Over the last several weeks, 98.5 The Sports Hub’s morning duo of Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb have made the assertion that Stephen A. Smith is trapped in a television prison with a microphone in front of him for hours on end. The show has also stated how they feel ESPN only contains Smith, Mike Greenberg and Scott Van Pelt on most of its coverage, and that it will soon add Pat McAfee to that group when he brings his eponymous digital show to its platforms. When this topic is brought up, it is part of what has become a recurring segment known as, “Stephen A. Smith is horny,” and the show is now fully convinced Smith himself is listening to it.
“Is that a little big-headed? Maybe,” Shertenlieb said of the idea Smith knows about the bit. “But do I believe it to be true? Absolutely.”
“People at ESPN do listen,” Toucher added. “We are on the radio and have a certain amount of popularity.”
The Walt Disney Company, according to Smith, is traditionally conservative in the subject matter it allows on its air. It is precisely why the freedom Smith is afforded on the podcast to pruriently talk about sensitive subject matter is questionable to some consumers.
“It’s truly phenomenal that a segment I thought we were only going to do once a month has become a once-a-week thing,” Shertenlieb said, “and now I’m starting to think that he’s doing it on purpose because he knows we’re doing this bit.”
On the latest edition of the segment, Smith expressed his opinion on the news of a transgender activist being banned from all future events at The White House after she recorded topless videos on the residency’s South Lawn. When Smith began to use language that had to be censored from airing on terrestrial radio, the duo began to wonder whether Smith is taking things too far.
“He’s gotten too big for Disney,” Shertenlieb said. “He doesn’t even care.”
“What is he going to talk about?,” Toucher replied. “He’s talking [for] 12 hours a day. He’s making statements like, ‘I like breasts,’ on a regular basis.”
Toucher believes Smith wants to be suspended by ESPN for the language he uses so he is able to relax and enjoy his life. Smith recently took two days off from the network following the Denver Nuggets NBA Finals victory over the Miami Heat but still hosted his podcast on Thursday afternoon.
“It is true Stephen A. Smith is trapped in a TV prison,” Toucher said. “He is required to be on prison [for] an unconscionable amount of hours. Then he does a radio show and podcast. A man throughout the day is going to think about many things that are not sports.”
Shertenlieb concurred, thinking how his consistent statements pertaining to these topics could be a rebellion of sorts against The Walt Disney Company. Toucher firmly believes the issue is that he is always in front of a microphone and is now knowingly supplying 98.5 The Sports Hub with weekly content to enthuse its audience.
“Stephen A. Smith has gone off the rails,” Shertenlieb said. “This break – he did stuff in the other room I was cackling [about] because I had no idea he would go to this place.”
