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It’s Des Bieler job that should be on the chopping block for writing his piece, “Stephen A. Smith fires back at criticism that he should have been among ESPN layoffs.” Bieler relished the so called essay that author Jeff Pearlman used to criticize First Take’s Stephen A. Smith.
Stephen is not a caricature of himself, he happens to represent the heart and spirit of competition amongst the fan base of professional sports in this country. If Bieler or Pearlman were to get off their high horses they would only have to go into any barbershop, tailgate party, school or anywhere to see folks in spirited discussions that existed way before Stephen A. Smith arrived at ESPN.
In the final analysis, ratings matter. Viewers matter in television world. Just when a Black man exceeds expectations and soars to great heights there will always be someone using essays to disguise their bigotry and perceived slights against their privilege.
Smith has earned his seat at ESPN and he has also brought a significant amount of eyeballs to the network.
The truth is the market suggests he should be getting significantly more dollars.
It’s really about DIGITAL and the loss of subscribers. Huge segment are accessing sports via streaming services…not cable. Online platforms like Twitter and Amazon purchasing coverage rights is disrupting the market. The age of the dinosaur networks and exploding costs is coming to an end, it has nothing to do with Stephen A. Smith.
