‘This is white privilege’: Stephen A Smith rips apart Nets for appointing Steve Nash over Mark Jackson

In an impassioned outburst, Stephen A Smith made the sensational claim that Steve Nash’s appointment as the Brooklyn Nets head coach is a matter of white privilege.

Stephen A did not miss out on the pleasantries. He prefaced his controversial statement with his liking for Steve Nash as a player, a person and as a basketball mentor. He then went on to talk about how he feels that black people see a glass ceiling in their various walks of life. He thinks that is a major cause for them taking to the streets in the BLM movement.

Analyzing Stephen A Smith’s controversial take on Steve Nash’s appointment

Stephen A pointed out that the likes of Ty Lue, Mark Jackson and Sam Cassell, who’ve all coached at the NBA level in various capacities, have been glossed over by the Brooklyn Nets. Steve Nash previously worked in a player development role with the Warriors, which is where he established a rapport with Kevin Durant.

In his video this morning, Stephen A Smith was quick to acknowledge the greatness of Steve Nash, but pointed out that he was able to land the job without any coaching experience largely because of the color of his skin.

“It is white privilege’ he said while talking about how 3 highly talented and experienced Black coaches were turned down by the Nets.

Also Read: Black coaches in NBA: How many head coaches in the NBA are African-American?

Stephen A’s views seem quite over the top considering that NBA head coaching roles are often a matter of fit. While there is definitely a case to be made for better representation of African-American talent, the NBA is easily the most progressive of the North American leagues when it comes to issues of racial discrimination.

Even currently, the fraction of NBA coaches who’re black (16.7%) is more than the fraction of black population in the USA (~13.4%). In his endeavour to make this about race, Stephen A has conveniently glossed over these facts.