Stephen A. Smith returned to ESPN’s First Take this week, a month after revealing that he tested positive for COVID-19.
Four weeks ago, Smith said that he was experiencing mild symptoms and running a fever. But his condition eventually became much worse than he revealed publicly.
“I had a 103-degree fever every night,” Smith explained on Monday’s show (via Mediaite’s Brandon Contes). “Woke up with chills and a pool of sweat.
“Headaches were massive. Coughing profusely. And it got to a point that right before New Year’s Eve, I was in the hospital New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day. That’s how I brought in the New Year.”
Smith continued, explaining how important the COVID-19 vaccine was to his eventual recovery from symptoms that became very bad.
“And [doctors] told me had I not been vaccinated, I wouldn’t be here,” said Smith. “That’s how bad I was.
“I had pneumonia in both lungs. My liver was bad. And it ravaged me to the point where even now I have to monitor my volume. Got to get in the gym every day, walk before you run, and work your way back because I’m still not 100 percent with my lungs. But I’m Covid negative and all of that stuff, and I’m on the road to recovery.”
Also helping in Smith’s recovery may have been the pain of Dallas Cowboys fans he enjoyed on Monday’s show.
Seriously, though — after thanking the doctors who treated him, Smith went on to urge people to at least wear masks in public if they’re still reluctant about getting vaccinated. (Back in September, Smith admitted he had reservations about the vaccine, despite encouraging people to get it.)
“I think the one thing to emphasize the importance of — no matter what your feelings are about the vaccine — that mask is important,” said Smith. “The reason why the mask is so important is because you don’t know how the next person is affected. How I’m affected is different from how you are affected.”
As an example, Smith mentioned his sister who recovered from COVID in three days despite being a smoker.
“I can’t tell you how lucky and sincerely blessed I am to be sitting here with you guys today,” Smith told co-hosts Molly Qerim and Michael Irvin. “Because two-and-a-half, three weeks ago, I didn’t know if I was gonna make it.”
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
