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Stephen A. Smith called out critics of the "Black National Anthem" ahead of Sunday's (February 9) Super Bowl matchup.
Smith's comments came in response to backlash from NFL fans who are reportedly boycotting the Super Bowl LIX due to the scheduled pregame performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is widely known as the Black National Anthem.
The annual Super Bowl tradition is coming under fire amid the Trump administration's attacks on DEI.
In response to the backlash, Smith called out the hypocrisy behind criticism of the performance.
"I understand that society can be very polarizing at times, but the reality is that segments of our population have a right to be prideful about their culture, their people," the ESPN host told Daily Mail. "Everybody has a right to feel the way that they feel... if you're not doing harm to anybody else, leave it be."
Smith warned that critics of performances are threatening the fabric of America.
'When we start telling people how to think and how to feel, even when they're not harming anybody else? Now you're touching on the American fabric," he said. "That's not what America is about. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to think, to be a free thinker, that's what makes America special, and that's what we have to remember."
"We have to be consistent with who we complain about - when the Jewish community tells us what they're passionate about and what they care about, non-Jewish people don't try to tell them how to feel," Smith added. "Well, Black people have a right to feel the way that they feel - about whether there's a black national anthem or anything... as long as it's not something that's harmful to America, the nation itself, or to any segment of our population, what's the problem?"
The NFL confirmed that Grammy Award-winning singer Ledisi will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing" before Jon Batiste's rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. Trump is expected to attend the game in New Orleans, becoming the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl.
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