NICK Wright has called Stephen A. Smith out for his coverage of the NBA Finals.
Stephen A. Smith was caught playing solitaire while in attendance for the Oklahoma City Thunder-Indiana Pacers game.
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Wright went off on Stephen A. during a segment on his podcast, What’s Wright.
During the episode, Wright attempted to hold the First Take host “accountable” on multiple issues.
Those issues were his response to getting caught playing solitaire and his response to US Senator Alex Padilla storming a press conference in protest of President Donald Trump’s deportation raids.
Wright accused Stephen A. of taking advantage of fake news and lies both in his commentary on the Senator and solitaire.
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He argued that Stephen A. knew that things he was talking about weren’t true, but said them anyway.
“It was fiction that felt they could get away with because either people are numb to it or, in an effort to both-sides everything, folks will justify it,” Wright said.
“So when I then saw a guy who I have always really respected, a guy who I’ve always liked, a guy who I’ve always had a good relationship with … Stephen A., use his massive platform to essentially kiss the a** of people who were lying about what happened to Sen. Padilla, didn’t care that they were lying about it, and abandon any obligation, in my eyes, to truth or fairness in just a relentless pursuit of a bigger and bigger tent and larger and larger audience and more eyeballs, I found it just awful.”
Wright continued his rant on Stephen A’s response, claiming he is taking up right-wing habits of lying without shame.
“They know they’re going to be called liars. They don’t care because there is no damage right now to being a liar,” Wright said.
“And they just want to muddy the waters enough that people can then claim there’s a disagreement or a debate or confusion about what happened.”
Wright continued accusing Stephen A. of lying by highlighting his response to the solitaire situation.
While he said it was a silly situation, he said it emphasized his point of Stephen A. lying without concern.
“My issue is with the response,” Wright said.
“Because the response was instantaneous and easily disprovable as a lie. ‘It was during a timeout.’
“Knowing, he’s a very smart guy … that if someone took a picture, someone might have a video.
Stephen A. Smith’s journey through media
STEPHEN A. Smith is now the face of ESPN and an executive producer on First Take having initially started working for the company back in 2003.
Smith has held various roles with the network, including hosting radio shows, SportsCenter contributions, and appearing on NBA Countdown.
He was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1994 to 2010.
His began as an NBA writer before becoming a general sports columnist.
Before that, Smith worked as a reporter with Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News, and the New York Daily News.
“If they have a video, the court might be in it or sound might be on. Or in the picture, everyone in front of me is standing … so the response (is) just lie. Who cares?
“And then even when the video comes out and it’s clear you lied, turn it into your own joke and meme and move on.”
Wright said it is especially important for Stephen A. to be more cautious and be held accountable, especially as he becomes a larger voice in politics.
“Now that Stephen A. has decided to, at this moment, in this country, in our history, to swim in real political waters and he wants to have a real political voice … I do think he will have real impacts,” Wright said.
“I think it’s important that those people are held accountable.”
