ESPN “First Take” co-host Stephen A. Smith went off Thursday on the strategy of tanking in sports to get good draft picks to rebuild, saying black executives do not have the “luxury” of losing and keeping their jobs.
“So let me get this straight. We can sit out there and take 18, 19, 20 to 25-year-olds and beyond and tell them to compete with one another, but ok, an executive who usually is white in situations like this, by the way, you don’t even have to compete. You can stink up the joint, stink it up for years to come … I’m saying that the luxury of being able to lose on purpose and still have tenure — it ain’t happening for one of the brothers. Let me be very, very clear,” an animated Smith argued.
He challenged co-host Max Kellerman, “Tell me one African-American in the history of sports as an executive that had the license to lose on purpose and tell the world that’s what they were doing and still keep their job. Take your time. I’ll wait.”
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