Stephen A. Smith made some big comments on the newly-signed Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash. According to the ESPN analyst, Nash getting the job as the new Nets HC without prior experience was nothing but ‘white privilege.’
“This does not happen for a black man. No experience whatsoever? On any level as a coach? And you get the Brooklyn Nets job? I know that Kyrie [Irving] and KD (Kevin Durant) have both signed on this. I know they both support this move. But I’m thinking about a champion that is Ty Lue, passed up. I’m thinking about a guy who built the foundation for the Golden State Warriors in Marc Jackson, passed up. I’m thinking about the years that Sam Cassell has served as an assistant, first in the nation’s capital in D.C. and now with the Los Angeles Clippers, passed up.
It’s for a guy — my guy, one of the best guys you could possibly meet in your life and may do a fantastic job. But a guy that has no experience whatsoever, in these times where we’re making all of this noise about social justice — I got news of y’all. I have said this to people on numerous occasions, right here on this show: Yes, that was the tipping point, George Floyd’s killing, his murder. Violence against black men who are unarmed, all of that stuff is true, but the frustration, the protest and all of these things that you’ve seen in the streets throughout America terminating from the black community and the disenfranchised communities is that proverbial glass ceiling and the fact that it breeds a level of frustration that we can’t even put into words sometimes, you just wanna scream.
Wanna scream to the high heavens, ‘How the hell does this always happen for somebody else other than us? Why do we have to be twice as good to get half as much? Why is it that no matter what we do and how hard we work and how we go through the process and the terrain of everything, somehow, someway, there’s another excuse to ignore that criteria? To ignore those credentials and instead bypass it and make an exception to the rule for someone other than us. So I’m depressed right now because I have to bring that up.”
Of course, that didn’t sit well in the league and some people started to call Smith out.
Jay Williams, for instance, took to Twitter to show his disagreement with Smith, claiming that this decision had to be approved by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, two black men fighting for racial equality in the US.
“Come on SA,” Williams said. “Steve Nash being chosen over Mark Jackson/Ty Lue is not ‘White Privilege’. 2 superstar black athletes ultimately made the decision & we know who they are and what they are about.”
Come on SA. Steve Nash being chosen over Mark Jackson/Ty Lue is not “White Privilege”.. 2 superstar black athletes ultimately made the decision & we know who they are and what they are about. https://t.co/7lmTjkbiFK
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) September 3, 2020
Then, when somebody asked Williams about the differences between black and white coaches and how the latter receive more opportunities, Jay doubled down his comments.
“If you want to make that point on its own merit then ok.. but that is NOT how this situation went down. You think KD/Kyrie didn’t get a voice in who their coach would be? Come on man.”
If you want to make that point on its own merit then ok.. but that is NOT how this situation went down. You think KD/Kyrie didn’t get a voice in who their coach would be? Come on man. https://t.co/eilZXYhbgp
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) September 3, 2020
Former NBA star Charles Barkley also had a couple of things to say on this subject. Chuck, who now works as an analyst on TNT, sent a strong message to analysts ‘full of crap.’
“What happened to Doc Rivers? What happened to Jason Kidd? What happened to Derek Fisher? … When you have a responsibility. Especially when you talk about some serious issue as race, you can’t be full of crap, you got to be honest and fair,” Barkley said.
“Steve Nash is a great player and a good dude. But I was so disappointed with all these guys. Dude, black guys have done this before. Do we need more black coaches in the NBA? Yes. Do we need more black coaches in college football? Yes. Do we need more black coaches in pro football? Yes. But this wasn’t the right time to shut it today. Good luck to Steve Nash.”
Charles Barkley fires back at "full of crap" reporters on TV saying Steve Nash was hired because of "white privilege" ie Stephen A Smith https://t.co/sd86cSVP2P pic.twitter.com/ZMRy5SFM8x
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) September 4, 2020
This was very good news for the Nets, who were going to enter a new season with their two best players healthy and ready to roll and a brand new head coach. They were looking to sign a third star and with the ideas of Nash, the picture looks good for them.
However, things went the wrong way when somebody tried to bring the racial issue up.
