Stop Booking Stephen A. Smith To Discuss Jeffrey Epstein | Bobby Burack

Over the past six months, various television networks have turned to Stephen A. Smith to discuss serious political issues. Despite nearly 30 years of covering basketball, Smith recently decided he wanted to cover politics and possibly run for office.

While a background in sports doesn't preclude someone from pivoting to politics, covering politics requires a far greater level of responsibility and knowledge. To this point, Smith hasn't shown much of either. In fact, the more that he speaks about consequential issues, the less seriously we've come to take him.

Specifically, one would be hard-pressed to find a more distasteful remark about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal than the ones Smith delivered last Friday. Appearing on NewsNation, Smith told host Chris Cuomo that he doesn't care about Epstein, what he did, or who may have been involved in his pedophile ring.

"You’re in an uproar off the Epstein list?" That’s all you’ve got? It’s really really surprising that this matters. Of course I think there’s a list, but I don’t know. I suspect [there’s a list], but I have no knowledge, nor do I care. It’s Friday night, I’m getting ready to go out and enjoy myself. I’m getting ready to have a nice week. I could give a damn about the Epstein client list. This has no effect on me whatsoever. I have a life! I don’t understand, for the life of me, why this matters so much?" Smith asked.

"I’m talking about people losing, they’re crying on camera, they’re talking about resignations, they’re pissed off about everything. I’m like, ‘Really?’ With all the stuff that’s going on in this country, with all the power that you possess because of the cache and influence you have because of your connection to this administration, that’s why you’re upset at Trump?"

We understand that it's unreasonable to expect everyone to care about every story in the news. Frankly, we suspect the average American spends little, if any, time worrying about the foreign wars in Ukraine or Gaza, two of the most covered topics over the past few years. But the Epstein case is different. It involves high-scale sex trafficking orchestrated by a former New York-based billionaire with documented associations with domestic and foreign aristocrats.

Now, no scandal since the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 has been subjected to more conspiracy theories than Epstein's. Since his reported suicide in 2019, journalists, authors, politicians, podcasters, and political aides have publicly theorized that Epstein ran a honeypot/blackmail operation, perhaps at the behest of U.S. and Israeli intelligence; kept a "list" of his high-profile clients; and was actually murdered in his prison cell as part of a cover-up.

To be clear, none of those theories have been proven. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump administration are actively trying to debunk the narratives by claiming there is no client list, Epstein acted alone, and sex trafficked minors to himself.

And that's what makes Stephen A.'s comments all the more egregious. If you didn't buy into the Epstein conspiracies before, you probably do now – or at least have reasonable suspicions.

That doesn't mean Trump is on the list, as Elon Musk and far-left commentators have suggested recently. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Biden administration had access to the same files as Bondi. Considering the Democrat Party and its allies tried everything – literally – to stop Trump from winning the election, the idea they covered up information that would've almost certainly derailed his campaign in 2024 is unfathomable. Even if, as some theories go, it would have also implicated prominent Democrats.

If there were proof of Trump committing wrongdoings on this scale, the public would know about it. That said, the optics are bad. Bondi and FBI directors Kash Patel and Dan Bongino have changed their tune. Bondi said the "list" was on her desk, and now claims she meant the files. Patel and Bongino were previously certain Epstein was murdered. They now say he committed suicide. Trump reportedly called Charlie Kirk over the weekend to tell him to stop talking about Epstein, which Kirk said he would do on Monday.

In this handout, the mug shot of Jeffrey Epstein, 2019.  (Photo by Kypros/Getty Images)

Speaking in the first person, my guess is that Bondi and Co. overpromised and realized that if the government started releasing names tied to Epstein, it would prompt widespread accusations that the names had participated in the abuse of children. For reference, flying on Epstein's plane isn't an indication of knowledge or participation in sex trafficking.

However, other people have different, much darker assumptions. And we don't blame them. When a scandal involves sexually abused little girls, there's naturally a heightened level of sensitivity and vitriol.

So, for Smith to dismiss this all as some bootless distraction is incredibly tone-deaf. Given the allegations by members of both parties, the American people deserve an explanation. They, including the Trump administration, helped enable the Epstein hysteria. They now have an obligation to clear up the speculation, and the people with access to the megaphone have an obligation to hold them accountable.

Smith's reckless commentary provided the government cover, even if unintentional. See, he didn't downplay the Epstein scandal because he plans to join the MAGA movement. Most likely, Smith was just bloviating, not realizing the seriousness of his comments.

It is one thing to not know which athletes play on which teams, forget who is in the NBA and retired, and play solitaire while covering the NBA Finals. Smith has gotten away with a lack of preparation because he's loud, charismatic, and uses big words. That works when debating LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan on ESPN. However, to appear on various news channels to discuss sex trafficking requires a level of knowledge about serious issues that Smith hasn't shown he has.

Finally, if Smith doesn't care about Epstein, the sexually abused children, or the alleged governmental involvement, perhaps television networks should book guests who actually do. 

The Epstein scandal is too significant a topic to let someone like Stephen A., who is admittedly uninformed on the matter, influence.