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OutKick founder Clay Travis and ESPN star Stephen A. Smith capped off the day at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit on Wednesday with a lively, respectful debate that covered a wide range of topics, including politics in sports, the NBA, the Trump Administration’s plans to send the National Guard to US cities and even their respective political aspirations.
The debate went on for a little under an hour and started with an acknowledgment from moderator Baker Machado of Front Office Sports about the tragic assassination of activist and media personality Charlie Kirk, a champion of respectful public discourse.
That was exactly what was on display during the entire debate between two guys who, while they may not agree on everything, clearly share a mutual respect.
That’s good stuff, and we need more of it.
So, let’s take a look at some of the bigger moments from the event.
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Politics In Sports
Obviously, the focus of this debate was politics, sports and then the middle of that Venn diagram. So, it was fitting to start with a question about whether sports are more political or if the media and people like Clay and Smith have made it that way.
“I think we’re making it so, to some degree,” Smith said. “That’s not to say that there’s not politics involved. There’s politics involved. There’s politics involved in everything, and we understand that.”
He went on to discuss how athletes in previous generations felt more compelled to speak out because of pressure from their respective communities, an idea that he touched on again later in the debate, even saying that, in a similar respect, it was community pressure that compelled him to get more political after the death of Trayvon Martin.
After talking about the importance of civil conversations like this, Travis talked about how sports are a “unique uniter.”
“I’m old school in some ways in that. I think Michael Jordan was right. I think it depends on what your brand is, but I think sports is a unique uniter,” he said. “I just watched, unfortunately, my University of Tennessee Volunteers choke away a win against the Georgia Bulldogs. Great game this weekend, but every time I’m in an arena, every time I’m in a stadium, when you’re rooting for the home team, or you’re sitting around people that are with you, you don’t think about race, you don’t think about religion, you don’t think about gender identity or whatever the heck it is. You just high-five people. Sports bring us together.”
The Surge In Support For Donald Trump Among Black Men
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, left, debated OutKick founder Clay Travis, right, at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit on Sept. 16, 2025. (OutKick)
After some discussion about the NBA’s turn into politics and how that has impacted its popularity, the conversation turned to the surge in black men voting for President Donald Trump, with 21% voting for him during the 2024 Presidential election.
“I think it’s because men see the Democrat party as emasculated,” Travis said. “And if you want my big picture view, I think a lot of the struggles that we’re seeing in life is absent fathers and men not being allowed to be men. I’ve got three boys that I’m raising. I hear from them all the time, ‘toxic masculinity.’ We don’t talk about toxic femininity. We don’t talk about men trying to be the producers for families, a father, the leader of a household. I think a lot of men are lost, and I think black men feel that too.”
Smith conceded that he didn’t think this was wrong, but joked that it was “far from right.” He offered another explanation.
“Black men are like most men; affordability, economy. You understand?” Smith said. “I mean, yeah, ‘How much money are you gonna put in my pocket? How much in taxes am I going to pay? How can I afford to provide for and protect my family?’ You want safety in the streets.”
Trump’s National Guard Tour
Speaking of safety in the streets, the discussion also talked about the President’s use of the National Guard to curb crime in Washington, DC, and his plan to do the same in Memphis, Tennessee.
Travis commended the President for the efforts to clean up the nation’s capital.
“Politicians often pretend black violence and inner city violence doesn’t exist,” he said. “Trump’s actually trying to address it.”
As for Smith, he questioned the constitutionality of sending in the National Guard outside of Washington, DC, but said that he doesn’t care if Trump decides to send troops to Chicago.
“In the city of Chicago, I don’t give a damn what they say,” he said. “I have no problem with sending in the National Guard. They were a problem before Obama got into office, when he was a junior senator. There was a problem when he was in office for eight years as the president. They’ve been a problem now, and I’ve seen black people come on television, locally and nationally, crying for support, whether it’s the National Guard or whatever it takes. In other words, the city of Chicago has had ample opportunity to do something about it, and I do think it’s a crisis in that city.”
Conversely, Smith argued that other cities with known crime issues, like Baltimore and St. Louis, shouldn’t get the National Guard treatment. He said this is because there have been statistical signs of improvement as far as crime is concerned.
Stephen A. Says He Could Win The Democratic Nomination
One of the final topics had to do with Stephen A. Smith’s long-rumored political aspirations, including a possible 2028 run for president.
While Smith indicated that life is good these days, he talked about why he stopped slamming the door shut on questions about him running for office.
“I have no desire whatsoever to be a politician,” he said. “Life is really, really good. And I don’t really want to compromise it at all, but I’ve been asked by various people — including my pastor, including people in this business and others — to keep an open mind, because you never know what the state of affairs in this country will be in a couple of years. And as a result, they said to me, ‘Could you at least stop saying no? Could you at least say I’ll leave the door open, even if you are willing to admit you sincerely, 99% doubt that you would ever run for office.’ So that’s what I did.”
While he questioned his ability to raise funds, Smith said he had total belief that his ideas could get the job done.
“But if I didn’t have to worry about all of that, and it was just my ideas and my positions against yours, I think I’d win the Democratic nomination,” he said, before adding that he’d really love an opportunity to get on a debate stage with politicians.
Clay was then asked if he would run against Stephen A. if he entered the race, but first noted that there was one big thing the two agreed on.
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“I think what Steven A gets is we’re sick of professional politicians,” Clay said, before talking about how he was disappointed to learn that many politicians are not as intelligent and brave as he had thought, but are instead “morons and cowards.”
So would he run?
“If Stephen A runs, I’ll run and I’ll kick his a–,” Clay said.
As you might expect, this was one last issue on which the two disagreed.
“No, he wouldn’t,” Smith said.
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