
Quote of the Day: Why Chess Is Anti-Black
ESPN host Max Kellerman knowingly observed on “First Take” Monday that the white chess pieces have a structural advantage.
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Kellerman invoked chess as a metaphor for the the San Francisco 49ers’ unconventional plan to rotate two quarterbacks this season, one white and the other mixed-race.
- “If you play chess and you’re the black pieces, which always go second — go figure, right?” Kellerman said. “If you just do, theoretically the strongest move every time, you’re always a step behind the white pieces who start first.”
- Kellerman went on to argue that player with the black pieces needs to be “more innovative” to overcome the game’s inequity.
Kellerman — who riled conservatives in April with a “bizarre rant” about racism in the NFL draft — will leave “First Take” next week and cede the spotlight to cohost Stephen A. Smith.