Stephen A. Smith vehemently defends Malika Andrews over accusations of covering Josh Giddey, Brandon Miller situations differently

Stephen A. Smith defended his ESPN colleague Malika Andrews from accusations of unbalanced coverage involving the off-court NBA issues of OKC’s Josh Giddey and Charlotte’s Brandon Miller.

Andrews, the host of ESPN’s “NBA Today” has received criticism from some quarters for her keeping “mum” on the alleged inappropriate relation with a minor by Giddey. However, she had called out rookie Miller during Draft night in June for his involvement in an alleged wrongful death lawsuit.

One of those who expressed his frustration about Andrews’ perceived uneven coverage is former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he advised Andrews not to make this a race issue and also questioned her upbringing.

During his podcast on Wednesday, Stephen A. Smith screened Andrews from the accusations thrown her way. He said the cases of Giddey and Miller are different and that she was just doing her job as a journalist.

The fiery host of “First Take” said:

“The city of Charlotte is considered the Bible Belt. When Brandon Miller showed up at South Carolina, you would have thought he was Hillary Clinton. They were screaming, ‘lock him up, lock him up, lock him up,' How in God’s name does Malika Andrews not ask that question on draft night? She had to … that goes for any journalist.”

Explaining why the Josh Giddey incident was different, he continued:

“In this Josh Giddey situation, because the situation is so sensitive, you can’t go on the air with a strong opinion, sounding accusatory as if you’re indicting someone when an investigation is still open.”

Both Giddey and Miller are still playing in the ongoing NBA season amid off-court issues they are currently embroiled in. Giddey is the subject of an ongoing league investigation.

Stephen A. Smith and Malika Andrews disagree on Ime Udoka issue

While Stephen A. Smith has the back of Malika Andrews in accusations hurled at her recently, the two had their share of disagreements in the past. One of these incidents involved former Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka.

In one of the episodes of “First Take,” earlier this year, the two had a spirited back-and-forth over Udoka being suspended for an alleged intimate affair with a female member of team staff.

Stephen A. Smith blamed the organization for making the issue to be feasted on by media and asserted that Udoka should not only be to blame.

He said:

“Only he is in violation of the company policy? The woman who elected to have a consensual relationship with him is not in violation?

Andrews did not take it down sitting, coming back with:

“Stephen A., with all due respect, this is not about pointing the finger. Stop. The fact that we are sitting here debating whether somebody else should have been suspended or not, we ARE NOT here, Stephen A., to further blame women.”

Stephen A. Smith, however, made it clear that he was not exonerating Udoka for what happened but believed that the issue could have been handled better.