Long a proponent of staying off the damn weed, it appears that Stephen A. Smith is changing his tune.
Smith’s “stay off the weeeeeeed” catchphrase has lost a bit of luster in recent years, and perhaps it has something to do with the NFL no longer suspending players for testing positive for marijuana or the NBA recently removing cannabis from its list of prohibited substances.
Still, Smith has seemingly dropped one of his long signature acts — at least for the intents and purposes of a single segment on First Take.
Stephen A. Smith shows Shannon Sharpe how it’s done with a vintage rendition of “Stay Off the Weed” 🎶 pic.twitter.com/n4PVPHxyrQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 28, 2023
On Thursday’s edition of First Take, Smith didn’t offer a mea culpa, instead dropping a bombshell instead. Trying a gummy could apparently be in the cards for Smith. Yes, we’re talking about a guy who’s been yelling “Stay off the weeeeeeed” for years.
When the rest of the First Take cast on Thursday mused about Smith and Russo getting into it at the Fanatics Fest over Derek Jeter, the former quipped that his colleague and counterpart should be drug tested.
Both Molly Qerim and Kimberly A. Martin said that they already know how those drug tests are going to come out, based on Russo’s talks about popping in a gummy just about every college football Saturday or whenever his wife’s out of town.
“I might try some gummies, though,” Smith interjected. “I’ve decided, Molly, that I’m gonna try some gummies. I’m gonna try.”
Stephen A. Smith, famous for saying “STAY OFF THE WEEEEEEEEED,” says he wants to follow in Chris Russo’s footsteps and try some gummies. pic.twitter.com/l53y9GgvzW
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 22, 2024
Dan Orlovsky said that Smith should post that on social media.
Yes, yes, he should. There should be an alt-cast of Smith and Russo doing gummies together. Perhaps their heads won’t explode as they contemplate Jeter being a top-five Yankee in a relatively calm, peaceful manner.
“No, no live stream,” said Qerim.
Awful Announcing would have content for days, so we’d beg to differ on that one. As the stigma surrounding marijuana slowly gets reduced, Smith may no longer be staying off the weed himself.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.