Doug Gottlieb is now the head coach of the Wisconsin–Green Bay men’s basketball team.
But the Fox Sports Radio host very much remains a member of the sports media.
As such, the host of The Doug Gottlieb Show has plenty of thoughts on the state of the industry, including its biggest star, Stephen A. Smith. And while the former Oklahoma State point guard admires Smith’s star power, he also takes issue with the First Take host’s preparation — or lack thereof.
“Stephen A.’s become a little bit too big for his britches,” Gottlieb told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand on his podcast, The Main Event. “I think a lot of those are artificial arguments. I respect how his strong an orator he is, how strong a personality he is and the fact he’ll bring his ‘Stephen A.’ to everything he does. But I also think there’s a level of preparedness that is missing or a level of realness that’s missing and that’s why I say those arguments are artificial.
“And that disappoints me. Because I think there’s a lot of talented people out there that are getting opportunities. But they’re not really giving the depth of what they know. Instead they’re just making top level arguments, which is clearly barbershop stuff. And I don’t think you should settle for that level.”
Gottlieb isn’t the first person to level such criticism at Smith, as it was just last week that Kevin Durant referred to the ESPN star as a “clown,” effectively accusing him of the same thing Gottlieb is: sharing uninformed opinions as fact.
“Yeah, Stephen A., I don’t understand how people even listen to Stephen A.,” the 2014 NBA MVP told The Athletic. “I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I’ve never seen Stephen A. at a practice, or a film session, or a shoot-around. I’ve never seen him anywhere but on TV talking s— about players. … He’s a clown to me. He’s always been a clown. You can write that, too.”
Durant’s criticism received a strong rebuttal from Smith, both on First Take and The Stephen A. Smith Show. It’s hard to imagine — although not out of the realm of possibility — that Gottlieb’s criticism will result in a similar response.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.