Stephen A. Smith defends basketball camp from 'false narratives'

Stephen A. Smith is hosting a basketball camp that will cost kids $2,899 to attend and he’s irate at the negative press it received.

Earlier this week, social media was tipped off to the fact that Smith is hosting a basketball camp at IMG Academy. Several outlets wrote about Smith’s involvement with the camp as if it was news, even though it was initially announced in March. Naturally, fans were quick to mock Smith on social media, citing his involvement in the camp despite a lack of prowess as a basketball player. And Friday afternoon, Smith used his podcast to fire back at the apparent backlash he’s received for lending his name to the basketball academy.

“When you’ve got the kind of reach that I have, when you reach over two billion people annually on YouTube alone, I don’t really have to comment on everything,” Smith began. “But I’m not trying to back up, particularly when false narratives are being put out there.”

Most of the outlets that wrote about Smith’s involvement in the basketball camp pulled the information directly from the IMG Academy website, which explained that he would be available for “several engaging opportunities with camp participants, including sharing an inspiring message to the young athletes and hosting a Q&A-format discussion.”

“You’ve been looking for me? Here I am,” Smith said to all the people who have apparently been looking for him. “The Stephen A. Smith Academy at IMG Academy in Bradenton Florida, scheduled for this week August 6 to August 12, evidently has caused an uproar. Because people have looked at the academy and people have said, ‘What the hell is going…how could you even be a part of something like this?’

“A part of what? I’m speaking at a basketball camp. They put a basketball camp in my name. I’m honored! Do you know the history of IMG? Do you know the reputation of IMG? Do you know the reputation of IMG? Do you know the stars that have come out of that academy? Do you know how it was first started? Do you know the work that they do, the contributions they make to a bunch of kids that are underprivileged?”

IMG Academy is a boarding school in Bradenton Florida and its basketball program has helped several athletes advance to the NBA. Smith’s name is being used on a legitimate basketball academy and he will be speaking at the camp. He is not coaching the kids, he is not putting them through basketball drills, and according to Smith, he is not receiving any money for lending his name or time to the academy.

“Some of y’all are some damn idiots,” Smith ranted. “I mean, you all give new definition to fools. Just ignorant a**es. The fact of the matter is, I’m not gonna call you a fool cause I think you’re an ignorant a** on purpose. You do it on purpose! And I know my team is going off, ‘Stephen A. calm down.’ Bump that! Hell no. I’m listening to folks and particularly people in the media got the nerve to question and throw shade on my name?”

Even though Smith’s playing career essentially ended after he landed a college basketball scholarship, he’s still a preeminent personality in the sport. Would the attendees rather hear from Steph Curry? Sure. But it’s silly to act like there is no value in hearing from Smith, who has covered the league and its superstar players for decades. It’s similarly silly for Smith to act like outlets pulling information from the IMG Academy website is an example of the “media” throwing shade on his name.

Smith opened his Friday podcast with a 30-minute rant, blasting the “false narratives,” hate, and pushback surrounding his association with a basketball academy that costs nearly $3,000. If you only heard his response, you might assume that Smith hosting a $3,000 basketball academy was making national headlines and dominating the news cycle. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. In reality, it was a few of the aggregators Smith often decries, paired with people looking for an excuse to mock him on social media.

[The Stephen A. Smith Show]

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to [email protected]

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