Stephen A. Smith has once again come in support of Victor Wembanyama’s statement on not promoting betting platforms.
The San Antonio Spurs center was asked recently if he would be interested in promoting sports betting sites like his fellow NBA players, but he outright refused and made a strong statement.
“Absolutely not. Honestly, I think it’s very sad to see some players promote it,” said Wemby during media availability.
Recently, LeBron James agreed to a $15 million deal with Polymarket, while Giannis Antetokounmpo is an investor in Kalshi. These are two of the biggest names in the NBA, and their promotion of sports betting platforms does raise an important question, but Stephen A. Smith does see another side of the argument, too.
Smith does not mind athletes promoting betting platforms
During his appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Smith explained why he had no problem with players doing deals with sports betting brands. He further elaborated on this topic on his own YouTube channel.
“The level of consistency is lacking, the level of hypocrisy is flagrant and that’s not applicable to Wembanyama because he’s a player that’s passed up on those dollars because he recognises the fact that it has the negatives and the positive impact and he’s interested in being a role model, we can’t do anything but applaud that,” said Smith in his rant about hypocrisy on people having problems with sports stars promoting betting sites.
Stephen A. Smith calls out hypocrites
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Smith also pointed out the LIV Golf example and how it led to criticism of individual golfers who decided to leave the PGA.
The NBA also has deals with DraftKings and FanDuel. This is what validates Smith’s point that if the league is in partnership with these betting platforms, it is wrong to expect the players to refuse the chance to make millions by signing similar deals.
However, he did shout out Wemby’s take on national television and his YouTube channel, which indicates how much he respects the Spurs star’s opinion on a topic that has divided the sports world.
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