Stephen A. Smith believes people are conspiring to get him fired from ESPN

Stephen A. Smith believes his enemies have spent the last year conspiring to get him fired from ESPN and SiriusXM. But be careful what you wish for. Because Smith claims getting him fired from ESPN won’t eliminate him, it will only eliminate the guardrails around him.

Smith is feuding with Matt Barnes, which stemmed from his ongoing feud with LeBron James. Most recently, he called James out for shading Memphis as an NBA city, which is ironic because Smith said similar things about Memphis last year on First Take. But after Smith called James out over his Memphis commentary, Barnes called Smith out for disrespecting people in the Black community too often, citing Serena Williams, Jasmine Crockett, and Kamala Harris as examples.

Naturally, the criticism set Smith off on a tirade, where he fired back by criticizing Barnes’ political agenda and questioning the legitimacy of his “softball” interview with Gavin Newsom. But during his Tuesday afternoon SiriusXM show for Mad Dog Sports Radio, Smith offered more context about why he appears to have an ever-growing number of feuds and enemies.

“I think that it’s important for my listeners and also the people here at SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio, for me to remind people of who the hell I am,” Smith said. “Things have happened in my life over the last year or so that you have a right to know. There are many folks out there who want me done. They want me fired. They want me taken off the airwaves of SiriusXM. They want me taken off the airwaves of ESPN. Good luck with that. Because, ladies and gentlemen, if I had a speck of fatigue, if I was melancholy about anything, if I was devoid or stripped of inspiration and fervor and defiance, oh, they cured that. There’s nothing that gets me up more than adversaries that have the nerve to think they can go against me. I love it. It inspires me, it fuels me.”

“Over the last year, there’s been a lot of enemies. And I don’t hurt easy. But I will tell you what does hurt me; when I have people who smile in my face spanning years and led me to believe we were friends and then backstab me.”

Smith presumably considers Barnes one of those people who backstabbed him after previously smiling at his face. In recent years, Barnes had appeared on Smith’s radio, YouTube, and TV shows. And Smith didn’t appreciate Barnes now criticizing the way the Black community perceives him.

“Whether it’s with ESPN or whether it’s right here with SiriusXM, do you know why I’m not worried about these athletes? Cause they can’t touch me,” Smith said. “They want to make enough noise so enough people can turn against somebody like me, and maybe, just maybe, you won’t listen to me. And as a result, by not listening to me, it will dilute my impact, and I’d go away, so they won’t have to be concerned about me. Too late for that. I’m not going away.”

“You got folks out there that want me canceled,” Smith continued. “I want you to imagine for a second that I’m no longer working for the Mouse during my day job. There’s no more ESPN, there’s no Walt Disney, and all there is SiriusXM and whatever else I want to do in the YouTube stratosphere. Do you understand there would be no barricades? There would be no barriers. Do you understand? That would unleash me even more…careful what you wish for.”

As ridiculous as the “cancel culture” conversation is, it’s even more ridiculous when it comes to Smith, who already operates without barriers. And while most people will think getting fired from ESPN would be a bad thing, Smith seems to believe it would only amplify him more. Maybe Smith sees that as his ultimate ticket to keeping his money and running for president.