Now Wait A Damn Minute Stephen A. Smith

First Take’s Stephen A. Smith’s own opinion isn’t enough. He has to give others their opinions too.

Whose man is Stephen A. Smith? Where does he get the gall to say that another’s man’s comments, on his very own workplace, are ignorant?

Earlier this week on Smith’s The Stephen A. Smith Show the longtime ESPN personality called some recent comments of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Mike Mitchell ignorant.

Last week in a lockerroom interview, seemingly after a team practice, Mitchell reiterated the common players’ belief that the NFL is “a man’s game” (credited to Ray Lewis by Mitchell), as part of his rant aimed at the leadership of the NFL – and more specifically how punishment is meted out to players.

At around the 7:00 mark of the show Smith had the following to say about Mitchell’s statement:

Mike Mitchell for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I’m a fan. Good brother, hard worker, good player. Very, very ignorant statements came out of his mouth last week. ‘It’s a man’s game. You know it’s a man’s game, you know the risks, you know what you signed up for.’

Smith went on to ask listeners whether he was the only one that’s heard enough of the “man’s game” defense by many members of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). Yes, Stephen A., you are! Well, maybe the voice of Monday Night Football play-by-play, Sean McDonough, will stand with you.

Perhaps Smith should go back a few weeks ago, and listen to his colleague Bomani Jones’ The Right Time With Bomani Jones show on-demand. In late November, for nearly two weeks, dozens of The Right Time listeners called in to Jones to share their football experience that immediately convinced them to walk away from the physical sport. Why? Because it’s a man’s game.

Quite frankly, several of Mitchell’s comments implied that he is fully aware of the inherent dangers of pro football, and he credited the game for enabling him to secure the financial futures of his kids’ kids.

How else could he accomplish that by age 30? After all, there’s only two debater chairs on the set of First Take.

The ignorant comments here, came from Smith when he proceeded to call out Mitchell while referencing the players who we’ve all learned were misinformed about the long-term effects of the game’s physicality and repeated head injuries back in the early ’00s, ’90s, ’80s and eras prior.

In his rant, Mitchell clearly said, “I signed up to play full-speed contact football…” These aren’t ignorant comments, Mitchell selected an occupation he could excel at based on his athletic ability and commitment to the lifestyle of professional athlete. In contrast, Smith pursued a career in the world of sports media based on his interests, and what he determined to be his strengths and weaknesses. Smith is both loquacious and renowned for his command of a litany of 10 dollar words.

Nobody’s calling him out for accepting a multi-million dollar annual salary to debate another person on various topics on several sports he’s never played a day in his life. No athlete is calling him out for his array of on-air mannerisms and facial expressions, his excessive yelling on TV and radio, or when he decided to include his ‘love Dr.’ segments during his time on Mad Dog Sports Radio on Sirius XM.

However, the time has come for personalities like Smith and Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock, with their educational and career backgrounds, to quit dissecting the comments of these ball players about matters germane to their workplaces. Often, these sound bites are recorded after a hard fought competition of some kind. These comments aren’t tantamount to the 10th draft of an editorial column typed in a study with some smooth jazz playing softly in the background, and a snifter partially filled with cognac at arm’s reach.

Later in Smith’s take ignited by Mitchell’s ‘man’s game’ comment, the spirited radio show host’s thoughts veered farther off course when he began comparing football to MMA and boxing.

Again, Mitchell addressed the examples that Smith mentioned. Furthermore, not an appearance or episode of First Things First goes by without 52-year old NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter boasting about how, in large part, he earned his gold blazer by hauling in passes over the middle of defenses.

The NFL is not the NBA – inaction on any given play is rarely an option. I’ve watched the NBA for the past 15 seasons, waiting for a center or forward to stand in and take a charge from LeBron James in a meaningful game. The Christmas Day showcase. A playoff game. An elimination game. It doesn’t happen.

Smith, for the most part, is great at his profession. According to SI.com First Take’s number of viewers nearly quadruple those of Fox Sports’ Undisputed. Smith’s aforementioned The Stephen A. Smith Show is gaining in popularity. The program becomes a fixture in the daily national lineup on terrestrial radio starting January 2 per a recent ESPN Media Zone announcement.

Smith will certainly continue on, speaking on matters ranging from lucrative contract extensions to questionable draft picks, or using his old NBA sources to predict the landing spot for elite NBA players. And that’s fine, Stephen A, share your opinion on such developments in sports. Calling a player’s thoughts on the conditions of his or her workplace ignorant, I’d question the manliness of that.

The irony in this small matter is that Smith called a nine-year NFL veteran’s comments on the NFL ignorant. Mike Mitchell, a defensive player with 134 games, 336 tackles, 10 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, and over 40 passes defended. With that in mind, what validity could we possibly ascribe to Smith’s insight and comments he provided while part of ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown? Or as an in-studio “fill-in-the-blank” as part of the ongoing Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank Boxing telecasts?

Stephen A and his Steak vs Burger analogy is hilarious, he need not speak on boxing…

— The Book Of Mark (@IgnantTone) August 27, 2017

I like Stephen A. Smith. Not shy to throw out hot takes. But the dude just said "Ricky Hatton, a fellow Irishman"
And he's a Boxing analyst?

— Trey Daerr 🟦🇨🇿 (@TreyDaerr) August 27, 2017

Stephen A. Smith how you gonna participate in an interview with Julius Indongo, and haven't seen any of his fights? Come on bruh… #Boxing

— BrotherJR aka Brotha Wakanda (@BrotherJR76) August 6, 2017

Stephen A. – an ardent Pittsburgh Steelers fan – probably doesn’t have the same back channel to Mike Mitchell as the one he used to mend fences with Carmelo Anthony last year. But he should take whatever steps are necessary to send Mitchell an apology. That’s something else that men do.

ATTN Dynasty Commissioners: Do you want to do something cool for your league? How about a 1-hour live show dedicated to YOUR league? Team-by-team breakdowns, rankings, and more. For details and to book a show, visit: GoingFor2.com/plp.