After Reporting His Firing, Stephen A. Smith Slams Philadelphia Inquirer
Stephen A. and Jalen rose share a laugh
Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith, fired a week ago by the Philadelphia Inquirer for job abandonment, shot back at the newspaper on Friday, saying in a statement, “What they have done to me is malicious, intentional and vindictive.”
Smith has been publicly silent about the Inquirer since he was stripped of his column in August and reassigned to the reporters ranks, an assignment he never accepted. But on Friday, he said through his high-powered attorney, Florida trial lawyer Willie E. Gary:
“I put my life and all that I have into the Philadelphia Inquirer first as a reporter and then as a general columnist. I was raised to work hard and play by the rules. That is what I have done. I’ve worked hard and earned every single promotion and accolade that I received while at the Inquirer.
“No one did me any favors or gave me anything, nor did I expect them to. What’s fair is fair and what’s right is right. What they have done to me is malicious, intentional and vindictive. They want to ruin my reputation and all of the hard work that I have done over the years.
“I have never abandoned a job in my whole life. I wasn’t raised that way. The Inquirer forced me out and smeared my name and credibility.
“My family always said that your name is all that you have, and they have tried to destroy it.”
Inquirer Editor William K. Marimow, read Smith’s statement over the telephone, told Journal-isms, “I haven’t made any comments, and I’m not going to now.”
Gary has been described in news accounts as “legendary” and a “multimillionaire litigator” whose firm has had 7,000 clients and 200 employees.
As reported in October, Smith’s name disappeared from the paper’s online staff list months ago and he retained Gary to challenge the Inquirer’s decision to reassign him. He has moved on to concentrate on his broadcasting career — he hosts an ESPN Radio show, is an ESPN NBA analyst — and, most recently, created a blog, stephenablog.typepad.com.
Bill Ross, a local representative of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia Local 10, told Journal-isms this week that the guild amended its grievance over Smith’s reassignment to include the firing.
Smith, a New York native, attended Winston-Salem State University and interned at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after graduation. He began his career covering high school sports for the New York Daily News, a beneficiary of the famous “black list” of African American sportswriting prospects shared by Larry Whiteside of the Boston Globe, who died last year.
In 1994, Smith joined the Inquirer, where he covered the Philadelphia 76ers, Temple University basketball and football and college sports. In broadcast and in print, he developed a reputation as outspoken and opinionated.
Sphere: Related Content