Stephen A. Smith fires back at Pelicans on his show. Photo Credit: Stephen A. Smith on YouTube
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ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith has made it a point over the past few months to consistently shame New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson for his weight, a move that has brought him some criticism as of late from a number of his peers in sports media.  His latest complaint about Williamson on the matter sparked a back-and-forth between the organization and Smith, which Smith added to even more on Monday night.

Last week, Smith appeared on ESPN’s Get Up where he offered his skepticism around the Pelicans team, which was yet again centered around Williamson’s weight.

“Zion Williamson, it’s not about his game,” said Smith. It’s about how many burgers he’s eating. Whether he is going to be in shape or keep eating McDonald’s… That’s what he has to prove, that the chefs don’t love him any longer.”

This prompted the Pelicans to troll Stephen A. about his collegiate stats during his playing days at Wake Forest with a graphic that shows he only averaged 1.5 points per game during the 1990-91 season.

This seems to have struck a nerve with Smith. He spoke about the jab on his show, The Stephen A. Show, on Monday, defending himself and blasting the organization in the process.

“I couldn’t shine Zion’s shoes, nor C.J. McCollum, nor Brandon Ingram, nor any of them,” said Smith. “That’s why y’all in the NBA and I’m not. But let me tell you something about you New Orleans. Because since we want to be up here and we want to make sure that we are as thorough as we can possibly be. Let’s talk about the New Orleans Pelicans franchise for a second.

“You are in your 22nd season in New Orleans since your relocation from Charlotte. Ladies and gentlemen, do you know that by being named the Hornets and then the Pelicans, you have as many names as you do playoff series victories in 22 years. You have won two playoff series in 22 years. You have the same amount of playoff series victories as you do names! And you are talking about me? At least I’m not robbing the public by getting paid. For not doing what I’m supposed to be doing, which is win.”

He then addressed his latest comments about Williamson, saying that he was “just joking around”, even addressing New Orleans Pelicans TV analyst Antonio Daniels who publically called his comments “inappropriate”.

“I was joking around about Zion Williamson not eating too much. We need him healthy, on a good diet so he is strong and powerful. I did not imply that he is not doing it now. I said it is a concern, Antonio Daniels. I said it is a concern New Orleans Pelicans. And I was half joking because I am rooting for the kid. And I’m rooting for the franchise.”

In total, it was a ten-minute rant defending his comments about Williamson, which certainly shows that he cares at least a little about the criticism he has received, whether he wants to admit it or not.

The Pelicans yet again trolled him on social media with a response to this clip.

Smith’s criticisms of Williamson date back much further than just this latest instance, which is what most are actually upset about. At this point, it feels like it is a bit of overkill against the Pelicans star.

Regardless, it seems like Smith is standing by his comments, whether the Pelicans organization or their fans are happy about it or not.

[Stephen A. Smith on Twitter/X]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley