Stephen A. Smith just lit a fuse under the city of Memphis-and it’s blowing up fast. The outspoken ESPN personality found himself in hot water during Thursday’s episode of First Take after making controversial remarks about the Memphis Grizzlies’ struggles in NBA free agency.
Smith claimed the city’s crime rate is scaring off top-tier players like Jimmy Butler, pointing to safety concerns as a key reason why Memphis can’t seem to land big names.
“You gonna tell folks why nobody wants to be in Memphis? Or you want me to do it?” Smith asked guest Markieff Morris. “It’s a great sports town, great fans, great people… but there’s an element there where cats like Jimmy Butler and others don’t feel like it’s the safest environment.”
Smith doubled down, saying he’s spoken directly to players and even local authorities about the issue. “You gotta clean some of that stuff up because it’s dissuasive to NBA players. They have talked about it. I know-they’ve told me.”
The backlash was immediate.
Morant did not forgive SAS
Grizzlies star Ja Morant quickly jumped in to defend his city, taking to social media to call out Smith for dragging Memphis during NBA Finals week instead of focusing on actual basketball. But Morant’s pushback was mild compared to the explosion from fans and social media users.
“So just dance around the real problem that everyone knows to be true,” one user wrote, blaming off-court drama-not the city itself-for Memphis’ reputation. “The Grizzlies enabled cancer to dictate their decisions… Why would a valuable professional athlete make a decision to play for a team whose star is one incident away from indefinite suspension?”
Others simply dismissed Smith’s comments as “dumb,” “made up,” and unfairly singling out Memphis when other NBA cities like Detroit, New Orleans, and Cleveland face similar reputations.
Fans also came to Memphis’ defense
“I’ve been to Memphis 20+ times and never had a single issue,” one fan posted. Another argued it’s more about Memphis being a small market with a star player who’s injury-prone and “doesn’t appear capable of leading a team to a title.”
Still, Smith’s remarks have reignited an ongoing debate about perception versus reality in NBA cities-and whether safety, star power, or market size really drives free agency decisions.
Whether Smith was right or wrong, one thing is clear: Memphis is not taking the criticism lying down.
Read the full article here
