← The Stephen A. Smith Show
The Stephen A. Smith Show
Full Show: Skip Bayless and harassment lawsuit. Trump is certified! NFL Recap with Cris Carter.
01:18:23
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- [00:00]
Stephen A. Smith
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report.
- [00:29]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of Spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [01:00]
Tori Cooper
Donald Trump has been certified as the 47th President of the United States of America. The NFL playoffs are here and there's a few surprises to go with that. And of course, there's a lawsuit out there in this industry with big names being accused of very, very big and bad things. All that and more coming up. It's the Stephen A. Smith show in the house, but I'm not alone. Holla. What's up everybody? Welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith show, coming at you over the Digital Airways of YouTube and of course, iHeartRadio, as I love to do at the very least three times a week. As always, I'd like to pause and take a moment to thank my subscribers and followers. We've now eclipsed over 1 million. We just did that the other day. We're approaching 1 million and about 12,000 picked up about 12,000 subscribers over the last couple of days. Of course, there's been millions of downloads over the last few months or so on iheartradio. Just another testament to you guys supporting me and supporting this show. Can't thank y'all enough for the love and support. Keep it coming and I'm gonna keep on coming to continue to like and follow the show. Just click the bell to get notified of all of our new content and you too shall be considered latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family. And while you're doing that, don't forget to pick up a copy of my New York Times Best Selling Book Straight Shooter A memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, now in paperback. Just go to straight shooter book.com to get yourself a copy. Once again, that straight shooter book.com to get yourself a copy. I got a lot of stuff to get into today. Donald Trump was certified as the next president of the United States. That certification took place. I Obviously it's the fourth year anniversary of January 6th, the insurrection that took place on the nation's capital. I know a lot of people don't want to see it that way. Damn that. You had people storming the United States Capitol, you know, pushing through barriers, breaking windows, you know, making cops and law enforcement officials along with elected officials literally run for cover, if not their whole damn lives. That's an insurrection. It's an insurrection. Everybody there may not have been guilty about for it, but there are some people that were guilty of it. Nevertheless, that's not what transpired four years later. That's something that we'll get into a little bit later on in this show because I'm about to highlight a couple of things that people need to know about Trump that you may not have even thought about, but you need to think about. I'll get to that a little bit later in the show. Of course, I'll have my man Chris Carter talking, coming on to talk about the NFL. Of course, I will definitely do that because there's some things that went on not just in the NFL, but in college football. And he's more than qualified to talk about those things, particularly being an alumni of Ohio State University. And you see the way they roll it because they, they are my favorites right now to win championship. We'll touch about that. Some NFL stuff, particularly the Vikings getting stomped on Sunday Night Football. We'll get into all of that. But the first order of business I'm going to get into, I'm going to make sure that I don't get into it alone. Before I bring up the subject, let me introduce all of you to a friend of mine, a dear friend of mine who's contributing to this show. This is her second day contributing to the show. She is the wonderful, the incomparable Tori Cooper. She is there sitting in my seat in my studio. How are you, Tori? How's everything going? How was your weekend?
- [04:15]
Chris Carter
It's an honor to be here. You know, I spent it here in New York. I enjoyed it. Steven, it was great to get a call back from you to talk with you on your show again.
- [04:22]
Tori Cooper
That's right. And that's what we have to do. And I'LL get back to you in just a second, Tory, because I definitely want to get your take on a couple of matters because I think it's apropos that I have you here with me. I have to get started with this subject because we all know that anytime you mention Skip Bayless, anybody wants to, most folks want to hear what I have to say. And that's where we're going to get started, because it's sports media news, which makes it apropos. Uh, and it involves a recent lawsuit filed against Fox, Fox Sports and several people, including my buddy Skip Bayless, my former colleague at espn. The suit, filed by a woman named Nasheen Faraji, a former hair stylist for the company, cites several instances of workplace misconduct. Okay. The 42 page. That's right, 42 page suit names several defendants, including Fox, Fox Sports executive vice president Charlie Dixon, and even host Joy Taylor. Faraji alleges Dixon grabbed her buttocks at a birthday party, and when she relayed the encounter to Taylor, the Fox host allegedly told her to, quote, get over it, end quote. As for Skip Bayless, Faraji says he touched her inappropriately and propositioned her for sexual, offering her $1.5 million, end quote. I'll get to Tori and her thoughts on for a second. First things first, let me tell you why I had to cover this. Number one, it's news. Number two, I was just on the air a few weeks ago and took some heat for the fact that I pointed out that I've been friends with jay Z for 25 years and I know nothing about what happened. No intimate details, certainly can't be irresponsible and not try to interfere with a legal matter, a lawsuit. But in the same breath, I didn't think it was a crime to point out that the person that I've known for 25 years, that's. I've never seen somebody that would be capable of that. With that meaning that person that I was around for 25 years. The same applies to Skip Bayless. Now, I don't know what happened. I don't work at Fox. I worked at Fox from 2001 to 2003. I haven't been there. I haven't been in that building in over 20 years. I don't know any details or anything like that. And I'm not here to castigate Ms. Faraji or anybody else. I don't know Charlie Dixon that well, even though he used to play. Used to work. I'm sorry, at espn. I don't know Joy Taylor that, well, even though she and I have interacted with one another on several occasions throughout her career, and I find her to be a consummate professional, very good at what she does, very capable, very knowledgeable about the world of sports and what have you. I also know that she's big on women empowerment, so it's hard to imagine her saying, get over it. But again, I don't know. But we all know that when you see Stephen A. Smith with a subject like this and the name involves Skip Bayless, that's what you want to know about. And here's what I would tell you. I don't know what happened, but just like I said, I've known jay Z for 25 years. I can't imagine that. I've known Skip for just as long. I can't imagine it. I can't imagine it. Especially when they brought up the one and a half million dollars. The Skip Bayless I know has a hard time giving away $15. He's one of the cheapest people I know. That's just me. But that doesn't mean that I have any inside knowledge about any of this. I don't. I don't. And I'm not going to get involved. I think it's incredibly dicey and irresponsible for people who don't know to act like they do know. But in the same breath, I also feel it's important that if you know people or you think you know people and you've had a long standing relationship with those people, that it's not a crime for you to say, the person that I know, the person that I've been around, the person that I worked with in his case, you know, for four straight years, from 2012 to 2016, doing first take every weekday morning at 10am to 12 noon. The person that I knew since our days at Fox Sports when we would appear on, on Jim Rome's show, okay, the Last Word and stuff like that, and we were in the same Fox building off of Pico Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars. The person that I've seen that really, really trust almost no one and doesn't expose himself to anybody, you know, eating the same breakfast and lunch every day. His vice is a diet Mountain Dew and he doesn't socialize with people. That's the guy I know. So imagining him being in this kind of position is shocking to say the least. All I could tell you is that it's not the Skip Bayless I know. But obviously this is a legal matter. He's going to have to deal with because this situation doesn't appear to be going away. A lawsuit has been filed. This person, who's a hairstylist, the people that I've spoken to in the last 24 hours that have some knowledge about her, says that she's the kind of person that she's meticulous with her details and she's going to chronicle things and, and that's how she operates. I don't know her, I don't know them. I know Skip and I'm very, very heartbroken that he finds himself in this situation being accused of these allegations. But I can't be over the airways being irresponsible and attaching truth or innocence or guilt to anything that I know nothing about. All I can say, and I don't think it's a crime to say, is, just like I said with Jay Z, the person that I know for 25 years, I've never seen anything like that from that person, anything close to that from that person. That's the same thing that I would tell you about Skip Bayless. That's all I can say. I have nothing else to add because I don't know what happened, I don't know what was said, I don't know whether something was misconstrued or anything like that. That's where I'm coming from with it. Tory, I know you had thoughts and opinions about this. I'm really interested in hearing what you have to say. You are lady, in this industry, you've been a journalist for years, you know what level of professional integrity is supposed to come with the business, you know the tenants that come associated with it. And obviously I am not a woman, you are. And so when you see a story like this, I'd like to know what your thoughts are and any perspective you could provide.
- [10:55]
Chris Carter
My initial reactions were disappointment as well, because Skip Bayless has an incredible legacy in the sports commentary world. You worked alongside him. Everybody knows Skip Bayless and it was disappointing to know that his name was going to be. When you Google his name today, this is the lawsuit that's going to pop up. And this may pop up for several weeks now. So you can't get away from something like this once it's in writing. Now, this is a civil matter and anytime you're reading a 40 page document like this, when I read through it, you know, initially, you know, you have to be unbiased when you're listening to these allegations. But you have to remember that this is simply that allegations and this is going to be an issue that's going to be talked about for several weeks. But initially I was disappointed to see Skip's name in this as well as Ms. Faraji. You know, as a woman, I can tell you that whenever you hear about your colleagues or anyone going through this, you're hurt for them, you know. And based off her allegations in this civil lawsuit, she says that she spoke to several people about trying to talk about some of the things that she was allegedly exposed to, and she was told to be quiet and that if you want to keep your job as a single mother, you need to let this go. And it seems that she was there for a number of years, seven to 10 years that she was there. And she talks about a number of different allegations in different instances when she was exposed to other people. She mentioned Charlie Dixon, executive vice president. She mentioned that she was allegedly at a bar where, you know, her back was groped, et cetera. So there's a number of different allegations as you comb through this suit that are alarming and then the silencing behavior that allegedly took place. And unfortunately, Stephen, in this world that we live in, I mean, it's one of the reasons why I left the sports industry initially, because I felt like I was. People were flirting with me and not taking my perspective or my preparation seriously when I would show up to interview them, because it's hard to get past your looks. And as you saw, she's an absolute beautiful woman, you know, so that's just. It's the unfortunate reality that the sports world is that world, but it's not just in sports, it's in news, too.
- [12:59]
Tori Cooper
So, yeah, I got a couple of questions to throw your way because I'm very interested and intrigued by something, a couple of things that you said. Number one, you talked about departing from the sports, from the sports industry for a while because, you know, the way folks approached you, it's one thing for folks, and I'm not saying it's appropriate, please don't get me wrong. But it's one thing for somebody to flirt with you or to not take you serious seriously because of your looks. Were they. Did you consider it harassment? And if so, what would you define as harassment? Just for a lot of viewers out there, both male and female, who don't get that sometimes. Explain that.
- [13:37]
Chris Carter
I would definitely not consider it harassment at all. I just was advancements that I was not interested in being around at all, especially when I'm at work. I'm trying to focus on work. And I come here to respect you and I would expect the exact same in return. If I'm going to prepare questions and watch you for nearly two hours and take notes on your play, and then I show up in your locker room to have a conversation with you. And I'm even filming this myself and editing my. Editing this myself at times. How come you can't give me the same respect as a professional? That was the environment I was in. And for me, that's not the level of respect I wanted to be exposed to on a daily basis. And I saw that this was going to be a mountain climb with men potentially just being disrespectful. Does it now, as you asked me about the difference between disrespect, essentially, and harassment, no one touched me. I didn't have to push advances away in the sports arena, but I did have to push advances away in the news arena. So, you know, someone unfortunately, you know, ended up getting fired for the way that I was handled inappropriately. I won't, you know, go into specific details about that, but I was at work minding my business, and essentially someone made some advances that were inappropriate, and they were eventually fired. And as it relates to speaking up about that, I can tell you personally, I was scared to speak up about it. I was genuinely scared. This was one of my first jobs in tv. I just landed a sports reporting and anchor job. And the last thing I wanted to do was attract any attention to myself in any way. And I wanted to make sure that the focus would remain on my talent. Tori's not a problem. Tori comes in as a professional, does her job, and I'm not ending up in HR with complaints and having to go back and forth and prove that this happened when there's no cameras around. But by the grace of God, I had women around me who said, tori, absolutely not. This has been an issue with not just you. This is an issue that we have all been dealing with. And now he just took it too far, and it just happened to be with you. And you owe it to not only yourself to respect yourself, but also all of us who have been going through this too, to speak up about it. So I did.
- [15:47]
Tori Cooper
So what are your thoughts about the, you know, the allegations that Joy Taylor, another woman, you know, who's in this industry, who's recognized as being very attractive, but also very capable, very professional. What are your thoughts with the allegations that she told Ms. Faraji? Get over it. I mean, first of all, is that something that you deem plausible, possible that women may say to each other in this industry? Do you find that to be far fetched. What do you make of that?
- [16:21]
Chris Carter
We were not in the room, so we'll never know. These are allegations, right? I want to make sure that's clear. Whenever we talk about topics like this, we have to make sure that these are, of course, really well understood. These are allegations. We are not in the room. Now, on the other side of that, I will say that luckily I was in a room where someone was telling me to come forward. But I am not shocked that other women would essentially say, look, it's not. You're dealing with Fox. This is a huge corporation. Keep your hair stylist job, don't speak up, just try to let it go. And you know, I would not be shocked by that at all. Yeah, I would not be shocked by that.
- [16:56]
Tori Cooper
I know it shocked me. It definitely shocked me because when I see a lot of women with their podcast, the television shows etc, and very, very big on women empowerment, you know, big, you know, uplifting ladies in this industry and what have you, it's, it's hard to imagine that something like that would be said because obviously that stays with you forever. But, you know, the, the, the. I think the tough part for Joy Taylor is that these two were considered friends for a very long time. If there's anybody that you confide in, in terms of your thoughts, it would be somebody you perceive as a friend. So in that regard, I, I don't know what to make of it. I just have to acknowledge that, having said that, when we look at this situation right now with Skip, my problem is this. And I said this, Tory and I took heat for this, but I didn't care. It's one thing if you come over to airwaves and you're proclaiming somebody's innocence and you weren't there, you didn't, you couldn't provide an eyewitness account, et cetera, et cetera. I think that's beyond the pale. I don't think any of us could do that. I can't do that for Skip today. I could have do that for Jay Z a few weeks ago. I couldn't do that for anybody. Right. But it's another thing entirely where you've known somebody for 25 years and it's a crime for you to say, that's not what I saw. I've never seen anything that would give me that kind of vindication. I would hope that if somebody had made an accusation, something like that against me, that people would look at me and be like, nah, Stephen ain't doing that. That's not who the hell he is. He wouldn't at least say that. That's how I feel as a woman in this industry. As a woman, period. In a world that we're living in where such heightened awareness has been pushed towards acknowledging what women have had to go through and what you've had to be silent about for so long, how do you feel about people who take such a position like the one that I just described?
- [18:48]
Chris Carter
At the end of the day, it's a character witness. I mean, you have 25 years of a relationship with someone, and as you said, I would hope that friends of mine in the industry would know that if someone was making allegations against me that they felt were out of character to go alongside the Tori Cooper name, I would hope that a friend like you in the industry who's had personal experiences with someone would speak up, you know? But at the end of the day, be cognizant of the fact that, look, at the end of the day, this is the person I knew, and I was not in that room.
- [19:20]
Tori Cooper
Cory, I appreciate your perspective on this. Thank you. But don't go away, because I got to come back to you a little bit later on in the show. We got some other stuff to talk about. Okay? But before I get into that, I'm going to get into the National Football League. That's the subject coming up next. Because there's a lot of stuff that happened in the NFL at the end of the NFL regular season that I got to get into. I saw Detroit stomp Minnesota. I saw Pittsburgh lose four straight. I saw the Buffalo Bill secured a number two seed. I saw a whole bunch of stuff going on. Okay, I got to get into it next with my man Chris Carter. He's up next. Don't go anywhere. The end of the NFL season is here. The playoffs have arrived. College football players already started all of that to get into. But my man cc, Chris Carter up next with yours truly. Back with more in a minute. All right. All right, everybody. I need your full and undivided attention. You do know that the NFL playoffs are about to begin, right? And that we're right in the middle of the NBA and NHL seasons. So with all that action happening, the Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you take advantage of it all. That's why we've partnered with prize picks, the best place to get real money action while watching your favorite sports. You see with prize picks, you pick two or more of your favorite players, and then you simply select more or less on their projected stats for the game pick Patrick Mahomes passing yards, Wimy's rebounds and Adam Fox's total time on the ice all in the same entry. So download the app and use code SA YES to get 50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Again. Again, download the app and use code SAS to get $50 instantly after your first $5 lineup. Prize picks Run your game now. Let's look at my winning picks, please. Today I'll be picking for for this Saturday's NFL playoff game between the Chargers and the Houston Texans. First up, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. More or less than 232 and a half passing yards. I'm going with more, y'all. I'm not sold on Houston's defense right now. I don't like what I'm seeing from them. I got. I need to see more. I think that. I think Justin Herbert, despite the fact that Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are no longer there, I still think he's going to have a big game. He's going to throw for more yardage than that. Next up, we got Chargers Rookie wide out lad McConkey. More or less than seventy and a half receiving yards with this one. I'm saying more as well. I just told you what Justin Herbert's gonna do. How you think he's gonna do it by throwing the guys like that guy. That's how he's gonna do it. Next up, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. stroud going up against the charges secondary more or less than 233 and a half passing yards. This could get tricky because playoff time. We're talking about Jim Harbaugh here. Who knows what the hell he's doing, all right. And if anybody can neutralize an opposing quarterback, he can. Especially with CJ Stroud being in the second year. Stefon Digg them having a couple of injuries. I just think you tanked hell as well. I just wonder about it. But I'm still going to go with more. Okay, finally we have Texan star receiver Nico Collins. More or less than 83 and a half receiving yards. I definitely think it's more to this question. More. More to the as the answer to this question because that's the primary target of CJ Stroud in this game. I definitely think Nico Collins gonna end up getting his. Make no mistake about it. I expect a good game with the Chargers and the Houston Texans. And I'm going with more on this one. More, more, more. This is the kind of we're talking about prospects more because when we say more, we really allude into more in your pocket sooner than later.
- [22:41]
Stephen A. Smith
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report.
- [23:09]
Hunter
I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered Black women and girls in America. There are several ways we can all do better at protecting black women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories like Tameka Anderson. As she drove toward Galvez, she was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car and she never returned home that day. One podcast, one Mission. Save Our Girls. Join the search as we explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered Black women and girls. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [24:15]
Tori Cooper
Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. It's time to get to the end of the NFL regular season as promised, it concluded last night with the Detroit Lions beating down the Minnesota Vikings. Okay, so who better to have as my next guest in the aftermath of that than the man I have on with me right now. All worldwide receiver, hall of Famer. All he did was catch touchdowns. The one and only Chris Carter is here with me right now. What's up, bro? Are you okay? You know, let's ignore football first. Let's ignore football first. I want to know if my brother is all right. Usually he got the purple pom poms, you know, he got the purple in the background. Got purple mugs. Got purple. Yep, got purple outfits. All of this other stuff I want to know, is Chris Carter okay after that ass kicking? The Minnesota Vikings took on Sunday night to a Detroit Lions team that had 13 dudes on defense on an injured reserve. How's Chris Carter doing?
- [25:15]
Nate Thompson
I'm doing good, but we got whooped last night. I mean, that was disappointing. And the, the most disappointing part about it was the first half because we had the game to take control. Sports is about momentum and when you force their quarterback golf Into a couple turnovers. When you have a short field, when you're in the red zone four times, you're only getting six, nine points, you're not going to be able to beat. Detroit just played the most consistent football throughout the season. So in this nine game winning streak, this was not the game that they needed to see on Sunday night to be able to finish the season. But you can't take away what the team has done this year. Detroit had a great game plan. Aaron Glenn choosing to play a lot of man to man, cover 0 and attack the Vikings wide receivers. That to me was one of the biggest storylines, if not the biggest storyline of the game.
- [26:07]
Tori Cooper
Yeah, I'm just saying, you know what to me, listen, listen, they blitzed Sam Donald, you know, more than 67% of the time. It was the second most this season that any team has done in the National Football League. They had, you know, they had him, I think it was about 67. Either that or they had him in single coverage. They had a man coverage that amount of time, which basically means that's something you don't normally see if you Justin Jefferson and you Addison. But nevertheless they clearly felt that if you put pressure on Sam Donald, we gonna see the Sam Donald we've been seeing for the first, the last six years or so, not the one we've been seeing for this entire season. So now that you saw what you saw, Chris Carter, how you feeling about Sam Donald going into the playoffs?
- [26:44]
Nate Thompson
I still feel good about Sam Darnold. You know the reason why, because I'm a fair journalist, I'm not going to keep moving the goal post, I'm not going to keep moving the inline marker because what Sam Darnold has done, taking over for a first round draft pick and JJ McCarthy and stepping in this offense, resurrecting his whole career, they didn't lose that game last night because of Sam Darnold now and if this was the old Sam, man, they would have scored 50 points, he would have thrown two or three picks. Now, were they out of sync? Did they rush up his mechanics? Yes, but that's other people. It's a team sport. He didn't play the best game that he's played in the last 10 games. But the Vikings didn't lose because of Sam Darnold. They've had a great season and I guarantee you if Lamar had lost and their team had 14 and two and they lost to Detroit and Detroit, we wouldn't be talking about Lamar. Of course he's got a better track record. Josh Allen. But all these four.
- [27:41]
Tori Cooper
That's right.
- [27:43]
Nate Thompson
Sam Darnold has matched these guys for the season. Now if we want to keep going back to viewing in his past, then we can keep doing that. But Sam Darnold has changed the, the commentary on his whole career and last night was not an indictment on his ability. He is still going to be someone starting quarterback next season if it's not the Vikings, which I do believe the Vikings are going to franchise him. I talked to, you know, a couple of people and I do believe that.
- [28:12]
Tori Cooper
Well, they should. I mean, it's a one, it's a one year. It's a one year, $10 million deal he's playing under now. You're damn right to franchise him. You don't want to just place all your faith in rookie JJ McCarthy ain't playing NFL games because he got injured before the season started. But let me ask you this last question on the Vikings. So how do you feel? How do you feel, CC when you had the number one pick, the number one slot, rather in your grass, you would have been a number one seed had you won and the road to the super bowl would have had to go through Minnesota. Now because you lost, the road to the super bowl is gonna have to go through Detroit. You gotta start out at a wild card and despite having a better record, you gotta start out on a road in Los Angeles against the Rams next Monday night. How are you feeling about that, Chris Carter?
- [28:59]
Nate Thompson
It's the worst possible scenario. We had the home field advantage. If you look at, at the players, the players do a survey. Minnesota is one of the top three or four places, the hardest places to play, Kansas City, Seattle, Denver, Philadelphia. Minnesota's always up there. So you got two games to go through the Super Bowl. We haven't had number one seed since 1998. The 151 team with Moss, myself, Jake Reed, Randall Cunningham. So this was, man, this was, this was precious, precious, precious cargo. And we fumbled it, man, like we didn't handle it the right way. Now we're going to it.
- [29:35]
Tori Cooper
Is that your way of saying that you no longer think that the Minnesota Vikings going to Super Bowl Chris Carter? That's what I'm asking. That's why I'm asking.
- [29:41]
Nate Thompson
No, no, they still have a chance. They still have a chance. But trust me, the other team don't want to see Minnesota come to play him. Like Minnesota is not a team everybody just invite. Oh, yeah. Oh, let's just say Minnesota, man, that'll get us an easy win.
- [29:54]
Tori Cooper
But I tell you this much, I Tell you this much, Chris Carter, I don't think the Detroit Lions got a problem seeing them. I don't think they got a problem seeing them at all.
- [30:02]
Nate Thompson
Well, I don't think Detroit, they got a problem seeing anybody. What happened to them last year? Last year they started off the season beating Kansas City. They finished the season losing in San Francisco, a game that they outplayed the San Francisco 49ers. So they have been on a mission all year. Respect to Detroit, respect of what they've done, respect to the defensive coordinator, the adjustment, respect to Ben Johnson, the offensive scheme that he, that I believe is the most difficult to guard weekend and week out as offensive coordinator for Detroit. No man, respect Detroit, man. Respect for what they doing.
- [30:34]
Tori Cooper
By the way, before I move on real, real quick, what the hell did Aaron Glenn do defensively to neutralize Minnesota's offense and hold him to nine points and not a single touchdown?
- [30:44]
Nate Thompson
Well, for one, he changed up what they were doing in the last three games, week 14 to 17, they were giving up 32 points a game. He, he, you talked about playing man to man in blitzing, but he played zero coverage where he took the safety out of the middle I think 12 to 13 times. That's not something the Vikings see a lot of because they have such skill at the position wide receiver, running back and at tight end. So that threw them off. They made, they got in Sam Darnold State even when they couldn't sack him, they got in his face to make his throws a little bit higher. And when they needed to guard Justin Jefferson one on one, I gotta tell you, they did a hell of a job against jj. That's not something that we normally see.
- [31:29]
Tori Cooper
Let me transition real quick. Your thoughts about the Philadelphia Eagles not letting Saquon Barkley go for the all time single season rushing record eclipse in Eric Dickerson and instead letting him sit out to make sure he's preserved and ready to go come playoffs.
- [31:44]
Nate Thompson
The reason, because even if he breaks the record, if they don't reach their goal as a team, as an organization, because that's what they brought him there. They brought him there to win a Super Bowl. And by the way, if you can break, you know, Eric Dickerson's Ed's rushing record, then, then that'll be just extra. But you can't jeopardize the whole team goals for one individual. And I'm a wide receiver, I'm as selfish as they come. But when it comes down to one game, well, you should have got it in 16 games if that's the case or if you would have had been in the better position where you had the number one seed, then we might play you in the first half because you got a bye week. But when you know you're playing the following week and it's going to be a headbanger three weeks in a row to be able to get to the super bowl again, no, you have to sit here because the team's goals and the team's aspiration in a team sport is the number one priority. It's keeping the main thing. The main thing.
- [32:38]
Tori Cooper
I feel you on that and I don't disagree. But I still can say I agree. But I hate it because the running back position is so devalued. You got guys that miss out on money and long term contract just because of their birth certificate. You don't even pay attention to their production. You say hey they 30, their time is up, we don't need them. So I hate that. But I understand it.
- [32:57]
Nate Thompson
And a little sidebar. It would have been nice to see him do it against the Giants.
- [33:01]
Tori Cooper
That's right, because we know how they treated him. And oh by the way, I'm glad I remember that. I almost forgot to ask you, what the hell is up with the Giants? I have no problem with Dable because they will prove to me that he could coach. Give him something to work with and he can coach. But that damn GM who was so smug on Hard Knocks and letting Saquon Barkley go and invest in Daniel Jones. The Giants electing to keep both of them in place for next season. I, I, I never thought that I'd look at the Giants organization and see them as being this bad. I never thought so. I never thought so.
- [33:34]
Nate Thompson
No, it's not something you think about. They are one of the patriarch franchises that we have. But you lose your way tomorrow. Family. They've lost their way. Their selection of players, their management of players, the players they draft, second and third contracts. They had mismanaged that. And to me the question is what are they going to do at quarterback? Because the Giants in the Mara family, they're not known to to have an African American at quarterback. And the best two quarterbacks are African American. So what they gonna do now? That's what I'm interested. I don't care who the coach is. I want to see what they do at quarterback because their history and history tells you how do I know what they gonna do in the future, what they've done in the past. I want to see what they're going to do at quarterback. We should start conversating about that.
- [34:20]
Tori Cooper
Yeah, they got the third pick. New England messed up because you know what? You fired Gerard Mayo after one year and what have you. But what the hell was he doing winning that game yesterday? They went from having the number one overall pick to drop into the number four overall pick. You got some people in New England feeling like he should be five for that alone. Your thoughts about that real quick, Man.
- [34:41]
Nate Thompson
You shouldn't be at the end. It's over with. The only way you can help the team is by continuing what you already did. You can't be trying to be a hero and win the last game. You got a chance to change the franchise and run stroke and he had to know there was bad vibes in the building. I believe that he knew he was going to be out of there and he went on and inspired the guys. They end up winning in spite to stick at the craft. That's what I believe happened.
- [35:04]
Tori Cooper
Yeah. I never thought about it that way because Kraft supposedly loved the guy, gave him a shot, you know, But. But they clearly want Mike Vrabel. That's who they wanted all along. And the opportunity that get him. Him being out there, I think that's what they see. Let me move on to the Pittsburgh Steelers because the Baltimore Ravens are the AFC north champions. The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost four straight. Mike Tomlin looks on the verge of having another playoff loss because they play Saturday night and nobody's going to pick them to beat the Ravens. That would be yet another year. It would be since 2016 that Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers have not won a playoff game. Your thoughts about what you've seen from the Steelers.
- [35:47]
Nate Thompson
There is one way to correct the Steelers problems and is they need a better quarterback receiver room. They need better guys. They need better people. They need a coach that will take control of that wide receiver room because they have had problems with that room. Even when AB was there, they had problems with that room. And that is continued after he's left. Pickens is an issue. He is not playing up to his ability. His ability. I'm not saying they're coddling him, but I'm saying they're doing things that are making him not necessarily develop as fast as he should develop. They should have had another veteran.
- [36:31]
Tori Cooper
What about the quarterback?
- [36:33]
Nate Thompson
No, no, no.
- [36:34]
Tori Cooper
What about the quarterback? I imagine receivers would be happy if they had a better quarterback throwing them the football.
- [36:41]
Nate Thompson
Stephen A. This is not something I'm guessing about. Okay. I know. I've had conversations with Mike Thomas over the Last year and a half, that room is a problem. And then we just start hearing about the interviews and stuff the last couple weeks. So Pittsburgh does a lot of things well, but now they cannot overcome because they can run the football. They got a strong defense. Mike. Mike's leadership is at. Is one of the best in the league. But you can't overcome a bad wide receiver room when you have a quarterback, especially this temperamental. And their relationship can be fractured fairly easy. Russell had issues when he was in Denver. Russell had issues when he was in Seattle. Now with a weak wide receiver room, do you think they're not going to be some issues in Pittsburgh? Obviously there are. Just listen to them.
- [37:31]
Tori Cooper
Tyreek Hill, he's made some noise to. This is the guy that departed from Kansas City, went and got the bag in Miami, swore up and down that tour was going to be just as good as Patrick Mahomes. And now here he is. Look at this quote. There's a lot of things that I need to reassess about my career. This is the first time I haven't been to the playoffs. I mean, I just got to do what's best for me and my family that's here or wherever the case it may be. I'm opening the door. I'm out, bro. It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, I have to do what's best for my career. All right. This is Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. He says, I was informed that he was unavailable right before a drive. I was not informed that it was a new injury. There were guys on the field that were competing. We were trying to win a game. So my focus was there. We will see how the next couple days progress in Convos with him and I. Here's what. There's two things going on here, cc. Number one, you Tyree Kill, you depart. You go get the bag in Miami, you swap and down that. That the tour tongue of a lower is going to be as good as Patrick Mahomes. Very stupid thing to say. Kansas City has won two championships without Tyree Kill. Ever since, he hasn't won a playoff game. He hasn't, you know, he hasn't really done that. Secondly, you see the. The Twitter handle right there? He superimposes his face on Antonio Brown's body. So clearly he's telling you that's where his head is at. Number three, he ended up pulling a. A something like that dude Campbell for San Francisco did a month ago or so when he walked off the field. Didn't want to Play for the team, didn't want to enter the game in the third quarter. Tyreek Hill essentially did that. The only difference is he stayed on the bench. He didn't go inside the locker room. This is egregious stuff. What do you make of it?
- [39:14]
Nate Thompson
Well, I'm not going to correct you, but I'm just gonna but let you know as far as what happens on the side, not Tyreek Hill. You and I, we got places here in Florida. I go to a lot of Dolphins games. I follow the Dolphins. So he's had a knee problem that he hadn't complained about all year. And when you go to a Dolphins game after he makes a big catch or something, typically he comes out of the game. Now, I've watched him every year in Miami. No year has he been banged up as much as he has been. What typically happens in a situation like this? They're scoreboard watching. They're watching the Denver Kansas City game. The Denver Kansas City game starts to go sideways. Oh, man, we ain't got a chance. Guess what I'm not really getting ready to do. I'm not getting ready to get hurt out here playing for nothing, all right? I've been putting myself in arms way all season. I'm not. I'm getting ready to check out and my teammates.
- [40:09]
Tori Cooper
Well, then why just say that? Why not just say that? He didn't say that, Cece. Why not just say that?
- [40:15]
Nate Thompson
Because I don't believe he's as good with the media as I am. He's very, very young, very, very emotional. He's got a lot of other stuff going on that he didn't realize. The long play, because that's a professional decision right there, that people understand. Your teammates and stuff, understand how much you've been sacrificing. And that whole look like AD, man, you know, I. I take exception to that because to me, you know, I don't know where AD Is as far as his mental health. To be able to mock it, to be able to try to put yourself in the same light. And then also I see them five kids, and I hear that you got more than five kids. I see five kids in the picture on your headshot and everything. It should be about them, man. Like, they're gonna always be able to go back. Go back and Google today and what their dad was doing. So be careful what you put out there, man. A lot of this stuff is permanent, and it's not about you. So he still got plenty good years of football left in him. He's a very Very explosive player. But I don't know why certain wide receivers, towards the end of their career, they decide to blow up places as they decide to transition to a new home. Going to a new home, there's nothing wrong with that. And. But there's a way to do it. There's a way to handle your business and handle your affairs, and he's not handling that the right way.
- [41:30]
Tori Cooper
Two quick questions before I let you get on out here. Out of here. Is McCarthy gone in Dallas? Should he be gone?
- [41:38]
Nate Thompson
Well, I don't think Jerry Jones has a better option, and that's why he let the contract play out. I do believe that he has flirted around with Dion, and I do believe that he entertained maybe some other ideas, but he believes, probably long term, I'm probably better off sticking with the guy that I have because I can keep running the Cowboys the way that I want to, which is the most important thing. It's not who's the head coach, it's how do I run this football team the way I want to do it. And I have someone that agrees to that right now. And, I mean, how many more contract coaches, contracts, Jerry think he got left in him? I mean, it was a few years ago. He went to see the plastic surgeon and everything. Like, you can't go see nobody else. Ain't no blood transfusion. Ain't no. Hey, man, you getting old, dog. These decisions become somewhat permanent.
- [42:29]
Tori Cooper
Oh, my God.
- [42:30]
Nate Thompson
And I know, like you, this man wants to win. He is about winning. And he gonna try to do everything that he can to do, but this knot that he tied is gonna be hard to. Impossible to untie. I believe there are two bowl wins.
- [42:44]
Tori Cooper
But he wants to win. But he wants to win his way. He wants to win his way. And listen, he ain't trying to leave. He ain't trying to defer to anybody else. He wants to do the work because I think he's afraid the minute he steps away, he's just gonna lay down and die, and he doesn't want to do that. And, And. And that's really what it is about Jerry Jones. But anyway, last question to you. I'd be remiss in not bringing up the Ohio State in college football. Now, I want to say this because, you know, I took a lot of heat. You had people. Because Kirk, Herb street came at me in a. You know, he came. But I didn't take it personal or anything like that, the way Shannon, my man Shannon Sharp did. But Kirk Herbstrated, Chris Fowler came at us because we Talked about how, you know Ryan Day, you know, what his job could be in jeopardy. And people thought that was ridiculous. And I'm like, even after he blew out Tennessee, I said, I don't want to hear that shit. I meant what I said. What I said was going into the playoffs, having lost four straight games to Michigan, if this man were to lose to Tennessee, he got to go. And then I love seeing you on the sideline for the blowout victory over Oregon. You're right in Pasadena. I said, my man. I said, my man. CC was on the air talking about the same damn thing. And he right there on the sideline. He ain't backing up. Yeah, you better be here. You got. That's what I'm saying. So I. I want to know your thoughts about what you've seen from Ohio State. How surprised are you, if not at all? And what does this say about Ryan Day that he's been able to win both of these playoff games in such a lopsided fashion?
- [44:21]
Nate Thompson
No, I'm very, very fortunate to be able to get inside the program when they were at the Rose bowl. And that's be around the kids, listen to Ryan Day, listen to what they're saying before the game, whether Justin is at halftime. And I'm gonna tell you, I like what Ryan Day has done. I don't like the fact that we've lost a number of games to Michigan. And I don't like the style for which we lost, you know, two years being totally out physical and then this year being idiots for not throwing the ball to our explosive players. No, I don't like that. But when I look at the overall state of the program, what kind of kids we have, how they play, how they represent the Buckeyes, I'm pleased with Ryan Day. The only thing that's going to be able to overcome people talking about Michigan is for this team to reach his potential. That's what they are doing now. They are playing the style of football. And everybody talks about the 20 million nil. They're third or fourth in college football. Oregon has 23 million nil for their football team. Texas has 22 and a half million for. For their football team. You know, so people act as if Ohio State got 20 million. Everybody else got 5 million. No other teams have outspent them. This team has the potential to be the only team in Ohio State history that wins a national championship without beating Michigan. We've won eight national championships in all those seasons we beat Michigan. So he does have the program in the right state where it needs to be. Are we upset about the Michigan? Of course. And we should be. And we should be able to speak our mind about our head coach. Coach, if you don't beat Michigan, you are going to have a problem with a certain amount of Buckeye thing and that's the way it should always be. This is a prime time job, but he is built for it. I do believe that he can take this to an all time high as far as a program because they're going to be sacked for the next three to five years.
- [46:24]
Tori Cooper
Here's, here's my deal, Chris. And I'll let it. I'll. I'll end it by saying this. I certainly wouldn't advocate for him being gone now because he's in the final four. He's in position. You win two more games, you're the national champion. Ain't nothing but respect for that. But I stand by the position that I took initially. After you lost to Michigan for the fourth straight time. If you had ended up losing that first game of the playoffs to Tennessee, well, damn it, it's the Ohio State. If you can't handle the responsibilities that come along with this, somebody else needs to. And it's just that simple. It's just that he has stepped up and he has handled it. Especially blowing out the number one team in the nation, Oregon. So I'm gonna give him his respect and his flowers. He deserves it now, but three weeks ago, I'll be damned if he deserved it, bro.
- [47:09]
Nate Thompson
We have to realize he is still a young coach, man. Like he is still growing as a coach. Like he is still getting better as a football coach. Like the landscape of college football last six years, man, since he's been around, it's changed every other year. So there is something called professional development. And I do believe I would not take another coach over any coach than rehab and Ryan Day at Ohio State. I don't, I wouldn't take Sark, I wouldn't take Kirby Smart and listen, all these other coaches, Dabo, Dabo went through this Ryan Day period before he got the national championship at Clemson. Kirby Smart, remember, remember he couldn't win the big game at Georgia before he got a couple of championships. So this is the precursor for Ryan Day getting his reputation, getting the Buckeyes back on the national stage, winning their ninth national championship the only time they're going to be able to do it without defeating the team up north. And he has the program exactly where we want the program to be.
- [48:11]
Tori Cooper
Chris Carter, always love talking to you, my man. I look forward to talking to you next week after we watch some of these playoff games. Man, you take it easy, I'll holla at you then.
- [48:17]
Nate Thompson
All right? Appreciate it though.
- [48:19]
Tori Cooper
Peace, love, no doubt. Coming up, we're just a few weeks away from the inauguration of Mr. Donald Trump and he's already making waves in Washington. I'll tell you why that matters in a minute. It's the Stephen A. Smith Show. I'll let you in a second. Everyone right now needs to stop what they're doing and listen up and listen good. With all the big time sports action that's happening each and every day, NFL games, NBA games and the college football playoffs, the Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you are taking advantage of all of it. That's why we partnered with Prizepix, the largest fantasy sports platform in Orland, to help you cash in on all your sports knowledge. You see, Prizepix is a daily fantasy app where you pick two or more of your favorite players and then you select more or less on their projected stats for the game. Choose from any of your favorite players, Saquon Bark, Jaylen Brown and Steph Curry, all in the same entry. Then sit back, watch and chill. The list is endless, y'all. And now with Prize Picks Flex Friday option, you can still cash out even if your lineup isn't perfect. That's right, every Friday. Just look for the protected play. So win or your cash back and get this. Prospects now offers MasterCard for quick and easy deposits into your account during this sports season. Make your picks in less than 60 seconds and turn your sports opinions into real money all season long on prospects. So download the app today and use code SAS to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup again. Download the app and use code SAS to get $50instantly after your first $5 lineup. Prize picks run your game.
- [49:57]
Stephen A. Smith
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- [50:26]
Hunter
Of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. There are several ways we can all do better at protecting black women. My contribution is shining a light on our missing sisters and amplifying their disregarded stories. Stories like Tameka Anderson. As she drove toward Galvez, she was in contact with several people talking on the phone as she made her way to what should have been a routine transaction. But Tameka never bought the car, and she never returned home that day. One podcast, one mission. Save our girls. Join the search as we explore the chilling cases of missing and murdered black women and girls. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [51:31]
Tori Cooper
Welcome back to Stephen A. Smith show right here over the Digital Airways of YouTube. Thanks again to my man Chris Carter for coming on and breaking stuff down. We always appreciate that. We always appreciate that. Tori Cooper, the one and only Tori Cooper is here with me right now. Listen, I usually don't do this, but because it's you, my buddy, you had some stuff on your mind involving Angel Reese and what have you. So usually I'm the one that introduces a subject, but I'm gonna turn around and give the floor to you since you hanging out in my studio and all. I'm gonna give the floor to you, Tori. Take it away. What's up? What's on your mind?
- [52:03]
Chris Carter
Well, Angel Reese, she's scheduled to play in the new three on three league that's coming up. The unrivaled basketball season is starting this month, but she came under some scrutiny around New Year's Eve because she shared a post on her Instagram. You know, she's had a stellar season. This is the video that is actually still on her TikTok. And she got some pretty serious pushback after sharing this, and people were pretty unhappy with the way that she shared this on a public platform. So I wanted to get your thoughts on this because as a woman in the industry who has come under her own scrutiny myself, I have. I wanted to hear where you fell on this issue because she deleted her Instagram. And that's the most important part about all of this because clearly she's uncomfortable with some of the backlash that she's getting because she deleted her Instagram.
- [52:53]
Tori Cooper
Well, here's the part that I like about the backlash. Clearly, it's something that a lot of people can't take. So if it's something that you can't take, maybe you shouldn't expose yourself to the backlash in provoking the backlash. You know, I'm glad you're here for this conversation. I'm glad you brought it up. Because here's the reason why I love Angel Reese. I think that Angel Reese is great. I think she's fantastic for the wnba. I love the fact that she's participating in this unrivaled league because she's made it very clear she doesn't want to have to go overseas to play. We all know what happened with Brittney Griner when she went to Russia. We all felt like it was politicized and she was railroaded. We always saw it. We all saw that she suffered months of her life. Okay? We don't wish that upon anybody. And we lamented the fact that she had to go overseas. Not. Not Angel Reese, but Brittney Griner. She had to go overseas because, like a lot of them have had to over the years, you got to supplement your income because the income that you're making at the WNBA isn't nearly enough. I think when you talk about the average salary, it was like approximately 124,000, if I remember correctly. Well, guess what? The average salary in the NBA is over 10 million. And so when you look at it from that standpoint, to supplement your income by playing 3 on 3 basketball in the United States, in Miami specifically for a few months, where they're talking about doubling the salary that you were going to make as a WNBA player. I'm all for that. But here's what I have a problem with. Tori Angel Reese in doing the things that she has done. Let's face reality. She's going to be attached to Caitlin Clark to some degree. If k. If Angel Reese had never waved her hand in her face when LSU was beaten Iowa for. For. For, you know, in. In the Final Four, the national championship. If that hadn't happened. Angel Reese's name night not as be as big. Yes, she's a talent. Yes, she would have made the wnba. But in terms of her popularity, it really soared after she took down Caitlin Clark. And then Caitlin Clark came back last year and got revenge by knocking LSU out in the elite eight. If I remember correctly, Caitlin Clark. The reason I bring up Caitlin Clark is because they're attached at the hip with one another, which means they're ultimately going to be compared. Tory and when you look at Caitlin Clark, Caitlin Clark is balling. She's a rookie of the year. She was one of the finalists for the league MVP honors as a rookie, breaking all types of records. She should have been on Team usa. She didn't choose to play in an unrivaled league. Her brand building has been incredibly impressive. Now we could get into the white black dynamic, because inevitably that's inescapable in terms of you being white. And as a result, it's contributing to your marketability more so than in Angel Reese. We could debate that. But what's not. What's not debatable is the fact that Caitlin Clark has handled her branding extremely well. Whereas with Andrew Reese, sometimes you find yourself scratching out your head and wondering what the hell she's doing. Like that photo right there. Listen, I see the way you walk in the game. Just listen. She's a beautiful young lady and there's a lot of beautiful young ladies in the wnba. But when you do that, you can't come down the line and complain about being objectified later on. It's not going to work with people. Whether it's right or wrong, that's. It's not going to work. And when you do stuff like that and you're drawing attention to yourself because of that, that can be problematic for you, especially when the comparison is going to be drawn to Caitlin Clark, who isn't doing such things. That might not be fair. I'm not saying it is. And you certainly have the right to dress how you want and to do what you want and to live your life. But people have a right to have the opinions about what you put on display. And if they don't like it and they believe that it's not, it's not, it's not the right thing for you to be doing. When you talk about building your brand, I don't know how you can argue that, Tory. That's my struggle.
- [57:05]
Chris Carter
Well, we have to remember one thing. She's not Caitlin Clark. And we can't ask her to be anyone else besides herself, especially not right here. We're not going to do that. We want you to be you. We love seeing the great parts of your journey. But we also have to remember she's 22 years old. And I have no problem sharing my age. I'm about to be 32 this year. So, you know, you have to remember that we all had this time and we've all made foolish decisions. We've made decisions that maybe we're not proud of, you know, and you have to remember that we're dealing with someone who's 22 and is now looking at a million dollar paycheck potentially. I mean, she's making a lot of money very fast and she was just thrust into a spotlight. And you know, Stephen, when you were 22, if Stephen A. Was given millions of dollars, could have fancy cars, you know, I'm sure that you probably had some decisions that you made that you weren't excited about and that you're glad that maybe the entire world didn't have to learn about, you know, so the difference here is that she's having. We're having to watch her all. We're having to watch her learn this in front of everybody. And so I want to give her grace in that way, but I also want to encourage her to bring her Instagram platform back, because that is her brand, and she built that for the last X number of years, and now she can use it as a platform to market herself. But you have to be cognizant that no matter how you step out of your house, you are now Angel Reese and you will always be picked apart. Unfortunately, it comes with the crown. You're a queen. You're beautiful, you know, so you just have to remember that.
- [58:37]
Tori Cooper
I got to say this to you, Tori.
- [58:38]
Chris Carter
If you're not ready for the heat, then, you know, you just got to be mindful that what's. What comes with it. You have to be mindful with what comes in.
- [58:44]
Tori Cooper
I got to say to you, Tori, I got to push back on you a little bit, okay? I think you're being a little bit too PC. Let's call it what it is. Let's. I am not trying to say that she should be criticized or she is wrong. What I'm saying is by pulling it down, clearly you felt there was something wrong with it. Now, yes, you are 22. Yes, you are young, and there's a lot of things that we didn't want people to know about when we were her age. Fair enough. Especially me. Okay? Because I'm 30 years, 30 plus years removed from that age. I got that part. There was no social media then or whatever. But here's my point to you. She knows this social media. She is not dumb. She's quite a brilliant young lady. She's very smart, very accomplished. And on top of it all, she is in this age where she does know social media exists and she has exploited it to her advantage. And so when you take that into consideration, that means you're mindful of the imagery and the perception that you're assisting in creating about yourself. And you have to. And I'm saying to you, it might have been a right or wrong decision, depending on what she feels or what other people feel. I'm just saying that what's inescapable is that it's going. Even though she's not Caitlin Clark, she's going to be reminded she's not Caitlin Clark with every good thing that Caitlin Clark does, because that was her number one nemesis in a lot of people's eyes. Number one. Number two, she was seen during various interviews and what have you, talking about threats, talking about insults, crying about how people were coming at her with such venom and hostility, particularly in her last year at LSU before she ultimately graduated to the pros. She brought up all of these things, which means she was. She was aware of it. And if you're aware of it, you have to understand that that's going to be part of the judgment that comes against you. Fear or unfair. That's what I'm saying, Tori.
- [60:42]
Chris Carter
The youth is dealing with this issue. Many of them believe that the more I share about myself, the more, like, I'm liked I'm going to be. People are gonna know me off the basketball court. We wanna know you off the basketball court, Steven. I agree with a lot of the stuff you're talking about, but I just wanted to make sure we're still showing her grace and where she's at in her life and understanding that, look, she is 22 years old still. You know, I'm not saying. But that doesn't get to the other point that another take that I have on this, where the youth needs to understand that it's not all about sharing everything. It's about actually keeping a lot of this stuff intimate and private. Personally, I wouldn't wear that because that's not the way I want to be represented, okay?
- [61:23]
Tori Cooper
And personally. Personally, to put myself on Front Street, I wouldn't want my daughter. Listen, my daughter's gonna be in college in a few years. Troy, let me tell you something, right? This is just Daddy. This is just Daddy talking, okay?
- [61:34]
Chris Carter
Yeah, I got it.
- [61:36]
Tori Cooper
My daughters are fully aware. Daddy had better damn well not see an outfit like that on social media. Now, I ain't judging Angel Reese. Live your life. I'm talking about my daughters.
- [61:48]
Chris Carter
Right?
- [61:49]
Tori Cooper
I promise you. I promise you. I better not see that. They could be in college, in la, in Boston, or anywhere in between. Daddy would drop the mic, hop in the car, on the plane, or wherever I'll be. That ain't gonna happen. You say, I'm not having it, that's me. So again, without judging somebody else, we understand that everybody's got their own taste, their own flavor, and certainly their own rights. But there are other people that's going to exercise their rights to be ultra critical about it. And then I'm not even talking about the outfit that Angel Reese has worn. I'm talking about the overall pressure of having to be compared as a brand to somebody who's conducting their branding with near perfection. That's what I'm saying. She's gonna have to deal with that, Tory, whether she likes it or not.
- [62:43]
Chris Carter
She's opening yourself up to every opportunity is what I want for Angel Reese. I don't want Adidas. I don't want Nike turning her down because they don't see her as someone that's marketable, because neither do I, you know? And that's the pain that I had for her in this. But I want her to know if she's listening. Listening. We're excited to still see you bring back that beautiful Instagram page and just learn from it. And I think this is a perfect segue, because I also want to talk about the pressures that you face in this realm of social media at this age, and I am not immune to it. I have had my own issues with this, Steven, in the industry being thrust into the spotlight. Yes. And I thought I showed you the picture. I texted it to you, and I think it's a good segue. Here it is. This is the picture. I posted this picture in 2019. This is when I had my first anchor job. I was excited about the fame. I was like, wow. I want to show people the less serious side of me, show them I could be relatable. Maybe a brand will want to do a collab with me, maybe get some brand partnerships. The news quickly shut this down, and I got called into HR for this photo, and I was told I had to take it down because it was suggestive, risque, and inappropriate. Now, alone. I never thought that posting a photo like that would be suggestive, risque, and inappropriate.
- [64:06]
Tori Cooper
Really? No, I'm not saying it wasn't inappropriate. No, it wasn't inappropriate. It wasn't. I'm not trying to imply it wasn't inappropriate or anything like that, but when you post a photo like that, you do understand that men are going to look at that and be like, hey, that looks very nice. You do get that part, don't you?
- [64:23]
Chris Carter
That comes with stepping outside in a beanie and a hat. Like, no matter what, I'm gonna be subjected to the beauty that I have, period. So that part I can't get away from. But what I was after in that moment, I can honestly tell you, was not the certification from, you know, men. I was actually in this moment, I was like, I would love to get a brand deal. That'd be so cool. You know, that's where I was at. And that's the world you live in. That's social at that age. You know, I mean, I was probably 22 actually at that time, and that's what I was after. And, you know, I'm not speaking for Angel Reese. I'm not saying that's what she was after. But you're. I want to tell you where I was at emotionally. I was excited about my fame. I was excited to be able to expand into different realms potentially. But again, look at. Look at that dress. You know, that arguably, to me, there's nothing inappropriate. There's nothing in the world. I don't think that was doing anything inappropriate, but apparently HR did, so.
- [65:17]
Tori Cooper
Yeah, but I'm saying. But, but. But let me. Let me. Let me share this with you. Let me. Let me share a little story with you. First of all, let me say this to you. I've given advice to women in this industry more times than I can count. I have never given advice without ask. Without being asked for it first. I don't volunteer it. But if you ask me, I'm going to give you advice. And I have told countless women over the years in this industry, the bosses are always watching, whether directly or indirectly, there's always eyes on you. Okay? And so you could be in a nice dress, you could be on a red carpet. You could be on the beach, on vacation or whatever. What you post is what they're paying attention to because they're trying to measure what your intentions are based off of what they see. The other thing that's important to point out, Tori, is this, having said all of that, sometimes they're wrong. A lot of times they might be wrong. But you know what the golden rule is?
- [66:30]
Chris Carter
Err on the side.
- [66:31]
Tori Cooper
Those who have the gold. Those who have the gold make the rules. And so it fluctuates. It shouldn't, but it does. And there's rules they don't want to. We don't want to act like it. There's rules for women. There's rules for black people. There's rules for other folks. Some folks don't have rules compared to what others have. And we continuously point to the level of unfairness that exists, but we ultimately always end up concluding it's inevitable. And so you have to be mindful of it all moving forward in this industry. That's what I had to say about that.
- [67:12]
Chris Carter
Younger kids right now are also not able to see 40 years from now. You know, you post that photo, you're not thinking, what's this gonna do to me 40 years from now. You know, think about that. You know, when you post this, what's gonna happen to my sponsorship? And my last thing is if you're young, member of society today and you have social media and you are big time, just remember that you need to have advisors around you, paid advisors, as well as people who knew you before your family.
- [67:39]
Tori Cooper
That's great advice because that's great advice.
- [67:42]
Chris Carter
Beyonce, she had her mom on tour and her cousin right out the gate. I want to pay. She wanted eyes around her who were paying attention to the world she was going to be living in. And the people right now who are going through this, who are facing these moments, who are thrust into the spotlight. Take a look at your advisors around you. Do they have your best interest? And if you do get pushed back in this way, ask yourself the people, who were the people around me during that time and what do they say about this? And keep that in mind because your reputation, at the end of the day, you have the power over that.
- [68:12]
Tori Cooper
Tori Cooper, you're big time, girl. Appreciate you. I know you got to catch a flight. Thank you so much. All right, we'll talk soon. All right, Thanks a lot. Coming up, we're just a few weeks away from the inauguration of Donald Trump and he's already making waves in Washington, D.C. i'll get into that. I'll tell you exactly what he's doing and why and how it's going to work. Stick around. It's the Stephen A. Smith show. Coming right back at you in a minute. Welcome back to Stephen A. Smith Show. Before I get on out of here today, I want to get into some politics. Okay. As mentioned, today is January 6th and the results of the 2024 election was certified today on Capitol Hill, just the four year anniversary after the insurrection on Capitol Hill. By the way, we didn't see a repeat of the riots from four years ago, needless to say, obviously, when Trump loyalists tried to stop certification of Joe Biden's victory in 2021. Meanwhile, President elect Donald Trump is trying to stop his sentencing Friday in New York related to his conviction in a hush money case. You may recall Trump was convicted In May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016. Here's a portion of the motion that Trump's attorneys filed yesterday to the court. Quote, the court should vacate the sentencing hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025 and suspend all further details or further deadlines. Rather, in the case until President Trump's immunity appeals are fully and finally resolved. End quote. See, you might be surprised with what I have to say about this. This is the kind of stuff that just validates assertions about stuff being politicized. Maybe not specifically with Trump, but the suspicion definitely is there. What is the purpose of this? Is he going to jail? Are you going to jail? You're fine. We got to sit up there and go through all the pomp and circumstance when you know you're not going to do anything. He was certified today as the next President of the United States of America. Come January 21, he will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America. But you want to have, you want to, you, you want to sentence him, your Juan Mer, who is he? The state Supreme Court justice in New York. You want to sentence him next Friday. And by the way, what is the sentencing about? Because, see, we got to be real about it. We just got to be real about it. 34 felony council. Sounds, sounds very, very damaging. It's a hush money case. Essentially, the case against Donald Trump is that he is alleged to have engaged in relations with a former porn star and he made efforts involving finances to keep her mouth shut. That's what all of this is about. You know what some people said to me when they were talking about this? They said, could you please tell me what's the difference between this and somebody signing an NDA? I don't know the answer to these questions. I'm just telling you what people's thought process is. And when something like this happens, even after he has won the election, even after he has been certified, even though this was before he was certified, in terms of the judge's opinion that he was going to give a sentencing next Friday. The point is why? Just like, like Attorney General Alvin Bragg in New York talking about, hey, you know something? The case should still be, we should treat him as if he's deceased, for crying out loud, so you can have the sentencing. It's on the books. Why? That's going to validate everything for you. Did you get him? Did you put him in jail? Did you prevent him from winning the election? No, you did not. So now all you're doing is further impugning the name of the President Elect, soon to be the 47th president of the United States. Doesn't involve any jail time, doesn't prevent him from being in office, doesn't prevent him from signing anything into law. Damn sure did prevent him from helping Mike Johnson win Speaker of the House. The Other day when not one but two, but three Republicans didn't want to vote him in again as speaker. And Trump got on the phone and swayed two of them. Swayed two of them. And they came back within the hour. First book. This wasn't a Kevin McCarthy situation that went on for days with numerous votes and roll calls. No, it was one. And when it didn't side in Mike Johnson's favor, what happened? They called Trump on the phone while he was on the golf course. He got on the phone with two of the three politicians, the Republicans. And what did they do? They put it, we voted for. Even though we don't want Mike Johnson in there, even though we don't like some of the things that he's done, even though he's made promises to us that he hasn't kept. Damn it, we want to make sure we don't impede the agenda of the president elect, Donald Trump, who's coming into office January 21st. We are not going to get in the way of that. He got them to do what he wanted them to do. Totally different from what was going on the previous four years with the Biden administration. How many times did we seen strong leaning towards the extreme left? And it was courtesy of the squad, the AOCs of the world, Alexandria, Ocasio, Cortez and Elon. You know, I'm just think about that. Think about it. Biden was capitulating to them. Folks in Congress are capitulating to Trump and he hasn't even arrived yet. But you've got some folks, and of course they'll say stuff about the judge. They'll say it was politicized and all you're doing is giving them fodder and adding to the point. And that is what annoys me because all you're doing is making their points when they, they swear up and down. Stuff has been politicized. That's what they say. I just, I just don't understand it. I really, really don't. Mershon's daughter, the judge, his daughter Lauren. Mershon is the head of a digital marketing agency, Authentic Campaigns, which works with Democratic candidates and nonprofits. That's an excuse for Trump to sit up there and say, excuse me, he shouldn't, he shouldn't be presiding over this case. He shouldn't be making a decision. Actually, Trump in the past had repeatedly attacked Lauren in the run up to the trial. He called her in one social media post, quote, a rabid Trump hater who has admitted to having conversations with her father about me. Judge Mershon acknowledged this, but decided it didn't provide a justifiable reason for his recusal, which Trump had requested. The New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics found the case didn't involve Lauren Mershon or her business, either directly or indirectly. So Trump law is getting him removed from the case. And here he is now insisting on sentencing the president, but the President elect, but openly admitting it won't involve any jail time. Well, then what is the purpose of it? That's why the American people got tired of that bs. That's exactly the kind of stuff, all pomp and circumstance and much ado about nothing. A waste of our damn time. That's what it is. But why would she. Why should we be surprised? Because that's what the Dems have been doing, right? Wasting our time. However, that doesn't mean that all is right. Want y'all to take a look at this video involving Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States, the. The Democratic presidential nominee. She had to preside over the certification today because she's the head of the. She's the president of the Senate. That's what the vice president is. And she has to. Her job is to count the votes, and she count the votes. And with one senator invited her in, showing her respect, shook her hand, congratulations, et cetera, and her husband was there with her. And the Vice President of the United States, the President of the Senate, cordial as can be, respectful and decent as she could be, wants to shake this man's hand and watch his reaction to her. Please take a look at this. It was posted by Roland Martin on his page. Look at this. Now you see, first of all, that woman should have checked her husband on the spot. That is just rude. That is just rude. You know, and I'm not going to get into the racial portion of it. She's a black woman, you're a white dude. And you, you, you elect to be so rude and disrespectful that way. I'm not going to even get into that. I'm not going to get into the misogyny, the misogynism of it, treating a lady like that. Where's your decency and your manners? See, somebody should have called them out right there. I want people to see that video. That man, that's this woman's husband, I think, how rude can you be? Is that necessary? Especially with you might be a Trump supporter. I've seen plenty of Trump supporters that wouldn't do that. Is that necessary? Now, that's not enough to give her your vote instead of somebody else or something like that. But it is indicative of folks associate some folks, not most, not all, but some folks associated with Trump. And the one thing that is apropos about it is that it happened on a four year anniversary of the insurrection. Just knowing how to apply core decency in terms of your behavior to a common man and woman. But his old ass, curmudgeon ass couldn't even do that. I wish I was there. I'd have been like, that's just rude as hell and God helped me. If I was a relative of Kamala Harris, would I have been like, what's wrong with you, you bastard? That's what I would have said. That's what I would have said. But that's just me. That's just me. Before I get on out of here, I got a couple of tweets to get to. Three of them to be exact. All right, so let's get to the first tweet here. Let's see what they have to say. I don't know who says it's Austin T. Wright? Stephen A. Smith. How much would you pay Sam Donald in the off season? Would you pay him more or less than Purdy? And why? I'm not saying I would pay him more than Brock Purdy. One season doesn't make you comparable to Brock Purdy. But I will say this, it will be somewhere in between Baker Mayfield's 33 and the 55 million the Burroughs of the world and the Trevor Lawrence's of the world have gotten. It would be more than Daniel Jones who got 40. I would tell you right now, with the kind of season that Sam Donald has had, I would tell you that he would warrant, he'd warrant a four year, 170, $180 million deal. I'd say that about Sam Donald. I'm sorry. Yeah, I would. With the year he's had leading them to a14.3 record in a playoff birth, playing a way that he's played with the exception of last night's game against Detroit. Yeah, I would do that for him. That would be the answer to my question. Next tweet. What you got @billym2k writes Stephen A. Smith, if you could only eat one kind of meal every day for one month, what would it be? Steak, potatoes and broccoli. Because I think that it would be healthy for me. I'd have my protein, you know, had my veggies, stuff like that. Of course, I, I mean if it's just for my taste buds, it'd be lasagna with ground beef, you know, and all types of cheeses. I love my turkey wings as well. But a safe bet. Every day for a month. I would tell you it would be the steak. Baked potatoes, not mashed. Baked potatoes, steak, a filet, medium well, closer to well done. Mac and cheese. Let's throw that up in there because I just love me some Mac and cheese. And it would be the broccoli or the string beans. That's what it would be for a month. Okay. That's why I would tell you that even though I let. Let's not sleep on my chicken wings. Cause I love me some chicken wings. Last but not least last, tweet what you got. It's a little small there. Video games and chill. That's what it says. I don't know what the Twitter handleomething, whatever it is writes VG and Chill writes, who is the greatest TV dads of all time? Rank these TV dads from greatest to least. Uncle Phil, Carl Winslow, Danny Tanner, Tim the Tool Man Taylor. Well, you know, I, I don't know. I. I really don't know. I. I barely watched any of those shows. That's why I can't tell you that. I'm sorry. Nice try, but you should have came up with a better question because I don't have an answer to that. That's it for this edition of Stephen A. Smith show. I got to get on out of here. Thank you for joining me. I'll be back in a couple couple of days. Thanks again to the one and only Tori Cooper for joining me on the show. Loved having her the last couple of days. Thanks to my man Chris Carter for coming on the show as well, and I hope you all enjoyed it. And I'll be back in a couple of days. Until then, peace and love, everybody. Stephen A. Signing off.
- [82:25]
Greg Rosenthal
What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs, mock drafts to my top 101 free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [82:55]
Tori Cooper
What's up, everyone? Julius Ripps here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.
- [83:00]
Stephen A. Smith
We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go.
- [83:03]
Tori Cooper
The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.
- [83:06]
Nate Thompson
Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life.
- [83:09]
Tori Cooper
All topics are fair game, right? Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us. Julie is pretty well connected.
- [83:17]
Nate Thompson
She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.
- [83:20]
Tori Cooper
Listen to any Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.