Stephen A. Smith Doesn't Know Anything About Sports

Stephen A. Smith doesn't know enough about sports to be the face of sports media.

Lost in Smith's feud with Jason Whitlock, the week he had covering two sports he appears to know little about: MLB and college basketball.

On Tuesday, Smith called for the University of North Carolina to hire Kenny Smith.

"Knowing North Carolina, they're looking internally first... I believe that Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith is that dude," Smith said on First Take.

It's unclear what Stephen A. claims to know about North Carolina's inner workings. He did not explain. However, people who cover college basketball found the suggestion laughable. Kenny Smith has no coaching experience.

"This guy is so clueless when it comes to this situation, and pretty much everything involving college basketball," longtime reporter Jeff Goodman said.

"I don't know how much @stephenasmith is getting paid by Kenny Smith, his handlers or one of the big agencies, to push Kenny Smith as UNC coach… but I promise you, there is a 0.000000000000 percent chance he will be the next head coach at UNC," added Aaron Torres.

By all accounts, Smith did not have a real answer for who should coach the Tar Heels, so he offered Kenny Smith's name with his signature faux authority. Aside from playing for North Carolina in the 1980s, there is no link between Kenny Smith and the coaching vacancy.

A later segment on Yankees star Aaron Judge was just as puzzling. On Thursday, Smith sounded the alarm because Judge went hitless in the first game of a 162-game season.

"Too many moments he has had in his career where this Goliath of a man... comes up considerably and conspicuously small... Everybody around him came up big but him," he said.

While that narrative exists on social media, Smith took it too literally.

Andrew Marchand, who previously covered the Yankees for ESPN, pushed back with data. "Aaron Judge had 13 hits in 26 at-bats in last year's playoffs, including a dramatic HR," he noted. "It would be impressive in Little League. It was October."

The Yankees also won 7-0 to open the season.

Stephen A. Smith attends Kenny "The Jet" Smith's FlyHouse Presented by Resorts World on February 13, 2026, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Kenny Smith)

Smith could try to excuse his lack of knowledge by arguing that ESPN primarily focuses on the NFL and NBA. The problem is that he does not appear well-versed in those leagues either.

Players have noticed. This week, Knicks guard Josh Hart questioned Smith's credibility.

"For me, Stephen A., as a part-time Knicks fan, needs to shut the hell up," Hart said Thursday. "He barely knows guys that’s on the team."

He also struggles with basic NFL details.

Ahead of the Super Bowl, Smith credited Patriots defensive coordinator Terrell Williams for the team's postseason success.

"There’s a defense that Jarrett Stidham had to go up against," Smith said. "There is a brother coaching that defense, Terrell Williams. We ain’t mention him all year long. Reunited with Mike Vrabel. This man has done a helluva job with a defense that’s ranked top five in the National Football League, okay, so we going to give brothers credit on this show. And that brother’s doing his thing."

The issue is that Williams had not coached the defense since Week 2, when he stepped away after a prostate cancer diagnosis.

In another case, Smith identified Hunter Henry and Derrick Johnson as key players before a primetime game between the Chargers and Chiefs. Neither was on an active roster.

None of this is to say Stephen A. Smith should feel bad about ESPN paying him $20 million dollars a year. The network clearly believed he was worth the investment. But whatever the rationale, it is fair to question building a sports network around someone who shows so little command of the subject.

He does not even seem interested in maintaining the appearance of engagement. During the NBA Finals, where he served as the lead halftime analyst, he was seen playing solitaire.

That is the face of sports media.

March and April are some of the busiest months on the sports calendar, with the NCAA Tournament, the start of the MLB season, the Masters, and the NFL Draft. Stephen A. Smith does not appear prepared to cover any of them.