Talk about a bad take.
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith suggested Thursday that the bombshell gambling investigation involving an NBA coach and multiple players is part of a much bigger scheme — a revenge operation orchestrated by President Donald Trump himself.
Appearing on First Take shortly after the FBI unveiled details of its sprawling investigation, Smith theorized that Trump could be using federal power to tarnish the image of the NBA, which had just kicked off its 2025–2026 season. “Big night for the NBA — [Victor] Wembanyama put on a show. That has now been smeared because we’re talking about this story, OK?” Smith said. “Remember, Trump has a long, long history connected to the world of sports because he had those casinos. Where do you think folks were coming half the time? I’m not talking about individuals, I’m talking about the culture. When people want to go to a casino, when people wanna gamble, when people wanna party, or whatever the case may be, this was his kind of connection to that.”
Turning to colleague Monica McNutt, Smith speculated that the controversy might soon reach beyond the NBA. “Don’t be surprised if the WNBA is next on his list, because when you’ve got all of these protests that have been going out there and people have been protesting against him and what have you, this man is coming,” Smith said. “He’s coming.”
The outspoken analyst then questioned the unusual presence of FBI Director Kash Patel at Thursday’s press conference in New York, saying it suggested political motives behind the operation. “I’m watching a press conference with the director of the FBI. Tell me when we’ve seen that,” Smith said. “We’ve seen accusations before. We’ve seen athletes get in trouble with the law before. You don’t see the director of the FBI having a press conference. It’s not coincidental. It’s not an accident. It’s a statement, and it’s a warning that more is coming.”
Smith argued that the entire move reflects Trump’s sense of personal retaliation. “In his eyes, folks tried to throw [Trump] in jail. In his eyes, he’s innocent and ‘they’re trying to put me behind bars. I’m getting everybody.’ He’s not playing.”
Closing out his impassioned commentary, Smith cautioned viewers to expect a wave of fallout. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s very concerning. We don’t know where this is gonna go. But everybody better brace themselves, because he’s coming.”
Authorities revealed Thursday that thirty individuals — including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier — were charged with defrauding others of tens of millions of dollars through illegal gambling and Mafia-linked poker operations.
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{Matzav.com}
That’s quite a take.
He’s taking revenge against a current coach and player for failures in a business venture 20-30 years ago?
That isn’t really in line with the sort of revenge we’ve seen him take.
If I were to try to connect the two, I would’ve said that he knew where the criminal activity was because he dealt with it when running casinos.
But even that is quite a stretch.
Oh, I get it. According to this loud mouth liberal peabrain, only white males have to “follow the law”, never black victim millionaire sports players. Black sport athlete millionaire victims are above the law. Got it.