Stephen A. Smith has been known to ruffle a few feathers for his candid sports commentary. However his most recent thoughts are a far cry from the world of athletics -- and they've landed him in hot water.
On Tuesday, Smith received criticism for his series of tweets that defended comments made by Democratic presidential candidate, Martin O’Malley during a recent Netroots Nation conference in Maryland. O'Malley declared: "Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter" in response to demonstrators who chanted “Black lives matter.” Smith responded to those who reportedly booed O’Malley’s comment.
Rapper-activist Talib Kweli responded to Smith's tweets online and called out the 47-year-old host for his controversial comments.
Smith went on to share some of his same thoughts on his SiriusXM radio show, “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” and released a statement on Tuesday (below).
I didn't hear Gov. Martin O'Malley's interview. And I'm not debating the significance of "Black Lives Matter." I'm a BLACK MAN! I know this.
Nor am I focusing on O'Malley's words or context itself. That's really not the issue to me.
The issue is: as much as attention was so desperately aimed towards "Black Lives Matter," where is all this noise when Black folks are getting killed in our communities every single day? Does it only matter when we're getting killed OUTSIDE OF OUR COMMUNITY, by folks who look differently than us?
That was my point. It IS my point. It will REMAIN my point. And I'm not changing my position one bit.Whatever context O'Malley made in saying "All Lives Matter" is his issue to deal with. The same could be said for Hillary Rodham-Clinton when she alluded to that weeks ago. But it still does not negate the point that if we've reached a point where a PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE is forced to apologize and engage in clarification when choosing to say "ALL LIVES MATTER" -- while a few Black Folks are allowed to reign terror throughout our own community by killing one another with nary a word said about it, then the problems that truly permeate the Black Community will never be resolved.
It's the truth. Deal with it.
No Black Man with a soul would dream of attacking the movement that is "Black Lives Matter." I'm certainly not doing any such thing. I never will.
Just make sure I hear #BlackLivesMatter ALL the time.
Specifically, when we're getting killed by one another."
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