'Insult to our intelligence': Columnist rips sportscaster’s defense of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ 'racist' remarks

ESPN anchor Stephen A. Smith's defense of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is facing new scrutiny following a new lawsuit that was filed this week which accuses Jones and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula of making "highly offensive and racist" statements about Black National Football League players, Deadspin's Carron J. Phillips reports.

AJ Perez of Front Office Sports writes that former NFL Network reporter Jim Trotter is suing Pegula in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging "several examples of the league's failure to address issues of race and diversity — including Pegulas remarks that the complaint alleged were 'swept under the rug.'"

Trotter claims that Pegula told a media correspondent that "if the Black players don't like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is," Perez says. "Trotter also shared a conversation with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in August 2020 that centered around why so few Black employees work at the highest ranks of teams and the league. Jones said he felt 'a little defensive' as the chat continued. 'If Blacks feel some kind of way, they should buy their own team and hire who they want to hire,' Jones said."

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Jones and Pegula tried to downplay their incendiary words, and the NFL responded that it takes Trotters' "concerns seriously, but strongly dispute his specific allegations, particularly those made against his dedicated colleagues at NFL Media."

Meanwhile, Phillips recalls that "last November, the Washington Post released a damning report on Jones' tenure as the NFL's most popular owner. It detailed how Jones has led the league — and the Cowboys — to record-breaking revenue models without ever hiring a Black coach in a majority-Black league. It was an examination of how such a powerful and charismatic man — whose teams have been carried by Black players — does so little when it comes to diversity, despite knowing that he could influence other owners to be on the right side of history."

Per Phillips, Smith's response was "an insult to our intelligence." Smith said:

I'm pretty pissed off. And let me say this. I'm pissed off, but not for reasons that people would think. I'm very very fond of Jerry Jones, and I'm not hiding that from anybody. Is his record perfect? No. But I'm pissed off because he doesn't deserve what just happened. He doesn't deserve it.

Phillips notes that "for those who are wondering the same, it's because (white) men like Jones won't allow Black people to own NFL franchises. Over the last few years, the NFL has had a chance to make history by allowing a Black person to gain admittance to the ultimate good ole boys club. Wealthy Black men like Byron Allen and Robert F. Smith have been overlooked or had their bids denied in efforts to keep NFL ownership lily white — sans Jacksonville Jaguars majority owner Shad Khan."

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Phillips' full scoop is available at this link. Perez's analysis continues here.