(ESPN)
Posted on 05/24/2014 12:34:55 AM PDT by Bratch
Full Title:
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith refused to backdown on Friday after he came under fire for defending Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s comments about bigotry in a recent interview. Despite being labeled an “Uncle Tom” and a “sellout” by some in the black community, Smith made it clear that he stands by what he said “100-fold.”
“‘Stephen A. Smith is a sellout,’ ‘Stephen A. Smith is an Uncle Tom,’ ‘Stephen A. Smith ain’t black,’ ‘you ain’t one of us’ — these are the kinds of things that were said to me yesterday,” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take” Friday.
Regardless, he said he doesn’t care who disagrees with him and they would be smart not to expect an apology.
(ESPN)
“When I say I don’t give a damn… that does it no justice,” Smith said. “I stand by everything that I said yesterday tenfold, 100-fold. And I don’t care who in the black community disagrees with me — I’m not interested in their disagreement on this particular issue because they are not looking at the bigger picture here.”
While Cuban did say he’d “cross the street” if he saw a black kid in a hoodie at night, he also said “in the same breath” that he’d have reservations about a bald guy with tattoos all over his body, he continued.
“Everybody wants to ignore that,” Smith said. “I don’t want to say everybody because I’m not speaking for everybody. … We want to pounce on him making this statement and alluding the black folks or talking about somebody in a hoodie that happens to be black… He talked about the prejudices that exist in all spectrums by all of us. Are we going to sit here and literally act like we don’t have any prejudices?”
Smith went on to argue that what Cuban said is “100 percent correct.” The commentator also addressed the “elephant in the room,” which he said many white people won’t talk about out of fear of being labeled “racist.”
“I look at our unemployment rate consistently being double that of folks in white America. I do understand that, to some degree, there’s a level of racism that we all have to overcome… but that doesn’t mean every single issue is race related,” he said. “Sometimes it is about how you represent yourself, it is about how you present yourself.”
He wasn’t even close to done:
“When I talk about not having a command of the English language, and still you want a job, and you want to have a career, but you don’t want to get your education, you don’t want to go out there and pound that pavement. Everything’s about the sprint, it’s not about the marathon, it’s not about you putting forth the necessary effort and due diligence over the long haul to get the thing you need. That’s a reality in our community.”
Smith also explained that not everyone in the black community can be Lebron James, Jay Z or Dwayne Wade — because they are “special.”
The rappers and professional athletes don’t represent the real “American dream,” they represent a “fantasy turned reality,” he added. Rather, Smith said he looks at himself as a good representation of that dream.
“Queens, New York City, left back in the fourth grade, grew up poor, the lever of education that I had was a public school system, I ultimately graduate from high school, I go to a historically black institution like Winston-Salem State University, I graduate with honors, there is no journalism program, I still graduate with honors, I still beat out thousands of people to get an internship… and I’m on national TV everyday.”
Trust us, you want to watch the entire segment via ESPN here.
When will the media idiots along with the racists in the black community even begin to realize the everything that he said is the normal reaction for about 80% of the folks. The other 20% have never ventured into urban territory and have no idea what he was talking about. You simply can NOT talk truth when race is involved!
I bet it’s racist to say that my two favorite sports talking heads are smith and herm Edwards because they have an enthusiasm, genuiness, and poetic banter that the white talking heads can’t hold a candle to.
Jesse Jackson - Remarks at a meeting of Operation PUSH in Chicago (27 November 1993)
Good for him. Nice to see someone analyzing statements in context for a change.
Yup.
Uncle Tom, Sellout... accusations made by racists.
Excellent!!!
What ever else can be said about him, Smith never hit me as an Uncle Tom.... Straight shooter more like it
He’s wrong if he thinks he is different from Lebron or Jay-Z in the uniqueness of his career. To be where he or they are, or most any celebrity is, is like hitting the lottery. Most kids growing up would be stupid or nuts to expect to end up where they are.
Good for him. I will also add that blacks know these rules and often used them to their advantage. It is quite common for blacks, especially on the east coast, to wildly overdress for the situation. It is very common to see a black man in a suit and tie going to work, when a white person in the same profession would dress far more casually. They do this deliberately to seperate themselves from the hoodie crowd, to advertise to the world that they are professionals and would like to be treated that way. And they are. I have never seen someone cross the street away from a black man in a suit.
bump!
...”When will the media idiots along with the racists in the black community even begin to realize the everything that he said is the normal reaction for about 80% of the folks. The other 20% have never ventured into urban territory and have no idea what he was talking about. You simply can NOT talk truth when race is involved!”...
The Facists talk police smell blood in the water and are off and running. Their intimidation of normal people who voice normal and logical thoughts and responses to events is disgusting. They love to attack and make examples of highly visible personalities. It is political correctness, and I hate that term because there is nothing correct about PC, which is a huge tool in the dismantling of American freedom. Without a drastic turn-a-round our nation is headed to the trash heap of history and even her destroyers will not ever find another like her to enjoy.
Way to go Stephen A. Smith! This is exactly the type of man that needs to be heard!
I suppose Mr. Smith will now be fired for his “insensitivity.” Next will be the audit.
Stephen A. is well-inoculated against any job action by ESPN. If any of the melanin-challenged staff had said it, they’d already be on the street.
I hear him on Mark Levin’s show last night and the conversation was very enlightening and heart lifting at the same time. It was near the start of the second hour. It was amazing to hear that Smith and Levin are fast friends and Smith is a regular listener to Mark’s show.
http://www.marklevinshow.com/common/page.php?pt=podcasts&id=191&is_corp=0
Looks as though the conversation that Holder doesn’t want is now finally starting to happen.
I hope you’re right, but ESPN is a lefty network. Liberals will eat their own.
No one more than the white libs benefit when blacks reduce themselves to moronic screaming bigots who cut themselves off from society at large. That leaves stuck on their own political island with only one way off, the Democratic party, the ferry of evil.
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