• Stephen A. Smith is perhaps ESPN’s biggest star, and he’s paid like it, pulling in some $12 million annually.
• He admitted, however, that the network too often has strayed into political commentary and lauded current CEO Jimmy Pitaro’s effort to refocus on sports.
• During a recent podcast, Smith acknowledged that “we did get to a point over the years at ESPN where it was too much politics. It was the politicization of too many different things and the sports fan got to a point where they were sending a message that they didn’t feel like their needs were being met.”

Tagged: Media