In the 2021-22 season, a greater rift between players and traditional media personalities has started to come about. With current and former players like J.J. Redick, Matt Barnes, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and many others providing a platform for their fellow athletes, the relationships between players and the critical outside media aren’t looking as strong.
Stephen A. Smith at ESPN is a classic example, with his takes this year being extremely aggressive against certain players. The biggest example of the same is his treatment of Kyrie Irving all season long. From the vaccine mandate to Kyrie’s recent comments about managing the Nets, Smith has taken every chance possible to take shots at Kyrie. The ESPN YouTube page will confirm the same with the various talk-show segments about Irving.
Former NBA player Stephon Marbury has had enough of Smith’s disparaging comment on Irving and has hit back with scathing comments about Stephen A’s failure as a basketball player and how Smith is ‘an obnoxious TV star’.
More from @StarburyMarbury: “I truly believe he’s upset that he couldn’t play ball in front of 19,000 people every night, so he reverted towards targeting (bash) people who look like him who have true intentions on earth to be real and authentic towards helping people.”
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— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) May 1, 2022
This is a scathing critique of Smith’s recent comments on the sport in general. There has been growing discontentment from the fans towards Stephen A. as well, with the fans preferring the likes of Kendrick Perkins, Richard Jefferson, Max Kellerman, Mallika Andrews, and others.
Smith was a college basketball player but could never transition that into the pros. However, he found a route into journalism and he is one of the most powerful voices in all of sports media today. But the voices of basketball players on the sport itself will always have more credibility, even though Stephen A’s voice reaches millions more.
Maybe it is because of his platform that Marbury has felt the need to say this. Smith can genuinely influence opinions against certain players, so he needs to be more responsible with that voice. When he is being hateful towards players like Irving, it was natural that some pure hoopers try to come in and make comments like this. Stephen A. will most likely use this as a talk-point on the next First Take, so he probably won’t be too bothered by these comments.
