Stephen A. Smith Is STILL A Racist Hack

"I'm Stephen A. Smith, and, quite frankly, I'm a racist hack!"

A little over a year ago, I put into writing what a lot of Americans already knew: "Sportswriter" Stephen A. Smith is a racist hack.

Unfortunately for the citizens of this great country, Smith doesn't read SYLG. (Actually, I would be surprised if Stephen A. can read at all.) Because if he did, he would realize that admitting you have a problem - being a racist hack - is the first step toward conquering said problem - being a racist hack. And, believe me: Stephen A. Smith has a problem.

Yesterday, Smith was Curtis Sliwa's guest on The Sean Hannity Show, spreading his venomous "wisdom" throughout the airwaves as it relates to Pro Quarterback/Alleged Champion Dogfighter Michael Vick. The supporters of Vick, who is African-American - Because why would Smith bother to comment if the "aggrieved" individual was white? - are trying to play the Dreaded Race Card to explain away his Federal indictment.

So, it appears that "The Man" is trying to stick it to Michael Vick. Where is John Vernon when you need him? Perhaps the NFL should place Vick on Double-Secret Probation? But I digress.

During the Sliwa interview - he was covering for Hannity yesterday - Smith pulled an Oprah Winfrey. You know when Oprah begins a show as an intelligent, well-spoken woman, then the second she introduces someone like Whoopi Goldberg we magically go back in time to the Al Jolson days? "Mmm, mmm, you go girl!" Yesterday, Smith did the exact same thing.

The conversation began innocently enough, with Sliwa asking pointed questions, ans Smith responding in kind. A few minutes into the interview, however, Stephen A. transformed into "Street Mode." It was unsettling.

When asked if Vick should have known that dogfighting was occurring in his own home, Smith rushed to his defense, nearly screaming something to the effect of, "Man! He owns a bunch o' homes! It's plausible that he didn't know what was going on!!!"

When my ears stopped bleeding, Smith was asked if Vick should have used common sense and abandoned the thug friends of his youth. Smith's reply? "Dat's his BOYS! They stuck wit him when he was nobody! He's s'posed to dump his BOYS?" Funny, my reply to the car radio was "YES!"

And finally, when Sliwa asked Smith about the character of today's sports figures, Smith responded in kind: "People think that athletes are thugs. They're not. You know why? 'Cause a THUG would never let a man mess wit his money!"

When I finally regained consciousness, my SUV had rolled over into a ditch and my pants were gone. And that interview was still the worst thing that had happened to me that day! Stephen A. Smith is recognized (for some unknown reason) as a talented writer. His syndicated column led to his many appearances on ESPN, and his eventual Quite Frankly program. I do not begrudge him his success. If some people find him entertaining, so be it. What I do not understand is how this well-educated, successful writer can turn into an ignorant, trash-talking thug when it comes to discussions on race relations.

Quite Frankly, it is demeaning, and I just don't know how he keeps getting work.