Stephen A. Smith has been vocal and public about his desire to be more than just an ESPN talking head in recent years, but he has no plans to leave sports talk behind any time soon.
In an appearance on The Jim Rome Show on Monday, Smith explained that while he enjoys spreading his wings on The Stephen A. Smith Show or frequent appearances on Fox News and elsewhere, he still has a passion for sports and wants to keep it a core part of his identity as a commentator and entertainer.
“I never want to leave sports,” Smith told Rome. “It’s my bread and butter; it’s what helped make me what I am today. I love it, I’m excited about it, I’m enthused about it. … But I love being able to talk about it all. I love being able to talk about social issues, I love being able to talk about politics, pop culture and entertainment … whatever the people are magnetized by and whatever draws an audience is what we should discuss.”
On his podcast, Smith is just as likely to interview New York radio icon Charlamagne Tha God about social issues or leftist political commentator Roland Martin about election season as he is to weigh in on the Dallas Cowboys. But there is a heavy dose of sports in every episode.
As his ESPN contract nears its expiration, Smith continues to make it clear he wants the freedom to pursue other lines of work and other lines of commentary no matter where he works.
“I love sports; sports will always be at the forefront, and I’ll never let that go if I can help it,” Smith added. “But I never want to be limited by it anymore, either. I’m of the mindset I want to do more than sports, and anybody that wants to limit me to just sports is not gonna be somebody I want to work for.”
If you’re like former ESPNer Dan Le Batard and think Smith helped ruin sports journalism with his debate-first mentality, or you’re tired of Smith’s Knicks fandom ruining NBA Countdown on ESPN, maybe you wish Smith would leave the sports world for good. But he is the single most high-profile sports commentator in the country, and leaving that perch would likely be terrible for his brand.
Everyone is known for something, and Smith is a sports guy first and foremost. He plans to keep it that way.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.