Stephen A. Smith applauds the WNBA for quickly issuing a statement against racism in response to alleged remarks directed at Chicago Sky star Angel Reese.
Reese and Caitlin Clark continued their rivalry to open the WNBA season over the weekend when the Indiana Fever dominated the Chicago 93-58 on Saturday. And on Sunday, social media was filled with rumors alleging Fever fans were directing racist remarks at Reese.
Despite the widespread rumors, there has been no shared evidence of the remarks as of Monday afternoon. The WNBA, however, issued a statement saying they’re looking into the allegations, while condemning racism and hate. Monday morning, Stephen A. Smith praised the statement, but also claimed he’s not upset by the allegations.
“I applaud the WNBA for their statement. Got no issues with it,” Smith said on First Take. “But I’m not bothered by this because I love when folks are stupid enough to show themselves… A lot of times, when we see stuff politically, sports wise, corporate wise, et cetera, what we’ve missed along the way is fall back and let people show you who they are. Sometimes we’re lamenting and we don’t need to lament it. We need to pause, stand still, chill and let them come. Because the more you show who you are, the more you’re gonna find who really stands with us and who doesn’t. The WNBA stands with us because they put out that statement immediately.”
Smith said the NBA would similarly be quick to put out a statement condemning hate speech, noting many players, coaches, executives and owners would follow suit. But Smith is more interested in noticing who doesn’t condemn the racism or hate speech.
“These kinds of things edify us and positions us to fight the real fight as opposed to being distracted by fighting little menial things that happen. You can’t legislate what’s in people’s hearts,” Smith said. “People who look at other people as being less, that’s who the hell they are. You can spot them. I wanna know who they got with them.”
Smith’s stance on the WNBA’s statement opposed that of Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy. After attending the Sky-Fever matchup in Indiana over the weekend, Portnoy claimed he heard no evidence of racist remarks being directed at Reese. Portnoy also ripped the WNBA for issuing a statement that gave credence to those unfounded allegations.
Smith did not address the lack of evidence surrounding the allegations, he seemed more focused on highlighting the importance of seeing the WNBA react quickly. But since the WNBA’s statement, the conversation around Reese and Clark has once again been more about race than basketball.
If there is evidence of Fever fans directing hate speech at Reese, then it should be dealt with seriously. But if the WNBA’s statement was an impulsive response to an unfounded social media rumor, then it may have helped cast an unnecessary dark cloud over what should have been a great opening weekend for the league.