NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
America's most popular sports media figure tells it like it is in this
surprisingly personal book, not only dishing out his signature,
uninhibited opinions but also revealing the challenges he overcame in
childhood as well as at ESPN, and who he really is when the cameras are
off.
Stephen A. Smith has never been handed anything, nor was he an overnight
success. Growing up poor in Queens, the son of Caribbean immigrants and
the youngest of six children, he was a sports-obsessed kid who faced a
number of struggles, from undiagnosed dyslexia to getting enough cereal
to fill his bowl. As a basketball player at Winston-Salem State
University, he got a glimmer of his true calling when he wrote a
newspaper column arguing for the retirement of his own Hall of Fame
coach, Clarence Gaines.
Smith hustled and rose up from a high school reporter at Daily News
(New York) to a general sports columnist at The Philadelphia
Inquirer in the 1990s, before getting his own show at ESPN in 2005.
After he was unceremoniously fired from the network in 2009, he became
even more determined to fight for success. He got himself rehired two
years later and, with his razor-sharp intelligence and fearless debate
style, found his role on the show he was destined to star in: First
Take, the network's flagship morning program.
In Straight Shooter, Smith writes about the greatest highs and deepest
lows of his life and career. He gives his thoughts on Skip Bayless, Ray
Rice, Colin Kaepernick, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Cowboys, and
former President Donald Trump. But he also pulls back the curtain and
talks about life beyond the set, sharing authentic stories about his
negligent father, his loving mother, being a father himself, his battle
with life-threatening COVID-19, and what he really thinks about politics
and social issues. He does it all with the same intelligence, humor, and
charm that has made him a household name.
Provocative, moving, and eye-opening, this book is the perfect gift for
lovers of sports, television, and anyone who likes their stories
delivered straight to the heart.
