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Stephen A. Smith struggles enough with the English language, but I “regress.” Start throwing in some names from the world of manga and anime and, well, you’ve got yourself some comedy gold.
Smith likes to read fan posts on X every now and again, and one young fan opted to ask him a question that has stumped experts for years.
“Who would be a better draft pick, Tenshinhan or Yamcha?” they wrote. These names, I have been told, come from something called “Dragon Ball Z.”
Cute for a kid to post. But Smith wasn’t pleased with his staff for putting him on the spot in trying to read the post, which included a reference to “the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai” and Yamcha having “defeated Ozaru Goku with Puar.”
To be fair, his response is similar to mine every time one of my kids talks to me about these characters.
Stephen A. Smith Is Not Happy About It
At first, Stephen A. Smith gives it the old college try in reading the names on the screen, only to eventually drop the effort and slam his producers for giving him the X post to read.
“I don’t understand any of this […] you wrote,” he complained.
“I’m a grown-ass man,” Smith continued without evidence. “How dare you send me this […] thinking I can pronounce all of these names. Do I look like I speak Mandarin?”
The ESPN host blasted his staff, suggesting that everyone was “laughing in the control room” after trying to make him look like a fool by reading the names.
“I work for a living. I ain’t got time to know all of this!”
https://t.co/nXS7uzKnI0 pic.twitter.com/gDL2GRCCKd
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) December 12, 2024
How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?
It’s funny watching Stephen A. Smith insist that he’s a ‘grown-ass’ man when we’re just a few weeks removed from him appearing on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, looking like his Mom dressed him for the first day of school.
Smith delivered a real-life version of the iconic Steve Buscemi “How do you do, fellow kids” meme. The 57-year-old looked like his Mom did some last-minute shopping at JC Penney’s and got him all gussied up before the broadcast.
Stephen A. Smith makes an appearance on Monday Night Countdown. 😎 #MNF pic.twitter.com/csj3btyaY1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 26, 2024
Oh well. At least now he can go out and get himself some new threads and maybe some books reading up on anime characters now that he’s about to cash in on a new $120 million contract with ESPN.