Well, turns out Jerry Jones didn’t have to say anything because one of the loudest voices on television had his back. ESPN’s biggest name Stephen A. Smith used his First Take pedestal to defend his “good friend” Jerry Jones.
“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 was 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.”
Stephen A. Smith Had Smoke For His Fellow Journalist
Smith wasn’t done caping for Jones. He set his crosshairs on journalists for “making an attempt” to inflict “cancel culture” on Jones.
I’m very fond of Jerry Jones and he doesn’t deserve what just happened to him! pic.twitter.com/XgegwXI5Vh
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) November 25, 2022
Keep in mind that this is the same Jerry Jones who has yet to hire a Black head coach for “America’s team” and was initially against Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem in 2017.
His tone dramatically changed in an interview with 105.3 The Fan, “If our players are there, they are sensitive to and respect what America is as it relates to the flag. I’ll assure you that. I’d hope that our fans — and I think they will — understand that our players have issues that they need help on. They need help from the majority of America. And we want to be an agent of that.”
As for the picture, Jones said his being there while the white bullies kept the Black kids from entering the school was a “curious thing.”
Okay.
Twitter Is Dragging The ESPN Analyst
As expected, Twitter, most specifically Black Twitter, is dragging the sport’s talking head by his remaining hairline for coming to the defense of Jones.
“Not you being a “pick me” for a man who is wilting like lettuce on a beach,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Imagine being the family of or even being the black kids that were being harassed/attacked in that photo and hearing Stephen A. Smith’s black ass say this in defense of your harassers. Vile,” another tweet read.
Screaming Stephen is getting cooked. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
Photo: Justin Ford / Getty
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1. LOL
“Steven” A Smith https://t.co/l1Yu0Wq5uB pic.twitter.com/YTlyfi96Va
— 100% Intelligent Black Child (@wutsbrewin) November 26, 2022
2. Facts
“Jerry Jones was 14…” #FOH
Tamir Rice was 12.
Emmett Till was 14.
George Stinney Jr was 14.
Trayvon Martin was 17.All of them were murdered.
None of them committed a crime.
None of them deserved what happened to them.#2Americas #Reparations https://t.co/iQPEer1Qfu— NotYourNegro Freedman (@Chad_Boogie) November 26, 2022
3. Welp
Coonery level unlocked https://t.co/MQYQ3qlCFa pic.twitter.com/kfcVqqOHcQ
— DameyDame (@DraftMassta) November 26, 2022
4. Truuueeee
Haven’t seen many racists who stop being racist lol https://t.co/rfbLhNDUE1
— Nat (@natfluential) November 26, 2022
5.
“Sometimes a fruit falls from a tree and rolls so far away from its roots that it’s no longer of the tree. The hard fall, and long journey, bruises the fruit so much that it totally changes it. Its the same way for some of our people.”
– Malcolm X https://t.co/ZEyCUwJOz0— Brother Jamaal Nelson (@Maal317) November 26, 2022
6.
This how many of Black immigrant stock, like Stephen A. Smith thinks. He’s not rooted in our #Freedmen ancestral bloodline in America and so these historical domestic terrorism incidents and there social impact doesn’t have the same effect on him and those like him. https://t.co/rqrUnJADNG
— Nyhiem (Lord Abba) Freedmen 7⃣ (@RealNyhiem) November 26, 2022
7.
You spoke down on Kyrie but this the hill you die on lol https://t.co/7tbbD5ZFRQ
— That Rabbit Guy (@Son_ImSleep) November 26, 2022
8.
The Gen-Y/Z types expressing absolute horror at Jones for being a spectator 65 years ago are the same ones who laugh while using their iPhones to record vicious assaults on the subway. https://t.co/NMbTgOvTWL
— Jason Epstein (@Southfive) November 26, 2022
9.
Somebody take this man’s honorary Omega membership https://t.co/DBWyJSIbry
— Murcielago Papo (@Jo_Pa_Po) November 26, 2022
10.
14 -15 years old was old enough to get lynched back then for black teens. @stephenasmith needs sensitivity training and a damn history book. Those 15 year olds became judges and elected officials and NFL OWNERS all with the mindset they inherited and passed down to generations https://t.co/o63eBJNVG3
— Lord Brunson tweets (@lord_brunson) November 26, 2022
11.
This is why the state of black America will never change. Fuck you mean he was 15yrs, they were lynching black boys at the age, they burned down whole towns, and because Jerry Jones was 15yrs and it was “ so long ago” he needs a pass? FOH https://t.co/Jke7T56QD7
— BigSteppa (@STBR242) November 26, 2022
12.
treating Jerry Jones as a victim is just a disgusting level of bootlicking. every person who was in that crowd deserves to get shamed until the last piece of dirt is poured over them. Also notice how he just glossed over Jones’ history and what happened to those students that day https://t.co/902CFXmU6t
— Leslie//ooh-kaa-chew-koo-day (@Okachukwudi) November 26, 2022
13.
This black man used the same platform that he uses regularly to berate black men under the guise of “sports analysis” to defend Jerry Jones for being a racist piece of shit. Go fuck yourself @stephenasmith https://t.co/GJEA5EP8Ee
— Marc Wash, Esq. (@PhrozenEsq) November 26, 2022
14.
caping for a yt man who got caught in 4K in the midst of some history textbook racism? ur finished pic.twitter.com/GMYHx0WFFN https://t.co/M72dpRkJ3E
— ann-nee-my (@animmaimota) November 26, 2022
15.
Stephen A Smith defending Jerry Jones is on par. “65 years ago” bro my grandma and grandpa was alive when it happened and had to go through that shit. You think they care it was “65 years ago”
— J Herbo (@t_billygoat) November 25, 2022
16.
Stephen A. Smith defended Jerry Jones racist past, he defended Aaron Rodgers lying about being vaccinated & putting people’s health at risk, but he’s spent the last year calling Kyrie Irving every negative adjective that he could find in the dictionary smh https://t.co/4dIDe3xteI
— TYE (@WhosTYE) November 25, 2022
17.
Before he is allowed to continue owning an NFL team, Jerry Jones should have to:
1) Hire a Black head coach
2) Meet with Dr. Umar on 60 minutes
3) Publish a positive review about his favorite Tyler Perry film
4) Donate $5M to the ACLU
5) Apologize to the Black folks in this pic https://t.co/6KXjVTFcgb— magic (@magic_zip) November 23, 2022
18.
Stephen A. Smith and Jerry Jones pic.twitter.com/1EGWHOOM6Q
— profloumoore (@loumoore12) November 25, 2022
19.
It’s funny how some folks like Stephen A Smith are trying to minimize Jerry Jones role as a 14-15 year old in the newly surfaced photo in 1957 Arkansas. Black people have too many collaborators roaming free among us. pic.twitter.com/bgEe6Wrint
— Black Mamba (@BlackMa22594604) November 25, 2022
20.
Stephen A Smith saying Jerry Jones was 14 and shouldn’t be held accountable but black kids don’t get a grace period to be ignorant to the world without. Tamir Rice was 12 when he was murdered. He’s a clown and he should be treated as such
— Ocho (Saints suck) (Ada Main) (@OchoBuckets) November 26, 2022