Sports Radio Host Completely Torches Stephen A. Smith for Latest NBA Scoop from Unnamed Source: ‘The Sports Version’ of Hannity

ESPN

Sports radio host Jason Page went off on Stephen A. Smith for reporting his latest scoop from anonymous sources about Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown.

During an episode of First Take last week, Smith and his colleagues were talking about Brown and the perception that he’s “underrated.” To explain why Brown doesn’t get as much as attention as other stars in the league, Smith read a text from an unnamed NBA source claiming the star forward isn’t liked and has an “I-am-better-than-you attitude.”

Stephen A Smith just pulled this source out of his ass, this is nasty work against Jaylen Brown pic.twitter.com/fbcpAFmL0m

— Pros Only Sports (@ProsOnlySports) May 26, 2024

The segment drew significant criticism, with some outright accusing Smith of making it up. While Smith’s career in sports journalism has spanned multiple decades, he has said things on TV that turned out to be false — like the time he said Chicago Bulls star Lonzo Ball couldn’t stand from a seated position due to a knee injury.

On Monday, Page said Smith’s journalism days were behind him.

“Stephen A. Smith isn’t a journalist,” Page said. “Unfortunately, most people are unwilling to speak this. We can get to why that is another time.

“Stephen A. Smith is [the] sports version of a Rachel Maddow or Sean Hannity. He’s a talk-show host. While Stephen A. could claim he is a journalist all he wants and whenever it suits him, those journalist days are behind him. They slipped into the rear-view mirror the moment he decided to host a program called ‘First Take.'”

We need to have an intellectually honest conversation about @stephenasmith , “journalism” and the lie that persists over at ESPN.

Stephen A. Smith isn’t a journalist. Unfortunately, most people are unwilling to speak this. We can get to why that is another time.

Stephen A.… pic.twitter.com/0zkGZJa8F9

— Jason Page (@TheBackPage) May 27, 2024

Page then called Smith’s latest scoop nothing more than “hearsay” and “gossip.”

“So this is what Stephen A. Smith has been relegated to and what ESPN is more than willing to endorse, quietly or otherwise,” Page continued. “It’s become a place where somebody can host an opinions-based show for two hours daily and slander (through unnamed sources) anybody they want and then behind a completely fabricated claim of journalism to protect themselves from the incoming fire that is sure to come after making the kind of comments Smith made about Jaylen Brown.

“Does he have friends and sources? It should be noted they are sometimes one in the same. Of course he does. But Sean Hannity has sources. We learned that during the Trump years. Lawrence O’Donnell or Rachel Maddow have sources too. But the moment you see fit to use those sources as part of an attempt to simply entertain, antagonize or jin up controversy, you’re NOT a journalist. You’re just noise operating beneath the facade of journalism.”

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