ESPN host Stephen A. Smith expressed concern over the pushback against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) during President Trump’s second term, believing that competent minorities will miss out on lucrative jobs.
Since Trump’s inauguration this week, the new president’s administration has already instituted numerous measures to gut DEI in the government while encouraging businesses to do the same. In response, Stephen A. Smith told The Will Cain Show that the American right has mishandled the issue.
“I’m concerned about it. I’m certainly not going to celebrate it because I don’t like the way I believe the right is handling this particular issue,” Smith said.
While Smith liked the idea of a merit-based society, he felt that conservatives were using DEI to “imply that everybody that got hired under DEI – is that you certainly weren’t competent. You weren’t qualified.”
“Let’s understand that we don’t get to ignore why the existence of DEI came to be. It was because of the inequities in the system, the people that weren’t hired before, competent individuals from minority communities throughout this country that [didn’t] feel like they were being treated fairly,” said Smith.
Smith used the NFL’s Rooney Rule as an example. This rule aimed to increase the number of minorities hired as head coaches, general managers, or executive positions in the league.
“Certainly, you would think that you should be able to interview whoever you want. You shouldn’t be forced to interview an African-American candidate,” he said, adding that the rule was in response to past discrimination.
“It implemented that policy because of inequities that were exercised by various NFL owners spanning history. All I’m saying is, let’s not forget that reality,” Smith argued.
Smith said that if a company has multiple leadership with “all white hires,” the company would be “implying that all of those white folks are the best candidates, and we couldn’t find anybody from any different community that could be competent. That’s my concern.”
“[If] you know, 40% of the candidates are African-Americans or Latinos or a combination of the both and 60% of them are White. Nobody’s going to have a problem with that. But if 95 to 100% of them are white from the moment that DEI is eradicated, then you’re sending the message that the only reason other folks had those opportunities was because of DEI as opposed to their qualifications,” he said.
“I’m saying you have to be mindful and careful of making sure that that message is not disseminated because that’s inaccurate,” he continued. “And history has proven that in a lot of different circumstances. That’s all.”
Smith did, however, say that he hopes Trump has a successful presidency.
“I don’t know if I would vote for him because I don’t trust that chaos is not going to reign,” he said. “I’m not trying to call him an authoritarian or whatever, but the White House, the Senate, you know, Congress, etc., Complete power like that makes me nervous, especially in the hands of somebody like him who can be a bit petty and stuff like that.”
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
