Stephen A. Uses Race-Card On LeBron After Race Card Was Used On Him | Bobby Burack

Last week, Stephen A. Smith responded to critics who accused him of undermining the credibility of black women by questioning whether Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, is more concerned with making headlines over his comments about President Trump than with passing laws.

"How Jasmine Crockett chooses to express herself, I’m like, ‘Is that going to help your district in Texas?’" Smith said on his SiriusXM radio show earlier this month. "Aren’t you there to find a way to get things done, rather than just being an impediment to what Trump wants? How much work goes into that?"

Black Lives Matter activist Tamika Mallory called Smith’s comments "dangerous" and "disrespectful to a powerful black woman." Former MSNBC host Tiffany Cross claimed Smith’s questioning of Crockett was an example of "little dick energy."

Smith initially acted unphased by the criticism. "You want me canceled because I asked a question? Jasmine Crockett, how is that going to work for you and your constituency?" he asked.

However, as much as Smith wants to portray himself as a voice of reason in the political conversation, doing so requires a backbone -- and Smith has rarely shown much of one when the race card is applied to him.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Smith cited a poll during an appearance with Fox News host Sean Hannity showing Trump’s support among black men was growing. After facing backlash similar to what he received last week, Smith quickly apologized to "the black community."

"I’m fully aware that I have been in the news the last few days, paraded all over social media after comments I made on Fox News’ Hannity last week. A lot of folks in black America seem pretty pissed at me right now.

"Quite a few were offended, as my words were interpreted as associating support for Trump by the black community with all the legal issues he’s facing. For that, I sincerely apologize. I’m stating right here for the record that I was taken out of context.

"Anywhere I appear, no matter my subjectivity relating to what I feel, it’s still going to be based on facts being presented into the stratosphere. That is who I’ve always been. It’s who I’ll always continue to be. But it’s never exercised with malice in my heart and certainly never to assault or harm the black community, my community. Just because my intent was harmless doesn’t mean my words were harmless, and I know that."

In other words, he apologized for citing a poll—a poll that ultimately proved accurate during the November election.

While Smith hasn’t outright apologized for his fair criticism of Crockett, he noticeably changed his tone last week. It began with an appearance on CNN, during which he claimed Trump had no right to deploy the National Guard to stop crime.

Smith later shared the segment with Laura Coates on X, addressing those calling him conservative.

"A lot has been said by others about where I stand politically lately. I suggest giving this a watch," Smith wrote. "Here is my full appearance on @thelauracoates last night."

Translation: Look, I’m on the good side of the culture war.

Notably, Smith had previously supported the idea of deploying the National Guard to cities like Chicago during a debate with Clay Travis at the Front Office Sports Summit last month.

Next, Smith tried shifting attention toward LeBron James. On The Pivot Podcast, Smith accused James of showing racial bias in favor of white reporters.

"You ever see LeBron go at a white boy? Let’s call it what it is. You ever see him do that? You’ll say you saw him come at me," Smith said, referencing his public confrontation with James earlier this year.

Yes, we have. In fact, Smith himself later remembered that James also targeted Brian Windhorst around the same time.

"You saw him come at me. Closest you ever came to seeing him do something like that to a white journalist was when he called out Brian Windhorst," Smith continued. "What you calling out Brian Windhorst for? The man covered you since junior high school and has praised you repeatedly, and you used the Pat McAfee situation to go at him. That’s the only time you ever saw LeBron James really go at somebody white. I’m going to call it what it is," Smith concluded.

To recap, Smith argued that because LeBron James once came after him, a black man, and once after Windhorst, a white man, he must have a racial bias against black men.

Got that? This is from the same person Bill Maher recently suggested was intelligent enough to run for president.

Setting aside Smith’s illogical argument, the point is the pattern of his comments.

When Smith is accused of racial bias, he often attempts to redirect the discussion by playing his own version of the race card. This isn’t new. When Smith questioned former co-host Max Kellerman’s credentials on The Breakfast Club over a year ago, former NFL players Marcellus Wiley and Terrell Owens came to Kellerman’s defense. Owens resurfaced a clip from First Take in which he told Smith that Kellerman was "blacker" than he was, while Wiley claimed Smith had Kellerman removed from the show because he was smarter and "wasn’t the right type of white guy."

"We all know what this is—the typecast. You needed a white guy. Problem is, as T.O. told you and told the world, Max is blacker than you. And whether you agree with that or not, I don’t believe in that stuff, but I do know one thing: Max knew more black culture than you. And you got mad," Wiley said about Smith.

Smith responded by calling Wiley’s comments offensive and by calling Jason Whitlock "the seed of the devil."

Whitlock had nothing to do with the exchange, just as LeBron James has nothing to do with Smith’s recent controversy. But when under attack from the black community, Smith tends to urge his followers to focus their energy on another public figure for their supposed treatment of the community.

What’s most disappointing about this pattern is that Smith often begins with a valid point. His observations about Trump’s growing support among black men and his critique of Crockett’s focus on cultural battles over legislative results were reasonable. His claim that LeBron James holds prejudice against black reporters —especially given James’s longstanding professional respect for journalists like Michael Wilbon — was not.

As much as Stephen A. wants to be a factor in the political arena, he is quickly learning that even the most modest questioning of protected Democrats is reflexively deemed racist. Of course, he’d rather play the race card himself than have it played on him.