ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is catching heat this week for his recent criticisms of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s bizarre Nov. 16 workout stunt.
What Smith said about the struggling football player is interesting only if you are into that sort of thing, the ins and outs of the ongoing fight between Kaepernick and the league. For me, the interesting part of this story is not what the ESPN host said, but how he defends himself from the hordes of angry Kaepernick supporters.
Smith, who very recently denounced Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey for supporting the pro-democracy Hong Kong protesters against communist China, is leaning on his credentials as a historically woke “black man, you idiots.”
“When I sit up there, and I sat here yesterday, and I spoke about how his points are eradicated, I’m not talking about the kneeling,” the ESPN anchor said this week in response to those who really, really disliked his criticisms of Kaepernick’s bizarre NFL tryout. “I’m not talking about the protesting. I’m a black man, you idiots! You think I have a problem with a man that is kneeling and protesting racial oppression and police brutality?”
He added, “Do you know anything about my history in 25 years in this damn business? From the New York Daily News to the Philadelphia Inquirer to CNN to Fox to ESPN. Do you have any idea about my damn background and the fights that I have taken on the behalf of African Americans throughout this nation’s history? Do you have any idea who the hell you are talking about?”
If you want to know Smith’s intent, he says, just look at his record.
Yes, let’s.
Let’s rewind all the way to October, back to when Smith embraced ESPN’s alleged mandate that staff refrain from saying anything critical of communist China. Smith did not just refrain. He actually went on the offensive against Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who said only in a short-lived tweet, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.”
“Daryl Morey, a good man, an exceptional executive, and a conscientious human being, what were you thinking speaking up on this issue?” Smith asked on his radio program. “You don’t just think about yourself before you act. That’s what boys and girls do. That’s what children do.”
Remember: ESPN is owned by Disney, which, like the NBA, has a massive financial investment in China, whose ruling government has murdered literally millions of people and continues to oppress millions more.
Smith added, “Daryl Morey had an obligation to think about the Houston Rockets organization and about the National Basketball Association before himself. You have an obligation to adopt and embrace the interest of those you collect a paycheck from.”
Yes, why would anyone doubt Smith’s woke credentials? Why would anything think that he would side with a massive, faceless conglomerate against a lone voice protesting oppression and brutality? It is just a total mystery that anyone would think that!
