{"id":13327,"date":"2023-02-15T10:56:53","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T10:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=13327"},"modified":"2023-02-27T14:14:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T14:14:27","slug":"stephen-a-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/winter-2023\/stephen-a-smith\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lessons Learned from Making the Most of Second Chances<\/h3>\n

\u201cM<\/span>y story is not always an easy one to tell. If fairy tales are what you are looking for, don\u2019t bother skimming through these pages. You won\u2019t find them here\u2026.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

So says Stephen A. Smith, aka \u201cStephen A,\u201d the enormously popular featured sports commentator and executive producer of ESPN\u2019s First Take<\/a>. He\u2019s a standout on other well-known sports shows like NBA Countdown, ESPN, and ABC\u2019s longstanding NBA pregame show, as well as host and co-producer of NBA in Stephen A\u2019s World.<\/p>\n

Now 55, Smith is at the top of his game. Seemingly everywhere, he also appears on SportsCenter<\/a> specials and as a regular contributor across the network\u2019s studio programming surrounding marquee events. He has over 5.8 million Twitter<\/a> , 1.6 million Facebook<\/a>, and 4.2 million Instagram<\/a> followers.<\/p>\n

How did this guy become so popular among sports fans?<\/p>\n

Clues no doubt come from his no-holds-barred debate style. His infamous hot-takes and fiery personality not only launched him into popularity but often created bouts of self-defeating notoriety that nearly ended his career.<\/p>\n

As he says, his life is no fairy tale but rather a struggle between dead-end disaster and unexpected opportunity. You will likely also become a fan after reading his roller coaster of a memoir. His life history will tug at your heartstrings, from the dedication page to his mother to the closing personal revelations. Regardless of your sports knowledge, his story will inspire you.<\/p>\n

Straight Shooter\u2026A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes<\/em><\/a> is published by Simon & Schuster\u2019s Gallery Books<\/a>, whose wide-ranging list of non-fiction memoirs and titles seeks to \u201cengage, enlighten, and entertain.\u201d Following Stephen A.\u2019s tumultuous journey from his rise out of abject adolescence into sports media stardom will undoubtedly show why his book fits the bill.<\/p>\n

“[This is the] story of how this little scrawny Black kid from a cramped, unheated house in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens went on to become one of the most-watched, sometimes most reviled, but ultimately one of the highest-paid TV sportscasters at the biggest sports network in America.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Stephen A. Smith<\/p>\n

He writes about he had to fight, soul-search, and sometimes re-invent himself to keep moving forward, enduring the inevitable hard knocks of life, so frequently personified by those considered to be from the so-called wrong side of the tracks.<\/p>\n

Stephen A\u2019s passion for success was driven by a desire not to fail even when it appeared all odds were against him.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it was thanks to what working a sixteen-hour day did to his mother. Or, was it in part a father who did not support his family mentally, spiritually, and financially who drove him to be a better person and ultimately a success?<\/p>\n

A Natural Born Playmaker<\/h3>\n

Sports were always part of his DNA. While hardly short at six-foot-one inch, his passion to become an NBA star would not materialize. Not because of his height but thanks to curve balls. Smith went from street basketballer with occasional local drug dealers betting on him to getting cut on day one of his junior year in high school.<\/p>\n

His parents came to the U.S. from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in the early 60s with their first child. Five more came along, including Stephen, when they moved to Hollis, a mostly African-American residential area in the New York City borough of Queens. His father managed a hardware store in Harlem. His mother evolved from a stay-at-home mom to becoming a nurse, ultimately an assistant head nurse at Queens General Hospital, topped off by eight-hour shifts at a nearby nursing home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In his memoir, Smith tells heart-wrenching anecdotes about his father, who mentally, financially, and sometimes physically abandoned his family. For years, his family did not know his father had a second woman and son that he lived with just down the street.<\/p>\n

Held back in fourth grade for reading at a first-grade level, he overheard his father say to his mother, \u201cHe\u2019s just not that smart. He\u2019ll never succeed. Just accept that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps arguments and debates with his father prepared him for his role as a sports commentator later in life. His father\u2019s negative influence, he said, drove him to succeed and not follow in his father\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\n

After high school, the only university to offer him financial aid was the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), located in the heart of the garment center on Seventh Avenue in New York City. Back in the 60s, there were some 4000 students there, mainly to take such courses as fashion, photography, and advertising.<\/p>\n

At that time, FIT offered a junior college-level basketball scholarship program. One might have thought the school to be a mismatch for him. \u201cMost of the students looked like white arty types,\u201d he said. He majored in advertising and communications without knowing how those skills would ultimately come in handy later in life.<\/p>\n

His big basketball break was a scholarship to play at Winston-Salem State University,<\/a> North Carolina, thanks to a try-out arranged by the boyfriend of one of his neighbors. Imagine the opportunity given to a kid who played basketball in the streets, was not a high school basketball star, and sat pretty much on the bench at FIT.<\/p>\n

Overcoming understandable nerves and lack of a hoopster resume, Smith put on a slam dunk tryout effort and was ultimately chosen for the team, but mainly because the coach saw something special in him. \u201cGoddamnit, that boy wants to be somebody,\u201d the coach said, foreseeing a person who had the potential to influence others later in life.<\/p>\n

Smith embraced his opportunity of a lifetime at Winston-Salem State, a four-year school with scholarships and a chance for a bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

Sadly, his basketball career was short-lived. He blew out his knee three months into the season, ending his pro basketball career.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026my basketball \u2018career\u2019 \u2013 half a season as a high school sub, half a season as a JuCo sub, half a season as a Division II college sub, along with two memorable tryouts and all the incalculable hours on New York\u2019s asphalt courts \u2013 was now kaput. The cold reality left me devasted,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

The adage \u201cwhen one door closes, another opens\u201d rang true for Smith. A university work-study program to write for the school newspaper set his lifelong career as a journalist in motion.<\/p>\n

Back in New York, Smith began to cover high school sports at the New York Daily News, followed by a stint at the Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em> as a general sports columnist.<\/p>\n

At the Inquirer<\/em>, he was assigned to cover St. Joseph\u2019s University sports and immediately moved on to Temple University for football and basketball coverage. For six years, from 1997 to 2003, he covered the 76ers.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s desire to be on-air began with radio. From 2005 to 2008, Smith hosted a weekday noon to 2 p.m. ESPN radio show on WEPN in New York City. In 2009, he became an on-air contributor to Fox Sports Radio and was credited with breaking the story of the famed basketball player Allen Iverson\u2019s retirement.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Smith joined well-known commentator Skip Bayless on ESPN\u2019s First Take. Two years later, Smith\u2019s controversial \u201csay it as he sees it\u201d style got him into trouble. \u201cLove me or hate me,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2013 it\u2019s always one or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2013, after on-air controversial comments, a devastated Smith left ESPN to join Sirius XM Radio, only to return four years later.<\/p>\n

He admits he constantly learns from his mistakes, such as his opinions on highly publicized controversies. \u201cEvery single day of my career, spanning years, I\u2019ve awakened knowing I have to take one side or the other, guaranteeing that I\u2019ll make someone unhappy,\u201d he said. I\u2019ve had to piss off someone every single day. I make enemies daily.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of his more notable clashes and words that erupted in controversies and were in the news have included:<\/p>\n