Stephen A. Smith has responded to sports commentator Michelle Beadle‘s explosive tirade targeting him, in which Beadle reveled in her admission that she “prays” for Smith’s “downfall.”
Beadle recently unloaded on Smith during a broadcast on her platform, Beadle & Decker, tearing into the ESPN star for partnering with a “fraudulent” gaming company to promote their digital solitaire game.
“Honestly, I’m not a religious person, but I pray for the downfall,” Beadle said on the episode, which was uploaded on the show’s YouTube last Thursday (Nov. 6). “It’s gross, man, you gotta have principles in this thing.”
ESPN sports reporter and host Michelle Beadle attends the premiere of Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” at The Shrine Auditorium on December 9, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
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On Friday (Nov. 7), during his afternoon show on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, Smith appeared to address Beadle’s comments, albeit without mentioning her by name.
“I hear people talking about me on SiriusXM and who they would have preferred and who they would have wanted or whatever. I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” Smith began. “I’ve been blessed and fortunate that when I’m doing stuff in this industry, I win.
“You got some people that were in this business and they talk smack now cause they can’t get a job in the business cause they didn’t do a good enough job when they were in the business so now they gotta talk smack and their reputation is they’re talking to people.”
Stephen A. Smith attends the 2025 Disney Upfront at Javits Center on May 13, 2025 in New York City.
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Smith went on to seemingly accuse Beadle of having a bad attitude and lacking work ethic, factors he suggests has left her without a job at a major network or media company. “Well, what you got going on,” the Hollis, Queens native asked.
“It’s all of that that comes with it, because somewhere along the way, they didn’t do what it took to resonate continuously. And that’s why they’re on the outside looking in… they don’t have a job in the industry. Don’t think they don’t want one. They do. They just didn’t know how to act, and they didn’t know how to be productive enough to keep a job.”
He continued, adding, “Some of these podcasts, some of the stuff that you see them saying, they ain’t even talking about things, they are talking about people because they don’t have to do real work. They can find a way to get clicks and make money that way cause they can’t make money any way else.
Sports reporter Michelle Beadle attends the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Magic Mike XXL” at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on June 25, 2015 in Hollywood, California.
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“Those people, you let them keep talking and you feel bad for them from time to time cause that’s how desperate they’ve become. And they know who they are. And so do you.”
The discord between Smith and Beadle dates back to their days working together at ESPN, with the two clashing over Smith’s comments regarding former NFL star Ray Rice’s domestic assault of his wife, which Beadle publicly deemed as tone-deaf and insensitive.
Smith would receive widespread backlash for advising women to avoid provoking men in hopes of avoiding a physical altercation. In addition to issuing a public apology for his remarks, he was suspended from appearing on-air for a week, a strong reprimand many believed was influenced in part by Beadle’s visceral reaction.
ESPN Broadcaster Stephen A. Smith reacts before the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on September 22, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland.
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The drama between Beadle and Smith bubbled back to the surface earlier this year, when Smith announced his new SiriusXM radio show in Beadle’s time-slot, essentially replacing her on the network.
Beadle’s ire towards Smith was clear during her verbal assault of the 58-year-old former columnist, referencing his new deal with Papaya Gaming, which he teased after being “caught” playing solitaire on his phone while attending an NBA Finals Game this past June.
“ESPN pays him a gazillion dollars to get a lot of stuff wrong and yell,” Beadle said of Smith. “He gets caught playing solitaire during the NBA freaking Finals. You created this monster. He is bigger than you now, and that’s exactly your fault. You let him run rampant all over that company.
“He made you look like fools for handing him a blank check in the first place,” she added. “He doesn’t even give a sh*t about the stuff that he’s paid a gazillion dollars to talk about. Now he’s turning around and turning that into a money-making opportunity. Then the money-making opportunity looks like it’s a fraudulent crap business to begin with.”
Smith has since called out Beadle, as well as former ESPN moderator and host Cari Champion, by name on his Straight Shooter With Stephen A. segment on Tuesday (Nov. 11).
Watch Stephen A. Smith’s response to Beadle and Champion below.
