Steelers Player Slams Stephen A. Smith After Controversial Comments

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III isn't having it with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. After comments about the city of Memphis, Austin took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share his thoughts about the star commentator and his words.

Smith went on a rant about how the city of Memphis is unable to attract top NBA talent because it's not a safe city. Therefore, it's unable to sign players like Jimmy Butler and other top-end free agents.

"The people in Memphis,” Smith said. “It’s a great sports town. Great fans. Great people. But there’s an element there where cats like Jimmy Butler and others don’t feel it’s the safest environment. I’m talking to the local authorities in Memphis. You got to clean some of that stuff up because it’s dissuasive to NBA players. They have talked about it. I know. They’ve told me... It’s moving in the right direction, but it’s still recognized as one of the worst cities in America. To the point where the head of the FBI has called it ‘the murder capital of this country’ per capita. That’s on the record."

Austin, who went to the University of Memphis and is a Memphis native, wasn't pleased with the comments. He responded by telling everyone not to listen to Smith, and that ESPN needed better ratings.

"Please just ignore dude, disney said he needed some more engagements cause ratings were looking," Austin wrote on X.