Stephen A. Smith Pushes Back on Backlash Over ICE Shooting
Stephen A. Smith is responding to growing criticism over his comments about the fatal Minnesota ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good, saying his words were taken out of context and misrepresented in media coverage.
The ESPN personality addressed the backlash on his self-titled show, pointing specifically to a New York Post headline that read, “Stephen A. Smith calls Minnesota ICE shooting ‘completely justified’ from a ‘lawful perspective.’” Smith said the headline focused on only part of what he said and left out the rest.
“The headline was misleading,” Smith explained. “Even though I said what it says, that wasn’t all of what I said.”
Smith said some political groups have tried to frame him as supporting their views, something he strongly rejected.
“I don’t agree with them,” he said. “I’m talking about legality when I’m talking about justification, nothing else. Everything else about it is wrong — morally and ethically wrong.”
His Legal Focus
The original comments came during an earlier episode of his show, where Smith analyzed the shooting from a legal standpoint.
“I saw the video numerous times,” he said. “From a lawful perspective as it pertains to a law enforcement official, don’t expect him to be prosecuted. He was completely justified.”
However, Smith also said the situation should have been handled differently.
“From a humanitarian perspective, why did you have to do that?” he said. “If you could move out of the way, you could have shot the tires. You didn’t have to do that.”
According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Good was ordered to exit her vehicle and allegedly tried to run over ICE agents, calling the act “domestic terrorism.” But video of the incident appears to show Good turning her vehicle away from the agent, not toward him.
Smith also criticized what he described as efforts to block a deeper investigation into the shooting, saying the public deserves clarity on what actually happened.
“I’m glad I’ve got my own platforms to address this,” he said.
