Stephen A. Snith is, arguably, one of the most recognized sports journalists on the planet. Whether it’s his interesting statements on First Take or his hilarious social media rants, the guy is easily one of ESPN’s biggest draws.
So when he was struck with a case of COVID-19 weeks back, there was an enormous level of concern from all around the sports world.
Finally, on Tuesday morning, Stephen A. returned to First Take again, much to the delight of fans. This time, he shed some light on his experience with the Coronavirus and highlighted what a danger it can be, even to those who have been vaccinated.
“You’re assuming that you’ll have a fever, might have a cough, gonna have that massive headache — but you’ll get over it,” he said. “In a lot of cases that was the case. In my case it was totally different.
“I had 103 degree fever every night. Woke up with chills and a pool of sweat. Headaches were massive. Coughing profusely. And it got to a point where right before New Year’s Eve, I was in the hospital into New Year’s Day. That’s how I brought in the New Year.”
Apparently, Smith was knocking on death’s door for a while before he finally started getting better. Shockingly, he admitted that he’s still not 100%.
“They told me, had I not been vaccinated, I wouldn’t be here. That’s how bad it was. I had pneumonia in both lungs. My liver was bad. It had ravaged me to the point where even now I have monitor my volume — get to the gym every day, walk before you run. Work your way back because I’m still not 100 percent with my lungs, but I’m COVID negative. I’m on the road to recovery.
“But if it wasn’t for several doctors, I wouldn’t be here. Love and respect for what they did. Love and respect for people in the sports community and ESPN executives for checking on me every single day. Dave Roberts, Norby Williamson, Jimmy Pitaro — I can’t thank you enough.”
The NBA has seen no shortage of horrors related to COVID-19. Karl-Anthony Towns lost much of his family and several players have described their own horrible encounter with the pandemic. For Stephen A., the vaccine may very well have saved his life.
Despite all the backlash and controversy involved with health and safety protocols, the NBA seems to be aware of how ruthless the virus can be, and good on them for doing what they have to do to ensure player safety.
