I don't think it's that. Sports media, like news media, has a 24 hour news cycle. In order to give it a semblance of freshness there's a requirement for "hot takes" and other angles. This boils down to telling various groups of people what they want to hear. So you have LeBron haters who get a spotlight, or former NFL players who emerge to say stupid (or smart) shyt. Everything has an angle.
Black sports personalities often exist in a realm that is dominated by white viewers and listeners. The problem is that they treat race issues like they treat trivial sports issues. Imagine a First Take segment where Skip argued Hitler wasn't that bad, while Stephen A argued he was the worst dude ever. It would be pathetic, such an important topic can't be turned into a petty conversation right? Yet a lot of sports shows treat race exactly like that.
I don't think Stephen A is a c00n, however I do believe he is very aware that being seen as "objective" on race makes him more popular with mainstream white men. Yea black dudes will get upset but more than a few will agree with him, specifically older black men. So these important issues become trivial when treated like a meaningless sports debate.
BTW that's why I dap Bomani Jones so much, even when I disagree with him. He takes the type of fearless stances that black journalists are told are too dangerous to take. He doesn't give a fukk and doesn't care if a white listener gets upset.
anyone who takes him serious 
I'm in legit tears right now! I would've probably lost my job and probably my life, NO MAN is ever gonna speak to me like that. Can someone find pics of his wife? There's no way she respects him after that.
This nikka a reminder of why I stopped supporting espn whenever possible.