Explicit

Episode 405 w/ Stephen A. Smith

Published Apr 12, 2024, 7:30 AM

N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN are the Drink Champs in this episode the champs chop it up with the legendary, Stephen A. Smith!

Media giant Stephen A. Smith joins us for a conversation you don’t want to miss! Stephen A. shares his journey and his professional evolution.

Stephen A. Smith gives his take on Hip-Hop’s current battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Stephen A. shares stories of working with ESPN, his support for Beyoncé and much more!

Stephen A. Smith shares stories of Donald Trump, LeBron James, the challenges he’s faced in his career and much much more!

Lots of great stories that you don’t want to miss!

Make some noise for Stephen A. Smith!!! 💐💐💐🏆🏆🏆 🎉🎉🎉

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DJ EFN

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He is drinks Chests, motherfucky podcast man.

He's a legendary queens rapper.

He ain't agreed as your boy in O r E.

He's a Miami hip hop pioneer put up as d J E f N.

Together they drink it up with some.

Of the biggest players, you know what I mean.

And the most professional unprofessional podcast and your number one source for drunk.

Drink chans mocavery day is New Year's Eve. That's it's time for drink champs, drink up, motherfuck.

Would it could be hopeing he wanna shoot me? This is your boy in O r E. P up is DJ E f N and it's drink Chefs. Japis Now we'll be starting at this show. We wanted to give props to legends, to give flowers to the people where they can smell them.

They drinks where they.

Can and hell them, and they thoughts when they can think them.

When I'm talking about.

This brother here that I would be about to introduce, I tell you I watched this man religiously. I can hear him talk about anything. He can talk about pink yellow nails and I'll still be like, yeah, I agree with him. He is a wordplay, A fisherianado, a sports aficionado, and I don't I've always had to ask this question because I don't know how to hell you watch this all of them goddamn games.

And comments on them all.

That's right.

Some people call him a cowboy hater, and some people say he's acting about the cowboys and the cowboys on the haters.

He's from my barrel, even though when I Google him.

They said he was born in Brooklyn, so I gotta ask that. But he's Holly Squeens, one of the best, if not the best, sports people period. I hate when hip hop used this term goat, but in this case it's an understatement.

He's a mass man and I can.

I was so excited, I've been sweating all day. So in case you don't know who I'm talking about, what about the one only Legendarry And.

How y'all doing?

Now?

Look, I couldn't wait for this. By the way, I want you to pick my drink.

I'm gon drink champagne in between, but either Japanese whiskey or h or.

Vodka STD the elite.

So that's something I've always wanted to ask you man, You know, wake up every morning we see you, but you you're at the games, but then you.

Still know about the game that you're not.

That how do you how do you do that?

That's like some superhero shit. Well I don't.

I don't, just you know, do my job. I live it.

So what I mean by that is that like if you walk into the basement of my house. And by the way, I was born in the Bronx, the Raised and Hollis Queen since I was one years old. Okay, okay, right, so just to correct, just get that out the way. But when I go in the basement, if you see my basement, I've got a movie theater. I've got two television screens here. And then if you go to the side, I mean, that's really my man cave. I got a bar, a TV over the bar, and I got six TVs three on top of each other that I can turn into one or I can turn into six, seven, six different games at the time. So let's say, for example, it's Sunday football. If there's seven football games on in that man cave, I got a game on each TV, the one on the wall over the bar, plus the seven.

Now I can say it now because I'm about the moving a little watch.

What I'm saying is it's a minimum of seven games that I can watch at one time, and so I'm doing that. But when I say, I live it. Okay, were talking sports. So when I'm driving on list, I'm listening to the Sports Channel.

When I'm I'm watching.

When I'm watching the sports, I'm watching the Sports Channel.

When i am I'm reading.

I wake up and I the first thing that I do, you know, in terms of my work, when I get up in the morning, I go to ESPN, dot Com, Yahoo Sports. You know, I'm looking at all the competitors and seeing what the story is. Because you got to remember, I have a journalistic background. I started off from New York Daily News, but I went from there to the Phillyelphia Inquirer, and.

Then after that I did SEEINGN.

That's how while I was at the Philaelphia Inquirer, then Fox Sports and then ultimately see ESPN. This is all while I was doing newspaper from the Philadelphia Quirer from nineteen ninety four to twenty ten. And so I have a journalistic career that spans thirty years. And when you wake up as a journalist, you're thinking about what's the story that people that's percolating with the people today in my case now because of television, podcasting, radio.

Et cetera.

What are the multitude of stories that are percolating to day? Y'all just finished talking about Drake Kendrick, you know, and Jay Cole and all of that. Right, why you talk about it? Because they made the new right what you did that day? We have to do as journalists everything. So I'm trained in accurately, that's right, And I'm training, But I'm just talking about the storyline. What are people talking about? You literally are supposed to wake up every day thinking about what's percolating.

And that's how I approach every single day. So let me ask you. Right wait, that's dedication.

So let me ask you coming from the inner city. Yes, we have sports like football, stickball, you have.

To play handball, statch all that ship that with the sisters and all of that stuffhen they playing you try to play it, just the double dutch. You trying to play it just because you want to be around there.

Yeah, So, so how is it that's that's the that's the sports that we.

Know that the streets come from.

Right then you got to cover golf, you gotta cover soccer, which I'm finally I'm finally coming around to liking soccer. I'm finally coming around, like Christian Ronardo's watch collection and Messi's watch collections, as figured, that's what your body, that's not, that's not, but that's not like the sports that we know. Like and then later on in life, you got all these people playing golf, but then then then a lot of them equated to being rich, like like, this is a rich sport, right, how do you how do you? How do you cover that with the same emotions and the same You don't and you don't really see. Here's what happens with basketball.

I'm a specialist because I'm an insider, but it's not that I know more, even though I kind of do. It's not really about you knowing more basketball than other people, because you never know more than the players.

You never know more than the coaches, you never know more than them.

But it's about being so connected to the sport because you've covered it intimately that most things you read about I already knew about.

I didn't say anything about.

I picked up the phone and talked to sources directly involved in those stories. And you got inside intelliges. So when I say so, when I say I'm a specialist in basketball, I'm telling you, like you know, you could see a controversy with a player and I ain't say a word, but I know everything about it. You see what I'm saying that most folks would know, just like y'all with the hip hop and you know shit that a lot of people would you know they got to you got to read a whole bunch of magazines and hear people talking about it and all of this other stuff. But you are already no that's me on basketball the other sports. Until the last few years, you're just being a reporter. And what I mean by that is you're recognizing what these story is. Like I didn't have to cover golf. We have golf writers to cover tigets all the day. But when his ass got in trouble and a wife attacked him in the land and he was ending up on a police bloggers, no, no, no, no, that's a story, right, So all of a sudden, it's the story. And as a journalist, you're trained to pursue the story, so you can find out about the story without having to be an insider on the sport of golf. You see what I'm saying. So that's what you're doing with most sports. You're covering it. You know, you're at the press, you're in the press box, you get access into the locker room, you go, you cover a game, et cetera, et cetera. The difference between that and basketball. You know, Alan Iverson and Larry Brown getting into it.

Well, y'all reading about it. I'm the one they talked to.

You're you know, so some something happened with Shaq and Kobe and you know y'all read about it weeks later, but you know it was Kobe that that that mother, you know, he going off and ship. You know what I'm saying. On the phone weeks earlier, Shaq like hell with him, dealt with him, et cetera, et cetera. You get access that most folks don't get. And that's what makes you a specialist at that particular support because you have intel and inside info that most people don't have.

Now, with that being said, with the inside info, yeah, I seen you the other day. Yep, you broung about Michael Jordan. Yes, and you said that Michael Jordan text you and said that magic Johnson was one of the greatest guards of all time, right because I think you said someone else.

I didn't say he. I didn't say he texts me. I said he called me. Okay, okay, listen to motherfucker. I'm tired.

You're not listening to me. Listen what I said.

You said, What the hell are you talking about? And I'm like, come on, man, you know saying, Look, it's kind of hard to argue with to go, you know, say, because he would know. But we do what we do.

All. I want to ask you this further to.

The flex, how do you know which conversations to make public and which conversations you're gonna say?

Damn like you said, y'all?

Are they allow me to Okay, I don't they say that this is absolutely off the record. It's off the record. Okay, they say it's on the record, it's on the record. Or if they don't tell you, you're able to defer to their previous course, Like if I've seen you say something on the subject publicly already, then it's okay for me to say it because you've already spoke on it publicly, and you're just echoing those sentiments to me.

Directly.

If it's sentiments that you made to me that you didn't make to anybody, that's not a trust that you violate. That's the code of the streets. You know, you know where we come from, and so you don't. You just don't do that. You don't, you don't do something like that. And a lot of times when you got cats and they being ultra sensitive or whatever, I have no patience for it because my attitude is, okay, if you say it's off the record, it's off the record.

You know that trust ain't gonna be violated.

So if you know that's not gonna be violated, and we just talk and be real and authentic with it. And if you and if you, if you don't, if you want to say something publicly, then that's cool, then own.

It and be cool with it.

As long as I quote you accurately and I put it in this proper context, and I didn't violate your trust.

What are you bitching about? You got an opinion.

I got opinion probably laced with more facts, and we'll go from there.

And I'm not gonna worry about it.

I'm not gonna worry about feelings on that level, because again, it's not personal.

You know what I'm saying you when you I don't care who you are.

And it's not about fear, it's not about embarrassment, it's not about anything. It's a code where there's certain things that you're just supposed to know.

You don't reveal. You don't get personal.

But professionally it's all open seas, especially if you're SI public step want to court. You shoot two for twenty. Don't bitch to me. It's not two for twenty in front of everybody doing your fact. You did it in front of everybody. Everybody saw it. So that particular night you stuck up the joint own it.

You don''t get me because somebody did that job.

And they highlighted this was not a good night for you. You can't get mad at that, but you got some of these cats who will because of the age that we're living in.

And it's unfortunate in that regard, but it is what it is.

Like I had to speak to DJ Envy one time because your Envy was was going back and forth with somebody and I had to kind of like let them know, like your voice is powerful. They were playing around, but they wasn't playing around your voice. Your voice is powersure because when you do show like a breakfast club, it comes on in other markets at a different times. So if you did somebody at eight o'clock, you might have to come see him again at two o clock. I see him again at twelve o'clock, right, have it? Has it ever been like that for you? Because if you, like you said, you critique on the game and some of these people are your connects.

Well, first of all, let's understand that about the connect.

You cultivate relationships with.

People is how I cultivate relationships. This is who the hell I am.

Off top, Let's get that out the way. This is my job.

Your personal life is your business. It is your story to tell. Don't end up in the police blotders. Now that's a matter of public information. You're saying privately, what's going on in your life is your business. Your professional career is there for me to chronicle. I'm gonna call it like I see it now. I'm gonna come to you now if I got access to you, like you know, you'll see me. And there's certain people that I'm straight and I could be hardcore with, And then there's certain people you look at me and say, damn, I expect the steven A to go harder. They're not realizing it's not because of friendship. It's because you stood there and talked to me and gave me your perspective. If this if the drink champs create headlines and it's for a negative reason, right If I.

Know you, yeah, well happened because you have the access.

So you're giving me a perspective. I've heard the perspective from you, and at that time, there's some things you might say to me it's cool to tell, and then you might give me even more intel pen say don't go there with that, because I can't do that, because if you do that, that's gonna burn somebody, and I don't need that information.

Not.

The better way to go is to tell you right, and some and most of them usually do. I'm simply making the point that if I have a relationship with you and you talk to me, I have a professional obligation before we even get to the human part us knowing one another, communicate with one another. You talking to me before we even get to that, I have a professional obligation to make sure that I'm honorience. What the conversation is meaning if you tell me it's off the record, it's off the record. If you've given me intell and you say this is the context I'm coming from, that's cool.

You'll see me on TV and plenty of.

Times I'll tell somebody I disagree with them, but I'll stop and say, let me tell you where they are coming from. Because what I owe to you is to make sure that I project and disseminate the information to go to the masses in the context that you want it. Whether I agree and disagree. Now, I always tell them I ain't nothing, no obligation to agree with your ass. Now you understand that. I mean, I might agree with you, I might not agree with you, but before I do anything, I'm gonna make sure that unfair and I'm gonna make sure that I project.

The information in the fashion that you gave it to me.

If you want to be one of those casts that's inaccessible, you want to hate on me, you want to avoid me, that's at your own damn peril. Hey, my broblem, Because here's the thing about me. Please understand this. I've kept my number the same for twenty years. My number, my phone number, has been the same for twenty years.

I haven't changed it for one.

Reason and one reason only. I want no excuses about you couldn't reach me. Impossible, impossible. Too many people know me for you to tell me you could have reached me. But you do have some people who believe they so big that they untouchable. And I don't know why people would think that way, because in this industry, I can touch you any damn time I want. And it's just that simple. And I'm gonna be as fair and it's humane and as authentic as I can possibly be. But please trust, I'm gonna do my damn job. We don't have to have Christmas Thanksgiving dinner together, we don't have to exchange Christmas gifts. I'm gonna do my job because I answer to the public. I don't answer to the people I cover. So long as I'm fair, as fair minded as I can possibly be, and I contextualize this stuff in the fashion that is accurate, that is what I owe folks.

I don't owe them more than that.

But that goes you. That goes without saying. But I feel like you said, the landscape is different now. People might need you to explain those rules. I don't deserve it necessarily, but it seems like the landscape.

And I would say to you that you're putting it in a very very nice way.

Some people just soft as hell mentally.

We're gonna call it like it is. There's a generation out here that's soft as hell mentally. You know, you got a lot of people and they'll be like, man, you know some people. You know, you're cool with some people, but some people can't stand your ass. And I'm like, who the hell told you I could stand them? They don't like their asses either, some of them, not most, not all. It's a lot of cats and professionals.

Listen.

First Take on ESPN has been number one for twelve years, every week, every week, every month, every year, twelve years in counting. You know what I'd like people to do. How many athletes you see coming on there? How many former athletes you see got a job on there? How many cats you see being given shine? Who you think they come to? I'm the executive producer first Take. Youin't coming on without my permission. I'm the one that puts them on. Now. I'm blessed and fortunate enough to have accomplished what I have accomplish than my career at es being to be able to have that kind of tipe, that kind of power and knock on wood, that's the day it could be going tomorrow. I don't trust corporate. Anything can happen, but what I'm saying is have I have that now? And so when you look at it from that perspective, it's like, wait a minute, you're letting cats know. You want you want to talk, You want your perspective herd you you you want to make sure that you're gonna have viewers listening, et cetera, et cetera. The platform is here available to you. You got a lot of cats don't want that because they got their own platforms. They think they're doing you a favor by coming buy and not recognize you was number one before they arrive you number one.

They ain't doing all that they think about.

They're thinking about what you have to gain, or more importantly, what they may have to lose by being in an environment. It's unedited, and it's live, ain't no tape delay, ain't no, it ain't no live tape and Aaron later, oh no, no, no, bro.

When we on ten o'clock, it's ten o'clock. Oh wow, I didn't know this love Okay, it ain't taste saying oh.

So when you come on live, and that's what I tell them, it's the live platform. You can go on Sports Center, you could do an interview for three or four minutes. They could come and interview you, and they could add three or four minutes.

You come on first take.

If I tell you you coming off for fifteen minutes, it's fifteen minutes. I tell you thirteen minutes and fifteen seconds. It's thirteen minutes and fifteen seconds.

You know, So you have that.

And if you want to pass up on that because you don't trust, or you think you too big, or you thinking that your influence because of your reach, your followers and all of that stuff is going to stop me from doing what I do, well, good luck with that. Good luck with that.

Recently we had people come on here, right, you know, have a good time, say something they don't want they don't want to say, and ask for.

Us to edit it.

Right, and us, being good people, we ain't.

Chase.

But then these artists will ask us to edit and then go on another that for them and say what they.

Told her that that should push you off. What you should do, I'll be wanting to blow it up. What you should do should be like this. I will tell you that. Let me tell you. Let me listen eight years, but let me get as a person that's been in media for thirty years.

Let me give you a piece of advice.

So you want me to cut this out? You don't want me to add this. You know I better not see you saying this ship nowhere else? Right?

I didn't say that.

You know that, right, because if I see it anywhere else, I'm an eric.

Do you understand me? So long as you know, I ain't got no.

Problems cutting this out, especially if it's something that you think is gonna compromise you gonna hurt your brand.

We ain't trying to hurt you.

You're saying, but I better not see it somewhere else because if I see it somewhere else, or that just means you want to give that to somebody else other than me. But I got it already. Oh yeah, that shit tomorrow. You understand I'm saying, And put the date when you said it, so everybody I had it. Don't play that game. You say you want it out, keep it out because listen, there's certain things, you know, a code of the industry. It's like you don't give somebody else editorial power. I've had politicians, I've had, you know, a big time executives. I've had various others wanted to sit down and do interviews with me, and I canceled the interview because they wanted editorial control. You're not getting editorial control of my content. Don't come on and give me the content. I came on here today. I told y'all y'all could ask me anything y'all want. That don't mean I'm gonna answer every damn let me assure you what you want. Here from me is me saying, please do it, please edit that out. No, no, no, no no. I came here, I showed up. I know you got critics and people gonna say, I'm gonna get asked. I know how y'all wrote what I'm saying. I knew what I was showing up for. And a lot of times you got these cats and they being run by their team, but they want to act like they did and they being rung by their team, and their team didn't have any connection. They't creating no kind of viby talk to you man, the man won on one or whatever the case may be, and then they walk around with their backup like somebody did them wrong instead of owning what the hell they did.

That's my life.

Right there where.

It's like I'm constantly the villain and.

I cannot tell y'all how many times, whether it's y'all, I don't give a damn what podcast was, show it is. I'll see some people say some shit. It could be on YouTube, it could be anywhere, and my name come up and they say something, and I'm like, how come nobody asked they say that to my face? Would they put their truth up against my truth? Because we all got receipts, but very very few people got as many as me, And so I'm like, what.

When I see people I'm.

Watching because if it's sports related, especially when they talk about sports commentators and stuff like that, my name coming up, I'm like, okay, and I'm wondering whether that person's gonna call me or yo Stephen a yo. Man.

They said something.

You see what I'm saying, because I'll have an answer, I promise you that.

But I really get.

That opportunity and it's it's all right, But Sometimes I say, people say stuff because they know they can get away with it.

They know they could get away with it.

But your name is so big, I can see why certain people want to say your name.

I can see why.

Because it's a clickbag, even if it's not trying it for it. Because someone say A talking about Steven A, They're gonna click on it.

The name is a hot commodity. So is that something that bothers you when you don't get that call?

When I don't get that call sometimes, especially if it depends on the ship they're saying and how personal it get, because I would, I would listen. I know what codes I live by. I know if you're a player and you didn't get along with the coach, it was because y'all were y'all were, y'all were doing the same woman, right, you know what you're screwing around with a teammates girl or a teammate's wife, or you know you got in of this beef because you know you tried to choke a coach or something. You know you gotta you gotta.

Well that's the trust me.

Well, but you know, depending on rumors, think about it. You hear about that stuff every year, every year, Right, So you got all types of the kind of stuff that I get access to the kind of information that I get access to by virtue of what I do for a living. I promise you I don't say seventy percent of the stuff that I know, Wow, seventy percent. And so what happens is when you see cats and you know they talking about your stuff like that, I will remind you I've been in the business for thirty years. I know about dudes who were talking about me and they were filming a commercial in the off season in Hollywood and not realizing I knew the damn producers. Wow, you connected with cats in the hip hop industry? You don't know I know Them's what I'm saying. I mean, don't don't listen. I'm not the expert, the officionado at that. Like I like music, of course I did. I grow on a product of the hip hop generation growing up in Holland. Queen's jam Master Jay was best friends with my late brother god Rest of Soul. I grew up with run DMC. So why they see me? What do you say a Holland fifty was?

It was was you know down the.

Block llll who j grew up five minutes from your Pharma's ball, the Rock, The Rock, you know, John Rude fifty, all of these, I'm like, who you talking to? I'm seeing I've seen these people years. I root for them all day every day. I'm proud of them because I look at the road travel and I know where they came from to get to where they go. They always gonna have my support. Give a damn who it is my man should have? Yeah, you know, I just got with Snoop because I told her, Damn, I said, I have to prepare for the interview. I what you did? I mean it just like these these are my brothers. They know you pick up the phone, stephen A, is what what you need done? That's you know. I mean, I'm incredibly grateful and humbled and thankful that I got relationships with such iconic figures.

You can't have relationships with those with cats like that.

If you don't live by a cold and you don't stand for ship and you're gonna betray p Pully and.

You go backstab, you can't do that.

So when you got cats in the sports world, what's good drink Champs Army. If you like this show, You've got to check out The Midnight Miracle. If you don't already know about the Midnight Miracle. It's the Legends Dave Chappelle, Talib Kwali and Y'asin Bay co hosting this indescribable podcast. It's music, it's convo, it's debate, it's a million other things. It's really dope. It's so dope to hear these legends chopping up about everything from wild stories to debating what's going on in the world.

I mean, it has it all.

Season one was taped at the Shack That's Dave Spot in Ohio, where we had the honor of filming our Drink Champs episode with them. They had guests like Questlove, Kat Williams, Michelle Wolf, Q Tip Radio, Raheem, and a lot more. Season two, though, was taped on the road with Dave to living y'all seen bringing the magic that rises up when they're live together. Check it out. That's the Midnight Miracle. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Trying to be Smirch and Sully. My reputation that gets me hot because you're.

Implying that I live by a cold that anybody who knows me knows I do not live by it, And so what happens is then I'm watching everybody, because I will watch whether it's y'all or somebody else. And I'd be like, you just gonna let them say that, You're gonna let that slide. What evidence do you have to say that shit about me? You know?

And you got to.

Remember, I know of Athletic they remain nameless, but I know the stars that spoke to executives trying to keep me out of the business. Oh wow, trying to get me fired, trying to trying to deny what I'm bringing. And then come and they won't say anything. I gonna accuse him of smiler in my face because they ain't that flagrant with it. But they don't know that. I know. Like I told you before, you're filming a commercial, you hanging out with your boys, you might be in a hotel, you might be at a party or whatever. Yo, bro, you ain't been I've been in this business for thirty years. I kind of know people. So it could be a week, lady, it could be a month, lady, It could be that night. It's gonna get back to me, and it ain't gonna get back to me. From Nay says that you know, I barely know. I'm talking about people that I know whose words I know I can trust. Yo, Stephen, Ay, Bro, that ain't no friend. This is what he's saying about you. This is what they trying to do. This is what happened. And so I just sit back and I watch, and I pray, pray that they say something about me by name. Oh you don't know how to be praying for it, because again, I can unleash at my discretion at any moment if and I and I'm mostly reserved, no doubt, because I'm in corporate America and I grew up in corporate America. The freedom that y'all have in this in this podcast world, that's something I just adopted. I never had to Stephen A Smith show on YouTube that just started a year ago. I don't you know, I wasn't doing that all of these years. I wasn't.

I said, what, thank you? I appreciated that.

I don't. I don't do you know.

I just started doing that and I didn't you.

Know you could call it a podcast because I got to deal with our Heart Radio and they gonna push that on their platforms. But out of my own pocket. I built a television studio because my god, I came out. I can't a couple of mill out my own pocket. I built this television studio because A. I want to show that I can produce television on my own. Whereas I'm not getting the checkers an employee, I'm getting the check as a production company because I'm producing content and I'm getting that bag too, on top of me being the talent. Oh by the way, not only am I doing that, I own and operated one hundred percent. Oh by the way, not only am I doing that, but I'm doing it with the purpose of not just myself but looking for young talent on the come up that I can produce years of years to come. Because I'm fifty six. I ain't twenty six. I don't want to do this shit in thirty years. You know what I'm saying. I want, I want, and I want my legacy to be somebody that's reaching out to help those on to come up, so we can find we can find a way to do that.

Because everybody can't be you.

Everybody can't be you, everybody can't be me, but they can be themselves in a fashion that's most profitable for them, show them the way, and show them there's another I'm not I'm corporate because I had to live in corporate America for thirty years. I know who I am, you said, I know what I am when I take the suit off and I'm hanging in Hollis, You're a SENI. I'm hanging with the Fellas or something like that. But you can't roll up with Bob IgA, the CEO of Walt Disney, and Jimmy Pataro, the president of the ESPN, and Roger Goodella NFL commissioner, Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner. You know, like you with the Fellas, it calls for something different. Do you have the flexibility, the skill to know how, the professionalism to be able to dance in that world when you're not you or you or me?

And I'm the kind of person that thinks that I could help.

Is showing the way so that versatility kicks in and you can show yourself to be marketable to a whole bunch of people. People a lot of times don't see that. We encouraging young cats. Man, do what you want to do, when you want to do how you want to do it. Fuck everybody, else, But you got your hand out for somebody else's money. And that pisses me off because I'm like, yo, you don't have to be a business owner. Tell me, even if you were on a street, hang it with your boys. If your boys came to you and said, yo, dog, I need some money, you might give it to them the first time. Second time you go be like, what fuck you need it for it? Third time again?

Again?

Why you underta what I'm saying. And you're gonna want to know what they're doing with it, you see what I'm saying. But we act like we can encourage people to do what they want to do, when they want to do it how they want to do. When they got their head out for somebody else's money, you setting them up for a dead end ride. They're gonna fall. You can't operate that way. I'm the kind of person that says that. And because I say that, you got people that snub their nose up to get the backup. They got an attitude all of this other stuff, And I don't have patience for that because I'm like, yo, I'm trying to help cats.

What you're trying to do when you're leading them down a dead end road.

Right like me?

Right, I did love and hip hop. Right, this is Viacom, which is corporate America. I did it because I enjoyed working for somebody.

I enjoyed it. I already know I'm the boss of whatever whatever my world, but I wanted.

To go into somebody else's world that I could be accountable for not being on time. I'd be accountable for not showing up or things like that, and I enjoyed it.

I fully enjoyed that.

They didn't want to keep paying me because I wanted more, exactly, so we agreed to disagree. But that time, I always say that I'm good with, you know, doing what I gotta do, and then if I have to work for.

Somebody else, I'm okay with it.

Right.

I know who I am in real life.

So is that how you feel when it comes.

To first thing?

I wouldn't say when it comes to first take, you know, because my weakness is I hate getting up in the morning. Because once I'm up, i'm up. I don't take naps, and I stay up real late. I don't go to sleep before two am. So because of that, I'm up constantly, you know, and I'm on my grind. I can't stand getting up early. That's the only hiccup in my entire career. I'll turn down millions if you asked me to get up at four or five am to help with it. I gotta figure out something else, you know.

That's how I am. And that's been my week.

That's been my one weakness throughout my career, throughout my life. But I will tell you this, I've often said this about working for Disney. It ain't perfect, right, damn. It could be hard sometimes because they got a shareholders, stock holders, all of that stuff, and you got to answer for that. And when you're a major player, somebody that moves the needle, and you know, God has blessed me. I've been number one for them for like eight nine years on that level in terms of moving the needle. Here's the deal. I've often said this, I'd rather work for someone with standards than someone looking for them. I can always make the adjustment to being free and easy and not having to answer to anybody.

But if I had never had to answer to anybody, and then all of a.

Sudden I got to work for somebody and work in corporate America, I'm a lost soul. I ain't gonna not adjust. I'm not going to know how to live that life. It's going to drive me crazy. But the fact that I have worked for the New York Daily News, for the Philadelphia Inquirer, for CNN, Fox Sports, ultimately ESPN, and Walt Disney. Right because of that, especially walked Disney over the last twenty years, I'm in a position where I've seen so much corporate and how strict it can be and how paralyzing at times.

It can be right that I can adjust to anything.

Because it ain't gonna be much tougher than that in terms of the standard. Right, everything's gonna be a little looser, And as a result, I'm gonna feel more free no matter where you put me, right, and that gives me a decisive advantage moving forward because I played the long game.

Makes sense?

Do you when you uh uh first take, but then when you uh do Stephen a show.

You're the boss boys, Yes, I'm the boss boss. So is it is it more hard to deal with employees?

Hell?

Yeah, let me tell you something. Look, look, look, look, when people.

Work for you, When you're working for somebody, you have a standard you're determined to meet. When you're the boss, you have a standard you're praying everyone else will meet, and most people ain't you.

And so as a result, you know on what and not only that. Here's the thing.

On one hand, you the priority has to be competent, your ability, You got your carew here.

They got to know what the hell they're doing.

You know what I'm saying. You see them ain't got smiles on their faces, but they not do the damn jobs.

You see what I'm saying.

So they're good because they know you believe they're good. And that's all right. Okay, So the competence is number one. But right there is trust right now. Trust comes in a variety of ways. You don't want people telling your business, but then again, when you ain't got much to hide, you don't care about that. But the other part of trusting is being able to close your eyes and turn your back and know that the standard that you've mandated is being met at all times, because you got folks that are that committed, and when there's a question mark to that, that could be very, very stressful. I'm doing the Steven A. Smith Show on YouTube right I got six hundred thousand followers. I probably hit six hundred thousand subscribers tomorrow.

Right in year one.

That's not bad. I'm picking up about fifteen hundred subscribers a day. I ain't satisfied. I think it should be better. But I got people around me. Man, we're doing well, and I'm looking at them. You know while I'm looking at them, God, damn it. You don't set the standard. I set the standard. I'm the one cutting this check. Tell me what we're doing. Now. If I'm unreasonable, that's different, But don't you did? Tell me what we're doing as if you're the one who is defining the standard, and let me give a sports to that alogy to you, then I'm gonna give it to you because you'll love this.

I'm a diehard Knicks fan.

We all know that.

Yes, it's hard being a Knicks fan.

I know, but no, no, no, no, no, no, now ye now, oh god, So it was so hard being a Knick fan. It was hard for me to look at that. Damn Jim, do you know I walk by him. Now you're billionaire. Now you're a billionaire now, and I want but I think it's hard for him. How you doing, he sees me, Steven, How you doing? You know what I'm saying, demon is misster snineteen ninety nine, nineteen ninety nine, can't get to finals, bleed for shut on top. But this year I think I had a chance, but they had too many damnag. Well we'll see what happened since they got og number one, defensive efficiency, all of this other stuff.

But we'll talk about that. We're doing better than he.

No, no, no, no no.

I want the heat again. I actually want to hea.

He't the healthy.

Listen, listen. No, no one thing as I as an aside, know one thing about me.

I am never losing when the Heat a plan because because that means I get to come to South Beach.

Let me tell you something.

The difference between Heat fans and Nick fans. Heat fans don't even sit down in their seats, stay back there and club live drinking. Nick.

I remember going to a Lebron game.

Halftime came Lebron was losing, the whole, Heat left, the whole, the state left, and I remember being the diehard Knick fans saying that would never happen.

That's true, we do not leave, that's true. But here's the flip side. Sorry, you could be at a Knicks game. I'm sorry. You could be at a Heat game and if you're not from Miami and you know anything about Miami, you get there early just for the view. Is they got a club.

Club eight o'clock, eight o'clock. That's the only time, so motherfuckers going here just for the club.

Miami. Miami is the only time in my life where I sound like Sammy Sosa.

Miami has been.

It's the only time I sound like save me something I said. I don't need no dam but it is what it is. But I say all of that to say, you know, using the whole nixt thing or anything like that as an example, Okay, you've got a situation where they improved and they doing their thing, and folks are salivating over what they're seeing.

We're just doing better, doing great, You're doing.

Bet And I'm going like this, do we have a chance to go to the finals or not? Because that's how I'm looking at it, Like mister Robson, you gonna get healthy.

Oh, jann Over, You're gonna get healthy.

You're just ready to go get healthy. Jayden Brust and Ballert, somebody gonna give um some help. Because I'm looking at the Boston Celtics, and I'm saying that.

Should be the only team standing in your way right now.

Milwaukee with Dame Dolla and Giannis can't be ignored. We get all of that, but losing jew Holiday and stuff like that, you compromise defensively, New York, this got a chance. Boston is the one roadblock standing in your face. To me, anything other than a trip to the conference finals, if you're healthy against Boston is a failure. Anything less than that is a failure. So when I see folks like, man.

We were doing that, I'm like talking about yeah, and I'm going like, this is your ass for New York.

You have you suffered since nineteen seventy three. You understand I'm saying. I'm like, because I want you out, I want you out of here. You ain't a part of this, coach, You ain't a part of this because they don't know. And then you got these young whipper snappers and stuff. You in your thirties. Shut the hell up. You don't know what kind of soft wind, weird stuff. I was five years old in nineteen seventy three when the New York Knicks went to the finals. I ain't seen him Dave Listen, they went to the fund. I'm sorry when they won a championship. They've been to the finals ever since. But thevin even when they went to the finals in nineteen ninety nine, we knew they weren't gonna beat san Antonio. You knew you in with his old knees and spree Well and no one gonna beat I'm sorry, you was hurt. So you got spree Well and Camby and you aren't beating Tim Duncan and David Robinson. That's not that was like when Lebron went to against San Antonio the first go round in two thousand and seven, we knew he wasn't gonna beat him, So congratulations getting there, but you ain't got a snowballs chance in hell of beating that team. This is the same thing with the New York Knicks. So I'm like when I see people, I'm like, it's not just about getting there, it's about me firmly believing you got a chance.

The last time that happened was when you went against the Lajawan.

In Houston and John Stark shot one for eleven from three point range two for eighteen for the game in a game seven.

You know and pat Riley my man, pat Riley.

I love this man. I love Rob's but pat Riley is the boss of the New York Knicks. I'm sorry, Yes, he the once in the New York Knicks, the head coach. You picked up Rolando black Men in the season who does nothing but shoot, and there was nothing that's said to you. John Starks is suffering right now. I need to get Rolando black Men in there because John Starks tore it up and gave six See it's moments like this. You can't be young, not even born, ignorant and come to me talking about all the hell with you. You ain't no real Nicks man. You got to shut the hell out here. You don't know, you have no idea.

The frustration tell you how much I'm a Knicks man is every time the Knicks get on the street, I watched and then they lose, So don't watch.

Because they keep on winning.

Because that was about it. I think.

It's being a Knicks fan. I think it's me. I'm like Erica, like, how did they do tonight?

I won't physically why because every time I physically what they physically love?

That's right question?

So you for that that all was the bad luck. Listen, I feel that way sometimes too. And then I swowed myself up and over, I'm gonna watch it. Damn I shouldn't have watched, but he let.

Me give you even more more crazy. I moved in Miami, in Miami fifteen years.

By the way, how you feel about living here?

Oh?

I love it.

I'm taking thinking about how bad it was being a Knicks fan is it's a stuff of law.

If you're a Knicks.

Fan and a Nets fan, it's round upon if you are a Jets fan and a Giants fan. When I moved to my and I said, oh that's she is out the window. I'm a fan of New York. I'm even a fart of the New York Islanders's hockey team. By the way, I'm just braised our hair called Dumpies, right, Duffy's a great ball? Yet, please, the Duffies is a great ball every time the Knicks and the Heat played. Everybody just get together, don't. It's a dope ask ball. But it's a whole bunch of New Yorkers twenty years that we fucking got back into my area. It's not letting.

You don't have to let it. You only came here for the weather, the taxes and stuff that we don't need to message that. Let's be like, let us have a lot of view of public right here. But I will tell you this. I will tell you this. You don't have to let go of your New York family because New York is everywhere. We get all of that, we get all of that. But I got a better story for you. So Miami hardcore.

Yes, they are Raleigh.

They don't play. They don't communicate with nobody. They ain't returning text messages. You know, they ain't leaking information and and they don't do all that. They don't play that game. You know, they're real ones. They they you know, if they got something to say, they said publicly. You know what I'm saying. I mean, I've known them for years. I'm very tight with the Heat organization. I go back, you know, close to thirty years with a lot of these cats, the raleighs and the Tim Donovan's that the communications got to thank you so much, the Tim Donovans and and Rob Wilson's and me relationships. The players. D wade all of them, I mean U d all of them. I'll go back. Yeah, I've known a lot enough for years and got a lot of love for them, and they real ones. But here's the thing that happened to me last year. Let me show you how the pressid this is. So I'm furious with the New York Knicks because they didn't get Donovan Mitchell. And this is the inside right, because everybody know worldwide. West, you know that's my man. I love them, But we had to stop talking for a little while because they was.

Running the organization.

Doesn't know that he works under the president of the basketball operation, Leon Roase. They were pissing me off, and West would come to protect them, missit, and I'd be like, look, man, we can't talk.

This is the Knicks.

This ain't object I'm not objective about the New I'll tell you right now. See that's the key with with me. I'm not I'm talking now. I'm objective with what I report in terms of actual factual information, but I'm not hiding my emotion. I am rooting for the knicks'st anybody, and when they lose, I'm pissed and I'm looking for who is.

Going to incur my.

Wrath because you affissed me off because yet again, you're failed. Okay, So he's calling me to to to be protected of Leon Rose, your rust man, and the interests of our friendship. Dog.

We're not gonna talk. Come by, cush ass. I don't tell this ship man.

I'm tired, you know what I'm saying. I love him, man, I love him, knowing them for over twenty five years, but it was driving me crazy. So here's what happened. You got an opportunity. I'm watching the Knicks, and I believe I believe that if the Knicks had Donovan Mitchell last year, they're in the conference finals.

Miami does not be them. Miami does not beat.

Hi. Conference finals. They do not beat Miami does not beat the Knicks. If Donovan Mitchell was with bruntson the way, Brunton was playing you with me. So I'm saying this now, you gotta remember. You gotta rewind the clock. I'm doing radio in New York City for ESPN Radio back when Donovan Mitchell was coming out of Louisville. This damn dude, Phil Jackson, you know the eleven time champion, six championships in Chicago, five in l A. You know the sin master who all of a sudden don't want to coach when he get the New York and ship what we need you for? You don't want to coach, daddy.

You know what, here's the deal. We don't know because he went shoe.

He didn't show up right, at least trying to show up, tripping there all the way. For the point that I'm trying to make, is this so so Jackson don't want to coach, right, And I'm going like this, I'm hearing all these names, Elik Monk and all you know, all these people, and I said, Donovan Mitchell, Louisville, the brother Special, get him. Phil Jackson drafted this dude. Frank Neela Kina.

Frank Neela Kina never heard of him from overseas. Yeah, I just came from France.

And I was like, I'm serious because I know you're passed up, right, So now bring that up. Why because Donovan Mitchell taking the league by storm, averaging twenty five games, showing the skill set. Utah, blah blah blah. He I know Utah he wants out. Utah is looking to move him and he wants to go home from Upstate New York. One, come out, come on, no question.

Figure out how the hell.

I know that emphatically, he wants to come to New York. You understand what I'm saying. Leon Rose has an opportunity to get this man, and he is on the phone with Danny Inge, who departs from Boston. It's now running the Utah Jazz and Danny Ainge is universally recognized as one of the elite executives in this ward.

He's not someone you bluff. He knows what he's doing. But this is what he wants.

What about four or five picks?

One and RJ Barrett you know.

One crimes. I'm like, ye, it's all. You got eleven picks over the next seven years. You got Yanni's coming, you got something lebron on Lee La who you got? You got to get him.

Not only does he not get him. One of the reasons he doesn't get him.

This brother Leon Rose has some dude named Gershard Ross who hain't recently gotten fired in Minnesota on the phone negotiating for him.

Now again, how do you notice, I'm Steven a baby.

This is what I do. This is basketball. I'm telling you what I know, and I'm livid because you don't get them. Right. So now we fast forward to last his playoffs and you the Knicks, and you go and you take Cleveland out, you smoke him. They can't deal with y'all defensively. Their big boys don't respond. Jared Allen and or Mobley and these brothers, they don't respond to the challenge. You take them out in six I'm like, let's go to he the next we come. Right, I'm feeling I'm feeling feeling, man, I'm feeling it right. And then I watched Jimmy Butler. Oh yeah, put on a show before had this is Jimmy Butler last year. So Jimmy, my man, love Jimmy to death. Jimmy used to be in Philadelphia. I felt Philadelphia is making a big mistake because him and and bid like this and b love the ground. This brother walked on Jimmy Butler. He holding cats accountable, all that sort of ship you saw from Ben Simmons. You know what I'm saying. I understand mental awareness, mental health, all that stuff. Not trying to disrespect, but damn it, you know, where's the mental health when it comes to cash in that check?

That seemed he seemed to know how to get to the things I don't want to hear that.

You understand, say, ain't trying to hear that ship all right anyway? Anyway? Right, so dominate he on he on the sideline, looking like looking like Julyn in the shades and the fly and all of this other stuff. I'm like, hey, I think, ain't no doubt the wants you. But what that doing for your game? What they're doing for your team? Don't get me started with that.

Damn Ben Simmons.

Anyway, I'm like that, don't happen with Jimmy Butler there, one way or another, son gonna happen.

He ain't having that, right.

But he in Miami now and he had dropped like over fifty on Milwaukee one game, right, and then they closed them out. So I'm like this, all right, you know it's gonna be tough, but we we could take them. We could take them, right.

What am I bringing this up for? Because the Heat won?

No, that's not why, that's why, That's not why I'm bringing it up. Because remember the Heat don't talk to nobody. Nobody right during this time of year, they locked in. Eric sposed, the phenomenal coach, one of the best ever. They locked in. It's eleven thirty, at nine, I get a text message. It's from Jimmy Butler, y'alling next, and I went like this, my heart, my heart, My heart has never hurt so bad over a basketball game before the game than that, because when he said that to me, in my heart, I knew they're gonna get us, but I couldn't admit it to myself. I'm like, holding up. Come on, come on, Jayleen.

Did it take you to answer that text message immediately? I said, oh, damn, said damn, and that's all I said.

That's all he said. That's all he said. He had said next you saying all my Knicks fandom, and everything came down and I went.

On first take the next day. See he said were next? Still were next? I said, come on, y'all, come on, y'all. And then I go to the game and he just looked and he said word.

He just shook his head out. Tiger.

That was a student.

It was at one point, this is you just said. One of your big disappointments.

One of mines was I felt like we had a chance to get Lebron at one point twenty ten. Yeah, you had just got nine, right, so we had we had a chance to get Lebron. Yeah, why didn't James Dolan? Why didn't the next organization go all out? If they did, they just didn't have anything to offer.

Like like James Dolan's pitch was, come to me and I'll make you a billionaire. That was his pitch.

That's kind of like a cool pitch, right.

I know that unless you believe you're gonna be a billionaire without him, which is what Lebron believed. All right, So that was number one. So Lebron, they in Cleveland. You know, you got Donnie Walsh rolled in in a wheelchair, you got James Dolan, who don't have the greatest reputation. You got d'An toni and cast like that. All right, that that that had to compete with pat Riley. Pat Riley, from what I was told, rolled up in there with the championship rings.

And put them on the table. Shit, you want one of these? You want one of these?

Now? If you remember, I'm the one that broke that story. I went on the air and I said, n I said Lebron. I said, I said, Lebron. Now I'm talking about Lebron's taking this. He's going to South Beach and everybody was like, they would crucify me for three weeks because by this time I was going I was unemployed for them.

I was unemployed, damn there for a full year.

I read. I had started off resurrecting my career by going to Fox Sports Radio and I was doing morning radio. And on that morning radio show, I announced to the world Lebron going to South Beach. I had sources tell me Lebron going to South Beach. This is three weeks in advance. He taking his talents to South Beach. What the hell does he know? The one he got fired from ESPN? He don't know shit. You know, he ain't doing this, he ain't doing that, blah blah blah. And it was one of the hardest three weeks of my life because I knew I was right. I knew my source was reliable. But if he had changed his mind, you know, yes, it's something different, you know what I'm saying. So it was like, and you know, the wolves were circling because you know, cats wanted me to fall on my face. They wanted me to fail the whole nine. And so had he announced that he was going somewhere else, you know, it would have made me look really really bad at that particular moment in time of my career. Nobody's right all the time. You only go about what your sources tell you. But at that time time in my career, having been let go by ESPN a year earlier, having starting to resurrect myself on Fox Sports Radio in the morning time, with Fox Sports Radio not really getting that kind of shine, and now the eye of the sports world was on Fox Sports Radio because of what I reported. That night that Lebron announced he was taking his talents to South Beach was one of the most stressful.

Nights of my entire life. But because because you got the prop store for that. Yeah, but I'm saying because he could change his mind or whatever.

So had he said he was taking his talents everywhere anywhere else, they would have said I was wrong.

I't know what I was talking about.

No wonder ESPN let his ass go blah blah blah blah blah. So all of that was going on, right, And I knew my sources, and I knew my sources knew, so I had no doubt. But that didn't mean he wouldn't changed his mind. And so that's what I was dealing with. That's what I was living with. And ultimately, when he decided to take his talents to South Beach, it's because, first of all, him and d Wade was supposed to be here. Whether Mello wants to admit it or not, Melo was supposed to be here. I'm the one that told you that.

And hold on.

I also thought that Melo was supposed to join him with the Knicks at one point.

No, no, no, no, that wasn't it. Okay, they were supposed to join. They had made a pack. Yo, we going to negotiate our deeals in two thousand and seven to have an out after year three, so we have an option to be opt out and become free agents to go wherever we want to go. Melo was like, Yo, I'm from Baltimore. I ain't passing up that guaranteed money. Denver offered me five years. I'm gonna take the five years, which wouldn't make him a free agent.

Until a couple of years later.

It was supposed to be d Wade, Lebron and Mello, but Mello locked himself into the cash in Denver and as a result, Bosh opted out, and because Bosh opted out, Bosh ended up going there with them, and Melo had to force his way out of Denver a year later, of Denver a year later to come to New York City. But had Melo kept the option, he had an option to get out in twenty ten, it was going to be Melo, Lebron and d Wade. Now they will tell Now, I don't know. I've never heard them admit it. I don't give a shit what they say. I'm telling you what I know. Melo, Lebron and d Wade they can't go on their shows. They go on their shows. They can talk whatever they want, they can tell whatever story they want.

I'm the one that reported it. I'm the one that broke the story.

I'm telling you the intel that I received it was Mello, d Wade, Lebron and because Melo had opted out, had not opted out and took the five full years for eighty mil from Denver at that time, that's why didn't happen. And I got Mello on camera on my show quite frankly on ESBN two it at that time saying, Yo, I wasn't walking away from the guaranteed dollars. Wow. Yeah, So it was never supposed to be bosh. Wow, it was supposed to be Mello. And now we sit here and looking at an illustrious career, a scoring machine, a future Hall of Famer in Carmelo Anthony, who's never won a championship. And we all know if that brother was with d Wayne and Lebron, he'd have had at least those two and probably three of the four. Because you can't convince me when Lebron And that's one of the reasons why, and I speculating in fairness to Lebron, Me and Lebron are respectful to one another. I got mad respect for him. Incredible role model, incredible play. I got him number two all time behind MJ is the greatest play in the history of basketball.

All of that stuff, major major pross with him. But that's the biggest reason we don't fuck with each other.

Because it was a chuk job against the Dallas Mevericks and I called it.

I said, Yo, it's a joke job.

You understand you can't have Jason Terry or JJ Brea guarding you in the fourth quarter. That's it excusable, you Lebron James.

And that's what happened.

Because he hadn't learned how to win yet to the degree that he that he did. And see when I think about measuring just to shift a little bit, if you don't mind, when I think about the goat, that is the ultimate reason why I have MJ over him. Statistically, that's fine. Hell with all of that, Jordan averaged over thirty about nine times, nine time defensive All Defensive NBA First Team, ten times scoring tacking we were talking about he went't he all at and played in a different area that was far more physical than it is now. The issue is this the road to prosperity matters. Think about what you have gone through in your life. You ain't talking about hip hop, talk about your life, the obstacles that you had to overcome to get to where you are. The greatness isn't measured by just your skill set and your success and where you landed you Jay Zu, l L you others. It's not that it's the road you travel. If you born with a silver spoon in your mouth thinking you hit a whole run when you started off on third base, that's entirely different than starting off from nothing and getting to where you are. And so what I'm saying is MJ had to do that with Lebron. The difference is, as MJ was climbing, you never looked at him and said, he's the reason y'all in win In that Dallas series, Lebron was the reason you didn't win the title the first year in Miami. You should have had three titles. You should have had the title against ok See, the title against San Antonio, the first title against Dallas. You should have had that. They had an agent, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, JJ Brea Okay, Dirt Novitski of course was a superstar at that particular moment of time. We get that, but it wasn't Lebron, d Wade and bossing those brothers.

If Lebron shows up in that.

Series, and specifically in the fourth quarter, because first three quarters he was there. Specifically in the fourth quarter, we're talking about four consecutive fourth quarters of an NBA finals where there was an apbolt for your ass. Yo, yo, we just talking facts. Lebron.

I still have him number two all time.

I still think that he's a great player, a great person, one of the great people. I mean, he's phenomenal. But the fact of the matter is that's on your resume when we look at Jordan where you didn't beat the Pistons because Scottie Pippen had that damn.

Migraine in game seven against the Pistons.

You see what I'm saying when you finally overcame the Pistons and you got to the finals. Although it was an agent magic and it was Lade Devak instead of Kareem and all of a sudden, you still smoked them in five, still smoked them in when Jordan switched hands in the mid in all that stuff and gave two and all of that stuff. You saw what the brother did to Drexler and Kersey and all of those brothers when he went against them in the second go round, third go round.

It was Barkley with Kevin Johnson, Damn Marley, and.

We saw that. We saw him retire, come back, come back in the second year with seventeen games left, lose in the playoffs against Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott and Shaquille and Harrast and we saw them carry Horras Grant as former teammate, off the court and the shoulders, and that brother went out and got robmin and the next year they took him out four straight, swept them, blew them out of the building. I mean there was an annihilation because Jordan and Pippen had you scared to dribble the ball because they were pressing you full court. It was unreal. We saw you beat GP and Sean Kemp. Remember Sean Camp. I'm not talking about Sean Clump. I'm talking about Sean saying, I'm talking about that brother. You beat him. We saw you beat Malone and Stock then not once, but twice. This is what we saw at what we saw him against Portland. Jordan against Portland and we saw him not look great in game six and Phil Jackson pulled him to the bench and the reserves came back on like a fifteen to two run or whatever it was. But we also saw Phil Jackson put his hands right back in that game to close. This is Jordan were talking about. You didn't see that lebron in that series against Dallas. My point in all of in saying all of that with the story is this, when we're measuring greatness, it's not about your resume.

All of y'all got a resume.

It's about moments and when those moments arrive, where you at, Who are you?

Who are you now?

If it's an aberration, and it's something that you've never done before you being asked to do it. That's different. But when you got a game that's hurt your leg, and it's that way throughout the regular season, throughout the first, second, third round, and then you get to the finals and all of a sudden it evaporates, that's a problem. That's a problem because it's you not being able to do what you normally do when the moment arrives. This ain't stephen A choking with some damn first picture Yankee Stadium, when I never stepped on the mount on my.

Damn life's on, I did I got I did.

I made a business decision.

I made a physics decision.

I'm I'm trying to get it over the plate. But when I'm not gonna do is bust my ass on national television on mount. I'm not doing that, all right. So I made a business decision. But I choked. This done over. But I've never been on a mound before. That's entirely different than me being on a mount all the time and I'm throwing strikes and then all of a sudden, the moment of rids and I can't find the strike zone.

There's a difference. And I'm saying to you, we ain't.

Never said that about MJ, and that is why MJ has got status amongst those of us who know.

Like, I watched Gilbert Arena say that he thinks the NBA got soft because the Europeans.

Right, Okay, I thought it was an interesting take.

Gilbert knows basketball, and I respect the hell out of Gilbert.

Never I never looked at it like and he said, he said, they don't play defense, right, they just want to shoot jumps yet, right, So that's what made it a soft.

Well, I'm gonna say that because monod Genoblei played defense min Ad. You know, Rudy Gobert is a three time defensive player the year. That brother ain't from the States. I mean, you got European players that play defense, not all of them, not all of the but he's right for the most part in terms of how they change the complexion of the game. But understand why they changed the complexion of the game. If we're gonna be listening, man, we're gonn here on drink champ. It's the brothers fault. It's the brother's fault. Let me tell you how the NBA is a business. They about making money. You make money is sports when you make your product attractive to the masses. So you got the bad boy Pistons right, very physical game. NBA wanted to take that out. They thought they were successful. Then Raleigh went out and had Oakley, you wing Mason. You see what I'm saying, Catholic and even at the guard part either that, don't say no, damn Charles Smith. Don't get me started with its five Miss Labs don't want.

To hear that.

We ain't going that route. But what I'm saying is for what I'm saying is is that when you have that right. So you got these rough riders, okay, and if you remember, you remember this, you appreciate you gonna get me a high five on this one or for Mace or four Oakley Kim Banister, remember that brother we're talking about that brother, got that brother straight off the streets, straight off the streets. I mean, he was like, I'm gonna said, you're entertained. It was doing case of comedy and he was joking around and that you can't have a black person in hockey. They'll just beating around. That was Banister. He was that kind of dude, right, So Roles was like that to me.

Yeah, but I'm saying he Banister.

Preceded him, as my point, and then you don't forget Zavie mc daniel.

Don't get him right now on.

Scarre nobody rough riders, right, So what did Riley do?

Riley said.

He ain't got the talent to be we ain't got the talent to beat Chicago. But if we get enough dudes that could snatch their heart, we could get them. And obviously you couldn't do that to m J. But that's the only reason you couldn't do it to them, because they were giving Scottie Pippen in the Those Cats nightmare. You see what I'm saying. So my point is as the game evolved the NBA, particularly with the Dream Team, the original Dream Team in Barcelona, you're seeing all of this, and as the game evolved, you saw what attracted the global market to the sport.

That wasn't gonna do it.

You want to see shooters, you want to see a more uptempo style, You wanted to see more for ness because it ensured the likelihood of those players being on the court more when it counted than if you allow the level of physicality to dominate the game that could compromise cats. A perfect example is, let's look at Steph Curry. I think that Steph Curvey is the greatest shooter God ever created. I've had Hall of Fame easy, Okay, as great as a Ray Allen was. Any shooter that tells you that they were a better shooter than Steph Curry, bitchlapping them thrown off the show. Just get rid of it. Just get rid of just get rid of them.

They're not being honest.

There is no shooter in the history of the game better than Steph Curry. Because you had spot up shooters, you had catch in shooters, you had shooters that had their favorite spot, right wing, left wing, top of the key, twenty one feet, twenty three feet, twenty five feet. Steph Curry there is no spot, nor is there any range that he can't touch. Do you realize with Steph Curry you literally have to keep your head on the swovel from the moment he steps past half court. He can pull up from forty He's that lethal. There has never been anything like him. But I've had Hall of Famers, hall of famers tell me he wouldn't average twenty a game if he was playing an I era and I said what magic, I said what. But they weren't disrespecting him. What they were saying was the game was so physical. We could get away with hitting his helphet. We could get away with tripping them. We could get away when he's running through those pics, giving him, giving him some wood. We could do that.

You can't do that now.

And because you can't do that now, it would have compromised them. What is the one thing that has compromised Steph Curry? Particularly earlier in his career, he had those ankle injuries and those ankle injuries, those ankle injuries, Man, they would have stepped on his foot as he was walking through screens on purpose, just stepped on his foot. How are you gonna catch the view the referee? There's an accident, you know. And listen, you had Lawrence Taylor in football later on in life admitting, man, he was sent prostitutes to the hotel room to the night before the game for opponents. Your crazy stuff like that. I'm just using that. I'm just using that as an example. I'm using that as an example to high like back in the day, the extent they would go to to derail an opponent. I know certain superstars one of the things.

They love to do.

See these are these And this is when I say, when I can't say everything right, I'm no superstars. They were, in fairness to them, they were single, they weren't married. They would literally go to go after your girl just to mess with you before they played you, and then step out on the court and bust your living ass. And they said, just to demoralize you, gonna let you know worship you can't mess with me. And literally when they're doing that, you might go home thinking you ain't the man he is, and other departments after he gets after they get through with you. And they did it on purpose. I'm just telling you. These are the stories I'm telling you they told me. I'm like, I'm like, I ain't making up, yo, this is what happened. No one. I would never tell who. But I'm just saying to you those kind of things. So when I'm covering the game, I'm bringing all of this up here to the equation. I sit up there and say, stay off the weed, right, I'm not talking about brothers that he ain't costing you money? How I got family members been smoking weed all their life. You understand I'm saying, depending on whose relatives, how I go to, I might get a contact. You know what I'm saying. I mean, come on, y'all, I'm like, I'm not talking about somebody, not for the week. I'm talking about when it's compromising your dollars, because you're gonna get you're gonna get fined, you're gonna get suspended.

Don't let it mess with your money.

Back in the day, when I was covering the sport, we sat courtside. We had the score his table, so when you're playing, you're checking in, you have to walk right by us. I saw Larry Brown one day and this was not Iverson, it was not Cyrus. I saw Larry Brown one day look at a player three down, three down. The player was right in front of me. He went like the huh. I threw up my paper and just walked away. And my for god, he ain't gonna do nothing tonight. I'm like, I'm sitting there. I'm sitting there right now, ladies and gentlemen. That was when weed wasn't legal in twenty six, twenty seven, twenty six, twenty I don't care step out. You know what I'm saying. But I mean that was when we wasn't legal in twenty six to twenty seven states without diming anybody. Right, how much weed you think is being smoke before games? Now? Oh no, I think they're gonna I talked about and any sport you pick, and oh, by the way, and by the way, all you gotta do is look at them. So I'm sitting there. I'm sitting there like like you you really mad when you see me on first take and I'm like this, damn or I'm like this.

I'm like this because I'm.

Not saying stay off the weed to any specific person to dimond mouth, because I wouldn't do that. But I'm sitting there looking at them. He had a problem last night. He ain't seemed like himself. You know what I'm saying, You mad?

You mad?

But jass walk up to the scorer's table walling.

You know what I'm saying, I'm like and and that's why when I'm watching cats with their podcasts and all of this other stuff. See, you got people in the media and other places pistol off because you're looking at players and you're like, what they trying to do.

Is they trying to etch out the media?

You just rely on us.

You ain't got to talk to them. Oh no, no, no, no no, I say, y'all looking at.

It all wrong. I want all of them to have their their podcast, all of them to have their voice, because they're gonna talk. And when they're gonna talk, I'm gonna have news to talk about because I'm I'm watching. You can talk all you want to. You still got to play. I'm looking at you. You told the stuff you want. I'm looking at you.

I saw what your ass did.

I saw you roll up in the game. I saw you well enough, whether it's me in person or the camera angle zoom and it on you. I saw how blood shot your eyes was. I saw how you look like you could barely open that. I'm watching you move. I'm watching you move. I even went to the doctor the other day, man.

And I asked him.

I said, yo, man, because it's this cat that that I talked to for like ten X health, Gary Breck. I got him on my podcast now because I made a tremendous health change because I was really in bad shape a couple you know, a year and a half ago, and stuff like that really resonmerect in my health. I'm feeling better than I felt like thirty years right. So I go to him, thank you, and I went to him man, I.

Said, let me ask you a question.

Scientifically. Could you give the breakdown of weed and tell me what kind of effect it has on people? And why? Go to the podcast stephen A. Smithchelle on you too, and he'll break it down. You ain't gonna have no problem. You ain't gonna have no problem. None of y'all ain't gonna have no problem. But when he said what he says, you're gonna ask yourself, should them brothers be doing that?

If they gotta play, they gotta play it, probably because.

You gotta remember, calms your mood, mellows you out, helps you sleep, et cetera, et cetera. You know what it doesn't do. It doesn't elevate your level of urgency. So let's say, for example, you going against Kobe, who wasn't doing that, or you're going against Jordan to somebody like that who wasn't doing that. Now right right, and you mellow and they killers, what chance do you have? You have no chance because there's a level of urgency that they feel. You get the check, you.

Get in the bag, and on top of it all, you know, everybody know you can ball, so you ain't no scrub.

But did you win? See that's where Steven Ay comes in, because that's me like, yeah, dog, I know why the hell you lost? I know what you didn't do. You see what I'm saying, and I'm not I might be talking about them, but I'm not talking to them. I'm talking about that audience out there to say, let them talk that shit they want to. I'm telling you you gotta hold them more accountable than that. You can't always win, but you gotta be able to look at any professional and.

Go like this, did you do all it them to win?

Because as a Nick fan, if a Nick walked in here and looked you in your face, yeah man, you know, yeah, you know he tried to win, you know, but ship happened. Ain't no big dead. You're gonna be like this. I don't like you, gonna be like this. I don't like give like, I don't like I don't like you. I don't like him because you're like, wait a minute, it ain't non schalm, it ain't blase what you mean. That's how you gonna feel that's me.

Let me ask me, let me change the subject a little bit, but it's still on the same subject. Do you think Lebron is a victim of his circumstances, because, like you said, the league has changed, right, So a lot of people accused of Lebron not having killer instinct, right, But when I look at youngsters who only have like me me personally, was here what I was about to say, Well, she was here. He had T and T shirt jacket on. But to me, and I know you could debate me. I know this clearly of people who could debate me what I'm about to say right now, sure me, I think Floyd Mayweather is the best box of all times, Okay, because I've seen.

Clearly the best defensive box of all time without Okay, I agree to both.

But I've seen all of his fights, right, So have I missed some of I missed all of Ali's, I came a little late. I missed even some of Tyson's. But I see all of Floyd. Maybe ironically, the only fights I didn't see is his exhibitions.

I can't stand it.

I love him.

I love him too much for his for his legacy on the line, but is Lebron? Is Lebron a victim of his circumstances? Meaning, could you think Lebron could have survived in the Kobe Jordan.

Era survive, yes, prosper I'm not so sure. Allow me to explain.

I would like it.

Let me explain I would like And before I answer that question, let me say this. Let's not forget Sugar Ray Leonard. That's right, Let's not forget wi Fredo Benitez. It's a bad brother. Let's not forget Salvador Sanchez who died in the plane crash.

I forget to come on, no, no, no, we can forget him.

We can forget now. He went on that level. Hector Camacho was nice, but he went on that level. Okay, I'm giving you dudes, that was on that level. I would say Aaron Pryor, but he but he took too many many punches. He just he'd just take you out.

That had the gloves.

I don't think so, but I know what I know, I know they would he be a Lexus of Guilo, a Lexus Aguilo. They were talking about.

Give him the stuff, give him the stuff.

I don't know what the hell of stuff was, right, there. I don't remember remember that, But let me tell you why I answered the Lebron James question that way, because that's a great question that you asked, and everybody need to understand this. Just like I talked about moments, you got to talk about competition. So when we're talking about competition, right then it has to be something along the lines of what would have happened had you gone against those people? Feel me, when Lebron was struggling to develop the killer instinct that ultimately was in him and he was able to conquer to ultimately beat a young OKC team after he had beating Boston to get, you know, to the finals and all this other stuff right in the enda. Actually too, what I'm saying to you is that while you were learning how to win, would Jordan have ever let you learn?

See, here's what you have to understand.

Michael Jordan is six and oh in NBA Final Series, MVP of every single NBA Final Series, incredible who never allowed series to get the game seven, not one time, not one time. And so when you say to me, Lebron playing in that Jordan era a threat to MJ then what we have to ask ourselves is how would MJ have responded to a perceived threat. You don't get to dismiss that. You gotta absorb that. You gotta absorb. I they saying, yo, ass can take me out. There are people saying that to Michael Jordan. How would he have responded? And I'm telling you, I believe because of what I saw from Lebron in that fourth in the fourth quarters of those of that series against the Dallas Mavericks, right that Michael Jordan would have never allowed him to find out what it was to win.

That's what I'm saying. That's the difference. And so when people talk to.

Me, yeah, Lebron's an ultra talent and Lebron and MJ was a six ' nine to sixteen, But my resorters, well, Lebron is six nine to sixteen and still lost six NBA finals. He didn't lose six, even at ten, but he lost six. You had Boston in his way when he was younger, Mam Jay. You had Detroit in his way when he got older. Lebron had Indiana with Paul George and Rick Smith's you know, and shit like that. We were yeah, I'm not even saying Rick Smith's but but but but Paul George and the crew. I'm sorry, Uh, Roy Herbrick, That's right, Roy Herbrick, Okay, And I like Roy, but I'm saying this. You had that kind of stuff. You ain't have Boston with Bird Michel parish age, and you ain't have Isaya du Mars fit need a micro wave coming off the bench, Sally Lambard. I mean, what what you ain't had that you ain't had? That you had you had you had Indiana early, Toronto late with DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.

Much respected both, much respect to both.

But that's what you had. You didn't have those obstacles. That is how I look at it, and that is why Lebron James will never be my goat ever. It will always be Michael Jordan over him. But mad respect to him. He's on the Mount Rushmore basketball, incredible role model on this day and age, social media beyond. He's incredible. He just ain't MJ.

Is it possible, And I know this is going to sound like a cliche type of question, Is it possible that Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Lebron is all some of the greatest of all time?

Sure?

But when you compare it to each other then.

And that's why I get pissed because of the sensitivity. Like I've said to Lebron teams, the Rich Paul and the Maverick Carters of the world and others.

I remember I said to.

Rich Paul, you act like it's an insult to call him the second greatest player of all time.

Rich Paul said, it isn't in I can't talk to you.

I can't talk to you.

You know what I'm saying.

You know what I'm saying. I ain't talking to you. I'm not wasting my.

Time to beat above Kobe, which is very side.

But the reason why is because Lebron played the dec he Kobe is number two to MJ playing the identical position with the identical style. And so my point is, I'm looking at Lebron and thinking about the point forward that you are, you know, a Magic Johnson type who can still put up twenty seven a night in your career, rebounds, assist playmaking ability, scoring ability, and at one time was an elite defender for at least one year.

And so when I'm looking at all of those things.

That is what I put over Kobe because he facilitated winning to a graded to an even greater degree in the visually as Kobe did. In terms of making your teammates better. Kobe was just an assassin, and so as a result, he emulated Michael, and he was the closest to Michael in that regard, but he was still number two at the same position.

I'm going to give Labar respect. Well, I have no idea me neither. Keep you going. I have no idea.

That's all right, that's Kobe or somebody a TV ahead as long wasn't hit me anyway. So anyway, it was like, that's the only difference. That's the disquade that you know. That's the nugget that I'm picking apart. That's it.

Okay, that was That was a great fucking ass.

That was a great the flowers, Yes, Stephen A our show. It's about giving the flowers to the people. I want to tell you how much I watched you so much that there's been times I got busy and I knew that it was okay not to watch the game because you're gonna cover it in the morning. And I enjoy sometimes watching you covering the game more than actually watching the actual game. You know what, I mean, because like you'll break it down and you're very very fair, you like, but you're very firm. If a player has that two for eleven night, call it, you call it. So we wanted to face the face man, the man give you your flowers. Snoop Dogg said, is better than a Grammy because it comes from his people. And we want to give you. But you know how great you are. I'm gonna be honest in case you I know you know this, but in case you don't know. You change the way we watch sports, We change the way that that that we articulate sports and we understand sports. And in case anyone never told you, that's who you are, you are you are go, I said in the intro, and I mean that I appreciate you.

Know what I'm saying.

I mean you and you continuing to be great. You're here losing weight, doing you running around. We love, we respect you. Wanted to give your flowers, man, because you sincerely, one million percent deserve your props every single days.

You know what I mean.

When people talk about you, I know why they talk about you because you're that You're that guy.

And we want to tell you how much we appreciate y'all thanks, Yeah, doing quick time?

Oh yes, okay, all right, cool. You want to bring in Sonny deal, Yeah, bring there, there, there there, come on. This is the United Nations of this United Nations. We got a whole type of races here.

I like it. They're talking about whatever y'all want.

Yes, so all right, you want to play him the game.

So now, this is a drinking game that we play.

And I ain't no drinking.

You know, I'm taking a little bit to you can you can have a designated drinker like as for the shots.

So we're gonna give you two choices. If you pick one, no drinking. But if you say both are neither the politically correct answer. We all drink, got all.

Of us, right, Yeah, we don't leave you cold, all right, So I can't wait for this.

And then if you have any stories to go behind any of the names, always things that we bring up.

Okay, please please dive in.

No problem, no problem.

By the way, I'm glad of this first question.

She bringing my drink. You're gonna do this first question so much.

You can do like shots, you don't have to go great, well they said, I can sip on this drive, all right? By the way.

By the way, Uh, these people who are about the name. It's making hip hop so exciting right now, right, I don't necessarily at all. I don't at all co sign any any brothers beefing. I don't co sign that we shouldn't. But no sign competition, right, I don't compet I don't co sign drama. But if if me and you're gonna go in the booth together and all go separately, and I'm gonna try to take your hands.

You should listen when Kendrick Drake j Cole Lol, I'm gotten that. The other day, all I said was, Yo, we grew up. The hip hop industry was born from that foundation. That the foundation of it, right you know.

So that's the first question I gotta ask, is Drake or Kendrick Lamar?

Damn such the ball?

First of all, major props to both of them, Yes, both for them and by the way, and by the way, as an aside, Kendrick Lamar did a hell of a job acting in power. Oh yeah, yes, he was phenomenal.

He was phenomenal. He was I mean, he was it was special. I'm gonna go with Drake.

Because even though everybody knows Kendrick Lamar and knows how gifted he is. You got too many people periodically trying to trying to come at Drake, and he's always standing.

Like mainstream globally. I mean, he's one of those dudes.

It could be the look, it could be how he communicates, it could be his flavor, it could be anything, but Drake, damn near seems impenetrable. And what I take from Drake is I don't hear too many people coming at Kendrick Lamar.

Yeah, nobody really, I don't. But everybody always trying to come.

They drink. That's fact, and obviously I can relate to that. Right, So I'm gonna say, Drake, okay, Okay that I'm gonna say, Drake okay.

Does that mean I need to take a sip?

No?

No, no, no, you don't got to drink? Yeah, Jordan or Lebron.

Jordan, I was gonna switch it up.

There's nothing to talk about it, there's nothing.

You don't even would have been.

No, I'm not gonna say because i'ma switch it up. So well, yeah, okay, okay, you in or.

Damn, I gotta go with the dream a keem O Lodge one I mean he did beat him in the finals. He did bust his ass while he beat him in the finals. He was the league MVP. He wasn't inn be a finally, I mean a game to dream of Lodge one, of something spectacular, I mean the dream shaking, the whole nine. You gotta go with the chem to dream of Lodge one. I respect you and appreciate him, love him, But he wasn't a chem o lodge one. Any smith of your hood feeling good about itself, right, yeah, yes, Ham, Craig Elo, Robert Orby and all of those brothers.

Yet at nas or jay Z jay Z.

Now let me say this about let me I'll be quick with it, because somebody asked me the other day and I picked them in them over Nas I'm thinking about. I know Nas is special. I'm not trying to dismiss him. He's phenomenal, but we appreciate him. I got to take into account how much you appreciated the world over, regardless of communities, regardless of ethnicities, regardless of your heritage, where your locale is, whatever.

I got to take all of those.

Things into consideration. And obviously Eminem is something spectacular. Plus he's white, and he's spectacular, and you got brothers standing down against him because they know how spectacular he is. Now, that doesn't mean Nas is doing it. Because Nas is phenomenal in his own right, then we can't ignore that. But in the flip side to it is that I gotta acknowledge that when you talk about jay Z, I mean we're talking about somebody that I consider to be the greatest of all time.

And when you when you talk about jay Z, do you know what you have to do?

Sometimes you got to bring up Tupac and Biggie God rest their souls and what they would have been if they were still alive. To conquer jay Z. You don't have. You don't have a living creature in the hip hop game that you say definitively eclipses jay Z. You just don't have it.

But let me let me reiterate what you were saying earlier. I think jay Z's a victim to his circumstances as well, because the rap game is really, really foul when Biggie and Pop's going at it, and after Biggie and Pox's lost, it's kind of like the lebron.

From the standpoint of what the.

Standpoint the emergence of jay Z is from wasn't as hard core.

But what I'm saying is that's why I brought up You got to bring up Biggie Tupac, right.

I said, I said, because when you asked me that.

Question, I'm thinking about living rappers and all that other and that you asked me if Biggie or Tupac could have been jay Z, I'd say yeah, A lot of people I'd say, yeah, they couldn't. That's a voidant not now. Now, to me, Biggie would have been that dude to rival jay Z. Tupac to me, as brilliant as he was as an artist, he was just as potent and profound as an activist.

So because of that, I mean, when you go back, he's multi.

I mean, when you go back, when I think about myself some of the positions that I've taken some of I mean, because you know, you talk about me, I'm communicating sports, but I'm also talking politics.

I'm talking I'm talking a lot of different things.

And when you if you really really paid attention to what I have to go up against and the platforms that I'm on, having to know, I got to deal with corporate America in the streets, and I got to do all of that. I think about not comparing myself in any way, but I think about Tupac as a not as a comp not as something to compare to. But I think about him as someone that I'm marveled at because when he stood before anybody and like literally spoke his mind, no matter what the subject was, you was transfixed. You had to stand at attention and really really listen, even if you are disagreed. And I've seen reporters and commentators and others disagree with him, but you have to shut the hell up and listen because what the brother had to say was deep and a lot of times I'll get on cats, you know what I mean like this. You know, one of the things is a pet peeve of mind from us in our community when we're like, yeah, you on, you know what I mean?

Know the fuck I don't you just speak yad, I don't know what you mean?

Say it first. Now follow that up. I say, you know what I mean. You can't say it before you know what I'm saying. I mean, you in the business that you know, you're out here trying to make paper, you trying to make some money. You know, you're talking business with somebody, You got to roll up on them and speak fluently. You got to know how to communicate in a fashion that will resonate with them, to sell yourself on the opportunity.

You're trying to get them to embrace with you.

How are you doing that? Yeah? Man, you know you know what I'm saying. You know, I'm just trying to you know, you know what I mean. No, I don't please say yeah, and that drives me crazy. Say it first, and then if you followed it up with you know what I mean? Yeah, I do know what you mean.

I got it.

You know what I'm saying. That's why I mean, we do.

We make exceptions time.

But sleepy Joe all crazy Trump, I mean, why do you have to give those words. I ain't gonna lie to you. Man, Listen, I've been on but let me be totally honest. Because we got we we got, we got the streets watching. I'm not a fan of Trump because I don't like the way he acts. I'm not in disagreement with all his policies. When I see cats out here acting up in the streets, y'all lucky, I ain't president oh, this ship would be on the getting. We're not gonna let you get in the way of business because business messages with everybody's money. We can't be in Cali and they letting three people in the stores at the time because they scared you.

We can't start that.

We can't. We can't have the National Guard in the subway. We can't have we can't have cats assaulting people on the streets and getting out of jail the same day. We can'ts My bodyguard is Dominican. I got family, I got family members. My family is from Saint Thomas, Virgin Island's Antigua, Saint Croix, stuff like that West Indies, and I got relatives from Puerto Rico.

I got.

I got Puerto Ricans in my family career.

So I'm saying all of that to say I would never want anybody to say that I don't support immigrants, because I do. But you got a whole bunch of immigrants that are in this country that are telling people like me we have to stand in line. How the hell you don't have to stand in line, and how seven and a half million plus immigrants illegal immigrants coming now understand what we mean by illegal immigrants. That means you're coming into the country, you're undocumented, so they don't know when to find your where to find your ass when it's time to pay taxes. But you're pooling some of our resources and so as a result, what happens is is that the American taxpayer has to come out of pocket extra to pay for you who came over to the country illegally. Ain't got a problem with you coming here, but we gonna know where you at, where you at with your address, phone number, all that you're gonna pay security exactly. And so when you have that going on, and you got a president like Joe Biden that's acting like it in a crisis, then I got to take history into consideration. And I was on a podcast Patrick Bett David just the other day and he brought this up, and he was absolutely right. So John F. Kennedy gets assassinated in nineteen sixty three and Linda B. Johnson takes over the presidency because John jfk Is dead, and you had a bipar artisan group of Republican senators and Democrats, Dixiecrats whatever, bringing legislation to the deaks for civil rights legislation.

When he signed it in the law.

He said, they uppitty, these blacks are upty, they're feeling themselves. Blah blah, blah blah blah. He said, we gotta do this.

We gotta give a little.

We can't give them too much, but we got to give them a little, because if we give them a little, we'll have this. We'll have the negroes voting for us for the next two hundred years. That was his quote, right. So now fast forward to the year twenty twenty four. You can't tell me that this immigration quote unquote crisis isn't being utilized for one party or another to benefit from it. Politicians been using us forever, they may manipulating us forever. And so when I'm looking at that, I'm looking at the Democratic Party just letting cats in understanding the mayhem that's in the streets and basically facilitating it instead of addressing it with the further that it deserves. Though, Bro, you remember this, just a few weeks ago, fifty three million dollars in pre paid credit cards for legal immigrants. You know how many times black people have been looking for prepaid credit cards reparations and every day, But you ain't having it for US, but you got fifty three million and prepaid credit cards for cats.

It ain't even citizens in this country.

Yo, I don't like that even so again, exactly, it's billions, billions, billions. But the wholenesses you can't address Israel Harmas. I don't say Israel Palestinians, because we know that the Palestinians are a lot of them are innocent in terms of what's transpiring. But Harmas the terrorist group, and of course Israel they going at it and all of this other stuff. I don't get involved in all of that. But what I'm saying is you funneling money to Israel, you funneling money to the Ukraine. You follow them, the funneling prepaid credit cards to illegal immigrants.

But black people all behind the eight ball.

And so for me, I'm no officientad with politics, but I'm practical. I'm intelligent enough to know what I'm reading, and I'm looking at certain things and I'm saying, wait a minute, I'm a black man in this sin, in this country.

I understand what the hell you haven't done for us.

I know you've been talking shit for decades, but the fact of the matter is our education system is still up in smoke. Wealth Fittism is up in smoke. You know what opposition to corporate America. When white folks catch a cold, black folks catch pneumonia. Everything that happens to white folks is worse for black folks. The unemployment rate is below four percent, it's below it's it's damned there three and a half percent for white people.

What is it for black people?

It's at five point six percenting, we bragging, We happy because it ain't higher, but it's always worse for us. So I look at all of those things and I say to myself, wait a minute, I'm not going to ignore what I'm seeing from the Democratic Party. My problem with Trump is this, to Dan Petty, you're the president of the United States of America, and this brother will go after Kathy Griffin or Stephen A. Smith or somebody you know addresses shit that really really goes on. You're looking at him and it's like, come on, man, you know, focus, focus, focus, you know I need to know that if you back in that office, you gonna govern the country, not just cater who got you in. Are you gonna be the president to all Americans? Or is it just to the people faith you. I remember when John Lewis died. We know what a warrior he was on behalf of our community, the form of rep out of Maryland.

What have you we?

You know we know what he meant for us. Okay, he passes away. You don't even want to pay homage to him because you're talking about he never supported me. You see what I'm saying. I know you gave more. I know you gave money to HBCUs. I respect that. I know the economy is looking good before COVID. I know that you know, proclaimed to do certain things for black folks, and unemployment rate in the black community was was was low. I get all of that, But the flip side to it, I'm looking at your Supreme Court justices. I'm looking at them rolling back certain things. I'm looking at people who are fantasized about a time that once was meaning pre seventies, into the sixties, into the fifties, and you down with that, and what do I take into account from that. I'm looking at the white population that was once in the high eighties, then it doing them to the seventies. Now it says sixty and sliding. And they're looking at legal immigrants coming into the country, and white folks are worried about themselves not being the majority any longer.

You catering all that fear, you feeding into.

It, which is why crowd boys and all of these other folks coming into it. So now it's hard for me to look at your politics when I'm worried about life and death situations for black folks throughout this country and for other minorities in this country, because I'm not accusing you of fomenting it on anything like that. Like folks try to lame him for the insurrection. Do I think he was provocative? Yes?

Do I think he instigated shit?

Yes? Do I believe that he called the vice You know, you sat up there and they were talking about hanging Mike Pence and you didn't do anything about it. Yes, But I also don't believe you should be arrested for it and stuff like that, because I believe all them damn people out there were adults. They want children, They were grown ass adults who knew not to cross those barriers at the US Capitol, and if they were stupid enough to do it, hell with them. Okay, And that's true, But I'm looking at you, and I'm wondering. I know people talking about politicis we want a better economy, we want this, we want we want safer streets. I'm down for that, but if you the kind of do that would foster and provoke divisiveness. We ain't got time to worry about all of that stuff when we worried about our lives. You see what I'm saying, And that's the message that I'm trying to do. His politics. I would love for his politics to be debated against Biden's politics, who I think has been a prisoner to the progressive left, the extreme left, because that woke stuff. Come on, y'all, you know what. Listen, we brothers here, brothers and sisters, Blacks, Latinos, all of us are in here. We know how we were raised. I said it to Patrick bed David the other day. I said, my mother voted Democrat, but she.

Was of a publican home. I said, she was a conservative at a conservative home. Is don't give a shit about the laws.

This is the law.

You will listen to. What the hell I have.

She ain't got no rights, he negotiated. This is my house, and this is what you will do or else. You understanding, We understand that now everything's in negotiation, everything's to be understood. Well, you know what, my daughter, I got two daughters, Oh my daughter. You know there's nothing wrong with your daughter being in the same bathroom with a person that identifies themselves as a woman, even though they were born a man.

Oh, yes to hell it is. Yes to hell it is.

I don't give a deal what anybody says now again, transgender whatever, I support gay rights, transgender right or yo, live and let live, live and let live. I don't support nobody bothering them, violating the civil rights, the civil liberties. But here's our problem in our society that I think the progressive left has contributed greatly to. They want you to like it like yo, y'all. No, I ain't going to no gay club. I'm not gay, But guess where else I'm not going. I'm not going to some pooring shop either. I'm not trying to hang out with poorn stars or prostitutes either who are heterosexual.

I'm not trying to do that.

Everybody got a right to like what they like, have their own flavor, and not to not to and for you to try to impose that on other people, I can't accuse conservatives of doing that. It's the progressive left that's doing that. So again, Biden safer because we do have an economy that is doing well, even though inflation is bad. But when I look at the legal immigration, when I look at the violence in the streets, and me being from Hollis Queen's taking the F train of the E train every day and all of this sudden shit, and I'm seeing the National Guard in the subways, I can't definitively tell you now, I can't vote for Trump. Damn it. I just can't because I think that he's too divisive. And if I saw him, I tell him to his face. And I can say that because remember before Trump became president, I was the curst person he called when he was trying.

To buy the Buffalo bill.

Remember he called me directly, called me directly, and he said, I'm trying to and I tell the story. I've told the story on first Take, I've told the story on my podcast steven A. Smith Show, on YouTube. I told her everywhere. Trump called me in twenty fourteen. He said, Yo, stephen A, I want to buy the Buffalo bills. He said, these bastards look like they're going to get in my way.

Quote.

If them motherfuckers get in my way his exact words are not cussing them, quoting, then motherfucker's getting my way. I'm gonna get them all. I'm gonna run for president. Those were his exact words, and sure enough he did it and one and so what I'm saying is so what I'm saying is I remember all of these things. I remember all of these things, and I look at things a little bit differently. You got black folks looking at Trump as racist. I remember when Trump, I remember when Trump. I remember when this first time time. I remember when Trump was throwing sporting events, tyson fights and other things at Trump Plaza. All of us were there. We didn't think he was that dead. We didn't think he was that when we watched the Apprentice. We didn't think he was that when he was when he was at sporting events. But suddenly we think this. Here's what I think about Trump. Trump is a win at all courts kind of do. And if I got white supremacists, two women to to black folks who are conservative and everything in between, if that's what's gonna get me to win, I'll deal with the consequences late I'm trying to get an office. He's I think he's that dude that it's no moral or principled compass. It's whatever it takes to win. And if that's where the most votes are gonna come from, I'm willing to do that. Now, other people say, well, damn, if he's willing to allow all of that, doesn't that make him racist? Well, that depends on how you look at how important winning is to somebody, you know. So I don't look at it that way. I think Biden is safer for the country, but I don't know if it's better because of what he has allowed to transpire. And I will say this, I can, well, Biden, let's let's be, let's let's go. Biden's wrecking on the street again. I'm no official hold on, hold on, because I'm going where you're going. I ain't officionado, but I ain't stupid, and I'm kind of decently read, you know, I saying not well read, but decently read. I do remember Joe Biden with the crime Bill in the nineties. I do remember how that led to mass incarceration for black people. Now, I do remember the Congressional Black Caucus, the one that was pushing people like him and others to push those bills through. But I also remember Biden bragging that it was his and so when I look at that, along with various other things that he's done, I understand dealing with segregationists. It was a different time seventies eighties. You know, you had to work with everybody and go across the ale and all of that other stuff. But did you have to have those smiles on your face when you did it? Did you have to look and seem so comfortable? Did you have to, you know, speak so faciferously on the behalf of them and others where you talk about racism. I hate when our community, specifically the black community, calls out Republicans for being racist without calling out Dems. Last time I checked, there was a senator that died at the age of ninety seven. His name was Robert Bird out of West Virginia. He's a member and the leader in the kou Klux Klan. He was a Democrat. Yeah, you going back to the Jim Crow. So when you see stuff like that, I understand times have changed, But you're still asking me when you identify the conservative right as racist, to.

Assume you're not. Who the hell are you to tell me you're not. Let me be the judge of that.

What do you do? What do you foster? What level of dependency? Now we talk about black leaders throughout history in this country. You understand, from Marcus Garvey to Tomrroin, Luther King and beyond always preaching about economic empowerment. The Democratic Party preaches about government dependency. The government, the government, the government, here we are, we'll look out for you, blah blah blah blah blah. So I'm mindful of that, and I pay attention to that. And the challenge for me, and I explained this the other day on that podcast that I was on. The reason why you don't see me so definitive and finite about those things is because I don't know. I could be in front of a Democrat and give him these facts and this is their position, and give the same identical facts to somebody on the conservative side five minutes later, and they have two different spins and neither are wrong.

That's very confusing to.

A sports guy that gets to look at a champion compared to a wannabe, the chance to look at a champion compare to a contender. I have finite results to lean on. When I talk about Lebron against MJ, I got results. When I talk about d Wade compared to Kobe and somebody, finite results. When I talk about Ray Allen versus Steph Curry and others, finite results.

Politics doesn't grant me that.

So when I speak, I speak with caution because what I'm saying is this is how it looks. But I could be wrong. I don't know, but let me tell my community what I think based on this evidence. When I see the Attorney General as sister Lea Tisha James in New York City going after Trump, Yeah, you're going after Trump. I got that. Yeah, he a real estate agent that you know, bloated his earnings and his valuation. You know, all of that stuff happens. Then I turn it on CNN and I see a real estate dude saying we do that all the time. He said, I do it, everyone does it. What is she talking about? I'm like, well, damn, I don't know, because I'm not a real estate dot god, you're not real estate mogul. You see what I'm saying. So, in other words, you find these nuggets, and I'm one of those dudes. I read the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, La Times, New York Daily News, New York Times.

I go online. I read Political and the Drudge Report.

I watch Fox News, MSNBC, CNN News Nation with Cuomo Hell after Quomo Nation, Quomo News Nation. Want me to know seeing them want me next week? Sean Hannedy and I've known each other for twenty years. Twenty years, you know what I'm saying. So I'm like, I'm getting all of this, and sometimes people are looking at me and I'm looking at cats, and they go on these podcasts so they got this shit to say, and I'm like this, yeah, you would think that about me. Your ass ain't talking to nobody. I talk to everybody. So I'm getting information from all sides. You're saying, we just just today there was news in the paper Minnesota Timberwolves a rod and ownership and the deal has fallen apart right all of this other stuff. Know it hasn't you reading reports. I'm on the phone with somebody reading me the contract. There's levels to this. I'm sitting there like.

I'm sitting there like, wait a minute.

They backed out New York Post rights, there's no deal. It's over Mark. Glorie has backed out and he doesn't want to work with a Rod. But the fine language said they signed on to acquire sixty percent the majority stake of the franchise for one point five million, billion, billion billion, I about to have billion. They've already given six hundred million. They don't get it back. They owe another three hundred million, which they had to give a Wednesday night. Right, Logically, you walking away after you gave up six hundred million dollars that you can't get back when all you owe is another three And by the way, you made the deal for one point five billion, but the franchise is now worth three billion. Probably next week when they come out with their list's gonna be worth three billion dollars, which makes your nine hundred billion dollar investment worth one point eight billion. You walking away from that? That report don't make no sense, right, Well, it does make sense to them because they didn't have the contract. I have the contract. That's the difference. So when I'm watching cats talking, I'm just sitting there and I'm like, okay, I'm like, you know, keep talking, keep talking, because once again, it's got to be about receipts. When we're talking about politics. All right, We're fine. Did you get a call from the White House before you get a call from former presidents and senators and congress president senators and congressmen. I did. I do follow all of this. So all of this, I'm sitting there and I'm like, I'm watching I'm watching people. I'm watching people talk, and I'm like, so that's what we're gonna do. Now, We're gonna ignore the fact that I've been around for thirty years and I kind of know this shit. I'm not talking about when we talk about the nuance of politics and stuff.

Like that, I'm talking about people.

I'm talking about people who know where the information is, who have the information, who give you the information? Do they do that I do? And that's the difference.

I'm gonna say one thing and we're gonna get back to quick Thomas Slaes and I'm I'm gonna relate this to the most simplest I got about fifteen minutes simplistic form there is. I don't know politics. I'm asking you. That's why I don't know if you notice something like to create this as you as you're talking, Chris, I feel like I know you say you're not an expert, but you you have experts breakdowns.

If we was to go to war with Kim johng, you what was that? No Kim Jong should go? Who is scary to me? Is he should be scary and he dictatedor should be scary? He's scary to me, And I gotta pick Joe or Trump. I feel like Trump is gonna be like funk Let's.

Crew, wol.

I agree, Well, I was coming out Trump is actually anti war act but let me But with.

Joe Biden, I feel like he's staying home.

He's like.

But here's the problem. When it comes to the presidency. You can't just look at the individual. You have to look at who they're surrounding themselves. Yeah, the cabinet, and that cabinet is very, very important because when I think about Joe Biden, I think about people like Obama and others behind the scenes impacting decisions. So in that regard I trusted a little bit more. Whereas Trump, I do believe he has the advantage with the fear factor. He's a wild card, and because you know your wild card, he might he scares you a bit more.

If you're the opposition, I'll give him that.

But does that mean he'll make the best decision, because I don't know, you.

Said, Petty, that's kind of like wow. I like him because he would go at Kim Jong you and rose you o Donald the same day.

True, I will tell you this, on an international stage, your rhetoric matters almost as much as your actions, because rhetoric provokes action and for example, something you may not have known. I remember when I saw Pierce Morgan. He was on the Breakfast Club with Charlemagne and DJMV and he said, did you know that Barack Obama deported more immigrants than Trump?

Oh?

I did not know that. He did did by a significant margin.

He just did advertising. He just did it.

If Trump would have did it him like, I'll send him back there.

If Trump had done it, you would have had riots going on all over the place and what have you, because people would have leaned on him, challenging his racial sensitivity or lack thereof, because of the way he talks. And I'm saying to you, we can't sit idly by and ignored that from the president. That's why for me, character matters at the presidency. I'm the kind of person I don't want one party to have any rule because I don't trust either side.

That's why I'm a registered independent.

But what I would do is whatever parties in the presidency, I would want a vast majority in the House or the Senate.

We got to have checks and balances.

I don't want the Democrats having a White House to Senate and the Congress. I don't want Republicans having the White House to Senate and the Congress. One of them, if not both of them, got to be able to stop your ass. That's me.

If Trump could come back, can Obama come back?

I will tell you this though. I will tell you this though, and I want to pause for say, use the bathroom. But Michelle Obama was smoking. But she would win in my opinion. In my opinion, she would win, hands down. But I'm at a point right now where I believe she's the only one who would win. And when I look at the Democratic Party, here's what, and I've said this many times, they are in absolute embarrassment. When you saw Joe bid Then show up at the State of the Union address, ladies and gentlemen, he is eighty one years old, and we had a bunch of people in there chanting four more years. They ain't chant four more years for people in his sixties, but they chant four more years for a dude that's going to be eighty two when we go to the polls in November.

Talking about four more years. That is disgraceful.

I understand he could pass away ultimately, and that Kamala Harris ultimately would be inserted into that.

I get that part. I don't want to and.

Stop giggling and stop giggling. Where they asked you tough questions, Kamala, I respect our vice president, I respect the education Howard University grad HBC. You much love to you.

I know she's an intelligent woman.

She's the former attorney general in the state of California and obviously San Francisco before that, even though you were putting a bunch of brothers away from clients. I get all of that. I understand it. But here's the point. Stop giggling all the damn time when they ask you a tough question, because it's an evasive tactic that turns people off because we think you're not sure of the answer.

You're trying to buy time. That is not attractive, period.

But getting back to what my point was, when you talk about Biden or you talk about the Democratic Party. By chancing four more years, all you've done is say we have no one we believe can beat Trump. All this law fare, all these lawsuits in everybody, you don't have anybody that could beat them. You had since twenty sixteen, you had eight years, and you still can't beat him. He had four indictments ninety one counts. He's been impeached twice. Okay, he had a four hundred and fifty four million dollar judgment leveled against them.

You got more cases coming down the pike.

What are they doing? They going after him for paying hush money. They'll form a poor starf So I got some ass and I don't want to tell nobody. So I gave you hush money. That's why they're going after the presumptive GOP nominee. This is what we're talking about. And so when I look at stuff like that, I'm like, damn, what are you doing? Can you beat him or can't you? I want somebody who can beat him. I would love for Kamala Harris to be able to beat him. She can't beat Trump in an election. I would love for Gavin Newsom to be able to be govern California. You can't do it.

You can't do it. How about Corey, you can't do.

You know what?

He doesn't resonate.

I respect that man, I respect his knowledge, I respect his knowledge, I respect everything about him. But he cannot he cannot beat Trump in an election. And so I'm looking at it from that standpoint, and I'm like, all the stuff you've been telling us, you got nobody to beat this man?

What have you been doing for eight years? What have you been doing? Think about?

I got people that are rolling up on me asking me they run, You're running twenty twenty eight? Like never, I like my life. Hell, I want to message this got no interest. I don't know why the hell would they would come to me. I ain't qualified for it. But then again, the other was he in a lot of.

People's but I have.

I have now. I respect the hell out of DL het Bright the way, But I think that that you know, you got to know how to smile and laugh and have a good time. You know, you got to bring that comedic side out of you if you d L. Hugle, because right now he's become such an activist that that that that you know, you you might have wife for going like this. He'll get in no office and forget about us. You know, you think about us, and that's the problem with DL. But I respect him, he's very knowledgeable. Or respect the hell out of him. But I would tell you for me personally, I've joked that I would want to debate Trump. And the reason why we want to debate Trump is because when he's debating you, he ain't talking about nothing substantive.

He's too busy trying to throw insults. And I'd be ready for that. But wait, you don't think that it's such a joke right now?

Because both parties serve the same interest they're just making us all think.

I don't think.

I don't think they serve the same.

I think they have different lobbyists and different interests they are serving, and we're all being utilized as pawns.

That's the commonality. We're pawns.

But we but here's but here's where black folks, this is where we have to hold ourselves accountable.

Since Lyndon B.

Johnson in sixty four, the Democratic Party has received over ninety percent of our vote.

Understand what that means.

On one side, you're saying you got us we gonna support you no matter what, so they don't have.

To take care of us. They just give us lip service every four years.

On the other side, you got a Republican party who not only knows you're not gonna support them, but resent you for it because you they believe you're not giving them they just do. And the role that they played to bring in civil rights legislation to the desk of the Democratic incumbent. So as a result, they look at folks, you're not well read, you don't know your history, you're supporting the wrong party. This is just some ignorant stuff that you're doing. And so when I've when I've spoken at speeches, I've said it half jokingly, but I said, my dream is for one election, maybe not this one, but for one election for everybody, every black person in America to vote Republican.

And they said what, what Why would you say that?

I said, because it will send the message that I vote is not you have. It is for sale. It's not that you can't take it for granted. Flatter me what you're gonna do for me. When I'm going to buy a house, I ain't just buying. I want to be listen I'm thinking about being to Miami. Bro, No state didn't come to tax just what I'm thinking about it, right. I am not buying a house without looking at the damn house multiple times. I'm not buying a call without test driving. I'm not buying clothes without trying it on and seeing how it looks on me. Inspect the merchandise before you commit. We do it every day, except for when it comes to politics, we don't do it, and as a result, we pigeonholed ourselves because we've ensured that we will be a disenfranchised community, devoid of representation because one party is given upless service and somebody saying screw y'all because y'all should be more supportive of us and you're not. Therefore, nobody's fighting on our behalf. Do you realize that right now with the immigration crisis, the Hispanics in this country get more attention than us. Xenophobia is more popular than racism, Homophobia is more popular than racism. Transphobia has become or is becoming more popular than racism. Black folks been here forever, and we at the bottom of the freaking food chain treated the worst, getting treated, getting disregarded, basically because we haven't created an environment that insists upon representation, because we've been too transparent. I might know who I'm going to vote for, but I'll always leave open the possibility to change my mind, just so you could give me the effort to get my vote before I decide which direction I'm going to go in, just so I don't be transparent.

Okay, I'm trying to figure out how I'm gonna take you there, Okay, Colin Kaepernick, Yes, sir, I always see you say that you like we establishing this whole time, that you have a lot of inside information.

A lot of folks is not privy that information.

Right, So is it true that it was a workout that was called and he went an hour away, hour.

And twenty minutes. Why stupid?

That's why.

Wow.

And look when I was I showed up to a radio show one o five I believe one or five point three in New York City and some cat rolled up on me and I didn't even notice that there was a slew of them there wearing.

Kaepernick shirts supporting them.

And I'm not going to tell you the brother disrespected me because I was extended my hand to shake his hand, and he shook my hand and he said, but I'm not feeling you dog. He said, we got a problem with you in your position on Kaepernick, I said, who got a problem with me? And his fiance was sitting right, sitting right in that room. It's like standing there kneeling over whatever. He was like, So you know, you know, I mean, if you feel the way you feel, you willing to come talk to her. I said, right now, let's go, And just so you know, for the record, that's who I am. You know what I'm saying. You got a problem with me, tell me when in I'll show up. That's how I roll. If I'm wrong, I'll say I'm wrong, and if I'm right, I ain't budget. It's just that simple. So we went in there and we were talking that she had her position, and I say, yeah, that's what you say, but the league says something else.

She said, but we know the facts.

It's us. I said, well, it's about them too, And they got THEMN facts and we cover the league and all I see is Kaepernick, Hayden behind you, you here where he at? He didn't talk at he didn't talk. I said, his woman's bigger for him. I said, I'm sorry where I'm from, it don't work like that, I said. But I'll tell you what I'll.

Do from this day forward. You have my number, that's real. You could text me anything that you text to me that you want me to say.

I will say verbatim over national television, even if I had to read the damn quote myself.

You have my word.

You have my word. So over time we were talking, communicating, and they wanted me my help in helping him get back into the league. I had been on the record he had been black balled. It's unfair and ain't right, But in the same breath, you got to know who you're dealing with. It's the NFL, and it's thirty two different owners of the billionaires, and theyin't gonna let you mess with their paper. So one of the smartest thing in the world. I'm not saying you were wrong, it's just wanted smart if you really really wanted to be in the league, because they're gonna do what they can to get you out of there. So I go on the air because we find out about that workout that the NFL had conducted, and the NFL conducted the workout because no individual team wanted to because they were scared if he worked out for them and then it didn't work out, they.

Were he would accuse them of being racist.

So the league, at the behest of jay Z and others, he took the position, we will conduct the rent workout, which they don't do. Which they don't do. The league never conducts an individual workout for a player. And at that time I was told by sources directly related to the negotiations, he'll have to throw.

The ball into the stands to not have a job in two weeks.

Well, and his lady and him, remember, had been asking me to help him get a tryout with one team. I said.

They were reporting initially his three teams.

And stell like that. I said, now I'm being told twenty two to twenty four teams gonna show up, and it ended up being twenty six. I'm being told that most of the dudes showing up are in the player of personnel departments for NFL teams and the African Americans. So you're gonna have brothers looking at you, at least eighteen to nineteen of them, and Ny Hamden hard And then all of a sudden, I wasn't getting no return texts. He switched the workout to I wasn't getting any return texts suddenly, and they you know, I was on the air with one of my the opposite of me was Max Kellerman at the time, and you know, he getting a text message from them showing the waiver that the NFL had drawn up. I said, I don't blame him for one bit for not doing this, blah blah blah. I said, well, damn it, I do, because you ain't the only one that got the waiver. I got it too. And oh, by the way, were you on the phone with general counsel for the NFL thirty minutes ago? Because I am.

I was, and they said, quote us.

Wasn't off the records? Shit, they quote us.

Yeah, we changed the language.

And the waiver because we've never done an individual workout for a player before and he had just sued us. Okay, we just settled the case, so why do we not protect ourselves. Of course, we did to change the language to make sure he can't sue us if he doesn't get better, because nobody wants him, but we're willing to give him the workout at an NFL professional facility, which was that of the Atlanta Falcons. And on top of it all, we'll give him the tape so he could circulate the tapes to other teams anytime he wants. This brother did show up and a couple of hours before the workout, moved the damn workout an hour and twenty minutes away to our high school football stadium outside of Atlanta. I said, I'm done. I'm done with y'all. I say, you don't want to play. You want to be a martyr. You want to be a marty if you want to play football. You at that workout, twenty six NFL teams, eighteen of them African American showing up with all the technological equipment that an NFL team has to dissect and pick a part what you bring to the table, and you don't show up, I'm done with you. You don't want to play, you want to be a martyr. Fine, be a martyr. We appreciate you taking the knee, We appreciate you fighting on behalf of African American, black and brown people everywhere because relice brutality is a real thing. Brutality on the part of some police officers. What I call him was got brothers and sisters on the police force that are black and brown that ain't doing that. So I'm not gonna say all police officers, but some of them are. So I'm looking at all of that and I'm like, I appreciate that, but this ain't about that. This is about you saying you wanted to play and galvanizing folks to support you playing.

You ain't playing.

Years they want to see you work out, and you didn't show up. I'm done and I've been done with that story ever since.

So I'm not going to ask you about Russell Westport and y'all a little back of Russell Westbrook.

I ain't a back and forward Russell Well Russell Westbrook.

But it wasn't Russell Westbrook's on the Lakers.

He said, you just.

Game?

Did I downplayed this game?

Oh?

Okay, okay, Well, that to me is not you know, I get that in the back and forth. Look, Russell Westbrook is a real one. Brother is a real one. And what I mean by that is he is a brother to the core, loves his people, does so much great work in the community, the whole nine.

I got mad love and respect. He's a real he ain't no fake cat. I don't like you. You don't know you know what I'm saying.

He really liked that. I respect the hell out of him. He's one of my favorite people. But he can't shoot, and damn it, that's what I said. I said it then I'm telling you now I want him taking it to the rack. I don't want him shooting twenty five feet jump. No, is that a crime? That's not a crime.

Not.

Me and Kyrie were different. Kyrie. There was some personal ship that's between he and I where I looked out.

And he forgot. And that's why when he went on Twitter last year and he was talking his shit, I was like, how about me, me and me and you meet one on one for the public to spot your truth against my truth and see how that works out for you.

I'll never tell, but pumped your brakes.

But he was right. Went too far because I got mad respect and love for the brother, and it got to a point where me and his father was getting into it, and his father his father jumped in tweets while not tweet but the text messages to my private phone all this other stuff. And it was my fault because I took it a little too far with it Pops not on public. But I took a bit too person with Pops, and so Kyrie rolled up and like, it ain't even about me at this point, it's about you, Pops, And I said, you know what you right.

I immediately picked up the phone with his father.

His father and I met in New York City, made a man's be cool to this day, I apologize, he apologized.

We've grown ass man.

We good. But in terms of Kyrie, marvelous, magician, other thro others, just all world, all I ever wanted from Kyrie is to be on the damn court because he's spectacular. He's spectacular, You uns, I'm saying, one of the greatest talented game has ever seen. It's not about taking the vaccine. It was about every time there was always a damn excuse for something. There's an injury, this one, it's something with your religion. This way, it's the vaccine here, damn it. Get on the court. You're too great for us to be hearing about. Listen, I appreciate the fact that you put the supplied the Palestinians with a bunch of water. Okay, this is before all of this stuff that's been going on lately. I appreciate the stuff that you've done for the WNBA. He's very philanthropic, He's very charitable. Kyrie's a good brother. I even went on the air when we were button hands and I said, Yo, y'all that's between me and him. That doesn't mean he's not a good brother. He is a good brother. We just don't like each other right now. That happens, But please understand, I know he's a good brother. Russell Westbrook, don't f with the media. You're in a sense saying, but if he honest, I've always been feared to us. You know, I said, we ain't friends, we gonna be friends because you don't like the media that way. Lebron gonna feel the way he gonna feel plenty of other players, but most players in all professional sports, I'm very cool with. The ones that have a problem with me are the ones that don't talk to me, because if you talk to me, you ain't gonna have no problem. Because guess what, I'm either gonna be right or I'm gonna be wrong. And if I'm wrong, I'm gonna admit it, not privately, publicly. I'm not gonna say something to you about you publicly and I'm wrong, and then privately I'm about it. Nah, y'all see me do it. I'll go on to air my bad. I was wrong. You see what I'm saying. But if I'm right, I ain't bunch. This is where I stand. And so if you one of those cats, you got a lot of brothers. They chirp, they talk, and it's real, real easy to talk shit about me when you're talking to somebody else, but when you talking in front of my face and I get a chance to respond with my truth. I asked one simple question. Have you encountered any of them that have said they're willing to do that? You ain't seeing neary one of them because they know they know.

I think that's the reason why you and Michael Jordan get it loong, is because y'all both don't accept betrayal. Like as soon as someone kind of like I feel like I feel like I feel like y'are are the same like when it comes to that.

That's the reason why I.

Don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think I don't think I don't think that's it. I think that again, it's like your brother, I'm not a black man. I'm a brother. I love my people, you know. And when I think about you know, listen, I'm not anti anything. I'm not anti white. But when I think about immigrants, when I think about Latinos, Hispanics in this country and black folks, to me, we all the same. We're brothers, We in the same plight, you know. And I'm always look out. But sometimes looking out ain't telling you what you want to hear. It's telling you what you need to hear. And you got cats that because of that, they try to paint a picture and create this imagery about you so others will see you in a certain way. And I'm like, that's jacked up. That's really messed up. But it's okay. Keep doing what you're doing because it's sooner or it's later. You're gonna have to deal with me because I'm not going away. And that's how I roll with it. It's like you're not gonna I remember everything. And like I told you at the beginning, you got cats in the league, yo. Bro. They they talking about me, I'm talking about corporate America, talking about Hollywood, I'm talking about Madison Avenue or they talking a lot of shit and they don't know who I know and how it gets back to me. But it all gets back to me.

I'm waiting for the steven A movie and the documentary. But let me just yes, it's still quick. Thomas Nae, Rihanna or Beyonce.

Beyonce all day listen Navy of Blue Navy. First of I didn't even know what the hell blue Navy was n't til last year. Okay, let me get that straight. Secondly, I want to emphasize this. I love me some.

I love Rihanna.

I buy her music. I paid for it. Ain't get shit for free, but I paid for it the whole bit. She's phenomenal. Okay, I love her. I appreciated a whole bit. And when I compared her to Beyonce on the Sherry Sheppard Show, that pissed a few people. All Oh no, what happened was is that I was promoting my book. As Sherry Shepard said, we need you to come on here. We want to create a first take atmosphere, so we want to create a debate. And I know that you are a support of Beyonce, so feel free to bring that up. And then they talked about Reread performing at the Super Bowl and I'm like, yo, you you saw it Beyonce did you got to measure up? Because this is Beyonce. Now, let me be very very clear. I went to the Taylor Swift consent. She was off the chain two thousand dollars. Both my daughters promise their ten friends twenty thousand dollars and turn down. I need a drink. But you enjoyed yourself, Yo, bro, I couldn't. I could not believe how much fun I had. I said, tell Swift off the change. She did. She did. She did that that I mean she got She told me she can we calm down the breaks. There's only one Beyonce.

You had to say. Nobody in the planet of Stephen A.

Smith.

There is no female artist ever that has. And I love to me some Janey Jackson control, rhythm.

Control and rhythm nation me please, I love you, frankly, I mean listen the Queen, Mary j Queen. Come on, Nobody, Nobody, yess Keys Whitney. Whitney's phenomenal.

I mean coming with nobody to me.

I'm talking about to me, nobody, right, that's that far, that's fair, comes before Beyonce. So it's just an example of what I'm talking about so you did behind you because like like, but let me tell you, let me tell you this. You under said, I ain't a quote unquote member want to be hot, but if I was going to.

Be a member of AHA, it would be be.

Beyonce. Beyonce is so bad as in great, I wouldn't mind them calling me Stephen B. Smith. I mean, this ship ain't nobody, Ain't nobody beyond me, Ain't nobody Beyonce, Steve.

Let me just say thank you so much.

We gotta do everything that I thought you would be and more superceeded my expectations.

You are exactly who you are, and.

Like I said, I can speak to you all day like this, I'm just running for the seventeen hour.

Bro let me get you look at your problem.

I wanted to stay on you, you know why, because this is this should be a promoted more like you know, us just bigging up each other. You great, whether you came in the drink cans or not. You great, one of you know, one of the greatest out there. I wanted to thank you.

I'm wanted to.

I was so impressed, so happy that when we finally booked you, I was like, what I couldn't sleep last night. I was just like I was cause because I always want to give you your props. I always want to tell you how how dope you are, how ill it is. And I ended with this one story you gave. You gave me one of the most humblest pies ever.

Hm.

We was in complex con I walked through and I watched you so much that I thought I met you before and I had never met you.

And I walked in with Stephen Dale was a calm down.

We were were in the environment.

I don't even want to say the people that was there, you know, it was a lot of big, big dogs there and I you you made my fans make sense.

Now let me make that make sense for years for.

I've been famous twenty five years, twenty three of them, which been great. But fans will come up to me and they'll talk to me. And what I realized is they thought they knew me and talk to you like they knew you.

And I did that to you.

You you you almost was looking out for me. You was like you little too grouping out.

No you saying that was like But I would never take that moment back because I meant it a minute then, and I mean it now.

I appreciate it.

Takes nothing away from me as a man. Tell you how great you are to your motherfucking face and mean it. It does not take away from me as a fan. I want you to continue to do what you do if you ever need us. I appreciate that any show you got fifteen thousand shows and you produce it shows you're being an executive producer and producing shows.

That shit is so dope. Man, we appreciate you just superseded.

Well.

Listen, man, let me say. Let me say this man, first of all, minted to be on the show, I think y'all do a great job. I love the fact that y'all been celebrated. You've been doing this for eight years. You've been very very successful at it. You know, you set the stage. You set the stage for a lot of people, and you're giving a lot of people an opportunity to really really do their thing, making them feel comfortable, asking the right questions and doing all of that stuff. And the biggest thing that y'are preaching about is togetherness.

Man.

Listen, when I've heard Kendrick and.

Drake and j Cole, I went on my pocket and I'm like yo, as long as it's non violent, go ahead with the lyrics. That's part of the business, the whole bit. But as long as it's not, just keep it safe and the whole bit. There's money to be made out here for all of us. Some gonna make more than others, but that ain't the point. The point is we could all live well, we could always make it happen. And for me personally, you know, one of the things that I do religiously is I go on a lot of these podcasts because me being in the position that I'm in, I know when people invite me, a lot of times they think I won't show up. But guess what cats did it for me when I brought up Isaiah and others, and they did it for me. And the least I can do is do my part to help and let the world know. You see these brothers out here doing this stuff. I support them. You know, my style is different from other people. I'm a product of corporate America who's venturing out on my own. But one of the things y'all got to remember to give y'all selves credit for. And I'm not talking about just y'all, but so many others who are doing this. See the athletes are different. You had your money and then you did it. I'm different because I had ESPN and my career at Fox and newspaper business all this stuff before I did it. You got a whole bunch of cats that bet on themselves and go out there and did it. And what I'm saying is there's a level of courage that you showed, this belief in yourself that you could do what you're supposed to be doing. And as a result of that. Never forget that, because there's a lot of people who got a lot of ability but don't have courage, and you're looking at one of them who spent year not having courage. I was raised by a mom that punched the clock as a registered nurse and believe in putting your head down and going to work and coming home and all that other stuff. It wasn't until later on in my life, in my mid forties and stuff like that, that I had an entrepreneurial spirit. But it still took me a while to get to that point because I was an employee and they got you under contract and they can restrict your rights and all of this other stuff because of y'all. People like y'all, people like me, even in my fifties, are gaining more courage than I ever had in my life.

And so it ain't resent. It's gratefulness.

It's gratitude that I feel for y'all, that I feel for so many people in this space that's doing so much of what y'all doing. I'm gonna get mine, I'm aa strive to get mine, but I'll be damned if I'm not gonna help it. Every opportunity to help others along the way get theirs, and y'all a two of those people this team are definitely so anytime y'all want me on, I'm happy to come back home.

It's you said something that was one of the most prolific things I ever heard. You said, sometimes all of us don't got to be equal. You're only promised. We're only for opportunity, deserving of equal opportunity, deserving.

Of ego opportunity. Yes, that shit blew my mind.

It's the truth, and most of us do have the same ego opportunities. We don't capitalize off, we don't deserve the same equal results you.

All of us work with people, work for people, or have people under us who either work better and produce more or work worse and produce less. People who produce less and don't work as hard as me don't deserve what I deserve. Okay, you know, everybody that's poor don't deserve to be poor, but some of them do. Everybody that's rich don't just be rich, but some people don't deserve to be rich. You see what I'm saying. It's like, that's the way it is. And when you accept that, what you do is attach a level of accountability to those that are trying to make things happen. Are you really trying to make it happen? Are you really exhausting yourself doing all that you need to do in order to achieve what you have to If you're doing all of that, God bless you.

More power to you. What help do you need? If you're a lazy ass person, don't come in my direction. I got no use for you.

I got family members who lazy as hell. They ain't employed by me. The people are employed by me or people I know gonna work. And by the way, if I see them and they being lazy, they gonna get fired. Period.

It's about production.

It's about getting the job done, because if they don't get the job done, they inhibit your ability to get the job done.

And you're the one that's gonna suffer.

You.

Do not let somebody bring you down. You can't bring everybody with you. Some people you got to lead their ass home. Look at them, you supplement them, all right. I'm gonna look out for you a little bit, try to give you an edge up here. You go and inspire them as much as you can. But you can't roll with me because if I believe I'm here and I believe this is what is required, I can't have you here, especially you gonna bring me down.

Yep, I gotta go fast.

Drink Champs is a Drink Champs LLC production hosts and executive producers n O r E and dj e FN.

Listen to Drink.

Champs on Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for joining us for another episode of Drink Champs hosted by Yours truly, DJ e FN and n O r E. Please make sure to follow us on all our socials that's at drink Champs across all platforms. At the Real Norrie go on, I g at Noriaga on Twitter, Mine is at Who's Crazy on I g at dj e f N on Twitter, and most importantly, stay up to date with the latest releases, news and merch by going to drink Champs dot com

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