Stephen A. Smith may have reinvented sports media in his own way at ESPN, but he has always held affection for the pioneers in the business who made space for him.
On Tuesday’s episode of his The Stephen A. Smith Show podcast, Smith offered a glowing tribute to Bryant Gumbel, whose Real Sports video magazine series at HBO ends this week.
Smith praised Gumbel’s perseverance dating back to the post-Civil Rights era and his determination to rise to the top of not only sports journalism, but news and entertainment more broadly.
“During all those times, this man Bryant Gumbel was a constant figure,”
Smith said.
Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster, best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC’s Today.
Since 1995, he has hosted HBO’s acclaimed investigative series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, which has been rated as “flat out TV’s best sports program” by the Los Angeles Times.
Gumbel was hired by NBC Sports in the fall of 1975 as co-host of its National Football League pre-game show GrandStand with Jack Buck.
From 1975 until January 1982 (when he left to do The Today Show), he hosted numerous sporting events for NBC including Major League Baseball, college basketball and the National Football League.
NBC News made Gumbel the principal anchor of Today beginning September 27, 1982, and broadcast from Vietnam, Vatican City, Europe, South America, and much of the United States between 1984 and 1989.
Gumbel’s work on Today earned him several Emmys and a large fanbase. Gumbel moved to CBS, where he hosted various shows before becoming co-host of the network’s morning show The Early Show on November 1, 1999.
Gumbel was hosting The Early Show on the morning of September 11, 2001. Gumbel left CBS and The Early Show on May 17, 2002.
Smith also offered appreciation for Gumbel’s longevity and the way the longtime host crafted his career on his own terms.
“For Bryant Gumbel to be 75 years of age and walking away now on his own terms after 29 years doing what he’s been doing for HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a testament to greatness,”
Smith said.
Smith believes Gumbel is a pioneer especially for Black reporters and media personalities in an industry that still often fails them.
“No matter what he was enduring or experiencing, all we’ve ever seen from him is excellence, and a standard that has never, ever been eclipsed by anyone in this industry,”
Smith added. Smith then closed by thanking Gumbel and telling him he loved him.
Stephen A. Smith offers touching tribute to Bryant Gumbel: ‘You are the standard.’ https://t.co/uqHxvTK7Ga pic.twitter.com/D42UmBCdKv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 19, 2023
