Stephen A. Smith Warns Donald Trump May Turn Attention To WNBA Following FBI Gambling Arrests

On Thursday, Stephen A. Smith and the "First Take" panelists covered the ongoing situation with the FBI's gambling-related arrests. While some NBA personalities were front and center in these arrests, Smith provided his speculations on the next area of focus in this situation.

In light of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups being arrested, Smith issued a vague warning about President Donald Trump coming for certain individuals and groups. He then turned to panelist Monica McNutt and brought up the subject of the WNBA, though his comments were more conjecture than evidence-driven reporting.

"Don't be surprised if the WNBA is next on his [Trump's] list," Smith said. "When you have all these protesters and what have you, this man is coming. He's coming, and I've been saying it for a long time."

Though Smith offered no further details that clearly point to the WNBA being targeted by Trump, he called attention to the fact that no less than FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the public about the recent arrests, which involved more than 30 people.

"I watched a press conference with the director of the FBI. Tell me when we've seen that," SAS asserted. "It's not an accident. It's a statement."

Smith then claimed that insiders across different sports leagues believed the same thing he did.

"Talk to people in the NBA. Talk to people in the NFL...they think this is like the tip of the iceberg."

Along with the sensational performances from multiple players in the NBA season's first two nights, the arrests of Billups and Rozier have taken the sports community by storm. Smith has weighed in by evoking the name of another league, though it remains to be seen whether his warning related to the WNBA will come to fruition.

Stephen A. Smith compares FBI gambling arrests to NBA scandal involving disgraced referee

In a clip from "The Stephen A. Smith Show," Smith doubled down on the claims that he made on "First Take." To emphasize the greater gravity that the current situation supposedly holds, Smith drew a comparison between the recent arrests and a disgraced referee scandal from the NBA's history.

"Even when the scandal came down the pike involving Tim Donaghy, the former referee for the NBA, you didn't see the director of the FBI having a press conference about it," Smith said on his show.

It will be recalled that, in August 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two felony charges that involved defrauding the NBA and conspiring to illegally transmit wagering information. Donaghy, who admitted to gambling on NBA games, would then be sentenced in 2008 to a 15-month term in federal prison.

Edited by Simoun Victor Redoblado