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Adversity: Keep Your Head in the Game!
From heart-wrenching defeats to capturing glory, rarely is anyone faced with adversity more than the modern-day athlete. True champions have learned not only to overcome their adversities, but to use them as a tool. From his roots in Hollis to covering some of the biggest names and games in the world, STEPHEN A. SMITH uses his life experiences and sports-as-life references to offer his perspective on how to keep your head in the game using courage, determination, and patience, so you too can use adversity to your benefit.
The Road to Great Leadership
STEPHEN A. SMITH's career has allowed him to be up close and personal with tremendous leaders and athletes, and he has learned firsthand about the trials and tribulations on the road to great leadership. In these powerful and actionable remarks, Smith highlights how leadership is now more important than ever, and decodes the keys to goal setting, personal motivation. Chock-full of anecdotes from the world of sports, Smith's remarks will enthrall, entertain, and educate.
Ethics and Building a Personal Brand, On the Field and Off
What is the right thing to do when lines of ethics are increasingly blurred? Being the best and having more power and money enables those on the way up to be filled with praise, big paydays, and role-model status. But the headlines are filled with fall-from-grace storylines all the time, as major athletes have dealt with personal scandals and transgressions. What is the new model for success, and how can we build a personal brand associated with dependability, moral character, and trust?
From sportsmanship to gambling, steroid use to point shaving, sports journalist Stephen A. Smith has seen and covered a wide spectrum of ethical issues both on-and-off the field....interviewing an abundance of major players. He uses his unique insight to offer perspective on how we can become the best versions of ourselves, holding ourselves, our teammates, and our role models, to an ever-higher standard. This engaging and eye-opening presentation will make you think about ethical decisions in a refreshing, productive way.
Author Talk: Stephen A. Smith and ‘Straight Shooter’
Inspired by his highly anticipated memoir Straight Shooter, STEPHEN A. SMITH shares his candid perspective, reveals the challenges he’s overcome, and opens up about who he is when the cameras are off in this engaging moderated conversation.
‘Know Mercy’ is Stephen A. Smith’s unfiltered new podcast
Veteran journalist and legendary sportscaster STEPHEN A. SMITH is launching his own podcast, sharing his candid perspective on politics, entertainment, social issues, criminal justice, business, and of course, sports. The podcast Know Mercy, produced by Audacy’s Cadence13 division, will featured the beloved commentator and a roster of notable guests and thought leaders. Chris Corcoran, the Chief Content Officer and Founding Partner of Cadence13, told Variety: “Stephen A. Smith is a larger-than-life talent and force of nature whose indelible passion, wit and candor ignite every conversation he’s a part of, engaging millions of fans along the way.”
Smith is the host of ESPN’s First Take, as well as serving as an analyst on NBA Countdown during basketball season. The sought-after motivational speaker, who will release his memoir Straight Shooter on January 17th, 2023, said in a statement: “It’s hard to put into words how excited I am about this opportunity. Although my love for sports will never fade, neither has my zest for expanding my interest beyond the court or field of play. I love news. I love entertainment. Above all else, I love attaching myself to, and touching on, things that are percolating in the minds of the masses — with no inhibitions.”
Legendary sportscaster Stephen A. Smith’s highly anticipated memoir – ‘Straight Shooter’ – shot straight to No. 1
Giant of sports media and veteran journalist STEPHEN A. SMITH released his highly anticipated memoir, Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, to wide acclaim. In his first book, the beloved commentator dishes out his signature, uninhibited opinions but also reveal the challenges he overcame in his childhood – including a learning disability – to become “America’s most popular and tenacious sports media figure.” (Rolling Stone). The host of ESPN’s First Take shares who he really is when the cameras are off as well as the powerful influence his parents had on his life. Smith’s memoir – which was the #1 New Release in its category on Amazon – which became an instant New York Times bestseller and is No. 4 on the Wall Street Journal’s list.
In Straight Shooter, as he does in sought-after events, Smith shares his authentic stories about overcoming adversity, as well as profound insights about leadership, ethics, and perseverance. With his trademark intelligence, humor, and charm, Smith makes a major impact on audiences of all kinds.
Stephen Anthony Smith is an American sports television personality, sports radio host, sports journalist, and actor. Smith is a commentator on ESPN First Take, where he appears with Max Kellerman and Molly Qerim. He also makes frequent appearances as an NBA analyst on SportsCenter and hosts his weekly NBA show SportsCenter with Stephen A Smith. His journey, which started at the Winston-Salem Journal, continued with the Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Greensboro News & Record, the New York Daily News, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Along the way, he also made stops at CNN/SI and Fox Sports before arriving at ESPN in 2003. He is now the top analyst for ESPN. In January 2018, USA Today wrote, “Stephen A. Smith was called the most powerful talent in the business just a year ago and he followed it up with his best year as a professional. First Take had its highest-rated year since it launched nearly a decade ago after making the move to ESPN. Combining his quest to ‘annihilate’ the competition along with management showing more belief in him than ever before, there is no reason to believe ‘The Face of ESPN’ will change anytime soon." Stephen A. Smith is a proud HBCU graduate of Winston Salem State University and Brand Ambassador for HBCU Week.
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