Baller Alert recently caught up with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, and his comments about criticism towards him were most admirable.
As we all know, Smith has never been one to hold his tongue, and in his recent back and forth with Joe Rogan, Stephen held his ground and remained his normal vocal and opinionated self.
The two found themselves in a back and forth over Cerrone’s 40-second loss to Connor McGregor during #UFC246. Smith made a comment about being “disgusted” with Cerrone’s atrocious performance, and Rogan disagreed, adding his own tasteless commentary implying that Smith was not fit for MMA Commentary.
However, the criticism didn’t stop there. Connor McGregor himself made a public call for an apology from Smith, stating, “The call you discuss here is A+. I didn’t show enough. I’m not paid by the hour, though. Joe’s comments, however, come from you saying the opposition fighter quit. Broken nose/orbital bone say different. Fighting is vicious. Those who make the walk deserve full respect! Apologize.”
Though Smith claims to have tremendous respect for both Rogan and McGregor, he refused to apologize for his opinion; which he’s entitled to.
When asked, how Smith felt about Connor’s call for an apology, he stated, “He’s a champion. He won the fight. He’s entitled to his opinion. I’m entitled to mine, as a spectator. That’s what I watched. That’s what I saw, and that’s the end of it.”
We tested the waters by asking Steve if that was the hard part about his job, the criticism, and everyone having an opinion. He simply responded, “It ain’t hard about it at all. I expressed my opinion. You ain’t got to care.”
I think it’s safe to say, we all need to take a page out of Stephen’s book, remain unphased, and stress-free. Opinions are opinions.
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