NBA analyst Kenny Smith walks off TNT set in solidarity with players

Kenny Smith.
(Image credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for American Express)

Kenny Smith, a former NBA player who now works as an analyst for TNT's Inside the NBA, took off his mic and left the show's desk live on air Wednesday in solidarity with NBA players who are boycotting their playoff games in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday.

Smith was in the TNT studio Wednesday, along with show host Ernie Johnson and fellow former NBA stars Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley, to discuss the boycotts when he said he hadn't talked to any of the players, but came to the realization that "for me, as a Black man, as a former player, I think it's best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight." He then stood up and walked off set. Tim O'Donnell

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up
Explore More
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.