Stephen A. Smith warned that a massive gambling sting involving an NBA player and head coach may be part of a larger revenge campaign President Trump is waging against sports.
The sports commentator suggested on ESPN’s First Take Thursday the arrests could mark the start of a retribution campaign against Trump’s critics in the sports world.
“He’s coming,” warned Smith. “Anybody that has seen his reactions from the sports leagues and the positions that people have taken, they are not surprised at what’s going on today… This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
The FBI arrested Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups on separate gambling-related charges Thursday, just hours after the second day of the NBA season.
Smith said the arrests represent a “nugget of evidence” showing the president’s desire to punish sports leagues that run afoul of him—and warned more leagues may be next.
“Don’t be surprised if the WNBA is next on his list,” he warned. “Because when you have all of these protests that have been goin’ on out there, and people have been protestin’ against him… this man is coming.”
The WNBA has been one of the most openly anti-Trump professional leagues, with players frequently taking part in Black Lives Matter demonstrations and publicly endorsing Democratic candidates.
While there hasn’t been significant backlash to Trump from the NBA during his second term, basketball players famously drew Trump’s ire for participating in Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
Smith also brought up the Trump administration threatening ICE raids at the Super Bowl because pop star and noted ICE critic Bad Bunny was selected to perform the the halftime show, and suggested Thursday’s arrests might share a similar connection.
Trump has not commented on the NBA arrests as of Thursday afternoon. The White House declined to comment on this story.
Trump’s influence on professional sports has largely been contained to his social media accounts, where like many Americans, he’ll occasionally voice displeasure about various things he dislikes. Earlier this year, the MLB reinstated the late Pete Rose, which was one of Trump’s favorite sports-related topics to post about, but there is no evidence to support the idea that the president has directly meddled in professional sports affairs (at least, not yet).
Smith, who has weighed getting into politics, got a surprising endorsement from Trump last April should Smith decide to run for president in 2028. Smith, however, said he was “aghast” at earning Trump’s flattery, and said he would run as a Democrat in such a race.
The post Stephen A. Smith Ominously Warns Trump ‘Coming’ for Sports appeared first on The Daily Beast.
