Stephen A. Smith is no stranger to controversy. It feels like every other day, he’s back in the news again with a hot take that exists only to make people angry enough to rant online. From a beef with LeBron James to now saying that Stephen Curry couldn’t play in the 90s, he just continues to spew words loudly and blindly. Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III has now joined the fray against Stephen A., fighting fire with fire.
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This whole situation kicked off after Draymond Green claimed that “past eras don’t respect this era.” On ‘The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis,’ Green said, “I don’t think the respect comes down from past generations, but people are quick to say ‘you have to respect the past because they came before.'”
It’s a fair opinion to have. Considering these players exist in a media environment where Shaquille O’Neal spends full portions of Inside the NBA on TNT discussing how he’s better than the centers playing today, it’s hard not to at least see where Green is coming from. That is, unless you’re Stephen A. Smith.
In response to Green’s podcast, Smith claimed that Green was wrong while simultaneously acting in a way that proved Draymond’s take to be entirely correct.
The title of the YouTube video from the First Take channel is “Draymond DOESN’T HAVE A POINT.” It’s ironic that in the very video calling him wrong, Smith dropped this gem: “I had a Hall of Famer come up to me and said to me, ‘Steph Curry would not have averaged more than 17 points a game. … In our era, we would’ve hurt him.'”
Griffin III pushed back on this in his own post, where the former quarterback brought up the saying “comparison is the thief of joy” and that “comparing the eras is a disrespect to every generation.”
RGIII even brought up a point that Michael Jordan himself had said, “Comparing the eras, it a disrespectful to the previous generations.” Griffin emphasized how Jordan recognized that the players who came before him created the art, and how he and his generation worked on making it better. To compare the two generations would be belittling the contributions of those before him.
Griffin brought up how the technologies and sports science has evolved. We can’t presume how the players of the past would’ve performed with the advancements we have today. Instead of comparing the past and the present, we should appreciate the past and enjoy the present.
Of course, Griffin III is no stranger to controversial, often times factually incorrect takes. Less than a month ago, he claimed that Jackie Robinson and his breaking of the color barrier was not inherently political. This take prompted a wave of backlash that resulted in the former Baylor QB leaving the spotlight until now.
