Stephen A. Smith is emerging as a central figure in any discussion regarding women’s basketball. The famous ESPN analyst has been putting forth his unfiltered opinions about any incident that is transpiring around the hardwood. While he has been known for calling a spade a spade, he has been at the receiving end of some blunt criticism lately. Especially due to his conversation on First Take with fellow ESPN analyst and Georgetown Hoyas icon Monica McNutt. After she accused Smith of not doing enough for the growth of women’s basketball, Smith had to set the record straight.

The 56-year-old laid his emphasis on a variety of issues around the sport on the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show. He also opened up more about how women’s basketball has been growing at the moment. He said, “I’m gonna reiterate what my position is in this regard. The ladies need to be supported. They’ve always needed to be supported. There is a lot of people that weren’t doing things for the WNBA before because the WNBA’s popularity wasn’t nearly where it is now. It was trending in the right direction, but it wasn’t where it is now.” 

Soon enough, the sports radio host reflected on an important trend that is growing for the WNBA. He pointed out that the opposite gender is also showing a lot of interest in witnessing women’s basketball thrive to new heights. Smith added, “There is a whole bunch of men out here who are incredibly supportive not just of the WNBA, but of women’s college basketball, and women’s sports overall.” 

The hype for women’s basketball saw its validation when last year’s WNBA Finals experienced the presence of countless celebrities like LeBron James, and Las Vegas Raiders punter AJ Cole. Similarly, the Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton is making it a regular affair to get spotted at the Fever’s games. There is a reason why Smith had to take this up on his show.

Monica McNutt didn’t mince her words for Stephen A. Smith

Not so long ago, Stephen A. Smith was in the firing lines of fellow sports analyst Monica McNutt, when the two of them appeared together in a segment of ESPN’s First Take on Monday morning. Here, McNutt accused him of not utilizing his platform to speak on behalf of women’s sports earlier.

After Smith questioned whether any other show spoke about women’s basketball as much as First Take did, McNutt replied, “Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to.”

This left the ESPN journalist speechless and befuddled in front of those who were tuning in to the debate live. Soon after, Aces’ Sydney Colson too joined McNutt and agreed to the narrative.

There is no denying that this recognition of women’s basketball was long overdue. The kind of impact that the woman athletes create speaks volumes of how much effort they put in. It’s a great sight for the fans to see the popularity transcend more boundaries.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.