America's most popular sports media figure tells it like it is in
this surprisingly personal book, not only dishing out his
signature, uninhibited opinions but also revealing the challenges
he overcame in childhood as well as at ESPN, and who he really is
when the cameras are off.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
America's most popular sports media figure tells it like it is in
this surprisingly personal book, not only dishing out his
signature, uninhibited opinions but also revealing the challenges
he overcame in childhood as well as at ESPN, and who he really is
when the cameras are off.
Stephen A. Smith has never been handed anything, nor was he an
overnight success. Growing up poor in Queens, the son of
Caribbean immigrants and the youngest of six children, he was a
sports-obsessed kid who faced a number of struggles, from
undiagnosed dyslexia to getting enough cereal to fill his .
As a basketball player at Winston-Salem State University, he got
a glimmer of his true calling when he wrote a newspaper column
arguing for the retirement of his own Hall of Fame coach,
Clarence Gaines.
Smith hustled and rose up from a high school reporter at Daily
News (New York) to a general sports columnist at The Philadelphia
Inquirer in the 1990s, before getting his own show at ESPN in
2005. After he was unceremoniously fired from the network in
2009, he became even more determined to fight for success. He got
himself rehired two years later and, with his razor-sharp
intelligence and fearless debate style, found his role on the
show he was destined to star in: First Take, the network's
ship morning program.
In Straight Shooter, Smith writes about the greatest highs and
deepest lows of his life and career. He gives his thoughts on
Skip Bayless, Ray Rice, Colin Kaepernick, the New York Knicks,
the Dallas Cowboys, and former President Donald Trump. But he
also pulls back the curtain and talks about life beyond the set,
sharing authentic stories about his negligent her, his loving
mother, being a her himself, his battle with life-threatening
COVID-19, and what he really thinks about politics and social
issues. He does it all with the same intelligence, humor, and
charm that has made him a household name.
Provocative, moving, and eye-opening, this book is the perfect
gift for lovers of sports, television, and anyone who likes their
stories delivered straight to the heart. NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER
America’s most popular sports media figure tells it like it is
in this surprisingly personal book, not only dishing out his
signature, uninhibited opinions but also revealing the challenges
he overcame in childhood as well as at ESPN, and who he really is
when the cameras are off.
Stephen A. Smith has never been handed anything, nor was he an
overnight success. Growing up poor in Queens, the son of
Caribbean immigrants and the youngest of six children, he was a
sports-obsessed kid who faced a number of struggles, from
undiagnosed dyslexia to getting enough cereal to fill his .
As a basketball player at Winston-Salem State University, he got
a glimmer of his true calling when he wrote a newspaper column
arguing for the retirement of his own Hall of Fame coach,
Clarence Gaines.
Smith hustled and rose up from a high school reporter at Daily
News (New York) to a general sports columnist at The Philadelphia
Inquirer in the 1990s, before getting his own show at ESPN in
2005. After he was unceremoniously fired from the network in
2009, he became even more determined to fight for success. He got
himself rehired two years later and, with his razor-sharp
intelligence and fearless debate style, found his role on the
show he was destined to star in: First Take, the network’s
ship morning program.
In Straight Shooter, Smith writes about the greatest highs and
deepest lows of his life and career. He gives his thoughts on
Skip Bayless, Ray Rice, Colin Kaepernick, the New York Knicks,
the Dallas Cowboys, and former President Donald Trump. But he
also pulls back the curtain and talks about life beyond the set,
sharing authentic stories about his negligent her, his loving
mother, being a her himself, his battle with life-threatening
COVID-19, and what he really thinks about politics and social
issues. He does it all with the same intelligence, humor, and
charm that has made him a household name.
Provocative, moving, and eye-opening, this book is the perfect
gift for lovers of sports, television, and anyone who likes their
stories delivered straight to the heart.