Stop us if you have heard this one before. Stephen A. Smith has managed to upset some people with his latest sports take. This time around, he angered NASCAR and golf fans.
During Monday’s episode of his SiriusXM show, Stephen A. Smith discussed how great LeBron James has been for so long.
“Is there an athlete that has been this good for this long in history?” Smith asked. “I don’t know who it is. Maybe somebody gonna gimme Sugar Ray Robinson, who I never saw a fight. Maybe they’ll gimme something like that. I don’t know of an athlete that has been this good this long.
“Michael Jordan is still my goat because Michael Jordan at his best, I take any day against LeBron at his best. But that doesn’t mean that LeBron isn’t great, and he isn’t on the Mount Rushmore of basketball.
“And when you think about sports overall, again, it’s a very simple question. At age 41 in his 23rd season, has there ever, ever, ever been anybody this good for this long? The answer to that is no, not that I know of. I haven’t seen it.”
Callers to the show offered some suggestions
Later in the show, listeners called in with suggestions for athletes who have had comparable, long careers, like LeBron James. One suggested former NFL stars Charles Woodson and Darrell Green. Stephen A. agreed that they were special athletes, but neither can match what LeBron James has done.
Another caller suggested, “I know it’s a little outside the box, but Richard Petty, man, had 200 wins. He had 27 in 1967 alone. He won the Daytona 500 five different times. He had 10 consecutive wins in 1967. His first win was in 1960.”
“C’mon, man, C’mon, man. That don’t count. You driving a car,” Stephen A. Smith responded.
After some back and forth, Smith continued by adding, “I said athlete. I said athlete. I mean, because guess what? You could get behind the wheel of a car at 75-years-old. That don’t count. That’s not the same. That has no place in this category. You actually should be ashamed of yourself calling up here, trying to slide that in. Seriously. You really should. You understand? You get behind the wheel of a car. No, you can’t drive like that. But you could be behind the wheel of a car in your sixties and seventies for crying out loud.
“A golfer is not an athlete. A NASCAR driver is not an athlete. That’s just not true. We are not gonna act like it is. Okay? Just ’cause you gotta walk the course for 18 holes for four days, don’t make you an athlete. That’s not true. So let’s stop that nonsense right now before we even get started with it. That’s right. I said it.”
Numerous sports fans disagreed with Stephen A. Smith
“This is such a bad take,” read one comment on X.
“I would like to see Stephen A. Smith play 18 holes at a golf course to see if he’s physically capable of doing it,” another suggested. “After a couple of holes, I could see him b——- about it as he’s walking down the fairway.”
“REALLY?? We’re doing this s— again?? Ugh,” read another comment.