Love or hate him, Stephen A. Smith is one of the most recognizable, highest-paid, and polarizing personalities in sports media. Without question, Smith is a master at drawing attention to himself. Whether it’s his outlandish sports takes, bombastic rants, talking down to Black people, or cozying up to the MAGA constituency to gain political capital, the “First Take “ host has mastered the art of making headlines.
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Even if his behavior is performative, Smith has been known to blur the razor-thin line between entertainment and controversy. Often, he goes too far and finds himself in hot water, where he has to deflate his enormous ego to apologize.
Here are 5 Times That Stephen A. Smith Crossed The Line.
Blamed Women For “Provoking” Domestic Violence (2014)
After the graphic footage of former NFL player Ray Rice’s then-fiancée and now wife, Janay Palmer, was released, most sports pundits immediately denounced Rice’s actions. Smith did not. However, he focused on the “elements of provocation,” suggesting women should avoid doing anything that might provoke abuse. His comments sparked widespread criticism, including public rebuke from his then-colleague Michelle Beadle. ESPN suspended Smith for a week, and he later referred to it as “the most egregious error” of his career.
The Shohei Ohtani “Interpreter” Comments (2021)
In another wild moment, Smith argued that MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani, who is Japanese, couldn’t be the “face of baseball” because he used an interpreter and didn’t speak fluent English. He went as far as to say that Ohtani “harms the game” because a non-English-speaking baseball player is hard to market. After receiving instant backlash for his xenophobic and culturally insensitive remarks, Smith offered an apology for his words.
“I screwed up,” Smith wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “In this day and age, with all the violence being perpetrated against the Asian Community, my comments — albeit unintentional — were clearly insensitive and regrettable.”
He Told Ayesha Curry To Behave Like Savannah James (2016)
An unapologetic mansplainer, Smith was critical of Ayesha Curry, wife of Steph Curry, after she tweeted her frustrations with NBA officiating during the 20126 Finals. Never one to miss an opportunity to talk down to Black women, Smith offered some unsolicited advice to Ayesha about” how an NBA wife should behave, saying she should act more like LeBron James’ wife, Savannah.
She [Savannah] sits there. She doesn’t bring any attention to herself.” Smith said. “She never tweets and goes out there and calls out the league and stuff like that, and nobody, nobody, is more scrutinized than her husband.” Eventually, Smith was called out on social media for patriarchal and sexist views. Ayesha took to Twitter to ask why he would try to pit two Black women against each other.
He Questioned Lebron James’ Motive As A Father (2025
When LeBron and Bronny James became the first father and son to play on the same team in the NBA, Smith spewed a plethora of opinions about the matter. On an episode of “First Take,” Smith challenged James’ approach to fatherhood after speaking negatively about Bronn’s game on several occasions.
“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this,” Smith said. “Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”
In response, Lebron confronted Smith during the middle of the Lakers-Knicks game, imploring him to keep Bronny’s name out of his mouth.
After the tense confrontation, Smith went on to say how he and Lebron don’t like each other.
He Fat-Shamed Zion Williamson (2026)
In his latest diatribe, Smith once again took several shots at New Orleans Pelicans superstar Zion Williamson over his eating habits. He alleged that Williamson may have a food addiction. “You got people that are alcoholics, you got people that are drug addicts and stuff like that,” Smith said. “What was Zion’s problem? Food! Food addict!”
The Pelicans’ social media responded to Smith’s comments with a video montage of his worst athletic moments, with his own voice giving commentary about someone being a “scrub.”
Never one to let anything go, Smith spoke on “First Take” about how he’s more popular than anyone in the Pelicans’ organization except for Zion.
“I’m at the top of the heap in this profession, and getting paid for it,” Smith said. “And by the way, my popularity is more than anybody you got on your team outside of Zion Williamson.”
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