If and when Stephen A. Smith becomes president of the United States, he won’t protect the Army-Navy Game from any college football counter-programming the way Donald Trump is attempting.
President Trump kept one of his political promises this week, issuing an executive order to preserve the annual Army-Navy Game’s exclusive window from potential encroachment by the College Football Playoff. And this made Stephen A. Smith about as angry as he’s been over a sports or political headline in recent memory.
“It’s stuff like this from the president of the United States that pisses me off,” Smith ranted during his Friday afternoon SiriusXM show on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “And he’s sticking his nose in places that I don’t believe the president of the United States should be sticking their nose in.”
“Who the hell does this man think he is?” Smith continued. “Every single time I try to be fair and fair-minded to this president, he pulls some BS like this. It really pisses me off. IT REALLY PISSES ME OFF! Who the hell does he think he is?! If the Army-Navy game is on NBC, Fox and CBS should be excluded from having its own content on its networks? Because the president issued some executive order that he doesn’t want anything competing with Army-Navy, that he wants the focus of the sports world on Army-Navy. Well, what if they don’t want that?! WHAT IF THEY DON’T WANT TO WATCH ARMY-NAVY?!”
Paramount Global owns the Army-Navy Game rights on CBS through 2038. And while Smith might be against the executive order, Paramount Global CEO David Ellison, who has close ties to the Trump administration, will undoubtedly favor keeping the event a standalone game.
Smith, however, argued fans should be able to watch another game if they choose. But more than fans being able to watch another game, it’s college football schedule makers and networks that Trump is attempting to bar from creating or offering another game. Currently, the annual Army-Navy matchup is a standalone game that sits between conference championship weekend and the CFP, although that was news to Kirk Herbstreit last year. This year, Army-Navy is scheduled for Dec. 12, while the CFP first round kicks off the following week, Dec. 18-19. Which means if the CFP is expanded, they could look to play those first-round games the same weekend as Army-Navy.
“Who the hell is he to tell the broadcast world, ‘Nah, not at this time.’ Who the hell does he think he is?!” Smith ranted of Trump. “It’s that kinda BS that’s got our country in a tizzy right now. That right there. Because you overstepping your damn bounds. Don’t you got enough things to be focused on? Now you trying to tell us what damn football games we should watch?! Who the hell does he think he is?!”
Trump can issue the executive order, but it remains to be seen whether college football schedule makers and networks will be legally bound to adhere to it as an enforceable mandate.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com