Stephen A. Smith (Photo by Eddy “Precise” Lamarre for rolling out)
Black Twitter dragged Stephen A. Smith over the coals for coming out and vehemently supporting Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones after a photo was released showing him at a rally preventing Black students from entering a school.
Jones was 14 at the time when he stood among a mob of White segregationists who blocked the entry of Blacks into their all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.
Smith, the host of ESPN’s “First Take,” blasted Black people for wanting Jones, who is now 80, to apologize for his appearance and never speaking on it for the rest of his life.
“I’m pretty pissed off,” Stephen A. Smith said while discussing the newly surfaced photo with a then 14-year-old Jones in it. “I’m pissed off, but not for reasons people think. I am very, very fond of Jerry Jones, and I’m not hiding that from anybody. Is his record perfect? No, but I’m pissed off because he doesn’t deserve what just happened. He doesn’t deserve it. One report, our report, said he was 14 years old. Another report said he was 15 years old. At minimum, that’s 65 years ago.”
“You gonna bring up a photo of Jerry Jones standing at this protest, no question what was happening, it’s not something that anybody as a Black person should be appreciative about,” he continued. “We had six students at that particular North Little Rock high school that [were]trying to desegregate the school. Nobody should be okay with that, and we understand that. We get all of that. … Racism is alive and well. Bigotry and prejudice is alive and well. We get all of that, but you gonna bring up a photo of him when he was 14, 15 years old – 65 or 66 years ago.”?
Not surprisingly, Black Twitter stormed after Smith for his controversial decision to defend Jones, who has never hired a Black head coach during his 33-year ownership of the Cowboys.
THAT IS THE POINT.
The point is not that Jerry Jones was a violent segregationist. The point is that he can watch something like this and never MENTION IT FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. The point is not that Jones has never hired a Black head coach… pic.twitter.com/SdnnxQOvPZ
— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) November 27, 2022
NO lies Detected 🤦🏿♂️#JerryJones#StephenASmith #KyrieIrving pic.twitter.com/qpln6ZKqCI
— Black Alpha Network (@BlackAlphaNetw1) November 27, 2022
57 years from now, no one is going to say “oh it was 57 years ago—let it go” about kyrie Irving, you know why? Because certain ppl don’t get that kind of grace. So to see #StephenASmith caping for Jerry jones is …hm pic.twitter.com/ZdIGLfzQZk
— Queen Virgo (@MikeMyersMask1) November 26, 2022
…believe me now. #FBA #Reparations #StephenASmith #VirginIslands #KwameBrown @stephenasmith tether card was pulled a long time ago. St. Thomas, V.I.
🇻🇮🇻🇮🇻🇮 take all these L’shttps://t.co/lZ9wrnA8wk
— ⌛️Ace_Keeper⏳️ (@P23Ace) November 26, 2022
Jerry Jones should not be cancelled but Stephen A. Smith is tone deaf #stephenasmith #espn #dallascowboys #nfl #socialjustice pic.twitter.com/Pajyl3txsE
— Derek Lane (@Dereks_Lane) November 27, 2022
Y’all see it… #StephenASmith https://t.co/ug0b2c0KsB pic.twitter.com/VjsqHl9KKK
— Skylar Ezell: Writer and Last Black Targaryen 🐉 (@Skylar_Writer) November 27, 2022
This dude #StephenASmith sees a racist picture with Jerry Jones in it and dead ass said people are wrong for calling him a racist…. pic.twitter.com/ebsIF4RhbT
— I AINT GONNA HOLD YOU (@iAmJeffSledge) November 25, 2022
ESPN, Stephen A Smith and these other sports talk shows were more outraged by Jeff Saturday getting the Colts head coaching job than Jerry Jones and actual racism. Make it make sense.#ForTheShoe #DallasCowboys #ESPN #StephenASmith
— Clarence Boddicker (@MotorCitySaint9) November 25, 2022
