Full Show: Stephen A discusses Diddy Trial, Trump, and Lebron with his three best friends.

Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.

Support the show: http://www.youtube.com/@stephenasmith

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
All right, folks, I need you all to stop what
you're doing and listen up.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
You know I love this time of year.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Right the NBA players are in full effect and with
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Madison Square Garden is gonna be on fire. The night
is gonna be lit. My New York Knicks are back
in the building and lead the series three too against
their reigning defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. Can they close
out tonight? That's the question. All right, Well, guess what

(00:58):
they better. I'm giving you my picks with the night's game,
so let's get right to it. First up, well, Jalen
Brunson scored more or less than twenty nine and a
half points. Why the hell would I say less? It's
got to be more. The brother's averaging over thirty six
a game after loss. I got to go with that.
It's definitely got to be more. Next up, well, Mitchell
Robinson scored more or less than four and a half points.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
It's a damn chain.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
I gotta even ask that question for seven foot of
you know, but I'm gonna say it anyway. I think
the brother's gonna score more than four and a half points.
The thing he's gonna hit a free free throws, and
he's definitely gonna get fiuled a lot because Missula's gonna
try take him out of the game by following him intentionally.
So I'm gonna go with more on that wo as well.
Next up, will Jalen Brown score more or less than
twenty five and a half points? He's the three hundred

(01:39):
and four million dollar man. He showed up and dropped
twenty six points in twelve assists, the career high in
the postseason twelve assists. By the way, Jalen Brown is
gonna show up at the guard of the night and
they gonna be about those Assistans's gonna be about points.
He's gonna need to score points in bunches in order
for the Boss and Sultans to have a chance. I
do believe he's gonna score more than twenty five and
a half in this particular game, although I expect them

(01:59):
to lose anyway. And finally, well, Derek White scored more
or less than twenty and a half points.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
The brother just hit seven three pointers.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
I'm not gonna think he's gonna go from hitting seventy
three pointers and dropping thirty four points and not scoring
the damn it's not scoring twenty damn points.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
I gotta believe he's gonna do that as well.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
He ain't gonna be enough, but for the moment, I'll
look at him and I'll give him that opportunity. I
think everybody else will probably be shut down, but I
think Derek White and Jalen Brown will answer the call
from a points production standpoint. So that's more for Jalen Brunton,
more for Mitchell Robinson, more for Jalen Brown, and more
for Derek White.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
We're talking about Prize Picks. We're all about more people.
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So go the Prize Picks app and check out the
stephen A Smith Show Community play.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
It's boosted at twenty five percent, just so you.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
Know what's up.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
Everybody.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Welcome to the latest edition to The stephen A. Smith Show,
coming at you as I love to do, at the
very least three times a week over the digital airways
of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
As always, I like to pause.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
And before I get into anything to take a moment
to thank my listeners, my followers, my subscribers. The show's
popularity continues to grow, and it wouldn't be the case
if it were not for you. So I sincerely thank
you for your contribution to the show courtesy of millions
of downloads over iHeartRadio over the last several months, not
to mention a subscriber base on YouTube that has now
eclipsed one point twenty two million. Again, the love and

(03:33):
support is deeply appreciated. I thank you and my team
thanks you from the bottom of my heart. To continue
to like and follow the show. And you want to
get notified five newest content, just click the bell in
the right hand corner and YouTube shall consider yourself the
latest member of the Steven A. Smith Show family. And
while you're doing that, please make sure to pick up
a copy of my New York Times best selling book,
Straight Shooter, a Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes,

(03:56):
now in paperback. Just go straight shoot book dot com
and get yourself a copy. Once again, that straight to
book dot com to get yourself a copy. This is
a special kind of show. It is a little bit
different today because I'm gonna have some of my boys
in the house. It's sort of like a Freedom Friday
kind of thing going on, Just a bunch of fellas
with George, truly freelancing about whatever topics are on their mind.

(04:17):
These of dudes that I grew up with. I want
to be very very clear, I'm not responsible for the
things that come out of their mouth and the things
that they say, because I'll be damned if I know
what they gonna.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
Say from topic to topic.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
These are my boys from Queens, New York, so they
gonna be in the house hanging with me today.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
We'll get into all of that a little bit later.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
First order of business is to get started in New York, however,
and the federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial against Shan
Dinny Combs. Defense attorney's foot Homes picked the back up
with their cross examination of Cassie Ventura, the ex girlfriend.

Speaker 2 (04:49):
The judge determined today would be her last day.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
Understand as Cassie is nine months pregnant and could go
in the labor at any moment.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
She's considered the key witness in the trial who so
far testified about.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
Physical abuse, did He's temper, and her participation in freak offs,
the drug fueled sex performances he orchestrated as well. Cassie's
testimony is laying a critical foundation for both the prosecution
and the defense.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
I'll get into that in a second.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
Today she was asked about text messages exchanged between her
incomes in the days after the infamous incontinental hotel beating
in twenty sixteen that we all saw on video a
few months ago. In the messages, Combs expressed desire to
engage sexually with Ventura. On the course examination, Ventura confirmed
she thought it was strange he would suggest something sexual

(05:41):
after what happened at the hotel. Here's a portion of
that text exchange. Combs wrote, quote I felt that way
from Friday, the day of the altercation. End quote. Cassie responded, quote,
what are you doing? Not a good vibe? We need
a different vibe in Friday.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
End quote.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
Did He respond it quote Friday, laugh out loud. I
don't even want to do that again. End quote Cassie
quote laugh out loud.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
True.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
And then the following messages, Colmbs referenced the card and
told Ventura that he loved her.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
Cassie responded, quote, love you. End quote.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
Look y'all, these things can get complicated, yet can be
very very simple. So let me try to simplify it
as best as I possibly can.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
Number One, if you are.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Did He, your number one priority is to make sure
you're not spending fifteen to the rest of your natural
life in jail, fifteen years to the rest of your
natural life in jail.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
For sex trafficking and racketeering.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
So what you're trying to do is show there's a
significant level of consensual behavior taking place here to eradicate
the notion that you're some sex traffick or racketeering.

Speaker 2 (07:08):
That's basically what you're trying to do.

Speaker 1 (07:10):
But in the process of doing that, he's further incriminating himself.
His defense team, that is, because they're fully acknowledging that
what we've seen on video already and what she's elaborated
on extensively.

Speaker 2 (07:27):
Was a history of physical.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
Violence against her that included black eyes and urination and
all of this other stuff. They're essentially acknowledging that that's true.
So life as did he once knew is over. The commercials,
the Sharraq commercials and the parties and or no, that's over.

(07:54):
That's over being accepted by the status quo being a
major player and influencer in the world of Hollywood and
hip hop and Beyonce over. But again, the case is
a federal one and then involves sex trafficking and racketeering
as opposed to domestic violence, which is a state crime.

(08:16):
And so because of it, you sort of understand where
his defense team is coming from and in that regard,
as incriminating as it may be to be considered what
he is at this particular moment in time. I mean, women,
everywhere I've looked, you have one woman after another using
the word repulsive and repugnant, and a lot of other

(08:40):
things that I'm not going to say.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
This is how they're feeling about him.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
He can't be overly concerned about that when he's trying
to avoid being behind bars for the rest.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
Of his life.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
The other side is Cassie, and that's where it gets
tricky because purportedly being raped, you were still in his
life for a significant period of time thereafter, and those
text messages that were just shown after he beats you,

(09:18):
after he assaulted you, laugh out loud.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
Let's have a different vibe than Friday.

Speaker 1 (09:26):
That's not something you expect to hear in the immediate
aftermath of being thrown to the ground, kicked, hit, having
a glass vase thrown at you at your head. That's
not something that you're expecting to read. That's not a
level of communication you're expecting to.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
To witness to hear about. It's just the truth.

Speaker 1 (09:54):
And so now we're gonna find ourselves as a society
addressing several issues.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
And I think that it's dangerous to do this.

Speaker 1 (10:03):
I wouldn't advise people to do it, but people are
already doing it. If you listen to what people are
saying in their comments and beyond about this trial. They're saying, Okay,
she's bringing this up. Now you know he's under arrest,
and you know, hell, hath no fury. I don't want
to hear that. Anybody trying to hear that, But you

(10:25):
got people talking that stuff. They're gonna look at her
and they're gonna question the legitimacy of her victimhood because that's.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
What the defense is doing, and they're going to.

Speaker 1 (10:37):
Look for her level of culpability and the consensual element
of their relationship to offset, if not completely debunk accusations
and allegations that she was somehow assaulted or beyond. These
are all details we don't need to get into, but
they're unavoidable from the standpoint of recognizing what the case

(10:59):
is is what one argument is being made compared to
what the other argument is being made, and to the
to the prosecution, she's a key witness. They came out
swinging with her. I got that part two. But the
fact that she's pregnant and she's detailed what she has

(11:22):
detailed and still they've been able to gather text message
exchanges between her and Diddy in the aftermath of these
physical encounters and ordeals.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
She was forced to endure.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
They're saying, were you really forced? Did you not invite this?
Was this not par for the course. I don't know
how to I don't know where to go beyond that.
But I'm gonna say this as a man, because I
think it's important to say this.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
You can look at it two ways.

Speaker 1 (12:02):
When it comes to a husband, because we gotta say
this ladies, because it got ladies in the studio.

Speaker 2 (12:05):
We gotta say this. It's important, you dude. All I'm
gonna do is personalize it.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
If it were me, Although in no way would I
question whether or not I believed my wife if she
said she was raped an assaulted, I would definitely believe her,
and I would be in the courtroom.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
To support her.

Speaker 1 (12:36):
I would say, at the very least, can we all
can see that stuff is pretty hard to listen to.

Speaker 2 (12:42):
I'm talking about the consensual stuff.

Speaker 1 (12:47):
I'm talking about the consensual stuff involving multiple men.

Speaker 2 (12:50):
I'm talking to consensual stuff.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
Involving acts that included those men, And that's recognizing that
there's a believability factor in terms of being assaulted. It
would be really hard to listen to all of that,
And I think that's why when we see some of
these comments and people commenting on the case and stuff

(13:13):
like that, you have certain people who feel one way
and certain people who feel another way because they're taking
all of this evidence in the consideration and they're asking themselves,
what if it was them that was sitting in the courtroom,
What if it were them that was sitting on that stand.
What if it were them that were detailing some of
these things that transpired. What if it was them that
had that experience against P Diddy? P Diddy, No matter

(13:36):
what way you slice it, he looks horrible, horrible, But
for the purposes of the trial, the question is does
he look like a sex trafficker or racketeer?

Speaker 2 (13:48):
If the answer to those two questions or no.

Speaker 1 (13:52):
You know what, the bottom line is, you can't get convicted,
at least in this case for being an absolutely horrible,
repulsive human being. Are you a sex trafficker and racketeer
or are you not? That's the bottom line. That's the

(14:13):
bottom line. Coming up, the WNBA season tips off this weekend.

Speaker 2 (14:17):
I've got a preview of what we can expect to
see this season.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
But first there's the conference semifinals that's about to.

Speaker 2 (14:23):
Come to an end this weekend in the NBA, will.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
The Knicks finally put away the Celtics and will a
thunder put.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
Away the Nuggets.

Speaker 1 (14:29):
I'll break it all down and you'll never ever guess
who it's with. You probably won't know them, but I
assure you once you finish listening to them, you will.

Speaker 2 (14:42):
They're my boys.

Speaker 1 (14:44):
And when you got boys, ladies and gentlemen, you love
them to death. No matter how crazy their asks are.
You'll understand exactly what I'm talking about in a minute.
This is stephen A. Smithshell free flowing on this Friday.
Don't go away, although I'm scared to stay backward more

(15:05):
than then. All Right, everybody, listen up with all the
big time sports action that's happening each and every.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
Day, The Stephen A.

Speaker 1 (15:16):
Smith Show wants to make sure you are taking advantage
of it all.

Speaker 2 (15:20):
That's why we've.

Speaker 1 (15:20):
Partnered with the Prize Picks, the best place to win
cash while watching sports.

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The app is really easy to use. To make a lineup.

Speaker 1 (15:27):
All you have to do is pick more or less
on a few player stats. Choose from any of your
favorite players, Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler and Zach Lavine all
in the same entry, then sit.

Speaker 2 (15:36):
Back and watch.

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The list is absolutely endless. You can play Prizepects in
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(15:59):
run your game.

Speaker 2 (16:04):
Welcome back to Steven A. Smith Show. Let's get to
the NBA players for a second.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
With the conference semifinals come to an end this weekend,
we'll start in the Eastern Conference, where the New York
Nicks have a chance to close out the defending champion
Boston Celtics at.

Speaker 2 (16:15):
Madison Square Garden.

Speaker 1 (16:16):
The Celtics are without Jason Tatum, who went down this
week with the achilles injury, and somehow the Knicks found
a way to get blown out Wednesday in Boston in
Game five.

Speaker 2 (16:26):
I could get to it. I couldn't get to how
urgent this game is for the New York Knicks. They
don't need to be thinking about going back to Boston
for Game seven. Close the damn thing out.

Speaker 3 (16:34):
Now.

Speaker 1 (16:34):
I could say that and just leave it at that,
but I didn't want to do that for y'all on
this particular Friday. Rather than just give my opinions, my
humble opinions to the audience at large, I wanted to introduce.

Speaker 2 (16:47):
A few people to you. As I've told y'all on
many many cages.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
I have several friends, lifelong friends, some of my best
friends on a planet, and a few of them are
in studio.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
They insisted on it.

Speaker 1 (16:59):
They've been waiting for this moment because they believe the camera,
the audience belongs to them. At least two of them
think that way. Let me give you a first one.
This is my brother right here, My man Shag Diesel
knows and well Uncle Jerome knows well. I know him well.
One of my best friends in the world. Money Mark
is what they call him.

Speaker 2 (17:18):
The world knows.

Speaker 1 (17:19):
Them as money Mark. I'm talking about my man, Mark Stevens.
What's a big time TV you go with the Berry
White voice? Anyway, Let me move on before I get
before I get to him, let me get to my
next guest right here, my college teammate, my college buddy,
one of my best friends in the world. Sorry Mont,
Sorry Phil, Sorry everybody that y'all could make it in
the studios.

Speaker 2 (17:39):
Well, what's spank's here for.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
All of y'all, including you, Turner Ski boris all of
y'all spankers in the house of y'all. My man Gary Stevens,
my college teammate at Winston Salem State University.

Speaker 2 (17:49):
And this brother right here.

Speaker 1 (17:51):
Ladies and gentlemen, and his brother go back since we
were five years old growing up in hollan Squeens together.

Speaker 2 (17:57):
We've been friends for over fifty two years. The man himself,
my man card Brooks. What's up, man? How you doing?

Speaker 3 (18:05):
I'm as well. I'm digging this.

Speaker 2 (18:07):
Are you digging this? What you're digging about it?

Speaker 4 (18:09):
Man?

Speaker 2 (18:09):
What you're thinking?

Speaker 3 (18:10):
Hey?

Speaker 5 (18:11):
Hey, whoever thought somebody from Hollands Queens will be moving
and shaking like this?

Speaker 2 (18:16):
I'm loving this, loving this, loving you cool with that.
I see the l V on the shirt with the glasses.

Speaker 3 (18:22):
Mong you represent the Knicks.

Speaker 2 (18:25):
That's what that is.

Speaker 1 (18:26):
So that's that's all about representing the next when you
give it.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
Damn about the Knicks, win I ain't never.

Speaker 3 (18:31):
Heard you say. I hear you say the world Wide West.

Speaker 2 (18:35):
So that's what it's about.

Speaker 1 (18:39):
World William Wesley, general manager under Leon Road, not really
officially the general manager, but he's an executive of the Leon.

Speaker 2 (18:46):
Road for the New York Knicks. We all know.

Speaker 1 (18:48):
So you represent world Wide West, right, no question and spank.
You just here representing the Fellas.

Speaker 3 (18:52):
Right, I'm here representing the Fellas.

Speaker 1 (18:54):
So let me ask y'all this question because I got
a bunch of stuff that I want to get into.

Speaker 2 (18:57):
Y'all were free flowing to day. So we talk about
whatever the.

Speaker 1 (18:59):
Hell y'all want to talk about, right, but not before
we get the NBA playoffs out the way.

Speaker 2 (19:03):
Knicks winning the night.

Speaker 3 (19:05):
Yes, sir, why Broadway? It was meant to be, That's
what you got.

Speaker 2 (19:13):
So it was meant to be. Ship go ahead, cut
out because you text me on the damn time with
these sports questions.

Speaker 5 (19:20):
Me and you already have this conversation. You had the Knicks,
You have Boston.

Speaker 3 (19:26):
Winning.

Speaker 5 (19:27):
Of course, I did five games. I told you that
won't happened. I told you I have Boston win in
seven games. Okay, I still feel that way.

Speaker 1 (19:33):
You still think bos is gonna beat the next Yes,
you think they're coming back. They beating the Knicks game
six to night. Yes, sir, I can't believe he flew
in the studio just to tell me that.

Speaker 3 (19:40):
You can say whatever you want. The truth is the truth.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
They do not have an answer for Jaylen Brown. No,
Derek White, you go tell me Cornett. Yeah, they coordinet.

Speaker 1 (19:51):
So he has one game where he gets seven blocks,
five blocks in the third quarter, one game, one game.

Speaker 2 (19:56):
Now they don't have an answer.

Speaker 3 (19:57):
For and shook the whole team Wednesday night.

Speaker 5 (20:01):
You can say whatever you want. We can argue backing
for about this all day. They didn't have an answer
for him.

Speaker 3 (20:06):
They did not. They lost.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
Let me go to the one reliable basketball mind that
I can lean off for.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
This step for this crew right here.

Speaker 6 (20:14):
Yes, up, I think they got it tonight. I think
the energy in the garden is gonna take them over
the top.

Speaker 2 (20:22):
Let me ask you all this quick question.

Speaker 1 (20:24):
If I have my brothers at this moment in time,
the dream matchup in the finals based off of the
teams left would be New York versus and Man in Minnesota.

Speaker 5 (20:35):
Money Mark, What did I tell you? What did I
tell you? I told you Minnesota is gonna take this.
Do you think they're gonna win it?

Speaker 2 (20:42):
No, talking to the mic, to the audience, can here.

Speaker 3 (20:44):
You know you gonna they're gonna win.

Speaker 5 (20:45):
No, No, I didn't say they were gonna win it.
What I'm telling you is right now, Minnesota is a young, strong,
vibrant team. They still need time to mesh, they still
need time to get to chemistry. But you give them
next next year. That wasn't the question. The question is
this year. No, they're not gonna take it this year.

(21:05):
I didn't ask that question.

Speaker 3 (21:06):
I said that first. He said the best final.

Speaker 2 (21:11):
Let me switch, let me switch gears.

Speaker 1 (21:13):
Let me get off subject here from the sports and
talk to y'all Spain.

Speaker 2 (21:17):
You've laughed a lot. You know. Your laugh is one
of the things I hate. I love you, but.

Speaker 1 (21:21):
That damn laugh at yours. It's ridiculous, but it's so annoying.
But let me ask you this question, not you spac
Mark and Cardell, y'all had a long standing relationship with
one another, and this straight comedy, y'all constantly going back
and forth with one another. Why are y'all as much
as y'all got love for each other y'all are fighting.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
All day every day.

Speaker 4 (21:46):
Why Mark, he's the ying, I'm the yang, you know.
He he brings out the best of me.

Speaker 5 (21:55):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (21:56):
We was on the plane and by the way, he
came through the airport like about to rob somebody with
the through rag and some flip flops. Came through the
airport with a due dragon flip flops with the hoodie.

Speaker 1 (22:08):
'all Atlanta airport cut out with a due Ragon flip flops.

Speaker 5 (22:13):
Cardio came through the airport comfortable, comfortable. I'm tired of
taking my shoes over the shoe strings and tired of
taking my belt off, my pants falling down.

Speaker 3 (22:22):
I came in there with my sweats flip flops. Get
pre checked?

Speaker 6 (22:26):
Man?

Speaker 3 (22:27):
Good? What pre checked? My money? And as long as yours.
It's like ninety dollars I got.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
You ain't got ninety dollars. No, you ain't got ninety dollars.
You ain't got ninety dollars.

Speaker 3 (22:37):
My boys ain't trying to put me on nothing.

Speaker 2 (22:40):
So you walked through the airport with a due raging
flip flops.

Speaker 3 (22:43):
Which listen, I was comfortable this morning that walk. I
woke I woke up this morning trying to catch.

Speaker 5 (22:50):
My flight, trying to catch my flight, and I'm getting
Texas saying, yeah, your flights, delay your flights, delay your
flight to Lake.

Speaker 3 (22:56):
Come on, I knew, I knew what was gonna hap
at the airport. I'm just comfortable, man.

Speaker 1 (23:00):
So the flight was delayed, and you knew he was
gonna be comfortable. So you just showed up and flip
flops of the door. I show what you care about.
I thought you cared about how the lady saw you.
I thought you cared about appearances. And showing up with
do dragging flip flops in the airport in public. Ain't
the most attractive thing in the world. Listen, speak up,
man looking for me? I said, I ain't no shaming

(23:22):
my thing.

Speaker 5 (23:23):
I came to the airport in my sweats, my flops,
my scully on, and I'm comfortable.

Speaker 3 (23:28):
But look at the look at the world see me. Now,
I'm just I'm the smoothest thing.

Speaker 2 (23:34):
You're the smoothest thing.

Speaker 5 (23:34):
This is the pool bowl, the pool bowl, you see
pool bowls was nice and smooth.

Speaker 3 (23:42):
Don't don't, don't, let's go. Come on.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
Was it like listening to these two?

Speaker 3 (23:49):
First of all, I you know them too? Is wild?
But Bobby and.

Speaker 1 (23:55):
Bobby, Bobby was in Florida. Bobby couldn't make it from
Florida the head time.

Speaker 6 (24:00):
And that's why that's the ultimate dumb and dumber show.
There are you in and they don't even know what
they are you and about?

Speaker 3 (24:09):
I was, I know what I'm arguing about?

Speaker 2 (24:11):
What more?

Speaker 3 (24:12):
I'm said, y'all? Have you know the women issues? You know?
They what's the woman?

Speaker 2 (24:17):
What's the woman? This issue with you and Cardile mar
what's the woman issue?

Speaker 3 (24:21):
So his was so crazy. I know we're gonna go
to another topic. But we was. We was on the
way here talking.

Speaker 2 (24:28):
About Ditty okay, right.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
And I said to me, he's uncivilized. Okay, God, he's uncivilized.
He stays from the waist down.

Speaker 2 (24:40):
He's uncivilized for the waist.

Speaker 3 (24:41):
DWN, no control, no self control. But but listen, I
was just stating the facts.

Speaker 4 (24:52):
And you know, Cardell had his own perspective on it.

Speaker 3 (24:54):
Man, what was this respectable?

Speaker 2 (24:56):
I mean, from your interpretation? What was it?

Speaker 4 (24:59):
He said, Man, it's gonna be eight weeks, approximately eight
weeks of testimony. We need to just wait and hear
how it was going to pan out, and it might
be some light at the end of the tunnel.

Speaker 1 (25:12):
So you don't have a problem with you have a
problem with cut those positions about the eight weeks.

Speaker 3 (25:16):
No, I didn't have a problem with that.

Speaker 4 (25:17):
I had a problem with him saying that Puffy he
basically tried to say it was.

Speaker 3 (25:24):
Cassidy did not. She was the one uncivilized.

Speaker 5 (25:30):
I did not, And that's his interpretation, and people's interpretation
is the reality.

Speaker 3 (25:34):
That's not what I said.

Speaker 2 (25:35):
What did you say?

Speaker 3 (25:37):
I said? I said, it's eight weeks.

Speaker 5 (25:39):
At the end of the day, it's a lot that's
going to be going on with Puffy in this whole thing.
He's my here's my take on Puffy. Here's my take
on Puffy. I got the same take about Puffy or
Kelly Bill cosby all of them.

Speaker 3 (25:55):
These these people are who they are, and people want
to be around them. People want to be around them.

Speaker 5 (26:02):
When you realize who these people are, when you realize
who these people are in the position that they're in,
you need to ask yourself, can I really fit into
their lifestyles?

Speaker 3 (26:15):
Now, let me be clear on this. Let me be
crystal clear, so everybody understands.

Speaker 5 (26:20):
I do not condone any aspect of this man's behavior.
From what I know and have seen, I do not
condone it. Like Mark said, I think he's I think
he's uncivilized.

Speaker 3 (26:33):
I called him a savage. That's what I called.

Speaker 2 (26:35):
You called it? Did he savage?

Speaker 3 (26:36):
Yes, he's a savage.

Speaker 5 (26:39):
With that being said, when the world found out about
this casting thing, we found out about what twenty twenty one,
twenty two, that tape of him in that hotel happened twenty.

Speaker 2 (26:56):
Sixteen, right nine years ago.

Speaker 3 (26:58):
Nine years ago.

Speaker 5 (27:00):
My take on this is when you realized this straight
savagery of this man, why did it take you so
long to leave? Now everybody's saying, she's trying to leave,
She's trying to leave in that hotel.

Speaker 1 (27:14):
It took us so long, But you do concede and
understand she's young, she's impressionable. She hold on, she's young,
she's impressionable. She wanted to be a success in the business.
He had all the power. As a result, he had
the ability and the power to manipulate.

Speaker 2 (27:28):
Her career, her future aspirations, et cetera, et cetera.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
Not to mention that he was incredibly powerful and he
could have done her even more harm.

Speaker 2 (27:36):
If there actually can be more harm.

Speaker 1 (27:39):
I'm just talking about based on the reports of what
he has done, which are despicable and repulsive and we
all know this, okay, So based off of that reality,
the mindset is you have a lot of young ladies
out there. Unfortunately, if you're in this position, sometimes it
takes this amount of.

Speaker 2 (27:56):
Time for you to gumption up the courage to front things.

Speaker 1 (28:00):
Publicly and put the world on notice that you actually
endure these experiences.

Speaker 3 (28:07):
He had the professional control.

Speaker 5 (28:09):
Is it courage or I'm willing to accept this because
I want to be a part of this lifestyle.

Speaker 3 (28:16):
See that's my It can't be that because she.

Speaker 4 (28:20):
Your argument is it took her so long to leave,
But like anything else, it's a psychosis.

Speaker 3 (28:26):
She was battered. But let me just say that, let
me jump in on this. Here's my take on it.

Speaker 6 (28:33):
It's a sad situation because we call it given names
like savages and stuff like that, But we negating the
fact that they both were drug addicts. So when you
were doing go for it, when you under the influence
on as much drugs they were reporting they were doing,
your actions is really not in control that you that

(28:54):
we are sitting here saying that.

Speaker 1 (28:56):
Well, we can say that, but the courts clearly don't
feel that way because you got the prosecut sho that's saying,
we know about some of the drug use and all
of this other stuff, but it still doesn't absolve you
from sex trafficking, it still doesn't absolve you from racketeering.
And a federal court room is willing to entertain the
prosecution's defense to decide whether or not you will deserve

(29:16):
to be in jail for the rest of your natural life.

Speaker 2 (29:19):
So clearly drug use ain't an excuse.

Speaker 3 (29:21):
But here's the issue. Though. We not talking about domestic
violence and drugs use. We talk about a rico charge.

Speaker 2 (29:29):
No no, no, no, let me correct you. Let me correct you.

Speaker 1 (29:34):
The prosecution is talking about sex trafficking, correct, racketeering correct.

Speaker 2 (29:39):
The defense is talking about domestic violence. Correct, because defense knows.

Speaker 1 (29:43):
That this is a federal case involvement sex trafficking and racketeering,
and that domestic violence, which is a state crime, doesn't
equate to the federal crimes.

Speaker 2 (29:50):
That he's being charged with.

Speaker 1 (29:51):
So they're willing to acknowledge and admit how guilty they
are of domestic violence. But the prosecution is saying, we
want to use the domestic violence to illustrate how despicable
this dude is, so you will see that he deserves
to be in jail when we make our case of
sex trafficking and racketeering.

Speaker 6 (30:08):
But we just what we what I'm addressing with the
drugs is how we say in the Savage piece and
this that and that's just conduct.

Speaker 3 (30:18):
That's conduct that he was. Rugs contribute to. Though.

Speaker 6 (30:22):
But because let me ask you all this, prior to
all of this, Puffy as the entrepreneur and the cultural
influence he was, how we go from such a high
standard to such a lower because we.

Speaker 2 (30:39):
Didn't know all the details.

Speaker 3 (30:41):
We didn't know all the details.

Speaker 6 (30:42):
But I'm gonna bring this up now. We all been
a part of that industry. How we know that success
and fame when what that does? And to your point
of what she wanted to be.

Speaker 2 (30:54):
We've been around for a long time.

Speaker 1 (30:55):
We see a lot of cases involving you know, fame
and sex and stuff like that.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
We saw what happened with r. Kelly.

Speaker 1 (31:01):
We're seeing what's coming what's being divulged about Diddy. That
ain't everybody, bro, That ain't most people. Most people ain't
doing this. You're not hearing that, go ahead.

Speaker 5 (31:10):
And I'll do you one better. I'll do onet even better.
Let's take Stephen A for an example. This is a
guy who me and him grew up the same way,
same opportunities, things like that.

Speaker 2 (31:19):
The world to the world.

Speaker 3 (31:22):
He's Stephen.

Speaker 2 (31:22):
That to me, he's just Steve.

Speaker 5 (31:24):
So yeah, if I saw him conducting himself in a
way that I know that is not who we are
as people, no way in the world, I'm gonna condone that. Now,
getting back to your point real quick. You said this
whole thing is spelling from the drugs and all that stuff.

Speaker 3 (31:41):
Right, If.

Speaker 5 (31:44):
One name one Cassidy song that made her famous, name one,
if you can name one, wee good. But at the
end of the day, if you're gonna give her a
pass because of drugs, you gotta do the same for him.

Speaker 6 (31:55):
And that ain't no I'm saying the contribution of it all.
It's a big perfect storm. It's what I'm saying.

Speaker 4 (32:02):
And what you're trying to say is they're both victims
of success.

Speaker 3 (32:05):
No, yeah, and yeah.

Speaker 4 (32:08):
Me personally, I just believe that the germ led to
a virus that led to a disease. It got bigger
and bigger and bigger and bigger, bigger. Correct, and now
is at the point that the world is seeing it.

Speaker 3 (32:23):
Correct.

Speaker 4 (32:24):
If if you got to if I got a problem
and only me and you know about it, we can
we can work it out.

Speaker 3 (32:34):
Correct.

Speaker 4 (32:35):
The minute this start growing bigger and bigger and everyone
else knows and other people have to step in.

Speaker 1 (32:43):
It's a real and to your point, what about the
world we're living in the day podcast, everybody got think
they got a voice. Everybody want to be in front
of the camera because now, shoot, you can make seventy
five hundred thousand a year your regular job. You go
on YouTube and you get the novel, you get the
right amount of audience, you can make much more on that,
and you could work in your own hours, your own time,
the whole bit. You might not even have to leave

(33:05):
a house for crying out loud. And because of that,
the world has changed. But it seems like it's one
thing where so many people were chasing. Popularity was chasing thing.
But I don't think there's ever been a time in
life where it has been perceived as being more obtainable
than it is now.

Speaker 2 (33:22):
Because of the outlets available to everybody out there. What
do you think of that? Do you think of that?

Speaker 5 (33:28):
Me personally, I think social media and these podcasts. To me,
this is just like a child who's found his parents
loaded gun in the house and just waving it round.

Speaker 3 (33:38):
Social media is no one's friend. It's no one's friend,
and it's.

Speaker 5 (33:43):
Very dangerous if you don't know how to deal with it,
and the world is seeing.

Speaker 3 (33:50):
That.

Speaker 5 (33:52):
Everybody really can't deal with it. Everybody really don't how
to handle it.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
What do you think the temptation is today?

Speaker 1 (34:00):
For example, if you wanted the Fellas, let me explain
if you one of the Fellas, all right, women, that
was always the case.

Speaker 2 (34:07):
That was always a temptation. Money, that was always a temptation.

Speaker 1 (34:11):
You understand, fame, prestige, and those are the elements that
come with it, along with perks, et cetera, et cetera.

Speaker 2 (34:17):
All of those things come with it.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
Why is it that you think people appear so ill
equipped to handle it today many years past? Or was
it just as bad years ago and it's just getting exposed?

Speaker 3 (34:30):
Now?

Speaker 6 (34:30):
Go ahead, let me say this. I say these to
people when I have in this discussion. Human behavior never changes,
it's how it's displayed that illuminates that behavior. Social media
is just illuminating people who they are. So if you
that insecure person without the social media, you're gonna be

(34:52):
that insecured person on social media.

Speaker 3 (34:55):
So human behavior never changes.

Speaker 6 (34:59):
Like I like the first post.

Speaker 3 (35:02):
We all we're going way back now.

Speaker 6 (35:04):
The first post public post about somebody was in the
bathroom stall.

Speaker 3 (35:15):
You don't.

Speaker 6 (35:22):
But now that post is on Instagram, Twitter, that same
post is on there and you have people arguing and fighting.

Speaker 3 (35:29):
We've seen that. How many times we wait outside school
wait for a fight that mark?

Speaker 2 (35:33):
What about you? What you think? Because you're around a lot.
We ain't gonna tell your business.

Speaker 1 (35:36):
You know, you work in the celebrities parties, all of
this stuff that you've been on the scene for a
long time.

Speaker 2 (35:41):
You know, this stuff backwards and forward? What's it? What's
it about?

Speaker 3 (35:44):
You have to have great gatekeepers.

Speaker 4 (35:48):
Yeah, you know, you know you mentioned uncle Jerome and
yeah and uncle Mike yep. If it wasn't for those
two as gatekeepers to to implement and take you through
that rights of passage. You know, most of these young kids,
they young and they haven't went through the rights of passage,

(36:10):
of going through trials and how to deal with conflict,
and when you start implementing money and prestige and fame,
it's a lot for someone to handle.

Speaker 3 (36:22):
Hell, it's a lot for grown men to handle, right. Fact.

Speaker 4 (36:25):
So when you talking about somebody at an age of
you know, twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, a young
female at twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, and she's
getting a whole bunch of likes or thumbs up on
her phone, you know, she might start walking around with attitude.
The gods walking around with attitude because they believe in
their mind people know them and ill regardless if we

(36:49):
look at it as insignificant people right and their character,
they believe that their popularity is growing.

Speaker 1 (36:58):
I'm almost scared to add y'all list. I'm gonna go
to Cardiff first on this. But somebody did me to
ask y'all this, How would you compare me.

Speaker 3 (37:10):
To the.

Speaker 1 (37:12):
Typical well known figure out there, for better or worse?

Speaker 2 (37:16):
I am well known, we on this show. What would
it be.

Speaker 1 (37:21):
About as my man Ha's known me for half century?

Speaker 2 (37:28):
Oh shit, Oh damn.

Speaker 3 (37:33):
No, you know what?

Speaker 5 (37:35):
Ask me the question because I'm gonna make sure I'm
getting this, because yeah, you go ahead.

Speaker 1 (37:39):
How would you look at me comparing me to a
typical public figure that you just talked about.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
How am I different, if at all, from the folks
that you see out there.

Speaker 3 (37:57):
I'm a firm believe in this.

Speaker 5 (38:00):
Stephen A is a brand. That's what you, That's what
you are. Just you got, you got, you got so
many things going on you.

Speaker 1 (38:10):
You and Rashan would be very proud to hear that
from you.

Speaker 5 (38:12):
You are a brand and with that brand, you cannot
maintain this brand.

Speaker 3 (38:20):
Is Stephen a monster by yourself? You cannot.

Speaker 5 (38:24):
So you need to have a team around you that
is also protecting that brand. So anyone that is around
you need to understand their job.

Speaker 3 (38:33):
We all got job to do. When we get around you.

Speaker 5 (38:39):
You get these people that are are yes men. Exactly
Puffy walking around doing what he's doing. He's got too
many yes men around him. Spank is not a yes man.
If Spank say you're doing something more like yeah, dude,
that ain't gonna work for me. Mark me like you said,
Me and Mark are you all the time? And I'm
nowhere near in your statusfy. But at the end of

(39:00):
the day, if you're doing something wrong, yo, dude, you
wrong and I'm gonna tell you, why are you wrong?
At the end of the day, you have me, someone
who knows you. Yeah, dude, that's not who we are.
So when you if I see you doing something and
I'm like, yeah, no, dude, that's not gonna work. Yeah,
I'm I'm gonna pull your hotel on it because I

(39:21):
have to protect that brand.

Speaker 1 (39:22):
Just so I have to tell the audience. I have
to tell you about something. So I'm in the news
over the last few weeks because of you know, president
presidential candidate, right of course, and my brother here you
understead of saying hardworking brother, you know, you know, working
grinding every day and night. You know, used to work
in the hotels, now working the truck and business all

(39:42):
of this other stuff, right, Cardell, I'm telling you you
gotta go local first.

Speaker 2 (39:48):
You can't go for the presidency. You gotta go local first.
And I said, yo, I ain't going local. Please. You
was like, shut them up, listen to me, let me
guide you. Yeah, you're a sens And I was like,
you work in the trucking industrument, it's not politics. But
you're telling me to let you goude me. Okay, that's
what you were.

Speaker 1 (40:07):
Saying just what I want the world to know who
I'm dealing with when I'm talking about.

Speaker 3 (40:11):
What I'm boys, I'm very passionate about how I feel.

Speaker 5 (40:14):
And when, like I said, when this whole thing came
up with you in politics, I'm.

Speaker 2 (40:18):
Like, yeah, you're very nervous. You're very nervous.

Speaker 5 (40:21):
I am because I don't want none of these politicians
to put you in a position where the brand is
not protected.

Speaker 3 (40:27):
My job is to protect the brand. So now with
that being said, who told you that was your job?

Speaker 2 (40:31):
I mean, he told you that was a job. I
love you for it, but a job.

Speaker 3 (40:37):
He told me, that's my job.

Speaker 5 (40:39):
Let me let me tell you because I've been doing
it before the stephen A was a brand.

Speaker 3 (40:43):
I've been protecting you that long.

Speaker 5 (40:45):
So at the end of the day, with all this
extra going on with the brand, the steaming.

Speaker 1 (40:50):
A brand, did you protect me where we were going
to the club every weekend and we were doing what
you know before before you know we calmed down it
where you protected me there?

Speaker 5 (41:00):
I was you protecting me that because because at the
end of the day, at the end of the day,
with all the Nazis we were doing before the stephen
a brand. Yeah, it was a lot of a lot
of women in a lot of trouble that brought a
lot of unnecessary other men.

Speaker 3 (41:17):
So I'm like, yeah, he's not here by himself. He's
not even by himself. So yeah, you're not gonna just
approach him.

Speaker 5 (41:23):
So if you're approaching him, you're approaching me, you're approaching Bobby,
You're approaching everybody, the whole crew, the whole crew.

Speaker 3 (41:30):
So yeah, you can't just walk up and approach him.
That's not gonna happen.

Speaker 1 (41:34):
That was his answer to the question, along wind the
answer what about you, spink?

Speaker 6 (41:39):
I can't really speak and reference you to other celebrities,
but I could say that.

Speaker 3 (41:44):
Me knowing you forever, you ain't changed.

Speaker 6 (41:47):
And like I tell everybody you you know, your success
did us a favor.

Speaker 3 (41:53):
You know, before you was yelling at five ten of us.

Speaker 6 (41:56):
Now you are youring every day, every day, ten million people.
Now I can have a civilized conversation with your ass.

Speaker 3 (42:04):
I'm saying I could sit here. You know you called
me before. I ain't hear from you where you been?
What's going on now? When he what dog? How you doing? Man?

Speaker 6 (42:13):
Because he's tied to argueing, and you know what I mean,
So from.

Speaker 3 (42:17):
That all the time.

Speaker 6 (42:20):
Listen, I tell a story, Right, I came into Winston
Salem State. I was the freshman, he was the upper classman, right,
and you know, you're filling out the team, and you know,
people telling you who that pretty much under the bench.

Speaker 3 (42:34):
But what I would do is.

Speaker 2 (42:39):
It's true.

Speaker 6 (42:40):
So when I'm playing with him and they telling me, hey,
Steve is the shooter, so I'm like, all right, I'm
gonna get the ball to the shooter.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
This mother went over nineteen and then when I passed
him on the twentieth.

Speaker 6 (42:55):
He makes it.

Speaker 3 (42:56):
He started.

Speaker 1 (43:05):
Actually actually actually to be accurate, I was old for twelve.

Speaker 6 (43:12):
But he does that today, you know what I mean,
he does that same today.

Speaker 1 (43:25):
You deal with a lot of celebrities. How's it different?
Especially looking at me. The audience wants to know. I
think I'm mom matter.

Speaker 3 (43:34):
I think if one of the things that.

Speaker 4 (43:38):
And I told you I don't like is you don't
publicize the great deeds that you do behind the scenes.

Speaker 3 (43:46):
That's a fact.

Speaker 4 (43:48):
And I know why you don't. I mean, we have
argued about it. You know, is you know what you
do is limited by why you're doing it. My motive
is not to get pressed in this older is to
help people. But I personally believe certain things do need
to be documented because it's encouraging two younger journalists to

(44:12):
see the path that it takes not just behind the
desk and talking on the mic, but also just touching
the common man and helping. So that's one of my
problems I always had with you, And I told you
that before when we was in New Orleans and you know,
me and you and Shack and we was feeding the homeless.

(44:34):
You know you you didn't want to do interviews, you know,
because you felt that this wasn't a time and the
place for it. But I just feel that in and
of itself is who Stephen A.

Speaker 3 (44:46):
Smith is. And let me piggyback on that.

Speaker 6 (44:49):
That's a great point because I say the same thing
to him because it needs to be balanced out correct,
because you know, we always get the calls about him
correct always, not just he's loud this, you know, and
it's the same ship, but the stuff he does, people
don't know about it. So when you're hearing people say, oh,

(45:11):
he's a sellout, he ain't for us, right, they don't
see that other side. But we can't argue with everybody
on those phone calls about what he's doing behind the scenes, correct,
you know, because a lot of stuff that he's reporting
and talking about players, they're thinking it's a personal attack.
But behind the scenes, this dude is helping a lot

(45:34):
of players, man, a lot of people, I.

Speaker 3 (45:36):
Mean helped me.

Speaker 4 (45:37):
And and the irony of it is, you know, I
know several players that you don't help behind the scene
to get to a certain point, and.

Speaker 3 (45:48):
You never bring it up right, you never throw it
out there. And some of it he can't, but some
of it you.

Speaker 4 (45:58):
Can't, and some of it you won't because you did
it to help them, not to help them and then
talk about I help you, and that's honorable.

Speaker 3 (46:09):
But in some cases I call you and you know,
i'd be like, yo, man, won't you blast?

Speaker 4 (46:16):
Yeah, you doast And you're like, nah, dog, I ain't
gonna do that.

Speaker 6 (46:22):
I go deeper on a personal level. So y'all know
my story. I lost my wife for thirty years, I
lost my entire family. So I went from my house
full of life to being the only life in the house.

Speaker 3 (46:34):
So Steve called me.

Speaker 6 (46:35):
And be like, hey, I'm checking on you anything I
can do, I said, Man, we good just as long
as you know. I live alone, but I'm never lonely
when you're hitting me. This dude will call me, Hey,
meet me at the airport. Were going to Vegas, Yo,
meet me at the airport. We going to Colorado for
Deon saying this first home game, this is the stuff

(46:57):
he does, but he will never talk about it.

Speaker 3 (47:01):
But I agree with you.

Speaker 6 (47:03):
He needs to talk about it more because it balance
it out, balances him mouth, because he gets too much
of the dominate. You know, Oh he's nothing, he's you know,
he's just arrogant. He's loud mouth, and all of that
balance it off.

Speaker 2 (47:14):
But should we going beyond me?

Speaker 3 (47:18):
Should we?

Speaker 2 (47:19):
Shouldn't we have alligated skin? Shouldn't we be Look at.

Speaker 1 (47:23):
How we go at each other. We argue all to
me and Carter allgue every day. Everybody with that man,
how y'all argue like that? I'm like this, that's my man.
I've never known him to be any other way. That's
cardel me. It's make that damn laugh. Make you want
to talk about my damn house. You understand what I'm saying,
but damn it, that's my man.

Speaker 2 (47:39):
You too.

Speaker 4 (47:40):
But that's the teachable moment right there, because most young
kids don't understand you have to have tough skin. Yeah,
if you really want to be successful in this world,
you have to be able to take a lot. And
unfortunately that's the part that's missing in the classroom, you know.

Speaker 3 (48:02):
Or at home or as.

Speaker 5 (48:05):
I blame social media for that because at the end
of the day, social media is a wonderful outlet and
a wonderful tool, but it takes no discipline to obtain it.
Anybody could get a mic and have podcasts. There's no
discipline to it. You you you have to climb. You
have to understand what's going on and what type of

(48:25):
attention you're bringing to yourself when you do get on
social media. This is why you got so many people
divorcing and singling.

Speaker 3 (48:32):
Everybody on social media is single? Why is why is it?
Why it's been like that?

Speaker 5 (48:36):
Because no, it's getting worse because at the end of
the day, it's so many options.

Speaker 3 (48:41):
It's so many options everybody, and you caught.

Speaker 1 (48:45):
Up and thinking there's a better option out there all
the time exactly.

Speaker 6 (48:50):
But it comes back to we talk about friendship and
stuff and being hard and tough skin.

Speaker 3 (48:55):
I always say, it's about balance. Man.

Speaker 6 (48:57):
You gotta have that tough skin, and you gotta have
that other side as well. You know what I mean,
it's balanced. We're not good friends if we don't argue.
It's easy to be friends and say that's my boy.
But when it gets hard. Yeah, when when you disagree,
that tells you your real friendship.

Speaker 3 (49:13):
But that does not become easy. That nothing comes easy,
not the end of the day.

Speaker 5 (49:21):
Me and Steve gonna argue that's we're gonna do that.
We're gonna do that crazy today. Nobody else better not
arguing that. That's a fact I can do. That's a
fact you can and that's something that we have developed.
That's something that the first time I met Mark, I
was like, man, I ain't never letting this dude out
of my life because, Yeah, the crazy thing is he

(49:42):
looked at me like I had two ads and I'm
looking at him.

Speaker 3 (49:45):
The first time I have with Mark, Mark had a
German's Club.

Speaker 1 (49:49):
You mean when you were at the strip club and
you had you had a honey on one left and
you had chicken wings in your in your hand.

Speaker 2 (50:00):
That was the g You mean that gentlemen club, My ass.

Speaker 3 (50:07):
I know this.

Speaker 2 (50:07):
I know that.

Speaker 1 (50:13):
When we come back before before I do this last
segment with them, before I do this last segment with them,
when we come back from the break, I'm gonna give
y'all something to think about right now.

Speaker 2 (50:23):
Bring up when we come.

Speaker 1 (50:24):
Back for the break, what's storable with y'all dying to
come on this show and talk about what you saw?

Speaker 2 (50:33):
What you saw?

Speaker 1 (50:34):
Just think about that for a second and have an
answer for me when I get back.

Speaker 2 (50:38):
It's a Stephen X.

Speaker 1 (50:39):
Smith Show with my Boys, Crew in the House back
for more. Welcome back to steven A. Smith Show in
the House, Free Flowing Friday with my boys, Mark Stevens,
spain A ka Gary Stevens and my man Cardinal fifty
two years we been boys, Me and this brother Spank

(51:02):
go back over thirty five now, yes, and my man
Mark is about that about thirty about thirty so we
were good with that.

Speaker 2 (51:08):
Let me ask y'all this question.

Speaker 1 (51:10):
Y'all see a lot of stuff percolating in the news
over the last few weeks, and y'all been wanting to
come on my show for a while, especially you Mark
with Cardell, because how much y'all argue over relationships and
all of that other stuff.

Speaker 2 (51:24):
What's the one thing that y'all wanted to y'all were
dying to talk about on this show.

Speaker 3 (51:30):
You and Lebron?

Speaker 1 (51:31):
Oh Shitron, what do you want to talk about?

Speaker 4 (51:39):
So the irony of it is me and Cadell. We
was talking earlier and he was like, I believe Michael
Jordan is the greatest, And I said, of his error.
I said, He even said it in a two o
nine interview. He said he never played against the wil

(52:00):
Chamberlains or the Oscar Robinson, so he can't you know,
he can't say he's the goat of all time.

Speaker 3 (52:08):
He can say he's the god of his era.

Speaker 4 (52:09):
And I told him, I said, I think that Lebron
is the goat, undoubtedly of his error.

Speaker 3 (52:19):
And he said that comes with some debate. And I said,
what you means that comes from some debate? Like, it's
not even close.

Speaker 4 (52:30):
I said, Steven, that even said he believes he's the second.
I said, I believe he's the best of this era.
And he says, well, I believe it can be an
argument with KD. No, No, I'm just telling you what
he says.

Speaker 1 (52:47):
I think KD is one of the greatest scorers in
the history of basketball, but his resume does not compare
to Lebron James.

Speaker 2 (52:53):
It's just a fact, I agree, just a fact.

Speaker 1 (52:56):
When it comes to the goat, I don't have any
problem for passes Ucardell. I don't have any problem with
a dude not wanting to compare himself.

Speaker 2 (53:04):
To people who came before him.

Speaker 1 (53:07):
But I don't have any problem with a dude who
wants to compare himself to those who followed them. Because
there was a path that was set and that role
to prosperity, that role that you had to travel, you're
entitled to take that into consideration.

Speaker 2 (53:23):
Where you play the role and pay in the road.

Speaker 1 (53:26):
That may be deemed a bit easier than what you
had to go through for successors who followed. And when
you do that and you still don't equate to what
your predecessor did, then you don't get to.

Speaker 2 (53:39):
You serve them.

Speaker 1 (53:40):
If I've been in the league for thirteen years and
I got six chips and you at four year twenty two,
you don't get to get to get to be have
goat status over me. When I'm a ten times scoring
champion and you did it once, you don't get to
have that over me when I'm sitting up around and
I'm a non time old defensive player. Okay, and you,
at least for the five years short, you don't get

(54:01):
to you shirt me. Now when I'm the successor and
I paid the role, I can't speak to what came
before me, so because that's a role. But what followed
was a role that I helped pay for you. And
when you don't eclipse what I've done, you don't get
goat status.

Speaker 4 (54:17):
Let me play devil advocates go ahead, because I have
this argument in.

Speaker 3 (54:20):
Barbershops all the time. It was a time it was
no dribbling the basketball.

Speaker 4 (54:27):
Okay, all you could do was passed and shoot, which
is the predudice is everything had to evolved.

Speaker 2 (54:33):
I agree, right, That's why I said, not the past.

Speaker 4 (54:35):
The mindset of the game had to evolve. It was
the time friends didn't play together. They wasn't cozy with
one another, right, right, But the game, the culture of
the game has evolved. What I'm saying is what we
see Lebron doing at forty, he has evolved the game

(54:57):
that I believe.

Speaker 2 (54:58):
He's the goat of Longeff.

Speaker 3 (55:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (55:01):
Not a production, not production. Next up your argument. You
just lost.

Speaker 6 (55:08):
Let me say, you know recently, you know, I've always
said it was jaw and whatever, but I had to
think about something.

Speaker 3 (55:14):
I saw Carmelo Anthony said.

Speaker 6 (55:15):
Something and a clip Kareem abdude, your ball, nineteen time
All Star. Not only that, we talk about longy, right,
this dude only lost two games from high school until
he got to the NBA.

Speaker 3 (55:32):
That's right, two games and then think.

Speaker 1 (55:34):
About but he was Yeah, but listen, you didn't have
people that size going up against.

Speaker 6 (55:39):
That's true, but you had you had Will and Bill
Russell and them guys. To Mark's point, it evolved. Kareem
evolved there. But let's talk about his productivity and efficiency.
He never dribbled that ball up the court, right like
any of these other guys, right, guys had.

Speaker 3 (55:55):
To get him the ball, That's true, and he did.
I think he hit one three pointer.

Speaker 6 (55:59):
He's entire Just why we say he had the longevity
of the long term score, all time score.

Speaker 1 (56:06):
I don't even need to get something.

Speaker 2 (56:09):
Let me transition. What story did you want to tell?
Did you want to come up?

Speaker 1 (56:14):
Is there a story that's been out there over the
last few weeks that you wanted to touch on on
the show.

Speaker 6 (56:20):
Yeah, your political career, because let me tell you why.

Speaker 3 (56:26):
I'll tell you why. Because you and I talked and
I'm like, what are you doing? He's like, oh man,
you know, no, no desire for this that.

Speaker 6 (56:36):
And then all of a sudden, the text is filled
with articles of look at this, look at that. And
then one time he said, oh, I changed my mind.
I said it's not real, right, this is fake news. No,
I'm entitled to change my mind.

Speaker 3 (56:54):
I think you make a good candidate. No, no, no, no,
I'm not going to close the door. I'm gonna leave
the door open.

Speaker 2 (57:01):
That's what.

Speaker 3 (57:02):
Yeah, I'm gonna leave the door. It's a draft.

Speaker 2 (57:07):
Here's a fella.

Speaker 1 (57:08):
First of all, First of all, y'all should know me
better than trying to tell me what the hell to do.
I ain't gonna listen to that. Yea, I'm gonna do
what I want to do. That's number one. Number two,
what's the urgency. I ain't got to make a decision
before twenty twenty seven.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
I got time. Number three. I just signed my contract,
you know, I mean, I mean, if if, if if I.

Speaker 1 (57:28):
Were to announce my candidacy for the president in the
United States of America. I would have to basically surrender
the rest of my contract to walk away from this
money that I worked very very hard over the years
to earn. I'd have to walk away from all of
that to run for the presidency. All I'm saying is,

(57:51):
I can't imagine I would do that. But my pastor,
elected officials, fans in the streets, friends, people like that
have said, YO, lead a door open.

Speaker 2 (58:03):
Because here's what I know I do want to do.

Speaker 1 (58:07):
I love talking politics and social commentary, the Joe Rogans
of the world, the people like that that I'm qualified for, and.

Speaker 2 (58:15):
I love to do that.

Speaker 1 (58:16):
So at the very least, I'd be in the mix
discussing these matters with elected officials and potential elected officials
and it all vibes with one another. But if the
world was in a very very bad state and I
had to look at the landscape and I felt that
I could take them, I would consider it.

Speaker 2 (58:36):
And I do.

Speaker 1 (58:36):
I will say this to you in all seriousness, and
I still don't have that interest like that because I
like my money. Yeah, but I don't think that there
I'm talking on the national and not talking about governors
like superior in Pennsylvania, westmore and Maryland.

Speaker 2 (58:52):
People like that.

Speaker 1 (58:52):
But I think outside of those two they ain't a
Democrat out there. I can't be I really believe that.
I really believe that.

Speaker 4 (59:04):
And the traditionalist, I think what Trump has done the tradition,
the traditional way is Yeah, it has to be.

Speaker 3 (59:13):
It has to be broken for the Democratic Party. We
was just talking about this.

Speaker 5 (59:17):
In the end, port I said, right now, you've got Trump,
just got it. You got four years. They're gonna take
two of these years right now to figure out what's
gonna happen with the political party.

Speaker 3 (59:30):
That's what they're gonna do. You just signed your.

Speaker 5 (59:32):
Contract, no problem, which means two years they're gonna figure
it out, and then two years later they gotta prep somebody.

Speaker 1 (59:42):
Dude, you fighting it. I'm fighting what you're telling me
to run?

Speaker 2 (59:49):
What are you saying? I don't say what you're saying.

Speaker 3 (59:52):
What I'm telling you is is this.

Speaker 5 (59:54):
What I'm telling you is this, if if the war
can elect someone who did not have a political background
like Donald Trump, the world also elected who uh what
you mean? Ronald Reagan who had no political.

Speaker 1 (01:00:10):
Well he was a governor of Californa, but he was
an actor that's what the that's what he was known for.

Speaker 3 (01:00:15):
Nobody know that's the governor.

Speaker 5 (01:00:16):
At the end of the day, the world is changing.
Like you said, everything has to evolve. So you say
you think I could win, I'm telling you right now,
if you if you took it serious, if you took
it serious, and and and and and a political.

Speaker 3 (01:00:31):
Party actually took it serious and backed you.

Speaker 2 (01:00:34):
See, I don't think the Democratic Party would ever back me.
That's the issue.

Speaker 1 (01:00:38):
But if straight up it was about appealing to the
fans out there, could I beat them?

Speaker 2 (01:00:43):
Yes? I could?

Speaker 5 (01:00:44):
You just I most certainly believe you got an endorsement.
You got an endorsement from the president himself.

Speaker 2 (01:00:50):
And I don't know if that's good news.

Speaker 5 (01:00:51):
A bet on the fun your name is out there
there and you and you were endorsed. If he's your
political consultant, you're gonna be the mayor run.

Speaker 3 (01:01:01):
Let me politic.

Speaker 2 (01:01:06):
Trump? How do you feel about Donald Trump? Mark Stevens Money, Mark,
how do you feel about Donald Trump?

Speaker 4 (01:01:13):
He's an anomaly, he he he dances to his own beat.

Speaker 3 (01:01:21):
He's not a traditionalist.

Speaker 4 (01:01:26):
I do believe that the Democratic Party, unfortunately.

Speaker 3 (01:01:31):
They had no bullpen. And that's why I talked.

Speaker 4 (01:01:34):
Of Stephen A. Smith because, Uh, the Democratic we we
have a bad uh bullpen when it comes down to
the Democratic Party.

Speaker 3 (01:01:46):
I believe it's still a little too early. I looked
at the economy.

Speaker 4 (01:01:50):
The economy is growing along with unemployment being down. But
we have to wait and see what happens with all
these over the new gut. So I think a good
evaluation would be in the mid term two years.

Speaker 3 (01:02:09):
Trump is different, you know.

Speaker 6 (01:02:13):
I give him respect for, you know, going into a
space that he had no career in, no background in,
and able to get to the highest position. But the
problem with that is that he's tooting at his own
horn and he's pushing his own agenda.

Speaker 3 (01:02:29):
I'm a little afraid that.

Speaker 6 (01:02:31):
You know, it's the people, the average people that's gonna
suffer big time.

Speaker 2 (01:02:35):
What about you cut up?

Speaker 5 (01:02:37):
I think Trumps has gotten in the office and he's
shaking things up, and everybody's a little scared because of
things being shaken up. People are afraid of of change
and new things. Do I think he's the best thing
since slight spreading up?

Speaker 2 (01:02:55):
How do y'all feel?

Speaker 1 (01:02:56):
All of us up here, brothers, black man, none of
us are quote unquote registered Republicans or anything like that.
But in the same breath, we ain't up here calling
them racists. We ain't up here calling black folks who
support him sellouts and stuff. We don't engage in that
kind of rhetoric. We've always been that way. People don't

(01:03:19):
believe me when I say that, but we've always been
that way. How do you feel about a whole bunch
of people out there who bought the lines from the Democrats,
hook line and sinker in terms of.

Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
YO, this is what he is.

Speaker 1 (01:03:32):
He's despicable, he's racist, he's this, He's that. I don't
get caught up in that. I'm not about the person.
I'm about the policy. As a matter of fact, I think
the only reason I voted against him was because I
don't like the way he does things.

Speaker 2 (01:03:44):
And then I said to myself, Damn, I'm tired.

Speaker 1 (01:03:45):
Of being a victim to a person or their personality
determining whether I vote for them or not. I really
really need to look at policies and what works for
us and what doesn't.

Speaker 2 (01:03:56):
How do y'all feel about us as a community.

Speaker 4 (01:04:00):
I can always talk about my experience. I have met
him before, and it was it was it was a
pleasant introduction. Nothing made me feel uncomfortable. I do believe
that it is a I call it a mass psychology

(01:04:21):
on both sides to make you want to pick one
or the other right. And if you don't pick one,
then that means you told it against the other. And
if you point out something right that someone has done,
then they bring up a whole bunch of other things
that the person has done wrong.

Speaker 3 (01:04:41):
It's just mass psychology on both sides. I think I
was grown.

Speaker 5 (01:04:48):
I grew up believing that whoever was a Democrat, that's
who you voted for, until I got old enough to
start using my own mind. And I don't think the
Democratic Party is always has has poor people or middle
class people in the best interest.

Speaker 3 (01:05:08):
I think you should.

Speaker 5 (01:05:09):
Vote for whatever your issues on whoever's gonna take care
of those issues for you.

Speaker 6 (01:05:15):
I'll address it this way when you say, like black men,
I don't get too caught up in the political spectrum
because America has been America forever. You know, we always
have the same plight and fights forever, whether it was
a Democrat or Republican play. We just got to do better,

(01:05:35):
as far as you know, figuring out how we can
you know, thrive in this this atmosphere as black men.

Speaker 3 (01:05:43):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:05:43):
Before I let.

Speaker 1 (01:05:44):
Y'all get on out of here, gave y'all a whole
hour were rapping or hanging with one another.

Speaker 2 (01:05:49):
My boys, y'all are welcome back. Y'all and do.

Speaker 1 (01:05:50):
Bad admitt y'all and do bad so y'all are welcome back.

Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
But let me ask you this question before I let
y'all get out on out of here?

Speaker 1 (01:05:59):
What is it that you would like me to address
in the future when you think about this show and
the kind of topics you want me touching on as
I talk to the American people, because I'm all about
the American people. Okay, what is it that you want
me to make sure that I touch on or you
want me to make sure I avoid?

Speaker 3 (01:06:18):
And you don't think that's a politician right there, that's
what you're telling me.

Speaker 1 (01:06:20):
That's what I'm asking. I'm just asking Cardel. I'll Scott
what you go and come down the line.

Speaker 3 (01:06:25):
What do I want you to touch on?

Speaker 2 (01:06:27):
And what do you want me to avoid? Were gonna
end the show on that to be totally answered you.

Speaker 3 (01:06:32):
I don't want you to avoid anything good.

Speaker 5 (01:06:35):
I think you should touch on anything and everything that
affects people.

Speaker 3 (01:06:43):
One of the things we were talking about Trump real quick.

Speaker 5 (01:06:46):
One of the things that I respect hibout he's fearless,
and that's one of the things I like about you.

Speaker 3 (01:06:50):
You're fearless. There's no reason why you shouldn't be able
to touch on anything, period.

Speaker 6 (01:06:56):
So I agree, keep doing what you're doing, being who
you are. If anything I asked you know, you know,
I always say this, like, you gotta loosen up some time.

Speaker 3 (01:07:05):
Man. You gotta dress up every goddamn time. Man, put
on some sweat like you know, esp it. You know.

Speaker 2 (01:07:12):
Sometimes I'm on national television, my brother.

Speaker 3 (01:07:14):
I understand, but this is your platform.

Speaker 2 (01:07:16):
That's true. I'll be wanting to be changing wardrobes for
the podcast, not teams.

Speaker 3 (01:07:21):
Man. You get you get your stylist of somebody man.

Speaker 2 (01:07:27):
Stylis style. That's what we're doing.

Speaker 3 (01:07:29):
Well, we gotta the ones with these past now or colors.
You get me. I don't know about that one.

Speaker 2 (01:07:34):
I know you're not hating. My ward was pretty fly.

Speaker 6 (01:07:37):
The seasonal ones, yeah, some of them are majority. Yeah,
but sometimes one time we turned into NBA Countdown.

Speaker 3 (01:07:44):
You look like the Easter Bunny and he was getting
on you in that chat.

Speaker 2 (01:07:47):
Y'all were getting on me, but I didn't believe you.
I didn't believe it.

Speaker 1 (01:07:49):
And I gotta I got I gotta suit. That's gonna
make me look like Dick Tracy. But I'm telling you
it's gonna it's gonna work.

Speaker 3 (01:07:55):
You watch, I'm going ahead.

Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
Change you said go ahead.

Speaker 4 (01:08:02):
I think you don't need to stay away from anything
anything that's say, a public display of ignorance or laughter.

Speaker 3 (01:08:13):
It's help it's helpful to laugh at that certain thing.
So I don't think you need to stay.

Speaker 1 (01:08:18):
Folks here'll be stopping me from getting that people because
I be wanting to get the people's asses when they
sit up there and they try to insult me, or
they come at me.

Speaker 2 (01:08:24):
And they stop me, y'all don't. But I wonder if
y'all would I if I went at people.

Speaker 3 (01:08:32):
Nah, I don't like that.

Speaker 2 (01:08:33):
You don't like that, I don't like you don't like
me climbing back and nobody.

Speaker 3 (01:08:37):
Sometimes you step in below.

Speaker 6 (01:08:39):
I got caught up in the middle of your crossfire
in one of your things. I got caught up in
the middle of wrong fact. I got that right, I
got that. But you notice me and mine tables on
that phone with you to the end.

Speaker 3 (01:08:54):
Don't do it. It's not worked it.

Speaker 2 (01:08:56):
Don't do it.

Speaker 3 (01:08:56):
Don't do it.

Speaker 6 (01:08:57):
You know when you get to a certain point, so
you know this, but sometimes you gotta let the people.

Speaker 2 (01:09:03):
By the way.

Speaker 1 (01:09:04):
You didn't tell me that about Lebron though we didn't
do that about it?

Speaker 3 (01:09:06):
Well, I didn't.

Speaker 2 (01:09:09):
I had no damn regrets about that. Real quick, go ahead.

Speaker 5 (01:09:15):
Once again. I think you should dress everything. I think
you should know when to stop. I'm gonna address it.
I'm the same what I'm gonna say, and I'm gonna
move on from it. I'm not gonna keep going on
about it. But there is nothing you should not address nothing.

Speaker 2 (01:09:28):
Mark last word.

Speaker 4 (01:09:30):
He said it because I told you even with the
Lebron piece, like, once you addressed it, that should have
been the end of it.

Speaker 3 (01:09:38):
Keep it going. But here's the thing about your Lebron thing.

Speaker 6 (01:09:42):
You didn't know that incident was going to happen, and
you did not want to say nothing until everybody else
was addressed.

Speaker 2 (01:09:48):
That's true.

Speaker 1 (01:09:48):
So he didn't believe Yeah, and believe it or not,
I got news for you. I was really really nice.
People don't realize that.

Speaker 3 (01:09:57):
Oh you ask me.

Speaker 1 (01:10:00):
To go I could have I could have. No No,
ain't no goat. That's Michael Jordan, make no mistake about it.
That's Michael Jordan. I gotta get on out of here.
Y'all had a good time, man, good time at a
good time.

Speaker 3 (01:10:11):
Y'all to do bad.

Speaker 1 (01:10:12):
I mean, y'all a little bit too mellow at times
and stuff, and then you didn't let your personalities come out.
But I figure I'm introducing you to the audience stuff
that I'm gonna have y'all back. I'm gonna have y'all back.

Speaker 2 (01:10:21):
Cut up.

Speaker 3 (01:10:21):
We gotta protect the brand. We just can't keep showing
every joy right now.

Speaker 1 (01:10:28):
The protect the brand, protect the break. That's what some
mantra says all the time. You gotta protect the brand,
you know what I'm saying, Protect the brand?

Speaker 2 (01:10:36):
Worldwide West, take the asset.

Speaker 3 (01:10:38):
What's up with you in Worldwide West?

Speaker 2 (01:10:39):
Why you keep bringing them up? Could they win to night? Yes?

Speaker 3 (01:10:43):
They can't win the night.

Speaker 2 (01:10:44):
I'm just saying, why don't you say it? Then? Why
you keep bringing his name out on Frus Street. They
might lose to Night.

Speaker 3 (01:10:49):
Let me say this, they better not lose. They gonna
let me say this.

Speaker 4 (01:10:53):
World Wide West as an e v P and Leon
Rose has turned that organis That's true?

Speaker 3 (01:11:01):
Right?

Speaker 2 (01:11:01):
But I got news for you. It's their best shot
to win the championship in thirty years.

Speaker 3 (01:11:05):
Number one correct.

Speaker 2 (01:11:06):
Number Two's going to be their best shot to win
the championship in a while. They don't get it done.
This is the best.

Speaker 1 (01:11:11):
Chance the New York Knicks had had in thirty years
to win a championship because they could beat Indiana and
they could give OKC or Denver or Minnesota or run
for their money.

Speaker 2 (01:11:20):
This is their best shot. This is it.

Speaker 1 (01:11:25):
Do it spank money mark my boys in the house.
I had a good time. I hope y'all had a
good time free flowing Friday right here.

Speaker 2 (01:11:33):
On the Stephen A. Smith Show. I flew my boys
in the house to show show up and join me.
I really appreciate it. They didn't do bad.

Speaker 3 (01:11:39):
I got to.

Speaker 2 (01:11:39):
Admit that I might have to look at them in
the future. They might get a check for me.

Speaker 1 (01:11:45):
Until next week, y'all, enjoy your week in God bless
steven A signing off