‘SICK & TIRED’: Sportscaster Stephen A. Smith Slams People Calling Megyn Kelly ‘Racist’

Legendary sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith turned heads once again for an unexpected defense of Megyn Kelly, slamming liberals who reflexively tarred her as racist for condemning the NFL for playing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the Black National Anthem, at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Smith’s remarks came during a recent episode of his nationally syndicated radio show after confronting listeners who joined online critics in a chorus of racial animus against Kelly for declaring her support for one, fully representative national anthem.

“The so-called Black National Anthem does not belong at the Super Bowl. We already have a National Anthem and it includes EVERYONE,” Kelly wrote during the game. Her remark drew an equal number of reposts and replies, setting off a debate about the role of the NFL in projecting patriotism on the field.

Smith told listeners he didn’t doubt Kelly’s sincerely held belief about the national anthem and that allegations of racism are a disservice against those who are hurt by actual bigoted words and actions.

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“I don’t know Megyn Kelly at all, OK? I don’t find her statement to be racist,” Smith said on Monday’s episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”

“I find it to be, in her eyes, patriotic. I find it to be, in her eyes, self-righteous. I find her to be a bit detached from reality being faced by black Americans everywhere. I got that part, but I can’t go in the way that I wanted to go in about her when people are out there — from my community — just throwing out the word ‘racist,’” Smith added in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

“You don’t know that about her.”

He continued: “I’m sick and tired of folks out there — particularly in the black community — being so quick to throw out the word ‘racism.’”

“When you throw out the word ‘racism,’ do me a favor: have more evidence before you do it so it can’t be dismissed via plausible deniability or something else.”

That doesn’t mean that Smith was a fan of Kelly’s take, however.

“Megyn Kelly, if you’re watching, you’re listening. I don’t like what you said at all. I think it comes across as highly insensitive,” he added.

Smith has been reticent in his political leanings, at times prodding conservatives to do more for the Black community while agreeing with the majority of Americans that President Joe Biden should step aside in favor of a younger Democratic candidate. He has castigated the left for using the nation’s court systems to try and defeat former President Donald Trump, saying in a recent appearance that they can’t “beat him legitimately.”