Kenny Smith walked off TNT’s Inside the NBA Wednesday night as a show of solidarity with NBA players who do not play games as a form of protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Smith, one of the analysts on “Inside the NBA” with Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, said he had trouble finding the right words to briefly describe how he and the players felt after Sunday’s shooting. .
.@TheJetOnTNT stands with the NBA players. pic.twitter.com/39Sby1D5kn
– NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 26, 2020
Blake, a black man, was shot seven times by police Sunday. Blake was shot as he tried to enter the side door of the driver of his car with three of his children inside. Video of the shooting was circulated on social media.
“This is difficult. I mean right now my head is ready to explode,” Smith said. “Like just thinking about what’s going on. I do not even know if I’m fit enough to say it myself, what the players are feeling and how they are feeling. I have not spoken to any of the players. Coming in and even driving here, coming into the studio, listening to conversations and talking to people …
“And for me, I think the biggest thing right now as Black man, as a former player, I think it’s best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight.”
Smith then detached his microphone and proceeded from the set. Host Ernie Johnson told Smith he respected his decision to leave.
All games on Wednesday were postponed following the Milwaukee Bucks’ decision not to take the floor for Game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Every NBA player is invited to attend an 8 pm ET meeting in the NBA bubble to discuss how they will proceed with Wednesday’s decisions, ESPN sources Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe told.
When Smith left the set, he said he would later “figure out what’s going on”.
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