A Discussion About Tua's Concussion Turns Into a Showdown Between Stephen A. Smith and Elle Duncan About Who Suffers More for Their Family

Megan Briggs. Getty Images.

My favorite Journo cliche of all is when they remind the rest of us that they don't want to be part of the story. That their role is simply to give us the facts, and let us decide for ourselves. That in fact, when they do become part of the narrative, it gets in the way of their mission. Which is solely to provide the Who, What, When and Why. And that of course, is supposed to go for all media members, covering every genre of our world. 

That old chestnut never made its way to ESPN. Where there rule is apparently, "There is no story you cannot make all about yourself." 

Consider this conversation from this morning. You'd assume when an exciting young athlete, playing the most high-profile position in all of sports at a high level, suffers a debilitating injury that might very well end his career, the focus will all be on … well, the athlete, the injury, and his career. That the subject speaks for itself. And requires no embellishment. If so, you've never flipped on the World Wide Leader in the middle of the workday. 

What we got in regards to Tua Tagovailoa's concussion was a Grievance Session between Stephen A. Smith and Elle Duncan over which of them has paid a greater price in providing for their loved ones:

Stephen A. opened with how much he's had to spend time away from his family, sitting in a studio giving his opinions on the NCAA playoffs, March Madness selections and "Lebron vs. MJ" because he grew up starving. Before he delivers this banger of a conclusion:

“These football players make those decisions every single day as men — provide, protect.That’s our number one priority. That’s how most of us think. And that plays a role into the kind of decisions men make, even when they’re deemed selfish, foolish, ill-advised, or whatever. It comes with it when you’re a man.”

Which is where he stepped on a rake as far as Elle was concerned. He went too far into the weeds of gender politics, and she was having none of it:

"As someone who is a woman who has two scars that go from hip to hip because I've had two C-sections in an effort to provide for my family and create a family for my family, I understand sacrifice. A Black woman in this country, whose mortality rates are incredibly high, I understand making sacrifices."

And it's on. What we've got here is an old fashioned Sacrifice Off. A Suffer-Measuring Contest. A Clash of Egos. An all-out brawl of who's more dedicated to their children and who deserves more of the credit for caring and providing for them between two champions in the Super Heavyweight Division of Making It All About Them. 

Based on this clip, it's a tough bout to score. I've been in that delivery room twice with a woman giving natural birth, and it was like a crime scene in there. I can't imagine what it's like to get gutted like a trout in order to deliver your child. So I'd like to score it in Duncan's favor in a narrow decision. But on the other hand, I remember how many hours of TV Smith did sitting across from Skip Bayless and Max Kellerman:

So I've got score it for Stephen A. As horrifying as a C-Section birth sounds, there are no epidurals to mask the pain of that. 

All I know is that when two Journos go to war over who the better parent is while a star quarterback is lying down in a dark room wondering if his career might be over, everybody wins.