Stephen A. Smith has never been one to hold back. But after being roasted by fans and Kevin Durant himself, for seemingly playing Solitaire during Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the ESPN star has unleashed one of his most fiery and unapologetic rants yet when he appeared on Sirius XM Radio:
"I was doing what the hell I always do. And for those out there who don't like it, kiss my a**. When I'm watching the game, I'm watching the game."
"If there's a break in the action, it could be a dead ball. It could be a timeout or something like that. I can play the damn thing for two seconds. Somebody is standing over me, upper deck, zooming in on my phone, watching me and saying, oh, he's playing Solitaire. He's not focusing on the game."
"I watch over a hundred games a year. I'm on TV every morning for two hours, ten hours live, every day. And that's just one job. That don't count Countdown. That don't count SportsCenter. That don't count all the obligations that I have. And I'm sitting there and getting a little break."
"And I decided to play a little Solitaire, which, by the way, I always do. And I mean, always. If I sit up there, if there's halftime, I might go on my phone for two minutes and play Solitaire. At the end of the game, before game, I do the same thing."
"Damn it, if you had had a little break in between, I might have been playing it again because I like the game."
Caught on camera at Gainbridge Fieldhouse while the Oklahoma City Thunder battled the Indiana Pacers in what turned out to be a tightly contested 111-104 Thunder win, Smith was spotted hunched over his phone. The photo quickly went viral, with eagle-eyed fans zooming in to reveal what appeared to be a game of Solitaire mid-action.
Durant, never shy when it comes to trolling the media, especially Stephen A., took to Instagram with a blunt message: “Cmon, Steve.”
The moment set social media ablaze. Critics accused Smith of disrespecting the game, questioning his professionalism and commitment to covering the NBA Finals. After all, this is the sport’s biggest stage, and Smith, ESPN’s most recognizable voice, was allegedly playing cards.
Fans weren’t buying it. Some posted alternate camera angles, arguing that there was live action happening during the infamous moment. Others simply mocked Smith’s “multitasking” defense, questioning why someone in an NBA arena would watch the game on their phone in the first place.
But Stephen A. isn’t losing sleep.
"I work too damn hard, too long, too many hours to be wondering, to be worried about what people think I'm doing for thirty seconds. They can kiss off. I ain't worried about it. It's what I do. I do what I do."
And in true Stephen A. fashion, that’s the final word, whether Durant, fans, or the entire internet like it or not.
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