← Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
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- [00:00]
Ryan Seacrest
At&t has a new guarantee because most things in life are not guaranteed like getting through self checkout by yourself. Not guaranteed in a world where Nothing is guaranteed. AT&T is bringing something new to the table. AT&T is introducing a guarantee with connectivity you can depend on deals you want and service you deserve or they make it right. Learn more@att.com guarantee@&t connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.comguaranty for details. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's stock up savings time now through March 25th. Spring in for storewide deals and earn four times the points. Look for in store tax to earn on eligible household items like Ziploc freezer bags and dinner essentials like Hunt's diced tomatoes and Tillamook shredded cheese plus many more. Then clip the offer in our app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.
- [01:09]
Stephen A. Smith
I want to get started in the world of politics because with the recent news of Jackie Robinson and his legacy being temporarily scrubbed from the Department of Defense's website on Wednesday, you know I went off about that, right? The move was part of President Donald Trump's efforts to purge references to diversity, equity and inclusion through a, quote, digital content refresh. End quote. Now, while Robinson's story doesn't make any reference to dei, his military legacy was among several stories that were scrubbed from federal websites in recent days. Other stories removed from the site include the Navajo Code Talkers and Ira Hayes, one of six Marines who raised the American flag at Iwo Jima. In response to the outcry, the Defense Department issued the following statement, quote, everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Cold Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima and so many others. We salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country. Full stop. The updated statement said, quote, we do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics such as race, ethnicity or sex. We do so only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the war fighting mission, like every other American who has worn the uniform. End quote. Robinson's story was restored to the website later on that day with its original URL. ESPN reached out to find out if the removal of Robinson's story was deliberate or mistaken, but the Department of Defense declined to answer. So that's what led me to say this on first take yesterday. Take a look There's a few things this president administration is not being honest about. And we have to call it like we see it. You know, there's this effort, this concerted effort to eradicate dei, as we all know. And one of the things is, you've seen me, Molly, talking about politics. This subject intertwines politics and sports. So if we want to go there, let's go there. You know, they want to eradicate DEI programs and what have you. And what I've said to folks, particularly on the side of the gop, is very, very simple. It's not so much that you want to eradicate dei, diversity, equity and inclusion programs. I'll let somebody else argue on behalf of that. What I like to focus on is how dare you tried to ignore the reason for its existence in the first place? Similar to civil rights legislation in 1964, similar to things like affirmative action, similar to things like the Rooney rule in the national football league, etc. How dare you try to get away with highlighting why it needed to exist in the first place. It was because of the iniquities of folks in the United States of America, primarily the white power structure that exists. Concerted effort is being made to scrub history. We saw Governor DeSantis in Florida allude to this during his campaign, where he literally tried to bring up there were good components about slavery. This is some utterly ridiculous stuff. Nobody is calling out the president Donald Trump. I will. The biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action and dei, some would argue, are white women. How come we don't mention that? Why is it always attached to black people? This is the kind of stuff that we're asking ourselves. And on a day like today, it gives us more credence to ask that question because of what happened with Jackie Robinson, who served in our military, drafted, served our country, and for hours upon hours in a day, you had. His stuff was scrubbed. And we're supposed to be, we're supposed to believe that's accidental. President Trump, I'm happy to sit down with you to have that conversation, sir. I'd love for you to try to defend it. Vice President Vance, you too, Pete Hegseth, you too. Stephen A. Smith is calling you out on national television. I'd love for you to sit down with the cameras rolling and try to defend this. It's ridiculous. You know, it's very, very important to make the point that I'm about to make. First things first, I want to announce to everybody in the world that's watching this show right now that for me, although I understand that when we say dei, we're talking about diversity, equity and inclusion. It's two very, very important things that I want folks to understand. Anybody that's been hired courtesy of DEI programs, that means black folks, that means Hispanic folks, that means white women. In no way am I trying to say that that automatically indicates you're not qualified. And what folks in America, particularly the white power structure that has existed in this nation for centuries, needs to comprehend is that when I say that, the reason it's important to mention that is because the white male power structure, to be specific, is the one is the structure that intentionally subjugated folks and held them back. There's plenty of people who should have been hired. There's a plenty of people that missed out on opportunities. There are plenty of people who were denied what their capabilities say they earned and could obviously achieve. They were denied the opportunity to do so because somebody in a position of power, usually, albeit not always, but usually white males, made the decision to hold them back. And that's something that's been documented throughout history. And there seems to be a concerted effort right now to make sure that that is ignored. But before I go any further in saying that and articulating and reiterating the point that I don't want anybody thinking that when I mention dei, that means you're automatically unqualified for something. And I hope I made that clear. I want to let you know that when I'm talking about dei, I'm not talking about diversity, equity and inclusion. That's not the DEI I'm focused on. You know what DEI stands for with me? Didn't earn it. Say it again. Didn't earn it. You see, when I bring up a name like a Pete Hegseth for the Department of Defense for the United States of America, I want to apologize to him, his family members, anybody close to him, friends on Fox News or within the community, the Megyn Kelly's of the world and others. I am in no way saying he will do a bad job. I am in no way implying that there's no way on earth that he couldn't do a better job than his predecessor, Lloyd Austin. I don't know. What I'm trying to say is that in our system of governance, of government that hovers over us as American citizens, in this country, when we talk about content of character, resume qualifications, etcetera, there's usually a terrain you have to maneuver through in order to get to certain lofty positions. He did not have to do that. You cannot say that about him. I understand he served our country, that he's a military man. I understand that when he was selected by President Trump to be our Defense Secretary, that a bunch of military people were supportive of him, along with colleagues on Fox News, along with guys like Dan Bongino and others. I get that. I'm not pushing back on that. I swear sincerely, and I hope he does. He's our defense secretary. I hope he does a good job on behalf of the United States of America. If I saw him, I'd shake his hand and wish him luck. I'm simply saying you can't say that when you will host a weekend Host, by the way, on Fox News, that that all of a sudden qualifies you to be the Defense Secretary of the United States of America, looking over three and a half million people that have to answer to you. That's ridiculous. That's all. Nothing more. I'm not bringing up his past transgressions and all the stuff they tried to bring in during the Senate confirmation hearings. I'm not doing that to that man. I'm only talking about his resume. Nothing more. Nothing more. But it's important to understand that anybody who's in a position that they did not earn, whose connections or whose favoritism towards and by the person in charge to put them in such a lofty position that makes you a DEI person, didn't earn it. Didn't earn it. And we're not going to get around that. And so when you see this concerted effort being made to scrub records and to not allude to race and to not allude to sex and gender and all of this other stuff, what you're really trying to say is that you want people to forget certain elements of American history. You want the youngsters on the come up to not know about our racist past, about our prejudicial past. It wasn't just black people you held back. Wasn't just Native Americans you took the country from. It was also women you held back. When did they get a right to vote? How long was it before they stopped being subjugated to a minimal and less, less than role? It ain't just black folks. It ain't just minorities. It's also women. You did it to them, too. And the only reason I'm asking that question is because I'm saying to some on the right, when y'all gonna step up and handle your business? I thought you wanted to ingratiate yourself with people other than white folks in America. Aren't you bragging about the Fact that Trump got more black folks than he did in 2020, more Hispanic votes than he did in 2020, more younger votes than he did in 2020. Well, if all of those things are true, ladies and gentlemen, especially, and I'm speaking directly to the folks on the right, why would you risk alienating segments of our population moving forward beyond 2026, into 2028 for another presidential election and beyond? Why would you compromise the progress that you made by living up to stigmas and assertions that of the negative variety that folks on the left have been saying about y'all for ages? Don't you want to move past that? Don't you want for folks to stop looking at you, questioning your racial sensitivity? Don't you want them to look at you and say, hey, they're treating us like they treat themselves, that they're judging us fairly, that they're embracing history and accepting accountability and responsibility for it, as opposed to running from it and trying to act like it never happened? Don't you want a segment of our population to be able to say that? I would think you would. I would think you would. So that's all I wanted to say about that. Now, I want to move on to some degree from this subject to get a bit personal, because I want to get to others who weighed in on a subject, namely Robert Griffin the third, aka RG3, my former colleague at ESPN. By the way, shortly after my comments on First Take a couple of days ago, RG3 posted this on X, quote, sports shows on TV should be about sports, not about politics, end quote. Then, more than six hours later, he expanded his thoughts with this statement. Quote, this tweet is not about Jackie Robinson. His significance can never and should never be erased. Breaking the color barrier in baseball in itself is not political. Jesse Owens winning four gold medals in itself was not political. Jack Johnson becoming the first black boxing heavyweight champion in itself was not political. They all had political ramifications. They all challenged the status quo of racial barriers to fair play, race relations and civil rights that should always be acknowledged and never forgotten. They shouldn't be used as an excuse to push political agendas on sports shows or national television to an audience there to consume in sports content. End quote. RG3, respectfully, my brother, you sound ignorant. You sound utterly clueless. First of all, when Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947, are you trying to say that race wasn't politicized in 1947 or beforehand, like Branch Rickey for the Dodgers? Did it specifically choose him because he knew he would need his temperament as a former military man who exercised discipline as opposed to reacting violently to the racial venom that was thrown in his direction. You're trying to tell me politics had nothing to do with that? You're trying to tell me when Jack Johnson was fighting early in the 19th century, trying to tell me that had nothing to do with politics, just race? This is what you're trying to tell me that makes absolutely, positively no sense whatsoever? Okay, we all know that while race may stand alone, and as its prevalent issue, politics has been used historically to exercise the muscle necessary to implement racially insensitive policies, if not racist policies, policies. That is a fact. I'm giving you facts. There is no black person alive who would deny that, and there's no white person who could justifiably deny it. Now, to get personal, you said this after first date, RG3. At some point in time, my brother, you're gonna have to show your hand and stop tap dancing like the late, great Gregory Hines, God rest his soul. And then Gregory Hines Case. I only mean literally tap dancing, figuratively speaking. You got to stop dancing around issues, brother. You got something to say, say it. If you got a problem with Stephen A, Say it by name. What's the problem? Because I certainly don't have any problem with you. Let me tell you, RG3, an unknown secret that you may not have realized because, you see, you come across as somebody that's bitter about being gone from espn. You ain't being slick. See, we saw the reports when you got let go by ESPN and how ticked off you were. We saw people in your camp, probably you and my estimation, but I don't know this for sure. Who alluded to the Jason McCourty's of the world being on ESPN in the aftermath of you being let go. So since you have this pension, this proclivity to be passive aggressive, because that's how you roll, let me show you how to be direct, RG3. People at ESPN didn't like you, bro. They didn't like you. You know the names. I said names, as in plural. And do you know why I can say that to you, RG3? Because I'm not one of those people. I actually loved you on First Take. Every time you came on First Take, you did a damn good job. Are you ready for this, RG3? Don't faint. The bosses would tell you I wanted them to keep you. But just because I'm the executive producer of First Take doesn't mean that I get to keep you on the show. It doesn't mean that I get to determine your salary. It doesn't mean that I get to determine whether or not they're willing to pay your salary. And it damn sure doesn't mean that I have anything to do with Monday night NFL Countdown, which you were a part of. Now I'm not gonna get into who was happy about it and who wasn't. I'm not gonna get into whether or not they were happy about it at all. That's inside in house business. That's none of anybody' saying to you is stop with the passive aggressive stuff. That's weak, bro. That's weak. That's exactly the reason why a whole bunch of cats at ESPN had a problem with you because of that passive aggressive stuff. You know good and well that first take has never been afraid to tackle issues ever. Ever. When Skip Bayless was there, we weren't afraid. When Max Kellerman was there, we weren't afraid. Since Max Kellerman departed. Whether it's swagu, it's Orion Clark, two dudes, you're very familiar. Whether it's a Jeff Saturday, it's a Mad Dog Russo, it's a Kimberly Martin, it's a. It's a Mina Kimes, it's a Dan Orlovsky, it's a Cam Newton, it's. It's Bart Scott, it's Damian Woody, it's Kendrick Perkins, it's Jay Williams, it's Monica McNutt, it's Andrea Carter, it's Janae Ogumike. The list goes on and on and on. All my colleagues, all fantastic, all phenomenal. Let me not forget L. Duncan, who does a great job doing the 6 o'clock sports center. We don't run from anything. RG3, how do I know what I'm talking about? Let me add Paul Paul Fine bomb to that. Okay, let me have Joe fought. Bought it at. Let me tell you why we run from nothing and how I have factual evidence. RG3, do you know I have footage of you tackling issues? You know good and damn well we tackle anything. It's football, it's basketball, it's politics, it's social issues, it's social commentary. Colin Kaepernick, George Floyd. List goes on and on. Philando Castile. We've tackled issues on a plethora of occasions. Why are you acting like you don't know? Because your feelings hurt that you're gone. Where were you when I got fired? RG3, you the only one that was let go. I can give you a laundry list of over 300 people that have been let go from ESPN since 2015. You ever heard of downsizing? You ever heard of how life can be sometimes in corporate America because you got stockholders and shareholders and you have projections that need to be met and the changing of the industry and the changing of the time. Sometimes this stuff happens. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm bringing this up about RG3 because RG3 is emblematic of something that happens a lot with people who depart from espn. You depart from ESPN and you got a problem with the industry. So you got to talk about shows or people on shows that you know are going to draw an automatic connection from the words that come out of your mouth. So you've got to infiltrate the proceedings by incriminating them as if they did something they did not do. RG3, bruh, I didn't let you go. If I had my druthers, you would have remained on First Take. It's not my fault that you're not on college football game day. And by the way, Pat McAfee is there instead of you. That brother is doing a hell of a job. It's undeniable. Pat McAfee is made for college football game day. I mean, him getting people to kick them damn field goals is the funniest stuff on television sometimes. It's hilarious and he sells it like no other. He's doing a hell of a job. He's a star, period. You look at RC and SWAGU and all of these cats, their name speaks for themselves and what they bring to the table. I can't speak for everybody else, but you weren't on college football game day. Evidently you weren't wanted anymore. On Monday Night Countdown. I wanted you on First Take. But what happens with a lot of people that leave ESPN is they get caught up in, oh, let me call out somebody that works on espn. When your real problem is with management. Guess what? At some point in time in our careers, who doesn't have problems with management? Name a name. Pick a person. There's almost no one, at least almost no one in corporate America that doesn't have a problem with management. At least they admit it though. Instead of coming across weak with their passive aggressive tendencies, trying to point the fingers where it don't belong. I'm being nice, bro. I really am. I've never done anything but show respect and love to RG3. I think RG3 is a talent. I think you did a damn good job when you was on First Take. I would have loved to have you on. And these reports about oh I picked Jason McCourty over RG3. First of all, I didn't pick anybody. Secondly, do you know I hadn't met Jason McCourty once in my life before he came on first date? Come on bro, I understand that you're a bit salty about being gone, but come up with a better excuse to get at us, will you? You can do better. You can do better.
- [23:28]
Ryan Seacrest
AT&T has a new guarantee because most things in life are not guaranteed like getting through self checkout by yourself. Not guaranteed in a world where Nothing is guaranteed. AT&T is bringing something new to the table. AT&T is introducing a guarantee with connectivity you can depend on, deals you want and service you deserve or they make it right. Learn more@att.com guarantee@&t connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.comguaranty for details. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's stock up savings time now through March 25th. Spring in for store wide deals and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible beverage items from Tropicana Lemonade or breakfast favorites like General Mills Cereal, Coffee Mate Creamer, Quaker Cereal plus many more. Then clip the offer in our app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.