Golden State Warriors ace Stephen Curry is well-known for the host of initiatives he undertakes for the under-represented basketball talent in the country. As part of his Underrated tour, Curry recently hosted the 4th edition of his Underrated basketball camp. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has come under fire for the IMG Academy Basketball Camp that he is associated with.
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Smith’s basketball camp charges a whopping $3,000 per kid. The ESPN analyst has ardently defended the program on his “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast, which comes in the wake of Stephen Curry announcing his plans to expand his free basketball camps. As part of his Underrated tour, Curry revealed on the Syndio podcast, that he will visit a host of high schools in order to provide free training to kids.
Stephen Curry has been hosting free basketball camps for years
Ironically, the Curry announcement came after a break of almost three years, which was due to the COVID lockdown. Steph has only recently announced his plans to restart his free basketball camps as part of his Underrated tour.
The Apple TV documentary has given Steph a unique chance to travel the country, and he seems intent on making the most of it. Curry claimed that he was focussed on helping underprivileged basketball players to the best of his ability, and plans to host further camps regularly.
The news comes in the backdrop of Stephen A.’s partnership with IMG Academy. At a recent Florida basketball camp, each kid was charged an entry fee of $3000. This has been vehemently defended by Smith himself, who claimed that the organization provides top-of-the-class facilities and works to help underprivileged kids as well.
Smith had even brought up the program’s reputation for bringing forth top high-school stars. Hence, the high entry fee.
Regardless, upcoming youngsters might be tempted more by Stephen Curry’s Underrated Basketball camps. Apart from being a bona fide NBA legend, Curry is not charging anything close to the exorbitant fee that the IMG Academy is charging.
Smith himself has never played basketball and is said to be closely involved in the program. On the other hand, Steph plans to be a part of each of his upcoming training camps, which represents a huge opportunity for underserved basketball players.
Stephen A. Smith is also known to help underprivileged communities
There is little doubt that Smith’s partnership with IMG is an anomaly. The veteran journalist is known for his philanthropy, and giving back to the community.
Smith has himself revealed in the past that he donated between $50-100k to his alma mater. He is also the ambassador of HBCU Week and is involved in multiple charitable initiatives, according to Yahoo Sports.
Hence, while youngsters might slam his expensive basketball camps, Smith has been working towards giving back to the community. His influence goes far beyond the money that he donates, as he is also known to actively support initiatives in any way that he can.
