2026年2月15日 / 美国东部时间上午10:17 / CBS新闻
如今，斯蒂芬·A·史密斯无处不在——在赛场边线、比赛现场，当然还有电视屏幕上。他那自信张扬的体育评论风格使他成为ESPN的超级明星，一个拥有数百万美元媒体帝国的现代版霍华德·科塞尔。
史密斯每个工作日早晨都会主持他受欢迎的有线电视节目《First Take》。演播室就是他的战场。“我们在过程中确实想要超越彼此，”他说，“而当你想超越别人时，那就是竞争，也是推动它前进的动力。”
“对我们来说，关键是要真实；不要弄虚作假，”他说，“我是说要确保内容不是精心编排的。你不会仅仅为了说话而说一些话。”
体育迷们喜欢持续讨论。“要记住，典型的明星们，人们想要你的照片、你的签名，”史密斯说，“而我，他们想要的是一场辩论。他们也想要照片，但更想要一场辩论。不存在‘嘿，兄弟，能和你合个影吗？’然后就结束了的情况。而是‘兄弟，你真的是那个意思吗？关于尼克斯队？你怎么能那么说牛仔队？’”
体育评论员斯蒂芬·A·史密斯与罗伯特·科斯塔（Robert Costa）合影。CBS新闻
史密斯成长于纽约市皇后区霍利斯的工人阶级社区。他的母亲是一名护士，每天工作16小时，在他与阅读障碍症和父亲的问题作斗争时一直鼓励他。“我父亲说我是个无可救药的人，”史密斯说，“是他告诉母亲，‘他就是不聪明。’”
这还会伤害他吗？“嗯，那确实伤害了我很长很长一段时间。但当我证明他错了之后，这种伤害显著减轻了。甚至他也不得不承认我是个不同的人。我的问题是他没有照顾好家庭，所以母亲不得不承担起责任。”
他获得北卡罗来纳州温斯顿-塞勒姆州立大学的篮球奖学金后离开了纽约。但伤病中断了他的梦想，于是他转向了报纸行业。最终，他的专栏引起了ESPN高管的注意，他们给了他一个节目。
签约后的第一站？他母亲的办公室。“我走进那里说，‘我们走。’然后我看着中心的负责人说，‘我母亲不会再在这里工作了，结束了。’而我母亲再也没有工作过。直到今天，我取得了很多成就，但那是我一生中最自豪的时刻。那就是我。”
他好斗的评论也有批评者（斯蒂芬·A·史密斯因对艾莎·库里的争议性言论而受到抨击）。他还引发了争议，有时甚至让ESPN采取行动（ESPN因国内暴力言论暂停斯蒂芬·A·史密斯的职务）。
对于他的批评者，史密斯说：“好吧，让他们恨吧。他们赢不了。我们在赢。你真的认为一个节目能连续13年排名第一，如果它让观众感到不快和不舒服吗？那些说这种话的批评者想让你这么想，因为你根本没看‘他们的’节目。”
ESPN评论员斯蒂芬·A·史密斯。CBS新闻
一些批评者称他为“尖叫的A·史密斯”，指责他把新闻和体育都变成了大喊大叫。“好吧，那些人希望你和其他人忽视我的履历，”史密斯说，“我曾是大学记者、职业记者，后来成为NBA专栏作家。白人男性到处都是，他们一直大喊大叫，但没人叫他们‘尖叫的某某’。事实上，他们被称为‘热情的’。而且他们从不把愤怒和他们联系起来。但不知为何，他们会那样称呼我。尽管我经常微笑，有很多理由开心。”
他很快乐，也很忙。就在最近，58岁的史密斯在SiriusXM电台声名鹊起，拥有一档每日体育节目，现在还有一档每周政治节目，作为注册独立人士，他在节目中采访两党领袖。
但这种转向政治的举动在媒体席和华盛顿引起了关注。甚至特朗普总统也在关注史密斯，他在接受News Nation采访时说：“他是个好人，很聪明。我喜欢看他的节目。他有很好的娱乐技巧。我希望他能参选。”
但史密斯表示：“当有人谈论我当总统或其他职位时，我完全没有从政的欲望，一点也没有。我没有竞选公职的打算。”
但他是否排除了这种可能？“我没有排除，因为我很乐意在辩论舞台上与那些自认为更适合治理国家的人交锋，”他说，“因为我认为美国人民应该听到那些真正关心改善他们生活而非自身利益的人的声音。”
他说，如果他参选，会以民主党人的身份：“是的，因为我无法想象自己作为共和党成员参选。我在财政上是保守派，我无法忍受高税收。但同时我也是社会自由派，因为我相信自由生活、互不干涉。我关注那些被忽视和被剥夺权利的人。是的，我喜欢强大的边境，这绝对是真的。我们从来不需要完全开放的边境，但也不需要完全封闭。我们是一个美丽的马赛克。”
这听起来像是竞选演说。“不，这不是竞选演说，”史密斯说，“但我可以不看稿子进行演讲。”
无论他是否投身政治，有一件事是明确的：斯蒂芬·A·史密斯永远乐于参与辩论
“我要向你坦白，我正在认真考虑参加2027年的辩论舞台，”他说，“我会用今年（2026年）来思考、研究、了解问题等等，因为我不是无所不知的。但在我决定做什么之前，我会花时间思考这件事。”
“你过去几年每天早上只进行了几千次辩论练习，”我说。
“没错。我一点也不担心辩论，一点也不担心，”史密斯回答道。
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/extended-interview-stephen-a-smith/
Stephen A. Smith: Always up for a debate
February 15, 2026 / 10:17 AM EST / CBS News
These days, Stephen A. Smith is everywhere – on the sidelines, at the games, and of course all over TV. His swaggering sports talk has made him a superstar at ESPN, a modern-day Howard Cosell with a multi-million dollar media empire.
Smith begins each weekday morning with his popular cable show, “First Take.” The set is his court. “We do want to one-up one another along the way,” he said, “and when you want to one-up somebody, that’s competition, and that’s what makes it go
“The key, for us, is to be authentic; don’t fake it” he said. “I’m talking about making sure that it’s not choreographed. You’re not just saying something just to be saying it.”
Sports fans like to keep the conversation going. “Remember, the typical stars, they people want your picture, they want your autograph,” said Smith. “Me, they want a debate. They want the pictures, too, but they want a debate. There’s no such thing as, ‘Love you, man, can I get a picture with you?’ and that’s it. It’s, ‘Man, did you really mean that about the Knicks? How could you say that about the Cowboys?’”
Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith, with Robert Costa. CBS News
Smith grew up in the working-class neighborhood of Hollis, Queens, in New York City. His mother, a nurse who worked 16-hour shifts, encouraged him as he struggled with dyslexia …. and with his father. “My father said that I was a lost cause,” said Smith. “My father was the one who told my mother, ‘He’s just not smart.’”
Does that still hurt? “Well, it hurt for a very, very long time. But it subsided significantly once I proved him wrong. And even he had to concede that I was a different beast. My issue was he didn’t take care of the family. So, my mother had to.”
He left New York after he won a basketball scholarship to Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. But an injury cut short that dream, so he turned to newspapers. Eventually, his columns caught the attention of ESPN executives, who gave him a show.
His first stop after signing the contract? His mother’s office. “I walked up in there and I said, ‘Let’s go.’ And I looked at the person running the center. I said, ‘My mother will not be working here any longer. It’s over.’ And my mother never worked again. And to this day, I’ve achieved a lot of things, but that is the proudest moment of my life. That’s me.”
His combative commentary has its critics (Stephen A. Smith Comes Under Fire for Controversial Remarks on Ayesha Curry). And he has generated controversy, sometimes to the point of ESPN taking action (ESPN’s suspends Stephen A. Smith over domestic abuse comments).
Of his haters, Smith says, “Well, let ’em hate. They ain’t winning. We winning. Do you really, really think a show would be number one for 13 consecutive years if it was unpleasant and uncomfortable for people to watch? The critics that say that want you to think that, because you ain’t watching their show.”
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith. CBS News
Some critics call him Screaming A. Smith, accusing him of making journalism and sports all about shouting. “Well, those are people that want you and others to ignore my resume,” said Smith. “I was a college beat writer. I was a pro beat writer. I became an NBA columnist. White men are all over the place, screaming all the time. They don’t call them ‘screaming whatever.’ Matter of fact, they call them passionate. And they never associate the word anger. But somehow, they do that with me. Despite this fact that I smile a lot. A lot of reasons to be happy.”
Happy, and busy. Just recently, at age 58, Smith became a big name at SiriusXM, with a daily sports show, and now a weekly political show, too, where the registered independent interviews leaders from both parties.
But this move toward politics has raised eyebrows, in press boxes and Washington. And even President Trump is keeping an eye on Smith, who said while calling into News Nation, “He’s a good guy, he’s a smart guy. I love watching him. He has great entertainment skills. I’d love to see him run.”
But Smith says, “When somebody talks about me being the president or whatever, I have no desire to be a politician, zero. I have no desire to run for office.”
But is he ruling it out? “I’m not ruling it out, because I’d love to be on the debate stages against some of these individuals that think they’re better suited to run the country,” he said. “Because I think that the American people deserve to listen to and hear from somebody who genuinely cares about making life better for them instead of yourself.”
He says, were he to run, it would be as a Democrat: “Yeah, because I couldn’t see myself running as a member of the GOP. I’m a fiscal conservative; I can’t stand high taxes. But I’m a social liberal in the same breath, because I believe in living and let live. I pay attention to the desolate and disenfranchised. Yes, I like strong borders, that’s absolutely true. We never needed open borders, but we don’t need it to be completely closed, either. We are a gorgeous mosaic.”
Sounds like a stump speech. “No, there’s no stump speech,” Smith said, “but I can give a speech without a note in front of me.”
Whether he jumps into politics or not, one thing is clear: Stephen A. Smith is always up for a debate
“I will confess to you, I’m giving strong consideration to being on that debate stage for 2027,” he said. “I’ve got this year coming up, 2026, to think about it, to study, to know the issues, et cetera, ’cause I don’t know everything. But I am gonna spend this year thinking about that before I make a decision as to what I want to do.”
“You’ve only had a few thousand debate practices over the last few years every morning,” I said.
“Right. I’m not worried about a debate one bit, not even a little bit,” Smith replied.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/extended-interview-stephen-a-smith/