Hour 2: Stephen A. Smith (feat. Stephen A. Smith)

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Speaker 6 This is the Dan Labatar Show with the Stu Gats Podcast.

Speaker 13 What up, Tellers?

Speaker 1 How y'all doing? Hanging in there.

Speaker 4 Look at him. Look at him.

Speaker 14 He's insatiable. He's indefatigable.

Speaker 15 He's unconquerable.

Speaker 14 What are some other words that Howard Kosell might use here?

Speaker 16 Stephen A. Smith joining us from an airport, off to his next conquest.

Speaker 17 Always on the move.

Speaker 18 Always nice to see you, Stephen A.

Speaker 19 How are you?

Speaker 13 What's up, my brother?

Speaker 15 How are you doing? Are you doing well?

Speaker 20 You seem to be working a lot still.

Speaker 13 Well, that's because I love what i do so that's all it is i love what i do i'm having a good time um i'm just traveling right now i want to apologize to your audience i was supposed to be on a little bit earlier with my tardy ass self but i was going through um airport security so they held me up that's what held me up so i apologize for that what are you what are you smiling about roy why that that that that tsa got him i can't believe they make stephen a walk through security i mean that should be you should have clear

Speaker 13 i do i do have clear i do have clear but things seem unclear no why why are you getting stopped if you've got clear you got to go through and you got to be through like you can be late you have you have to go through and then they got to clear you you don't have to take off your clothes and all of this other stuff but and the lines are quicker but the bottom line is is that you you got to follow rules and regulations well brother that's what i did there's no problem okay well

Speaker 13 i'm glad i'm not too big i'm not too big for that

Speaker 13 rough year i mean no more private jets here man big deal you saw what's going on i i i i i use private jets sometimes but not all the time damn it that's expensive you know wait a way you know i mean i'm not gonna to spend all my damn money, you know, not going to do that.

Speaker 23 It is very nice to see all of your success. You know that

Speaker 24 I am very happy for you.

Speaker 24 Not everyone is.

Speaker 14 You know how this business is.

Speaker 23 So

Speaker 23 I will tell the people you should listen to Stephen A's two new shows on Sirius XM, the one on Mad Dog Sports Radio, channel 82.

Speaker 14 I love what he has done to further the career of Mad Dog Chris Russo, and also on POTUS Politics channel, channel 124, because if you haven't been watching, he has expanded his game into that area.

Speaker 16 So let me ask you the first question.

Speaker 27 Why?

Speaker 13 Because I love it.

Speaker 13 It's what I love to do. First of all, I love to work.

Speaker 13 But secondly, and most importantly, I've always been a conscientious observer and I've always been somebody that's looking not to be one-dimensional.

Speaker 13 So the opportunity to really expand, you know, my portfolio to such a degree is just a no-brainer to me.

Speaker 13 Doing radio is nothing new, but I didn't only get, I'm not only getting paid to do that, I'm in a partnership deal with them. So that goes a long way.
I still have my ESPN obligations.

Speaker 13 We know I didn't want to leave there.

Speaker 13 And then the opportunity to still do that and then expand beyond that and start talking politics and having being on a POTIS channel and bringing that level of cachet to the equation is something I couldn't ignore either while still keeping my ownership, complete ownership of my own YouTube channels and my production company in terms of creating scripted and unscripted content with a lot of stuff that I have coming down the pike.

Speaker 13 I'm really excited about the plethora of opportunities that are available to me. You know me, man.
I don't stop.

Speaker 13 For those who don't keep going to.

Speaker 27 Forgive me.

Speaker 24 For those of you who do not know,

Speaker 15 the deals that he has worked out most recently for ownership of his things, those things are important.

Speaker 15 And he represents not only one of the most improbable stories in the history of ESPN, all of sports media, in that he got fired from ESPN and came back all the stronger.

Speaker 14 It is a lunacy.

Speaker 29 Which part of your story do you regard as the most improbable?

Speaker 13 The fact that I was able to get back.

Speaker 13 I mean, usually when ESPN lets you go, it's a death knell, particularly if you're a black man in this industry and, you know, you're considered persona non grada and obviously people are not hiring you.

Speaker 13 They're not talking to you. I mean, that goes a long way.
I don't think people realize, Dan, and fellas, when, you know, I departed from ESPN in 2009.

Speaker 13 Everybody looks at the fact that I came back to Fox Sports Radio in 2010, a year later. And then ultimately, I was back at ESPN in 2011.

Speaker 13 But what they're not realizing is that from May of 2009 to April of 2012, I was not on television. I was essentially banned, in my estimation, black bulk.

Speaker 13 I was considered somebody that you didn't want to do business with.

Speaker 13 And, you know, when the worldwide leader let you go, and they let you go with that level of trepidation or angst or whatever word is appropriate about you, that's a lot to overcome, particularly back in the day.

Speaker 13 You know, even though podcasts have been around for a while now, back in 2009 and stuff like that, it certainly wasn't as big, wasn't as formidable as it is in this day and age.

Speaker 13 And so because of that, you know, you're looking at your opportunities and you're wondering where they were and who would ever touch you again, who would ever hire you again.

Speaker 13 So that was the dilemma that I was faced with at that particular moment in time.

Speaker 30 Well, we've talked about this part before, though, that

Speaker 15 you're underselling it.

Speaker 16 You were terrified.

Speaker 15 You can't get this much out of your professional, your identity can't be this much wrapped into what you do professionally working 300 days a year and not have all of that be totally terrifying, like as scared as you've ever been.

Speaker 13 But you're a friend, so you know more than most, there was a reason I was terrified. And that was because I was a new dad.
I had just had my daughter. And so being poor and black, growing up,

Speaker 13 knowing what welfare like, knowing what welfare cheese and bread is like, knowing what it's like to live in your home and wonder whether or not, you know, the mortgage was going to get paid, the the rent was going to get paid, the food was going to be in the refrigerator, rats and roaches, holes in the ceiling, and all of this other stuff.

Speaker 13 I was absolutely, positively petrified that if I didn't get something together, that

Speaker 13 that was the state of affairs that was going to exist for my daughter, you know, my oldest daughter at the time, Samantha. And so I was very, very petrified at that particular moment in time.

Speaker 13 But I put my head down, I looked in the mirror, recognized where I made my mistakes, what I needed to correct. And I've been on a mission ever since.

Speaker 13 And that's why I do what I do, because I still walk with that fear to this very day. It doesn't matter how much money I'm getting paid.
It doesn't matter what the contract says.

Speaker 13 Doesn't matter what opportunities I have in front of me. I am always of the mindset that at the snap of a finger, it can all be taken away from me.

Speaker 13 That is how I approach my everyday life in terms of how I go about the business of doing my job. And it's just a mentality that never escapes me.
It's who I am.

Speaker 15 Doesn't seem terribly mentally healthy, is it?

Speaker 14 Like, you know what I mean?

Speaker 27 To be so ambitious that

Speaker 27 you can't be be fearless because you know it can end in a sentence and end in a way that scares you the most.

Speaker 13 Well, I disagree with that. I don't think that I'm fearful in terms of, you know, going about the business of doing my job every day.

Speaker 13 I'm just mindful of the fact that because of things that could potentially be out of my control, it could all be snatched away from me. That's all I mean by that.

Speaker 13 But it doesn't mean I walk into work every day scared, scared to go on the air, to say what I say and do what I do.

Speaker 13 I say this affectionately because you and I have a relationship that now spans 30 years, Dan.

Speaker 13 I think I'm more mentally stable than you, you know, and I say that affectionately because you, you know, you are a serious brother that is a conscientious observer, that wears your emotions and your feelings on your sleeve.

Speaker 13 You're a deep thinker. You internalize a lot.
And even though you vent, it's never finished with you.

Speaker 13 It's always more to touch on, to get into, always more people to check, always more issues to attack, et cetera, cetera etc and because of that and how you can be you wear a lot of it on your sleeve where you dealing in corporate america is a lot more difficult and arduous for you than it is for me me i understand me as a black man having the feelings that i have being a conscientious observer that i can possibly be having a mouth being as fearless as i can be i understand the troubles that are going to come with it so You know what?

Speaker 13 You're the kind of person that you might attack something and you don't give a damn about the third rail because to you, you're not thinking about that, you're just thinking about what needs to be said.

Speaker 13 I'm thinking about what needs to be said, but I'm always mindful of where the third rails lie, I'm always mindful of how I can get fried, and because of that, I might maneuver a little bit differently than you do from time to time.

Speaker 13 But I'm at more at peace with it than you are, and which is why I think that I'm a little bit more mentally stable than you are.

Speaker 15 I loved your examination of that, but you have just had a less emotional, I would say more realistic and more filled with hardship

Speaker 16 path toward success than I did. So you learn, you learned to work within the machine much better than I did because I just had gates open for me the entire time.

Speaker 21 So the first time I run into a corporation telling me how to behave, that's when I lash out.

Speaker 27 And you're looking at me over here and being like, Dan, you cannot go against the company that pays your checks. You cannot do that publicly.

Speaker 13 Well, I just say that to you. Like, listen, you right now, you've got middle arch media.
Look at the great job that you guys have been doing.

Speaker 13 But in the process, man, at the end of the day, even though you're working with people, they answer to you.

Speaker 13 And if they're doing things that's going to compromise your bottom line, you're going to have to deal with them because

Speaker 13 you have bottom line goals to address. The same is applicable to any company or corporation in this country or in this world.
You got to understand where the lines are drawn.

Speaker 13 It's not to say that you can't be your true authentic self. It's not to say that you can't be as real and authentic as you want to be and as you should be and as you're destined to be.

Speaker 13 But in the process of doing all of that, it can't be at the expense of everybody around you that's cut the chat. Wait a minute now.
They got to get something out of it too.

Speaker 13 And so for me, I've always prided myself on being as true to me as I can possibly be, but being mindful of the fact that I don't just represent myself.

Speaker 13 You know, if I do something, it's not just about me. It's about first take.
It's not just about first take. It's about the people I work with on first take.

Speaker 13 It's not just about first take and the people I work on first take. It's about ESPN.
And if it's about ESPN, it's also about Disney. I got to take all of those things into consideration.

Speaker 13 And that doesn't mean that definitively, okay, this is what I'm going to do. This is what I'm going to say.
This is the way that I'm going to act.

Speaker 13 All I've ever encouraged you to do is remember, you're not just having to think about you. It's more than just about you.

Speaker 13 And what I've encouraged you throughout the years, and you've been pretty damn hardheaded and listening to it, even though you get it, sometimes you listen, sometimes you don't, is that sometimes you're so, so passionate about it that you know what?

Speaker 13 You'll win the battle and lose the war. And I'm saying, Dan, why? You're too damn important.
Why would you do that? Guess what? This is not that important.

Speaker 13 This might be down the road, but this right here is not. Yeah, but you learned that.

Speaker 12 Stephen A.

Speaker 13 Bigger fighter than fighters.

Speaker 28 But

Speaker 14 I think you learned that in 2009 in a way that I didn't.

Speaker 16 I believe that you learned how to be unemotional about this because once you got hit the first time, it was so scarring that you're like, okay, that's not going to happen again.

Speaker 13 But that wasn't the first time I got hit.

Speaker 13 Remember, I was in arbitration against the philadelphia inquirer remember i had to go through stuff where i got i'm seeing people look at my face and tell lies and having to deal with it and i got lawyers by my side and i got to listen to 12 13 hours of testimonies of nothing but damn lies and i got to take it why because it wasn't my turn to talk at that particular moment in time there was times that i've had i've had struggles in my career whether it be at the philadelphia inquirer was at the new york daily news before that hell even with internships when i was in college trouble has always followed me at some point in time or another because in my mind, I'm going to speak my truth to whatever power exists.

Speaker 13 And I'm going to say the things that need to be said that sometimes it's going to ruffle feathers and make people uncomfortable. But that's the way it goes.
That's the business we signed up for.

Speaker 13 And I think in your case, respectfully, because again, I'm your boy and I understand that a lot of times you have very excellent points. You're certainly not stupid.
You're a highly intelligent dude.

Speaker 13 But at some point,

Speaker 13 at times, you let your emotions get the better of you to a point where it gets in the way of the bigger picture. And you are somebody that's religiously associated with the bigger picture.
You matter.

Speaker 13 Your thoughts matter. Your opinions matter.
And sometimes I'm looking at you and I'm saying, as I've told you to your face, is that really worth it?

Speaker 13 Is that the fight? Is that the sword to fall on right now? Because it's a bigger one down here that you're going to be needed for. And that's where you and I from time to time to differ.

Speaker 13 Because for you, every fight is a big fight. Some fights to me ain't worth a damn.
It ain't worth my time. It's not a big deal.
I can brush it off my shoulders.

Speaker 13 And then there are some bigger fights where somebody needs to get their ass kicked. I'm going to kick their ass.

Speaker 29 All right. So

Speaker 14 walk me through the changes at ESPN, the changes in journalism that result in the combination of things that has the NFL now owning 10% of ESPN.

Speaker 18 And somewhere within that, Spike Lee's documentary on Colin Kaepernick gets spike that was with ESPN, and Spike Lee's silence is purchased.

Speaker 14 He's got an NDA. He cannot talk about it.

Speaker 17 As someone who can step beyond ESPN and just view it as a journalism

Speaker 2 expert, how do you walk through all these changes?

Speaker 13 My temptation is to tell you, don't try that shit with me,

Speaker 13 Dan Lebatt. You know, there's but so much I'm going to get into as it pertains to that, but it's a legitimate question.
So I will answer it

Speaker 13 by saying this. I don't know all the intimate details of the deal.
What I do know is this: we live in a different age, and everybody's in business with somebody.

Speaker 13 And the NFL owning 10% of ESPN now is obviously of extreme benefit to us and extreme benefit to them. Will it compromise journalism? I don't think so.

Speaker 13 I look at the league contracts we've had with the NFL. I look at the league contracts we've had with the NBA, with Major League Baseball, and stuff like that.

Speaker 13 It doesn't stop our investigative reporting, it doesn't compromise our integrity.

Speaker 13 You, as an individual, have an obligation to recognize the fact that you have a business, you know, to handle every single day. I know what my business is.
I'm a pundit. I'm a commentator.

Speaker 13 I'm a journalist. I'm all of those things.
I'm an entertainer as well. All of those things come with it.

Speaker 13 My job is different from what Outside the Lines once was, or what investigative reporters are, or what beat reporters are, or whatever.

Speaker 13 Everybody knows what their lines are, what their obligations are. Big business, can it? wield its heavy hand down upon it.
People have been suspecting that for decades.

Speaker 13 It's no different now, especially with the exorbitant amount of dollars that exist. We all understand that, but that doesn't mean they're going to get their way.
They can want it all they want to.

Speaker 13 Well, you know what? I'm getting ready to interview Roger Goodell in a few weeks.

Speaker 13 They're going to stop me from asking him what I need to ask, whatever those questions are at that particular moment in time.

Speaker 13 The same is applicable to Adam Silver, the same as applicable to Gary Beckman in hockey or Rob Manfred with Major League Baseball.

Speaker 13 Whatever the story is, whatever the news is, whatever the audience wants to know and be edified and informed about, it's my obligation to bring that to the table.

Speaker 13 And no deal between the league and ESPN is going to stop me from being me.

Speaker 13 And I think that it's safe to say that is the case with almost everybody, just as it was the case with you when you were there. You did what you do.

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Speaker 6 Don Lebatard. Doesn't matter.

Speaker 7 Anywhere we could do it in Buffalo or Baltimore. Eva.

Speaker 2 He said you could do it where? Anywhere. Oh, whoa.
Oh, that's crazy. That's crazy.
That's crazy. He said he could do it anywhere.
That's crazy, murder.

Speaker 7 Murder, tell him.

Speaker 11 I had no idea Mean had that in his locker.

Speaker 2 That might be his best. That's crazy.
I'm not kidding.

Speaker 7 That's crazy, killer.

Speaker 2 It's two America's dead. You don't get it?

Speaker 6 This is the Don Lebatar Show with the Stugats.

Speaker 33 It's interesting, though, because journalism and business have always tried to be separate editorially. Over the last 25 years, ESPN didn't have to choose to be a journalism business.

Speaker 33 They could have just been a business, but they chose to try to be a journalism business. And in doing so, you're...

Speaker 22 What was that, though?

Speaker 13 Oh, it's profitable. It's good.

Speaker 26 Credibility, profitable. It's good for everybody for them to

Speaker 17 take the newspaper credibility and become a journalism entity.

Speaker 13 But why? The reason why, Dan, tell your audience this, it's because we didn't have all of those live contracts at the time. So you had to get into original content.

Speaker 13 And what better way to do that than have scribes, reporters, commentators, et cetera, who can get in front of the camera and articulate themselves in a way that was entertaining to an audience to make themselves attractive.

Speaker 13 And look at the business we have now created. Look at your business.
Look at my business. Look at the advent of the podcast.
industry. Look at television and radio shows being created.

Speaker 13 Look at television shows on Linear and streaming and beyond that have been created or will be created.

Speaker 13 The point is you figure out different ways to make money, to monetize whatever product you could give to the masses that they would deem attractive. That's what we're talking about here.

Speaker 13 The game ain't as complicated as people try to make it out to be. And certainly the money may appear to have changed things, but as things change, they remain the same.

Speaker 13 Just like you find a way to work around stuff in the past to make sure that business is still thriving and everybody gets fed, the same is applicable now. It hasn't really changed that much.

Speaker 16 I I think, though, that is it possible, I don't think it's possible for you to be naive, but you think that the NFL owning 10% of ESPN isn't going to have the NFL having more to say about the content that goes forward?

Speaker 13 I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is they can try, but who the hell owns the other 90%? And who are those bodies that you have to deal with? Remember, you're doing business with us.

Speaker 13 It's not just us doing business with you.

Speaker 13 And the fact of the matter is the integrity that comes with ESPN and how we do what we do is not going to be compromised just because you got a piece of ownership.

Speaker 13 It is something that we're giving you in return as well. You understand? You know, we get to air your games.
We get to air some of your content.

Speaker 13 We get red zone and other, you know, other elements that come with the equation. Things that are going to help you continue to monetize your brand that is the National Football League, which is king.

Speaker 13 We get some benefits out of it. They get some benefits out of it, as is the case with any network that's in business with anybody.
That's all that's going on here.

Speaker 13 And when you're sitting down and you're conducting business, that's what you're going to do.

Speaker 13 That's like me looking at you and saying that the people that you do business with, okay, if something egregious happened and the world is aware that you can't talk about it because you're in business with them.

Speaker 13 That's simply not true. That's simply not true.
You're still going to do what you do because it's what you signed up for and they know what they signed on with you for.

Speaker 13 So they can't deny you the opportunity to do the job that you swore to do for your audience and your constituents out there.

Speaker 16 But you've just said that the job is changing, right?

Speaker 14 And the business is changing. I do believe that change is coming as well.

Speaker 29 Just to all,

Speaker 16 you cannot have these entities be this strong and be silent partners.

Speaker 4 Like, I don't.

Speaker 13 I'm not saying they're, I'm not saying that they're going to be solid, and I'm not saying it's not going to be a battle. I'm saying it can be overcome, just like things were overcome in the past.

Speaker 13 There's always something to complain about. We get that part.
And nothing is perfect and totally smooth. But in the end, the industry is the industry.
This kind of stuff has been going on.

Speaker 13 so it's nothing new. That's all I'm saying.

Speaker 26 Your relationship with LeBron, there's no relationship at all with LeBron?

Speaker 13 Zero.

Speaker 15 That's unfortunate.

Speaker 13 Yeah, but it's life. So what? He do what he do.
I do what I do. You understand? And I'm going to continue to cover sports.
I'm going to continue to be fair and objective and professional.

Speaker 13 But in the end, I'm going to call it like I see it.

Speaker 13 And, you know, like I said, I'm not, I don't, I get mad when people go on social media and talk about he can't stop talking about LeBron because the only time I ever mention him is when I'm asked.

Speaker 13 You know, if nobody asks me about him, I won't talk about him. I don't like him.
He doesn't like me. We don't like each other.
It is what it is.

Speaker 13 And to me, what he did when he confronted me in the third quarter in the middle of the game, courtside, blaming me for something I did not do,

Speaker 13 and then tried to turn it into me being somebody that would go after somebody's family and then coming on the Pat McAfee show thereafter just to insult me.

Speaker 13 That's a line you don't get to come back from. But it's not going to stop me.
There's nothing I can really do about it because I'm not going to be unprofessional. I'm not going to be unfair.

Speaker 13 I'm not going to refuse to acknowledge his greatness as the second greatest player in my eyes that I've ever seen in the history of basketball.

Speaker 13 Surefire, first battle, future Hall of Famer, one of the greatest players we've ever seen in our lifetimes, who we will all miss in terms of his on-court play when he is gone.

Speaker 13 But there are things that I know as a man that he has tried to do to me. And the things that he has said and the things that he has done, we don't like each other.
It's just that simple.

Speaker 13 And it's probably going to stay that way forever. And if it gets rectified, because we have a conversation, I'm a grown man and I'm open to doing that, but I will never volunteer.

Speaker 13 I will never initiate. And as far as I'm concerned, if we never speak in life again, it won't bother me one bit.
We do not like each other.

Speaker 32 But how did it get there, though?

Speaker 15 That wasn't always the case.

Speaker 13 Well, I just told you. Things are that I'm not going to get into details, but there are things that have gone on behind my back.

Speaker 13 And when people are systematically trying to do you harm, you know, in terms of your reputation, your integrity, and all of this other stuff, it gets to a point where enough's enough, you know, and as it continues, as it pertains to his son, the one thing that I will say is go back and look at the facts.

Speaker 13 Him in high school, him in college, him being drafted, him landing with the Lakers, him DV in their opening night. I never said a negative word.

Speaker 13 until he was put in the game in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers and got scorched.

Speaker 13 That is the only time I've ever spoken a negative syllable about Bronny James, who I believe in and I believe has the potential to be not just a player, but a good, a damn good NBA player someday.

Speaker 13 I've never said it.

Speaker 13 And so LeBron, you know, adroitly went about the business of painting it as me being somebody that would go after his son and got other NBA players to think that way and stuff like that.

Speaker 13 And that's what he chose to do. All right.
I know it's false. I know it's not fair.

Speaker 13 I don't, and I don't appreciate it, but it's not going to stop me from living my life. He's got his family.
I got mine. He's got his job.
I got mine.

Speaker 13 And when he does great things, I'll be there to applaud it. And when he does it, I'll be there to chronicle that too.
And that's going to be that. And that's the way it goes.

Speaker 13 And I can assure you, I'm not losing a minute's sleep over it.

Speaker 10 Folks, the leaves are turning. The weather's getting a little chillier.
That means the football games are more important.

Speaker 2 That means football time should be Miller time.

Speaker 10 Game day hits different with a Miller Light in your hand. From jaw-dropping touchdowns to fantasy heartbreaks, my fantasy season's over already, but you know what makes that better? Miller time!

Speaker 10 It's the beer that's been there for every moment. 50 years of great taste, simple ingredients, and that iconic golden color you can spot from across the room.
And here's the kicker.

Speaker 10 It's just 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Speaker 5 The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later.

Speaker 10 So whatever your game day looks like, remember Miller time is always a good time. Miller Light, grape taste, 96 calories.
Go to millerlight.com slash stan to find delivery options near you.

Speaker 10 Or you can pick up Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time.
Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Speaker 34 Holidays? Fun. Holidays as a dad?

Speaker 2 Tough.

Speaker 34 Travel, gifts, matching pajamas. Don't get me started on matching pajamas.
It's hot in Miami. My wife says, why don't you you want to do this with us? My daughter's crying.

Speaker 2 Anyways, school parties, hosting a family.

Speaker 34 Next thing I know, I basically put Christmas on my credit card and have no idea what I spent where.

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Speaker 35 Warning, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Speaker 6 Dan Don Lebatard.

Speaker 36 There is no question, Dan Labatard show included anybody else, that this guy is the best player on the planet.

Speaker 36 Whether he wins the Stanley Cup or the Con Smite this year, there is no question about it.

Speaker 6 Stugats. Overrated?

Speaker 12 Wait,

Speaker 12 overrated?

Speaker 12 What's going on? Dan Labatard, how you doing?

Speaker 12 Altered world or whatever?

Speaker 4 Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 6 This is the Dan Lebatar show with the Stugats.

Speaker 33 Listen to Stephen A's two new shows on Sirius XM on the Mad Dog Sports Radio channel, Channel 82, and on POTUS Politics channel, channel 124. Where is your relationship right now with Shannon Sharp?

Speaker 13 My relationship with Shannon Sharp is a pretty damn good one.

Speaker 13 I mean,

Speaker 13 I got a lot of love for him. He did a great, great job for first take.
Anything that I needed him to do, he has always been there for me. And it's unfortunate what happened with his situation

Speaker 13 and certain decisions that were made were way above my pay grade.

Speaker 13 But in the end,

Speaker 13 he has always been good to me. We never really knew each other that well until he came on first take, Dan.

Speaker 13 But since he was on first take for those two years, our friendship developed, our brotherhood developed. I got a lot of love for him.
I'm wishing him nothing but the best.

Speaker 13 And if he ever needs me for anything, is there anything that I can do for him? I will not hesitate.

Speaker 1 Hey, Stephen A. What's your relationship like with Skip these days?

Speaker 13 Not much. Skip and I just appeared on this podcast a few months ago,

Speaker 13 You know, and he interviewed me for an hour.

Speaker 13 We don't talk much. I know I owe him dinner because he reached out and wanted dinner, but we've never really, really talked much off the air, believe it or not.
That was never the case.

Speaker 13 It's just that I owed him a lot because he pushed for me to be on first tape, which obviously played a pivotal role in resurrecting my career. I got a lot of love for him as well.

Speaker 13 Obviously, the only hiccup we ever had is, you know, when he interpreted something that I said on J.J.

Speaker 13 Reddick's podcast at the time, the old man and the three where he's you know it came across as him needing me and then he went on a five-minute diatribe that i thought was completely unnecessary but we hashed that out when i spoke to him because all i did was say that no matter what was going on with him in the show he called he came to me and said i need you because you're the only one i can trust to be sitting across from me two hours every day And he said, will you do that for me?

Speaker 13 That's all I said. And apparently somebody got in his hand and thought that I was saying more than that, which I wasn't.

Speaker 13 And he came at it the wrong way. But I addressed it face to face, man-to-man with him in California.
And ever since then, we've been just fine. So Skip and I don't have any issues.

Speaker 13 I owe him a lot because, again, I wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for him getting me on first take.

Speaker 13 And I don't think that you repay people that have benefited you so tremendously as he's done to me. you know, by casting it, castigating them in any way.

Speaker 13 He and I have, I wouldn't say it's a great relationship in terms of us talking talking all the time, but Skip knows if he needs me, I'll be there for him.

Speaker 1 Stephen A, who would pay for that hypothetical dinner? How's that work?

Speaker 13 Oh, it would be me. It'd be me.

Speaker 1 You give the card, you like slip the card when you walk into the waiter or waitress. Like

Speaker 13 nothing like that, but that man, that man is cheap.

Speaker 13 Skip ain't paying money if he don't have to. So, you know, he's definitely going to look to, he's definitely going to look to me to pay for it.
No doubt about it.

Speaker 13 And I would love to because I love his wife, Ernestine, who I've known for years. And so, you know, just because of her, I would gladly pay for it.

Speaker 1 Who pays for dinner for you? I imagine, like, a lot of your dinners, you go and like people do the fake reach for paying for the bill, but you ultimately end up paying for it.

Speaker 1 So, like, who's someone that actually will pay for dinner when you go?

Speaker 13 And you mean somebody that I went out with that paid for dinner? If you went out to dinner?

Speaker 2 When's the last time someone actually pays for it?

Speaker 30 That's a great question. It's a great question.
How often does someone say, no, I got it, Stephen A?

Speaker 13 Well, I would tell you, Mark Shapiro, the head of William Morris Endeavor, TK on September. That doesn't count.

Speaker 19 That doesn't count.

Speaker 12 He pays. He does pay.
He does pay.

Speaker 19 That's your agent. That's your agent, though.

Speaker 2 Technically, you're not an agent.

Speaker 13 He's not an agent. He's the president of the company, but you brought him up, just sure.

Speaker 13 I would tell you, I would tell you. Pretty much no one.

Speaker 9 Pretty much no one.

Speaker 19 That's terrible.

Speaker 2 That is terrible.

Speaker 22 How is that possible?

Speaker 13 You want me to make you laugh at this one day and you want me to make you laugh at this one? You know who wouldn't hesitate to pay for it? My daughters, Samantha and Nyla. Do you know why?

Speaker 13 Dad, we're gonna dad we're gonna get it back anyway we know you know what i'm saying we're just gonna go home and we're gonna charge something else to your car there's no problem you know so they do it that way and they make that that they get away with everything do they get away with everything with you do they get away with everything

Speaker 13 it depends it depends if you're doing good in school and you're behaving yourself That's true. There's nothing they can't get from me when they do that.

Speaker 13 They tick me off because they did something wrong or they're messing around, they're messing around and

Speaker 13 they're not doing their homework on time,

Speaker 13 they're cutting corners in school and I get worried about it, then they're in the world of trouble. But that's something they really do.

Speaker 1 Well, we've been seeing Samantha a lot lately on camera with you.

Speaker 11 You think that she has like a budding media career ahead of her?

Speaker 13 Well, she could do what she wants to do. She's a straight A student.
She's pretty brilliant.

Speaker 13 She's an aspiring actress, but she's also an aspiring lawyer. She was also an aspiring director and producer.
I mean, she does it all.

Speaker 13 And she's, she's one of those people that she's just very, very naturally talented. She's got, you think, I got to work ethic.
She's tireless.

Speaker 13 The difference between she and I is that I know how to get some sleep.

Speaker 13 And she will stay up until she drops to get her work done. And I got to get her out of that because I don't think, I think that's hazardous to her health.

Speaker 27 She learned it from you, dad. She learned it

Speaker 12 from you.

Speaker 13 That's what she says. That's what she says.
But the thing about it is, her and her sister are polar opposites because her sister, Nyla, Samantha loves the attention. She loves

Speaker 13 the spotlight, the camera, and all of that other stuff. Nyla wants no part of it.
Nyla wants to be the lawyer behind the scenes.

Speaker 13 Nyla is sitting there where Samantha is talking about Love Island and all of this other stuff. Good show.

Speaker 13 Nyla is talking about Zoran Mamdani, the socialist that's about to win the mayor's seat in New York City. And she was like, I love him.
He knows what he's doing. He cares about the people.

Speaker 13 Look at his policies, dad. Everything isn't about capitalism.
I mean, there's nothing wrong with certain elements of socialism. You got to really pay attention to this stuff.
This is who she is.

Speaker 13 So it's like she's completely opposite from her sister. But the nightmare is when they both get together because they're both smart, they're both quick-witted, and they're sharp-tongued.

Speaker 13 And they are absolutely, positively merciless when it comes to me. They hold nothing back.

Speaker 4 What do they make fun of you for?

Speaker 12 Oh, give us all of it.

Speaker 28 What do you do that

Speaker 12 annoys the people who love you?

Speaker 13 Well,

Speaker 13 my forehead, they both tease me about my forehead, my receding headline uh they are they both say dad at some point you gotta let it go gotta let it go just just go bald you could do it we believe in you um they do that um outside of that you know they just you know they just talked about they get they say we know dad we know already we know because i'm always on them about something making sure i give them stories and history about their grandma god rest us god rest my mama's soul and the whole bit and because you know this dan about me i hear my mother's voice every day she passed away in 2017 It isn't a day goes by, I don't hear her saying something to me.

Speaker 13 That's even up to that division, that way, don't do this, don't do this, don't do that, et cetera, et cetera. And I try to embed in my daughters the way my mother did me.

Speaker 13 And so they're just as resistant to it as I was to my mother when she was alive. And so they just...

Speaker 13 they just they just do what they do but they know they're the loves of my life so what can you say they get away with i've always loved your relationship with your mother one of your things you've done that has been the greatest of professional honors is being on general hospital in terms of remembering your mother.

Speaker 25 When you think of the things that move you most thinking about your mother,

Speaker 4 what are they?

Speaker 15 What are the things that carry you today beyond just thinking about her every day, the most emotional spots in you?

Speaker 13 The thing that still hurts to this very day is that I never got married.

Speaker 13 And the reason why that's so important is that when you're a man, and I tell this to men all the time, when you're a man and you

Speaker 13 have such a wonderful mother, because I believe my mother was the greatest ever

Speaker 13 and you lose her at that moment is the first time you probably really thought about the fact that

Speaker 13 i'm losing the one person in this world who loved me completely unconditionally and unconditionally and she's gone and when you're married the belief is that baton has been passed essentially

Speaker 13 So if you lose your mother thereafter, as a man, gonna be all right, because you got that that wife. Well, I didn't have that.
And so because of that,

Speaker 13 even though, you know, I've always had a wonderful woman in my life, the point is, is that there is an emptiness that comes with it because you're not sure if you'll ever have that again in life.

Speaker 13 A matter of fact, you don't believe you will. And because of that, it's that emptiness.
But what offsets it. is in my case, having my two daughters.
Because

Speaker 13 if nothing else, I know they love their daddy. And because I know they love their daddy, it makes me feel good because I know that that's the one thing that my mother was big about.

Speaker 13 The one thing that my mother was very, very upset about was the fact that I had two daughters. The wedlock is the only thing that she was ever disgusted about with me, ever ashamed about.

Speaker 13 And she looked me in the face. and she said, okay, you're going to make up for this.
You're going to be the best father you could possibly be.

Speaker 13 You're going to be nothing like your dad, and you're going to be everything that you're supposed to be as a father. And you're going to make that promise to me and you're going to keep it.

Speaker 13 And so loving my daughters and being the man that I am and being the dad that I strive to be, you know, I would try to do that anyway.

Speaker 13 But to know that I made that promise to her makes it even more significant. Problem is my daughters know that.
Because they know that, they take advantage of it.

Speaker 12 I don't believe you when you say that there are any.

Speaker 13 yeah i don't think there are any rules there i think that you are just totally soft and they do whatever they want yeah they're like their life cleanse they take listen i try to discipline them but it's like where are you going what are you going to do what are you going to do you're you really dad my daughter just the other day she's sitting up here with me she's like hey she says why are you complaining so much you know you're going to give me give it to me anyway she's talking about some outfit she wanted to buy she said why are you why are you stressing yourself complaining you know you're going to buy it from me is it going to be now is it going to be 15 minutes from now?

Speaker 13 You're going to wait 15 minutes to fight with me, but you just wanted to get over it. That's how she does.

Speaker 14 It's sad. We said the entire time at ESPN he was undefeated.
Nobody had ever beaten him in a debate of any kind.

Speaker 23 And now all he is here is just the world's softest.

Speaker 4 Like, look at him.

Speaker 2 Look at him.

Speaker 25 He's falling apart in front of us.

Speaker 21 All right, we got to make this.

Speaker 22 Let's do.

Speaker 23 Do you mind doing a top five beefs that Stephen A. Smith has had over the course of his career?

Speaker 27 We can make it two categories.

Speaker 18 We can make it sports or media or mix the two.

Speaker 23 You want to do a top five list of your top five beefs of all time?

Speaker 13 You're asking me to think about that stuff. I haven't even thought about that stuff.
So I tell you what, you do whatever list you want. You give me some of your recommendations and I get to know.

Speaker 13 Whitlock, I'll post on an on.

Speaker 19 No, I don't want to do Whitlock.

Speaker 16 You did Kevin Durant once upon a time where you said you told him you don't want to make an enemy out of me.

Speaker 23 Does that even rank in your top five?

Speaker 13 Does not. Does not.

Speaker 17 LeBron must rank in the top five now, right?

Speaker 13 I guess so. If you want to say, I mean, I don't, again.

Speaker 27 Okay, I know.

Speaker 21 It's my list.

Speaker 19 No, I don't want.

Speaker 32 You guys got some nominees there?

Speaker 30 Because I don't know who his top five.

Speaker 2 Yeah, it's Whitlock.

Speaker 30 No, but okay, but let's just put that one off to the side.

Speaker 13 We're not going to mention that.

Speaker 13 That's a different

Speaker 4 category.

Speaker 22 Let's do just five.

Speaker 16 Give me another, give me another one that is memorable of Stephen A's in his life because he's had some public, like your persona has changed a little in that I would say over the evolution of your career, you got one Roy?

Speaker 19 Cowboys fans.

Speaker 15 Oh, yeah, Cowboys fans.

Speaker 13 I stopped by.

Speaker 13 But it's all in fun. It's all in fun.
Like I'm the guy that'll sit back and take pictures with them and troll them at the same time, you know, and expect them to troll me. It's all in fun.

Speaker 13 It really, really is. I love seeing them cry though when they lose.
It's hilarious.

Speaker 13 Oh, it brings me such joy. It really, really does.

Speaker 16 Are you eating up the 10 or the eight-part documentary on Netflix of them celebrating the last success that they had 30 years ago?

Speaker 13 Of course, I am. Of course, I am because it was almost 30 years ago, January 28th, 1996, to be exact.

Speaker 13 29 plus years.

Speaker 13 They haven't been on an NFC championship game. They haven't been to a Super Bowl.
They haven't won a Super Bowl.

Speaker 13 Of course, I'm fully aware of this stuff. And by the way, I don't know if you noticed, but since that date, their value in the franchise has increased by $9.4 billion.

Speaker 13 So they win financially. They win in headlines.
Because

Speaker 13 it counts.

Speaker 22 I mean, but it's it's funny, though.

Speaker 22 It is funny that they are worth more than any sports team.

Speaker 16 And if Jerry Jones had to select between the two, which do you think he'd select, winning a Super Bowl or being the most valuable team in all of sports?

Speaker 13 He would say winning the Super Bowl. I believe it's being the most valuable franchise in football team.
I believe that man is about his money. And I believe that man loves being

Speaker 13 recognized as the renegade, that's making money more than anybody else and what have you, because his attitude is, I can't go on the field and play for you, but I can do this.

Speaker 13 So me doing this directly, yeah, I got one up on you. My personal opinion is that he would prefer the latter, but he would say the former.

Speaker 8 Stephen A.

Speaker 1 is it crazy to say that Jerry Jones is the face of the NFL?

Speaker 13 No. No, it's not.
It's not crazy. I don't think he's got any, I don't think you can say it's crazy because think about it.
We talk about him more than we talk about the players.

Speaker 14 No, but that is nuts. There's no other owner that gets to be face of the league.

Speaker 17 There's no such a thing.

Speaker 4 That's not that's I agree.

Speaker 1 He agrees. He's just, he can't even talk about it so much anymore.

Speaker 12 He agrees so much.

Speaker 23 Cut off.

Speaker 21 Look at that.

Speaker 23 Actually, that's exactly how we should end it with the opposite of first take.

Speaker 27 He just agrees and that's it.

Speaker 14 Like, that's it. We're done.

Speaker 19 We have no more show.

Speaker 10 Folks, the leaves are turning. The weather's getting a little chillier.
That means the football games are more important.

Speaker 2 That means football time should be Miller time.

Speaker 10 Game day hits different with a Miller light in your hand. From jaw-dropping touchdowns to fantasy heartbreaks, my fantasy season's over already, but you know what makes that better? Miller time!

Speaker 10 It's the beer that's been there for every moment. 50 years of great taste, simple ingredients, and that iconic golden color you can spot from across the room.
And here's the kicker.

Speaker 10 It's just 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Speaker 5 The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later.

Speaker 10 So, whatever your game day looks like, remember Miller time is always a good time. Miller Light Grape Taste, 96 calories.
Go to MillerLite.com/slash stand to find delivery options near you.

Speaker 10 Or you can pick up Miller Light pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time.

Speaker 10 Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.