Stephen A. Smith: Golfers and NASCAR drivers are not athletes

Professional golfers and NASCAR drivers might play their sports at an elite level, but that’s not enough for Stephen A. Smith to call them athletes.

Smith recently discussed where LeBron James ranks as one of the greatest athletes ever in terms of longevity. The conversation prompted listeners of his Mad Dog Sports Radio show on SiriusXM to call in with other nominees, but when one person suggested Richard Petty, Smith seemed appalled at the thought. After dismissing Petty, Smith clarified the nominees have to be athletes, which he believes should exclude golfers and NASCAR drivers from consideration.

“Come on, man. That don’t count. You driving a car!” Smith ranted. “I’m being honest, it’s a great sport. But come on, bro. Getting behind the wheel of a car is not the same.”

Smith then asked whether a NASCAR driver is an athlete, and while many people would argue the answer is yes, he was asking the question rhetorically. And immediately after negating NASCAR drivers from the athlete conversation, Smith began to disparage pro golfers as well.

“You can be behind the wheel of a car in your 60s and 70s for crying out loud. A golfer is not an athlete. A NASCAR driver is not an athlete,” Smith insisted. “Just because you gotta walk the course for 18 holes for four days, that don’t make you an athlete.”

“They’re skilled players, they’re elite at what they do. But athletes? Athletes? Are you kidding me?” Smith continued. “Is walking the latest sport that you want to turn into an Olympic sport? Because I guess that would make them athletic, right? Because they can walk. If you’re out there doing stuff that grandmas and grandpas can do, I’m not gonna look at you that way. You’re skilled, you’re phenomenally skilled as a golfer…but that is not an athletic sport.”

According to Stephen A. Smith, if it’s something people can do in their 60s and 70s, then they’re not athletes. And because a 60-year-old can drive a car or walk a golf course, Smith believes that proves NASCAR drivers and pro golfers are not athletes. But Smith seemingly ignored the fact that a 60-year-old can still throw a baseball, dribble a basketball, lift a weight, and do just about everything that a 25-year-old athlete can do, which by his definition, means there is no such thing as an athlete.

“A golfer is not an athlete,” Smith maintained. “NASCAR is a sport, are they athletes to because they can get behind the wheel of a car and drive 100 plus miles per hour around the track 500 times, you trying to tell me they’re athletes too?”

Stephen A. Smith repeatedly leaned into this take throughout his two-hour show, wildly dismissing the strength, mental and physical stamina required by golfers and NASCAR drivers. Smith did, however, stop short of definitively claiming Tiger Woods is not an athlete, admitting some golfers can be athletes, but it wouldn’t be due to their golf abilities. Meaning Smith might consider Tiger an athlete because he’s physically fit, but not because he’s one of the greatest golfers of all-time, which is an absurd take.