Sports have brought Americans together despite political differences for decades, and Stephen A. Smith is determined to keep it that way.
The outspoken media personality issued a passionate warning about politics encroaching on sports during a July 17 episode of SiriusXM's "The Stephen A. Smith Show," broadcast from the third annual Fanatics Fest sports convention in New York City.
Smith warned of politics hijacking the discourse surrounding how WNBA star Caitlin Clark is treated by the league and the media, pleading with sports fans not to let "divisiveness" take over.
"This is America, baby. This is America — for all the divisiveness, for all the problems, for everything that we endure," he said. "Bottom line is this: people from all over the world want to get here, because it's the land of opportunity. The politicians that sit up there and run their mouth, and try to invade the sports world and contribute to the division — don’t let them do it. Don't let them do it."
Smith sounded the alarm over NBA commissioner Adam Silver's labeling of the Clark debate as "political ping pong," predicting it could add more fuel to the fire.
"When the (NBA) commissioner comes along, and he says, ‘political ping pong,’ because she's White, and she can play, and we're living in the climate that we're living in — these damn politicians are going to utilize that to contribute to a divide," he said. "You got a binary system, and you got to vote for one side over the other. So they're going to favor her because they're trying to paint somebody else on the other side of the enemy, and that divisiveness kicks in. And we all buy into it — I'm saying we need to stop that. We need to stop buying into that stuff."
Smith also urged Clark and her fellow WNBA players to put their differences aside in hopes of cooling the heated debate over her popularity, while pleading with lawmakers to stay out of the conversation.
"Caitlin Clark is not the enemy; she's your friend. Those other ladies ain't her enemies, and she has to know that too," he said. "And the (WNBA) commissioner has to commit herself to being a leader and bringing everybody together, so we're able to look at politicians that try to politicize it and tell them to kiss our a--. Go up on Capitol Hill and do your job. Stop trying to sit up there and get in the way of regular folks out here just trying to work hard, earn an honest living and live their life. Go do your damn job. That's what we’ve got to get accustomed to do. ‘Cause if we don't, it's gonna be a collective sinking ship. And you don't want that."
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS PRESS WNBA COMMISSIONER CATHY ENGELBERT TO PROTECT CAITLIN CLARK
Fox News Digital reached out to the WNBA for comment.
Several prominent political leaders and commentators have given their two cents on Clark. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., previously said the Indiana Fever star gets the "thug treatment" in the WNBA and called it "pathetic."
Rep. Brandon Boyle, D-Pa., got into an online spat with former ESPN host Jemele Hill over the WNBA's perceived lack of marketing for Clark despite her otherworldly shooting talents. Boyle later declared, "The WNBA detests Clark," sparking more debate on X.
Even President Donald Trump weighed in in recent weeks while addressing the media, praising her as a "wonderful basketball player" while slamming Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas for committing a hard foul on Clark during a game. Thomas received a one-game suspension as a result.
"I thought she was treated rather rough, if you want to know the truth," Trump said. "That was a much different kind of event — that was a pretty bad event."
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Smith has continued to use his massive platform to criticize both sides of the political spectrum, blaming Trump for the New York Knicks' Game 3 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals and calling out the rise of democratic socialism within the Democratic Party.
Fox News' Ryan Morik and OutKick's Dan Zaksheske contributed to this report.