ESPN Excuses LeBron, Bronny James Nepotism Because They're Black

The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Bronny James, the son of star LeBron James, in the second round of the NBA Draft. Many people rightfully pointed out the obvious: this is nepotism, clear as day. 

But several ESPN personalities, including Stephen A. Smith and Adrian Wojnarowski, have no problem with LeBron using his power to get his son drafted. Why? Because they're black, of course. 

It's crazy to inject race into this story, but that's the new normal for ESPN. It started Thursday night with Wojnarowski, who says nepotism goes on in the NBA all the time. Why do people care now? 

He doesn't outright mention race, but his implication is fairly clear. 

So, "Woj" got the party started, but Jay Williams was quick to crank the music up and really kick things into high gear. 

Rather than dance around it, Williams came right out and said: nepotism is fine, as long as black people are the ones benefitting. 

Williams used one of my least favorite phrases in the American lexicon: "people who look like us." Why is it that many people of color love this phrase? Are they implying that all people of color look the same? 

Personally, I've never looked at another white person and thought ‘hey, that person looks just like me because they’re white!' Seems racist, quite frankly. 

Not to be outdone on his own show, Stephen A. Smith sensed an opportunity to play the race card – while negotiating potentially one of the most lucrative sports media deals of all-time, we might add – and he couldn't pass that up. 

ESPN uses race to defend LeBron James using nepotism to get the Lakers to draft Bronny James. 

The reason people love sports is that it's the one place where nepotism doesn't exist, at least on the field/court/ice. Is there nepotism in front offices or on coaching staffs in the NBA? 

Honestly, I don't know. Maybe there is. But it never extends to the court. Why? Because sports is the ultimate meritocracy. 

RELATED: ESPN Roasted For Kissing Up To Bronny James After Lakers' Nepo Pick

That's why people are "running their mouths" according to Stephen A. Smith and the other ESPN "talents." 

The purity of sports comes into question when we see a player in Bronny James – who wasn't good enough to play regular minutes for a 15-18 USC Trojans basketball team – get drafted by the NBA team that his father, essentially, runs.

Several ESPN "talents," including Stephen A. Smith, invoked race when talking about the nepotism of LeBron and the Lakers drafting Bronny James.

(Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)

Do owners of teams sometimes give their children jobs with the franchise? Probably. But have we ever seen an owner take his son and throw him in at point guard? Any NFL owners ever demand their son get some snaps at starting free safety? 

Of course not, unless that kid earned the spot. That's the issue here. ESPN deciding to not only defend LeBron and Bronny James using nepotism to get the younger James on the Lakers but, in some cases, applauding it is outrageous behavior. 

This is exactly why so many people are turning away from ESPN. Race has nothing to do with this situation. But they just can't help themselves. They immediately injected it into the discussion and used it to justify behavior that's clearly wrong. 

This is another sad day in the history of a once-proud company.