The Stephen A. Smith ShowFull Show: Trump blew his chance at the RNC, Skip Bayless at ESPN? WNBA Player of the Week and John Hope Bryant.
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 Trump's final night of the Republican National Convention, the NFL’s new Youth Flag Football League and revisits his comments on former ESPN colleague, Skip Bayless leaving FS1’s “Undisputed”. He also talks about the WNBA All-Star game and crowns his WNBA Player of the Week. Operation HOPE Founder/Entrepreneur and Thought Leader, John Hope Bryant is also interviewed.
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.
I ain't here, no, fat lady, not yet.
What am I talking about? Did you see last night? If you're paying attention, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's to step and A Smith showing the house.
Let's go. What's up? Everybody? Welcome to the Ladies Edition to 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 YouTube and of course iHeartRadio as always, want to pause for a moment to thank my supporters and followers throughout this world.
As far as I'm concerned, we continue to climb and grow.
We've now exceeded over seven hundred and thirty eight thousand subscribers. Appreciate the love, keep it coming, and I'm gonna keep on coming. Also more than one point two five million downloads over the last three months on iHeart Radio. Can't thank y'all enough again. Keep the love coming. I'm feeling it.
It's making me really really feel special. Okay, thank you so much.
If you want to continue to like and follow the show, this click the bell a, get notified for all of our new content and boom there you'll have it. And while you're doing that, make sure to pick up a copy of my New York Times best selling book, Straight Shooter, a Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes now and paperback.
Just go to straight Shooter book.
Dot com once again, that straight Shooter book dot com to get yourself a copy. Let's get it started. We know what we gotta do, we know where we gotta go. Okay, it's time to get to the Republican National Convention that took place over the last four days, and specifically last night where the former president Donald Trump spoke, because that's who culminated last night's event in Milwaukee with him accepting the Republican nomination for the presidency of the United States in front of a raucous crowd. The fourth and final night featured appearances from the one and only Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock, UFC President Dana White, who did a great job by the way, Tucker Haulson, and Trump's son Eric, among others. By the way, Hulk Hogan did a great job too, Okay, in the eyes of many, Trump defied the reporting we heard that indicated he would take a different tone than in the past and focus on unifying the nation. In this keynote address after recounting the harrowing tale of his attempt at assassination just last week, and which, by the way, he is selling sneakers to commemorate, I'd be REMISSI neglecting to point that out. It didn't take long for Trump to get back to his old divisive ways. You don't believe me.
Take a look, Eric, what was that all about? Boy? That was good.
But he was so great, and he's such a good young man. He went through a lot of trouble, and don last night was incredible.
They went through so much trouble.
They got subpoened more than any people probably in the history of the United States. Every week they got another subpoena from the Democrats, crazy Nancy Pelosi.
The Hall thing just boom boom boom.
But in less than four years, our opponent have turned incredible success into unparalleled tragedy and failure. It's been a tremendous failure. The whole world was at peace and now the world is blowing up around us.
All of these things that you read about were not going to happen. We have a great military. Our military is not woke.
It's just some of the fools on top that are our opponents inherited a world at peace and turned it into a planet of war where the planet of war.
Good lord.
In addition to turning heads with his rhetoric, Trump once again had fact checkers hard at work deciphering whether the claims he made were fact or fiction. According to CNN fact checkers, Trump made more than twenty claims in his speech that were either misleading or flat out false. I can't read some of the stuff that you see on the screen from this distance, but my goodness, world was at peace until he left off. Really, world was at peace during the Trump presidency.
That's what he said.
Venezuela's crime rate was down seventy two percent. Apparently that was false. Immigrants coming from prisons and mental institutions.
We all know that's excessive. That's false.
Marjorie Tailer Green, which he echoed those words out of her mouth a.
Few days earlier, we knew that was false.
Dramatic increase in crime rate in the United States, that appears to be to be a false statement. Largest tax cuts in US history by them, won't even talk about them. American hostage and hostages in Gaza, et cetera.
Et cetera. Twenty twenty election was rigged stolen. Of course, we know that we don't have time to get into all of that. Here's what really really needs to be said about this. Okay, first of all, I mean no disrespect.
I want to reiterate the point that I'm happy to former president is alive, that he wasn't assassinated by that by that shooter, mister Crooks.
Who's now deceased.
I'm happy that, you know, he moved a middle liter away and ultimately was able to avoid a fatal.
Blow to his head.
I'm very, very happy that the former president is still alive. We don't wish death on anybody. We don't wish violence upon anybody. We don't wish assassinations upon anybody. No, we're not doing that. We shouldn't be doing that anyway. We damn sure ain't gonna do this do that on this show. Having said that, and being highly sensitive to the climate that we're living in, I'm gonna make this argument, no matter how incendi every somebody may absorb it. Former President Trump on Thursday night showed once again he ate the brightest candle on the birthday cake. Somebody got to say it so I'm gonna say it. You got the world and the palm of your hands.
You've just been shot, you survived, You.
Went to the ground, you got jumped on by Secret Service. You get up, Blood's trickling down your ear and your face, the right.
Side of your face.
You wave your fist up three times, imploring folks to fight, fight, fight, And you got the American flag behind you. As I articulated at that particular moment in time on Monday, you can't get a better photo than that.
If you're a politician, it.
Doesn't get any better than that leading up to an election, four months away from an election for the presidency of the United States, and you just had that photo available to you.
I mean, it doesn't get any better.
And then the Republican National Convention starts in Milwaukee Monday. Let me tell you somebody that's been in television close to three decades now, that was exceptionally well produced.
They did a great job Monday.
They did a great job Tuesday, they did a great job Wednesday, they did a great job Thursday, right up until the moments Trump sat on stepped on stage. I mean, think about it. Make America wealthy again. America's safe again, Make America strong again, make America great once again. Four days you had a thieve and as corny as critics were trying to say that it was ladies and gentlemen, it was working like crazy in a very good way.
Everybody showed up and did their part.
You can agree disagree with marjor Retail agreed because I'll be damn I don't know too many people outside of Georgia.
That agree with her damn thing she says. But she played her role.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, played his role. Ted Cruse, he played his role. Marco Rubio, senator from Florida, he played this role Ted Cruse from Texas. You see a whole bunch of people contributing to the narratives and the themes at the Republican National Convention.
It was pure perfection.
Sarah Huckabee Sander's former press secretary in the White House, not a governor of Arkansas.
She was sensational. She did a hell of a job. You had Van Jones on.
CNN talking about how great she did. All of this stuff is going on, and Barode showed up. Everybody was raving about her.
And then Trump showed up.
And for the first ten to fifteen minutes, particularly as he detailed and chronicled the shooting, his near assassination, having everybody riveted and transfixed on his every word.
Right after that, the man goes off script.
Having the world and the palm of your hand, vowing that he was going to talk about unity and bringing the country together, especially with the intro that came from.
Dana White and before him, Eric Trump, and before him Hulk Hogan. Hey brother, hey brother. Remember that everybody was good, everybody was good to go. And Trump went out there and messed it up.
All he had to do was say when he said, I'm not supposed to be here, and they started chanting, yes you are, Yes you are. Do you know that had the potential to replace yes we can that Obama was doing in two thousand and eight, in twenty twelve, and then again in twenty and sixteen when he spoke at the Democratic National Convention and he was maligning Trump and he was sitting up there, he said, this ain't about yes he will, It's about yes we can. And last night, if Trump had stopped there, he had a chance to have at least half of the country going like yes you are, Yes, you are.
When he said he wasn't supposed to be here and they said, yes you are.
But he kept talking, going off script, and the more he did that, the more that dissipated the level of empathy and sympathy and anything else that comes with it when it comes to him. He brought everybody back to politics.
That's what he did.
When you were focused on him and the fact that he was alive and you saw his children and his grandchildren and people supporting them and showering love upon him, and literally having complete dominion and dominance over.
The Republican Party.
He also had a bunch of independents and others out there a bit reluctant and apprehensive.
Dare I say about going.
After him from a political standpoint, because he was, dare I say, a martyr and a sympathetic figure until he started talking about crazy Nancy Pelosi, that's what he called the started insulting Biden, and then you said, there he is, same old, same o.
He's still favored to win the election. He probably will.
I am in no way implying that this is going to definitively cost him the election, because as long as Joe Biden stays in, I don't think it will.
What I'm saying, however, is he had him.
All he had to do was live true to his word about ripping up his original speech, rewriting the whole thing, and focusing on unifying the country as opposed to galvanizing his base. It was a moment that belonged to him, perfectly set up by the RNC, deorganizes, the producers, etc.
And all the contributors.
Every single person from day one to day four did their job, and Trump messed it up and got us back to policy instead of focusing on the potential victim that he may have been. Sometimes your ego camouflages everything else, and that's what he did. And you know, but you know what else is helping Trump?
Though?
Or what is helping Trump? Not what else is, but what is helping Trump, ladies and gentlemen. I wanna tell what that is, Biden, because for Trump to be focused on what he's focused on, there's a flip side, and there is the ongoing saga of President Joe Biden and his candidacy for re election. First, let's say this, I wish the president a speedy recovery after was reported he.
Came down with COVID.
As more and more Democrats have privately and publicly call for Biden to drop out, it's now being reported by The Washington Post that one of his closest advocates, former President Barack Obama.
Conspicuously.
Out of the picture least visually these days, by the way, is telling allies that Biden's path thor reelection has greatly diminished. The article also states that Obama's primary concern right now is protecting Biden's legacy, and that is where I've got a big problem if the reporting is true, more so than having a problem with Joe Biden's standing the race, because I think it's a bit selfish at this point.
That's right. I'm calling the president.
Selfish if you clearly are experiencing a cognitive decline, which everyone believes at this point, and close to a third of your own party members are calling for you to step down. To sit up there at the age of eighty one, approaching the age of eighty two, clearly knowing you've lost your fastball, and proclaiming yourself to be the best candidate for the job. That's insulting to Vice President Kamala Harris. It's insulting to Gavin Newsom, it's insulting the Hakeem Jeffreys. It's insulting to Charles Schumer. It's insulting to Nancy Pelosi. It's insulting to Barack Obama.
It's insulting the Wes Moore. It's insulting.
This.
You can't possibly can't possibly feel.
Like, oh my god, you are the best person for the job, unless you're not thinking about anybody but yourself.
Somebody's gotta say it, damnit. And if you're Barack.
Obama, far being for anybody to call him out. But in some cases it's necessary because if I'm looking at these reports and they are accurate in their assessment, certainly, if they are accurate, I'm not saying it.
I'm not saying this that they're not.
Accurate, but if they are accurate in their assessment, when they say that Barack Obama has been emphasizing that his concern is protecting Biden and his legacy. Respectfully, damn Joe Biden and his legacy.
Take that picture off the screen and.
Put it right back on me. I'm not getting on my producers. I'm saying it for a fact. I want the audience to see.
Me right now.
Hell with that. This ain't about Joe Biden's legacy.
We'll talk about your legacy.
When you're gone. Meeting from the White House. Infrastructure, student loans, an economy that's not in shambles, the job participation rate. There are an abundance of things that people can point to on the liberal side of the aisle that say, you've done a damn good job.
How Come that ain't enough? How come that's not enough?
We got politicians here talking about, oh, you know what, we want to protect his legacy.
Damn his legacy.
This is about the well being of the country, not his ego. That's what got the Democrats in trouble to begin with. You see, in twenty sixteen, when Joe Biden wanted to run, according to the reports, it was Barack Obama that convinced him not to do so because it was Hillary's turn.
And yes, I vote for Hillary Clinton. We mean, it's her turn. The American people get to decide.
But okay, you had a primary, but ultimately we went with her, and cool, Okay, that's fine. Twenty twenty, we got primaries again. South Carolina saves Joe Biden courtesy of Rep. James Clyde Burn and ultimately he wins the election fair and square, unfortunately for you, Donald Trump fair and square where he won. But in twenty twenty four, there's no primary.
You didn't put any competition up against Joe Body.
Joe Biden's talking about if you thought you were the best man for the job, how come there was no primary?
How come the path was paved for you? Could it be that folks knew.
That you were older and they worried whether or not you could endure primary. I don't know the answer to that question. I'm simply saying I don't want.
To read reports or hear about Hey, we.
Want to protect his legacy, and no, your record protects your legacy. You walking away because you are approaching eighty two years of age and handed the baton to younger folks who would govern along the same lines that you governed.
Is protecting your legacy.
Kamala Harris is gonna compromise your legacy. News him who stood on podiums in the immediate aftermath of your poor performance during the debate vehemently defending you and talking about how as a party, folks shouldn't jump ship on you, singing your praises at every turn. Wes Moore proclaiming he's by your side. Corey Booker, Senator Corey Booker saying, hey, these conversations should be had in private. Hakim Jeffery's refusing to not answer, refusing to get answers on whether or not he told you or he thinks you should step aside, even though reports say him, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schift have all been on the record saying, hey, it's time for you to go, and we're talking about his legacy and his record.
Bumped that.
It's about us, It's not about your ego, it's not about your feelings.
See, this is the kind of stuff that me off.
This is the kind of stuff the professional athletes because me my wheelhouse covering sports. This is the kind of stuff that pisses us off. Because what will happen is if a dude gets on the court or a lady gets.
On the court and they are incapable of performing.
If Serena Williams no longer has it, if Venus Williams no longer has it, God forbid, if it's somebody like an Asian Wilson or somebody who.
Is the truth.
By the way, if it's Lebron James, if it's Steph Curry, if it's somebody else in the world of sports, Oh, y'all lost the step.
It's time.
Nobody got a problem with it. But with people who have dominion over our lives, who instigate, who manipulate, who maneuver through and ultimately serve to implement policies that directly impact our lives economically, healthcare safety, that directly impact our lives. Oh, we're supposed to step aside because your feelings.
We need to protect that. No.
No, if Joe Biden is not the best man for the job, there is nothing wrong with saying to him, mister President.
We appreciate the great job that you've done over the last four years.
It's time for somebody else, sir, and you go home and spend time with your kids and your grandchildren and your lovely.
Wife and just live out your best years. You'll always be a part of the Washington fabric, the belt Way. We got you.
We just don't need you in the White House right now because we don't know if you'll stay there past December. We need somebody else that we can rely upon better and Barack Obama should be the number one person sending.
That message, number one. That's all I want to say about that.
Seriously, we ain't got time for all of this stuff with emotions and egos and oh and by him feeling good about you've been to president of four years, you're the vice president for eight years, you're the senator for thirty six years.
Prior to that. Out of Delaware, it's forty eight years. Man, that's forty eight years. Come on, y'all.
Trump and the Republican Party are not what they used to be.
They were a divided house for years. They're not divided now. They're coming.
Trump may messed it up a little bit for himself, but not to the point where he doesn't have where He's got an abundance of stuff to worry about when they come to Joe Biden, y'all better get it together. Or what you saw over the last four nights, it's gonna be in the White House for the next four years.
Ignore me if you want to.
Ignore me, if you want to coming up, I talked with Operation Hope CEO and Podcast Hope, that one and only John Hope Bryant couldn't wait to talk to him.
Love this guy. Plus later, I've got more to say about my friends, get Bayless and the possibility of a return to ESPN. Keep it locked right here on the stephen Ate Smith Show over here on the digital areas of YouTube, and of course iHeart radio backward more in a minute. Alright, everybody, you know what Tom.
It is Tom for stephen a Sports Picks and I couldn't be more excited. Why because I'm back choosing picks for Major League picksport.
But how am I gonna do that? I'm using prizepects of course.
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Type of mind initials sayes for first come deposit match up to one hundred dollars. All right, now, let's look at all my winning picks. Okay, Aaron Judge more or less than zero point five home runs. Somebody just really asked me that question. Is is Emery judge? It's the judge himself.
Of course it's more. Of course, it's more. Garrett Cole more or less than one and a half earned runs allowed.
We're gonna have to say more like having to say that, but I'm gonna say that for now. I'm gonna say that for now. This is the seasoned wings and stuff like that. He'll shut a few people down alone the way, But still one and a half runs ain't bad.
Okay, so let's throw that out there.
It'll be more Bryce Harper more or less than zero point five total bases? Is Bryce Harper gonna get hit? He gonna get on base. Okay, that's what he's gonna do.
I don't care.
You gotta get walk, he gets the base hit, he smacks a home run, He's gonna do something because he's Bryce Harper, and that's what he does. And last but not least the one and only Tray Turner more or less than two and a half hits runs and RBIs he's a bad brother, And once again he gives you reason to say more more more so.
Just to recap, to go over all of that stuff you heard me before.
Right, you see Trey Turner, right, you see Aaron Judge. Right, we started off with him.
Right. You see Jered Cole, Garrett Cole, we started off with him. Right. He's got more, He's got more. Bryce Harper, of course, more, Trey Turner. More.
This is what I'm going on with. That's kind of move that I'm in more more more. It's because I'm always looking for more, you hear me. Welcome back to the Steven Nationmanship right here over the digital airways of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. My guest was named to the twenty twenty four Time magazine and Oral List of the Closers, eighteen global leaders working to close the racial wealth gap.
He's a c NBC contributor.
Host of iHeartRadio podcast Money and Wealth, the founder and CEO of Operation Hope, Inc. The nation's largest nonprofit provider of financial literacy. Please welcome to the show to one and only John Hope, Brian John, It's an honor and the privilege to finally meet you, my man.
How's everything going to be here?
God is good. I'm perfect.
You know you hear those things?
You know I just just echoed all of those things that you've accomplished as you sit here today. Look looking at all the things that you have done for the impoverished communities throughout this country. So much stuff that you've done. As it pertains to financial literacy. What runs through your mind at this moment in time when you hit that about yourself?
Not enough because because the problem is out running my capacity to get my hands around it. You know, we wanted relevancy, we also needed momentum and scale. We have momentum, We have relevancy. Now we need more scale. The latter of aspiration is broken in this country. We're confused about our business plan as a nation. We don't have ten years to figure it out. There's not enough successful, college educated white men that drive GDP for the next twenty years. That's not a racial comment, it's just math. We're not preparing the next generation of people who look more like me than your producer to engage in the economy. Everybody needs the bottom to get to the top, which is what's happened every one hundred years. By the way, it just used to be Italians or Jews or whoever it was at the bottom, Polish and so on and so forth. Immigrants. The immigrants look different now. Are the people at the bottom look different now? But we still need them to get to the top. We're all in this thing call America together, and everybody wants to be an American, but Americans. So it started out as a simple thing of how do you empower people to do better? Give them financial literacy, give them tools to the game. I think, as you know, the financial literacy is a civil rights issue of this generation. I think if doctor King was alive today, this is what he'd be focused on.
You call it the civil rights issue of this generation, and you say that specifically just to crystallize and illumina for illuminated for the audience.
Why do you call it.
That, Because if you don't know better, you can't do better in a blind town, a one eyed man's king. If you hang around nine bro people, you'll be the tenth. I mean, money is nothing but freedom, but economic freedom is probably the only one knowing to take it back from you. Clearly look at it. Now. You can take political freedom, you can take religious freedom, you can take a woman's freedom.
I mean a lot of.
Things that we just thought were you know, norms are now either at the ballot box or at the judge's table or judge's bench, and somebody else is designing that for you. But unless you screw it up, economic freedom is yours, and there's a lot can be done when you have economic freedom. But you've got to understand how the economy works, Stevin. We have we're the largest economy on the planet, twenty six twenty seven trillion dollars. There's eight billion people in the world. We're only three hundred and fifty million. We're a bad moment moment. This is an amazing experiment with all our problems in America like capitalism and democracy or horrible systems except for every other system, and we practiced bad capitalism slavery. Now we have an opportunity to practice good capitalism involving all of God's children. An economy that's seventy percent consumer spending, or slow that down. With the biggest economy in the world, you can't be a superpower unless you're the economic power. It's never happened in history. But seventy percent of the economy is driven by your producer. You're making people everybody going to lunch, going to dinner, going on vacation, going on plane flights. And if that happens, financial literacy strength. If that doesn't happen, we're all done. And for people watching this or listening to this and they thinking, well, he's talking about poor people, hold, I'll slow down. You make five you make one hundred thousand dollars a year. Half of those are living from patriock to paycheck. Somebody just said, amen, you're making two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. I was just stuck with them in the tunnel coming from Manhattan. A third of those of living from patriock to paycheck. You're living in Manhattan. You make one hundred thousand dollars. It feels like thirty nine thousand dollars a year.
So everybody says, but is that because of your spending habits? Is it because the government's taking half your money? Or in terms of federal and state income tax, what would be the reason why people living.
Off a half of that or less in your estimation money.
I mean, life in the leading developed economy in the world is just expensive. And you've got too many people who have not figured out how Look, your money makes more money on money than you just making money on your time. But people confuse making money making a living. That's why I call it making a living a paycheck, and confused making money with building wealth. Okay, so let's be practical, okay. Number One way to build wealth in America home ownership. What percentage of Black people who built this country are free own a home? Forty one to forty four, forty five percent. That's a problem right there. Seventy five percent of our mainstream counterparts own a home. Number One way you build wealth. What percentage of black people are in the stock market? Eighteen to twenty percent. The market has been on an absolute tear. You can be done blind and stupid and still irrational, completely irrational, and still make a fortune in the stock market. My friend would not mind me saying this. My brother Stevie Wonder can see this, and he's made a fortune in the stock market and owning radio stations and owning and owning and owning. He can see better than most of us. He's brilliant. So we have not been taught financial literacy is what we don't know that we don't know that's killing us. But we think we know. And in a blind town of one eyed man's king, if you don't know better, you can't do better. And as an old Southern saying, no matter how much I love you, my son and my daughter, if I don't have wisdom, I can only give you my own ignorance. So out of love, we're passing down bad habits from generational generation. And now it's not just black people or brown people. And by the way, after American's had the lowest average credit score in America six to twenty, which means racist and bias aside, we can't get approved for a loan, and we think it's racism, But it's.
A credit score.
It's a credit average of six twenty. Actually I thought the number was lower. I'm not gonna lie yet, I thought that it was low.
So you're a smart man. What happens is it averages. So you and me are bringing the average up world eight hundred.
Speak for yourself.
I mean, I'm not gonna be I'm not gonna pretend I've been I'm highing you.
I'm approaching seven. It was a buff seven.
You know anything, the seven on it is sexy brother man. Seven of the credit score. Neighborhoods don't don't riot, they go shopping, right, And so the problem is that our cousins and all our friends got a credit score of five fifty five eighty and the average of that are sevens, and their fives is six twenty.
Right.
So but whatever it is, that's not a good enough to get. A mortgage loan at a good interest rate is not good enough to get so forget a small business loan. Okay, how smart you are, that's risky credit. That's a seven country credit course. So we assume that it's racism, and it might be. But in all likelihood the computer, because even a part about the day, Hay Steve, the computer will just say yes.
At midnight.
There's nobody looking at you and looking at you cross eyed. If you have a seven hundred credit score, you got black, you're green the color. The computer will just say yes at midnight. So we don't have enough of us who have order saying you gotta get your credit score up, your debt ratios down, your savings up so the computer can say, yes, we know how to do that. At Operation Hope. That's not financial wealth is knowledge wealth. That's financial literacy, so you can access good credit.
Thanksgetting the one and only John Hope.
Brian love talking to him, learn so much, looking forward to learning a lot more. As I listened to the entirety of the interview, I will encourage you all to do the same. You can catch that on our YouTube channel, Steven A. Smith Show channel right there on YouTube, over the digital ailas and YouTube. Make sure you catch that. It'll be worth your time, especially if you're interested in making some money coming out.
I'll get into the showdown tomorrow night between the women.
Of Team USA basketball and the WNBA All Stars, including rookies Angel Reese and Caitlyn Clark. Plus, I've got more to say on my friend and former colleagues Skift Bayless.
Could he land back at ESPN.
I'll share my thoughts with you in a minute, whether you like it or not, I know you're.
Waiting to hear it. I'll touch it. Nobody's hiding back with more Stepan as Michelle in a minute. Everyone knows I'm a sports fanatic and I need to be in the middle of all the action. So how do I satisfy that need?
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This weekend, the NFL is introducing a new first.
Of its con championship tournament to.
Celebrate the best of the best of boys and girls from the youth flag football world. The NFL Flag Championships features girls and boys NFL Flag regional winners representing all thirty two NFL clubs and six international teams.
The tournament is taking place at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Quote the worldwide broadcast of.
In global participation in the NFL Flag Championships are being held at the Center of Football Excellence in Canton, Ohio, underscores NFL Flag's popularity and its global reach, said Troy Vincent, Senior Executive VP of the National Football League Football Operations. This tournament emphasizes the importance of flag football and will showcase it as the highly competitive cornerstone of affordability, accessibility, and inclusivity.
Of football for all.
Just so y'all know, the NFL Flag Championships will be available in over one hundred and twenty five countries on ESPN branded networks, including Mexico, Brazil, throughout Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the Netherlands, the Caribbean, and of course, the Pacific Islands and That is where I wanted to go with this. When you talk about inclusivity, participation, all of these different things, make no mistake about it. The NFL knows what it's doing. I'm just looking at some of this stuff. I got some of these notes here, ladies and gentlemen. Okay, let's look at this. Okay, we'll talk about the global growth of this right here. This is according to the National Football League, the International Federation of American Football. Obviously, grassroots participation in international development strategies is what we're talking about here.
So we're talking about.
Across IFAF seventy two national member federation's.
Flag football will overtake tackle.
Football in terms of organized participation opportunities in twenty twenty three.
That was just last year.
Japan, half a million children per grade have the chance to play flag football every year. In Mexico, one hundred thousand new flag football players. Okay, in China, two hundred thousand play flag football in schools. Elite international competition is what we're talking about here. And so when you look at that, here's what I want you all to pay attention to. How many years were we talking about concussions? How many years were we talking about the violence of football. How many years were we alluding to the fact that football could be in trouble because you had parents that didn't want their children playing.
You notice you haven't any been hearing.
That much about that because the advent and ultimately proliferation of flag football has taken forward. And so folks at a very young age are playing football, although not tackle football, and their parents are getting involved.
Hell, some grandparents are involved. People of all shapes.
Color, sizes and listen to these et cetera, et cetera are participating, and they're participating across the world. And as a result, not only are you having more participation, you're having more acceptance. People are being more receptive to their children being involved in the sport. They're learning more about it, they're actively involved in it, they're becoming fans of it.
And what are we seeing.
As a result of it better ratings, more revenue, and more dollars for the National Football League because that participation ain't going anywhere, and so we're looking. And then from that standpoint, football has become like religion in the United States of America. You're gonna watch it on Sundays, You're gonna watch it on Mondays. You're gonna watch it on Thursdays. And guess what, they might have a game this Wednesday on a Wednesday this season, if I remember correctly, you're gonna watch.
It then too. It don't matter.
Do you understand that preseason games outrate most other events in the United States of America preseason, preseason Think about that for a second, and then you'll see the magnitude of what I'm talking about, and then you'll take into account flag football and how its proliferation is really something we should all take notice of.
This is not going away. It's just getting started.
And by the way, the NFL, with the exception of a game in Europe or game's gonna be a game in Germany this year, is a game in London last couple of years or so, and.
Stuff like that. Excuse me.
Flag football is being played in Africa and the Netherlands, in Australia. Think about that, Mexican or Brazil, et cetera, et cetera.
It's not going away.
If anything, they're gonna find more folks who want to participate in all qualified to participate in the sport from various other countries, various other continents, That's what we're talking about here.
Football is king for a reason. Not only is it not going away, it continues to grow before our very eyes.
One of the other things I want to get into speaking of growing because it is appropriate, although on a lesser level, arguably the biggest sporting event of the weekend is the WNBA All Star Game tomorrow night in Phoenix, Arizona. The game will feature record setting rookies Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reaches playing on the same team for the WNBA All Stars against the USA Basketball women's national team before they head on over to Paris. The WNBA has had more games averaging over two million viewers this year than it did in the last four seasons, and we can expect another big number for this game as well.
Is a lot to.
Give credit to for the WNBA.
Let's remember Caitlin Clark.
We're gonna throw that name out there, but we ain't gonna fail to acknowledge Angel Reese because Angel Reese in the Chicago Sky angrew Reeve's been doing her thing.
Now.
She hasn't had too much luck when going up against Asia Wilson, and I'll tell you why a little bit later on.
But let me tell you something right now.
Andrew Reese has been bawling Caitlyn Clark the other night.
I think had nineteen assist.
Let me tell you something right now, them too, and the way they go at each other and how they serve to popularize the sport is one thing. The WNBA's wisdom in feeding off of it to help promote the sport makes it even better. And so I want to give major, major props to the WNBA. I'm looking forward to this All Star Game. I love the idea that All Stars going up against Team USA. Although in my opinion, Asia Wilson, even though she's gonna be a member for Team USA in Paris this summer, I personally believe she should be playing for the w NBA All Stars against Team USA for this particular All Star game because she's.
Been playing in a w NBA all season long.
She should go against her Team USA teammates and bust they're living, you know what, because Asian Wilson is the truth.
Okay, she should be on that team because it might not.
Be fair what they do to the WNBA players. She should be on that team. But that's just me.
That's just me.
I'm just looking forward to the game. I think it's gonna be really, really exciting. It's nice to see and it's gonna be interesting to see Caitlin Clark and Anguries not going against one another but playing together on the same team, and how that relationship may evolve in the months and the years to come. Before I get on out of here, let me move on to the w NBA Player of the Week, who's a repeat winner, by the way, two time league MVP, Asia Wilson.
I already just spoke about her.
She's of the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night against ad Reas in the Chicago's guy who's in that twenty eight points, fourteen rebus, five blocks, and three steals for a six straight game this season with at least twenty points and ten rebounds ten rebounds for the Las Vegas Aces, the reigning defending two tom WNBA champions, by the way, who is sixteen and eight for the season. Wilson is averaging twenty seven point two points per game and is on track to break Diana Tarrossi's single season points per game average of twenty five point three.
Set in two thousand and six. I told y'all, lists are ready.
I don't think this will be the last time I'm giving Asia Wilson love. She is the truth and a half. She is big time. She's taller, she's bigger, she's ferocious. She's a champ. She's got a champion's heart. She ain't scared of anybody. She brings it every single night. And by the way, she's a leftier Southport with a j girl will be pulling.
Up for threes.
Okay, she is special, make no mistake about it. She's she is the best in the WNBA. Caitlin Clark might be.
The face and a lot of people's eyes, she ain't on this level as a player yet. I could tell you that much. Asia Wilson is the true rules and this will not.
Be the last time I'm gonna give up my player of the weeks because she's gonna bust everybody's but the Las Vegas Asian is going three pet I don't care about the Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx and all this sudden ain't been asan Wilson.
I'm sorry, I just can't see it. I just can't see it.
You got to show me, you got to show me, did she I just can't see it because I just think she's that gifted. And then to have Chelsea Gray back and Kelsey Plumb and the rest of the crud. I mean, look, Asia Wilson, I just can't see it, y'all. I don't see nobody beating nothing. And you know, it's just like years ago when I said that the Lakers was gonna take Alon Iverson in the seventy sixties out in five games and said, AI, I get you one, but they're going home.
And they was like, wow, you say such a thing. I said, Shack, shack and more shack. And oh, by the way, that dude, Kobe.
In this case with the w NBA Asia Asia and more Asia, She's that gifted.
She really really is. I want to transition before I get on out of here for the day to the latest subject.
Last but not least, on my list of things to discuss today, I want to revisit my comments from Wednesday's show on Skip Baylor's Party Ways.
With fs Ie and his show on Disputed.
There's been a lot of speculation about a possible return to ESPN for Skip Baylor's. For ESPN's part, they've stated the following in a release to front off of Sports just a couple of days ago quote, we are set with the current First Take rotation and wish Skip the best on his future endeavors. I had no idea ESPN was going to issue that statement. That is my day job.
I'm not knocking them for that. I work for them. It's not the other way around.
They have the right to do what they want, but they didn't let me know they were gonna do that. They didn't ask me either, so the public has been asking me what did I feel about that, which is the only I'm addressing.
It before I address it. Before I address it.
I want to play another friend of former colleague of mine, Dan LeBatard, who had this to say on his show.
Doesn't anybody care when what I'm pointing out to you is Fox got into this business in the laziest way possible. They just said, Hey, Bayless, Hey Cowhard, can you come over here and hot take? And they built everything they built, and then in that time, First Take contaminated everything. All of it went to garbage, debate television, and in the doing of that, Stephen A. Smith kills the end of the guy's career who gave him the entire opportunity to work at ESPN.
That's not entirely accurate on the part of Dan LeBatard, but I forgive my buddy, to be quite honest with you, Over the years, there's only two things Dan Levatard and I go back nearly thirty years. Over the years, there's only two things that I've ever taken issue with him with, and one I really didn't know about until recently when somebody was reminding me of the things that he said about Alan Iverson years and years ago, when Alan Iverson found himself, you know, with some issues to deal with on a personal level, because that's.
My little brother right there. I got love for him.
And when they told me what some of the things that Dan articulated about him at that time, I didn't like that.
I never heard it myself, never saw it.
But I'm certainly not gonna support anybody eviscerating my man.
Ai.
The other thing that I've taken issue with the only other thing I've ever taken issue with with Dan Levatard over the years is how he, you know, comes up with these narratives about Skip Bayless and somehow it involves me in killing his career.
First of all, I hope.
Skip careers Skip Bayless's career is not over. But the first thing that I would say is that if it is over is because I think Skip will land someplace. Why can't we respect the fact that the brother's seventy three years old? I mean, why are we talking about him like he's forty three and you got thirty years in this business and you just flunked and because of that, you know that is it's a failure. Ladies and gentlemen, How many of us think that we'll have a national television show at the age of seventy three.
I don't. God has blessed me immensely. I'm number one.
I've been number one in the mornings for twelve years. Some have said I'm the number one talent in sports media. I leave that for other people to decide. I don't get caught up in all of that.
I pay attention to.
Ratings and revenue them. I leave the rest for all of y'all to deal with. But I'm fifty six. I can assure you I don't believe for one second I'm gonna be in that position when I'm seventy three years old. So why is it that he has to be viewed as failing that's number one. Having said that, because we don't run from anything on this show, because this is my show and I don't run from anything period. Usually when I don't comment about stuff, it's because I don't feel like hitting down is not is not worth my damn time. I'm really bored. I'm not interested in somebody or something, or my bosses have asked me not to except on this show.
I don't have a boss. This is mine. So I say all.
Of that to say, and I'm gonna tell my producers to quiet.
Down in there.
Let me say this to you. Skip Baylor's ESPN did not consult with me. Again they didn't have to, but in fairness and in the interest of transparency to the viewers out there, the listeners out there, my contemporaries in this business, and everybody else in between, had they asked me, I would have said the same thing that ESPN said. Skip Bayless and stephen A. Smith, together as partners working across from each other on a debate show is over. It's been over, and this is not the first time I've said it. There's no negativity or shade being thrown on on on Skip Bayless.
I have moved on when I arrived on.
First Take, it was courtesy of Skip Bayless, and if for those out there who say he wants who who wants to say he saved my career, I got no problems with it because even though I was back by the time he asked me to come on First Take, I was restricted to radio.
I wasn't allowed on television.
And if it wasn't for Skip Baylor's giving me the opportunity along with Jamie Harwitz, who knows where I'd be fair enough, But that time is a far cry from me being where I am today, where I've been for years, and also serving.
As the executive producer of First.
Take, not to mention having my own platform here did I own and operate one hundred percent. So I'm not throwing any shade on anything on Skip Baylor's.
I'll always have.
Love for him. He'll always be a brother to me. But I'm not telling you anything that anybody hasn't heard me say before.
I'm past all of that.
I'm past all of that, and me connecting and reignite and things with Skip Bayless is not what I want my future to be. That was a past that I'll always celebrate and be appreciative of, but that ain't where I'm at now. I got bigger plans for myself that don't include him knowing anybody else as a partner. I got bigger plans for myself in terms of what I do, what I want to do with my life. And one of these days, folks are going to learn to listen to me in terms of what I say about me, because I don't lie to y'all. Yes, first take, I'm here. But I told y'all also wanted to produce content.
I told you.
That I wanted to do a little actor think up on General Hospital by Accident, the soap Ober General Hospital. I'm on there, have a recurring role. Character's name is Brick, Surveillance Expert for tomorrow.
It's what I do. I told y'all wanted to have my own platform. This is the Steven A. Smith Show. I told you I wanted to produce content. I got a.
Docum series on ESPN Plus right now.
I got a drama series that I've developed that you'll be hearing about a week's I got other content that I'm creating. You know what else, I told y'all, I'm interested in new talent.
Discovering and developing, because right here on the Steven A.
Smith Show, you know what's gonna happen in the future.
Not me, y'all the ones out there that chirp and talk and all of this other stuff about what you can do and how you feel and what your opinions are, you don't understand.
I want you to succeed. I want to find the next star. I want to find the next abundance.
Of stars, male and female, Black, white, Hispanic, and everything in between. I want to be someone who develops content, that creates.
And builds in the years to come.
I want that to be a part of my legacy if I can pull it off. You got people out here fantasizing about being on the air.
You know what I fantasize about, Spike Lee, Tyler.
Perry, Antoine Fuqua, Jerry Bruckheimer, Dick Wolf. That's what I fantasize about. And being somebody that's got an eye for talent. So you all out there can one day sit.
In this chair.
That's what I've been trying to do. I'd be remiss, however, and neglecting to bring this part up about Skip Bayless and not being on first take I wish him well.
I want him to land on his feet.
He ever needs my help in any other way, I'm happy to help him. But I ain't gonna front y'all. I wouldn't do that to my man Shannon Sharp either.
That's right. I said it.
See Shannon Sharp and I used to be contemporaries with our friends, with our brothers. I wouldn't do that to him. I wouldn't even call and ask him. You can't have the kind of separation that they have, and I'm gonna be a part of.
That. Coming on. First take. No, but it's not just Shannon. You know, there's a whole bunch.
Of people that contribute to the success of my day job. First take on ESPN Ryan Clark. It's another brother of mine, the pivot extraordinary NFL analyst.
I wouldn't do that. How about Marcus Spears swag Oul my brother?
What about him? What about Kendrick Perkins? What about Lewis Riddick, See my man Lewis Ridick right there? What about my man Jeff Saturday. What about my man mad Dog Russo? What about my brother from another mother.
Dan Orlowsky? What about my boys like Bart Scott? Let me not forget my man, Jay Williams. And what about the ladies? What about them?
What about Meana Khan, Kimberly Martin, Monica McNutt, yes hearted.
All of y'all swore, Oh my god, she.
Checks Stevin a and oh my goodness, they don't get along.
I love that woman.
What about Andrea Carter, who is a superstar in.
The making in this business. What about Chaneo goomacay? These are my peeps, These are my peeps. What about Brian Windhorst.
Please understand, I got a team, and there's a lot of love that exists within that team and me and Skip Bayless, having everybody focused on us would take away from the team we built. Of course, Molly Carom, I mean.
That's just a given.
You know, she's the matriarch of the chuffe crying out loud, she comes before everybody when it comes to me.
I got a team.
It's not about shade, it's not about disappointment, It's not about anything negative for Skip Bayless. Skip Bayless went his way and did his thing for as long as he could. I'm here where I'm at, doing my thing for as long as I can.
That is the reason that that wouldn't happen.
Because what we've established is a special, special bond. Those are my teammates, those are my family. And it ain't to say that he won't always be, but he made a choice to move on and have his own path.
I'm doing the same.
I hope y'all can respect where I'm coming from when I break that down to you, I can't be more honest and open than that.
I hope you can appreciate it. That's it for this edition to the Stephen A. Smith Show.
Want to thank John Hopebrian once again for coming on the show and educating us with his brilliance. Don't forget to watch the full episode, the full interview with he and I talking to one another. You'll learn a lot, trust me on this, and you'll be better for it.
Don't miss it. Go to the Stephen A.
Smith Show YouTube channel and check that interview out, plus listen on iHeartRadio as well.
For all of y'all, I.
Hope you have a wonderful and safe weekend. I'll be back on Monday. Until then, I'm signing off. This is Stephen A.
Smith. Peace of love, everybody,
