According to Stephen A. Smith, he was close to dominating another sector of television. The face of ESPN was almost the face of CNN or cable news.
Smith joined the latest episode of The Old Man and The Three podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter. On the show, Smith recalled being let go by ESPN nearly fifteen years ago. It was almost the last time he’d be a prominent member of the network.
“When ESPN let me go in 2009, I appeared on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN 150 times,” Smith said. “I honestly thought that could be a possibility. In 2015, one of those networks, CNN actually interviewed me for my own show, on CNN.”
Smith believes if he had taken that path, it would have had serious ramifications for his safety.
“I can honestly tell you I believe, that if I were in politics, it might have got me killed because of the world we’re living in. If it didn’t get me killed, it would have me as a pariah by half of the country. Like the likes of a Sean Hannity or whatever,” Smith continued.
One of the faces of the ‘Embrace Debate’ era, Smith believes he would have been a polarizing figure no matter the network. He said he would “piss off millions” for being able to look at each issue independently. He also believes he’d be a threat because he would be doing whatever it took to be tops in the industry.
“Because when I’m doing stuff and I’m in, I don’t view myself as a second-place kind of guy. I’m coming to be the top dog.”
Smith doesn’t plan to discuss politics on ESPN soon, however. He has told Dan Le Batard as recently as last month that he respects the network’s decision to not have talent be vocal about controversial, political topics.
“When you’re tuning into a sports network, it is not beyond the pale for the consumer to say ‘I expect to hear about sports,’ okay?”
