World famous ESPN take artist Stephen A. Smith has claimed that NASCAR drivers 'aren't athletes', in a typically flamboyant rant this week.
Smith was discussing athletic greatness on SiriusXM Radio this week when the concept of NASCAR drivers was introduced – which he shut down immediately.
The long-time sports commenter went on to compare driving a race car for several hours at a time to playing golf, intimating that neither are what he would consider real sports, and outright saying that 'grandmas and grandpas' could do the same thing.
It goes without saying – to this site's readers at least, hopefully – that he's obviously talking nonsense. Racing a stock car, especially a Cup Series car, is a physically exhausting endeavour even before taking into account the sheer heat inside the car and the beatings that even the most minor wrecks inflict on drivers.
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Stephen A. dismisses NASCAR physicality
The First Take host said of NASCAR drivers: “Come on, man. That don’t count. You driving a car! I’m being honest, it’s a great sport. But come on, bro. Getting behind the wheel of a car is not the same.”
He continued: “You can be behind the wheel of a car in your 60s and 70s for crying out loud. A golfer is not an athlete. A NASCAR driver is not an athlete. Just because you gotta walk the course for 18 holes for four days, that don’t make you an athlete.
“They’re skilled players, they’re elite at what they do. But athletes? Athletes? Are you kidding me? Is walking the latest sport that you want to turn into an Olympic sport? [Note: race walking has been a standalone Olympic sport in every edition since 1908, with the sole exception of 1924]. Because I guess that would make them athletic, right? Because they can walk.
If you’re out there doing stuff that grandmas and grandpas can do, I’m not gonna look at you that way. You’re skilled, you’re phenomenally skilled as a golfer…but that is not an athletic sport.”
Should NASCAR offer a rebuttal to Stephen A. Smith?
Come on, man. Of course not. You should only talk to people who want to listen to you.
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