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Former ESPN colleagues Stephen A. Smith and Sage Steele reunited on the latter’s podcast to discuss a host of topics, one of which focused on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
The discussion got pretty controversial at first when Steele asked Smith why it took him “three years” to speak out, but Smith clarified that he was talking about Lia Thomas at UPenn from “day one” on ESPN’s “First Take.”
In any case, the two agree on the subject, and Steele asked Smith why he thinks power men have been silent on the issue.
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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)
“Why do you think so many male athletes — we work with these men every single day, NFL, NBA, whatever, who don’t have that much at stake — they have $150 million in their pocket, or maybe it’s a lot less, I don’t care. It’s common sense,” Steele Smith asked. “And many of them, like you, have daughters who are athletes. Would you let a young man at the volleyball net play against your daughter knowing what’s at stake? We’ve seen the damage.
“And then there are far too many men… in prominent positions who have the financial security. This is not your $65,000-a-year job, someone who is a janitor trying to speak at a school board meeting who could really lose his job for this opinion, which is insane. These men in sports who know damn well that a woman couldn’t compete are silent?”
A protester to protect women’s sports gathers outside the Supreme Court on January 13, 2026 in Washington, DC Groups from both sides of the debate gathered Tuesday morning to protest as two cases banning transgender girls from participating in girls’ and women’s sports teams are heard at the Supreme Court. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
SAGE STEELE RECALLS HOW STEPHEN A. SMITH WARNED HER AGAINST SPEAKING WHILE STILL AT ESPN
“Some guys, some people, and it’s very, very sad, some people don’t care about something unless it affects them directly. We just have to call it like we see it,” Smith said. “Some of us are conscientious enough to say, ‘Bump that, I’ve got this public platform, there’s no way I can sit still and say nothing’. Some people, when it comes to politics, it’s a cesspool. It’s been a cesspool. This is the latest issue.”
Smith’s response seemed to surprise Steele, as it has been polled that nearly 80% of people agree that transgender athletes should not compete against biological women.
“This is the one thing that I think would actually bring more people together. I said this from day one with women in my industry, if half of us sportscasters had stood up and said, ‘You know what? As women, we want to protect these women,’ we wouldn’t be in this position,” Steele responded.
“There are plenty of women who didn’t, just like there aren’t many men,” Smith shot back. “So in other words, Sage, what this means is those brave enough to put themselves out on the high street and tackle problems for the benefit of whole others are few and far between.”
Smith said on “Real Time with Bill Maher” last week that “biological men shouldn’t be competing against biological girls in sports, period.”
Stephen A. Smith looks on from the field during warmups prior to the NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Nov. 3, 2025. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
“What about protecting the young ladies? Young ladies going up against biological men – biological men – there’s no excuse for that.”
