MT athletes react to hit Netflix series 'Tiger King'

Over the past few weeks, the hit Netflix docuseries "Tiger King" has swept the nation by storm.

A unique yet compelling cast coupled with the handling of exotic animals helped the show pull in more than 19 million viewers in the first 10 days after it was added to Netflix. Of those 19 million viewers, Middle Tennessee had a few of its own student-athletes who tuned in.

Tanner Owens (men's golf), Fausto Lopez (baseball) and Asher O'Hara (football) offered goblueraiders.com their thoughts on one of the more controversial shows in recent memory. Owens and Lopez both finished the series, while O'Hara gave perspective while in the middle of watching.

*GBR denotes GoBlueRaiders.com, TO denotes Tanner Owens, FL denotes Fausto Lopez and AO denotes Asher O'Hara.

GBR: Who's your favorite character and why?

TO: I'd have to say Joe [Exotic] because of how extravagant everything is with him. From the TV shows and the way he is around everyone, he's almost like someone you'd make up. It was kind of insane.

FL: I think it'd be the people around Joe. They believed in what he believed in. They were selfless. They did things because they wanted to see the business grow and loved what they did. They were there doing it because they liked it and believed in the cause.

AO: I like Kelci (Saffery). She's the one who had her arm ripped off by the tiger. I like that she came back to work five days after getting her arm ripped off almost like nothing happened. She's extremely tough, and I respect that.

GBR: Joe Exotic is very much like his name: Exotic. If you had the opportunity to work for him or with him, would you do it?

TO: I think I would do it for a day just to kind of see what all the hype is about. I think it would be cool to play around with tigers and be around him and see how it is. With some of the things he does and the way that he is, I'm not sure I could deal with that for much longer than a day or so.

FL: For sure! I like tigers. That'd be cool to see what goes on with the animals. It'd also be cool to see what it took to build the empire he has. I thought some of the stuff Joe did was genius in terms of how he marketed himself.

AO: I don't think I'd want to work with him. I'd like to just sit back and be a spectator and enjoy the entertainment and all the crazy stuff that goes on.

GBR: Joe sang a lot and did a lot of other types of ventures. What do you think about all of that?

TO: In the latest episode, they all said that Joe singing wasn't actually him. It's just an attention and money grabbing thing. I think it was kind of the same with him running for president and governor. The dude knew he wasn't going to win. It was just a way to get his name out there and become more popular. Anybody that sees pet tigers would think that it's pretty cool, and Joe was using that as a way to get his face out there.

FL: I think a lot of that stuff was sort of power-driven, but it came with the territory of what he wanted to do. There's a lot of times that we do things and get carried away because we get wrapped up in the incentive of doing it. At the end of the show, you could tell he really got carried away. In the beginning, I thought it was for the love of the animals. In the end, it really started going downhill and stuff kind of backfired on him.

AO: Joe does whatever he wants, and I respect him for that. It kind of makes you respect the life that he's gone and made for himself, too.

GBR: On the other side of the character spectrum, you have Carole Baskin. She's made out to be someone who's trying to save the animals. Do you think she genuinely cares about them?

TO: Absolutely not. When you watch the show, the animals are all in the same kind of cages that Joe had them in. It's just a different side of the spectrum trying to make money. You have the one that seems like he's hurting the animals. She seems like she just spins the words differently like she's trying to protect them. End result: they're still sitting in cages. It's just a play on words to make money on both of their ends.

FL: To an extent. But, at the same time, I don't really know. I just wish she had a better solution to go toward her cause [of saving the animals]. Even though the issue was giving them enough land to roam freely on, they were caged up where she was too. If the intent is actually there and it's pure from your heart, it'll show and things will work out.

AO: I believe she genuinely cares for the animals. I think the way they go about it at her park seems better than how it is at Joe's.

GBR: Favorite moment from the Carole and Joe rivalry?

TO: It sounds bad, but in a joking manner, when Joe shoots the fake dolls and blows stuff up. You can't make that stuff up. It ends up going against him in the end because it goes as evidence against him, but at the time, it was hilarious.

FL: I think the back and forth they had was pretty funny. The advertisements they did back and forth were really funny. Only they truly knew what was going on at the time, but now that we get to see what's happening, it makes it funnier knowing what was going on.

AO: My favorite moment from their rivalry is when they get interviewed and are asked questions about one another. It's funny hearing them go after each other.

GBR: Do you think Carole Baskin is guilty of killing her ex-husband?

TO: Absolutely. I think when you go around, there's too many people that believe that or are too skeptical of her to not have at least played a role in it. I guess we're never really going to know, but me personally, yes, I think she did it.

FL: I think so, but that's also the way that documentary makes it out to be. They nudged it that way. I think she may have done it though. She just had that look in her eye.

AO: I think so. Things point toward it, that's for sure.

GBR: Of all of the other supporting cast in the show, such as Doc Antle and Jeff Lowe, who interested you most?

TO: This is probably not going to be the most popular answer, but honestly, the director [Rick Kirkham]. The fact that he even saw an opportunity there and spent all his time dealing with a lunatic character and then to come out of it with that building that got burned with all of his tapes, I just thought he was the most down-to-earth person there. To see him in that perspective with all those people was different and interesting.

FL: Jeff Lowe. I just thought he was slick. He knew how to use his words to get him in good situations and out of bad situations. I took note of how he was always calm. He was always a smooth operator that didn't get too high or low. Even when he was mad, his energy still seemed like he was calm.

AO: Doc is interesting to me. I've never really seen anyone in a show like him before. It's interesting to see the behind the scenes of what goes on with his life.

GBR: One of the unanswered questions from the documentary is do you think anyone else will end up going to prison? If so, who?

TO: I don't know if anyone else will, but if I hoped that anyone else would go, I'd have to say it'd be [Jeff Lowe]. I'm not saying Joe didn't do some stuff wrong, but I think that [Lowe] definitely set Joe up in a way. I don't know how much evidence they have against him, but if someone were going to go, that's the person I'd like to see go.

FL: I think Jeff might. At the end of the day, I think he set up Joe. It's not for me to decide, but I think there's some other people involved. I feel like if he goes to jail, other people involved should go too.

AO: I'm really not too sure yet, but I've heard it gets pretty crazy.

GBR: If there was a season two, would you watch?

TO: Absolutely. It's too much drama not to watch. Our society today loves nothing more than drama, so I'm sure it'd be hard to turn against it.

FL: Yes. Even if it leads up to Joe getting out or just getting a recap of everything going on now, I think I'd watch it.

AO: Of course! It's been great so far!

Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.

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