Stephen A. Smith Scorched After Proving He Doesn't Watch College Football
Every so often, it is an inevitable part of sports journalism that we slip up on a fact, formulate a take based on limited information, or otherwise make a flub, since there are only 24 hours in a day to read articles, watch games and keep up on the news.
Best-case scenario, the editor gets to it and you, the reader, never see the mistake because it’s corrected before it ever gets published.
Worst-case scenario, journalists are allowed to speak unfiltered without doing due diligence and pick up a reputation for scorching hot takes with absolutely no basis in reality.
Which brings us to Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, who alongside Max Kellerman makes daily morning entertainment out of dumb hot takes on “First Take.”
On Friday’s edition, Smith was in on the discussion about whether Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray or Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins would make a better prospect in April’s NFL draft.
There are plenty of angles you could take. You could talk about Murray’s flirtation with Major League Baseball. You could talk about whether Ohio State should’ve been in the College Football Playoff and whether Oklahoma’s making it over the Buckeyes was a referendum on their talent level. You could even punt on making a strong statement and tell viewers to wait for the combine later this month.
Smith … tried something different.
He said Haskins is “more of a runner than a thrower,” adding, “I could be wrong about that, but that’s what I find.”
Wrong? This was, to use a Smith catchphrase, “stay off the weed”-level wrong. If you said that in an argument at a bar, the bartender would be legally obligated to stop serving you alcohol because there’s no way you’d be sober enough to safely get home based on that statement.
Haskins completed 70 percent of his passes for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns.
He ran for 108 yards on 79 carries.
Fred Flintstone did more running starting up his car than Haskins did on the football field.
Murray, meanwhile, averaged 7.2 yards per carry and ran for 1,001 yards at Oklahoma.
The clip proves that Smith either didn’t watch a single Ohio State game or wasn’t paying attention when he did:
Ohio State podcasters “A Bunch of Nuts” stated the obvious in reply:
Confirmed Stephen A. Smith did not watch a snap of Ohio State football last season.
Dwayne Haskins ran for 108 yards and passed for 4,841 yards last season but yeah “he’s more of a runner.”
How does this man have a job? ?♂️pic.twitter.com/YQAMtX21q5
— A Bunch Of Nuts Podcast (@bunch_nuts) February 8, 2019
Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk delivered a helmet-to-helmet slobber-knocker of a hit on Smith’s hot take:
Stephen A. Smith has a point here. Dwayne Haskins really started having to rely on his legs more than his arm after losing his favorite receiver, Hunter Henry. https://t.co/DNzvHfbJCa
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) February 8, 2019
The joke there is that Stephen A. said Henry would be a huge factor in a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers when Henry had been injured all season, something anyone who had done even the most minimal amount of preparation to appear on television would’ve been expected to know.
The implication, and one that increasingly seems backed by the evidence, is that Stephen A. Smith doesn’t watch the sports he’s paid to cover on national television for a national audience.
Of course Smith doubled down, citing Haskins’ “athleticism.”
Why? Because I believe what I believe? I know Haskins is a baller. That he threw for 50 TD’s last year. But I view his athleticism as more of a plus (I.e. scrambling outside the pocket, etc.) I don’t view him as an ideal pocket passer, nor the runner than Kyler is. Period! https://t.co/9u6GZxnuYg
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 8, 2019
And, like a blackjack player doubling down on 12 and getting dealt a king, Smith got busted out on his insane logic:
Shaq is big time. I know this. And I’m not saying he CAN’T dunk. But I view him as more of a free-throw shooter. An eye-test thing. https://t.co/EQshYBHYkv
— Russell Golowin (@RussGolo) February 8, 2019
No cake is truly delicious without icing, so here’s the icing on that Twitter cake, courtesy of Smith:
Haaaaa! Now that’s a good comeback. But we shall see. Haskins wants to throw. I know this. Also know he’s nowhere near the athlete J.T.Barrett was. But I’ve got to see him be that pocket passer that everyone swears he is on the NFL. That’s just ME. We shall see. https://t.co/gtEcW0n0if
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 8, 2019
We also shall see how much longer viewers pay attention to Smith’s uninformed hot takes.
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