Kenny Smith Defends Himself Following Backlash Over Controversial Comments On Sabrina Ionescu

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Kenny Smith has found himself in hot water over some controversial comments about Sabrina Ionescu. After Ionescu narrowly lost 29-26 to Stephen Curry in their three-point contest, Smith said she should have shot from the WNBA three-point line. His colleague Reggie Miller later stated that Smith wanted her to play with dolls, and the 58-year-old defended himself during an appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show.

“It’s much ado about nothing Stephen, honestly. Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about,” Smith said about wanting Ionescu to shoot from the WNBA line. “Actually, I was advocating for her, more than anything else, because basketball is muscle memory. So, he practices from one range, she practices from the other.”

Smith says Ionescu choosing to shoot from the NBA line gave Curry a significant advantage.

“There’s even a study I think with somebody throwing darts,” Smith continued. “The guy who throws darts. And if you move him out one step, his accuracy changes dramatically… So I’m like, ‘Why is he (Curry) getting the advantage, to shoot at his line? That’s an advantage. It’s not gender, it’s not genetics.”

Smith then addressed the “doll” comment, which was the more egregious of the two.

“I think when Reggie was joking around about, ‘Oh, so she should play with dolls.’ Because it was a comment I think that Sabrina when she was younger, that someone said that she should play dolls and stop,” Smith clarified. “I have daughters. My thought when I first heard that I was like, ‘What’s wrong with that?’ You should play with dolls, and you can do sports.’ So, I actually said it…  But see most people just don’t check the tape, they want to just check the bait… My history and track record speaks for itself.”

(starts at 1:02 mark):

Smith firmly believes he did not say anything disrespectful toward the New York Liberty star and thinks people are just trying to stir the pot.

What Exactly Did Kenny Smith Say?

The contest between Curry and Ionescu was easily the highlight of Saturday night. As the two embraced on the court after the Golden State Warriors superstar’s victory, Smith said the 26-year-old Ionescu should have shot from the WNBA line.

“She should have shot from the women’s line,” Smith said. “That would have been a fair contest. I still root for Sabrina.”

It led to a back-and-forth between him and Miller, who asked why he was putting boundaries on Ionescu. Smith said he wasn’t doing anything of that nature, but Miller wasn’t buying it. He then declared that she shouldn’t let any man put boundaries on her like his colleague was doing.

While I get Smith later explaining about muscle memory and whatnot, he shouldn’t have made that comment at that time. Despite shooting from the NBA line, Ionescu had managed to put up a score of 26, and it was the same score with which Damian Lillard won the Three-Point Contest earlier.

Instead of celebrating her accomplishment, he was too occupied with talking about how she should have shot from the WNBA line. Had she done that and beaten Curry, many would have dismissed her feat, as she was going by a different line.

Miller, whose elder sister Cheryl was a superstar at UCLA, was perhaps still a bit upset with Smith even after their previous exchange ended. As they headed to a commercial break, he brought up the “doll” comment.

“Well, according to you, you just want her just playing with dolls,” Miller said.

It is a shame that this even ended up being a talking point at the end of the day. The focus should have just been on Ionescu and Curry, but Smith’s comments ensured that wouldn’t be the case.

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