The Stephen A. Smith ShowFull Show: Noah Lyles can't outrun COVID. Olympic Men and Women's Basketball Prayers are answered. Run Kamala Run! Simone Biles's the GOAT!
Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
Stephen A. recaps the Team USA Men’s and Women’s Basketball gold medal wins at the Paris Olympics, the history-making USA Women’s gymnastics appearance led by Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, and headlines made by USA Track & Field sprinter Noah Lyles. He also discusses the latest poll numbers that show Vice President Kamala Harris up against former President Donald Trump in key swing states.
On The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith gives you his renowned point of view, breaking barriers beyond the world of sports, and tackling pertinent issues across entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics. Three times a week, you'll hear his LIVE unfiltered opinions on the day's biggest headlines as well as straight-shooting interviews with top celebrities, game-changers, and thought leaders across the societal arena. The Stephen A. Smith Show is sure to entertain, inform, and motivate anyone who tunes in.
Did gymniss me.
Well, I miss y'all, because, boy do I got a lot to talk about. I saw Steph Curvey putt on that show in the gold medal game and the semi finals. I might add I saw a team USA, the women's basketball team, hand do their business. It was a thriller. It made me nervous, but they handed their business. I saw the gymnastics, some moan balls and the crew. I saw a track and fiell with no allow. I saw it all, and I also see what's going on out here in the real world. I'm all over the place. Even though I was going, I was never going, y'all. I'm in the house, the stephen A. Smith Show in the house.
Back at you. Vacation is over our leger boy.
What's up, everybody? Welcome to the latest edition of The stephen A. Smith Show, coming at you as I love to do, at the very least three times a week over the digital airwaves of you. I missed the hell out of y'all. I ain't on front. I missed y'all. I missed y'all. I missed y'all. All right, and I'm so happy to be back in the saddle, ready to get this party started for the upcoming NFL season, the NBA season, which is now just a couple of months away now that the Olympics are over, along with a whole bunch of stuff going on in the world, including politics because the election is just a few months away as well. There's so much stuff to get into. Obviously, I want to take a moment to thank.
All my follow subscribers.
We've now had clipsed over seven hundred and fifty seven thousand subscribers. We just keep on coming, y'all. The momentum keeps on building because of y'all. Keep the love coming. I'm gonna keep on coming. And by the way, just to make sure, if you want to continue to like and follow the show, just click the bill and obviously you two will be the latest member of the Stephen A.
Smith Show family.
And dot forget to pick up a copy of my New York Times best selling book, Straight Shooter, a Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, now in paperback. Just go to straight Shoot a Book once again that Straight Shoot to book dot com to get a copy of my New York Times bestseller. I got to get right into it because I got to.
Give props to Team USA.
You know, I have told you all on many occasions that Steph Curry is the greatest shooter that God has ever created. And damn it, he make me out to be a liar now, I know, even struggling leading up to the semifinals against Serbia and ultimately the gold medal game against France. But when all was said and done, seventeen for twenty seven from three point range in the semifinals and a closeout game for the gold medal. That's sixty three percent shooter for three point range.
Y'all. That's sixty three percent shoots from three point range. Y'all.
And let me tell you something, right now, did he do it and do and failed to do so in dramatic fashion?
No? He did not. Brother this this brother showed up.
Steph Curry was absolutely positively sensational. Twelve points all on threes, four threes in the last two minutes and forty eight seconds of the championship game. It was beautiful seeing Carmelo Anthony and Draymond Green and those brothers courts Ere. It was beautiful seeing Lebron James, you know, adopted Steph Curry.
It's by by night night. This is what it is, Okay, the greatest shooter.
That God ever created, A man that Steve Kers should be thinking.
His lucky stars showed up and produced. I told y'all before.
The Olympics began, it's gonna come down to the ability to shoot perimeter shots, particularly from three point range.
I gotta give love to a few people.
I gotta give love to Joel and b who showed up like a monster in the semifinal game against Jokic and Serbia with nineteen points.
I gotta give love to Devin.
Booker, who was a model of consistency in these Olympic games and the way that he played.
I just gotta give love where lovers due.
Because it's important to point out Devin Booker fifty eight percent shooting from the field, fifty nine percent shooting from three point range, averaged eleven point seven even points a game in these series. Okay, So of course you see Kevin Durant right there a gold medal game, thirty one minutes, fifteen points, Devin Booker twenty eight minutes.
Fifteen points.
Both of them were efficient, both of them hit threes, both of them showed up. Kevin Durant four Olympic gold medals, Shore five first ballot future Hall of Famer, was absolutely spectacular as far as I'm got a little quiet down the stretch as the games waned, and I understand it, but overall, a model of consistency.
What did he do?
Fifty four point eight percent shooting for the few, fifty two percent shooting.
From three point range. He showed up.
Okay, Anthony Edwards, let's not forget him his first Olympic competition. Fifty eight percent shooting forty eight percent from three point range average, okay, twelve point eight points per game.
But the top three dudes was your eldest statesman. It's a Steph Curry, age thirty five.
It's a Lebron James aged thirty nine, It's a Kevin Durant, aged thirty five.
Give love where lovers do.
To Team USA. They showed up. They represented our nation. They handled Because I want to hear all of these comparisons to the Dream Team, their original Dream Team.
I get all of that.
You know, I'm gonna favor them, Jordan and the rest of the crew and what they were capable of doing. But we ain't taken away from what we saw Team USA do. And Steph Curry, My god, this brother is so special it's just hard to put in the words. And I think a legitimate argument can be made right now, as great as Lebron James, as phenomenal as Lebron James, as spectacular as Lebron James is. I mean, can it get any better marketing wise than Steph Curry. At this particular moment in time, he was already to babyface assassin. He's already a four time champion, a two time League MVP, the greatest shooter ever known to man.
He was already that. But then to come into this situation.
And to be shooting and playing porous, as Anthony Edwards articulated, he ain't show up until three days ago or so. But boy, I'm glad he did. This brother show up, and he just put on the show. Nine three pointers in one game, eight three pointers in another, four straight in the last two forty eight, including that last one behind the back, stepping back over two dudes at least six ' ten or above and launching the three, and then putting the bid by night night with Carmelo, Anthony screaming court side of the whole bit and Draymond green egging him on, let's go, let's go pound of.
The court, Let's go like they do in Golden State.
That's Steph Curry showed up, showed up, and I can't say enough about it.
Let me say this, Lebron James was the MVP.
He's the one that ultimately captured MVP for the Olympics, being named the Olympics MVP. I thought Steph Curry deserved it, But under no circumstances am I throwing any shade on Lebron James for getting it, because he's a model of consistency in these games. Sixty six percent shooting from the field, fourteen point two points, six point eight rebounds, eight point five assist through a couple of a triple doubles up in there during the Olympic competition. The man, what can you say about Lebron James. I'm trying to put in the words rocking the gray Beard, putting his age on display, and experience, all in proper contexts thirty nine, going on forty twenty first season, entering his twenty second year.
In the NBA.
Ladies, gentlemen, he's still seem better condition than practically everybody out there.
He still seemed faster than most of the dudes out there.
Lebron James is just phenomenal, just phenomenal. Major mad love goes to him for being the leader.
That he was, for stepping up the way he did.
Throughout the Olympic competition, led a group of Olympians for Team USA.
I mean, I'm just thinking about it.
Remember that sneaky behind the back pass he threw the Devin Booker, It was beautiful. Don pc threw court linked to Steph Curry Ford three pair of dunks as well.
I'm just looking at it.
Rocking the gold sneakers apropost on his part, worn for marketing reasons. Of course, I can't say enough about him. I'm not throwing any shade on him.
It's just that.
When you are as spectacular as Steph Curry was, and a game against Serbia that would have denied Team USA a trip to the gold medal game if Steph Curry hadn't showed up and saved the day, dropping thirty six, and then in a gold medal game the twenty four that he scored Okay, three pointers and oh, by the way, four four in the last two forty eight ladies, Jim what can you say?
It was spectacular.
Steph Curry was spectacular, and you saw Lebron, and you saw KD and you saw everybody deferring to Steph Curry because when you get hot like that, you.
Know who to get the damn ball to. So that's what it is.
I thought Steph Curry deserved d MVP because of that, not because Lebron wasn't great, because he was.
But when you steal pivotal moments like.
That to secure gold in two thrillers Serbia and then France, you deserve the MVP. I thought Steph should have got it. But I ain't knocking Lebron one bit.
I just thought step should have got it.
Also wanted to take a moment before I move on. I'm not gonna be insulting because he doesn't deserve it. Steve Curry is one of the greatest coaches who've ever lived. He's one of the great His champions we've ever known.
Three as a player with the Chicago Bulls, two as a player.
With the San Antonio Spurs, if I remember correctly, four as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors. That's nine championships. Not many people can say that Steve curR is one of the greatest ever. But I don't give a damn what anybody says. There's no excuse to not play Jason Tatum in two games. This is no excuse for it. I don't care what anybody says. I don't care what anybody says. And I think the thing that was most egregious about what Steve Kerr did with Jason Tatum was admitting that he went to him before one of the games, I believe it was against Serbia and said to him, it's gonna be difficult for us to find you minutes tonight. Jason Tatum is one of the greatest players in the NBA, woe of the greatest players in the world. He's a reigning defending champion. In the last three years, he's been First Team All NBA, and two of the dudes on the team who were receiving playing time are guys who spend all year long deferring to him as members of the Boston Celtics. How in God's name could you justify not finding minutes for Jason Tatum in any game?
In any game. I don't give a damn.
What Steve cursays. That was egregious, but his job was to bring home goal.
And that's what he did.
His job was to win a championship, helping Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and he did that. Hit a big time shot to win a championship for Jordan and Chicago against Utah. It was to help them, along with Dennis Robbin do that, and san Antonio was to helped Tim Duncan and Tony Park and Manor Genobly do the same. As the head coach of the Golden State Warris, it was his job to guide them to championships and he did it on four occasions. Steve Curgze to be not just respected but revered. But that doesn't mean he's perfect. And I just think that that's a hard pillar swallow.
If I was Jason Tatum might never look at him the same never. That's just me moving on. I want to get to the women of USA basketball.
As Team USA held off France to win the gold medal on Sunday, escaping with a sixty seven sixty six win. The game almost went to overtime after Gaby Williams of France made the final shot that was ruled a two point instead of a three with a toe on the line. As a result, Team USA took home it's eighth straight gold medal in Olympic women's basketball. Asia Wilson added Tournament MVP to her impressive conventuals, and we need to focus on that for just a quick second here, because Asia Wilson is Asia Wilson and she can't be ignored. Just this year, the year twenty twenty four, Asia Wilson has won two sb She's led to WNBA in points, she signed a deal with Gatorade, She's been named an All Star for the sixth time. She was unveiled on the cover of NBA two K twenty five. They announced her own Nike signature shoe. And by the way, she's a two time champion and now she's led Team USA Women's basketball to this eighth straight Olympic gold medal. I can't say enough about Asia Wilson, no doubt about that. Copper showed up, hit some big time free throws down the stretch along with the key layup to stave off that momentum as well.
We can't ignore that and what she brought to the table.
So we got to get props in love where it's due understanding that, you know what, everybody did their job and that's what this comes down to. France made it very interesting, downright scary, to be quite honest with you. That girl Garby Williams can play a couple of turnovers, didn't defend against Copper Kali Copper when she was driving into the lane, gave up a basket to shot the airball three. That wasn't good on her part, but she hit a big tom jay, you know. But she also hit a big time three pointer as well, and she showed up and made it very very interesting. And if her foot hadn't been on the line, this game would have went to overtime. So we gotta give props where crops is due. Kelly Plumes hits some big time three point shots as well, but Asian Wilson definitely the story. Twenty one point thirteen rebounds, four blocks, one steal and led Team USA. She was everywhere on both ends of the floor doing her thing, even though she wasn't as efficient as she normally is. So we got to give props where propss do when it comes to that. So I gotta give love to Team USA. Can't say enough about them. I'm just up the mindset that when you look at Team USA women's basketball. Just to reiterate what I said, I still think Kateln Clark should have been on a team, and tell us a degree, Angel Reese, I think she should have been she should have been on the team too, but definitely Caitlyn Clark. Now I didn't quite understand how you bench Diana to ROSSI how you can't find any time for one of the greatest players ever who can shoot, by the way, you needed some long range snipers, and Team USA had problems with it.
They just lucky.
Their defense is so damn elite, and that really really saved the day for them, because when they were down by eleven, I mean, when France came out of the block in the second half and scored like the first ten to eleven points, I said, damn, they're in trouble.
And then a key.
Turnover by their point guard. You had an opportunity, you know, to you know, Team US say this is a shot. You got an opportunity to go up thirteen or fourteen, and you come down and you ultimately get your shot blocked. And then they turned around and they go and they hit a three point. That's a five point turn around. You could have been up twelve or thirteen, and instead you ended up seven. And that's when Team USA began to make their comeback, make their run.
Ultimately took the lead and held on to it.
And so it just shows you that little breaks here and there can really really do it for you. But I just want to say this, congrats to them, Props to them. It was far more thrilling than I thought it needed to be, no doubt about that, but still they got it done. I was just of the mindset that Caitlin Clark needed to be on this team. And I'm not running from it. I know I've been on vacation, so I'm gonna reiterate more. My position was before we went over, when I made news because people were getting on me in social media and on national television because I was talking about the importance of marketing. As I reminded y'all over a week ago, they were approximately thirteen thousand plus people that showed up at some of the Team USA's games for the women.
Went over. Twenty thousand was showing up for other games.
Box office matters, Box office matters, and apologize for that to a damn soul. We want to act like it doesn't matter, but it does. I get it, I understand it. I'm just saying to you, I ain't sniffing on it like that.
Now.
You came home Ago, you handed your business, You did your job, Rovo. The ladies represented us well. They always do one age straight, damn it. But when you talk about marketing the sport, I think Team USA missed an opportunity to elevate the profile of women's excellence in the sport.
Of basketball because they ignored marketing.
It's not an accident that I saw Anthony Edwards with those Adidas shoes on on, Lebron James with his gold plated shoes on. But I saw that Didas took advantage of the marketing opportunity. Lebron took advantage of the marketing opportunity. It matters, It matters, and so to me. I liked Tyreese Halliburton and I think he's got tremendous problems. But guess what if Team USA Men's can have Tyreese Halliburton on their squad, Team USA women could have had Caitlyn Clark on their squad and Andrew Reese. I just want to say that as an aside. I wanted to get to Britney Grinder real quick. It was beautiful to see her, and I had no problem with her sitting on the bench for most of the game yesterday because Asia Wilson was balling it. You can't have her and Britney Grind on ac court at the same time. I get that part, But I want to say this, did you see Britney Grinder on the metal stand. Did you see her being emotional? Did you see her hand to her heart and all of that sor that. I am not in any way saying this to malign her at all. I am happy. Thank god she is out of that Russian prison. Thank God she is representing the United States. Thank god she was let back to US soil so she could play for her country and play for the Phoenix Mercury and do all the things that she did. But it's just a moment for us to put things in perspective. Things are really bad in this country. It ain't easy. We're not a galvanized nation. We're divided as ever before, and all of those things are true. But to use Britney Grind as an example, there are places that's a hell of a lot worse than America, isn't it? That girl looked incredibly happy to be representing America and to be a part of America on that gold medal stand. No matter how bad we think things.
Get, it could always be a lot worse.
She clearly seems to seem to be somebody that recognizes that maybe the rest of us should do too, Maybe.
The rest of us should too.
Coming up, Vice President Kamala Harris leads in some polls and key battleground states.
Well, let's make a difference.
I'll get into all of that, but first, USA sprinter Noah Lyles made history at the Olympic Games and made a.
Few headlines as well. I'll talk about next right after the word for my sponsor.
I'm sure that you all know that the NFL season is just around the corner, and if you need to be in the middle of that action, like I do, don't worry because Prospects has got you covered. You See, Prospects is a daily fantasy sports after can help you cash in on every pass, catch, and sack. All you do is select two, three, or even up to six of your favorite players and then pick more or less on their projected stats.
For the game.
What's even better. Prospects has something for every sports fan. Choose from the WNBA, MLB, MMA and everything in between. I make my picks in less than sixty seconds and submit early. Then I sit back and watch and get this sign up with code SAS and Prospects will give you fifty dollars instantly when you play your first five dollars plus lineup. You don't need to win your lineup to receive a fifty dollars bonus. It's guaranteed. All you have to do is play a five dollars lineup Prospects.
And you'll get fifty dollars instantly. Pick more, pick less. It's really really that easy. Welcome back to STEVENE.
Spith Show right here with the digital airwaves of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio, where we've accumulated I think in excess of two point five million downloads over the last couple of months. Can't thank y'all enough for the love and support. Keeping it coming, and I'm gonna keep on coming. As I always say, I want to get to some other athletes from Team USA who made headlines the past two weeks during the Olympic competition.
Specifically, this dude.
Noah Lyles now Liles is the American sprinter who won gold in a very close one hundred meter dash. He later won bronze in a two hundred meter dash, an event where he was favored.
However, it was revealed.
That Lyles ran the event with COVID after testing positive a few days earlier. Now Loles is no stranger to controversy, just in case y'all in no. You may recall he made headlines last year for calling out the NBA for using the term world champion for teams that win the finals. Here's what you have to say back then.
You know, the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals and they have world champion on their head. World champion of what? The United States? Don't kid me wrong. I love the US at times, but that.
Ain't the world. That is not the world. We are the world.
We have almost every country out here, fighting, thriving, putting on they flag to show that they are represented.
There ain't no flags in the NBA. As for USA basketball.
They shared this tweet after beating France for the gold medal on Saturday, quote, are we the world champions now?
End quote.
It's all in fun. It's no big deal, and I'm not gonna make this out to be a big deal. But when you talk as much back as Noah allows does, we don't want to.
Hear about Covid.
I know it's teams making a big deal about it. I mean, he won bronze in the two hundred meter, all right, he withdrew from the four by one hundred meter.
Relays because he was sick.
Certainly nobody is questioning the legitimacy of his illness or anything like that. I certainly don't mean to imply that. And no allows for somebody to be celebrated, but so is Team USA.
Why would you throw shade on that?
Do you know you have any idea? How many international players bless the NBA? Yo Kisch is a three time league MVP.
Where's he from?
Luka Dancik is a superstar in this league? Where's he from? Monod Gennobili for years starred in San Antonio?
Where's he from? Joel Embiid is from Cameroon?
I mean, when you look at stars that have blessed the NBA, when you look at the fabric of the NBA rosters, you see players from all over the world, lessing rosters. That's why they can call themselves world champion, because the best that the world has to offer in the sport of basketball find themselves participating in the NBA competition.
No Alliles, That's why. So I appreciate Team USA saying are we world champions? Now? Thank you very much for doing that. Now let me get to know Alloles specifically, because his stuff was crazy.
Let's take this back and let's dial a clock back and understand how phenomenal he is. Because I'm not throwing any shade or no Alloles for his exploits or whatever. The guy is phenomenal, and I hope to see him in Los Angeles in twenty twenty eight doing the same thing.
But he did promise he did.
He wasn't tending to have a clean sweep and a walk away with three gold medals in a one hundred to two hundred and a four by one hundred meter relay, and he only walked away with one and that was by a nose. I mean, ladies and gentlemen, nine point seven eight four seconds to be exact, to edge out Jamaican Kashane Thompson of Jamaica by five thousands of a tick of the clock.
Five thousands, that's how close it was. He couldn't even celebrate for the first thirty.
Seconds because they had to go back to the videotape and see had he not stretched his chest out and his nose out forward at the.
Very last second he had lost. That's how close it was.
But it was still a spectacular race, and he still did his thing, and I was cheating the more and.
It was absolutely fantastic.
But let's understand that closest one to two finish in a one and a one hundred meta race since at least Moscow in nineteen.
Eighty, or maybe even further.
Just looking at my notes back then, Alan Wells narrowly Britain's but narrow Alan Wells narrowly beat Sylvia Lennard in an era when the electronic timers didn't even go down into the thousands of a second. Now, Liz became the first American to win a market event on Olympic tracks since Justin Gatelan did it in two thousand and four.
Major props and credit to him for that. The nine point seven.
Eighty four mark also marks a p best for Liles, who's been promising to add his own brand of excitement to track and certainly delivered this time around.
We can't deny him for that.
Okay, Now again, he wasn't Lyon had a one hundred and two degree fever.
That's what he had, and he still won.
Got a bronze medal in a two hundred meter relay, a two hundred meter race.
We gotta give credit where credit is due.
He was in no condition to participate in the four about one hundred meter race.
We get that.
And so this is what it is, and you just look at it. Botswana's Let's Seal Tobogo and American teammate Kenned Beeneric both edged him out. That's how he ended up with bronze. Want to give props where propters due to no Allows. One the best in the world, no doubt, represented US admirably so deserves all of his props.
And by the way, he won't the only one.
At least forty athletes, according to reports, including two in the USA sprinting no itslot and no Allows, of course, tested positive for COVID nineteen and other respiratory diseases at the twenty twenty four Paris Olympics. So we get what he was going through and he did it in major props to him.
Having said all.
Of that, when you talking about USA basketball for to begin with, why are you doing that? Why are you not paying attention to the fact that there's numerous athletes from across the world that are on the NBA level. Giannis and the Takunpo represents Greece. How did they do? Yo Kitchen represented Serbia? How he do when Bigianna was in the gold medal game? Did they go home with gold? Rudy Gobert was there too, Shay Gilges, Alexander, Jamal Murray and those boys.
Was representing Team Canada. How did they do?
I mean, everywhere you turn there were NBA players participating in France for the Olympics.
How'd they do? They do? So well? Did they? So?
I'm just saying, let's pay attention to it and give respect where respect is do.
And by the way, I said, justin Gitlan is justin Gatland, my bad?
So I'm just saying it. These are these are kind of important things.
It really really is.
I just want you to think about that just for a second and just absorb that, you know, allows celebrate your thing. Doug, do you you ain't got the point out on stuff for nobody else. We see you got one go You probably would have had three, but you got one, and we good with that because we know you're great. Before I go any further, I want to take a moment to Uh, I'm going to get into Jordan Child's in the second, don't worry about that. But before I do that, I want to give props to Simon Biles, who returned to the Olympic stage and what she called her highly anticipated redemption Tour. Despite her battle with the calf injury, Biles added four new Olympic medal to her collection and earned the distinction as the most decorated US gymnast in history at the age of twenty seven. Ladies and gentlemen, we have to take a moment to give her props. Obviously, she has some anxiety issues at the step out of the Games in twenty twenty. We all remember that, we know all too well about that. Let's just knock this down. Let's just break this down for a second. Here, Team competition gold medal, all around gold medal, vault gold medal, and the floor exercise she won silver.
Right Bo's eleven career.
Olympic medals, seven gold to silver, two bronze, are the most one by an American gymnast, male or female. She's also tied for second old time for the most medals and women gymnastics with nineteen sixty star Verra Kaslavska of Czechoslovakia. Larissa Latynina of the Soviet Union leeds all. It leads with eighteen medals actually including nine goals across the nineteen fifty six, sixty and sixty four Olympics.
Obviously, the sport is.
Far more competitive, especially with individual events event specialists today, So we know that. But I want to get back to Biles because I want to make sure y'all understand how phenomenal and great this young lady is.
Okay, She's earned.
More national titles and more world championship medals than any man or woman in history, has a combined total of forty one World and Olympic medals.
If impact on US.
Sport is a measure considered this, y'all, Biles has five skills named after her. Five named after her Okay, two on the floor in vault and one on being. No one has been more innovative in the sports current era, which has been defined by power and difficulty. Okay, I'm reading from my notes all right, and by Biles herself. Many of the skills she competes today may never be replicated. So far, only one gymnast.
Has competed one of her skills, a double layout with a half twist called the Biles.
One on floor at the Olympics. This is who we're talking about here, Okay. Third woman and first American to become a two time Olympic gymnastics all around champion at twenty seven, the oldest Olympic all around champion.
In seventy two years.
She's also the first gymnast to win all around individual event.
Eight years apart.
Bobs took home the gold for women's all around in the twenty sixteen Reo Olympics. Okay, this is who we're talking about here. The most celebrated. We've talked about, Michael Phelps, we talked about others, we used to talk about Carl Lewis back in the day, and others.
This woman is sensational.
Bob's gold medal also continues Team USA's winning streaking the event in an American has now won an all around gold in six straight Olympics, also won a record breaking thirty World Championship medals, twenty three gold for silver and three bronze, making her the most decorated gymnast in World Championship history.
By both a total medal and gold medal count.
At the twenty twenty Tokyo Olympics played in twenty twenty one, due to COVID remember, she withdrew from several events, citing intense psychological pressure.
In an interview with.
The Today Short at the time, she says she always had anxiety, but that it got really bad in a month's leading up to the Olympics, thus becoming an unexpected advocate for mental health. And in twenty twenty two, Bobs was awarded the Presidential Middle of Freedom by President Joe Biden.
Why do we bring that up? Why is that important? Because here's why.
There's one thing to just go on with your life. It's another thing entirely to go from twenty twenty one having a step away from Olympic competition and coming back just three years later and resuming what the hell you were doing beforehand, winning on an elite level. That is what that woman has done. And I can't say enough personally about her doing that. Major props to her, major props. And I can't I can't say how gratified I am for some mon bobs.
Is that one?
She is something special to behold now her husband playing for these Cargo Bears who let him get away from training camp to go support his wife, which was a beautiful gesture on a part of the Chicago Beers, who I believe is in a very very good place, led by the president and CEO Kevin Warren.
And and and and you know.
They kept Eva Flus as their head coach, and you know, you got Ryan Poles is your general manager, and all of this other stuff.
They going to.
Caleb Williams is your new quarterback. You know, DJ Moore is your star wide receiver. They going in the right direction. But that brother right there, Samon Bile's husband. Let me tell you something, wife, He's a winner. Your turn, Bro. Jonathan Owens shr Turn bro sr Turn just saying you got a wife winning like that, you want to win two? You know, Taylor Swift is Taylor Swift, Travis Kelsey and no damn slots this three time Super Bowl champion, that brother son special arguably the greatest tight in the history of football. Understand this parallels.
She's great at what she does. He's great at what he does. Small bars as great as what she does. Jonathan Owens your turn, bro your turn. Good luck with that. I believe in you. I want to move on some controversy and gymnastics.
After the Olympic history was made with an all black woman's gymnastics.
Podium for the floor exercise. Rebecca and Raw Day of Brazil. She is special by the way, stood.
Atop the podium winning gold in the floor exercise, followed by American Simone Biles went in silver, and of course Jordan Chiles, who won bronze.
Childs was where the controversy comes from because even though.
She won the bronze medal at the very end of the competition, following an appeal over her score, look at what happened thereafter. She was laid a stripped of the medal after body internet an Olympic committee who said the team didn't appeal the score in time. Now USA Gymnastics says it's obtained new video evidence showing that Child's coach submitted the inquiry before the one minute deadline, and is appealing for Chiles.
To keep her medal. As for childs herself, she's.
Taking a break from social media after her mother says Chiles has been on the receiving end of racist backlash online following the ruling. I don't know where the racist backlash comes from. Why would there be racist backlash? What the hell is wrong with people? According to the rules, you get to appeal the decision. She originally received the score of thirteen point six to sixty six before her coaches submitted an inquiry with a judging panel arguing that she should at not have received a one tenth deduction to her difficult score, which is some kind of split leap. By the way, the judges agreed and elevated Child scored a thirteen point seven sixty six from thirteen point six to sixty six, which gave her Olympic bronze and left Barbosu, who scored was thirteen point seven hundred in shock. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation later filed an appeal with the judges, claiming that Landy submitted the inquiry into Child's score precisely four seconds past a one minute mark. That is a lot of for such inquiries, and sided that fact is the basis for its ruling Saturday, which knocked her score back down at thirteen point sixty sixty six. The decision triggered the series of procedural dominoes that eventually prompted the IOC would announce that it was stripping Charles bronze and giving it to Barboso.
What's there to say?
You know, I mean, right now, we're going away from competition, and we're talking about rules determining whether somebody walks home with bronze or not because you either filed the complaint before the allotted time expired or after.
And Romania is.
Saying it's seventeen seconds later to what Team USA is saying it was.
And Team USA has the.
Video, so we gotta go to the videotape, and the videotape shows that the ruling was challenged in the allotted time, then Childs should have bronze period. If that wasn't the case, and they didn't follow the time, did protest in time?
So she does it.
But the allure, it's not just because we're not talking about gold, we're talking about bronze, but the allure of it all kind of goes out the window because we're getting into administrative and procedural matters to determine whether or not somebody walks on with a medal, when what we want to gravitate towards is the actual competition. I feel bad for Chiles. Having her metal stripped from her means a lot. She put in that hard work to train for four years for this moment. I'm certainly empathetic and sympathetic to that, and I hope she gets the bronze.
But for the purposes of us just watching.
We're like, damn procedures, administrative stuff, following a ruling at the time, and did you do it in time or did you not challenge it in time? It's kind of anti climactic, now, I know that's not That doesn't necessarily suffice for Childs. She's the one that put in all the hard work, blud sweat and tears and compete it and admirably so represent our nation.
We're proud of you, girl, We're proud of you.
But it's kind of anti climactic for us at this point, only because it's a procedural matter.
That's really what it comes down to. Coming up polling.
Numbers, suggests Vice President Kamala Harris is riding a wave against former President Donald Trump. I'll get into that after a break from our sponsors. Welcome back to the steven A Spirtual right here over the digital airways or YouTube and iHeartRadio. I want to transition to some politics for a second here, because I'm moving on to the upcoming presidential election.
The New York Times slash Seeenia.
College poll released Saturday shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump in three key swing states. The poll, conducted between August fifth and August ninth, found that if the election were held today, fifty percent of voters among the likely electorate in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania would choose Harris, while forty six percent say they would choose Donald Trump. The Harris campaign has gotten a boost since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month July twenty first, to be exact.
And endorsed his VP.
She's raised more than three hundred million dollars and has drawn Trump like crabs at rally stops in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada. Before I get to my opinion, ladies and gentlemen, let me show y'all this poll to juxtapolls, what trans what transpiring in June. National poll August twelfth has Harris up forty eight percent to forty seven percent for Trump. That's as of today. Okay, so the national poll average is showing less than two months ago June twenty eighth, Trump had a five point lead. Okay, So let's understand something. Let's understand this right now.
This is a beautiful thing. If you're a Democrat, you're leftist because you're looking at it, in my opinion, all wrong.
Let me be the first to say that doesn't mean shit to me.
Means nothing to me. Ladies and gentlemen, We we gotta decide whether you're.
Trying to win or not, and whether you truly truly deserve believe you deserve to win.
Now, I've been on a record.
I'm gonna support my sister, Kamala Harris, HBCU grad just like myself, President of the United States of America, former Attorney General for the State of California, former district attorney in the City of San Francisco. I see what these what folks have been saying, not all, not most, but some folks have been trying to say about her. You understand questioning her intellect and all of this other stuff. Now, I ain't going for that. We ain't gonna get into the question and her ethnicity either. You don't sit up there and get to tell us that we gotta suspect a black in our blood, then guess what we're black. But then all of a sudden, she's running for the president of the United States and you want to ask question that she.
Black or is she in the n I don't know. I don't know.
No, we don't get to do that. We ain't doing that, all right. But having said all of that, fair is fair. Fair is fair to independence out there, fair is fair to conservatives and Republicans out there. There's certain things that we have to hold both sides too. Now Joe Biden step down. Stepped aside as the presumption the Democratic nominee on July twenty first. Okay, now I'm gonna look at this right now. I'm looking at my calendar because I just want to make sure you know. July twenty first was a Sunday. We've had one week, two weeks, three weeks and one day since Joe Biden stepped aside.
The only damned place we've seen Kamala Harris is as a pet rallies. What's up?
Somebody gotta say something, And it can't just be the conservatives, right is right?
I'm talking to my sister here.
Come on now, you're running for the presidency of the United States of American.
You got my vote.
You're running for the presidency of the United States of America. What you hiding for? And I mean hiding in playing sight. Somebody gotta say it. Somebody gotta say it now. You can't be running for the presidency of the United States. Now one single press conference, not one single one on one sit down interview where somebody gets to question you about the questions that we ask.
That's not fair. That's not fair.
And if you're a conservative and you out there land based enough for it, ridiculing her for it, trying to torment her for it, or whatever, it is perfectly within your right to do. So, all of you anti conservatives out there, shut the hell up. That's a valid point. It ain't valid to bring up a blackness or an Indian heritage and to try to point to things of that nature, that's nonsense. But to ask her about her record, because she does she is attached to the Biden record. It's definitely apropos, especially when you were bragging about the record. We talked about buying by the being a transformative president.
Or stand on it, then stand on it? Which where you at?
No, George Stephanopolis, don't meet the press, no state of reunion, what's up? No face the nation, no political no MSNBC. I understand why you wann't do Fox. Liberals don't really do Fox, just like conservatives don't really do MSNBC.
You welcome to the Steven Nate Smith Show. I will gladly interview Donald Trump.
I will gladly interview Kamala Harris named the time of place.
I'll come to you. I'll come to you. I'll show up.
Any time. And I'm no political officionado. I'm a de fact checkers. I don't know everything that y'all gonna say, but I know this much. I know how to ask the questions that Americans want to know. Kamala Harris, there are certain things that we have to ask you a question about. There's simply no way of getting around certain things. Weren't you against fracking?
Is that true? And now you're for it? Just asking these are important questions to think about.
You're gonna intensify and elevate the importance of securing our borders.
Were you always that way? These are legitimate questions you support.
You no longer support a national band on fracking. Also, you no longer to support the elimination of private health insurance. Is it true that one time you supported delte? When did your mind change? How long ago was that? When were you going to tell the American people? Why'd you keep it from everybody? And yes, it is a legitimate question. How much did you know about Joe Biden and the slippage, the cognitive decline that so many people have alluded to on both sides of the isle. Now, did you ever feel compelled to tell anybody? I know you didn't want to come out of dim amount publicly, but privately? Were you working behind the scenes? Did you tell Pops about this? Did you talk to Joe Biden himself about that? These are legitimate questions for a presidential candidate And the reason why I think it's important, ladies and gentlemen to bring those to bring.
This issue up. I support Kamala Harris over Donald Trump. But fair is fair?
Why is it more important than ever before I could bring up Hillary Rodalm Clinton in twenty sixteen. And I understand that James Comy came about and basically gotten away of everything with the.
Whole email deleted email scandal just a couple of weeks before election day.
But isn't it true that you thought you had the election in the bag and did it necessarily campaign in places like Michigan, in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, swing.
States like that prior to the election.
While Donald Trump did campaign in those elections at twenty sixteen, is it not true that just in this cycle, that there wasn't really a primary for the Democrats because the way was paved for President Joe Biden. This is not about Kamala Harris. This is about the Democratic Party.
How dare you? How dare you?
If the man is ready and qualified to run for the presidency of the United States of America, why are you getting in the way a competition? Let the American people decide. I don't give a damn if it's Dean Phillips to somebody else. Let us decide with the voters. Let us decide. That's all I'm saying.
I'm talking to the Democrats and the Republicans.
You see when you want to sit up there and you want to crucify Donald Trump, I'm down for that. I don't like a lot of stuff about Donald Trump. I can't deny. However, the man does.
A whole bunch of interviews.
Get ready to get interviewed by Elon Musk. Showed up to the National Association with Black Journalists. Knew that wasn't gonna be a pleasant experience. You saw you didn't even say hello, how are you? We saw that, but he was there.
I saw.
Ron Descentis, Chris Christi, the Vick Ramaswami, Nikki Helly. I saw people trying to knock him off. In the primaries, the Republican conservative folks in this country spoke, we want Donald Trump. They said, okay, two impeachments, four hundred and fifty four million dollar civil case, thirty four felony convictions.
They said, we don't give a damn. He's our guy. Did we really get to make that choice about Joe Biden? We didn't because there was no primary.
Perhaps if there was competition, perhaps if he had to compete for the position, and we heard other voices emanating from the Democratic side, from the left, side.
From the progressive side, we would have felt better.
But the road was paved for Joe Biden to cake walk to the Democratic Convention.
To be the official Democratic.
Nominee until he showed up for a debate on June twenty seven, and all hell broke loose thereafter. Had it not been for that, all we would have been doing was talking. But he still would have showed up in Chicago a week from now for the Democratic National Convention it pushed in as the Democratic nominee. Wait a minute, if that's the case, what's right about that?
Now?
You, Kamala Harris, let me say this. I'm not saying this to malign you. I'm saying this because I believe in you. I believe you show up on a debate stage against Donald Trump and you'll do your thing.
That syste will come out in you and you'll be ready. As you stated eloquently.
During your first press conference as a presumptive nominee, I know Donald Trump's type, so you can handle your business.
I believe. Do you believe what's up.
This strategy that everybody's invoking. Let's not say anything. I'm not saying the strategy wasn't good to this point. But remember I was the one that said a year ago we needed a new president for the next election. Joe Biden can't be the guy. Y'all waited about eight months, but everybody found out I was right. And I'm telling you now, Vice President Harris, this strategy that is working, that has you up in the polls, where you're showing up at rallies, and that's pretty much press conferences in interviews, that is not going to fly for much longer. You're coming out with your economic plan this week, supposedly, can't wait to see it. Fracking private health insurance, our borders. We want to hear about that. I want to see you interview by George Stephanopoulos. Hell, I want to see you interview by Joy Reid. I want to see you interview on Meet the Press. I want to see you on Face the Nation. I want to see you on State of the Union with you know, Jake Tapper. I want to see those interviews. The American people want to see those interviews because if you don't, well, you wait too long, then the momentum is gonna slip.
See.
All the Left needs to do is your fight, stand on your record. Most American people want things a certain way. Some American people want things another way. Okay, cool, make your case, but don't do it by circumventing the process. The process entails you doing interviews, you having press conferences, you answering questions and not reading down and saying Okay.
Stephen A. Smith, it is your turn. Okay. Charlemagne de God is your turn. Okay. Jake Tapper, it is your turn. Okay. Caitlyn Collins or Joyrie, it's your turn. Nah.
Stand up on the podium and look into the crowd and just point you you. You you ain't running from nobody because you want to be the president.
You ain't running from nobody. Let's go. Let's go. You nineteen years younger than Donald Trump.
You swear you more honest than Donald Trump, more ethical than Donald Trump, more decent than Donald Trump.
Okay, let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
See I cover sports, and let me tell y'all something real quick. I'm a stickler for this. I cannot stand. I adamantly despise athletes, youngsters being held accountable to the degree that politicians are held accountable. We get on athletes for every little mistake they make. Role models lack thereof and all of this other stuff we get on them, they pass gas. We are in the ass everywhere we turn. They twenty they twenty two, they twenty five. I can pick athletes name after name after name that y'all were ready to throw out out the pasture and tell them they ain't worth the damn why because they made a mistake. But all they doing is playing ball and collecting their check for their hard earned money and effort. Y'all are trying to run our lives economically, health care, border list goes on and on, reproductive rights. Everywhere we turn. You're trying to have dominion over people. But somehow, some way, too many politicians, throughout the years of skirted responsibility simply being mandated to stand up and make your positions clear and speak up for yourself is stand on what you stand on. If ever there is a position where there should not be allowed, is somebody in pursuit of the presidency of the United States of America. I support you, my sister, Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris got my vote.
But enough of this.
With the rallies disguised, I don't care that fifteen thousand people show that we got that you gonna get support. You are nineteen years younger than this man. There is no cognitive decline when it comes to you. You are surpry, you are energetic, you are ready, you are feisty, you are fighter, you are intelligent, you know how to do battle.
Let's go. I want to see some damn interviews. I want to see you answer some questions.
This is not said in the negative, seeing it because I believe in you, and I believe that if this strategy, which has worked to this point, I'm fearful that if you continue to do it, you're gonna lose momentum. I'm not knocking the Harris campaign, the Harris Walls campaign for what you are doing.
I'm saying it.
Can't continue for long otherwise you're gonna have slippage in the momentum.
As we draw closer to the election.
Don't let people look at Trump and saying he willing to stand up and fight anything, anybody at any time, but she's not.
You let him know you know how to fight too, and you know how to win.
It's all I'm saying. It's all I'm saying. Let's go to the tweets before we get on out of here for the day. Thank y'all for joining me. By the way, at Michael, what is that five two three eight zero two six ' nine right, stephen Ate Smith, Why do you think Tatum gets the insane amount of hate that he does. I wouldn't say hate. I don't think it's possible to hate Jason Tatum. Model citizen, model dude, great guy, great personality, good people, never gets in any trouble, sensational basketball player, a champion, and somebody that represents the NBA very very well.
I love Jason Tatum, but I think that.
He's challenged to sort of let his personality out. You know, when he won the championship, people accused him of being a poor version of Kevin Gardner.
Anything's possible, you know, that kind of thing.
I think they look at it that way, and I think they they don't appreciate him enough. Sadly, I don't think Steve Kerr helped in that category, because Steve Kerr basically treated him, like you now, one of the top ten players in the world.
And I could think of a couple of players or whatever if.
Jason Tatum, I'm not looking at this performance during the Olympics, you know, why when you don't know whether or not you're gonna play, when you're sitting on the bench and then you starting the next and all of that, there's a level, there's a rhythm and a continuity that comes along with it. Steph Curry was struggling. Steve cur didn't bench him. Thank god he did it. And I'm not advocating that he should because we know better because it's Steph Curry were talking about. But Steve curR didn't bench him. Jason Tatum didn't get the chance to do the kind of things he's capable of doing, and that disappointed me. That disappointed me playing and simple. Let's go to the next tweet. Please add DL two. Muse right, Steven they Smith? If Stephen A. Smith was an NBA referee for one season, what type of reputation.
Would would he develop?
Oh that's an easy question. I would be like Joey Crawford was. That's my that's one of my all time favorite referees. There's a couple of more. Steve Javis another one, you know. James Capers is another one, James Capers Junior. I got love for that brother.
But I would tell you that Joey Crawford.
Gee, you know, I mean serious focus, very very few, very very little fratnizing with the players, and I would eject you in a heartbeat if you got out of hand. But I'm more reluctant about ejections when it comes to the heat of competition, Like you could compete with who you're competing with, but if you're gonna be disrespectful to officials to an excessive degree, like you can argue with me, but you can't be cussing me out and stuff like that.
Calling me out my name and doing stuff like that is successive. You do that, now, I've got to deal with you. You got to get dejected.
But I ain't trying to inject You can playoff game. I ain't trying. I'm trying to I'm very big on that. I'm gonna let you get away with a lot of You'll get a lot more gratitude in the postseason because I want you to losing me using me as an excuse for you going home. I want you to go home because you got your butt kicked and you lost, not because I ejected you.
That's me.
But Joey Crawford is the name that codes a ground. I loved Joey Crawford. I did last tweek what you.
Got at Yes? I said it twenty four. Steven A. Smith.
Okay, I met a girl at the start of the summer. We've been on three dates on me edible arrangements to her job, and I get a haircut before every meetup. Still no sex. How much longer should I wait? Because my spending limit is three hundred dollars before any action. I treat it like a sad cure credit card.
Okay.
A couple of things.
Number one, she should dump your ass on site?
She really should.
Yes I said it twenty twenty four, or yes I said it twenty four.
What the hell are you thinking? Are you thinking?
First of all, there are times in life that it happened sooner than three dates.
There are times in life the co mingling, the.
Sexual gratification and stuff like that takes about three dates. In most instances, it would take longer than that.
That's number one.
Number two, do you want a girl somebody to call you a woman to be proud to have on your own or do you just want some.
Got to ask yourself that question.
Number three, Are you looking for quality or you just looking to satisfy your ego to say I got it. I got that, because she knows you want her at least for the physical. That's why you've been on three dates with her. But you know you're pretty pathetic. First of all, how old are you? Because I don't know how old you are, but I'm assuming you're at the very least at least see your mid twenties to early thirties.
Whatever. Do you have any idea.
How ridiculous you sound saying that I got I get a haircut before every meet up?
Well, what you're supposed to do? Show up to her with nappy here.
Or stuff coming out of it, or it being dingy and dirty, looking all slovenly and all of that.
Ain't you supposed to look nice?
You want a cookie because you're trying to look your best for a honey you're trying to get with, But you're supposed to.
Be treating her the way.
Not only you will want your mama to be treated, You will want your sisters to be treated. You will want your daughters to be treated when it comes to taking them out and stuff like that.
But where's your own individual pride.
You're supposed to want that woman to walk away being complimentary about how you treated her, not cutting corners, fellas.
I'll take it a step further. When you slide a ring on a woman's finger, do you know that ring is not about her? That's about you.
Now, If you're gonna get a cheap ring and you put it on her finger, the dude that's looking at her kind of equates her value to you in your life by the rock she got on her hand. If it's cheap, you got a cheap man, or you got a man that doesn't value you, baby, you need to he come on over here that he ain't valuing you like that. If you're gonna put a ring on a figure, if you're not gonna put a ring on a figure, then you got to have a multitude of things to point to. That's pretty damn difficult for another brother to match, because you got some brother that give you the ring and they don't know how to treat you, they don't know how to take care of you. They just think they did it because they slid a ring on your finger. It's a whole bunch of that that comes with it. But in the end, you got to have some type of game, and I don't mean game in a deceitful way.
I mean, you got to know how to.
Covet in court and understand that there's a certain level of value that automatically is supposed to come attached to her. If you ain't handling your business, damn it, that it's somebody else who should. That's what I wanted to say. This tweet right here, This tweet right here, ladies and gentlemen. I was just told that this tweet is from my nephew, Josh. I'm gonna end the show. I'm ashamed that he actually got in my ear and told me that tweet was from him. And when I see him affectionately, lovingly, because I'm his uncle and I love him to death, I'm gonna slap the hell out of him just for being this ignorant and attaching such an ignorant treat to my family tree. I gotta go, y'all. I talk to y'all next time. I'm'a going with my nephew's ass right now. Peace and love,
