"You are a preacher, not God" - Gilbert Arenas slams Stephen A. Smith for shielding his source on Jaylen Brown controversy
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has remained loyal to his sources, keeping their names classified. Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas isn't a fan of Smith shielding the identities of his sources and slammed him in an episode of "Gil's Arena" on Tuesday.
One of Smith's unnamed sources has gotten into trouble following their statement about Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown. During the 2024 Playoffs, the ESPN analyst shared on his show "First Take" that his source believes that Brown wasn't a marketable player.
Since then, the Celtics star has called out Smith to cite his source. It reached a point where Brown appeared as a guest on "The Stephen A. Smith Show" on Monday and the two talked about the controversy.
The famed media personality explained that he can't reveal the identity of his source as he has "journalistic integrity." While Brown understands the responsibility that the ESPN journalist has, he said that the narrative created around him damaged his reputation.
After the episode with Brown was released, Arenas took the chance to address the journalistic integrity that Smith talked about.
"What does journalism rely on?" Arenas asked. "When you break down their job, the Woj's and all of them, what do they rely on? All their information about the sport has to come from somebody else because they've never done it.
"If someone like Woj tells you who's giving him the information, that means he's not f***ing important anymore. You are not important, you are a vessel for information. You are a preacher, not god."
Even with Brown's appearance on his show, Smith still hasn't revealed which source created the narrative that the Celtics star wasn't marketable. The three-time All-Star wasn't happy with the controversy and went on to call the unnamed source a "coward."
Also read: "The damage is done" - Jaylen Brown calls Stephen A. Smith's source 'coward' while discussing 'state your source' controversy
Jaylen Brown says on Stephen A. Smith Show he won't sign with Nike just to play for Team USA
Team USA didn't include the 2024 Finals MVP in their recent Olympic run. Many were surprised by the snub and Brown believes that Nike had something to do with him being excluded from the national team.
The next Olympic games will be in 2028 in Los Angeles and Stephen A. Smith asked the star about his future with Team USA.
"In 2028, if I have to sign to Nike to increase my likelihood to play USA basketball, I'll pass..." Brown said. "I think shoe companies should have less control over the industry… Politics is not synonymous with basketball."
Brown doubled down in sharing his thoughts about shoe brands not getting involved in the industry as much. The Celtics star wants to see change by players focusing on their on-court development.