Stephen A. Smith has made no secret about his desire to expand the reach of his commentary into the political hemisphere in recent years. Earlier this year, with Smith signing a new contract with ESPN, the agreement granted him even further access to explore political commentary. As a result, there is a growing groundswell of hype surrounding a potential presidential run in the near future for the ESPN commentator.
Recently, former ESPN commentator Marcellus Wiley discussed what he believes Smith might do as a potential candidate during the latest episode of his On the Rocks with Marcellus Wiley & Friends podcast.
“Whatever you think of him right now as a presidential nominee, he’s going to take it somewhere else. Just like he did with sports commentary. [If] he gets on a debate trail. He’s going to manipulate that s**t. That’s going to be ugly,” said Wiley.
Despite the speculation, Smith has publicly stated that he is not attempting to become a politician or run for office. However, he is keeping the option open, primarily because many within his inner circle have told him that he would make a strong candidate. In addition to his sports work, the ESPN commentator has made numerous appearances on political talk shows, podcasts, and political satire programs in recent years. Moreover, he has been building his Straight Shooter Media company, which houses The Stephen A. Smith Show podcast featuring both sports and political commentary.
Looking back, Wiley recalled the first time he met Smith when he appeared as a guest on The Best Damn Sports Show Period and shared his initial reaction to seeing Smith on camera.
“There was a dude sitting there, Stephen A. Smith. I was like, ‘hey, how you doing?’ He’s like ‘how you doing bro?’ I can smell east coast on them, they all over cool,” told Wiley. “In my head, I literally judged him. I said, ‘why are you on the show? They always had a reporter and I was like, ‘he’s boring.’… Then that light came on, that camera came on, and he came on.”
Furthermore, Wiley explained his amazement while watching Smith perform on camera, calling him a “superstar.” He emphasized that the moment was one he remembers vividly even to this day.
“I’ve never seen somebody do this in my life,” said Wiley. “John Salley is John Salley everywhere. Silly, funny, crazy. Everybody else I knew was either a superstar in their real life too, or they just wasn’t a superstar, right? I was like. This dude’s insane, now he’s Stephen A. Smith.”
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