ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith said he nearly died from COVID-19 in late 2021 despite receiving multiple vaccine doses, wearing masks and following the public-health guidance promoted at the time.
During a recent monologue on The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith expressed frustration with assurances that vaccination and masking would prevent people from contracting the virus.
“We were told, ‘Hey, you ain’t gonna get Covid if you do that.’ And I GOT COVID!” Smith said. “And damn it, it almost killed me!”
Stephen A. Smith looks visibly betrayed as he reveals he took 3 COVID shots and wore a mask just like Fauci told him, and he STILL got COVID, and it almost killed him.
SMITH: “We were told, ‘Hey, you ain’t gonna get Covid if you do that.’ And I GOT COVID!”
“And damn it, it… pic.twitter.com/grkrKKk9ou
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) August 6, 2026
Smith said he was hospitalized shortly before New Year’s Eve after battling the illness for several weeks. Doctors diagnosed him with double pneumonia and warned that his condition could prove fatal if his treatment did not work.
“Going into 2022, I’m in the hospital 90 minutes before the ball is about to drop, and the doctor says, ‘We’ve been at this for three plus weeks. You got double pneumonia. You look really bad. If this antibiotic and this steroid do not work, Mr. Smith, I’m sorry, we’re gonna have to call your family. Looks that bad…’” Smith said. “And through the grace of God, three hours later, I felt better after they gave me that steroid and that antibiotic. But those were the longest three hours of my life because I thought it was over.”
Smith emphasized that he had complied with the recommendations offered by federal health officials during the pandemic.
“And I remember I had done exactly what Dr. Anthony Fauci was imploring us all to do,” Smith said.
The comments were part of Smith’s broader reconsideration of pandemic-era policies and messaging. His remarks followed recent congressional testimony in which Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
In a separate monologue in late July, Smith apologized publicly to NBA star Kyrie Irving and other athletes whom he had criticized for resisting COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Smith said their concerns appeared more justified in hindsight than he had acknowledged at the time.
Smith previously discussed his illness after returning to ESPN’s First Take in early 2022. He said doctors told him then that vaccination likely helped him survive a severe case that included double pneumonia and liver complications.
He has continued to describe the illness as a near-death experience that affected his health and required an extended recovery. Some have considered Smith as an outsider candidate for the presidency in 2028.
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