1. Whatever happened to “no comment?”
Is it because we live in a time when everyone has their own platform, so they think it’s wise to get out their own message on their own terms? Is it because in 2025, everything is content? Is it because people don’t want to deal with the blowback that sometimes comes with “no comment?”
This was all I could think about after seeing that Stephen A. Smith posted a 20-minute video on Tuesday about the lawsuit that came out against Shannon Sharpe on Monday.
Sharpe, who is one of the panelists on Smith’s First Take, is being sued for sexual assault and battery. The 56-year-old football Hall of Famer is accused of assault, battery, intention infliction of emotional distress, sexual assault and sexual battery.
Sharpe appeared on Monday and Tuesday’s First Take and did not discuss the lawsuit. He did, however, respond to the lawsuit, via video, later in the day, calling it a “shakedown.” Also on Tuesday, a voicemail was released by Sharpe’s accuser in which Sharpe allegedly can be heard saying he was “going to f---ing choke the s--- out” of her.
This then prompted Smith to share his thoughts on the entire matter. For 20 minutes.
Given that this story is still in its very early stages—again, the lawsuit became public on Monday—you’d think that a basic, generic, “We’re still trying to gather information” or “I’m not going to comment until I have all the information” would suffice as a statement. Whatever happened to letting things play out a little bit before jumping in?
However, Smith somehow managed to talk about the Sharpe situation for 20 minutes. I don’t want to get into what Smith said, because that is not the point here. If you want to hear what Smith had to say, you can watch the video yourself.
I just don’t know what Smith was trying to accomplish by putting out a 20-minute piece of content about what’s going on with Sharpe.
If Smith had information about Sharpe’s future on First Take, that would be newsworthy, but it would also be a short and straightforward statement. And I understand that Smith is close with Sharpe.
But doing a 20-minute segment on this lawsuit while it’s in its infancy seemed highly bizarre. I’m sure Smith was bombarded with requests for a comment on Sharpe’s situation. This is one of the many problems we have today thanks to social media—everyone wants you to comment on everything and they want it right away. Just because people want that, though, it doesn’t mean you have to give in to those people.
Clearly, however, I’m in the minority on this take. As of Wednesday morning, Smith’s YouTube video discussing Sharpe had more than 700,000 views.
2. The NBA enjoyed very strong ratings for the opening weekend of the playoffs. The six games that aired on ABC/ESPN averaged 4.49 million viewers, up 15% from the opening weekend last year. It was ABC/ESPN’s most-viewed opening weekend ever for the NBA playoffs.
Somehow, Sunday’s Magic-Celtics game, which was a 17-point Boston win, drew 6.7 million viewers, up 44% over last year’s comparable window.
Meanwhile, the NHL is on the other end of the spectrum. The NHL’s playoff ratings over the first three days were down 27% from last year.
Through Monday, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are averaging 718,000 viewers across ESPN and TNT Sports — down 27% from last year’s 980K.
— Braylon Breeze (@Braylon_Breeze) April 22, 2025
All nine windows are down year-over-year, with seven of them posting double-digit declines.
No game has yet averaged over a million viewers.
3. In move that should’ve happened years ago, the Rose Bowl will now start at 4 p.m. ET instead of 5 p.m. ET. That time change will allow the Sugar Bowl, which airs after the Rose Bowl, to kick off at the much more reasonable time of 8 p.m. ET. In years past, the kickoff for the Sugar Bowl always gets pushed back thanks to the Rose Bowl running past 8 p.m. ET.
NEWS: The College Football Playoff and ESPN have announced dates, kick times and broadcast information for the Playoff Quarterfinals, Playoff Semifinals and the national championship game for the 2025-26 edition of the CFP.
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) April 22, 2025
Read more » https://t.co/kRrhyK6TIU#CFBPlayoff 🏈🏆 pic.twitter.com/3iiaPxQTtK
4. On Monday night, Shaq had to leave the Inside the NBA set because of bathroom issues. On Tuesday night, the show prepared for any other emergency exits due to stomach issues.
They brought a porta potty into Studio J for Shaq 🤣😭 https://t.co/T0maoAOPf3 pic.twitter.com/aR0VYYJDJS
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 23, 2025
5. It kills me to say anything negative about The Rock, but his interview on Pat McAfee’s show Tuesday was a trainwreck. According to The Rock, he didn’t show up to WrestleMania because the spotlight should’ve been on John Cena. That explanation makes no sense because Cena’s match against Cody Rhodes featured a run-in by a rapper that not one WWE fan cares about in any way, shape or form.
"We could have inserted the Final Boss in the finish at WrestleMania but then where do we go..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 22, 2025
Why get involved in that finish when the spotlight should just be on John Cena..
John Cena getting number 17 & being a heel champion is the anchoring storyline" ~ @TheRock #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/riLya6CFuW
6. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with TNT's Charles Barkley.
Barkley reveals whether he’s happy with TNT’s decision to continue Inside the NBA, but air it on ESPN, explains why he’s still upset with how TNT has handled things and lays down the law about how much he’s going to work going forward and why he has no interest in fulfilling the final seven years of his contract.
Barkley also expresses regret over recently saying, “Y’all got some big b----es here” regarding San Antonio women, shares his frustrations over Stephen A. Smith’s possible presidential run, weighs in on the NBA playoffs and explains why the Los Angeles Lakers have no shot to win the NBA Finals.
Following Barkley, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins the show for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include the Masters, the Kansas City Chiefs getting their request to be the traditional Christmas Day team turned down and a great new WrestleMania doc. In addition, I read March Apple reviews for SI Media With Jimmy Traina.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 48th birthday to John Cena. While Cena just won his 17th WWE title on Sunday, the best performance of his career came on Total Bellas.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith Offers 20-Minute Take on Shannon Sharpe Lawsuit.
