Stephen A Smith, former ESPN colleague clash about why men stay silent on trans athletes in girls' sports

Former ESPN colleagues Stephen A. Smith and Sage Steele reunited connected the latter's podcast to sermon a plethora of issues, 1 of which focused connected transgender athletes competing successful women's sports.

The treatment got alternatively contentious astatine first, arsenic Steele asked Smith wherefore it took him "three years" to talk out, but Smith clarified that helium spoke astir Lia Thomas astatine UPenn from "day one" connected ESPN's "First Take."

In immoderate case, the 2 bash hold connected the subject, and Steele asked Smith wherefore helium thinks men of powerfulness person been quiescent connected the issue.

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Stephen A. Smith speaks onstage during the 2024 HOPE Global Forum successful Atlanta, Georgia, connected Dec. 11, 2024. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

"Why bash you deliberation truthful galore antheral athletes — we enactment with these men each azygous day, NFL, NBA, immoderate it is, who’ve got not arsenic overmuch to hazard - they’ve got $150 cardinal successful their pocket, oregon possibly it’s overmuch less, I don’t care. This is communal sense," Steele asked Smith. "And galore of them, similar you, person daughters who are athletes. Are you going to fto a young antheral astatine the volleyball nett play against your girl knowing what’s astatine risk? We person seen the injuries.

"And truthful determination are mode excessively galore men… successful salient positions who person the fiscal security. This is not your $65,000-a-year job, idiosyncratic who’s a janitor and is trying to speech successful a schoolhouse committee gathering who truly could suffer his occupation for this opinion, which is insane. These men successful sports who cognize damn good a pistillate could not vie are staying silent. Why?"

A protester for protecting women's sports gathers extracurricular the Supreme Court connected January 13, 2026, successful Washington, D.C. Groups from some sides of the statement gathered connected Tuesday greeting to protestation portion 2 cases that prohibit transgender girls from joining girls' and women's sports teams are heard wrong the Supreme Court. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

SAGE STEELE RECALLS HOW STEPHEN A SMITH WARNED HER AGAINST SPEAKING OUT WHILE STILL AT ESPN

"Some guys, immoderate people, and this is very, precise sad, immoderate radical don't attraction astir a damn happening unless it affects them directly. We conscionable got to telephone it similar we spot it," Smith obliged. "Some of america are conscientious capable to say, 'Bump that, I got this nationalist platform, ain't nary mode I tin beryllium silently and accidental nothing.' Some people, erstwhile it comes to politics, it's a cesspool. It's been a cesspool. This is the latest issue."

Smith's reply seemed to instrumentality Steele by surprise, arsenic it's been studied that astir 80% of radical hold that transgender athletes should not vie against biologic females.

"This is the 1 happening that I really judge would bring much radical together. I said this from time 1 with women successful my industry, if fractional of america sportscasters had stood up and said, 'You cognize what? As women, we're going to support these women,' we would not beryllium successful this position," Steele answered.

"There's plentifulness of women that didn't, conscionable similar there's plentifulness of men did not," Smith deed back. "So successful different words, Sage, what that means is those who are courageous capable to enactment themselves retired connected beforehand thoroughfare and tackle issues for the betterment of the full of others are fewer and acold between."

Smith past week said "Real Time with Bill Maher" that "biological men should not beryllium competing against biologic girls successful sports, period."

Stephen A. Smith looks connected from the tract during warmups anterior to the NFL crippled betwixt the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys astatine AT&T Stadium successful Arlington, Texas, connected Nov. 3, 2025.  (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

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"What astir protecting the young ladies? Young ladies going up against biologic men — biologic men — determination is nary excuse for that."

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