Stephen A. Smith addresses ESPN producer labeling him ‘angry Black man stereotype’ in leaked audio

Stephen A. Smith heard the leaked audio of an ESPN producer sounding off on him, but the First Take host insists he doesn’t care.

Last weekend, Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe III shared leaked audio from Ryan Bertrand, a Los Angeles-based assignment editor at ESPN. The clip appeared to be a secret recording of Bertrand’s conversation with a woman shortly after Smith signed his $100 million extension with ESPN.

“We have this one guy, his name is Stephen A. Smith, he plays the angry Black man on TV,” the person says in the clip. “The angry Black man stereotype is basically, you’re loud, you talk over people, what you say is not necessarily important, it’s more how loud you are and how, I guess, how you deliver your speech.”

The person went on to criticize Smith’s incident with LeBron James, his cable news appearances, and his political takes, among other things. This week, Smith joined Robert Griffin III’s Outta Pocket podcast to address the former quarterback’s recent statement that sports shows should stick to sports. During their conversation, Griffin asked Smith about the leaked audio.

“It made me laugh,” Smith claimed. “I don’t give a damn about what that person said. First of all, I never met him, he’s never worked with me, I don’t know him, and I don’t know why he would say the things that he says. I don’t want to sound wrong about this, but he’s a production assistant. I mean, that’s the kind of stuff that people do on an entry level position in this business. And there’s a lot of work, a lot of hardships, a lot of things that they got to go through in climbing that ladder.

“Well, no disrespect, but at ESPN, I’m at the top of the heap. I’ve been in this business for 30 years; you think I’m gonna worry about what some new beginner is sitting there chirping about? I could care less. Not even a little bit. And most importantly, as I’ve told you in the past, people gonna hate. People gonna come for you. And the higher you climb, the more you’re exposed, and they’re gonna try to pull you down.”

The leaked audio was offensive to Smith more than it was damning to his off-air persona. So it’s fair to assume Smith really wasn’t concerned about the leak. The more interesting question, however, is whether he dealt with it. Did Smith punch down from the top of the heap?

Smith’s on-air persona may have earned him a $100 million contract from ESPN, but it didn’t earn the respect of an “entry-level” producer. Big deal. But if this person was attempting to climb the ladder at ESPN, they likely didn’t do themselves any favors by punching up at Smith.