Stephen A. Smith Claps Back at Le'Veon Bell for Calling Him a 'Hater' on Twitter

Stephen A. Smith is not pleased with Le'Veon Bell, and he attacked the Steelers running back on Twitter and on 'First Take' for calling him a hater.

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If you're reading an article about Stephen A. Smith, I'm probably not breaking any news to you by declaring him an owner of some pretty strong opinions. You don't become a fixture on a show called First Take by playing it safe and assuring your audience there are many different possible outcomes in a sporting event.

The latest target for his ranting was Le'Veon Bell, one of the best offensive talents in the NFL any way you slice it. Smith appeared to acknowledge this during a recent episode of First Take, calling Bell, "the best running back in football." But Smith did downplay just how productive Bell needs to be for the Steelers, claiming the running back simply needs to be healthy and an "ideal decoy" in order for Pittsburgh's offense to take off.

It was an unfortunate bit of word choice from Smith, and Bell didn't appear to take kindly to it. Shortly after the segment aired, Bell took to social media to call out Smith for what he saw as a slight to his talent.

lol it's crazy how much of a hater youu are @stephenasmith

The two men then got into a bit of a back-and-forth on Twitter, with Smith mocking Bell's sensitivity and the running back eventually declaring he had wasted his time even engaging with the television personality.

Will you stop with your sensitive nonsense. I said you DESERVE your money, and that your big time. WTH do you want? A damn pedicure😀
lol I should've just never tweeted youu...it's a waste of time cuz youu don't even realize what u be sayin, just up there speaking non sense

Smith was so incensed by the whole thing—or at least, looking to capitalize on the publicity—that he dedicated a moment on First Take to address the comments once more, turning his pedicure comment into a mini-rant for the cameras.

Though Smith is being his typically bombastic self and dismissing Bell's gripe, this seems like it's nothing more than a misunderstanding over how Smith got his message across. His point is a fair one, because Pittsburgh will benefit just from having Bell on the field and healthy, but you can understand one of the league's biggest talents griping over being labeled a decoy, even if it's meant as a compliment.

And really, this sort of nonsense brings to mind one thing: please let football start already. Enough of the chit-chat and preseason nonsense, enough of the punditry, let's get down to business. You can watch the segment that set Bell off up top.

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