Stephen A. Smith Blasts Celebration Of Charlie Kirk’s Assassination: ‘Shame On You'

On his SiriusXM show Thursday afternoon, the day after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Stephen A. Smith sounded different.

Normally fiery and loud, SAS opened in a tone that was subdued, even mournful — remembering Turning Point USA founder and conservative, Charlie Kirk, and acknowledging the radical political violence that resulted in his tragic assassination.

READ: Jay Leno Calls Charlie Kirk Assassination 'The Death Of Free Speech'

Smith, a longtime Democrat, took a moment to acknowledge the devastating event in American history and to criticize those who celebrated Kirk's death out of political disagreement.

Smith opened up bluntly: "If I sound different, melancholy, sad — that’s because I am. What’s on my mind is the shooting that happened yesterday in Utah… what a horrific thing to see."

ESPN Stephen A. Smith. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

Then he described the impact of watching a righteous father, Kirk, be murdered in cold blood.

"We saw right-wing conservative host Charlie Kirk struck by a bullet in his neck. Blood gushing out immediately… pronounced dead at 31 … He had two children under five in attendance who saw their father gunned down. His wife was there too. That’s what resonates with me most."

Smith made it clear this wasn’t about politics. "I don’t care if you’re white, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Jewish, Catholic, Christian… sports reminds us all we’re God’s children.

"But we live in a world where a few evil people are making us scared to love, scared to greet our neighbors. And we can’t just give lip service to tragedies like this and then move on 24 hours later like nothing happened. Something did happen."

Even with his political disagreements, Smith found the common ground, which not every ardent Democrat can attest to in the aftermath of Kirk's death. 

Charlie Kirk. (Photo by Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union)

"I know what problems exist in this country, but there are far more good people than bad, regardless of background. I’m here in Las Vegas, I see people smiling at me who don’t look like me, showing me love, and I’m showing love right back. That’s what humanity is supposed to look like."

RELATED: Ex-NFL Receiver Nate Burleson Disgustingly Points Finger At Republicans Over Charlie Kirk Shooting

Smith bashed political adversaries who championed Kirk's death for their own causes.

"But Charlie Kirk was murdered, and then I go online and I see people celebrating it. Shame. Shame on you! …

"I don’t care what his political beliefs were. I care that a man was gunned down in front of his children, dead at 31, leaving behind a widow and fatherless kids — just because his ideas and beliefs differed. … This man was shot and killed simply for debating ideas. I don’t give a damn who you are — Black, White, or anything in between — that’s your fellow human being."

Charlie Kirk. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Smith did point to one example of decency that stood out to him after Kirk's assassination.

"Props to the New York Yankees for having a moment of silence. If you’re a left winger instead of a right winger and you didn’t like that — you’re missing the point. This man was shot and killed from 200 yards away in front of his wife, his children, and thousands of onlookers. That’s the point."

Finally, Smith returned to the unifying role of sports: "We will talk sports, but that doesn’t mean you strip yourself of your humanity. Sports matters because it gives us common ground. It brings us joy together. It shows us how we can truly get along. There’s far more love in this world than hate. We cannot allow the few evil among us to dominate.

"Someone forgot that yesterday in murdering Charlie Kirk. Others forgot it by celebrating online. Most of us are better than that — let’s show it."

Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela