ESPN First Take star and Winston-Salem State University alumnus Stephen A. Smith has emerged as one of the most notable personalities in sports media. Stephen A. Smith makes his voice heard through his daily presence on First Take and other ESPN shows like NBA Countdown, sharing bold opinions and commentary. Smith has been more open in speaking about his family life and upbringing, especially following the release of his New York Times best-selling book Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes. 

In an interview on the Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson podcast, per a report by AfroTech, Smith made the ultimate gesture to his mother when he finally netted a big-time contract with the Worldwide Leader in sports. He signed a $1.5 million annual contract for his work at ESPN which included hosting his own talk show Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. After receiving the contract, he looked out for his mother.

“My proudest moment to this day was that I drove straight home, and I put it in my book ‘Straight Shooter', I drove straight from Manhattan to Queens, New York. I walked right in that PAL and I grabbed her by the arm and I said ‘Let’s go,'. I looked at her boss, and I said ‘My mother’s not coming back,’ and I drove her back home three blocks away, and she was like ‘What’s going on?’ and I told her I signed this contract’… I said ‘The mortgage is paid.’ I said ‘And your vacation,’ and I handed her two tickets to a trip to Europe, and I said, ‘You ain’t got to work no more. Go and enjoy yourself. It’s my turn.’ And that to this day is the proudest moment of my life. There’s no other moment,” Smith said to Tyson.

Smith's mother retired as a registered nurse at Queens General Hospital in New York, NY. However, she also worked at the Police Athletic League (PAL) to finance her annual vacations since she did not have any other income apart from her pension and savings. Smith's move gave her needed financial flexibility.

Stephen A. Smith comes from humble beginnings. Following his high school graduation, he attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York for a year before gaining admission to Winston-Salem State University on a basketball scholarship. At Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he played under the renowned basketball coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines. During a memorable tryout for Gaines, Smith impressively sank 14 consecutive three-pointers, solidifying his place on the Rams team. He suffered from injuries but eventually graduated from Winston-Salem State with a degree in Mass Communications.

Smith talked about his HBCU experience at the NBA HBCU Classic in February. He specifically spoke about how it felt to be coached by legendary coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines.

“It ended up being heaven but it started out being nightmarish. Because you walk on campus and I came there and I was hurt. I had tendonitis then I cracked my kneecap in half a couple of months in and all that stuff. And my career was basically as a practice player from that point forward because I was never healthy enough to continuously do more. But, every day I was in his [Gaines’s] office and we were talking and he was teaching me about life and holding me accountable for the things that I did as a young man, as a student-athlete not just an athlete. So I look at it from that standpoint.”