ESPN host Stephen A. Smith attempted to play the race card while discussing Tom Brady yelling at his offensive line during the team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend.
Tom Brady via Highlight Heaven YouTube
As the second quarter was coming to an end, Brady can be seen walking over to his offensive linemen on the bench and he begins yelling at them.
Brady can be heard saying, “You’re so much better than the way you’re f***ing playing.”
It’s unclear what he says after that as the broadcast booth begins talking over him.
Video – Broadcast booth later said: “Tom is holding his offensive line accountable.” pic.twitter.com/LgWFP6sbVD
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 16, 2022
The Buccaneers would eventually fall to the Steelers 20-18. Brady went 25-40 for 243 yards with one touchdown. He was sacked twice for a loss of 14 yards. He also fumbled, but it was recovered by his teammate Chris Godwin.
The Bucs running game was also stifled with Leonard Fournette rushing 21 times for only 63 yards.
Tom Brady via Tampa Bay Buccaneers YouTube
Following the game, Stephen A. Smith questioned why Brady wasn’t being criticized for yelling at his teammates.
He began saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, we need to be consistent. Was Tom Brady passionate or was he the angry white guy? Because if that was somebody else doing what he was doing with his offensive linemen we would have been talking about — if that was a black man we would have been talking about his temper. We would have been talking about the fact that he might not need to act like that with the cameras rolling.”
Stephen A Smith: “Was Tom Brady passionate, or was he the angry white guy?.. if that was a black man we would have been talking about his temper.” pic.twitter.com/WGKgkyBTBQ
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) October 17, 2022
Smith continued, “I had no problem with it whatsoever. If brothers ain’t blocking for you, you 45-years-old, you behind center, and you getting smacked around, you damn right you get in their face. I have no issue with what Tom Brady did with them whatsoever.
“All I’m saying is that when a black quarterback does that, I don’t want to hear nothing about it since nobody is saying anything about Tom Brady doing it,” he asserted.
Stephen A. Smith via First Take Twitter
Smith continued, “And I also don’t want to hear about stuff being overblown. He went to Robert Kraft’s wedding on a Friday night. He missed the walk-through etc… They are clearly not on the same page. They don’t seem to have everything in order. If this was somebody, now in that regard, there is a Tom Brady category that is separate and apart from everybody else.
“The anger part when he’s getting on the offensive linemen, no, everybody should be lumped into there. But in terms of him missing a walk through because he went to the wedding. Damnit that’s Tom Brady. That I will forgive him for,” he concluded.
Tom Brady via Highlight Heaven YouTube
Ironically, Smith, once again, proves he lacks any kind of self-awareness. He claims no one is criticizing Brady for yelling at his linemen, yet he just spent an entire segment discussing Brady yelling at his linemen. The implication is clear that people are indeed criticizing Brady for yelling at his linemen.
And there’s plenty of evidence to show that. One needs only look at Twitter.
One user wrote, “Yelling at your lineman knowing they can’t say anything back because it would jeopardize their career. But no repercussions for Brady. Wish this wasn’t so normalized.”
BPositive41 Twitter
Another tweeted, “Brady taking his anger out on the o line because of giselle.”
Traenthusiast1 Twitter
There are numerous other examples. People are indeed criticizing Brady for yelling at his offensive linemen.
On top of that, if Smith is allowed to spend an entire segment discussing Brady’s actions as a quarterback, why shouldn’t others be allowed to discuss other quarterbacks who might take similar actions that don’t have the same skin color as Brady. It’s patently absurd.
Stephen A. Smith via First Take Twitter
And Smith’s whole argument that a white person would be treated differently even if it wasn’t Tom Brady is a crock of you know what. One only needs to look at Bills Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey was ragged on after he trashed his headset and smashed his tablet repeatedly after the team lost to the Miami Dolphins earlier this year.
One user called for him to be fined tweeting, “Ken Dorsey needs to be fined $50,000….horrible look for entire NFL.”
Ken Dorsey needs to be fined $50,000….horrible look for entire NFL pic.twitter.com/jMWFBojTOj
— UCF RON (@ucf17rj) September 27, 2022
Another called for him to take anger management classes.
The user wrote, “Seems like Ken Dorsey needs some anger management counseling!”
Seems like Ken Dorsey needs some anger management counseling! #PhinsUp 🐬 pic.twitter.com/WRpkWA52QH
— (((Mut Communications))) 🇺🇦☮ (@MutComm) September 25, 2022
Jason Whitlock shared his thoughts saying, “I didn’t like what Tom Brady was doing because, again, he’s not all in, and his teammates know he’s not all in. And so him yelling and screaming at them just doesn’t come off the way it did when he was in New England yelling and screaming at people because he was all in. There is no racial component here.”
He then questioned, “Who is Stephen A. Smith’s MKUltra handler? Who is telling him to do this, to force these issues? Because it’s come from seemingly out of nowhere where he’s doing his Shannon Sharpe impersonation. And I think someone is paying him or put him to doing it.”
What do you make of Smith trying to turn Brady yelling at his linemen into a race issue?