Sport personalities, especially sportscasters and analysts, usually have their popularity limited to a demography of sport lovers but through his mannerisms, his character and words, all of which have made him into an internet meme star, Stephen A Smith has expanded his fame beyond your average basketball or NFL follower, so much that those who have never seen a game of sport are very much familiar with him.
Stephen A Smith has had an exceptionally long career working for New York Daily News, Sirius XM Radio, The Philadelphia Inquirer and his resident media outlet, ESPN. He hosts a couple of shows and he is a frequent contributor on a number of others.
For those who have taken interest in who he is, here is an article on everything you need to know about Stephen A Smith. Read on to learn more.
Stephen A Smith Biography (Early Life and Career)
Stephen A Smith may very well go down as the greatest sports commentator in modern American sports journalism history, as a result of what he self-describes as his ‘big mouth’. The status has been a result of a journey he began just a couple of decades after he was born to his parents on the 14th of October, 1967 in New York City, specifically in the Bronx. He is the second to the last of the six children that were born into his parent’s modest family that had a patriarch who ran a hardware store.
His education began at Thomas Edison High School, after which he spent a year at Fashion Institute of Technology before he earned a basketball scholarship at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.
During his time in college, while he still actively played basketball, Stephen A Smith made his first move as a sports commentator by writing an op-ed on his own coach, Clarence Gaines, stating why he should retire.
His penchant for making controversial statements become the definition of his career after he began his journalism career with Winston-Salem Journal, the New York Daily News and the Greensboro News. He spent a couple of years working in print media before he moved on to radio in April 2005, starting with a show on WEPN.
He was eventually syndicated by ESPN Radio and it lasted till April 2008. He joined Fox Sports Radio in November 2009 but returned to ESPN in February 2011 where he worked till 2013 when he joined Sirius XM Radio for four years before his third stint at ESPN Radio in January 2017.
On Television, which is where he gained his fame outside of sports audience, Stephen A Smith began working for CNN/SI in 1999 and has primarily worked with ESPN since he left the media outlet.
With ESPN, he has hosted and been a part of several shows like ESPN First Take, Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, SportsCenter, Pardon the Interruption, and a couple more others. Outside of sports broadcasting, Stephen A Smith has appeared in a couple of movies and TV shows such as I Think I Love My Life and General Hospital.
Stephen A Smith’s Net Worth
It would be fair if Stephen A Smith had a modest net worth in the six figures like several of his peers do in the sports commentary profession, but Stephen is no ordinary sports commentator and it reflects in his work as well as his income.
Through years of working with the elite sports media outlet, ESPN, working on a mega salary estimated at $3.5 million per year, Stephen A Smith has accrued an estimated net worth of $10 million. His high net worth is also a function of a seven-figure contract he has for his work with Sirius XM Radio.
Family – Wife and Kids
For all the increased media attention that comes with his role as one of the most popular sports analysts on the planet, Stephen A Smith has either done a great job of keeping his relationships away from the press or he hasn’t had any serious one.
Sadly, we cannot confirm either way because of the close and mysterious nature of his personal life, leaving his fans wondering if he has a wife or children. The mysterious nature of his relationship status has led to rumours such as the existence of a son, one whom he denies vehemently. He has only ever been seen with a woman in public during an event in 2011. The identity of the woman was unknown and she has never been seen with him again.
Mother
Mothers can be very influential personalities in a person’s life and that is a true fact in the case of Stephen A Smith, who credits his mother for her contributions to his success. Known for keeping his personal life away from the media, Stephen makes an exception when it comes to his mother, eschewing her with different forms of praise whenever he gets the chance.
Unfortunately, a battle with cancer led to the loss of his mother, Janet Smith on the morning of 1st of June, 2017.
See Also: Shannon Sharpe – Bio, Wife, Net Worth and Salary, Kids, Brother
How Tall is Stephen Smith
Stephen A Smith may not have played basketball at the professional level but he played at the college level and had a semi-decent career. His height of 6 feet 1 inch enabled him to play his beloved sport at the second developmental level of American basketball.
Additional physical features include black short hair and dark-coloured eyes.
