounty gate a bounty yeah the saints were fucking penalized for this crisis has been going on forever and ever and ever uh lenny chapelle

said how about starting me i'll do it he didn't give a fuck he wanted 500 bucks the guy said i normally didn't start lenny but if you wanted to go out there and get a piece of brisker that was fine with me i figured that brisker would go up for a layup and or a rebound and lenny would nail him but just as the ball went up for the opening jump and everybody was looking up at the ball lenny chapelle just flattened brisker he he punched him out during the jump ball brisker was looking at the ball he was looking up he the ball, Lenny Chappelle just flattened Brisker. He punched him out during the jump ball. Brisker was looking at the ball. He was looking up. He didn't even know it was coming. The guy just came and fucking sucker punched

him. He said, if you think about it, that's the best time to get a guy. No one expects it. Everybody's looking up, including the officials. Nobody even saw Brisker get hit. He was just out flat on the floor and guys were running over him. Nobody even saw whatisker get hit he was just out flat on the floor and guys were running over him nobody even saw what happened to call a foul he got it even get in trouble for it because

they didn't see it because there's only two reps awesome he said after after the game i gave chapelle his five hundred dollars and we won the game from that point on there was a five hundred dollar bounty on brisker's head if he ever started up talking or shoving somebody, the first player on my team to deck him would get $500. So, that's the kind of guy we're dealing with here. This is pretty awesome. Fuck. If you don't know when Crystal Pepsi

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You can listen to WikiHole ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. June 1972, he is cleared of all criminal charges in his taxi incident. Is that right? Yep. The judge ruled that he was innocent after hearing the case without a jury. It was just a little bench trial. The taxi driver, Alfred E. Sabo, testified he went to the stadium to pick up a fare who had ordered a cab. And while stopped in the traffic near Gate A, Brisker entered his cab and refused to leave when he told him it was reserved.

So he said the patrolmen who were called testified they arrested Brisker after he ignored their orders to leave the cab. He finally left the cab, refused to enter a police van. Brisker said when the officers tried to force him into the van, he braced himself against the doorframe to prevent injury on the van steps. He said he did not intend to resist arrest. And they found him innocent. Fascinating. I don't think they brought in the security guy who said that was the greatest fight i ever saw in my life it's from what he described he tried

to brace himself and a cop like slipped and fell and then that's not what was described heart attack yeah i didn't hear shaking him a little bit either after that. So that's pretty funny. You think about shaking them off at all? Not at all. 72, 73, the NBA is looking to really pick the carcass of the ABA. So if they can pluck players out, they're going to do it. And they pick John Brisker out, the NBA, and the Seattle Supersonics sign him to a six-year, $1 million contract. Oh, my. In 72, which was enormous money. That's crazy, yeah.

Killing it. $175 a year or something like that? Killing it, yeah. Fucking crushing it after that. $180 a year or some shit. So $175. You see, it's 72, 73 Seattle here. They suck also, by the way.

That's why they're looking for guys from the ABA. They are 26 and 56 that year. Yikes. Shitty, by the way. That's why they're looking for guys from the ABA. They are 26 and 56 that year. Yikes. Shitty, in other words. And one of their coaches' names is Bucky Buckwalter. Why would you do that? Come on, man. Don't call yourself Bucky.

That's not your first name. No. It better not be. Now, then the coach halfway through the season is Tom Nasalky, the guy who had the $500 bounty on Brisker's head. Now he's Brisker's coach. Yeah. Which is interesting. And Nasalky said, I ended up coaching Brisker in the Seattle of the NBA.

He asked if there was really a bounty on him. He had heard about it. He laughed. I think he felt honored. I would. Yeah. Yeah. By the time I got to Seattle, Brisker had really started to slip.

We were playing in Portland, and Brisker had missed the morning practice. I always had a rule that if you didn't make the morning shoot-around, you didn't play that night. We played that night, and it was a close game. I didn't use Brisker, and with three seconds left in the game, we were down by two points. I was drawing up a pick for someone to take a shot when Brisker said, Tom, I'll hit that shot for you.

I looked at him. I thought maybe I'd show him up or whatever, but if he wanted to take the last shot of the game after having sat there all night, I'd let him. How about that? So if he wants to take the shot totally cold and with the least chance of making it of anybody on our team, I figure I'll let him fuck the game up.

What a weird coaching move. You know what? This is a good idea. of making it of anybody on our team. I figure I'll let him fuck the game up. What a weird coaching move. But I guess... You know what? This is a good idea. I guess at that point, you'd have an upper hand on a player, though, if they're acting too big for themselves. In strategy, the other team,

that's the last person they think's going to take the shot. Yeah. They probably think they're putting him in as a pick guy, a guy to set a pick. He'd be the perfect guy to set one. He said, yeah, I let him. I put Brisker in, and sure enough, he cranked it. He had that kind of ability and that kind of self-confidence.

But at this point, Brisker had started to get into drugs, and it just messed up his whole career. One night he'd score 40 for me. The next night he had nothing. That isn't an exaggeration. But when he was in the aba he was a hell of a player so uh yeah 72 73 with seattle 12.8 points a game 4.6 rebounds so basically production cut in half you think the money gave him the ability to do more drugs yeah absolutely doing him in the aba right yeah but not to this extent. And he said, too, he said he got fat and happy.

And he said it was easier for him to be sullen and pissy because he had an easier, like, something to nestle into afterwards. Yeah, you can insulate yourself. Yeah. So, yeah, he does that. 73-74, 12.5 points a game, you know, 4.2 rebounds. So it's just not the same. He does do a lot of fighting, though. Oh?

This is from Slick Watts' Tales from the Seattle Supersonics, a book. He said it was John Brisker. This is 73-74. It was Watts' rookie season. He said it was John Brisker and Joby Wright, a star player from Indiana University. Brisker was the top dog in practice, throwing his weight around. Joby was 6'9", 250 or so, a very big, strong guy. One day in practice, they got into a serious confrontation.

Back in those days, the big superstar player controlled practice. We had three because they were all the million-dollar guys. It was Brisker, I think Spencer Haywood was on this team, and one other guy. In practice, those three wanted it their way, which means don't foul me. Don't foul the stars. My big thing was to hack a guy's hand or arm in practice, but when I used to see them, I'd go the other way. So on this day, Brisker was throwing his weight around and Joby wouldn't get back. Nobody would get involved because he was so strong.

When Brisker hit him, he caught him with a right hand and you could hear his jaw break jesus christ everything was dead still you talk about afraid everybody was afraid jobi grabbed his jaw and said man you broke my jaw he also had four of his teeth loosened we had to call the ambulance it was about two or three weeks in practice before anybody bumped Brisker again. Joby ended up getting his jaw wired and then he was cut later that year. I think that fight ruined Joby's career.

I would say so. Yeah, fucked him all up. Made him, you know, sketchy. Yeah. Jumpy. It makes you think for sure every time. Yeah. He said John Brisker could be so nice but sometimes something snapped in him i remember one day in practice i blocked a shot from behind and he turned around and slapped me and he liked me that's what this guy said he immediately apologized but i said no

no no i'm sorry i blocked did block your shot i didn't want to get into a scrap with john john was the man. I was just happy that he did not break my jaw. So I did not argue. I did not shout. I just apologized and moved on out of the way. After practice, he took me to lunch and again apologized for the way he reacted. I reassured him and my jaw, John, it's no problem.

Good. It's okay. He didn't fucking try to kill me. So he said, if there was one thing i learned from those two incidents with brisker i knew that it was safe because he was on my team the second most memorable fight of my life was when we were playing in phoenix against the great pat riley that's coach pat riley and all that you all know who he is just about everybody on the floor started fighting the seven foot two tom burleson took off across the floor like batman and dove on the floor started fighting. The 7'2 Tom Burleson took off across the floor like Batman and dove on the entire crowd.

That was a fun fight. That sounds awesome. I want to see that. Riley wasn't as he is today with slick-backed hair and cool clothes. Back then he had long hair and a mustache. He came off the bench trying to be tough, and Burleson just dove over his head, knocked him into the crowd. Now when I see Pat on the sideline, I just smile and think back to that fight. What a difference. bench trying to be tough and brulson just dove over his head knocked him into the crowd now when

i see pat on the sideline i just smile and think back to that fight what a difference i was smart i always got behind brisker when a fight broke out yeah i would too ever since brisker showed me that he was the man by breaking joey wright's jaw i got behind him and i knew no one was coming to mess with brisker i just hide behind him until the fight was over. It'll be not a lot of traffic in this area here probably. So I'm good over here. Smart. Coward's way out and I respect it.

That is hilarious. Yeah, he's like in an old Western movie. He's the guy like hiding behind the bar drinking a bottle and another guy dives over and he's like, how you doing, pal? And he gives him, want a sip? He's like, sure. The coward's under a table. Yeah, it's like's like oh boy that's crazy out there huh so he and michelle have a

daughter uh mijani who was born february 11th 1974 so now he's got a young young daughter to think about uh the next year though at 74 75 he only plays in 21 games only 13.1 minutes a game 7.7 points 1.6 rebounds it all falls apart and um that is because of the whole joey brown the whole joey wright incident with the broken jaw that was only four days in a training camp and uh essentially bill russell's the coach, by the way, the legendary Bill Russell is Seattle's coach at that point. Yeah. And he did not like Brisker doing shit like this.

So they said some teammates remember that Joby Wright threw a punch. Others said it was Brisker. But in the end, Brisker was the one that got in trouble for it. Watts says, quote, about right. He hit the ground like a bag of potatoes. Brisker walked off. Ain't nobody say shit. The gym was like a funeral.

Ambulance came. Russell told everyone to go home. His teeth fell out on the floor, Spencer Haywood said. I was like, oh, shit. Russell said, all right, we have to tone John down. It's an understatement. Loosened fuck yeah um haywood said that russell had jim brown he made jim brown come talk to him because russell's russell's a legend and jim brown's a legend and i i assume they have each other's phone numbers just hey hello legendary, hello, legendary, amazing, fucking greatest player going.

Yeah, me too. Great, huh? Cool. High five. You want to do me a favor? So he said, this is fucking funny. He came over to hang out, to talk to Brisker, and Spencer Haywood said, them two motherfuckers ended up being buddies and playing chess all the time.

They were two of the same kind of characters. I know this shit sounds out there, but talk to the other players. They'll tell you the same thing. Brown and Rusko became pals. They became running mates rather than I'm going to tone this guy down. He was like, oh, this guy's pretty cool because Jim Brown's a lot of the same way. Jim Brown didn't take shit from anybody. That was how he was.

So that's probably why Russell came and brought him in. And Jim Brown was into the uh exactly african movement exactly he was like oh you know what i like this yeah i like you you wear dashiki too ours match look at this yeah let's trade hats so they uh uh watts says that quote um oh yeah he this was another blocked shot. He said, I blocked his shot one day, and his response was to knock the shit out of me. He said, slap me like a baby, and I took off. I didn't fuck with John. I had a red Dobie, Doberman, and I used to call him Brisker when he got started to get mad at the other dog.

So the team, though, says after these few games, Bill Russell says he can't put up with him anymore and they give him a they come to an agreement on a buyout of his contract yeah because even the corrections that i'm making to no good fix him he's he's falling in love with it it's not good he's making friends with it so he here's the deal john leaves and they give him 50 cents on the dollar for the remaining money in his contract a halfsy a halfsy which still like half a million dollars so he's like up front so it's pretty great great fuck it um they also hold him and send him he's still property of the team so they send him to theball League, which is like a minor league deal to, I guess, to kind of humble him, I would suppose.

And Brisker tells the Philadelphia Inquirer, quote, I got to grow up. I know that now. Attitude is very important to me. I'm going to turn my whole life around. I've been carrying a big chip, felt it was me against the world. I got a bad rep, and now I'm going to live it down. So he's going to do that. world i got a bad rep and now i'm gonna live it down so he's gonna do that uh he gets sent down to the hamilton pat pavers of the eastern basketball league what the fuck yeah he said

russell said i had to go down and work on my defense that is a far cry from the supersonics i would say that's not work on my defense. It's work on not punching teammates in the face. You know, now his brother, John's brother, Ralph, said he was upset with the whole scene in Seattle. He was dealing with different type of people. He became more cynical and distant. The they ended up trading him. The Eastern Leagues ended up trading him, but still Seattle owned him. And to the Cherry Hill rookies what the fuck yeah that's that's what he ended up with um they said that he came in he did it um

they said the first night in practice he was working harder than anybody else you know there was that he said uh one difference though he said the floor was all fucked up here it wasn't a good nba floor john said there was a hole of the floor i stepped in it felt this shooting pain in my lower back yeah can't do that yeah the floor should be i mean the court should be intact right if we're gonna play on at least intact at least the court be intact that's minimum like that's not. Yeah. Even in a shitty playground court, there's no holes in it.

Usually. I mean, there might be a crack over there. Watch out for. But holes, actual holes. That seems like a bit much to cause nerve damage. For Christ's sake. He started having back spasms and shit from that. He had to ride.

The general manager drove him to Allentown the next night and said he had to stop periodically so John can get out and stretch because he was so fucked up. So he gets into the game, misses his first three shots, then hits 15 of 37 from the field and sets a league record with 51 points and 11 rebounds and five assists. So he seems to be okay. Not bad. He said that the general manager said there were people standing and yelling at the end. He came out and they announced he had 43 points. This is when they took him out. They took him out so he could get an ovation because, you know, take him out early.

But the crowd started yelling for 50. They wanted the coach to put him back in to get 50. So Hal put him back in and he got eight and a half. He got eight and a minute uh he got eight in a minute and a half it was incredible he got his 51 brisker said it's funny they send me down to concentrate on being a defensive guard but uh greer needed a scoring forward same old thing you know two different things pulling and tugging at me well i'll just try to do both so 1976 he's enjoying his life he's got money they buy a 125 000 home in a nice neighborhood which back then was a nice house that was a real house it's a real nice house back then

especially in seattle that wasn't expensive back then and also a brand new mercedes oh living the life they decorate the house with African artifacts. He buys a restaurant as well. Looking for a way to lose that money quickly. Yeah, it's it's called the Heritage. And he renames it, though. What do you call it? New Heritage.

So Louisiana Purchase. New Heritage. New Heritage. Fuck you. It's different now. And he hires his brother ralph to manage it okay so this is going to work out great so the money is just pouring out after that i mean it's just it's a restaurant it's bleeding so he was going losing all his money but he wasn't telling anybody he was going broke quickly so uh rudy tomjanovich said he was in good spirits and really proud of the place he said he visited the restaurant he was playing for the rockets and they came to town he came in to see him he said it was

impressive they had entertainment and everything they had like bands and acts and you know like a restaurant whole thing but eventually as ralph brisker put it quote, the IRS padlocked the doors. We owed $20,000 in taxes. Oh, shit. So the taxes fucking got him good here. So Ralph went back to Detroit to be a salesman. His brother, John, stayed in Seattle. Now, he does go home to Detroit for 1976 Christmas. Spends Christmas of 76 in Detroit.

And Ralph said he seemed to be pretty jovial. He wasn't too upset. He was just concerned about his future. Clearly. So June of June of 1977, he buys the Carlton Hotel. In Seattle. Seattle. Yes.

He buys a hotel, which I don't know if that seems like a good move or not. You see those board up frequently, though, right? Yeah. You need to have a lot of capital to put into a place like that. That's the thing. It's tough. It's really hard to have a mom-and-pop hotel that you buy. Yeah.

You know, that's difficult. So November 1977, he wants to play for Seattle again. I think he's going broke, and that's the problem. I am so tired of chasing the american dream by buying and selling businesses this is crazy buying and sinking businesses i'm so much better at scoring 30 points so you can't punch your way out of an irs debt yeah tell that agent to come over we'll have a little chat with him so the sonics are getting their asses kicked a lot during this period too and there are chants that say sign john brisker sign john brisker in the class

and the crowd they want him bad and he said he'd like to come back and the sonics coach bob hox bob hopkins said he wants brisker back too but the owner sam shulman said that he does not want to sign him at all no interest uh brisker said he'd come back and play for as little as 75 000 he doesn't care just wants to play he said and the coach said if i had my desire i would probably have had him on the team a long time ago i think john would be a great attraction i think he would add immensely to what we need so they said that br Brisker was cut from the team because of personality conflicts with Bill Russell. He said, I have 10 pages of improprieties he committed when he was with us. That's the owner, Shulman. He said there was not

a coach he could get along with. He caused dissension. So Shulman did say that if Hopkins really, really wants Brisker that bad, he would bend to his wishes eventually. He said he just, you know, he's hoping that they can all come to an agreement and not have to sign him. He said, Brisker said, I've always had high hopes of coming back to the NBA and playing for a coach like Hopkins. There's a lot I could do in pro basketball, and I'm sitting here not doing anything. And for what? I know for what. It's because I want to play here in the city for these fans.

That's why he's sitting there. So February of 1978, he has to sell the hotel. He sells it, I believe, back to the old owners, if I'm not mistaken. He's facing lawsuits and unpaid utility bills and has to sell the downtown hotel, which was at 1552 Jefferson Avenue. If you're a Seattle person, maybe you can know what hotel is there now. But he said they said the supply of natural gas, water and electricity will continue to the 118 room hotel and its occupants because the ownership is going to transfer. So the utilities companies have made a deal to allow them to shut it all down. The basic bills of a hotel, he couldn't afford that.

The electric, yeah, things like that. Brisker said the situation that has erupted calls for our immediate attention. That's what he said. So no shit. So they end up the – because Washington Natural Gas had shut the gas off. So the mayor, the mayor had to come in and go, can you please turn the gas back on? It's a hotel. We can't have tourists coming into town and going when you go to Seattle, they don't have fucking heat.

Please. Lovely place. Cold as shit. Cold as even in the room. No, no. Even in the room. Terrible. Jesus Christ.

I'm just damp cold the company's director of governmental affairs said brisker owes more than sixteen hundred dollars in gas bills dating back to september that's a lot for gas back then so um the company officials agreed to turn the fucking shit back on. He also owes $1,780 in back water and electrical charges. Five grand in utilities. Yep. And then the Carlton, the former Carlton owner,

Clifford Toski sued Brisker, uh, Brisker's company in an attempt to repossess the building who sold the hotel. He sold the hotel to Brisker for $280,000. That's a deal. But alleged that Brisker neglected the operation and failing to pay the utility bills, among other things. Yeah, they probably had bugs too.

So, yeah, they said they showed up, and that's what's going on here. They're trying to make this work out. So he says, I've had to pay large sums of money just to keep the hotel going. The sale of the building is imminent. So it's fucking happening. But they said Brisker was still fucked because he faces several pending lawsuits from different things, from business stuff.

Mutual of Seattle Inc. sued Brisker, alleging he owes $21,300 in real estate commissions related to his purchase of the Carlton. At least three other suits are pending against him in connection with the purchase of a 1975 restaurant, the New Heritage House, which is, of course, closed now in 1975. He's being sued by two Seattle businessmen who sold him the restaurant for allegedly failing to make the payments on the restaurant that he bought from them. He didn't even pay for the place before he closed it. No, he's not making any money. Also faces suits filed by a former employee who seeks unpaid wages, and an artist who said they were not paid for painting a mural at the restaurant as well. Oh my God.

Jesus Christ, this is a fucking mess. What a disaster. So February 27th, 1978, he has another daughter here with a new woman. Rashad is her last name. She was Melvis Diane Williamson and changed her name. So they have a daughter. March of 1978, he officially loses the hotel oh officially loses it um yeah he said it's uh he said i've got a real headache on my hands that's no fucking shit he owed all sorts of money uh he said they have issued they issued

apparently they issued eviction notices to the tenants brisker had evicted just issued eviction notices to old people who live there as like their hotel. They live like as their apartment. It's their home. So the new owner is like, we had to pull all those back. It's a fucking mess. Big deal. So later in 1978, his wife, Michelle, not the woman he just had a baby with, but a different, his first wife, she divorces him. Probably because he's got a kid

with another woman i would assume yeah that'll do it that'll do it every time they don't like that usually that'll certainly fuck your relationship they usually don't care for that when you pull that kind of shit so he also made several of his first several trips to africa with udu gray a nigerian emigre. So he started going to Africa. He returned from one of the trips, and he was talking about buying a soccer team there. No. No. Stop.

Stop with business. Yeah. Do something, like, not fun. It'll be better. Figure out how to do, like, smoothing and paving and shit. Like, that'll make money. You know? That's what makes money.

It's not fun. It's not sexy, but that's where you make money. Shit like that. He, like, went out and enjoyed himself doing things, and he was like, I should get in this business. I love this. Yeah, this is fun. I'd like to own this. He's like Mark Cuban.

I'd like to stay in a hotel, too. I want to get the fuck out of it, though. I like basketball. I should just buy a team. Now, Michelle was objecting to these trips, which is one of the sources of friction in the relationship. She had filed for divorce in 77, charging that John physically abused her. Oh, shit. According to divorce papers, Michelle said she's now deaf in her left ear as a result of a beating she received from John.

Oh, my God. Quote, he bounced me around the wall and threw me on the bed. He smothered me with a pillow until I couldn't breathe. Yeah. Yeah. That sounds terrible. Jesus Christ. So in the divorce settlement, he is required to pay $700 a month in child support, plus all post-high school educational expenses.

So he moves in with Khalila Rashad. That's the woman's name here. And they live together, and they have a baby together. He is saying at this point that he wants to establish an import-export business in Africa. So one there, one here. So wait till you hear who he gets hooked up with to try to do this. So his 7-year-old daughter, he's still got the 7-year-old daughter from the first marriage here. From the show.

Yeah. I guess there's a suit against him for child support saying that he didn't pay $2,414 in child support and all this other shit. Either way, he ends up going over there. He calls Rashad, his girlfriend from Africa, four times in 1978. He goes over there and calls her. The last call she receives from him in Africa was from Kampala, Uganda, on April 11th of this year. So his mother, Ernestine, and Ralph, the older brother, I don't know why I thought Ralph was the younger brother,

but he's older. He's older. They said that they'd heard rumors that he's in Uganda with Idi Amin, because this is during Idi Amin's reign of fucking terror down there. They're saying he's hanging out with Idi Amin talking about investing in diamonds.

What? Yeah, or being a mercenary, or there's all sorts of different rumors going around. So the family just hears, where the fuck is he? After April 11th, nobody hears from him anymore over there. Everyone's like, where the fuck is he? So his family actually goes to the State Department and the FBI to say, can you fucking look into our guy here? Find him. So they told the briskers that they were unable to find evidence that he even entered Africa.

They don't know whether he got there or not. How did he do this? If he was hooked up with Idi Amin, he could have came in quietly. We don't know. So it's crazy. His brother said, John told me he bought some land there, not in Uganda, but in Nigeria. He said it was something to have after his pro career, an investment type thing. So he left before nobody ever heard from him again.

He left in March 78 to go to Uganda with Ben Taylor, who's a friend of his from Seattle. He said he was going to lay the groundwork for an import-export business that he hoped would get his money situation turned around. Now, Rashad, his girlfriend, said he was having a bad time with creditors, etc. This was sort of his last try. He said last time she talked to him on April 11th, he said he would send for us. He loved me. the baby his last try the guy is 30 what are we talking about that's what i'm saying he's fucking 30 it's his last they're acting like he's like 58 he's gonna be just he's gonna break down and go live in the y after this and just you know he's 30 live on live on thunderbird and mad dog or something like he's 30 years old this is how how hard do you have to fail to your last shot

yeah 30 he's like a he's like a year's worth of credits away from a college degree like he's got a lot going for him he's got a good name he can go to detroit people know who he is pittsburgh people know who he is these are all good things jesus something fucking try open up a janitorial service where you're in charge, damn it. You're not the janitor now. Hire other 11-year-olds to do this. So Spencer Haywood, there's a lot of different rumors, and here's some different rumors from different players.

Haywood said that Brisker visited him in New York in the mid-'70s, and he's pretty sure he showed him a picture that he took, that John took with Idi Amin, but he's not sure he showed him a picture that he took that John took with Idi Amin. But he's not 100 percent positive. Tom Burleson, one of his ex-teammates, said he went to Uganda and was as a mercenary and he was fighting over there. That's another rumor. He's got guns. What's happened?

Both. He throws the guns down and starts punching. Both. He throws the guns down and starts punching. Spencer Haywood again said people put the rumors out that he was caught up in that coup in Uganda because Idi Amin got overthrown after a while here. And that was that was during all of this. So they were saying, was he fighting on Idi Amin's side as a mercenary and got executed and thrown in a ditch somewhere? holy shit they don't know so they have no idea uh time goes by seattle papers every couple months or so bring it up hey where the fuck is john brisker we still can't find him no one can find him you know try to keep pressure on the state department um there's one story that says that brisker went to uganda and became a bodyguard for edie amin and that he was killed when amin's uh government was toppled in april of 79 but then why would he stop calling after april of 78 right that wouldn't make a lot of sense a year right yeah so um now here's another one this is crazy here rudy tomjanovich said he

was told by a friend of a friend that knew Brisker well. So now we're getting into the friend of a friend. And he told me that that game of telephone. But the rumor here amongst a big group of Brisker's friends is that he actually died in Jonestown in November of 1978. Jim Jones, Jonestown. Part of that. Yes, because they said that the State Department said he never went to Africa.

And there was rumors and there's rumors about that, too. Now, Ralph says he doesn't think so, but then listen to this. This is fucking crazy. Jonestown or Idi Amin? How'd you die? This is fucking, how'd you go missing? Those are some pretty great stories. Both are wild endings, I'll tell you that much.

That's why it's a story we have to tell. Ralph said he doesn't believe the Guyana story, but listen to how he says it. Quote, I don't think John went down there. We had a great aunt who died there. So he had family members who died down there. You know what I'm saying? He had a family member that died in Jonestown? In Jonestown.

She said she tried to get us to come down too, but we didn't go. She was trying to get the whole family down there. He might have went down there to hide out for a while, they're saying. They don't know. He said she didn't, or Ralph said she didn't drink the poison. I think they ended up saying they shot her. So she was one of the ones they shot, the aunt, rather than take the poison. So he's got a great aunt that died in fucking Jonestown, and they're saying that maybe that's what happened.

So now Ron Medina, who's a retired manufacturer's representative, he's not a guy in basketball or anybody we've known, you shouldn't, there's people, they search their hard drives, like, did that come up earlier? No, you shouldn't know this guy. He said he saw Brisker at Heathrow Airport in London

in the spring of 1978. Yeah, that's a guy you'd recognize. He'd stick out. He said, quote, here was this big, tall black guy, and he had a Sonics bag. So that's him. And he couldn't get passage. I can't recall if it was to Seattle or somewhere else. I know he was on standby.

I don't know if he was going to Uganda or somewhere else. He said that uh john didn't attempt to reveal or uh cover up his identity he said we chatted for a few minutes i mentioned i was from bellevue washington and i recognized him as john brisker he wasn't overly anxious to converse beyond that point he doesn't fucking know you so yeah he said that uh the state department could not find him or ben tay, the guy he left with. Both disappeared. They said, quote, we made inquiries and we were never able to get confirmation.

It's unusual that an American would disappear. It does happen, but it's usually somebody takes a hike into the Colombian jungle and never comes back. There aren't usually circumstances in which there is a reasonable expectation that he won't come back. So, yeah, it's usually circumstances where I'm going to do something dangerous. But he said, I'm going to start an import export business. And then he disappears off the face of the earth. So if I find any tarpaulins or anything, it's no big deal. I'll just say hi to the guys. No, this guy is doing like a – this is a different deal. He's either going to Jonestown or to fight for Idi Amin. Either that.

He said he's just going to Art Vandele some business over there in Port Export. So he says that more rumors. Burleson said that he – the teammate, he went to Uganda and was a mercenary and was fighting over there. His wife went with him and he was captured by Idi Amin's men. And Idi Amin had him prepared and they served him and his wife banquet style. That's a rumor he had. Now, we know that's not true because his wife didn't go with him. His wife, both of his wives were back home. He went with Ben Taylor, unless that was his new wife, Ben Taylor.

Unless he found a new wife there. Unless he found a new wife, which is very possible because he was there for months. Was Idi Amin a fucking cannibal? There was rumors of that, but we don't know. Yeah, who knows? The episode isn't on Idi Amin, Jimmy. But you know what? Great point.

Idi Amin was a professional boxer. You know that right we will be doing a crime and sports episode on edie amin yeah so some point we'll mention he possibly ate john brisker as part of it or served or served yeah so that's that's where the rumors go for everywhere from he died in jonestown to he has fought for edie amin and was killed to he was him and his wife were killed and eaten banquet style by Idi Amin and his people. Listen, James, Brisker's not far off from Brisket, so who knows? Yeah, who knows?

He sounds delicious. So, wow, here's another one. This is Watts, the guy, a teammate, he said, they said he was sitting at a table with one of those kings over there, and they had an argument, and Brisker wouldn't relate to the argument or agree with it. In that country, you don't dishonor the king, and Brisker had one of those grr moments, and they said that the guy had his gun covered up like a turkey was in it. He moved it, and Pew shot him. That's the legend anyway. A man with a gun stuffed inside a turkey shot him that's the legend or he was eaten or shot by a turkey sandwich or or jim jones killed

him one of the three holy shit so now by 1980 ralph brisker still believes his brother's alive and possibly a prisoner of war in uganda he said, if I saw him lying dead somewhere, I'd probably believe it more than just legally saying he's dead, which is what they're saying they're going to do soon. So the State Department spokesman, though, says that they don't consider him dead, even though the medical examiner in his home state is going to consider him dead for the purposes of settling his estate. So but James Callahan, who's a spokesman for the State of settling his estate yeah so uh but james callahan who's a spokesman for the state department said no evidence he ever set foot inside africa let alone

died there and they said essentially we don't consider him dead until he pops up so uh they said neither the ugandan embassy the international red cross nobody could confirm he's dead nobody's even seen him or heard from him so unless he was like in a mass grave or some shit like that they don't and even those they went through those a lot of them i mean i'm sure they're secret ones but they said what the fuck else could he be doing if he's not dead and ralph said he could be alive still quote he had a lot of problems he said well he said he was in a lot of debt he went incognito or something like that i don't think he's in the states at all he uh he said he was interested in the black movement and

trying to get some sort of idea what the motherland was like you know roots and all that he borrowed a couple books about africa from me he never did return them i'm still trying to be optimistic but this sort of takes it away from you. I think it's finally hit me. I'm sorry. And then Rashad, his girlfriend wife said, I think it's finally hit me. I'm glad it's over. I wish he could come back, but I think I have to accept the fact that he's probably not going to come back. It's been years. Every time the phone rings, I still hope it's him. I still hope it's him. So Rashad defeats Michelle Brisker, the ex-wife, for control of John's estate.

But the only asset is his MBA pension, which will be worth $26,988 a year in 1992 and then up to $38,669 in 1997. So it's not bad, but it's not like you're getting millions of dollars. You're getting some money in a decade. Yeah. Yeah. So Rashad said she filed suit to obtain seven hundred dollars in monthly child support from Social Security and also his daughter from his first marriage and his ex-wife are seeking two hundred ninety nine thousand eight hundred dollars, including800, including $142,800 in child support. But that doesn't exist. He has no money. So Michelle is seeking, that's his daughter.

Now his ex-wife is seeking $102,600, including $25,000 in personal possessions and $10,000 in home furnishings. She's also seeking the return of $15,000 in artifacts, she said Brisker took from the house, purchases that he made during one of his visits to Africa. Everybody's just picking the bones of the poor guy. Picking the bones. And we don't even know if he's dead. Yeah.

We don't even know if there's bones to pick. The bones may have been picked years ago by Idi Amin. Idi Amin. Those bones could be sitting with their feet up watching TV somewhere. Yeah. You know, we have no idea. On some African beach. We have no clue.

In June of 85, though, a superior court judge in Bellevue declares him officially dead. He's a presumed dead at that point. A judge says that's it. He's dead. Fucking done. So, um, but the medical examiner's office also says we haven't seen a body.

So not like we know if he's dead. No clues to lead that way other than where is he? So the legend of where the fuck is John Brisker has became this big thing with all the players over the years, exchanging theories and everybody that's known him. I heard this. Did you hear that? Big deal.

Slick Watts says whenever he watches Shawshank Redemption, he thinks of Brisker. He said, I always think of him somewhere. Kicking back and saying, I ain't dead. That's great. Tom Burleson says he thinks of him too. He said, I really hope through my foundation to get a scholarship in his name and just remember him um zone z wantonejo somewhere that's it it's happening spencer said spencer haywood said he still has the conga drums that brisker left with him in new york he says for years he took those drums whenever he moved and always thought of brisker whenever he played them he said he was a

he was complicated more than most but boy did i love some john brisker um so haywood said he was complicated more than most, but boy, did I love some John Brisker. So Haywood said he had to put his drums in storage, and they've been in storage ever since, sitting there. Now, in 2022, his daughter, Majani, this first daughter, her daughter, Adria, I believe, yes, Adria she uh ends up playing sports here she plays for where is she god damn it um is she what the fuck is she playing volleyball i think or something she's doing something for uh i believe michigan state if i'm not mistaken hold on yeah oh shit that's right uh somebody else was killed in a shooting. Whatever. Okay. So Adia Brisker is the one.

She's the granddaughter here. She ends up playing basketball. Or no, she plays. What the fuck is she playing? I guess basketball. Morgan State women's basketball team. She was on. Got it.

Morgan State? Morgan State. Currently 2022. Morgan State women's basketball team. Does she play the tuba? I don't know if she plays football and tuba as well. I was going to say that's a lot. So, there you go.

Now, Jaquan is his grandson. Jaquan was drafted in the second round this year by the Chicago Bears, where he plays safety and had an interception this year year and he'll be playing for the rest of the year yeah next week he's got a game that's John Brisker's grandson yep Jaquan Brisker is John Brisker's grandson how about that that's a bad fucking man right there

watch out uh now don't punch you in the mouth can't get enough of John Brisker what the fuck happened to John Brisker I want to know so bad. So it's hard to find John Brisker like merch and autographs and shit because he died before all of those. That became a thing. The whole 80s, 90s autograph scene where he would have signed thousands and thousands and thousands of them. Well, yeah. Here is a, it is on memsports.com, the number one in the beginning. John Brisker autographed a 7.5 by 9 inch magazine page photo. And it's him doing this cool move.

He looks awesome going up against a guy from Miami in their terrible uniforms here. And it's signed by John Brisker. $468.99 for this thing. I kind of want that. Yeah. It's on sale from 670. What if we call them and they're like 300? Yeah, right.

Let's try to make a deal here with these people. Maybe we can. No, there's only add to cart, buy now, or pay with Apple Pay. More payment options. Is there a haggle button I can click? Is that the only thing that exists? There's a couple, but they're really hard to find. There's just not a lot out there.

I mean, all the autographs he would have signed would have been in 1975 at some game on a program or something. There wasn't like the official. Yeah, there wasn't like official like, oh, here's a bunch of 8x10 glossies with his autograph on them like we have now. Lawrence Taylor has 700,000 helmets that he signed you know what I mean like they'll always be LT autographs which is cool but John Brisker you're not getting one so

that everybody is John Brisker holy shit that's cool and one hell of a crazy story he could still be out there technically he could still be imagine that He could still be out there, technically. He could still be. Imagine that. He could still be out there. He'd be in his 70s.

That'd be pretty cool. Imagine if he just popped up and punched us in the face. Come back. I'll take a punch in the face from a 75-year-old man if it makes you come back. I don't care. That's pretty amazing. You just see him in the in the

stands at soldier field watching his grandson play football or something punch him punch him daquan damn it teach that boy nothing shit i want none of it to be true and him just be alive somewhere that'd be amazing escaped all of this shit and the irs and every debt that he owes yeah the washington gas company Stick it up your ass. I'm thriving in Africa. Yeah. He's just sitting on a beach somewhere, like the end of trading places. Yeah.

Someone's going, feeling good, John? Looking good. Looking good, John? Feeling good. Lewis? So, yes, that's what's going to happen there. Very excited. There you go.

There's John Brisker. Hope you enjoyed. Wow, what a story. I'm so glad you did this one. Fuck, it's what's going to happen there. Very excited. There you go. There's John Brisker. Hope you enjoyed. Wow, what a story. I'm so glad you did this one. Fuck, it's so much fun. If you did enjoy, you can tell us and the whole world about it. Get on whatever app you're listening on. It doesn't matter which one.

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Yeah. for crime and sports you are going to get when players attack fans yeah somebody in the athletic prime of their life runs up in the stands and finds some 52 year old fat guy with a hot dog in his hand and what smart mouth we'll talk about what that physical confrontation ends up like because that's fun talk a lot about that and then for small town murders episode we're going to talk about nazis on drugs and it's not a ska punk band no it is definitely not it sounds like it but it's not nazis we're going to talk about what the fuck were the nazis taken what was hitler being injected with what did garing have on him when he was taken into nuremberg into the jails what what stash of the world's drugs did he have all of we'll talk all about it it's pretty wild shit nazis on drugs patreon.com slash crime and sports get in there and uh have some fun and then you'll

get a shout out as well you bet and where does that shout out happen when does it happen it happens right goddamn now jimmy i would love you to give me the names of these people i would love you who would never i would love you very much jimmy who would never ever ever ever eat us with our wives after we went there to set up an import export business ever okay hit me with the names of those people right now this week's executive producer robin hire keep going robin she didn't explain uh what she's dealing with but hang in there it's it's terrific to have you you got got this. Italian Grandma Marilyn Branfast, James. That's your new one.

Very nice, very nice. Simon Frost and Mary Lou Valeron? Valeron. Valeron? Valeron. That may be a misspelling. Mary Lou, thank you. Thank you.

Other producers this week are Ginger Lee and her friends, Sheila Torres, Darcy. No, that's not Sheila. It's Suhila. It auto-corrected to Sheila. So your name is now Sheila Torres. There you go, Sheila. Enjoy. Enjoy your new name.

Darcy Standifer, Ann Lund, thinking of you, Peyton Meadows, Maria Koop-Susley, Corporal Carl Kirshner, Jennifer Bohuis, Janice Hill. Maria Victoria Munoz. Brandi Huntley. Michaela Rotert. Happy birthday, DeLuca. I don't know. First name? That may be the first name.

Happy birthday. Fuck it. Joy Nix. J-O-Y-N-I-X. That is a first and a last name. Wow. Six letters. Done in six letters.

That's impressive. Not even half of my last name. That, not even half of my last name. Zach McDermid. Jennifer Falconer. Carl, oh boy, Fanant. Fanante. It's got to be a silent G. Brandon with no last name.

Alicia Cox. Carolina Simmons. Troy Matz. Sabrina Durham. Will with no last name. Alicia Cox. Carolina Simmons. Troy Matz. Sabrina Durham. Will with no last name. Dan Morgan and Andy Foster, I think. Beth with no last name. Tyler Haley.

Yep. Victor Flores. Matthew Rhodes. Melissa Saldana. Jade Veiger, I think. Julia Hote. Hot hat. Hogged it.

Hot. One of those. Nacho with no last name. Jude Kendall. Heather Duke. Amanda Gross. Gross, maybe. Jennifer with no last name. Jared Kingston. Stephen DeForest. Rachel Sexsmith. Katie. Nope, that's just Kate Ostrovsky. Justin with no last name. Laurieann Lala. Wes Clark with no. Wait, that is the last name. Sarah Hill. Carrie McCown. Ryan would know last name. Rachel Crow. Nick would know last name. Nicholas Murphy. Kayla Scruggs. David.

Davin. Davin. Davin. Davin. Davin. Davin Lezleung. Jesus. Brett Persing. Flora Reichenstatter.

Natter. Yeah. Reichenatter? Reichenateratter Reichenator Matthew Leary Angela Hirsch David Cherino Kelly Bard

Natalie Graber Christina Lepinskas Olivia Green Erica Graham Melinda Benson Matt Adams Jimmy with no last name Nathaniel Loweowe, Mike Tease, Kim Smiley, Eyes of Mary, Marion with no last name, Steve with no last name, Endelian Hopkentino. Nope, that's Endelian Hopkenton.

I thought you were on that one. Hopkentino? You made him Italian. Good job. Ina Gerge. Gerge. Gerge. Christopher Begay.

Charlie Brown. Logan Anderson. Charlotte. Charlotte Scott. Megan Troy. Carissa. Sarissa. Carissa.

Vincent. Jen's. Okay. Jen, maybe. C-H-R is an abbreviation for something. Krauss with no last. That's a last name. What is happening?

Good Lord. Jessica Detlefson. Like Detlef Schrempf, James? Her last name is Detlefson. Awesome. Allison Knudson, Amy Curino, Curano, Quinoa, Diamond Clark, Kelly Vicola, Nikki Meyer, Vinnie Peluso,

Lindsay Peoples, Milsurp, and Loader. What? Christopher the Russian, Rushing, Krista Reimert, I think, Wendy Warner, Alyssa Heister, Mary Tanner, Dane Livesey, Don Lingbeck, Lingbeak tanya tanya carly i don't know anymore jared hayes sierra moore trent carpenter cms oh boy kaylin uh centillo so can see on are those the same attempt at the same spelling of words exact same tribe okay you know that was another name samuel smothers tanisha barlow maria would no last name, Nicole with no last name, Tony Q, Ellen Fowler, Nicole Jackson, Brendan Wilsey, Cary Ann, Ricky Crawford, Tony Green, Cassandra Bartz, I think, Mage McLeod. McLeod. All right. Andrea with no last name. Michelle Hubbard.

Jennifer Middlestat. Jason McGee. Dan Dietz. David Jordan. Corvus Jenko. His wife loves my laugh, evidently. Who does? It's a raspy one.

Jimmy Mac03. Kimberly Devaglia. Devaglia. Amanda Farmer. Chris Moffitt. Sat on a toffet. Sterling Blakely, Nick Stevens, Alexander Osborne, Nora Harrington, Steve Koenig, Carrie Jernigan, Taylor Wilson, Dale Langston, Mr. Trevor, and Oji Pogi, Trish Ferrys, Eric with no last name, Tiffany with no last name, Alika that's not Alika, that's Alicia, right? There's not an I there, it's just

Alika, no last name JC Robertson II Destry and McKenzie's mom JESF412 Misty Monroe, Marky B Terry Rogers, Sam Elzabi, Katie with no last name, Brandy Martin, Annika with no last name, Donna Davis, Tarnia, Tarnia, Tarnia?

Is that right? Woolno, Woolnoff? Maybe. Lisa with no last name, Jay Jeanette, Nancy Pugliese, Pugliese. What is that, James? That's Italian, right? Pugliese p-u-g-l-i-e-s-e is that

keep trying jimmy because this is the best thing ever fuglisi it's probably yeah yeah fuglisi it sounds gross Paul Evenden Christine Crewer Susan Cotton Billy Martins Aiden I love it so much Valerie C and all of our patrons

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