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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith hinted at knowing loads of behind-the-scenes ‘trouble’ he witnessed during the early portions of his career as an NBA beat writer.
Smith appeared on Barstool’s ‘Bussin’ With The Boys’ with former NFL linemen Will Compton and Taylor Lewan.
He claimed to have known about drama that impacted players, coaches, executives, and the decisions they made regarding the team based off information kept out of the public eye.
‘From day one, I always let them know don’t look for any pity from me when it comes to your game. Because everyone’s watching,’ Smith said while discussing how he balanced his relationships with his takes as a beat writer.
‘If we’re sitting there and I’m talking to y’all right now, and we’re having a private conversation … I can shut up about it and go on my merry way and it’s between us.
Stephen A. Smith hinted at knowing loads of behind-the-scenes NBA ‘trouble’ he witnessed
Smith spent years working as an NBA beat writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer before ESPN
The behind the scenes drama in sports is unmatched@BussinWTB w/ @stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/3nF8X8oqpY
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 20, 2024
‘But with these cameras rolling and the world watching, I can’t help you. What you say is what you say. What you own is what you own … I’m a street-wise brother, I kind of know.’
Smith went on to mention how as a beat writer he got to know not only just the athletes he covered but also their friends, families and ‘all of that stuff.’
‘So just imagine you’re covering sports and you’re dealing with 20-year-olds, late 20s and early 30s and imagine the stuff that you’re making all this money and you find yourself getting into because you’re living a life you that most people don’t get to live.
‘Think about the trouble that brings. You think I didn’t know that you got traded because you were f***ing the same girl as the coach — and the coach wanted you gone.
‘You think I didn’t know the coach couldn’t stand you because you tried to come onto his wife and his wife was interested?
‘Do you think that I don’t know that you really really can’t stand this dude because guess what, you wouldn’t trade with this team because this former executive used to screw around with your wife and you didn’t want anybody to know.’
Smith noted Ime Udoka being ‘pushed out’ of his job with the Boston Celtics as an example
Smith did not divulge into any specific stories or situations that he was aware of.
However, he did use Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka being ‘pushed out’ of his head coaching position with the Boston Celtics as an example.
Smith continued: ‘When Ime Udoka got pushed out because of a consensual relationship with somebody and you saw me going ballistic [on TV] because I was like, “Oh, that’s the first time this happened?”
‘I’ve been in this business for 30 years, there ain’t a year that went by that I don’t know about people screwing around in the office.
‘It’s always happening, like always, but this guy is the one y’all are going to bust? Now that pi**ed me off.’
Udoka was suspended by the Celtics back during the 2022-23 season after an investigation found that he violated ‘team policies’ by having an improper relationship with a female team employee.
