Stephen A. Smith Calls on Black Athletes to Support Brian Flores: ‘This is an Issue to Protest About’

After Brian Flores risked his future as a football coach by dropping a bombshell lawsuit on the NFL, Stephen A. Smith is calling on Black athletes to show their support.

“You know, there’s a Super Bowl coming up,” Smith noted. “Last time I checked, there’s a whole bunch of black players on the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. I want to emphasize I’m not advocating you don’t play the Super Bowl.”

Smith stopped short of calling for a Super Bowl boycott during Wednesday morning’s First Take on ESPN, but he does believe the issue warrants some sort of protest.

“All these social justice issues that we attacked, and it was valid and legitimate, we saw players in the NFL addressing that. This is an issue too,” Smith said. “This is an issue to protest about. This is an issue to speak about. This is an issue to come together as athletes! As Black athletes everywhere! And say we gotta do something about it.”

Currently, only one of the NFL’s 32 teams employ a Black head coach – the Pittsburgh Steelers with Mike Tomlin, who has never had a losing season in his 15 years with the franchise. Less than three percent of NFL teams have a Black head coach, despite nearly 60 percent of the league’s players being Black.

“The reality of the situation is, when you’re Black you’re operating behind the eight ball even in 2022,” Smith said. “There is a part of me that’s very happy. Because I like when things come to light. I like when a bright light is shined on an issue and it is unavoidable.”

Last year, Smith walked off set during an episode of ESPN’s First Take after calling out NBA players for not publicly advocating for more Black head coaches. At the time, just seven of the NBA’s 30 teams employed Black head coaches. That number is now 14.

Watch above via ESPN