Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III did not take kindly to ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith ripping the City of Memphis.
Austin, who is a Memphis native and played at the University of Memphis, has a lot of pride in the city he calls his hometown. Smith, in a viral clip earlier this week, ripped on Memphis’ safety when talking about the city’s inability to attract top NBA free agents.
“The people in Memphis,” Smith said. “It’s a great sports town. Great fans. Great people. But there’s an element there where cats like Jimmy Butler and others don’t feel it’s the safest environment. I’m talking to the local authorities in Memphis. You got to clean some of that stuff up because it’s dissuasive to NBA players. They have talked about it. I know. They’ve told me... It’s moving in the right direction, but it’s still recognized as one of the worst cities in America. To the point where the head of the FBI has called it ‘the murder capital of this country’ per capita. That’s on the record.”
Smith was invited by Memphis Mayor Paul Young to the city, and accepted the invitation. He would later walk back some of his comments, stating he was sorry if any Memphians were offended.
Austin did not accept the apology, and called out Smith for using the city to boost his ratings.
“Please just ignore dude, disney said he needed some more engagements cause ratings were looking,” Austin wrote on X.
In a reply, Austin said he knows Smith is ‘smiling looking at the engagement’ he is getting from his take on the city.
Multiple NBA players, including Grizzlies star Ja Morant, criticized Smith’s remarks, but he will get a chance to see it all for himself when he travels to Memphis after accepting Young’s invitation.