‘Weak ass city’: Steve Smith rips Panthers fans for Xavier Legette criticism
Steve Smith Sr. ripped into Carolina Panthers fans during his weekly radio appearance.
The Panther legend was asked about criticism surrounding second-year wide receiver Xavier Legette over the airwaves of WFNZ, the new home of ESPN Radio in Charlotte.
“That’s what this city does well, is b---- and complain,” Smith said Monday on The Kyle Bailey Show, seven minutes into his spot.
“See, when we went to the Super Bowl in 2003, I never forgot how people treated us my rookie year when we was 1-15. Now I know some people are not gonna like to hear this, but if you’re gonna ride and die with your team, ride or die. That’s probably the problem with this weak ass city, is the fair-weather fans.”
Bailey responded: “I’ll play devil’s advocate here: Seven years, no playoffs. Six out of the eight years of the new ownership, they’ve started 0-2. People are rightfully wondering when its going to start to turn, and you get that.”
“You can’t expect, and then project your disappointment on everybody in the organization,” Smith said. “I respect (Panthers owner David Tepper) just like I respect (Jerry Richardson). Big Cat was like my grandfather to me. He taught me a lot of things. And Mr. Tepper has approached me, when he bought the team and was making things right with me, for me to come back in the building whenever I feel like it.
“(Tepper) didn’t drop no balls last night, he didn’t miss or make a block, and he damn sure didn’t snap a football. So the person that’s not on the field can’t be held responsible completely for the person who is on the field.”
Legette became the first wide receiver in NFL history to post a negative number of receiving yards (-2) while being targeted at least eight times in Sunday’s 27-22 loss to Arizona.
“The player that most people call XL has come up XS,” Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler writes. “To say Legette has struggled would be an understatement. But to say — as some Panthers fans are doing these days — that he should immediately be traded or is a complete draft bust is an over-exaggeration.”
The Mullins, S.C., native and University of South Carolina graduate was drafted in the first round and averaged 10.1 receiving yards per game as a rookie. Entering the Panthers’ home opener and third week of the 2025 season, Legette has just four catches for eight yards on 15 targets.
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 9:21 AM with the headline "‘Weak ass city’: Steve Smith rips Panthers fans for Xavier Legette criticism."
