“He’s really good at getting out of the cuff and giving his opinions on almost anything,” says Stephen Warren, an assistant professor at Northeastern University.
In 2025, online discussions will be consumed by hot take, debate lard and “conversation combat.” And while many people turn their opinions into content, few have spun into personal brands as successful as sports commentator Stephen A. Smith, says the Northeastern Observer.
“His whole shoot-tik is a hot take,” says Stephen Warren, an assistant professor at Northeastern. “And we’re not necessarily talking about an informed hot take. He’s really good at getting out of the cuffs and giving his opinion on almost anything.”
Smith is a longtime television personality and is currently one of the hosts of ESPN’s First Take, a program featuring sports commentary and discussions on the day’s sports news. A longtime journalist with deep roots in print media, Smith has grown his pure, speaking persona for most of his 20 years, his success, his podcasts and his pure, speaking persona, who has managed to get a new deal of over $100 million as of last week.
As part of the New Deal, Smith will clearly be given a new latitude to discuss politics — Warren says it goes against the network’s longtime spirit of just talking about sports.
“For years, if someone spoke to me politically, they were essentially told to stop it or look for another job,” says Warren, a sports communications scholar. “That’s what I find interesting. It seems ESPN is willing to allow people to speak politics to some extent, as long as they can justify under the umbrella of entertainment values.”
Smith criticized the Democrats after former Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat to President Donald Trump, and some speculated that he was ready for office. His latest attacks on democratic liberalism are based on so-called “love” and criticism of cancel culture, but also on the condescending culture of elites who say he “swapped kitchen table issues for a series of fascinating and destructive ideas about justice.”
According to a New York magazine, Smith said last month. “I woke up and canceled the culture. Democrats were much more focused on that than the economy, immigration, crime.”
Smith is far from the first person from the world of sports and sports entertainment that step into the realm of politics. American political history has a wealth of examples of crossovers, from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura to Tommy Tuberville, Jack Kemp and Bill Bradley.
Warren describes Smith’s arc as part of the “natural progression.” This is a predictable course in the media market that dominates a particular style of rude critic. That style, Warren says, is “the way you say it, not what you say.”
“He has the tools to do that,” Warren says. “I think what makes him attractive is that he can go toe toe with these other commentators and critics.
At a moment when confidence in the Democrats is in a low decline, Smith’s analysis of the political situation has attracted serious attention from the media who have been thinking about his political outlook. “Don’t underestimate him,” reads one operation in the Los Angeles Times.
Smith, the New Yorker, has not been a calm profile of “Stephen A. Smith for the President.”
“While Steven A. Smith isn’t the first seemingly ubiquitous shock jock, from cable to streaming to podcast surges, we see a movement in the ever-changing world of engagement platforms that will replace institutionalized brands in market share competition.
In the aftermath of the November election, Smith said he would consider running for public office if he had a legitimate shot. He has since downplayed his own political ambitions, yet has relied entirely on the criticism of Democratic leaders.
“From a local perspective, there are a lot of qualified Democrats across the country, but there’s no real national voice,” Smith said in “Tonight’s Show starring Jimmy Fallon.” “Please enter Moi. They’ve come to me.”
He says: “I didn’t ask for this. I don’t want this. I happen to have a very good life. Very good work. I’m fine.”
Lebowitz believes that Smith is “pleasant to embrace the enemy’s profile” as a proven route to celebrity relevance, not a serious voice on the left side of the “soundbite brand.”
“Brash Bravado is on the spot, and Steven A. Smith is getting cash,” he says.
“Barnum and Bailey showmanship aren’t new, but Smith is that new face,” says Lebowitz. “The place where he will take him in the future depends on the changing winds of popular culture.”
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