As more sports commentators cross over into political punditry, Nick Wright once dreamed of following that exact same path, aiming all the way for Mayor of Kansas City. But after taking shots at Stephen A. Smith’s recent political pivot, the Fox Sports host revealed why those ambitions are now firmly in his past.

“Once upon a time, my answer for that, for my whole twenties, was I want to make a big enough name for myself in sports that I can transition to politics,” Wright told Andrew Marchand on The Main Event. “That was always what I wanted to do. I either wanted to be the Mayor of Kansas City or do what (Keith) Olbermann did. That was always what I wanted.”

Wright pointed to Olbermann, who famously shifted from a 20-year sports broadcasting career to political commentary. But Wright didn’t stop at reflecting on his past goals. He also took a clear jab at Smith’s recent political moves.

“I will admit, ego big enough, that once I saw, around ten years ago, that celebrity could be a high-level American politician, maybe I set my sights higher than mayor,” Wright said. “But now, one of my contemporaries might be beating me to that as well. So that, I feel like I would just be in reruns.”

Reports suggest that Wright threw a shot at Smith. While he didn’t name him, Smith has been an avid political speaker in recent years, pivoting from sports to politics, with some even wanting him as a presidential candidate. Smith also met with President Donald Trump at the White House for dinner recently.

He was also one of the first to comment on the recent results of the midterm elections on Election Day, warning the Democrats of the “woke ideology” and “identity politics” as they take control of Congress. Wright, who is known to be a progressive liberal in his ideology, didn’t align with Smith’s comments on Democrats winning control and had a comment of his own.

“The problem with refusing to be honest with your audience (and potentially yourself!) about your politics while creating political content is you end up creating political content that appeals to… absolutely no one,” Wright wrote on X.

Wright’s comments came as Smith’s trajectory towards political punditry has been a back-and-forth between praising and criticizing both parties. But while Wright had something to say about Smith’s opinion on the results, he himself has refrained from delving deeply into politics, and he has a reason for that.

While Smith is the face of ESPN, Wright co-hosts Fox Sports 1’s flagship show, “First Things First,” and hosts his podcast, “What’s Wright?” Wright said in August that he refrains from commenting on political issues, despite being interested in them, because it may not be what the sports audience wants. He shared an instance that made him avoid politics while talking on a sports show or about the game.

“It was my own reaction to tuning into a sports show that not only did I like, but this was the moment of clarity,” Wright said. “I agreed with the host’s politics. That, I thought, he was on the right side of the major issues. That, on the topic he was discussing, I agreed with everything he was saying. And I was bummed out it’s what he was doing because it wasn’t where my brain was at the time. Not that my brain wasn’t agreeing with him; it was not what I was looking forward to.”

While Wright continues his analytical take on sports, he certainly doesn’t shy away from criticizing his fellow journalists on political opinions, though he is cautious about landing on the same spot himself.