Stephen A. Smith has accused critics of the so-called ‘black national anthem’ of threatening the ‘fabric’ of America – and compared the backlash to Donald Trump ‘hijacking’ the debate around Colin Kaepernick taking the knee.
Some NFL fans have called for a boycott of Sunday’s showdown between the Chiefs and the Eagles after it was revealed that ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ will be sung before kickoff.
It is traditionally performed during the Super Bowl‘s pregame festivities but has sparked huge controversy in recent years.
The NFL has confirmed that Grammy Award-winning singer Ledisi will perform the song – in front of President Donald Trump – shortly before Jon Batiste’s rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner on Sunday.
That prompted a backlash online but, in an interview with DailyMail.com in New Orleans, ESPN star Smith said: ‘I understand that society can be very polarizing at times, but the reality is that segments of our population have a right to be prideful about their culture, their people.’
He continued: ‘Everybody has a right to feel the way that they feel… if you’re not doing harm to anybody else, leave it be.
‘When we start telling people how to think and how to feel, even when they’re not harming anybody else? Now you’re touching on the American fabric.
‘That’s not what America is about. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to think, to be a free thinker, that’s what makes America special, and that’s what we have to remember.’
Smith accused critics of the anthem of hypocrisy. ‘We have to be consistent with who we complain about – when the Jewish community tells us what they’re passionate about and what they care about, non-Jewish people don’t try to tell them how to feel,’ he said.
‘Well, black people have a right to feel the way that they feel – about whether there’s a black national anthem or anything… as long as it’s not something that’s harmful to America, the nation itself or to any segment of our population, what’s the problem?’
Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he will be at the Superdome in New Orleans this weekend, becoming the first sitting President ever to attend the Super Bowl.
The NFL has long been a vehicle for political debate, from 49ers star Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem back in 2016, to players doing ‘the Trump dance’ before and after the 2024 election.
At Super Bowl LVII in 2023, Republican politician and long-time Trump loyalist Kari Lake made headlines when she refused to stand for the black anthem.
After it was performed at last year’s Super Bowl, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz claimed: ‘They’re desecrating America’s National Anthem by playing something called the “Black National Anthem.”‘
On Wednesday, Smith brought up Kaepernick’s controversial protest, claiming Trump ‘hijacked the narrative’ over the quarterback, who has not played in the NFL since 2016.
‘What (was) he doing? He’s not interfering with the 60 minutes. He is taking a knee during the national anthem,’ the ‘First Take’ host said.
‘The president at the time – who’s the president now, the 45th president of the United States – which was Donald Trump, hijacked the narrative because it was in his interest.
‘I am the person that Donald Trump called in 2014 when he wanted to purchase the Buffalo Bills. He the price tag was $1.4 billion. Reportedly, he had about $1.1 billion.
‘His exact words to me were – excuse my language: “If them motherf***ers get in my way – meaning the NFL owners – I’m gonna get them all back. I’m gonna run for president.”
‘Those are his exact words. They didn’t let the sale go through, and he ran for president. The rest is history. So what I’m saying is: that that’s how he felt.’
Smith continued: ‘The reason why I bring up the whole national anthem with him hijacking the narrative is because…. before Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, Marshawn Lynch would sit on coolers, or on the bench, eating a banana. No one said a word. Why are you tripping over Colin Kaepernick?’
The ESPN star insisted America is not made up of ‘one monolithic group’. ‘Hispanics are different from Jews, Jews are different from blacks, blacks are different from whites, etc, etc,’ he said. ‘Let everybody be themselves. Just don’t harm anybody else.’
