"Harder for women": Stephen A. Smith claims men find it easier to date in the 21st century

Popular sports television personality Stephen A. Smith is not only known for sharing his hot takes on sporting matters, but also for his opinions on other topics, including those concerning affairs of the heart.

In the recent episode of his The Stephen A. Smith Show, he talked about dating in this day and age after being asked by one of the viewers about it.

Smith opined that these days it is harder for women to go out on dates than men. He acknowledged the skewed sex ratio, with women also having to protect themselves from some of the "salacious men" out there.

The 56-year-old host of ESPN’s First Take said:

“I would say this. I think it's harder for women [to date these days]. I really do. Men, we outnumber y'all like 17 to one and that's not taking into account the gay and the incarcerated population. The numbers are even bigger once you take that into account. So men have a lot more options than women.”

“And not only that, you're a woman, you got to protect yourself and guard yourself because you got some salacious men out there that's just after one thing , with the dogs they are at times, which is just disgusting…”

Check out what he had to say below, beginning 2:00:

Stephen A. Smith went on to highlight that men should treat their women -- be they the ones they are still courting or already partners with – with love and respect because it is the right thing to do.

He highlighted it by dropping verses from rapper Big Daddy Kane’s song “The Lover in You,” that include:

“So try a little tenderness like Otis Redding / Put the gangster approach on pause / And I dedicate this to you and yours / This is for the lover in you / The lover in you, babe, the lover in you”

Stephen A. Smith says he had to persevere to be where he is now

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith

In a recent interview with Gary Brecka on his Ultimate Human Podcast, the fiery sports TV personality discussed his struggles on his way to forging his current position within the sports broadcasting arena.

In particular, he cited the time that he was kept away from television by ESPN after his contract negotiations with the network fell through in 2009.

“When they[ESPN] let me go in 2009. I was unemployed for a year you know, I thought I was being blackballed,’ he said.

"I came back and even when I came back to ESPN two years later um they restricted me to radio, wouldn't even allow me on television … From May of 2009 to April of 2012 I was not allowed on television, nobody would hire me for television and so I had to go through those things.’”

Stephen A. Smith has achieved steady success since then, with his commentaries on television on various sporting affairs followed widely. He has been quiet on how much he is being paid by ESPN but he is reportedly making $8 million a year.