Stephen A. Smith Doesn’t ‘Give a Damn’ If You’re Uncomfortable Talking About Race: Tim Tebow’s NFL Return ‘Is White Privilege’

It’s officially Tebow Time in the NFL again. After not playing an NFL game since 2012, Tim Tebow signed a one-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end, formally establishing his return to the NFL.

How does a 33-year-old failed quarterback, out of the league for nearly a decade, get signed to a professional football contract at a position he never played before?

“If I’m gonna bring up white privilege when I brought up Steve Nash getting the job in Brooklyn, is this not an example of white privilege?” Stephen A. Smith asked on ESPN’s First Take. “What brother do you know that’s getting this opportunity?”

Last summer, when the Brooklyn Nets hired Nash as their head coach, Smith claimed the move was an example of white privilege. And remaining consistent, he similarly said Steve Kerr was helped out by the color of his skin when the Golden State Warriors hired him in 2014. Both Nash and Kerr skipped the line in terms of landing prominent head coaching roles, without NBA coaching experience.

“Now that makes people uncomfortable because we’re talking about race,” Smith said after calling Tebow’s NFL return white privilege. “Let me be the first to say, I don’t give a damn how you feel. I mean what I say. It is white privilege.”

Smith acknowledged this wasn’t a slight against Tebow, expressing admiration for the former quarterback, but it was an opportunity to highlight a societal problem.

“There’s no way to eradicate white privilege without white individuals giving up some of their privilege,” Smith explained to his ESPN co-host Max Kellerman.

Many people criticized the Tebow signing, as he inevitably takes an opportunity away from a younger, more properly trained tight end trying to make it in the league. Tebow’s opportunity has been helped by his relationship with Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, after they became icons for their shared success at the University of Florida. But it’s fair to question if Meyer signed the most deserving tight end prospect by bringing Tebow to Jacksonville.

“When George Floyd ultimately was murdered by Derek Chauvin the cop, and you saw people rioting and protesting in the streets, it wasn’t just about him. It was about the symbolism of what transpired,” Smith said.

“Because Black people have repeatedly felt like we have the proverbial knee on our neck. We constantly have to scratch and claw our way. When we see someone of a different ilk, of a different ethnicity, getting opportunities we know we would never get, that’s where the words ‘white privilege’ comes from.”

Watch above via ESPN2