Sports analyst Stephen A. Smith recently addressed his now-famous Kwame Brown rant, expressing a wish that he could go back in time and handle it differently. The rant, which occurred back in 2028 when the Lakers traded Brown to the Grizzlies, saw Smith make remarks that later went viral.
Smith’s scathing critique included lines like “Kwame Brown is gone .. throw a parade whether you win a championship or not. This man was a bonafide scrub.”
During an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, Smith was asked if there were any moments in his career he wished he could do over.
He responded, “There’s several. Kwame Brown. I wish I could do that over. I wouldn’t do it. I know what I said. I did mean it.” Smith acknowledged that he hadn’t anticipated the long-lasting impact of his words, especially in the age of social media.
Reflecting on the situation, Smith mentioned, “I didn’t know 15 years later they gonna have memes and videos. And when I see what he says, I realize how hurt he is.” He also shared that he felt regret over the impact his words had on Brown’s reputation and emotional well-being.
“One time I had to address it cause I felt like he was coming at me like I was scared,” Smith said. “I can’t even tell you when I did that the stars who called, I ain’t gonna mention no names, practically all of them was Hall of Famers. And they’re like ‘Nah.’
“And I was like ‘Where were y’all when he was saying all of this stuff for weeks?’ I didn’t say anything! And as I see some of the clips now and some of the stuff that he says, I just be like ‘Go ahead, bro. Say what you got to say.'”
