Say the name Stephen A. Smith to just about any sports enthusiast, and you will likely see a wide range of emotions or hear a variety of comments. This may explain why Smith wants to set the record straight in his new biography Straight Shooter.
In a recent interview with Baptist News Global, Smith gave insight into not only his new book but also his spiritual life.
“I am a Christian — not in the traditional sense — but I do love Jesus, and Pastor A.R. Bernard is my spiritual father,” he explained.
Smith grew up the youngest of six kids in a family that struggled in a challenging environment, which he highlights in the book.
“God has a funny way of doing things, and sometimes it’s not so funny, but it’s right on point,” he said. “Regardless of the trials and tribulations that I endured, (I) had the greatest mother I think anybody could have ever had.”
The people who surrounded him are people he believes were sent by God to get him through those difficult trials of family and childhood.
“People think angels are just floating from heaven, and they come down and they bless your life. That may be true in the spiritual realm; however, there are people standing by your side all the time, and you never realize how profound they are in your life until a moment arrives, and they’re there,” Smith said. “And there are people in my life who have done just that for me when I have needed them the most.
“You can never underestimate the power of our Heavenly Father … and the kind of people he puts around you solely for the express purpose of them being there for you in moments that truly count.”
Smith contends he wouldn’t be where he is today had it not been for God and the people God has placed in his life. And although people who see him today may think he has it all together, it isn’t always that way, he insisted.
Smith, who appears on the ESPN’s premier show First Take, the No. 1 morning talk show in the country, had to learn how to humble himself to get there.
“I just think you only have two choices in life: Continue to try to propel yourself forward or die, because stagnancy is not an option,” he said. “Standing still is not an option. You’ve got to do what you can to move forward, and sometimes that requires the fight.”
“You’ve got to do what you can to move forward, and sometimes that requires the fight.”
Fight is what Smith had to do after being terminated during his first round with ESPN. He admits he had to take blame for why his work with ESPN didn’t work out the first time. That involved some hard advice from his mother.
“I can remember my mom saying, ‘It’s not entirely your fault, however, I’ve heard how you’ve spoken to your bosses. If you were in their shoes, would you want someone like you working for them?’”
His mother’s counsel led him to do some self-reflection. As a result, he climbed his way back to the career he has today.
“Success to me is not just about the outcome,” Smith said, “It’s about what leads to the outcome.”
For anyone in a situation where things are not going well, he advised: “Do you stand there, be complacent and do nothing, and expect change to happen? Or do you stand up and say, ‘Wait a minute, this is not right. We’ve got to make it right, so we can have better times ahead of us.’ Which decision are you making? What choices are you making? That’s how I think about myself. Could I make better decisions? Of course, I could — both professionally and especially personally. I can make a lot of decisions.
“But I got news for you,” he continued. “The decisions I make today on a personal level are far better than the decisions I made earlier in my life. Again, it’s a constant process of improvement and evolution. And to me, where victory really takes hold is when I’m able to look at myself and I say, ‘I did not stand still. I did something to right the ship that I thought was pointed in the wrong direction.
“As long as I’m doing that,” Smith said, “then I’m succeeding, even when I’m failing, because I’m moving and I’m striving to move forward. That to me is the true definition of winning. The outcome is the end.”
“I’m succeeding, even when I’m failing, because I’m moving and I’m striving to move forward.”
In Smith’s circle of influence, wisdom often comes from A.R. Bernard, pastor of Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. He relied on the guidance of Pastor Bernard during the traumatic experiences he and his dad endured. And he needed his pastor most on the day of his mother’s funeral, when he was giving her eulogy.
“An hour before the funeral of my mother, I called Pastor Bernard, and I said to Pastor Bernard, ‘I’m going through some issues and the feelings that I have; it’s kind of bitter. I got a lot that I want to say, and am I wrong?”
His family was nervous about what Smith would share. It was Pastor Bernard, Smith said, who gave him the advice he needed. “I can remember Pastor Bernard saying, ‘You’re not wrong. Speak your truth.’ But in the process of doing so, he reminded me of what the book of Matthew has to say regarding forgiveness and empathy, which got me through the eulogy.”
These spiritual moorings run deep with the television commentator, even if he doesn’t make a show of it.
“Do I believe in the Lord? Yes,” Smith said. “Do I walk around wearing my religion on my sleeve? No. But as Pastor Bernard has told me before, I have a ways to go.”