Stephen A. Smith, one of the most prominent sports commentators, had a lot to say about Kevin Durant's departure from the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors. Golden State was a team that Durant almost beat to get to the NBA Finals, but, rather than compete against them again; he decided to join them. A lot of fans along with Stephen A were disappointed with the move. One of his comments was that it was, "One of the weakest moves ever made by a superstar in history." Durant is a supreme athlete, and he has been known to not agree at all with Smith.
Kevin is very close to his mother Wanda, and when she was on ESPN's First Take, she fired shots at Stephen A. She had a lot to say to the so-called commentator.
Wanda responds to Smith's criticism
It is only normal for a mother to stick up for her son and that is exactly what she did, along with condemning Smith. While on the show First Take, Wanda fired shots towards Smith. Before calling out Smith though, she sent condolences and prayers his way for a death in the family.
She stated, "I thought what he said was quite harsh. It's like, 'Who are you, Stephen A., to come at my boy like that?' When he came to ESPN? Was that a weak move for him? He joined some heavy hitters, right? To up his career, right?
To do what was best for him. That's what he did, right? No one called him weak for that. So why call my son weak for doing the same thing he did?"
She created a good argument on First Take because she brings up the same point in a way. Stephen A. did the same thing Durant did in a way. Smith went to a well-known network like ESPN for fame and to advance his career, just like Durant did by joining the Warriors.
Durant and Wanda's close relationship
Durant and Wanda have been close since his birth. They have had a lot of ups and downs, one obstacle being his father leaving him when he was young and his mother raising him on her own to support him and his basketball career. Both of them had to work extremely hard to be successful. Both of their lives were filled with many challenges, but they were both able to overcome it together.
Everybody can surely remember Durant's emotional and powerful speech directed to his mother calling her "The real MVP." The speech brought everyone around to tears and even people who watched on screen. It seems that they have gotten even closer since the move and his mother is totally on his side with everything that has happened.
Kevin Durant is on a mission
Kevin Durant is on the chase to winning a championship with his new team. He has set out to silence the haters and critics who criticized him for leaving to go to another superpower team.
There is a lot of pressure on him right now in the Finals. He is up in the series by one game, but will be able to finish the series and win the championship?
Can the Warriors beat LeBron? Will he choke like he did when he was up 3 to 1 against the team he joined? If he still can not win it with the dynamic team that he has, he will be heavily criticized for still not being able to get it done. What more could he need? Durant is a big superstar, and high caliber player, not having a ring leaves him empty.
Stephen A. Smith, to respond?
Stephen A. Smith has not responded at the moment because he is still dealing with his mother's death. Condolences and prayers go out to him and his family. It would be interesting to see how he is going to respond to Wanda's criticisms.
It is certainly not the first time that Smith has been called out by a fan or person on a show. Maybe, Wanda should be on the show more often to spark good sports debate.
