Stephen A. Smith is sticking beside Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones after a photo of him trying to stop Black students from entering North Little Rock High School surfaced online.
The photo was taken on September 9th, 1957, and shows six Black students trying to enter the high school while surrounded by white boys and men attempting to stop them from doing so. This day was one of the most notable events in history and marked a turn in school desegregation. A 14-year-old Jones can be seen in the picture, one of the white teens trying to intimidate the students. The now 80-year-old admitted that it was him in the picture.
Outrage followed the photo, with many from the sports world calling out Jones. However, the ESPN First Take host defended Jones in the scandal. In fact, during his recent segment on the show, the sports commentator said the way people are reacting to the photo has him “pretty pissed off.”
“I’m pissed off because he doesn’t deserve what just happened. He doesn’t deserve it. One report, our report, said he was 14 years old. Another report said he was 15 years old. At minimum, that’s 65 years ago,”
Smith believes people are using the photo to highlight the fact that Jones has never hired a Black coach. He explains that no one should be holding Jones accountable for his actions unless he was a mature adult at the time.
“I don’t have a problem with a photo. If he was 30, 35, 40 years old, that’s different,” the 55-year-old added.
Jones has not offered up an apology for the viral photo.
