Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith is not backing down from FBI Director Kash Patel as the two have gone back and forth over comments Smith made about Donald Trump’s involvement in the NBA gambling scandal. Smith said last week that he believes Trump is behind the arrests of NBA star Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who were arrested as a part of a major FBI gambling investigation. “I’m watching a press conference with the director of the FBI. Tell me when we’ve seen that,” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take. “We’ve seen accusations before, we’ve seen athletes get in trouble with the law before. You don’t see the director of the FBI having a press conference. “It’s not coincidental. It’s not an accident. It’s a statement, and it’s a warning that more is coming. And that’s what they’re saying here.” FBI Director Kash Patel was asked about Smith’s comments during an appearance on Fox News last week and made it clear that he did not appreciate the remarks. “I’m the FBI Director. I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct,” Patel said. “That may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history, and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C. … We arrest people for crimes.“ Smith then responded to Patel on his podcast, stating that he stands by his remarks. Smith said that yes, the FBI’s investigation was ongoing while Joe Biden was in office, but he still believes the arrests happening the way they did -- publicly last week as the NBA season got underway -- was not a coincidence. “As a journalist and a commentator spanning 30 years, I just want you all to know that it’s customary for people to sit up there and say that I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, that I’m off my damn rocker. Only to come down the pipe weeks, months later and say, ‘Yeah, it was true.’ Or the facts bear those things out,” Stephen A. Smith said. “[Trump] ain’t playing. We understand that. We get that part. And I’m not about to sit up here and argue with an FBI Director. I’m simply making the point that in the end, you have a president in place that has a lengthy connection to the sports world, rife with friends and enemies. And those who are his enemies, he doesn’t mind inconveniencing one bit. And when it comes to the NBA brand, it doesn’t bother him. If it comes to compromising the NFL brand, it doesn’t bother him. And it’s not going to stop. That’s all I’m trying to say. I don’t understand how anybody can argue with me about this. “All I’m saying is that if he’s salty with you, if he has a reason to dislike you, I’m not saying that delegitimizes the case, I’m simply saying that he’s not going to hesitate to come at you with a level of fervor that you should be aware of.”
