Stephen A. Smith appears to have ticked off the wrong one.
Retired ex-NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury targeted the ESPN personality Smith with some comments this week. Marbury was reacting to Smith’s recent criticisms of Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving.
“I’m starting to think Stephen A. Smith thinks he’s a star for speaking the English language loud and obnoxious on TV,” Marbury told Bally Sports. “I truly believe he’s upset he couldn’t play ball in front of 19,000 people every night, so he reverted towards [bashing] people who look like him who have true intentions on earth to be real and authentic towards helping people.”
Marbury, who played 13 seasons in the NBA, used to be a Net himself, which might explain his reaction here. But Smith plays a character on television, and it is his job to be as loud and annoying as possible. Giving Smith the attention he craves by getting mad at what he says is exactly how he wins.
Smith’s comments about the Nets star Irving have admittedly been pretty harsh at times, especially lately. They also appear to have struck a nerve with Marbury here.
