Stephen A. Smith fires back, and he just can't stop embarrassing himself

Whenever the mainstream sports media decides they care about NASCAR, it's usually not a good thing. It probably means either a driver became a hot-button political talking point, there was a massive accident on the track, or there was an off-track tragedy.

Or, in this case, it just means somebody who loves to hear himself talk decided he needed to open up his mouth at NASCAR's expense.

Stephen A. Smith, of ESPN's First Take fame, embarrassed himself enough by reciting the tired talking point that race car drivers aren't athletes. Now he just keeps making himself look even more foolish.

Stephen A. Smith continues to double down on his ignorant NASCAR take, and it's beyond rich

After his initial claim that NASCAR drivers aren't athletes was rightfully met with significant pushback, Smith is now playing the victim and attacking drivers for calling him out.

For instance, after Joey Logano claimed that the talk show host is just trying to stay relevant, he fired back and insinuated that he "doesn't know" the three-time Cup Series champion.

Except, he should, because Logano appeared on First Take last year.

Denny Hamlin had a more nuanced response via his Actions Detrimental podcast, suggesting that while drivers aren't necessarily "athletic", they are certainly "athletes".

That was well evident from watching Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, an event that required uninterrupted focus and rapidly sped-up heart rates from its competitors for 188 laps.

Smith, naturally, then decided to direct some choice words toward "Hamilton".

All in all, it's just par for the course from Smith, who represents everything that is wrong with modern sports media. His brand of "analysis" adds no valuable insight to discussions. He just runs his mouth for the sake of running his mouth, spewing hot takes for engagement and pouring gasoline on the fire when it comes to existing hot topics.

It's because of people like Smith, like his former TV partner Skip Bayless, like Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright, who are why every conversation in sports today has to involve tearing someone or something down.

Players can't just be good; they have to be better than someone else. If a team wins, it's always because another team choked. And sports like NASCAR aren't allowed to peacefully exist without having their validity attacked for absolutely no reason.

And the richest part? If Smith wants to play the gatekeeper on this particular subject, it's hilarious coming from a guy whose actual athletic experience was averaging 1.5 points per game playing basketball at Winston-Salem State University.

Congratulations on having a marginally more productive college hoops career than former NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan.

If Smith wants to bloviate about stick-and-ball sports, then at least he's somewhat qualified to do so. But let's leave the judgments about whether or not NASCAR is a sport to those who actually know what they're talking about.

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