Stephen A. Smith isn\u2019t backing down from FBI Director Kash Patel, even if he has no interest in escalating their verbal spat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ESPN star stated during \u201cFirst Take\u201d on Thursday that President Trump is \u201ccoming\u201d after the FBI announced a sweeping probe into two separate illegal sports gambling-related cases that included the arrest of Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones, along with members of Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese mob families.<\/p>\n
Stephen A. Smith is pictured on his SiriusXM show Friday. Stephen A. Smith Show\/YouTube<\/p>\n
Follow The Post\u2019s latest on the gambling scandal rocking the NBA:<\/p>\n
Smith predicted that further crackdown and arrests are coming from the FBI and seemed to insinuate that the president has influence over the investigation, saying people \u201cbetter brace themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patel went on with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on \u201cThe Ingraham Angle\u201d later that night and skewered Smith for his comments<\/a>, saying it \u201cmay be the single dumbest thing I\u2019ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow The Post\u2019s live updates on the bombshell NBA, Mafia gambling scandal<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Patel added that he decides which arrests to conduct.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smith responded Friday afternoon during his SiriusXM radio show and had no interest in taking back what he said about the investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI would say he\u2019s the director of the FBI, let\u2019s just say I\u2019m not trying to get on his bad side,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBut having said that, I still stand by what I said. And I\u2019m not changing my mind. \u2026 In the interest of being real and making you understand who I am as a journalist and a commentator spanning 30 years, I just want you all to know that it\u2019s customary for people to say I don\u2019t know what the hell I\u2019m talking about, that I\u2019m off my damn rocker, only to come down the pike weeks, months later and say, \u2018Yeah, it was true\u2019 or the facts bear those things out.<\/p>\n \u201cThis investigation has been going on when [Joe] Biden was in office. They talked about how this stuff has been going on since 2019, which is when Trump was in office. I\u2019m not implying that Kash Patel doesn\u2019t have any legitimacy to the case that he\u2019s pursuing against these individuals \u2026 and I\u2019m not about to argue with an FBI director. I\u2019m simply making the point that in the end, you have a president in place that has a lengthy connection to the sports world, rife with friends and enemies. And those who are his enemies, he doesn\u2019t mind inconveniencing one bit. And when it comes to the NBA brand, it doesn\u2019t bother him.\u201d<\/p>\n FBI Director Kash Patel is pictured Oct. 23. Getty Images<\/p>\n Thirty-four people were arrested in the scheme that netted $7 million over two years, according to the FBI.<\/p>\n The NBA has put Billups and Rozier on leave pending the result of the investigation. <\/p>\n Billups and Rozier were indicted on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \tThe FBI has arrested 31 people involved in a rigged poker game ring backed by the New York City organized crime families.<\/p>\n \u201cTell me when we\u2019ve seen that. \u2026 We\u2019ve seen accusations before,\u201d Smith said on \u201cFirst Take.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019ve seen athletes get in trouble with the law before. You don\u2019t see the director of the FBI having a press conference. It\u2019s not coincidental. It\u2019s not an accident. It\u2019s a statement, and it\u2019s a warning that more is coming,\u201d Smith said on air Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just the tip of the iceberg,\u201d Smith said, while not adding any proof. \u201cIt\u2019s very concerning. We don\u2019t know where this is gonna go. But everybody better brace themselves, because he\u2019s coming,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups leaves the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse after a hearing following his arrest on federal gambling charges in Portland, Oregon, U.S., October 23, 2025. REUTERS<\/p>\n\n
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