Stephen A. Smith Has Not Worked Out at ESPN. Why?
His television show was canceled in 2007 and his radio program was dropped from the Worldwide Leader's daily menu a year later when he also lost his daily column at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
And now, due to his inability to come to an agreement for a new compensation package with ESPN, he will be gone from their air in six weeks, according to The Big Lead.
Because he had juggled so many roles for the network, including writing for ESPN.com, the offer made by the network was for less money than he currently makes. He said no thanks and thus he will be out selling his talents.
What's the issue with Smith? Is it only in the realm of politics that the public is willing to listen to a guy who is over-the-top on a regular basis? Maybe so. His most recent work as an NBA analyst and a guest panelist on "First Take" featured a more quiet Stephen A who still brought his analysis to the table.
For me, because I was used to the bombastic personality, the watered down version wasn't very satisfying. And yet I could not make it through a full show of his whether it was on radio or television.
Is he cursed for being an over-the-top personality whose audience might be smaller than his employers need for their ad revenue or is he just a guy who decided to try some shtick, failed and now can't turn it around?
But then again, speaking of shtick, who brings more of that to the airwaves than ESPN's Dick Vitale? Match the two of them up and I think you'll agree Smith brings more insight to his work and cannot exceed Dickie V's decibel level. Vitale found his niche in the world of college sports that welcome him to games because they know when he's in the house the game is featured on the network. Smith is only one of many who break down the world of professional basketball.
But it makes you wonder right? I like his written work and I hope he keeps in up. In the meantime, as my grandmother used to say, "there's a lid for every pot Paula". I'm sure Stephen A will find his.
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Stephen A always reminded me of the guy in high school who wasn't actually good enough to play on any teams but always hung out with the jocks and tried to throw his weight around like them.
Good riddance. If I was watching ESPN and Smith came on during a segment, the channel was changed.
He is a complete apologist for the worst in pro sports from A I to T O. I haven't heard his take on Mike Vick but if his pattern holds I'm sure that Mike Vick is the victim. That is my problem with him.
I'm not sad to see Smith go. Like Jay Mariotti, he made a name for himself by putting down instead of pushing up. Too negative.
Smith is the George Jefferson of sports. Absolutely unwatchable and his act gets old fast.
I just wish ESPN would get rid of Skip Bayliss and that blowhard Dick Vitale as well. Everytime I see them on I find something else to watch.
I would also suggest that ESPN needs to start getting itself some Asian-American game announcers and commentators, especially for baseball.
Speaking of sports personalities I am tired of ESPN, Dick Vitale Digger Phelps,Jim Nantz, ALL over the top . ESPN all Yankees,Red SOX , Duke ,North Carolina any thing Big East . Dick Vitale needs to have his hands tied and out of sight . He should never be asked who is going to wn if Duke or NC are playing. just as LOU HOLTZ OR DIGGER should not be asked about N.D. Jim Nantz is so over the top about the Masters ,Golf NO MORE !
Well the Big East thing is a contract. They have a contract with the Big East for basketball and some football.
Stephen A. is very knowledgeable. Its not what he says but how he says it . He not only lets you know what he knows ,he lets you know he knows more than you or anyone else, on everything .
Dbos: you are onto something there my friend.
Paula Duffy
i never read his articles but his radio show was annoying. he was always yelling through the radio and was always trying to be topical and funny and it just did not work for me. he is basically and only a basketball guy and he had less knowledge in other sports. espn sucks any way. i think he can do fine in the local Philadelphia sports radio market. all good sports shows are local.
Steven Smith, like Tavis Smiley, is facing the pushback of being a widely succesful black on-air talent. Look around the networks and how many of these African-American men do you see? Juan Williams does not count ! I think D.L. Hughley's show did not last even one season. So with this historic presidency, there must be a great acceptance and acknowledgement that these kind of folks bring to the table. The pink elephant in the room is that these guys are somehow high maintanance. As the article suggests, "What's the issue with Smith?" The real question should be what is the issue with ESPN and other media? NPR hired a high powered lawyer to battle Tavis Smiley when he was trying to negotiate for more money. Yet no one really questioned that move...
ESPN has many other black commentators and Mike Tirico is the lead guy on their NFL game coverage. Mike Wilbon, who makes Smith look like a six year old, does Pardon the Interruption and I like him a lot.
Hughley's show on CNN (as well as his other show he had a couple of years ago) sucked. I did enjoy David Alan Grier's show, though. Too bad that was canceled.
I'm familliar with his columns in the Phila Inq and I never liked him. It seemed like he tried too hard to criticize black atheletes just to prove something - not sure what - but I'm not surprised to hear he's hanging with Clarence Thomas. That kinda seems like a good fit.
I found all of these shows painful and insulting. Enough black caricatures. It's the age of Obama for chrissakes. Put smart people on who know how to handle themselves, regardless of their background.
Yeah, but the black commentators you mention are very mainstream in their presentation, if you didn't know, you would never guess that they are persons of color. Stephen A. mixes in some black colloquialisms, a bit of black culture, which I think did play a role in why he tanked when others made it. Tavis Smiley has had some of the same issues, although seems tohave found his niche. Hope Stephen A. does also.
WHCORRESPONDENT: thanks for taking the time to read and comment. I didn't intend to give readers the impression that I really thought something was wrong with him. I'm sorry if you got that from it. I posed the question about him vs. Dickie V for a purpose. Viewers might have dictated his demise.
Paula Duffy
Maybe Steven A Smith's inability to stick at ESPN and elsewhere, has to do with his preceived arrogance in style [this is my house....]
Stripped of the show business bombast and the need to be all-knowing, Steven A Smith is a knowledgable sports commentator. I guess some individuals are put off by Smith's bombast and assertive ego, and miss his true essence as a solid and opionionated sports journalist.
I think Steven A Smith is one of the stronger commentators in the ESPN stable, he deserves a seat at the table. You are good [kid]. lol! Which reminds me that a little dab of humor might be in order to save Steven's career.
Is he any more over the top than that trifling J Rome? The worse thing about ESPN is that all their "personalities" are lacking just that, personality. Either that, or they confuse being annoyingly petty with having a personality. Or being one. The skirting of issues on that station makes most of their reporting an commentary perfunctory.
Nommo: Romie can certainly be over the top. And he has his own "clone" slang. But he built a huge audience over a period of years prior to him getting his ESPN show. You are correct about the bland nature of their hosts/analysts
Paula Duffy
Admittedly, Dick Vitale is a former coach and an institution who, despite his bombast, has some history behind him. Stephen A. Smith is, to many, too loud, too new, and often too wrong. I don't dislike Stephen A. I find his sort of in-your-face style journalism very much akin to the style of the players whom he covers. That said, it is a dramatic shift from the norm, and if his lack of success is any indication, perhaps far too dramatic.
Of course, there's also the pink elephant in the room: Stephen A. is black. And though I hate to throw down the racism card, the fact remains that sports journalism only has a handful of black men (the whole imbroglio between Scoop Jackson and Jason Whitlock was all about this). One might suggest that the disdain for black journalists is coincidental and not tied to race; however, that's one hell of a coincidence.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You're right about the difference in Dickie's and Stephen A's previous resume. Stephen A was obviously more annoying or just less polished in his delivery than Stuart Scott who generally refrains from giving opinions and I think that is the key here. He's opinionated and black. That's the coincidence that comes to my mind.
Paula Duffy
"Stephen A. is black. And though I hate to throw down the racism card, the fact remains that sports journalism only has a handful of black men (the whole imbroglio between Scoop Jackson and Jason Whitlock was all about this)."
Smith is the wrong guy to defend here. If they had canned John Saunders then you might have a case.
V itale is offputting because he is a professional brown noser and he tries way too hard in doing it. He is an insult to the intelligence of every basketball fan out there.
Also, like I said in an earlier post, Asian-Americans are way under represented in the electronic sports media. Blacks, not so much.
i agree. stephen a can wear on you a little bit. on the other note... doesn't espn have anthony kim? there can always be more diversity, but we should acknowledge that the guy is there.
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