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Former ESPN colleagues Stephen A. Smith and Sage Steele reunited on the latter’s podcast to discuss a host of topics, one of which focused on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
The discussion became quite contentious at first, when Steele asked Smith why it took him “three years” to speak out, but Smith clarified that he spoke about Lia Thomas at UPenn from “day one” on ESPN’s “First Take.”
In any case, the two agree on the issue, and Steele asked Smith why he thinks men in power have been silent on the issue.
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Stephen A. Smith speaks on stage during the HOPE 2024 Global Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 11, 2024. (For Griffin/Getty Images)
“Why do you think so many male athletes — we work with these men every day, NFL, NBA, whatever, who don’t have that much to risk — have $150 million in their pocket, or maybe it’s a lot less, I don’t care? This is common sense,” Steele asked Smith. “And many of them, like you, have daughters who are athletes. Are they going to let a young man in the volleyball net play against their daughter knowing what is at risk? We have seen the injuries.
“And then there are too many men… in prominent positions who are financially secure. This is not their $65,000-a-year job, someone who is a janitor and is trying to speak at a school board meeting could actually lose their job over this opinion, which is crazy. These men in sports who know full well that a woman can’t compete stay silent. Why?”
Groups on both sides of the debate gathered Tuesday morning to protest as two cases barring transgender girls from joining girls’ and women’s sports teams are heard inside the Supreme Court. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
SAGE STEELE RECALLS HOW STEPHEN WARNED SMITH NOT TO TALK WHILE STILL ON ESPN
“Some guys, some people, and this is very, very sad, some people don’t care about anything unless it affects them directly. We just have to call it like we see it,” Smith said. “Some of us are conscientious enough to say, ‘Stop that, I have this public platform, there’s no way I can sit quietly and not say anything.’ For some people, when it comes to politics, it’s a cesspool. It’s been a cesspool. This is the latest problem.”
Smith’s response seemed to take Steele by surprise, as it has been studied that almost 80% of people agree that transgender athletes should not compete against biological women.
“This is the one thing that I really think would bring more people together. I’ve said it from day one with women in my industry, if half of us sportscasters had stood up and said, ‘You know what? As women, we’re going to protect these women,’ we wouldn’t be in this position,” Steele responded.
“There are a lot of women who didn’t do it, just as there are a lot of men who didn’t do it,” Smith responded. “In other words, Sage, what that means is that those who are brave enough to come forward and address problems for the betterment of everyone else are few and far between.”
Smith said last week on “Real Time with Bill Maher” that “biological men should not compete against biological girls in sports, period.”
Stephen A. Smith watches from the field during warmups prior to the NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 3, 2025. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
“What about protecting young girls? Young girls facing biological men, biological men, there’s no excuse for that.”
