Earlier this week, ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith made comments about why NBA players have told him they would prefer not to play in the city of Memphis. On Tuesday’s episode of First Take, guest analyst Markieff Morris asked Smith why he thought players preferred to avoid the city. In response, Smith said players have told him it’s not the safest environment and that local authorities need to “clean some of that stuff up.”
Subsequently, Brandon Walker of Barstool Sports brought up the comments on his Mostly Sports with Mark Titus and Brandon Walker podcast Thursday and joked that Smith has appointed himself “God” with his comments about the city of Memphis. As a result, this led to Titus taking aim at the overabundance of Smith on ESPN during the NBA Finals.
“I would have zero problem with anything Stephen A. Smith is saying or doing if he wasn’t on the NBA Finals broadcast,” said Titus. “You try to avoid this Stephen A. bulls**t. You know what I want to do. I love basketball, so I want to watch the two best basketball teams compete for the highest honor in professional basketball.”
Titus, a former basketball player at Ohio State, clarified that his only gripe isn’t that Smith shares opinions about the sport of basketball. Rather, he believes ESPN is making a mistake by placing Smith in his role with the NBA Finals.
“ESPN has appointed him to be one of the voices you hear when you tune into the NBA Finals, that’s the only problem,” said Titus. “If you choose to do that, you are going to get Stephen A in your face. Like Godd**n! This guy’s awful. I almost forget it, because I don’t watch all the other s**t he does.”
Furthermore, Titus agreed when questioned if he feels that Smith goes after NBA players, calling some of the comments made by Smith “threatening.”
In the aftermath of the backlash, Smith has since apologized for his comments if anyone took offense to his stance on the city of Memphis. Additionally, he has accepted an offer by the Mayor of Memphis to visit the city.
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