Stephen A. Smith once begged Kyrie Irving to retire from the NBA after he refused to get vaccinated. Now, with Irving on the brink of the NBA Finals, Smith is apologizing.
In an attempt to make amends, Smith mentioned he spoke with Kenny Smith about Kyrie, saying Kenny’s brother coached the ESPN host in basketball and was part of the reason he was able to earn a full scholarship to Winston-Salem State University.
“My son, Kenny Smith, I’ve known for decades. His brother, Vincent Smith, coached me,” Smith said on the podcast. “I owe it to Vincent Smith to get a basketball scholarship.”
Jason Whitlock wasn’t going to miss that, and he thinks it was an important piece of information to include in his memoir, which Whitlock calls a historical novel.
“This is the first time I’ve heard of it. You all know how much time I’ve spent studying Stephen A. Smith, reading his memoirs, tracking and monitoring his statements and inconsistencies,” Whitlock said. “I’ve followed everything and I’ve never heard Stephen A. Smith claim that he was responsible or played a role in Kenny Smith’s brother winning a full basketball scholarship.”
Whitlock then refreshed his memory by looking back at two references to Kenny Smith in Smith’s memoir.
“I have had the privilege of forming countless friendships with my colleagues at ESPN and even those outside of ESPN, including Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, Charlie Mack, Michael Ealy, Charles Barkley, Shaq and Kenny Smith,” Smith wrote in his memoir.
That was my first reference.
“I didn’t have the money (or the talent) to attend a road trip or AAU program like the Gauchos or Riverside. Those were reserved for young phenoms I knew like Rod Strickland, Dwayne “Pearl” Washington, Mark Jackson, Kenny Smith and also Kenny Anderson and Lloyd “Sweet Pea,”” Smith wrote in his second recommendation letter.
There is no mention of Kenny Smith’s brother helping Smith secure a scholarship.
“That’s not the story that Stephen A. Smith told in his book. He told the story that a guy named Howard or Harold Kitt took him out to a New York City field in February and then drove him to Winston-Salem State University on a Sunday to give him a tryout before a big house game in the middle of basketball season. That’s the story he told in his book,” Whitlock says.
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