There’s been some debate recently about where Stephen A. Smith stands on the journalist-entertainer spectrum, and the ESPN personality shed some light on that subject in a GQ feature published Thursday.
Smith upset some fans last week when he shared comments from an “NBA source” that denigrated Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown. While former NBA great Isiah Thomas and Brown called out Smith, others questioned whether he still has the credibility as a journalist to report in that fashion, or if he’s become mostly an entertainer, albeit a good one, at this point.
Of course, it’s not the first time Smith has become part of a story himself. It seems to be happening more frequently. He recently spurred talk after he claimed on First Take he could score against LeBron James.
GQ‘s Alex Kirshner pointed out to Smith that recent debate reinforces the notion that he is often more a subject in the news than a commentator.
Smith did not disagree.
“I don’t particularly like it. I just don’t care. I don’t think I should be the subject,” Smith said. “I think the subjects we cover should be the subjects, but what I would ask you to do is pay attention to the digital stratosphere that we’re livng in right now. When you come on television, folks want to hear what you have to say. In the streaming stratosphere with the younger demographic, they want the friction.
“It’s not even about the content, it’s about the friction. What did this person say? How is this person going to respond to this person talking about them? That’s how they go, and that’s where that emanates from.”
But Smith balked when Kirshner suggested, “There are people who think the brand of sports journalism that you’re at the vanguard of contributes to people running their mouths, to things getting out without a filter in a way that wouldn’t have happened in the old days.”
“Well, I would say that’s B.S., and I would say that the people in the industry who would dare say that, especially about me, let’s go on a public platform and debate that,” Smith said. “Name the time and place, and I’ll show up. The fact of the matter is that I was hired at ESPN because of my journalistic background, and the reason why I’ve been entrusted to do what I do on the platform that I’ve done it on over the years is not only because I’ve been successful, it’s also because by and large, I’ve been responsible as a journalist.
“I don’t just run out there and speak. I actually cultivate sources. I actually do my homework and research. I have a history of being connected to the things that I actually cover. It’s not a secret. It’s not breaking news to see Stephen A. in a locker room, to see Stephen A. in a press box, to see Stephen A. talking to athletes, coaches, executives. All of this stuff comes with the job.”
Smith went on to say that one reason some people have soured on the type of sports commentary he excels in is because the genre has been flooded by people “devoid of my resumé.”
“If anything, the industry should be held responsible because of what it has allowed,” Smith said. “You’ve gotten to a point where you allow people devoid of my resumé to come into the business as if they had the resumé to do the things that they do… It’s not my fault that the industry itself has looked at people with less credentials and said, ‘You can come in here, too, and do it.’”
[GQ.com]
