Stephen A. Smith may not have managed go pick a fight with many athletes but former NBA player Marcus Morris is not one of them. He, in fact, holds a special sense of admiration toward the ESPN broadcaster. It all stems from Smith’s heavy presence during the beginning stages of Morris’ pursuit of a sports media career.
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Following a successful 13-year career in the NBA, Morris had to decide what was next for his life. It isn’t easy to simply close the chapter on basketball. A seamless transition would involve speaking about the sport rather than playing it. It wasn’t his first option, though; it took a push for him to finally pursue the career field.
“My agent and business partner, Yony Noy, he was like, ‘Man, just try it,'” Morris said on Real Talk with MJ. “I tried it. When I got on there, it was just comfortable.”
Morris’ big break came during his appearance on ESPN’s First Take. Despite lacking in regard to experience, his agent nudged him to enter the fire and he didn’t get burned. Many would assume, since fresh meat was on the show, Stephen A. Smith would pick Morris apart. He was instead a gracious host.
“Stephen A. was a class act, like he really opened up the doors,” Morris revealed. “He helped me through the process, and I take my hat off to that man.”
If one can ignore the popular narratives surrounding Smith, not many people could serve as a better mentor. Smith has been in the sports media industry for over 30 years. At this point, he has frankly mastered the art of entertainment. Hate him or love him, he earns the attention of people across the world.
It wasn’t just Smith, but all of ESPN truly looked out for Morris. Instead of applying pressure to perform to a certain degree, they accommodated his lack of experience and let him learn. Their helping hand even extended to his brother, Markieff.
“What’s crazy is, bro wasn’t even coming to get on the show. He was more so coming to just support me,” Morris said. “He was just sitting there, and they were like, ‘Hey, you want to try it?’ And he was like, ‘Might as well.'”
The relationship between Morris and ESPN seemed to be heading in a prosperous direction. Unfortunately, that may be at risk of blossoming further due to his recent arrest.
On the bright side, Morris is now free of the fraud charges he was facing. But as we have seen in Shannon Sharpe’s situation, ESPN won’t hesitate to cut ties with even one of their biggest names.
Hopefully, Marcus and Markieff will continue to serve their hot takes on First Take. If that doesn’t happen, they will surely land a job elsewhere.
