Kenny Smith continues to face backlash for comments about WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu

New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu and Golden State Warrior's Steph Curry put their talents on display for All-Star Saturday this past weekend. It was fun for fans to watch and was regarded as one of the best parts of the night. Curry is seen by most as the greatest three-point shooter of all time, and yet he barely beat the WNBA star.

The final score of the contest was 29-26, as Ionescu made Curry work for the win. It was exciting all around until long-time NBA commentator Kenny Smith put a damper on this event with his distasteful comments towards Ionescu.

What did Kenny Smith say?

Directly after Curry's clutch shots went through the net, Smith began on a tirade of very upsetting comments that discredited Ionescu as a basketball player. He began by saying, "She should have shot from the women's line. That would have been a fair contest."

Reggie Miller, TNT's other broadcaster and analyst, had some choice words to say especially considering his sister, Cheryl Miller, was a very well-known WNBA Star. "Why are you putting boundaries on her?" said Miller. "She wanted to shoot from there."

Smith continued with his off-putting words by saying, "She should have shot from the line. There is a women's tee in golf and there is a men's tee for a reason." Miller, taken back again by the fact that this conversation was still going on, had more to say to Smith on this matter. "According to you, you want her to be playing with dolls," said Miller.

Smith then responded with, "No, I want her to shoot from where you shoot from. And there is nothing wrong with playing with dolls."

What was ironic about Smith's comments?

Ionescu put on such a great performance on Saturday night that if she had been in the men's three-point contest, she would have won. Star point guard of the Milwaukee Bucks, Damian Lillard, was the winner of this contest and he only totaled 26 points which was the exact total Ionescu had in her battle against Curry.

Smith doubled down and tried to clear the air as much as possible when he spoke with Stephen A. Smith the next day. "Most people who know basketball know what I was talking about," said Smith. "Actually I was advocating for her more than anything because basketball is muscle memory."

He then goes on to make yet another comparison as to how this situation is similar to throwing darts and how if you move closer your accuracy increases. Smith's appearance on Stephen A. Smith's show did not make anything better but rather it just made things worse. He is going to continue to receive more scrutiny for his comments and this incident is going to leave a mark on his reputation.