Stephen A. Smith’s political career has devolved into a very familiar pattern, and his latest feud is no exception. This time it’s former SportsCenter anchor and longtime liberal political commentator Keith Olbermann that he is scrapping with.
Smit and Olbermann exchanged tweets and podcast rants over the tragic ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good that has drawn outrage from across the country. And the heavy-handed reaction from the Trump administration, and the way they are promising to handle any investigation, is only throwing gasoline on the fire.
Smith is a bit of a chameleon politically. He labels himself as a moderate and an independent even though he has constantly made noise about a potential POTUS run as a Democrat. But he has also consistently taken positions that has found himself aligned with the Trump administration. And in his comments on the shooting, Smith said that the ICE officer who killed Good was “completely justified” in spite of the video evidence that at least calls for a full, independent investigation to be completed before drawing concrete conclusions.
That led Keith Olbermann to speak out on social media, saying it was time for ESPN to fire Stephen A. Smith for damaging the brand with his political commentary more than he ever could embracing sports debate.
BTW speaking for a lot of people who actually built the place – it’s time for @espn to fire @stephenasmith
He is now damaging the brand in a way his on-air cartoon character could never approach
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) January 9, 2026
If you’ve followed any of Stephen A. Smith’s political career, you know what happens next.
On his Straight Shooter political show, Smith went scorched earth on Keith Olbermann in yet another extended rant aimed at one of his critics.
Stephen A. Smith’s voice nearly cracks with RAGE as he goes off on Keith Olbermann.
Olbermann urged ESPN to “fire” Smith’s ass, and Smith has finally had enough.
“I want to say this about Keith Olbermann. I’m sick of your pathetic ass. I really, really am. You’re a 66-year-old… pic.twitter.com/FG5xsRNUT3
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) January 10, 2026
“And I want to say this about Keith Olbermann. I’m sick of your pathetic ass. I really, really am. You’re a 66-year-old barely with any friends. Who the hell knows what’s going on in your life,” Smith asked.
“And all you do is sit back, and the second you disagree with somebody, you pop s—. You, of all people! You! You! Keith Olbermann! Literally trying to get me fired? ‘It’s time for ESPN to fire Stephen A. He’s hurting the brand. He’s bad. He’s damaging the brand.’ What?!”
Smith then took a shot at Olbermann physically and his reputation for burning bridges wherever he goes. Former ESPN PR chief Mike Soltys is famous of saying that the longtime SportsCenter host “didn’t burn bridges here, he napalmed them.” Of course, Olbermann did return to ESPN for two different stints in the 2010s, although they weren’t without some controversy.
“Cartoon character? Who looks more like a cartoon character than you? Keith Olbermann, you can’t run five feet with your fat self. And I’m not talking about fat people. I’m talking about Keith Olbermann. You can’t run five feet. You’ve been walking around with a cane, exercising melodrama every chance you get. All you do is make enemies. You napalm bridges all the time, including ESPN, and you got the nerve to talk about me,” Smith continued.
“I want y’all to know, ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been in this business since 1994. I have never uttered a negative syllable about Keith Olbermann. Ever! Ever! Keith Olbermann is one of the greatest talents we have ever had in sports television, if not television overall. An unbelievably, exceptionally gifted writer and commentator who is nothing short of exceptional at what he does. So why does he have to resort to being seen on YouTube and barely anywhere else? Because nobody wants him. Because he’s a raw pain in the ass. That’s why.”
Stephen A. Smith then went on to recount the career travels of Keith Olbermann, doing a lengthy rundown of the various fireworks that have taken place at his various stops. He called people like Olbermann “the problem with America” after torching his entire career.
For his part, Olbermann has been a regular critic of Smith, calling him a “right wing dupe,” a “moron,” and a “f—– idiot” The former MSNBC and ESPN host also called for SAS to be fired last April.
If either man’s career history can be taken into account, odds are that Olbermann will have a retort of his own very soon. So this feud between past and present ESPN personalities may not be done just yet.
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