Add The New York Post on Google The role is to give an opinion, not begin a promo-filled wrestling feud.
FS1’s Nick Wright called out Stephen A. Smith for his latest athlete beef, this time with Celtics star Jaylen Brown, criticizing him for yet again making himself part of the story.
Wright said Smith’s actions hurt his colleagues.
Nick Wright offered criticism of Stephen A. Smith amid his latest beef with Jaylen Brown. @WhatsWrightShow/YouTube “The audience appreciates us as side attractions to the big tent they came for. We are the ring toss and the dunk tank at the circus. But we’re not the lions jumping through flaming hoops. We are added benefit to the main event,” Wright said on his “What’s Wright?” show Tuesday. “And if anybody ever gets it a little twisted that, ‘No, actually, I’m the main event,’ in my experience, the audience … are going to see this and be like, ‘Wait, what are you saying, bro? Are you telling this superstar athlete to stay in his lane? Are you a late-50s, early-60-year-old man getting in a war of words with a 29-year-old? Is that’s what’s happening?’
“And it makes all of us look bad, man. And also, here’s the other thing: You’re the only guy who does it.”
Smith has feuded with athletes over the years, including a notable beef with Kevin Durant and one with the Knicks’ Josh Hart earlier this year.
This latest ruckus with Brown stems from Smith’s comments about Brown after the Celtics’ season ended prematurely, with Brown calling for Smith to retire.
“F–k Stephen A,” Brown said on his Twitch stream. “Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C. Like my offer still stands: You want me to be quiet and stop streaming, well I want you to be quiet and get off these networks. Because you’re not using your platform to do real journalism.”
Smith then threatened Brown, hinting at having information he had not publicly revealed.
“But in the end, Jaylen Brown be careful what you wish for,” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take” Monday. “You really want me to start reporting on that level? You understand? Locker room, how the organization might think about you, how the city may feel about you, how Jayson Tatum may or may not feel about you, sneaker deals, endorsement deals, the list goes on and on.”
Wright said that if Smith — a former, as Wright said, “legitimately great” NBA reporter — has actual information like he mentioned, he should report it.
He complimented him for his work ethic, putting in the work to get to where he is at this point in his career and said Smith can serve as an inspiration for younger reporters.
But he indicated that Smith now leans too much into his role as a sports entertainer, saying this feud is “the same playbook” as the Durant feud from years ago.
“But these last few years, where he has convinced himself, it appears, that we the commentariat, we the critics, we the people who give opinions on the actual games, are equal stars and equal of importance to the people who are playing the actual games, is delusional,” Wright said.
Stephen A. Smith is the face of ESPN commentary. REUTERS “But talking to these guys like he’s a mob boss and they better watch what they say, there’s harm in it,” he said.
Wright mentioned drama he had last year with the Ball family from years ago when he called out LaMelo, leading to angry retorts from brother Lonzo and father LaVar.
He used that personal example to explain why he feels a commentator should make a comment and move on, not look to create a feud that lasts multiple news cycles.
“I understand one of the taxes of being the style of broadcaster that I am, which occasionally ruffles some feathers … is that when they fire back, even if it is in your opinion inaccurate, misleading, unfair, the answer is not to go to the mattresses and escalate,” Wright said. “The answer is to stand by what you said, have a smile on your face, and recognize people are here to see them.”
He added: “They are so popular and so important in the cultural zeitgeist that we make a king’s ransom with our only value being talking about them. … If you want to change that paradigm, then you have to move from commentator to actual performer.”
