Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit Stephen A. Smith knows exactly what his job is. The media personality is here to stir the pot. The sports pundit is no stranger to controversial opinions on famous athletes, teams, plays and decisions.
Throughout the 2024 presidential election, we’ve seen him expand his well-known gimmick into politics. Now, he’s turning his attention to President Joe Biden.
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While appearing on NewsNation’s “Cuomo” on Monday, the “First Take” host offered his thoughts on President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden. Smith didn’t like the president’s explanation that he was tired of Republicans using his son’s troubles to get to him and politicizing the case.
“The Biden situation disgusted me in terms of departing only from this standpoint,” he said. “You wanna be a cynic, and you want to act like you would be offended by something like that? If you’re one of those people out there, fine. But no one within reason would and would have a problem with him saying, ‘It’s my son. I love him. There’s no way I’m sending him to jail, and I have the power to avoid it.’ Nobody will blame him for that. But that’s not where he went.”
Smith doesn’t see a difference in how Republicans treated Hunter Biden and how Democrats investigated President-elect Donald Trump. He even went on to call President Biden’s decision and reasoning “weak.”
“For him to come out and talk about that. This was a witch hunt, when clearly it could be argued that’s exactly what you were doing to Donald Trump. What you assisted in doing seems beyond hypocritical, and that was what disgusted me,” he said. “It wasn’t his decision. It wasn’t him pardoning his son. It was the weak, pathetic explanation that he gave, which has most critics just shaking their heads and raising their eyebrows, saying, “What nerve you have.”
Apparently, ESPN doesn’t have a problem with Smith’s controversial takes, as he’s close to signing a multi-million dollar extension. According to Variety, ESPN, and its parent company, Disney are possibly looking to sign the popular sports analyst to a type of “first look” deal that would see “Smith-backed concepts” produced for the entertainment studio’s various properties.
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand is reporting that Smith could garner $20 million a year, with the deal possibly hitting five years and $100 million. If this happens, it would make him the network’s highest paid personality.
Sorry Dallas Cowboys fans and women’s basketball enthusiasts...it seems like you’ll have to put up with Smith’s shenanigans even longer. And if this contract extension makes him the network’s highest paid personality, you know he’s going to get even louder and crazier with his takes.
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