Speaker Profile

Stephen A. Smith is a featured commentator and executive producer on ESPN’s First Take, where he has been a central voice in daily sports debate since 2012. In addition to his ESPN role, Smith hosts  “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.,” a weekly political and cultural talk show on SiriusXM’s POTUS Politics channel. He also hosts his own show, The Stephen A. Smith Show, on YouTube, SiriusXM and other platforms. 

In January 2023, Smith released his memoir Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, a New York Times bestseller published by Simon & Schuster and Gallery 13, with marketing and distribution overseen by Mr. SAS Productions. In September 2022, he launched the podcast K[no]w Mercy with Stephen A. Smith, expanding his commentary beyond sports into politics, entertainment, business, and social issues, co-produced with Cadence13. Smith joined ESPN in 2003 and has hosted or appeared on programs such as NBA Countdown, SportsCenter, Pardon the Interruption, and Jim Rome Is Burning, among others.

Beyond broadcasting, Smith has appeared as an actor on General Hospital and in the film I Think I Love My Wife. He spent 16 years as a general sports columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer after earlier reporting roles at the Winston-Salem Journal, Greensboro News and Record, and New York Daily News. Smith is a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, where he attended on a basketball scholarship.

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