“Stephen A Smith, don’t claim the culture if you disrespect it”: Bucks player goes off on the ESPN analyst for mocking a Nigerian basketball player’s name following win over Team USA

Jordan Nwora tells Stephen A Smith to not try to claim the culture if he continues to disrespect it as he mispronounces a Nigerian player’s name. 

Stephen A Smith has found himself in some hot water as he’s being hammered on social media for various statements he made on Shohei Ohtani along with a moment during First Take where he talked about USA’s loss to Nigeria. In regards to the Ohtani situation, Stephen A Smith claimed the pitcher-slugger cannot be the face of the MLB. 

Smith’s reasoning for this was that needing an interpreter due to a lack of proficiency in English cannot help in attracting young fans to the sport. This, of course, is a tone-deaf statement made by the ESPN analyst as watching a player do something only Babe Ruth has done, nearly a 100 years later, is enough to increase viewership.

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As for his misstep when ‘analyzing’ the USA vs Nigeria exhibition game, Stephen A Smith repeatedly mispronounced the names of several Nigerian players and did so on purpose. 

Jordan Nwora goes off on Stephen A Smith for his disregard for Nigerian players’ names. 

It’s common and completely understandable for someone who hails from a certain culture to hold their name in high regard. Their name is what lets people know that they originate from a particular culture and they should feel free to be proud of this. Stephen A Smith clearly does not understand this and Jordan Nwora let this be known. 

“Stephen A offended Ohtani and Nigeria. In his apology to Ohtani, he identified as ‘African American’. Don’t claim the culture if you want to disrespect it. If you can say Krzyzewski, you can say Agada. Unprofessional, period.”

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Though Stephen A Smith has apologized for his comments on the Ohtani debacle, he has yet to speak out about the disrespect he sent towards Team Nigeria following their stellar win over Team USA.