Stephen A Smith makes another apology after 'inaccurate' comments on ex-NBA star's divorce

Charlie WilsonMon, October 12, 2026 at 10:30 PM UTC

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Stephen A. Smith issued a public apology to Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert -Credit:Stephen A Smith podcast (Stephen A Smith podcast)Stephen A. Smith has found himself having to apologize for the second time in a week after speaking on Iman Shumpert's divorce to singer and actress Teyana Taylor on his podcast

Stephen A. Smith has apologized for the second time in five days after providing false information on former NBA star Iman Shumpert's divorce to Teyana Taylor.

Shumpert and Taylor divorced in 2024 after eight years of marriage, with Smith speaking on some of the details of their divorce after reading a quote from the former Cleveland Cavaliers star.

Speaking on The Culture Table podcast, Smith commented that marriage failed Shumpert, touching on his apparent financial losses, claiming he walked away with just $2 million — while she gained $25 million and a further $10 million in property value. The ESPN host stated that men are regularly "taken to the cleaners" by the courts. It comes after Smith issued an apology for his words on Lane Johnson's retirement last week.

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Just days after appearing on the podcast, Smith revealed that Taylor reached out to him herself and explained the truth of the situation.

He quickly apologized, stating, "In the interest of fairness, accuracy, and decency, I believe it's important to address what happened in connection with an October episode of the Culture Table titled, 'Can men trust women with their finances?'

"During that episode, I stated that Teyana Taylor walked away from her divorce with $25 million, $10 million in properties, luxury cars, and other assets, while Iman Shumpert, her ex-husband, was left with approximately $2 million and nowhere to live.

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Stephen A. also issued an apology at the start of First Take last week after speaking on Lane Johnson's retirement -Credit:ESPN

"Those statements were inaccurate and I want to sincerely apologize to both Iman Shumpert and Teyana Taylor.

"The information, just to be clear, was based on quotes and claims that are heavily circulating in media reports and on social media that were attributed to Iman Shumpert. The quotes attributed to him, however, were not his statements at all, and the financial figures presented were inaccurate."

Smith added that he "did not meet the standard" and suggested he should have spoken to Taylor first.

Shumpert now works at ESPN and has long been a close friend of Smith.

This comes after Smith opened First Take on Oct. 8 with a four-minute apology for making light of Johnson's retirement from the Eagles, citing his crazy health and personal reasons.

Smith said, "Yesterday, I made news in regards to Lane Johnson retiring from the National Football League and departing from the Philadelphia Eagles. My intent was joking about the Eagles.

"Bottom line is this. It doesn't matter what my intent was. It's how it's perceived. I messed up. And by the way, for those of you out there looking right now, this is not ESPN. This is not someone forcing me to apologize. Nobody did that. Nobody can do that. Here's the reality of the situation. I was wrong.

"And when you're an adult and you're a man, you have to admit that you were wrong. I was wrong to Lane Johnson. I was wrong to the Philadelphia Eagles. I messed up because I made light of the issue of mental health when that was clearly not my intent."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”