Lt. Saul Bailey Discusses ‘Interacting With People From A Place Of Knowledge’ Instead Of Ignorance

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Retired Lieutenant Saul Bailey joined his brother, former Utah Jazz player Thurl Bailey on the Thurl Talk Podcast to discuss discrimination and “interacting with people from a place of knowledge” instead of ignorance.

The Bailey brothers talked about racial discrimination and Saul’s 25 years of experience as a police officer in Utah.

“A lot of times people have this us against them, you know what? It really is just us. Right?” Lt. Bailey said. “The bottom line is try to establish that trust to know other people’s story.”

Don’t miss an emotional episode of Thurl Talk tomorrow with Retired Lt. Saul Bailey also known as my little brother. With 25 years in Law Enforcement in Utah he brings a very unique perspective. Here’s a snippet. pic.twitter.com/Z1ceFbKOmp

— Thurl Bailey (@bigTbailey) June 16, 2020

Lt. Bailey said that relationships with fellow officers developed into ones he “brothers and sisters.” He said that some of those relationships developed because people asked questions so they could interact with him “from a place of knowledge” rather than one of ignorance.

“Particularly me being here and in law enforcement in the state of Utah, and let’s be clear, I have brothers and sisters within the law enforcement community that I literally consider my brother and sister and not all of them look like me. But a select few of them do know my story because they asked the other questions and I think maybe if we have people that listen to this that are still in the profession and love it and as passionate about it as, as I was, have those kinds of conversations, right?” Bailey said.

Today on Thurl Talk: My brother, retired Lt. Saul Bailey and I share personal stories about racial discrimination and his years of experience as a cop in Utah.https://t.co/GCckecfSQy

— Thurl Bailey (@bigTbailey) June 16, 2020

Bailey said that he “would love” for more people to ask him questions like “hey, how was it for you? Being a black man in America?” or “how is life for you?” because it helps them gain another perspective.

“I’m not asking for saying ‘I want you to be’, you know, sympathetic, or I just want you to understand, I want you to have the facts of the world that other people live in that don’t look like you. So you have that information when you are interacting with them. So you’re interacting with people from a place of knowledge because I think we have all seen what bad things can happen when we act from a place of ignorance.”

For Thurl Bailey’s full interview with his brother, retired Lieutenant Saul Bailey, play the interview below and subscribe to the Thurl Talk Podcast.

Former Utah Jazz and NBA player Thurl Bailey is the host of the Thurl Talk Podcast. After more than a decade playing in the NBA as Big T for the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves, Thurl has seen a thing or two. And he still has things he wants to learn. He’s a musician, father, husband, and friend and he’s interested in talking with people. That’s what he’ll do each week on Thurl Talk: share his own life experiences and learn from the stories of others. Whether it’s about his life on the court, behind a mic or sitting at the kitchen counter, count on getting to know the real Thurl Bailey and maybe learn a little something from his friends.