ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has always been unapologetically himself in front of a camera. Even when it perhaps toes the line of inappropriate, which Smith’s recent comments did in the eyes of former NBA player John Amaechi earlier this week.
On Tuesday’s edition of The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith answered a question from a social media follower about which city had the most attractive women. The person who wrote the question believed the correct answer was Miami, Florida. And Stephen A. Smith wholeheartedly agreed, giving a rather detailed description of why this was the case.
“Well, first of all, you answered the question,” said Smith. “Miami is special… It’s special. And I’m not just talking about the city of Miami, I’m talking about the outskirts. I’m talking about going towards Coral Gables. I’m talking about South Beach.
“I’m talking about near Fort Lauderdale. Little Cuba, Miracle Mile, all those spots. You know it’s bad in Miami when one of the finest women you ever saw in your life is at a gas station pumping gas in Miami. That’s when you know this place is different.
“I’m talking about the kind of beauty that stops traffic. Cats getting in car crashes because they are screeching on their brakes. Causing three-car accidents and all that stuff. The accidents happen and people are like ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ And they all look over at the gas station and go like this. ‘Oh, I understand.’ Miami is like that. It really is like that. That’s why I don’t hang out in Miami.”
https://t.co/A0GYFNdqy7 pic.twitter.com/a5BhOLjUFt
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) December 17, 2024
Smith could have just as easily answered the question without any explanation or opted not to include the question in his fan question segment for the show. But in classic Stephen A. fashion, he answered the question passionately, whether you love it or hate it.
John Amaechi, who is perhaps best known to the sports world as the first former NBA player to come out as gay following his playing career, appeared on Thursday’s edition of the Dan Le Batard Show, where he watched this clip of Stephen A. after it was brought up by Le Batard.
Amaechi wasn’t as amused as Smith’s fans appeared to be about the video, detailing how he thought Smith’s answer was “incredibly creepy”.
“Okay, super creepy,” said Amaechi. “Incredibly creepy. Talk about giving Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang vibes right there. The way he moved his fingers when he was talking at the beginning. As if he’s just finished licking them after eating chicken. That is gross. If I wasn’t already gay, I’d be gay after watching that.”
“That is incredibly creepy. Talk about giving Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang vibes… That is gross.” @JohnAmaechi is disgusted by Stephen A. Smith’s “creepy” viral video talking about women in Miami.
WATCH: https://t.co/6G7VOm7yMH pic.twitter.com/KYLNggLM6w
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) December 19, 2024
To be fair to Smith, he has made it incredibly clear that his fan questions on The Stephen A. Smith Show are supposed to be non-sports-related questions and have proven to be largely satire. In the past, he has answered questions from fans on everything from the best type of jelly for a PB&J sandwich to which car from the movie series Cars is the “G.O.A.T”.
However, considering how impactful Smith is to the younger generation of sports fans, it is fairly understandable why Amaechi or anyone else would find him talking about “fine women” in Miami to be a bit strange.
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.