Community & Culture
America’s most popular sports media figure tells it like it is in this
surprisingly personal book, not only dishing out his signature, uninhibited
opinions but also revealing the challenges he overcame in childhood as well
as at ESPN, and who he really is when the cameras are off.Stephen A. Smith
has never been handed anything, nor was he an overnight success. Growing up
poor in Queens, the son of Caribbean immigrants and the youngest of six
children, he was a sports-obsessed kid who faced a number of struggles,
from undiagnosed dyslexia to getting enough cereal to fill his bowl. As a
basketball player at Winston-Salem State University, he got a glimmer of
his true calling when he wrote a newspaper column arguing for the
retirement of his own Hall of Fame coach, Clarence Gaines. Smith hustled
and rose up from a high school reporter at Daily News (New York) to a
general sports columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer in the 1990s, before
getting his own show at ESPN in 2005. After he was unceremoniously fired
from the network in 2009, he became even more determined to fight for
success. He got himself rehired two years later and, with his razor-sharp
intelligence and fearless debate style, found his role on the show he was
destined to star in: First Take, the network’s flagship morning program. In
Straight Shooter, Smith writes about the greatest highs and deepest lows of
his life and career. He gives his thoughts on Skip Bayless, Ray Rice, Colin
Kaepernick, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Cowboys, and former President
Donald Trump. But he also pulls back the curtain and talks about life
beyond the set, sharing authentic stories about his negligent father, his
loving mother, being a father himself, his battle with life-threatening
COVID-19, and what he really thinks about politics and social issues. He
does it all with the same intelligence, humor, and charm that has made him
a household name. Provocative, moving, and eye-opening, this book is the
perfect gift for lovers of sports, television, and anyone who likes their
stories delivered straight to the heart. Read more

 

Genre Biography