Stephen A. Smith believes his enemies have spent the last year conspiring to get him fired from ESPN and SiriusXM. But be careful what you wish for. Because Smith claims getting him fired from ESPN won\u2019t eliminate him, it will only eliminate the guardrails around him.<\/p>\n
Smith is feuding with Matt Barnes, which stemmed from his ongoing feud with LeBron James. Most recently, he called James out for shading Memphis<\/a> as an NBA city, which is ironic because Smith said similar things about Memphis last year on First Take. But after Smith called James out over his Memphis commentary, Barnes called Smith out for disrespecting people in the Black community too often, citing Serena Williams, Jasmine Crockett, and Kamala Harris as examples.<\/p>\n Naturally, the criticism set Smith off on a tirade<\/a>, where he fired back by criticizing Barnes\u2019 political agenda and questioning the legitimacy of his \u201csoftball\u201d interview with Gavin Newsom. But during his Tuesday afternoon SiriusXM show for Mad Dog Sports Radio, Smith offered more context about why he appears to have an ever-growing number of feuds and enemies.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that it\u2019s important for my listeners and also the people here at SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio, for me to remind people of who the hell I am,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThings have happened in my life over the last year or so that you have a right to know. There are many folks out there who want me done. They want me fired. They want me taken off the airwaves of SiriusXM. They want me taken off the airwaves of ESPN. Good luck with that. Because, ladies and gentlemen, if I had a speck of fatigue, if I was melancholy about anything, if I was devoid or stripped of inspiration and fervor and defiance, oh, they cured that. There\u2019s nothing that gets me up more than adversaries that have the nerve to think they can go against me. I love it. It inspires me, it fuels me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOver the last year, there\u2019s been a lot of enemies. And I don\u2019t hurt easy. But I will tell you what does hurt me; when I have people who smile in my face spanning years and led me to believe we were friends and then backstab me.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith presumably considers Barnes one of those people who backstabbed him after previously smiling at his face. In recent years, Barnes had appeared on Smith\u2019s radio, YouTube, and TV shows. And Smith didn\u2019t appreciate Barnes now criticizing the way the Black community perceives him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s with ESPN or whether it\u2019s right here with SiriusXM, do you know why I\u2019m not worried about these athletes? Cause they can\u2019t touch me,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey want to make enough noise so enough people can turn against somebody like me, and maybe, just maybe, you won\u2019t listen to me. And as a result, by not listening to me, it will dilute my impact, and I\u2019d go away, so they won\u2019t have to be concerned about me. Too late for that. I\u2019m not going away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou got folks out there that want me canceled,\u201d Smith continued. \u201cI want you to imagine for a second that I\u2019m no longer working for the Mouse during my day job. There\u2019s no more ESPN, there\u2019s no Walt Disney, and all there is SiriusXM and whatever else I want to do in the YouTube stratosphere. Do you understand there would be no barricades? There would be no barriers. Do you understand? That would unleash me even more\u2026careful what you wish for.\u201d<\/p>\n As ridiculous as the \u201ccancel culture\u201d conversation is, it\u2019s even more ridiculous when it comes to Smith, who already operates without barriers. And while most people will think getting fired from ESPN would be a bad thing, Smith seems to believe it would only amplify him more. Maybe Smith sees that as his ultimate ticket to keeping his money<\/a> and running for president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stephen A. 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