Stephen A. Smith has made no secret of how appalled he was about Kawhi Leonard’s salary cap circumvention saga with the Los Angeles Clippers. But he’s now changing how he expresses it for the better. Smith formally retracted his use of the word “gangster” when describing Leonard, following public criticism and private feedback regarding his choice of terminology.

On Thursday’s episode of his show, Smith acknowledged that trusted individuals from his inner circle had reached out to express concern over the phrasing.

“I want to say that there are some people who will remain nameless that reached out to me, and they told me to stop calling him a gangster because their opinion is that that’s going a bit too far,” Smith stated on his YouTube show on Thursday. “And as Black men in our society, we know what level of negativity that connotates.”

Conceding the point, Smith committed to removing the term from his future commentary regarding the 2x Finals MVP.

“I want to say for the record, those who say, ‘Stephen A., don’t use that analogy,’ I’m going to say they’re correct,” Smith said. “I’m not going to do that anymore because I understand that it goes a bit too far in some people’s eyes, not mine.”

Despite dropping the label, Smith clarified that his core critique of Leonard’s business dealings remains unchanged.

“I can say all of that without calling him a gangster,” Smith noted. “I only meant about getting the money, throwing cats under the bus, firing people, then leaving the team, then leaving the country with your money. But I don’t have to say the word ‘gangster.’ They’re absolutely right. I’m going to retract that statement, and I’m going to refrain from using that word to describe him in the future.”

The initial commentary stemmed from the fallout of the NBA’s extensive investigation into salary cap circumvention involving the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi. Following findings that the franchise facilitated off-court endorsement opportunities to circumvent the cap, the league levied unprecedented penalties.

The Clippers were fined $30 million and stripped of five future first-round draft picks spanning 2029 through 2033. Additionally, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer received a one-year league suspension, while business president Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year without pay, and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank received a six-month suspension.

For his role in the arrangement, Leonard was ordered to pay $700,000 in restitution to the league. Through a statement released by his new representative, Harrison Gaines, Leonard accepted responsibility for the actions of individuals in his inner circle while maintaining that he entered into his player contracts in good faith.

Shortly after the league concluded its disciplinary process, the Clippers completed a trade sending Leonard back to the Toronto Raptors. Upon his arrival in Toronto, where he previously won the 2019 NBA championship, Leonard agreed to a two-year, $115 million contract extension.

Smith reacted to the Raptors’ contract on “First Take” a day earlier, where he said, “When they make the new gangster movie, something to put Al Capone or Scarface or John Gotti to shame, make sure it stars Kawhi Leonard. He’ll show up to work for that because the dude is a gangster.”

The social media response to his statement was mixed. While many agreed with the sentiment, they just wanted to disassociate with the ‘gangster’ term.

The situation had also brought up ESPN’s coverage of the entire cap circumvention saga, especially when Pablo Torre revealed he was excluded from the coverage.

Regardless of Smith’s commentary, the Clippers-Raptors trade concluded a turbulent six-year era in Los Angeles where Leonard averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in his final season with the team. While the administrative and financial ramifications of the league’s penalties continue to impact the Clippers’ executive structure, Smith’s retraction reframes ESPN’s caution around this subject.