Now, we all make fun of CNN. It’s easy to do and you feel almost no pain in doing it, because corporations aren’t people. That said, sometimes they make it a little easy on themselves.
CNN was obviously interested in covering the Bruce Levenson… I guess it will call it self-reported scandal. It’s a major story regarding race in this country and has an interesting angle due to Levenson’s self-awareness and honesty in the wake of Donald Sterling’s saga. Anchor Fredricka Whitfield seemed pleased to have Stephen A. Smith of ESPN on the show and led him right into what would hopefully be an intriguing, forward-thinking conversation on the subject.
The problem was that Steve Smith, former Atlanta Hawks star and current NBA TV analyst, was on the other end of the line.
Video via SportsGrid:
Steve Smith, to his credit, handles this unbelievably well, saying “this is Steve Smith of the Hawks” instead of being flustered, which I think a lot of us would be. Or, you know, “this is Steve Smith of NBA TV, a corporate cousin of CNN, or from Atlanta, the city that CNN is located in.” Good for CNN keeping a graphic with Stephen A’s picture on it up on the screen for a full minute after he said that, though. You’re doing great, CNN!
