Stephen A. Smith promised to go in on his former colleague turned enemy Jason Whitlock, and did he ever.
Smith released a teaser clip on Wednesday afternoon revealing he warned his employer ESPN and his family about the vitriol he would direct at Whitlock on his independent podcast. He even contacted his pastor ahead of time to apologize for what he was about to say.
The 56-year-old said he's "sat back for years, at least nine to 10 years," and not uttered a word about Whitlock directly. But with the habitual troll fervently questioning the authenticity of Smith's bestselling January 2023 book Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, Stephen A. felt it was finally "necessary" to break his silence—with the caveat that it will “never happen again—he’s irrelevant, he’s not important, he’s insignificant, and he knows it."
Early into the nearly 45-minute takedown (which kicks into full gear at the 18:30 mark above), Smith brought up a 2015 Deadspin article which mentions how several ESPN employees, Smith included, refused to work with Whitlock. "Did you tell them that once the same article in Deadspin came out, weeks later, you wrote a lengthy apology to me in an email, begging me to forgive you, pointing out how you were betrayed by this particular writer, so you know how I must feel that you betrayed me?" Smith said at the 27:50 mark. "Did you tell the folks that, you bitch? Did you tell 'em, you fat piece of shit?"
That same year, Smith inked a unique clause in his contract to avoid his nemesis. “I don’t know of anyone who has this in their contracts—I had it in my contract, and I have a copy of it, where it specifically stipulates that I never work with Jason Whitlock," he shared. "It’s in writing. No wonder you didn’t see him on First Take.”
Stephen A. admitted that "once upon a time I actually tried to speak up for this damn cretin," claiming he was just misunderstood. Suffice it to say he no longer feels that way about “this bastard [who] is worth less than a cockroach” and neither "moral" nor "ethical."
Some of Whitlock's uglier moments include peddling conspiracy theories about Michelle Obama being trans, comparing Black Lives Matter to the Ku Klux Klan, and—as recently as December—blasting women's right to vote.
Smith didn't mince words at the 33:30 mark. “As a Black man, I often told y’all, I cannot imagine—as a Black man, knowing our history—anything worse than a white supremacist. That is until Jason Whitlock came along. He's worse than them. He is the worst, most despicable, lying, no-good fatass human being I have ever known in my life."
Is it any wonder people are setting clips to the "Ether" beat?
Other remarks on the latest Stephen A. Smith Show include, “I mean it from my soul when I say this is the worst human being I’ve ever known. … He’s the dude that’s gonna have a funeral and ain’t gonna be no pallbearers. Might be two people that show up.” Elsewhere: "There is nothing good about him. Absolutely nothing. And I challenge anybody that knows anything about him to refute what I’m saying. I have the facts. They’re all here. I know what he’s done." And don't forget: “Look around—don’t y’all notice why Black people scurry away whenever this roach of an individual is around, named Whitlock? 'Cause we know what he is.”
The First Take host saved some of his harshest words for last. “I hate this bastard. ... He is the worst human being any of you will ever meet," Stephen A. said in closing. "You get within a mile of his presence, wrap your arms around yourself to protect your soul. He is Cain. He is a devil. The worst. That’s all I have to say. Y’all have a nice day, I’m gon’ go about my business. I will not speak about this piece of shit again.”
Though Smith promised he's "only going to do it once," the same can't be said of Whitlock, whose Instagram currently looks like a Stephen A. fan page.
"SAS just made a fool of himself," Whitlock, 56, responded to a Twitter user after the podcast went live. "We've never seen anyone at a major media company react this unprofessionally to a review of their work or just act this publicly unprofessional."
As of this publication, Stephen A. Smith's "Finally Responding to Jason Whitlock" clip has racked up a quarter-million views in three hours. Thursday should be fun.
