SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith expressed fear on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on Thursday that President Donald Trump was taking revenge on sports leagues over their opposition to him.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones were arrested in connection to an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into alleged illegal gambling activities linked to the mafia, the agency announced during a Thursday press conference. Smith claimed in a video posted to his YouTube channel that Trump had already come after the NFL and would likely target the WNBA next.
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“This is about the integrity of the league. This is about impugning their integrity. This is about making things a bit messy and inconvenient. And whoever has to suffer, so be it. And why? Because people came after him,” Smith said. “I’ve said before: vengeance, retribution. The man ain’t playing. And this is not me casting aspersions, making judgment or doing anything on anybody’s side. I’m just telling you what I know.”
“The National Football League decides to elect Bad Bunny as its halftime entertainment,” he added. “And shortly thereafter, we saw the Department of Homeland Security saying they have every intention of attending the Super Bowl, of being at the Super Bowl, outside the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, where they will be waiting for people trying to come to the Super Bowl, looking to engage in detainment and ultimately mass deportation.”
The NFL announced its selection of Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican singer, to perform at the Super Bowl on Sept. 28. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be present at the Super Bowl on “The Benny Show” Oct. 3.
Moreover, Smith suggested that the FBI holding a press conference was a warning to other sports leagues.
“It’s not like some superstar was named in all of this, y’all. This is Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones and Terry Rozier,” he said. “But it didn’t stop them from having a press conference at 10:00 a.m. to make sure that ABC had it, and First Take had it, and the sports world had it, to let you know what’s coming down the pike — because he’s coming. And, ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you something right now. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the WNBA is next.”
“What I’m saying to you is that being entrenched in this political stratosphere that we’re living in now — it’s not the policy stuff. It’s when folks call him a felon. It’s when folks wanted to put him in jail,” he added. “It’s what he perceives as an absolute abuse of power for him playing a game and mastering a game that the political apparatus has been playing for decades. But you tried to lock him up for the rest of his life. I’m telling you what has been told to me personally by people who have spoken to him. He’s coming! He’s not playing!”
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