Unlike Steve Harvey, I don’t profess to be an expert on the needs of black women. I can, however, comfortably say that I’ve spent enough time around strong black women (wife, mother, sisters, cousins, aunts, friends, coworkers, etc.) to know what they don’t need people to tell them. Near the top of that list is to ‘smile.’
I can’t count the number of times I’ve witnessed, firsthand, women exasperated by people (usually men) telling them that they need to smile more. That request suggests there is something wrong with women if they are not making an effort to appear pleasing to the eye at all times.
So let’s just say I was not exactly surprised at the championship clapback by gymnastic superhero Simone Biles when the authenticity of her smile was criticized and questions by the judges on Dancing with the Stars.
“Your skills are unquestionable,” Carrie Ann Inaba told her. “You hit every line with precision and perfection. But once again, I’m going to come back to performance and authenticity about who you are when you perform. … You have this beautiful smile and you are a megastar with your energy, but once in a while, there’s beauty without a smile. There’s beauty in pain and all of the other emotions, and I’d like to see more of that.” (Strike one)
If that wasn’t enough, Julianne Hough added, “I don’t know if the smile is authentic because you want to smile, or if it’s just because you rehearsed it that way. … I really just want to see some rawness come out.” (Strike two)
The last straw was when DWTS host Tom Bergeron wouldn’t let well-enough alone when he told Biles, “I was waiting for you to smile at some of the compliments. You didn’t.” (Strike three)
Biles immediately gave Bergeron the smile he was looking for – except it wasn’t the smile he really wanted. It was the smile I’ve seen a million times. It was the smile that meant, Bergeron’s feelings were about to get hurt and Biles was internally praying for strength to keep the clapback professional. It would have been a bad look to choke out Bergeron and the smile-thirsty judges on live TV.
The four-time Olympic champion’s response was perfect. “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals.”
The Twitterverse went nuts at the amazingly savage response.
Let Biles be fierce. Let her be focused. Let her be precise and perfect. Just don’t come for Simone’s smile. She’s not having it.
Two Mizzou recruits out, Sweet-shooting transfer in
Two of highly-coveted Mizzou basketball recruits have told the Tigers, ‘thanks, but no thanks.’
Edwardsville’s Mark Smith chose the University of Illinois over Missouri, Michigan State, Kentucky, Ohio State and Texas. The 6’4” point guard was seen as a stretch for the Tigers due to what appears to be a logjam at point guard position. However, Cuonzo Martin and the Tigers were hopeful that the reigning Illinois Mr. Basketball would join a deep back court.
All-American Kevin Knox II also passed on the Tigers. The five-star forward chose Kentucky over Missouri, Duke, North Carolina and Florida State. Knox was another longshot for the Tigers, but gained interest after the signing of consensus #1 Michael Porter Jr.
It hasn’t been all bad news for the Tigers. The team announced that Kassius Robertson would be headed to Columbia as a graduate-student transfer from Canisius. Last season, Roberts led the Golden Griffins in scoring with 16.1 points per game.
The 6-foot-3 shooting guard also shot 41 percent from three-point range. His long-range accuracy is desperately needed in Columbia. The Tigers ranked #332 in three-point percentage last season. As a graduate-transfer, he will be eligible immediately.
The Tigers are still waiting on a decision from East St. Louis’ Jeremiah Tilmon, who has yet to select his college destination after de-committing from Illinois. Jontay Porter is still considering whether to reclassify and enter college early or finish out his high school career at Father Tolton in Columbia.
Tigers fans will have to wait a little while longer for the 2017-18 roster to be complete.
LeBron vs Draymond would be must-see TV
The Celtics and Wizards are battling in the East while the Spurs and Rockets are jousting in the West. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers and Warriors are at home relaxing having swept their Conference Semifinals opponents. So far, the two championship favorites are looking the part.
Offensively, LeBron James is having one of the best playoff runs in history. King James is averaging 34.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game. He’s also shooting nearly 47 percent from three-point land.
In his 13th-season in the league, James’ playoff performance is otherworldly. The fact that he’s only had to play eight games so far means that James should be fresh by the time the Cavs reach the Finals.
For the Warriors, Draymond Green’s defense has been as amazing as James’ offense. In addition to 14.9 points and 7.3 assists, the 6’7” power forward is contributing 9.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.0 steals per game in the postseason. He almost single-handedly stopped both the Portland Trailblazers and the Utah Jazz from getting to the rim during the first two rounds.
Should both teams advance to the Finals, expect this matchup to be nothing short of amazing.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk.
