After numerous top ESPN talents were caught up in endorsing a shady solitaire app backed by a mobile gaming company with nefarious business practices, network brass reportedly put the kibosh on it. That is, for everyone except the ringleader.
According to a report by Michael McCarthy in Front Office Sports, ESPN executives directed several on-air talents, including Dan Orlovsky, Kendrick Perkins, Laura Rutledge, and Mina Kimes, to cease promoting the Solitaire Cash app, owned by Papaya Gaming. The promotion, however, began with ESPN’s frontman, Stephen A. Smith.
Prior to any involvement by his colleagues, Smith became a global ambassador for the app, shamelessly capitalizing on his slip-up during the NBA Finals, in which he was caught playing solitaire while game action was happening on the court. Unlike some of his colleagues, who have either deleted social media posts endorsing the app and/or issued public apologies, Smith has kept his posts up and appears to have done nothing to distance himself from Papaya Gaming.
Per McCarthy, “the next question will be what Stephen A. Smith does.”
As of Wednesday evening, all ESPN talent who originally had posted advertisements for Solitaire Cash have deleted their posts, except Stephen A. Smith.
Perhaps it’s simply a matter of Smith’s endorsement deal being a bit more involved — and thus harder to unwind — than his fellow ESPN colleagues’. But perhaps it’s an indication of Smith’s power at ESPN relative to the network’s other top talent. There’s likely little recourse ESPN has to prevent Smith from taking a deal like this. They’re not going to take him off the air. They can’t take back his nine-figure deal. What is there to do?
Ultimately, the onus is on Smith to decide whether to associate with a company like Papaya Gaming. So far, it seems his answer is yes.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.