Stephen A. Smith Defends Arguing Pat McAfee Doesn’t Have to Be ‘As Polished’ Because He’s White: ‘Rules Are Different For Us’

Stephen A. Smith isn’t backing down from his claim that his colleague Pat McAfee doesn’t have to be “as polished” as he does due to the simple fact that McAfee is white.

Smith appeared on a recent episode of the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast. When asked about his view on McAfee’s role within the ESPN ecosystem, Smith started by praising the former NFL punter and saying he “loves him to death.” He added that he appreciates the fact that McAfee isn’t afraid to speak his mind, but noted that McAfee isn’t “as polished” as he is from a political standpoint. Then, Smith said McAfee doesn’t have to be because he’s white.

On Wednesday’s episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, he defended that point while continuing to voice his support for McAfee.

“Did you expect me to apologize for that?” Smith said. “I wasn’t talking about Pat McAfee. He was the example because they asked me about Pat McAfee being with ESPN. Let me very, very clear about where I stand: that’s not about Pat McAfee. That’s about anyone white. The rules are different for us. The rules are different for us. Any white person that wants to deny that, be my guest.

“There is history spanning decades that proves such a thing. I was not about Pat McAfee. I was not talking about his show. I support him and his show. The more successful they are, they more successful I become. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again many, many times over. Hell, whether he believes it or not, I don’t even know. We’ve never really talked about it. I can tell you this for a fact: one of the greatest things that ever happened to somebody in my position is Pat McAfee and his show coming to ESPN and them getting paid — because you set the market,” Smith concluded.

Watch above.