Stephen A. Smith wants it to be forewarned that anything he says that’s critical about Charles Barkley is all in fun.
The two have their playful banter, even if Barkley recently warned Smith of overexposing himself on the media circuit, which the star of ESPN’s First Take responded to on his The Stephen A. Smith Show. You see, if you say something about Smith, he’s likely going to see it, and he’s likely going to respond to it on his podcast.
That’s how Smith keeps the media cycle spinning. He reacts to reactions, and now, here we are, writing it all up.
“That is my friend. That is my brother,” Smith said of the Inside the NBA star. “I love him dearly. I always have. I always will. He is as real and as authentic as it gets. And, oh by the way, weeks ago, when he was critical of me, as it pertained to my response to LeBron James, when LeBron James and I had our little spiel, Charles Barkley and I spoke on the phone. And what he said publicly is exactly what he said privately. That’s my guy, but that doesn’t mean I always agree with him. And it doesn’t mean that I’m devoid of the right to call him a flaming hypocrite when it’s called upon.
“Do y’all know how many commercials Charles Barkley does a year? He’ll tell us two. Have you seen Charles Barkley in two commercials? Are you kidding me? Oh, by the way, the cat that you work with at least twice a week during the NBA season is Shaquille O’Neal. Can we count the amount of endorsements he has? How often he’s seen everywhere? What new product he’s pitching? Did you say that about him? No, you didn’t. But when it comes to me, I need to be ‘careful.'”
Smith then called out Outkick’s Dan Dakich for “slickly” bringing up his foray into politics.
“Wasn’t it Charles Barkley, who made news for years, talking about his aspiration to run for the governor of Alabama?” Smith asked. “Because that’s where he’s from, after starring at Auburn and all of this other stuff. Wasn’t that him? I mean, it amazes me how people can say some of the things they say sometimes. It absolutely, positively blows me away, because I’m not the one with commercials everywhere. I’m working.
“Fox &Friends know that involves early mornings. That’s a rare appearance. That almost never happens. That’s not accurate. ESPN is the Worldwide Leader; they have a multitude of outlets, plus they put me on their dotcom sites. Outside of that, you see me occasionally on Sean Hannity — occasionally. You see me pretty much weekly on Chris Cuomo’s show on NewsNation. He’s a friend, and he asked me to come on, and I come on. Where else have I been seen?”
CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper and ABC News’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos for starters, but to be fair, the latter falls under the Walt Disney umbrella.
“Can we really, really get to the heart of the matter?” Smith continues. “And this isn’t directed at Charles Barkley. This is directed at all the folks out there. I’m making people very uncomfortable, and I don’t give a sh*t. You can sit there and talk about people not taking me seriously all you want to; we’ll see. Because I’m a serious brother, that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to laugh and smile and have fun, but I know who the hell I am.
“We’re talking about me on General Hospital. Why now? I’ve been General Hospital for seven years. It’s a soap opera. It’s not a sports show. That’s a different audience. I went on Law and Order. That’s the first time I’ve been on primetime television for anything outside of working for ESPN. That’s Law and Order; that’s not sports. So if you’re watching sports, chances are you aren’t watching those other things. You might not be watching soaps. You might not be watching Law and Order. So, one would argue, I’m reaching a different audience, and I’m expanding and showing that I’m somewhat of a renaissance man. That I have the versatility to do the things that I’m doing.”
“People saw me acting. They say, ‘Hey, he does a good job.’ And I’m supposed to scale that back because of my conspicuous presence?” Smith adds. “Last time I checked, that’s what we’re in this business for. And the very people laughing — and dismissing it — are you trying to tell me you would turn down those opportunities if it came your way? Why are you in this business? Yes, it’s easy for Charles Barkley to sit up there and say, ‘Two commercials a year,’ even though that’s a lie, because he’s definitely doing more than two.
“But, when you’re making the money that you’re making, that you have been making for years, you could afford to make those opportunities. Don’t bring up my contract now. That was just signed last month. You’ve been making that money for years. So when we look at it from that standpoint, what’s that about? And, oh by the way, whether you see me at other places, whether it be podcasts or other shows, I don’t volunteer to go talk to these people. Y’all call and ask. Yet, you’ll call and ask and then say, ‘I want to be seen,’ when you’re the one to call to ask me to be seen.”
Could it be because Smith speaks with substance?
Does he have something to say to draw viewers and listeners to those aforementioned shows?
“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing in this business?” Smith asks. “So, Charles Barkley, you continue to do the great job that you’ve been doing at TNT, and next year, it’ll start at ESPN. And let Shaq market the hell out of himself the way that he does significantly better than anybody on this planet. And let me do what I do.
“I have no desire to run for office. I have no desire to be a politician. I love talking about politics. I love giving social commentary on social issues. And I love talking about sports. And if that somehow, someway translates into me being in the mix, and people talking to me about a potential political position, so be it.”
Smith is not interested in it, but he doesn’t rule it out because he believes he can win.
“And I’ll be damned if anybody, especially my friend and my brother, who did nothing for years, other than play basketball, yet repeatedly announced his desires to one day run for the governor of Alabama, is going to sit here and tell me, ‘It’s a bit too much.’ It’s too much when I say it’s too much,” Smith said.