Jesse Jackson Berated

Stephen A. Smith of the Inquirer and ESPN takes Jesse Jackson to task for sticking his nose in the Duke lacrosse scandal:

But what difference will it make, ultimately? Especially with the presence of Jesse Jackson?

You can tell Jesse Jackson is coming from a mile away. All you have to do is follow the noise and rest assured that the Baptist preacher's fire-and-brimstone rhetoric won't be far behind. So forgive me if I'm annoyed as Jackson pushes his way into this situation, potentially polarizing communities nationwide in all the wrong ways, possibly jeopardizing our interest in the truth - purely because I'm disgusted by his version of things.

More:

With Jackson, we know why.

We know that he loves attention. We know that attention leads to a perception of power. We know that perceived power is easily translated into riches. And with Jackson - judging by accusations levied against him from black conservatives and other watchdog groups - we also know that's how he works.

I've honestly never read an African-American writer slam Jackson this way.