Tag Archives: Stephen A. Smith

RACE, SPORTS

The Hypocrisy Continues: Why Many of Those Criticizing Stephen A. Smith are Guilty of Harboring Similar Thoughts on Race

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We have seen this before, and there is much to be learned.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has once again proven that those speakers who prefer theatrics over discipline will eventually allow their loudmouth nature to write a check that their ass can’t possibly cover. As I mentioned above, we have seen this situation where Stephen A. Smith, the noted ESPN loudmouth, allows his emotions and misplaced enthusiasm to write a check that his ass can’t possibly cover. The most apparent sign of bouncing such a check appears to be addressing a national audience and apologizing for the statement. Smith’s lack of discipline was displayed when he attempted to walk back the following comments spewed at Japanese baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani.

I understand that baseball is an international sport itself in terms of participation, but when you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or to the ballpark, to actually watch you, I don’t think it helps that the number one face is a dude that needs an interpreter, so you can understand what the hell he’s saying in this country.

The backlash to Smith’s comments was swift. The uproar was so significant that his superiors forced Smith to apologize to the entire Asian and Asian American community.

The irony of a Black man hurling familiar vitriol is ironic. Yet, it also provides an opening for American citizens who have been basted in racial/ethnic identity politics to take a peek in the mirror.

For some reason, Stephen A. Smith’s misspeak aimed at a non-White person led me to what I consider to be an essential question about race/ethnic identity and power in a nation where a White numerically superior population has terrorized their adversaries.

The question is as follows.

Is it possible for African-Americans to form alliances with other non-White groups who have endured different variants and levels of prejudice, discrimination, and institutionalized racism within the United States of America? Can a good case be made for non-Whites to join together to overthrow a White majority that has historically monopolized anything worth having due to their numerical superiority?

It seems a simple proposition for Black, Brown, Red, and Yellow people forming an unprecedented coalition to disrupt White folks politico-economic monopolies. Fortunately for Whites, what Fred Hampton, Co-Chairman of the Chicago Branch of the Black Panther Party, characterized as a “Rainbow Coalition” has never occurred.

Where political expediency and sophistication would prove beneficial to all non-Whites, historically-based racial animosity has sat like a heavy stone, much like the boulder that Sisyphus repeatedly failed to push out of the valley. For those interested in figuring out why such a coalition has never formed, it appears that each of these groups learned that xenophobia was the most reliable currency in this foreign land called America. Additionally, it is difficult to argue against the reality that new arrivals, regardless of their race/ethnicity, quickly realize that there is political and economic strength in numbers. Most importantly, the most reliable rally point for any group in this increasingly diverse nation is racial identity, not Class. Unfortunately for numerically superior poor and working-class people, regardless of their racial/ethnic identities, Race/ethnicity has always trumped Class. Not even the economic misery wrought by greedy Capitalists during the Great Depression lessened American’s allegiance to the existing system.

The above realities leave me with no choice but to tip my hat to W.E.B. DuBois, the most extraordinary mind ever developed by the American academy, for his cryptic prophecy delivered in The Souls of Black Folk. According to DuBois,

The problem of the twentieth-century will be that of the color line – the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea.

Although rarely spoken about in the public arena, DuBois’s projection held throughout the 20th Century and will most likely continue through a significant portion of the new millennium.

It is time that American citizens held an honest discussion regarding matters of race and ethnic identity. Although cliché to say, it is the only path to even a tiny hope of extinguishing the smoldering, yet rarely articulated in public, hatred of groups actively competing for what they erroneously perceive to be limited politic-economic resources.

So, I must tell you that I am unsurprised by Stephen A. Smith’s statement about Ohtani, nor his desperate attempt to save his career by denouncing himself a day later. I can guarantee you that the majority of freedom-loving Americans who still enjoy America’s favorite pastime had little to no problem with Smith’s words. I honestly believe that you would hear similar commentary if more Americans did not consider it tantamount to career suicide or a smooth path to pariah status. However, a cautionary refusal to take a public stance on a controversial matter for the sake of self-preservation is a quantum leap from having the demons of xenophobia, misogyny, and racism exorcised from one’s soul. The nirvana of a post-racial America is nowhere on the horizon for either you or me.

Rest assured that a significant portion of the angry horde that rushed to condemn Stephen A. Smith’s comments harbor similar feelings. The only difference between them and Smith is that they are too savvy to utter such things in front of a national audience; their judgments are stated only behind closed doors. We must remember that the exercise of restraint or silence when discussing contentious racial matters in public, an ability that I doubt Smith will ever master, is not synonymous with the absence of bigotry or an embrace of racial equality.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021

 

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Why Stephen A. Smith and Others Like Him Should be Silenced “By Any Means Necessary”

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I am sure that no one is surprised that ESPN talking head Stephen A. Smith has once again become ensnared in a seemingly made for TV controversy. This time around it deals with the on-going saga of colluded against Quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Let’s be honest about Stephen A. Smith, he is basically paid to “talk shit” about Race to an audience that knows little more about racial matters than he does. I cringe at much of what I hear that he has said on some episode of ESPN.

In many ways, Stephen A. Smith is the luckiest Black man alive for the following reason. He is not unique in his penchant to “talk shit” for hours, if not weeks and months at a time. Truthfully, he is not much different from the droves of Black men who spend hours upon hours “talking shit” about Race, women, and sports in barbershops, sports bars, strip clubs, and any other place where loudmouth Negroes are found. It would be a gross overstatement to say that Black men such as Stephen A. Smith are a dime a dozen. His kind is much, much, much more common than that.

The latest reality-TV debate that Smith has manufactured via his over the top style involves all people, Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens. In response to a recent show regarding Colin Kaepernick’s latest ingenious escape from what appears to be the National Football League’s attempt to depict him as a washed-up quarterback whose skills have eroded to the point that his playing again is a ludicrous proposition, Owens proffered that Stephen A. Smith’s argument directed at Max Kellerman revealed him as a “company man” willing to do the bidding of ESPN. Owens’ words were intended to reveal Stephen A. Smith as the latest in a long line of Negroes willing to fight against the fight against racial bigotry and institutionalized racism on behalf of entities that have made such matters the most impactful element in the lives of Blacks. Smith responded to the charge with a to be expected dimwitted tweet that his position did not cancel his blackness. Despite what those who are new to serious discussions regarding Race may think, neither Owens’ charge nor Stephen A. Smith’s rebuttal is new arguments.

Terrell Owens’ charge is as common as the counter-argument issued by the ESPN commentator. This matter raises the following question. Is there an expectation for Blacks to adhere to a particular viewpoint? Are those “free-thinking” Blacks who refuse to do so destined to be ostracized by their contemporaries? The answers to the above questions are not clear cut.

Blacks such as Candace Owens, Clarence Thomas, and Stephen A. Smith whose perspective appear to resist what Khalid Abdul Muhammad termed “the liberation and salvation of the Black nation” have sought cover under a flimsy argument resting on calls for the need for a diversity of thoughts and voices within Black America. The words, ideas, and ideals of such figures who often classify themselves as Black Conservatives have repeatedly opposed politico-economic progress within Black America. Please do not consider the above an indictment against all Black Conservatives as it is intended to address the few who serve as a vocal minority whose ideologies malign the entire political perspective.

Despite the outcries of some, certainly not all, Black Conservatives who present themselves as the most recent victims of Stockholm Syndrome (they identify with and work to advance the agenda of those who dedicate their energies to the further exploitation and denigration of Black America) should be criticized, denounced, muted, and curtailed “by any means necessary.” The advised action has nothing to do with political censorship or calls for conformity and everything to do with the development of a political agenda aimed at advancing Black America’s interests.

I do not need to tell you that it is late in the game for Black America to entertain political voices that work against their interests. Those voicing political programs that threaten to keep progress for racial equality derailed are foolish. Experience has taught me that they are actually too foolish to be ashamed of their actions. Yet, they are comforted by the ransom that they are being paid by those who continue to devise strategies and seek alliances necessary to maintain their selfish stranglehold on precious resources.

Regardless of the venue, it is clear that figures such as Stephen A. Smith and Candace Owens will tell you that the show must go on because they have bills to pay. To hell with the rest of us as we continue to fight for the uplift of all.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019