Desmond Bane rebuts Stephen A. Smith calling Memphis unsafe: ‘All of that is just false’

While everyone had an opinion on Stephen A. Smith calling the city of Memphis unsafe this week on First Take, the whole conversation technically started as a discussion of the Grizzlies trading guard Desmond Bane to Orlando.

So it was only fitting that Bane himself have a chance to respond to Smith directly, which he did Thursday on the Young Man and the Three podcast.

Bane, who grew up in eastern Indiana and went to college in Fort Worth, Texas, acknowledged that Memphis has “rough parts,” but said that is no different than any other city. Overall, Bane said, “Memphis is a beautiful place.”

“I think all of that is just false,” Bane said of Smith’s comments. “I think once you get to Memphis and you learn Memphis and you know Memphis, there’s a lot of love in that city. Yeah, it’s got its rough parts, but that’s how every city is. Not everybody grew up with everything under the sun. I think that Memphis is a beautiful place, they’ve got a great organization. Anyone who goes there will be happy with what they’ve got going on, for sure.”

While Bane seemed to indicate that people who turn up their noses at Memphis are acting like coastal elites judging working-class cities in Middle America, he stopped short of addressing Smith directly.

Instead, Bane echoed the sentiments of his former teammate Ja Morant, wishing ESPN personalities could simply talk about the NBA Finals or the mechanics of the Memphis-Orlando trade rather than turning the network into a platform to feud with a whole city.

“I really try not to get into too much of that, just because I know how it can get and how it can turn out,” Bane added. “I think it’s unfortunate. I think there’s great things going on in the NBA Finals with the Pacers, Oklahoma City, two good basketball teams, and there’s a whole lot there to talk about. So there’s times where I don’t always understand the motive, but it is what it is, and I try not to pay attention to it.”

Judging from Bane’s tone throughout the podcast segment, he won’t be going after Smith anytime soon — and doesn’t care much for what ESPN’s signature personality has to say one way or another.