Stephen A. Smith Ridicules ‘Academic Ineligibility’ Excuse for Angel Reese’s Benching, Imparts Words of Wisdom: “Lesson to Be Learned Here!”

The news of LSU star, Angel Reese, being benched by her coach, Kim Mulkey, has been gaining much traction lately. Following a terrific NCAA title run last season, it was surprising for the fans to see LSU’s star player absent in the past few games. Though the exact reason for dropping Reese is unknown, Stephen A. Smith seemed to discuss some of his own assumptions to analyze this situation.

Angel Reese last appeared in LSU’s game against Kent State, where she was benched in the second half. Subsequently, she was dropped for the next two games against SLU and Texas Southern, which has sparked rumors and theories surrounding her absence.

In a recent episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith seemed to be cognizant of the various theories and rumors surrounding Reese’s absence. One such theory was related to Reese’s academic ineligibility, which the First Take host didn’t seem quite eager to fall for. In fact, he effectively discarded all such reasoning, calling them “bulls**t”.

From his own assessment, Smith believes that a major reason for Reese’s absence could be her fame and influence getting the best of her. SAS mentions Reese to be among the top 10 college athletes with NIL deals, estimated to be worth around $1,700,000. As a college student, Reese has signed deals with top companies such as McDonald’s, Discord, XFinity, Outback Steakhouse, and others.

In this context, Smith tried to convey to Reese that her behavior could cause her trouble pursuing a successful professional career. As advice to the future WNBA star, SAS issued a message on his show and said, “What we’ve received an indication about right now is that something may have changed in you.”

“Again, if it happened, it’s not a crime but it’s a lesson to be learned here. Be careful what you wish for. Be careful what you seek prematurely. Be careful of others’ influence coming along and being a distraction from what you’re aiming to achieve.” he added.

Looking closely at Stephen A. Smith’s advice, we can note his genuine concern with the young LSU Tigers forward’s basketball career. He further stated that life will have temptations at every corner for people who are winning. But the 21-year-old will have to learn to deal with them if she wants to enjoy a fruitful career.

Smith dismissed the academic ineligibility theory stating that if she were performing poorly academically, there was no reason to bench her in the second half. They could have just cut her before the game against Kent State. Amidst all such hubbubs, Angel Reese recently broke her silence on this matter through a tweet on X (formerly Twitter).

Angel Reese broke her silence about the recent snubs

Angel Reese seems aware of the rumors and theories surrounding her absence from the college basketball team. Though there has been no straight explanation from the Tigers’ coaching team, Reese recently went on X to request her fans not to believe everything they read about her online.

please don’t believe everything you read.

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) November 19, 2023

Coach Kim Mulkey has been quite tight-lipped regarding this matter throughout. She claimed that due to disciplinary issues, not everyone is entitled to know the real reason behind Reese’s snub from the college team. Coach Mulkey’s priority was to protect the locker room atmosphere, which was well understood from her statement.

“Sometimes you want to know more than you’re entitled to know. I’m going to protect my players. Always.”@LSUwbkb @KimMulkey on Angel Reese situation.

“If you do some disciplining of your own children, do you think we’re entitled to know that?” #LSU @WAFB pic.twitter.com/n71pGbghwu

— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) November 21, 2023

It seems like coach Mulkey is neither a fan of constant persistence from the media on this matter. When asked about the same yet again, Mulkey insisted that her players were like her children and the press didn’t need to know the reasons behind her decisions.