The star, co-creator, and executive producer spoke to IndieWire about getting recognized as Ted Lasso, what's next in Season 2, and that pivotal scene about A.I.
Ted Lasso isn’t a man who’s easily riled. Typically, the AFC Richmond coach is all smiles and appreciation, flashing a double thumbs up at his boss and slapping his lucky “believe” sign for extra encouragement. Ted, played by series co-creator Jason Sudeikis, is a man that’s extremely easy to love, and just as hard to hate — so long as you take the time to get to know him.
Jamie Tartt (played by Phil Dunster) only makes time for himself. The star player and self-assured celebrity is focused on what’s best for Jamie, no matter what, so it was only a matter of time before he and his new coach butted heads.
In “Two Aces,” Episode 6 of the first season, Ted has finally had enough. Jamie, pouting over getting benched, claims to have an injury that will keep him out of practice. Considering the reason Ted sat him in the first place is because Jamie won’t support his teammates, this latest selfish choice sends the happy-go-lucky coach over the edge.
What follows is a nearly word-for-word recitation of Allen Iverson’s impromptu speech during a 2002 press conference, in which the 11-time NBA All-Star was pressed on an issue brought up by his coach, Larry Brown, about missing practice.
Given that “Ted Lasso” is a comedy and that Iverson’s remarks were widely (and mistakenly) mocked, it would be easy to assume the scene is little more than a convenient send-up; that the writers saw a similarity between what they’ve written and Iverson’s speech, leaning in to the latter as a jokey homage for all the sports fans out there. But those who watch the scene closely, who take the time to note Sudeikis’ performance and hear what he has to say, likely recognize this “rant” isn’t about mining a memorable excerpt for easy laughs. It’s not about laughs at all.
“The reference by no means ever played to me as funny,” Sudeikis said in an interview with IndieWire. “Maybe somebody would say the moment is clever, but it was repurposing what I feel was a protest song by Allen Iverson in that moment and turning it into an opera, charged with more emotion.”
To do that, Sudeikis waited. He had followed Iverson’s career since high school, and the actor-writer-producer always knew he wanted to include a scene featuring his speech in “Ted Lasso” — he just assumed it would be during one of Ted’s many press conferences. But after Jamie and Ted had their mid-match fallout, the stage was set for their confrontation over practice.
“I remember a couple of days before, it may have been the night before, I was like, ‘Oh shit.’ It just hit me: the Iverson speech,” Sudeikis said. “And it’s going to be in protest, not comedy.”
But there’s still one more key facet to appreciating the scene as a serious moment, not a comic bit. Seven months before Iverson’s press conference, his best friend Rahsaan Langeford was shot and killed. Iverson struggled throughout the basketball season, both on the court and off, and he even alludes to as much during that very press conference.
“I’m upset for one reason: Because I’m in here. I lost. I lost my best friend. I lost him, and I lost this year,” Iverson said later in speech. “Everything is just going downhill for me, as far as just that — you know, as far as my life. And then I’m dealing with this. … My best friend is dead. Dead. And we lost. And this is what I have to go through for the rest of the summer until the season is all over again.”
That part of the press conference wasn’t widely featured in the ensuing news coverage and isn’t included in plenty of clips still floating around the internet today. Many believe Iverson’s perceived incredulity was simply misconstrued grief, and Sudeikis said he also sees Iverson’s speech being “misinterpreted by popular culture.”
“He was angry about being asked about practice — and he says this right then and there — but he’s also dealing with the death of a very close friend,” Sudeikis said. “It’s put him in a box in many people’s minds. […] It’s, ‘Oh, he wasn’t a practice player,’ and no, he’s one of the hardest competing people in sports. To be 6’1” and dominate as he did at that time in the NBA is astounding. He was like, ‘Why are you asking me about this? I’m dealing with real pain, and you’re asking me about practice.”
Not everyone will get all that when they watch the scene. Not everyone will even pick up on the reference to Iverson’s speech in general, and some who do will still misunderstand its meaning. That’s OK by Sudeikis.
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