Newly-acquired New York Knicks forward Michael Beasley fired back recently at Stephen A. Smith for the comments he made about his past. Despite being involved in a number of controversies before, including the use of marijuana, and being forced to play professional basketball overseas due to a decline in his performance, Beasley is adamant that those are already things of the past, and he felt like the ESPN host was trying to change the perception of the public on him now.
The former number two overall pick of the 2008 draft appeared on Slam Magazine’s “Respect the Game” podcast, where he called Smith a liar. He also asked him to “allow guys to live,” especially those who have already changed.
“He's a liar, bro,” Beasley said. “I love the words he uses, I love how adamant he is, especially when he's wrong because if you're not going to stand for yourself, who is going to stand for you? Cool. But it's like literally, I've sat next to guys he was on the TV talking about, and (Smith's) saying, ‘Man, I just got off the phone with this guy.' And literally, I'm next to that guy he's talking about, and he says, ‘Man, I've never even been in a room with Stephen A.' Why does what you say have credibility when literally everybody knows you're lying about it?”
“You can say whatever you want,” Beasley added about Smith, “but when you say my name and anything negative, A) that continuously paints the wrong perception of who I am as a person and who I am morally. And then B), I had to explain to my daughter what weed was. Is that my fault or was that his?. … I understand you have a job to do. I understand you have money to make and kids to feed, I don't know if he has kids, but I do. And the more you paint me in a negative light, the less money I can make to feed those kids. And then on another step, to take it a step further: I have an eight-year-old, a seven-year-old and a six year-old and a six year-old. And they all read or write. And I have to explain to children, what weed is.”
“It's unfair to me, it's unfair to the Knicks, because now the Knicks look dumb for signing a quote, unquote weed head. Let guys live.”
Michael Beasley agreed on a one-year deal with the Knicks early last month — his sixth NBA team. He has bounced around the league the past few seasons but he is now hoping that he's found a home in New York. With all the uncertainties surrounding Carmelo Anthony’s future, Beasley could be in line for a bigger role in New York, which could be what his career needs for it to be resurrected.
Stephen A. Smith has not responded to Beasley’s latest comments yet. But being outspoken analyst that he is, it's likely just a matter of time before he claps back.
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