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ESPN star Stephen A. Smith had strong words for Tiger Woods after the legendary golfer was arrested on multiple charges following a crash in Florida last week.
Smith appeared on “First Take” Wednesday after Woods said he would step away from golf to “seek treatment.” Woods was arrested for DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a breathalyzer (BAL) test. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Stephen A. Smith speaks on stage during the 2024 HOPE Global Forum in Atlanta, Georgia on December 11, 2024. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
The ESPN personality appeared to take issue with Woods’ apparent privacy concerns as the reason he wouldn’t hire a driver. The report appeared in People earlier this week.
“Bump his privacy,” Smith said. “We don’t care about his privacy. We don’t care right now. You’ve been behind the wheel of a vehicle drunk three times. Nobody’s trying to know all your business. What we want to know is that you’re not going to get behind the wheel of a goddamn car when you’re drunk. You’re lucky you didn’t kill anything we don’t want anything else. That’s our business.”
This marks the second DUI arrest for Woods in the last decade. He was also taken into custody on Jupiter Island in 2017 after falling asleep behind the wheel of a moving vehicle at 3 a.m. after taking prescription medication.
Woods was also involved in a rollover accident in Los Angeles in 2021 that resulted in serious leg injuries and emergency surgery, which he alluded to during field sobriety tests. Police said at the time that an empty, unmarked pill bottle was found in his vehicle. He was not charged in that crash.
This handout photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office shows Tiger Woods in Stuart, Florida, Friday, March 27, 2026. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
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Woods was found with two hydrocodone pills in his pants pocket during Friday’s crash investigation, according to a police statement.
“Privacy be damned. I don’t care what you’re worried about. You must have a very highly suspect life that as a billionaire you don’t even want to hire a driver,” Smith continued. “There’s something wrong. There’s something wrong with that. You want your privacy. Privacy from what? What’s the driver going to do? “Because he dropped you off somewhere he doesn’t know where he dropped you off? I mean, what the hell are you trying to hide? It’s a rhetorical question because I don’t care. And it’s none of our business to care about you. of a vehicle when you are intoxicated by whatever substance it is.”
Woods said he was committed to taking the time he needed to return to a “healthier, stronger and more focused place, both personally and professionally.”
Tiger Woods of Jupiter Links Golf Club watches after the match against Los Angeles Golf Club at the SoFi Center on March 24, 2026 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Adam Glanzman/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images)
“This is three times, three, that he’s been caught by law enforcement behind the wheel of a vehicle that was intoxicated,” Smith added, “Bump your statements. We don’t care. We don’t care. What we like to hear from you is that we don’t have to worry about you being behind the wheel of a vehicle that’s intoxicated again. That’s it.
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“Move on and get better. You get it? And live your life. And be at peace, man. Ain’t nobody wishin’ you no harm. But what you did potentially hurt someone else. You’re lucky you didn’t kill anyone but yourself.”
