ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith ripped President Donald Trump for planning to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday, calling his decision to go Madison Square Garden “selfish,” “narcissistic” and “ridiculous” because of the traffic nightmare it will create in midtown Manhattan.
Trump will become the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game. On Monday’s episode of First Take, Smith elaborated on his criticism on Monday’s episode of First Take, saying the decision will cause a negative ripple effect that will largely impact Knicksfans.
“This president has no business showing up in New York City,” Smith said. “I am dead serious. It is selfish, it is narcissistic and it is ridiculous that he is coming to this game. I would say the same thing if it were Obama, George W., Clinton, I don’t give a damn if we went back to Reagan.”
“This is not a football stadium in some space in Texas where you got a whole bunch of outlays and all of this other stuff,” Smith said. “This is the Garden. This is midtown Manhattan. Do you have any idea what the congestion is going to be like in New York City here? I get off my radio show at 3 o’clock and I’ve been instructed that I have to go straight to the Garden for an 8:30 p.m. game because that’s how bad traffic is going to be.”
New York City canceled watch parties around Madison Square Garden. A Madison Square Garden spokesperson told NJ.com’s Adam Zagoria that the cancellation was “not about the President” attending the game. Other watch parties around the city remain scheduled.
Smith said Trump should have known what it was like for those fans who were going to those watch parties because Trump knows how much a championship would mean for New York City team, considering the Knicks have not won an NBA title since 1973.