Stephen A. Smith doubled down on his claim that race car drivers and specifically NASCAR drivers are not athletes.

On his radio show on April 20th, Smith originally shared his opinion while responding to a caller suggesting Richard Petty be considered as one of the greatest athletes of all time. He said, “Come on, man. Come on, man. That don’t count. You driving a car. … I mean it’s a great sport. I’m not saying that. But come on, bro. Getting behind the wheel of a car is not the same. … Is a car driver an athlete? … You can get behind the wheel of a car at 75 years old. That don’t count. That’s not the same. That has no place in this category. You should actually be ashamed of yourself crawling up here trying to slide that in. Seriously, you really should.”

“You get behind the wheel of a car. No, you can’t drive like that, but you can be behind the wheel of a car in your 60s and 70s for crying out loud. A golfer is not an athlete. A NASCAR driver is not an athlete. That’s just not true. We not going to act like it is. Just because you got to walk the course for 18 holes for four days don’t make you an athlete. That’s not true. So let’s stop that nonsense right now before we even get started with it.”

He clarified and doubled down on his comments in a segment on his SiriusXM show on April 27th when a caller noted the amount of G-forces drivers undergo as well as how the elevated their heart rates get while racing.

Smith said, “Let’s understand what I’m saying. I am not saying there are not athletes that participate in these things. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m not saying that anybody who does it is not an athlete. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m quite sure there are very athletic individuals that participate in these sports. What I’m saying is that the sport is not an athletic sport. That’s what I’m saying. You’re not required to be an athlete in order to be a participant in it.

“I don’t even understand how y’all can argue with this,” he continued. “When you got somebody calling me and telling me that a golfer is an athlete. … I’m saying there are athletes who play golf, but golf, the sport doesn’t require you to be an athlete to participate in it.”

A little bit later, he returned to race car drivers, “What I’m trying to say is a driver is not necessarily an athlete. There are athletes who can drive, but a driver is not an athlete. That’s what I’m saying. … That’s what I’m trying to say.”

In response to another caller, Smith said, “I’m looking at people getting sensitive [regarding] NASCAR. I support the sport. I wish you nothing but the best. It’s a great sport. Michael Jordan loves it and winning at it. [Lewis] Hamilton and all of these guys. Nothing but props. And I’m quite sure there are plenty of athletes who participate in the sport. I’m just simply saying it is not a sport that requires you to be an athlete in order to participate in it. It’s not an athletic sport is my point. That’s all I’m trying to say. I don’t understand how people can argue with me about this. I really, really don’t.”

Smith also admitted in another segment, “I don’t follow NASCAR. I don’t watch it. I only visited Michael Jordan facility because of him and [Hamlin] and stuff like that in North Carolina a little over a year ago or so. I certainly root for him and root for them. And I’m glad to see brothers making noise in NASCAR because obviously once upon a time that was not the case. But it’s a great sport with great fans. I’m just saying that you don’t have to be an athlete to participate in the sport.”

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