Stephen A. Smith calls for Rob Manfred to suspend Bryce Harper: ‘Can’t confront a commissioner like that’

Bryce Harper dared to confront Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, and now Stephen A. Smith wants the Philadelphia Phillies All-Star to pay a price.

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Harper told Manfred to “get the f*** out of our clubhouse” during a recent meeting with the MLB commissioner. The confrontation, where Harper and Manfred reportedly stood nose-to-nose, occurred during a meeting meant to improve player relations. And while Passan wrote Manfred never said “salary cap” during the heated discussion, that’s where Harper felt the conversation was going.

Fast forward to Chris Russo’s What Are You Mad About? segment Wednesday morning on First Take, and Mad Dog was mad at Harper for disrespecting Manfred. But just as mad was Stephen A. Smith, who believes the interaction warrants a suspension.

“I love Bryce Harper, I really, really do,” Smith said before ripping the Phillies’ first baseman. “I’m not gonna lie to you, you can’t confront the commissioner like that and talk to him like that.

“We all got to remember there’s so much more that goes into the world of business, negotiations, and things of that nature, it’s not just one individual. And to have an authoritative figure like that be talked to like that and disrespected like that, I’m sorry.”

Smith went on to imagine what would have happened if a player yelled at the late David Stern during his reign in the NBA.

“Times have changed,” Smith acknowledged. “Maybe in certain respects, it needs to go back to some of the previous days where you just know the importance of decorum and respect, particularly when you’re thinking about business.”

All signs are currently pointing to a work stoppage after the 2026 MLB season, with Ken Rosenthal previously telling Awful Announcing there’s a “90 percent” chance of the players getting locked out. Most of the tension between the two sides stems from the owners wanting a salary cap. And if that remains a goal, it’s reasonable to expect a work stoppage with the potential for missed games.

Considering everything the players’ association fought for throughout MLB’s history, it’s very hard to imagine them accepting a salary cap. There might be a better way to express that than yelling “get the f*** out of our clubhouse” at the commissioner, but that’s how the players feel about any talk of a cap. And in the court of public opinion, more fans are likely to side with the union, preferring to give their money to the millionaire players they root for rather than the billionaire owners, who are often perceived as being cheap.

Everyone knows the commissioner’s goal is to serve the owners. But the commissioner’s current goal should be to ease tensions between the owners and players. And handing Harper a suspension because of their clubhouse confrontation will only light a fire under the MLBPA.