Sarah Kustok to interview Joe Tsai on Wednesday night's 'YES We're Here' program at 7 p.m.

Tsai and Kustok to discuss a variety of topics
Joe Tsai speaks at a news conference in 2019.|Art or Photo Credit: AP

Wednesday night’s YES, We’re Here program on the YES Network (7 p.m. ET) will feature YES’ Brooklyn Nets analyst Sarah Kustok's interview with Joe Tsai, owner of the Nets, New York Liberty and Barclays Center. Tsai and Kustok discussed a variety of topics, including:

• Why contributing to New York City in general, and Brooklyn in particular, is so important to him and his wife Clara

• His first year as Nets Governor

• How he has been staying in contact with his work colleagues

• How he and his family are faring during the pandemic

• The responsibility he has, as an owner of a business, to take care of his employees

Below are select quotes from the interview. The entire interview will air Wednesday.

On the Tsai’s philanthropic endeavors:

“When extraordinary circumstances befall us, we just have to react to it in real time. And a lot of the philanthropy that we’re doing wasn’t pre-planned or anything; we just felt at the moment it was the right thing to do.”

Why the New York area is so important to Joe, and giving back to the community:

“My wife Clara and I have always felt that we are very deep-rooted in New York ... The people in New York are resilient, they are tough. It’s that ‘New York tough’ especially characterized by the Brooklyn grit that kind of represents the Nets ethos, and I think in a time of need and a time of crisis, New York feels especially important to us. But I want to step back and just talk about giving back. I think when you’ve come to a position where you’ve been lucky and maybe a little bit successful in business, you want to make sure you can give back to the community, to the people that have supported you, and this is exactly what we have been doing. I think every time I walk into Barclays Center, I see the fans, they are smiling, they are really rabid fans, they support the team, and I want to make sure that I can give back to the fans.”

Evaluating his first year as Brooklyn Nets Governor:

“Look, it was an incredible year starting from last summer. We were able to do some good things in free agency and now we’re in the middle of a pandemic worried about whether the season can start or not ... I come from the technology business, and in the rough and tumble world of technology, you get disrupted or you risk getting disrupted all the time, and you always worry ... so I would say coming into ownership of the Nets, it’s no different. We have a phrase in our own business. We say, 'Never a dull moment,' and I think that pretty much characterizes my first year here.”

Catch the full interview with Joe Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty and Barclays Center, on YES We're Here Wednesday at 7 p.m.