Stephen A. Smith had some in the NBA community upset yesterday after delivering his thoughts on the Brooklyn Nets' controversial move to make Steve Nash the next head coach of their franchise. Of course, Nash comes into this role with no prior head coaching experience and prior to his hiring, no one even knew he was a candidate for the job. Not to mention, this is a team that could contend for a title, which means his hiring is that much more of a shock.
Having said all of that, Smith said that Nash's hiring was a case of white privilege and that a black head coach with no experience wouldn't be afforded the same opportunity. Smith caught a lot of flack for this take and today, he doubled down. In the clip below, Smith noted that he understands black coaches have been hired with no experience, although he is mostly talking about championship-caliber teams. Smith explained that Doc Rivers and Jason Kidd were placed on average to bad teams and that their opportunities can't compare to that of Nash's.
Many in the NBA community have countered Smith's comments, saying that players like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are partially responsible for the hiring and that they are both players at the forefront of the NBA's BLM movement.
Regardless, Smith is a man who stands behind his opinions, so it's not surprising to see him double down here.