People that know Stephen A. Smith often say the ESPN star is far more conservative than most may think. On Wednesday’s episode of First Take, Smith acknowledged that there were plenty of thing about FOX News that he likes including The Five and Neal Cavuto.
He made it crustal clear though that Tucker Carlson was not in that group. Smith lit into Carlson after he suggested that the jury in Derek Chauvin’s trial found the former Minneapolis office guilty of murdering George Floyd only because they were scared of potential unrest in the streets.
“You just wonder sometimes if this is the kind of thing that leads to the divisisness we’re talking about,” Smith said. “Because the video is there for all of us to see. You had people on both sides of the aisle talking about this police officer and how egregious his actions were.”
Smith even says that he is pretty sure he has seen Tucker Carlson in the past mention that Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck was egregious.
Tucker Carlson is to FOX News what Stephen A. Smith is to ESPN. Each network’s most popular star attracts viewers with a different kind of outrageousness though. Whereas Smith tends to get attention for how he says things, Carlson seeks attention for what he says.
Commenting on a FOX News show would usually be outside of ESPN’s purview, but it has fit in with what the network has done in the wake of the verdict from Minneapolis. Well into Wednesday night, ESPN shows were discussing not just the sports world’s reaction to the verdict, but the verdict itself and its larger implications.
