ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith faced a loud backlash from the city of Memphis following his comments on Tuesday’s episode of First Take. Smith provided a piece of analysis explaining why he feels NBA players would prefer not to play in the city of Memphis. After guest analyst Markieff Morris asked Smith why he thought players preferred to avoid the city, Smith responded by saying players have told him it’s not the safest environment and that local authorities need to “clean some of that stuff up.”
As a result, this led to criticism of Smith’s comments from Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, former Grizzlies star Tony Allen, and Memphis-based radio host Chris Vernon. In addition, the Mayor of Memphis, Paul Young, shared his thoughts on the comments via X last night, stating that the city of Memphis has seen a drop in crime over the last two years and thanked those, including Morant, for jumping into the conversation following Smith’s remarks. Furthermore, on Wednesday, Smith continued the dialogue on First Take by sharing why he feels his comments were not out of step.
“It’s moving in the right direction, but it’s still recognized one of the worst cities in America. To the point where the head of the FBI has called it the murder capital of this country per capita. That’s on the record saying that this is just weeks ago,” said Smith on Wednesday.
Subsequently, Smith went on to read statistics, without attribution, to back up his argument regarding the poverty rate and the city’s ranking within the top 10 impoverished cities in America.
“When we’re talking about all of those things that you’re talking about, the troubles that exist. These are the kind of things that contribute to the city being deemed by some within the NBA community that’s unattractive,” explained Smith. “The point is, when you have these kinds of troubles, it’s relevant.”
Regarding Morant’s criticism of the comments made by Smith on Tuesday, Smith did not take offense to his retort. Instead, he emphasized that if Morant wants to stay in Memphis long term, the Grizzlies should invest in him because he’s a star in the NBA.
“He clearly cares about the city. I took no offense,” said Smith. “He never mentioned my name. He never mentioned First Take’s name, but it was clear he was talking about First Take because we were the show that addressed this subject. He was talking about how we should be talking about the NBA Finals instead of that.”
Finally, Smith ended his answer to the criticisms of his comments by apologizing to anyone who could have been offended. However, he reaffirmed that he will not step off the comments because of their importance in the broader conversation.
“I apologize if anybody was offended by it, but facts are facts,” said Smith. “There are concerns in that city. As a black man in this country who cares about my peeps, I’ll be damned if I’m going to be silent when all of these troubles are taking place. Although things appear to be getting better statistically.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
