ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith: Black Athletes Expect Special Treatment from Black Reporters

On Thursday, Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver Dez Bryant blew up on a black reporter in the locker room for his reporting on the 2-6 Cowboys.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smtih reacted Friday on “First Take” to the tirade, saying black athletes use black reporters as a “crutch,” much like how “black folks bring up racism.”

“Black reporters are held to a different standard than the white reporters by black athletes. Black athletes look at black reporters and they expect you to have a heightened level of sensitivity.”

“A lot of these young black athletes don’t get it,” he later added. “More importantly, the people they have in their inner circle don’t want them to get it because that’s how they sustain their relevance in these guys’ lives by directing them away and saying, ‘We can manipulate who’s gonna interview you so they will ask you exactly what we want you to ask.'”