{"id":1002,"date":"2026-05-23T09:33:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T09:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1002"},"modified":"2026-05-23T09:33:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T09:33:25","slug":"espns-stephen-a-smith-the-only-one-who-benefits-from-ongoing-feud-with-celtics-star-jaylen-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1002","title":{"rendered":"ESPN\u2019s Stephen A. Smith the only one who benefits from ongoing feud with Celtics star Jaylen Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Of all the annoying elements from this Jaylen Brown<\/b>–Stephen A. Smith<\/b> contretemps<\/i> (I believe that\u2019s French for \u201cridiculous he-said\/he-said feud that makes all of us who know about it incrementally dumber,\u201d but don\u2019t hold me to it), two in particular are really \u2026 well, annoying me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Friday\u2019s 11 HS sports takeaways, including new coaches at Nantucket and Newman and a fresh football co-op<\/a><\/p>\n

Fine, three, if you include Smith\u2019s entire schtick. But that has long gone without saying, as more things should.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, I suppose we must offer the Reader\u2019s Digest condensed recap of this whole back-and-forth between the Celtics star and ESPN\u2019s lead bloviator.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Brown hopped on his Twitch stream the night the Celtics lost Game 7 of their first-round series to the 76ers, and among other comments, reiterated something he had been saying since late December: that this was his favorite season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith called him out (correctly, I might add with some reluctance) for saying such a thing after a crushing loss and a blown 3-1 lead in the series.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their Twitch\/ESPN duel on the matter \u2014 sigh<\/i> \u2014 continued into this past week. Last Sunday night, Brown again called for Smith to retire (not a bad idea) and accused him of being \u201cthe face of clickbait media\u201d (he\u2019s certainly on the Mount Rushmore).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMan, [expletive] Stephen A. Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C,\u201d said Brown. \u201cMy offer still stands. You want me to be quiet and stop streaming? Well, I want you to be quiet and get off these networks. Because you\u2019re not using your platform to do real journalism. You\u2019re using your platform to use clickbait.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The next morning on ESPN\u2019s \u201cFirst Take,\u201d Smith volleyed back, adding what sounded, pathetically, like a threat.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut, in the end, Jaylen Brown be careful what you wish for,\u201d said Smith. \u201cYou really want me to start reporting on that level? The locker room, how the organization might think about you, how the city may feel about you, how Jayson Tatum<\/b> may or may not feel about you. Sneaker deals, endorsement deals, the list goes on and on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s incredibly lame for Smith to suggest he has some stunning revelations about Brown. How \u201cthe city may feel about you\u201d? As someone who is on the record as favoring a Brown-for-Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/b> trade if possible, I can confirm what anyone around here likely already knew: Boston loves Brown, in part as a player, but even more so for his connect to the city. Lame thing to say, and wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Golden Knights ride third-period scoring surge to take 2-0 lead over Avalanche in Western Conference Final<\/a><\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not even one of the two elements of this story that bug me the most. The first is that giving this \u201cfeud\u201d oxygen, ink, and bandwidth benefits only Smith. I get Brown\u2019s desire to throw a few verbal haymakers in Smith\u2019s direction, and he certainly deserves them, but it\u2019s playing right into his hands. He\u2019s unfathomably well compensated at ESPN, but his main currency is attention. Without the latter, the former wouldn\u2019t have have happened.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other gripe? Brown calling Smith a journalist.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t journalism,\u201d said Brown on Monday. \u201cThis is him making his own opinion and [formulating] it about what I have to say, on his platform. And this is why, respectfully, a lot of people say, \u2018[expletive] Stephen A.\u2019 Because this is the type of stuff he does, and then he doesn\u2019t recognize it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s not wrong there. But Smith \u2014 and ESPN\u2019s talking heads, and sports radio hosts for that matter \u2014 aren\u2019t journalists. They are entertainers. Facts only matter when they are convenient to their argument.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Celtics\u2019 Derrick White makes NBA All-Defensive first team for first time<\/div>\n

I know, the lines are blurred, perhaps permanently and often by design, with so many legitimate reporters feeling like they need to be content producers and brands to survive in this landscape. And I can\u2019t imagine there has been a time over the last several decades in which media literacy overall has been at a lower point.<\/span><\/p>\n

But suggesting Smith is a journalist is a misreading of his role \u2014 and an affront to actual journalists still doing the job with integrity.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Welcome back<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Medford native Lauren Walsh<\/b> is joining Boston 25 as a sports media journalist.<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019s a Syracuse graduate and former NESN intern who spent the past three years at WSMV in Nashville.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYounger Lauren wouldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d she wrote while announcing the move on her social media channels, noting that she used to wear \u201cLimited Too \u2018athletics\u2019 gear to Sox games as a kid because they didn\u2019t sell team gear in the girls\u2019 clothing section back then.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Walsh previously worked at WXII in Winston-Salem, N.C., before heading to Nashville in August 2023. She also has worked as a sports anchor\/reporter in Burlington, Vt., and Syracuse, N.Y.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, bench propel Thunder past Spurs after historic slow start for 2-1 series lead<\/a><\/p>\n

She did not say when her start date will be.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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