Stephen A. Smith: Jewish Community a Factor in Josh Rosen Preference of New York Over Cleveland

Stephen A. Smith, speaking on his ESPN Radio show today about quarterbacks and the NFL Draft, mentioned that the bigger Jewish community in New York is part of the reason Josh Rosen would prefer playing there than in Cleveland:

This is a derivative of Jim Mora’s comments, where Mora said that Sam Darnold would be a better fit in Cleveland than Rosen, who played for him at UCLA, because Darnold is “blue-collar.”

Rosen’s Judaism, and the extent that would make him more comfortable in cities with higher numbers of Jewish people, was also a topic of discussion on ESPN Radio’s LA morning show with Keyshawn Johnson, Jorge Sedano, and LZ Granderson on Tuesday:

Keyshawn wasn’t as direct as Stephen A. in saying that sources told him the Jewish community was a factor, but he did bring it up and cite it as part of the equation. It led to a broader discussion.

Rosen’s father is Jewish and his mother is Quaker Christian; as of 2014, he reportedly identified himself as “kind of an Atheist”.

Speaking as a very moderately-practicing Jewish person, I do not doubt that he has a number of cosmopolitan preferences such that a larger city like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, or Chicago would be more preferable to him than Cleveland, but it is unclear to me whether the Jewish community would specifically in and of itself be a factor.