Subscribe
Follow Us
Stephen A. Smith has had a long career in the sports broadcasting space and in a recent interview he confessed that “one of the most awful feelings I had in my career” was back in 2012. The First Take host couldn't “eat, couldn’t have sex, couldn’t do nothing.”
In a conversation with his former First Take co-host Skip Bayless, Smith spoke about the 2012 Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round.
“I’ve been single all my life and had a very, very beautiful, sexy woman in my life at that time and I was having a really, really, really good time most evenings with her,” Smith told Bayless. “I would always make sure there was a little action going on. And Tim Tebow threw that damn touchdown to Demaryius Thomas…Literally, I collapsed on the floor and I laid there for over two hours. I didn’t move, I was so d— depressed.”
Smith shared that the incident made him not want to go to work and that it was “without question, the worst day of my First Take career.”
“I remember spending a legitimate two to three hours trying to conspire to come up with a way that I wouldn’t have to come into work the next morning,” Smith said. “Maybe I can get a flat tire. I don’t want to get into a vicious car accident, but if I’m not going at a high speed, I could show the picture of the car and delay going into the office.”
Bayless and Smith cohosted ESPN’s First Take from 2012 to 2016. Smith still hosts the solo. Bayless on the other hand left ESPN and launched FS1’s Undisputed alongside cohost Shannon Sharpe. Sharpe left Bayless in 2023 after the “lack of respect” Bayless showed him.
Stephen A. Smith Reacts To LeBron Heated Argument
Smith made headlines last week after he got into a heated confrontation with LeBron James as he sat courtside. The sports broadcaster attended the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks game on March 6 when LeBron approached him upset. Prior to the Lakers winning 113-109 against the Knicks, Smith spoke about LeBron's son Bronny, saying, “we all know Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad” on First Take. LeBron reportedly didn't take to the comment too lightly which sparked the confrontation between the basketball veteran and Smith.
The First Take host spoke about the aftermath of the argument on the show.
“That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about his son,” Smith explained to moderator Molly Qerim. “I can’t repeat the words because they aren’t suited for FCC airwaves. That’s what he was doing.”
“That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me,” Smith added. “That was a parent. That was a father.”
Bronny made his debut in the NBA last year and has been on both the Los Angeles Lakers roster as well as the G League's South Bay Lakers.
