Stephen A. Smith Addresses Charlie Kirk Shooting at Utah Valley University and Sports as Unifying Force

[00:00] Good afternoon everybody. Welcome to the

[00:02] latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith

[00:03] Show coming at you courtesy of SiriusXM

[00:06] channel 82 Mad Dog Sports Radio. Number

[00:08] to call up as always is 8 Madog6.

[00:11] That's8 Mad Dog6. That's it86233646.

[00:15] And also if you want to send in your

[00:17] voicemail messages because uh you can't

[00:19] get me on the line, you can always go to

[00:21] SiriusXM.com/getserious.

[00:24] That's sirxm.com/getserious

[00:26] to send in your voicemail messages. I'll

[00:28] even grade them and if you attach your

[00:30] phone number to you, I I might even call

[00:32] you back and put you on the air to hear

[00:34] what you have to say. Normally, as you

[00:36] well know, um I'm somebody that comes

[00:40] out like a bat out of hell. I love doing

[00:43] radio. I love being back at Mad Dog

[00:45] Sports Radio. I like to lead with my

[00:47] passion and my fervor um

[00:51] to really start the day, start the

[00:53] afternoon, so to speak. But if I sound a

[00:56] little bit if not a lot

[01:00] uh different, you can use the word

[01:02] melancholy. You can use the word sad or

[01:04] whatever. It's because I'm not

[01:08] I'm not in that kind of mood today.

[01:11] I'm going to be real. I'm going to be

[01:12] authentic. I'm going to be my true

[01:14] Stephen A self. Whoever the hell I am is

[01:16] who I am. That's the way it goes.

[01:18] And

[01:20] I'm sitting up here this afternoon

[01:22] wanting to then afternoon on the east

[01:25] coast, the morning on the west coast.

[01:26] And I want to thank the world of sports.

[01:31] We got a Thursday night game coming up

[01:33] tonight. Watch the commanders against

[01:34] the Green Bay Packers. And I know that

[01:36] and I'm getting ready to talk about

[01:37] that. We've got news emanating out of

[01:39] the NBA involving Kawhi Lyn. I'm going

[01:40] to talk about that. The WNBA season is

[01:43] coming to an end. how much that means to

[01:45] you, if anything at all, without the

[01:47] services of Caitlyn Clark. I'm gonna

[01:48] talk about that along with, of course,

[01:51] I'm in Vegas as we speak in our Vegas

[01:54] SiriusXM Vegas studios because I'm here

[01:56] for the big fight between Saul Canelo

[01:59] Alvarez uh defending his 168-lb super

[02:02] middleweight championship uh against

[02:05] Terrence Crawford undefeated at 41-0

[02:07] with 31 KOs, which may be the fight of

[02:11] the decade. So, we're all looking

[02:12] forward to talking about those things,

[02:14] but that's not what's on my mind. What's

[02:16] on my mind was the shooting that

[02:18] happened yesterday in Utah. And we could

[02:22] slice it any way we want to, but what a

[02:26] horrific thing to see. It's all over the

[02:30] news. It's all over YouTube. It's

[02:32] everywhere.

[02:34] And I challenge anybody

[02:36] to take a look at that and and and and

[02:38] and tell me that you didn't cringe.

[02:44] I'm happy about sports today because

[02:48] it's supposed to be a reprieve,

[02:51] something that pulls you away from

[02:54] life's travails and what truly truly

[02:56] ails us all.

[02:58] And I'm not going to get into any

[03:00] politics or anything like that. SiriusXM

[03:02] Mad Dog Sports Radio ain't the place for

[03:04] that. That's not what I'm trying to do.

[03:06] I'm just trying to be honest with the

[03:07] listeners out there everywhere to let

[03:09] you know that sports isn't the only

[03:11] thing on my mind. But I'm ecstatic that

[03:14] I'm still entrenched in the world of

[03:16] sports and I get to talk about games and

[03:19] marvelous professional and collegiate

[03:21] athletes and storylines that ultimately

[03:24] make you say come hella high water, at

[03:27] the end of the day, it's just a game.

[03:31] There's real life stuff going on in this

[03:32] world. And we saw a right-wing

[03:35] conservative host because that's what

[03:37] they that's what he was and that's what

[03:40] they labeled Charlie Kirk. And we saw

[03:42] this man

[03:44] speaking

[03:46] in Utah

[03:51] at Utah Valley University

[03:54] and we saw him struck by a bullet in his

[03:58] neck.

[04:01] We saw blood gushing out immediately.

[04:05] And it didn't take long before he was

[04:07] pronounced dead

[04:09] at the age of 31, courtesy of an

[04:12] assassin's bullet.

[04:16] A rifle. A bullet from a rifle

[04:20] that was lodged against him from 200

[04:22] yards away.

[04:26] The part that really resonates with me

[04:30] outside of the obvious

[04:32] is that he had two children five younger

[04:35] than five years of age. Both were in

[04:38] attendance and saw their father get

[04:41] gunned down.

[04:44] He had a wife, their mother who was in

[04:46] attendance, who saw her husband

[04:50] get gunned down.

[04:53] In the world that we're living in today,

[04:55] I don't care who you are. You're white,

[04:56] you're black, you're Hispanic, you're

[04:58] Asian, you're Native American, you're

[04:59] Jewish, you're Catholic, you're

[05:01] Christian, I don't care at some point in

[05:03] time,

[05:06] the one thing that sports needs to

[05:08] remind us about the importance, the

[05:10] appreciation that we should all embrace

[05:12] is how it brings all of us together.

[05:16] No matter no matter your color or creed,

[05:19] no matter your ethnicity, no matter your

[05:21] upbringing, your background, etc., etc.,

[05:23] when you wear the same uniform as

[05:24] somebody else, when you play in the same

[05:26] league as another contemporary, when the

[05:29] sacrifices that you make to elevate

[05:31] yourself to a certain level is something

[05:33] that's mirrored

[05:35] by hundreds,

[05:38] if not thousands of other individuals

[05:40] out there reminds us all that we're all

[05:44] God's children.

[05:46] And that universally when we see

[05:48] something like that transpired, we got

[05:50] to collectively come together and

[05:52] understand that the world that we're

[05:54] witnessing in the world that we're

[05:55] living is pretty damn messed up.

[05:58] And there's a lot more love and a lot

[06:01] more brotherhood and sisterhood

[06:05] and humanity that goes on in this world

[06:08] that does it than doesn't. Yet the few

[06:12] who are evil amongst us are the ones

[06:15] that screech and make the most noise.

[06:18] And it's affecting us in a way where

[06:20] it's getting to a point where you're

[06:21] going to get scared to walk out in the

[06:23] streets. You're going to get scared

[06:26] to show love and affection and even to

[06:28] say hello to your fellow man and woman,

[06:30] your neighbor.

[06:34] And sports are so important now more

[06:36] than ever before because you know

[06:37] something when you look at Lambeau Field

[06:39] tonight in Green Bay, Wisconsin when the

[06:41] Green Bay Packers host the Washington

[06:45] Commanders, you had better believe

[06:47] 60,000 plus are going to be at that

[06:49] stadium. You had better believe that

[06:51] millions are going to be watching. You

[06:53] had better believe that whether it's on

[06:54] radio or television or anywhere else,

[06:56] you're going to see people talking about

[06:58] the game.

[07:01] And it's important

[07:04] because it shows this common ground.

[07:06] There's a common denominator. There's a

[07:07] common love and affection.

[07:11] Sports is worth a multibillion dollar

[07:13] industry. Whether it's football, whether

[07:14] it's basketball, whether it's baseball,

[07:16] for a reason

[07:18] because it brings us joy

[07:21] and it reminds us all how we can truly

[07:24] get along.

[07:26] and that the vitriol and the evil and

[07:28] the viciousness that exists in this

[07:30] world, it ain't the many, it's the few.

[07:34] But it also needs to remind us that we

[07:36] got to come together and speak up and

[07:38] speak out against those evil people,

[07:42] against those with evil tendencies,

[07:45] against one against those who are

[07:47] insidious and iniquitous and looking to

[07:49] do anything they can

[07:51] to harm us and the fabric of our

[07:54] society.

[07:57] I'm a black man born in America. I know

[08:00] what problems that exist in this

[08:01] country. But I also know there's far

[08:04] more good people than there are bad

[08:05] people in this country. Regardless of

[08:07] who you are, what your ethnic background

[08:09] is.

[08:11] White, black, Hispanic, and beyond. I'm

[08:14] in a studio here in Las Vegas, and I'm

[08:16] looking outside and I see people looking

[08:18] at me and smiling and saying, "What's

[08:19] up, Stephen?" and they they don't look

[08:21] anything like me

[08:23] and I don't care cuz they're showing me

[08:25] love and I'm showing love right back to

[08:27] them

[08:30] at some point in time.

[08:33] We got to recognize can't just speak

[08:35] about it can't just give lip service to

[08:39] when such a vile act takes place

[08:43] and we going to give lip service to the

[08:45] tragedy of the moment and then within 24

[08:47] hours we move on with our lives like

[08:49] nothing happened. something did happen.

[08:54] I don't care what his political beliefs

[08:56] were.

[08:58] I don't care what he felt.

[09:01] I care about the fact that a man was

[09:04] gunned down in front of two of his

[09:06] children who are 5 years of age or less.

[09:09] That he's dead at the age of 31.

[09:12] That his wife is a widow. That his

[09:14] children are fatherless.

[09:17] because his ideas and his beliefs

[09:19] differed from somebody else apparently.

[09:23] And then I'm going online and I'm seeing

[09:26] people celebrating it. Shame. Shame on

[09:30] you.

[09:36] I have a job to do

[09:40] when I'm on Mad Dog Sports Radio to talk

[09:42] sports, and that's exactly what I'm

[09:43] going to do.

[09:45] But make no mistake about it when I say

[09:48] that I'm a conscientious observer,

[09:52] that I'm an American citizen,

[09:56] that I'm just somebody who cares,

[09:59] and I'm somebody who believes in

[10:03] and tries to promote the importance of

[10:06] having a core decency attached to every

[10:10] one of us as human beings. I mean it.

[10:14] I mean it.

[10:16] Props to the New York Yankees

[10:18] organization last night for having a

[10:20] moment of silence. If you're a left

[10:23] winger instead of a right-winger, you

[10:24] might not have allow you might not have

[10:26] liked that. You're missing the point.

[10:30] This man was shot and killed from 200

[10:33] yards away

[10:37] in front of his wife and children

[10:41] and thousands of onlookers

[10:44] who had come to see him,

[10:48] Mr. Charlie Kirk, who had been going

[10:49] from campus to campus simply debating

[10:52] his ideas against those who might differ

[10:54] from him. That's all.

[10:58] and his life was taken. He's gone at 31

[11:06] just because

[11:09] he expressed

[11:11] thoughts that differed from somebody

[11:13] else apparently.

[11:16] And some might blame it because oh my

[11:18] god, he's friends with the president

[11:22] and they may not be a Donald Trump

[11:24] supporter. I'm saying bump all that.

[11:28] He's a human being living in the United

[11:31] States of America. This is America.

[11:37] We're not supposed to condone stuff like

[11:39] this. We're not supposed to say it's

[11:42] okay.

[11:43] I don't give a damn who you are. Black,

[11:46] white, or anything in between. You're a

[11:48] human being. That's your fellow man and

[11:50] fellow woman out there. That's your

[11:52] fellow brother and fellow sister out

[11:54] there. You got no business thinking like

[11:56] that and you damn sure have no business

[11:59] doing something as heinous as that

[12:01] shooter who's still on a loose by the

[12:03] way.

[12:05] So I applaud the New York Yankees

[12:09] for having a moment of silence.

[12:15] I hope the FBI and law enforcement catch

[12:17] this individual

[12:22] and do what needs to be done with him.

[12:24] whatever that may be.

[12:29] We will go on with our lives because

[12:30] that's the way things go.

[12:33] We will discuss sports

[12:36] on this channel, on this show, because

[12:38] it's what we do. It's what the listener

[12:42] is looking for, as it as they should.

[12:47] But it doesn't mean that along the way

[12:50] you strip yourself of your own humanity

[12:54] and you negate

[12:58] recalling and remembering who you are

[12:59] and what you stand for and what's most

[13:02] important.

[13:04] And that's caring enough about yourself

[13:06] and your fellow man and your fellow

[13:07] woman never to inflict violence upon

[13:10] anybody, never to do something like

[13:13] this.

[13:15] and certainly never to celebrate it.

[13:21] Sports does so much for us.

[13:26] It doesn't just give us something to

[13:28] cheer about. It's the fact that it

[13:29] allows us to cheer together.

[13:33] You're going to see Green Bay fans at

[13:35] Lambeau Field tonight in all color,

[13:38] shapes, and sizes.

[13:40] You're going to see the same thing when

[13:42] the Commanders host a game or one of the

[13:44] other 32 NFL teams do the same. And the

[13:47] NBA season comes, you're going to see

[13:48] that, too. And as the Major League

[13:50] Baseball playoffs are are forthcoming,

[13:52] you're going to see that, too. And right

[13:54] here on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio,

[13:56] my background

[13:58] is entirely different than Mad Dog

[14:01] Russo. I I imagine if we probed one

[14:03] another and we spoke about such things,

[14:06] our politics might be a little bit

[14:08] different. The same applies to Adam

[14:10] Shawn. The same applies to Katie Nolan.

[14:12] The same applies to Steve Tory and a

[14:15] bunch of other folks and Eric Spitzer

[14:17] and everybody else associated with

[14:18] SiriusXM. Mad Dog Sports Radio and all

[14:22] of SiriusXM, Howard Stern included, and

[14:24] everybody else, including Mega Kelly. I

[14:27] don't care.

[14:31] They're good people.

[14:34] I'm proud to know them.

[14:36] I'm proud to be on Mad Dog Sports Radio.

[14:38] I'm proud to call that man my brother

[14:40] from another mother.

[14:46] At some point in time,

[14:49] we got to remember that and remember to

[14:51] remind one another that there's far more

[14:54] love in this world than hate.

[14:58] and not allow evil and hate to dominate

[15:00] us and to strip us

[15:04] of what truly makes us the greatest

[15:07] nation in the world. It's that mosaic

[15:11] that we live under, a willingness to

[15:13] embrace any and all

[15:16] and find a way to agree without being

[15:19] disagreeable.

[15:22] Not even because we may want to all the

[15:24] time, but because we know it's what's

[15:27] best

[15:29] for a society

[15:32] to be civilized

[15:34] and positioned to prosper.

[15:39] Someone forgot about that yesterday and

[15:41] murdering Charlie Kirk. Others

[15:45] forgot about it by parading online and

[15:48] celebrating

[15:51] an evil vile occurrence.

[15:56] Most of us are better than that.

[16:00] Let's show that

[16:03] and let's begin

[16:05] by doing that

[16:08] and using sports to do it because sports

[16:11] usually does come to the rescue after

[16:13] all

[16:16] and we certainly needed sports to do

[16:18] that for us today.

[16:21] AAA Mad Dog 6 is the number to call up.

[16:22] That's 8886233646.

[16:26] You're listening live to the Stephen A.

[16:28] show SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. Back

[16:31] with your calls, plus

[16:34] some voicemails at

[16:36] SiriusXM.com/getserious.

[16:38] More of the Stephen A. Smith Show coming

[16:40] your way in just a minute.