Even though Stephen A. Smith is ESPN’s highest-paid on-air personality, he worries about getting canned.
Familiar personalities, including Todd McShay, Suzy Kolber, and Keyshawn Johnson, were axed by the network on June 30. About twenty on-air staff members were laid go as part of the severe budget cuts.
Smith, the face of First Take and ESPN’s biggest star earns an estimated $12 million annually. Even so, he is not convinced his star power saves him from the pink slip.
Smith stated on Monday’s The Stephen A. Smith Show broadcast that the firings haven’t ended. There will be more, and he may be next.
Even though the firings were indiscriminate across the board, Smith pulled the race card, saying, as a black person, you should never “take anything for granted.” He said when white people get a cold, black people get pneumonia.
Smith claims that everyone saw the layoffs coming. It was inevitable after Disney stated that 7,000 layoffs were imminent. Many people hoped it wasn’t going to be them.
Smith was a guest on “Fox News Tonight” recently to discuss the recent US Supreme Court verdict on affirmative action in higher education. Smith clarified that he thinks it was unfair to exclude racial considerations from the college admissions process.
The show’s namesake host claimed he was “ticked off” by the justification of the ruling more than by the verdict itself.
According to Smith, white Americans have been excused for enacting the policies that made affirmative action necessary.
It has been reported that Stephen A. Smith is peeved that he wasn’t invited to billionaire Michael Rubin’s star-studded Fourth of July bash in the Hamptons. The popular sports commentator took to a recent edition of The Stephen A. Smith Show on YouTube to vent his frustrations at the slight, naming off a slew of famous athletes, performers, and public personalities who were noticeably absent.
It would be interesting to hear Smith’s thoughts on whether or not the South Hampton aristocrats should be required to open their gates to those from lower socioeconomic status in a bid to level the playing field.
