A Reflection On Baltimore

I’ve been watching it.   I’m sure you all have as well.

The protests in Baltimore — I’ll leave it to your discretion as to whether they were “violent” or “riots” as some have referred to them — have definitely caught the attention of Americans.

Opinions on whether civil disobedience is or has been the right course of action have been varied.  The looting and burning of businesses in the community of Freddie Gray (the man arrested by police who later died of a spinal injury) have sparked criticism of the community itself.

Sports columnist and commentator for ESPN Stephen A. Smith, on the network’s program First Take, delivered his own impassioned analysis of the confrontations between some residents and police.

Here are his comments.