Is Stephen A. Smith the Next Glenn Beck?

Is Steven A. Smith trying to reinvent himself as Fox’s latest conservative personality? Since ESPN gave the noted sports shouter the boot, Smith has slogged as a part-time political and social commentator, popping up occasionally on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. But now he’s landed a new gig on Fox Sports, and his first column takes a conspicuously conservative turn, ripping Gilbert Arenas and decrying the “negative parts of Hip Hop” and the “culture of tattoos (jailhouse or otherwise).”

“Genocide is taking place in the Black Community, and this is a form of it,” he writes. It’s a pretty big shift, considering Smith’s historically been sympathetic to even the most controversial black athletes. All of which makes the Big Lead wonder aloud if Smith is trying to position himself as “the black Sean Hannity/Glenn Beck.” If nothing else, he seems to be muscling in on Jason Whitlock’s turf as Fox’s cranky, anti-hip-hop sports guy. (More Steven A. Smith stories.)