Stephen A. Smith Went Crying To White People [Op-Ed]
Stephen A. Smith Went Crying To White People Because The Black People Were ‘Mean’ To Him [Op-Ed]
Welp, Stephen A. Smith has made good on his promise to respond to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) giving him its 2026 Thumbs Down Award during its annual conference in Atlanta last week. NABJ said that Smith earned this award because he “has established a recurring public pattern of disparaging commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media,” and to that, Smith’s response has been clear: how dare you!
After vowing that NABJ would rue the day it disparaged him, saying, “You had your turn, now mine is coming,” he did what we all knew he would do: took to his platform to rant about it without directly addressing what Black journalists are accusing him of, and not offering much substance at all in defending himself against said allegations that he wouldn’t directly name. Also, he ran to white platforms like Fox News to continue making his non-case.
First, let’s start with his 44-minute video rant, during which time he said a whole lot of nothing.
“I heard them loud and clear. I’m listening. I’m far from perfect, and I will always strive to do better on behalf of my community and for the journalism community and beyond, ” Smith said before pretty much repeating the same line, then saying, “That doesn’t negate the bullshit that the NABJ did Saturday night.”
Smith then went on an “after all I’ve done for you” rant, pointing out that he brought his super successful First Take program on ESPN to NABJ two years in a row, asking why NABJ didn’t give him a “Thumbs Down” award then. He continued rattling off his many achievements in the world of journalism, as if those achievements alone, and not the content being addressed by NABJ, should have exempted him from such an “insult,” or what he called a “personal hit job.”
Then he asked the question that indicated that he, in fact, had not been listening:
“What does the Thumbs Down Award have to do with journalism?”
Sir, it was stated in the exact video you watched when you learned of the award:
The award “recognizes conduct that harms Black journalists, weakens newsroom equity or editorial independence, reinforces damaging betrayals of Black people, or compromises the public service mission of journalism,” the video’s narrator said.
“Smith has established a recurring public pattern of disparaging commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media,” the video said regarding Smith. “Such commentary reinforces harmful narratives, undermines the fair and respectful representation of Black women in public discourse, and stands in direct conflict with NABJ’s longstanding commitment to accurate, responsible, and inclusive portrayals of Black communities.”
So, the real question should have been: “What did I do specifically to earn such an award?”
And that’s the bare minimum he did to address it.
In our last report on NABJ’s award, I pointed to Smith’s previous remarks toward Rep. Jasmine Crockett, which I also wrote about at length last year. I wrote about how Smith had essentially piled onto a chorus line of white conservatives calling Crockett “ghetto,” a “fake ghetto hoodrat,” a “ghetto Black b*tch,” and far too aggressive, which white people have done simply because she’s a blunt, outspoken Black woman who sounds authentically like a Black woman when she speaks. It is an observable fact that Crockett is no more loud, abrasive or aggressive than the racist white Republican women she has butted heads with, like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Nancy Mace. And she’s nowhere near as perpetually inflammatory as President Donald Trump and the most outspoken white male Republicans in today’s political arena.
Yet Smith, who has touted the Black women who raised him in his defense against NABJ, couldn’t see the white supremacist forest for the trees, so he decided to scold Crockett for being mean.
“Is that gonna help your district in Texas? Aren’t you there to find a way to get stuff done, as opposed to just being an impediment to what…Trump wants? How much work goes into that? I’m just going to go off about Trump, cuss him out every chance I get, say the most derogatory, incendiary things imaginable, and that’s my day’s work,” Smith said at the time, because, you know, he pays really close attention to politics, which is why he can see that Trump is a super easy person to work with as long as Democrats and Black women are nice to him.
Of course, later, he recorded himself apologizing to Crockett, because he “saw something disturbing in regards to President Donald Trump and how he came at Representative Jasmine Crockett.”
“I get it now with Trump feeding into that nonsense, giving him ammunition to continue to go out there and talk about our Black women that way—I got it,” Smith said, without getting into any specifics about which of the numerous times Trump has come at Crockett changed his mind, which is wild because a man who actually pays attention to politics would know that Trump rarely goes a single hour without attacking someone.
In his recent rant, he did address Crockett, but only to say he was merely trying to give the political advice that might help her navigate the conservative politics of Texas. He glossed over the whole episode and made it sound like he was simply giving an innocent critique.
Crockett is also the only Black woman he took the time to address, despite the fact that NABJ accused him of a “pattern of disparaging commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media. That means his comments towards Jemele Hill, Joy Reid, Sunny Hostin, Serena Williams, Michelle Obama, and the list goes on.
Hell, just last week, Smith took a random swipe at Kamala Harris while heaping praise on Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Vice President JD Vance, and directing criticism at California Gov. Gavin Newsom, while still praising him as a communicator.
And here’s the thing: NABJ was actually far kinder to Smith than it needed to be. Smith received the Thumbs Down Award specifically for how he treats Black women, not for his affinity and reverence for white men. He didn’t get the award for the numerous times he defended Trump against allegations of anti-Black racism, or for the time he defended Charlie Kirk against the same easily observable anti-Black allegations. He didn’t get the award because he allowed a guest to say that Nolan Wells’ parents “don’t care about him drowning” on his platform, or because he shared his platform with right-wing bigots like Ben Shapiro. Smith didn’t get the awards for joining Caucasian right-wingers like Jesse Waters and Trump in claiming Trump’s mugshot and criminal allegations make him “relatable” to Black voters. His disdain for Black Lives Matter, the nerve he, of all people, had to say that when Black sports journalists attack Trump “we are stepping out of our lane,” his criticism of Black men who wear hoodies — none of that earned him the dishonor of the Thumbs Down award, but all of it should have.
Hell, Smith has more smoke for NABJ than he ever had for Trump after the president called him “low-IQ,” just as he does to virtually all the Black people he attacks. In fact, that exchange represented the only time I’ve ever heard Smith speak negatively about Trump, who, lest we forget, also disgraced the NABJ stage by disrespecting Black women in journalism and making racist remarks toward Harris.
Smith doesn’t, under any circumstances, go after white men the way he does Black women, Black victims of racial injustice and pro-Black advocates, which is why it makes perfect sense that after recording his defense video against NABJ, he ran to Fox News’ Sean Hannity and News Nation’s Any Cuomo.
So, Smith took to his own platform to plead his case to his largely white ESPN audience, and then he went on a whole “appeal to the friendly whites” tour, which included Fox News, the network that has been consistently flexing its bigoted, anti-Black muscles since former Barack Obama was in office, and, actually, long before then. Smith went to audiences that he knew, or should have known, would have no concept of the cultural context in which he has been criticized for years, not just on the day of NABJ’s award ceremony.
Of course, we all know why he didn’t go to Black media to make his great counterargument: because Black journalists, Black activists, and the majority of Black people on social media have already spoken.
Again, it’s not just about one disparaging remark against a Black woman or one episode of his show where he disrespected Black people and/or Black causes. It’s exactly what NABJ said it was: a “pattern.” It’s a pattern Black people clocked long ago, which is why he’s relying on white conservatives to serve as his support system.
Anyway, I’ll just leave you all with NABJ’s official statement regarding Smith and the Thumbs Down Award:
NABJ stands by its 2026 Thumbs Down Awards and the concerns raised regarding the individuals and institutions recognized this year. The award is not new. NABJ first presented the Thumbs Down Award in 1989 and has issued it 44 times since its inception, holding individuals and institutions across the media landscape accountable when their reporting, commentary or practices have conflicted with the organization’s mission and values. Recipients over the years have included Black and non-Black individuals and institutions. NABJ calls balls and strikes based on the conduct and issues before us, not the identity of the recipient.
While much of the public conversation in recent days has centered on Stephen A. Smith, he was one of five recipients named this year. The concerns NABJ raised extend well beyond any one individual and include threats to editorial independence, the loss of newsroom diversity and reporting expertise, the treatment of Black journalists in the workplace, responsible use of influential media platforms, and decisions that affect the ability of journalists to fully and fairly cover Black communities and hold powerful institutions accountable.
A representative for Mr. Smith contacted NABJ President Errin Haines and invited her to appear on his program. President Haines welcomed the opportunity to speak with Mr. Smith and proposed that they begin with a private conversation focused on listening, accountability and meaningful dialogue, with the opportunity for public engagement to follow. At no point did President Haines decline a conversation with Mr. Smith or rule out a future public conversation.
As President Haines emphasized in her remarks Saturday night, the purpose of the Thumbs Down Award is not permanent condemnation or criticism for criticism’s sake. Accountability should create an opportunity for reflection, dialogue and progress. NABJ remains open to meaningful engagement with any of this year’s recipients and will continue fulfilling its responsibility to advocate for Black journalists, fair and accurate coverage of Black communities, and a strong and independent press.
SEE ALSO:
Stephen A. Smith Vs. NABJ: The ‘Thumbs Down’ Award Beef Explained
Stephen A. Smith Spent Years Auditioning For NABJ’s Thumbs Down Award
Stephen A. Smith Earned That NABJ Thumbs Down Award [Op-Ed]
Stephen A. Smith Went Crying To White People Because The Black People Were ‘Mean’ To Him [Op-Ed] was originally published on newsone.com
