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Former ESPN colleagues Stephen A. Smith and Sage Steele reunited on the latter’s podcast to discuss a host of issues, one of which focused on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
The discussion got rather contentious at first, when Steele asked Smith why it took him “three years” to speak out, but Smith clarified that he talked about Lia Thomas at UPenn from “day one” on ESPN’s “First Take.”
Regardless, the two men agreed on the subject, and Steele asked Smith why he thought men in power had remained silent on the issue.
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Stephen A. Smith speaks on stage at the HOPE 2024 Global Forum in Atlanta, Georgia on December 11, 2024. (By Griffin/Getty Images)
“Why do you think so many male athletes – we work with these men every day, NFL, NBA, whatever, who don’t have as much to risk – they have $150 million in their pocket, or maybe it’s a lot less, I don’t care. It’s common sense,” Steele asked Smith. “And many of them, like you, have daughters who are athletes. Are you going to let a young man at the volleyball net play against your daughter knowing what’s in danger? We’ve seen the injuries.
“And so, there are way too many men…in positions of power and financial security. This is not your $65,000 a year job, someone who is a janitor and is trying to speak at a school board meeting and could really lose their job because of that opinion, which is insane. These men in sports who know full well that a woman can’t compete, are staying silent. Why?”
A protester for the protection of women’s sports gathers in front of the Supreme Court on January 13, 2026, in Washington, DC. Groups on both sides of the debate gathered Tuesday morning to protest as two cases banning transgender girls from joining 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 NOT TO SPEAK WHILE SHE WAS AT ESPN
“Some guys, some people, and it’s very, very sad, some people don’t care about anything unless it directly affects them. We just have to call it like we see it,” Smith obliged. “Some of us are conscientious enough to say, ‘Okay, I have this public platform, I can’t sit in silence and say nothing.’ For some people, when it comes to politics, it’s a cesspool. It’s a real cesspool. It’s the last number.”
Smith’s response seemed to surprise Steele, as it has been studied that nearly 80 percent of people agree that transgender athletes should not compete against biological women.
“It’s the one thing that I think would bring more people together. I’ve said it from day one with the women in my industry, if half of us sportscasters had stood up and said, ‘You know what? As women, we’re going to protect these women,’ we wouldn’t be in this position,” Steele responded.
“A lot of women haven’t done it, just like a lot of men haven’t done it,” Smith countered. “In other words, Sage, it means that those brave enough to put themselves forward and tackle issues for the sake of others are rare.”
Smith said last week on “Real Time with Bill Maher” that “biological males should not compete with biological females in sports, period.”
Stephen A. Smith looks on from the field during warmups before the NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on November 3, 2025. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
“What about protecting young girls? Young girls going against biological men – biological men – there’s no excuse for that.”
