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The Stephen A. Smith / Jason Whitlock Beef Explained
Earlier this week, sports personality Stephen A. Smith, one of the more colorful and recognizable personalities in the business, switched from his usual, over-the-top sports commentary to very seriously and very profanely dismantle one of his peers, Jason Whitlock.
The 45-minute undressing of Whitlock was widely celebrated among sports fans with knowledge of the media scene, but unless you've been deeply following the careers of Smith and Whitlock, it can seem like it came out of nowhere. Here's how this beef started and escalated to Smith's thorough rant against Whitlock.
Who Is Jason Whitlock?
Jason Whitlock is a Black sports commentator who began appearing on national media networks in 2002 when he joined ESPN. However, throughout his career, he has made a habit of disparaging his colleagues and places of employment. In 2006, he was fired from ESPN for disparaging his colleagues.
After a run at Fox, he returned to ESPN where he was picked to run a website called The Undefeated, which was supposed to be a premier destination for Black writers and celebrating Black athletes. However, the launch of the website was delayed for months, leading to Whitlock's eventual removal from ESPN.
In 2021, he joined the conservative outlet TheBlaze and began pushing right-wing views and conspiracy theories for the site. During his time there, he has pushed transphobic viewpoints, pushed the conspiracy theory that Michelle Obama is a man and compared Black Lives Matter to the KKK.
How Did Jason Whitlock Upset Stephen A. Smith?
As Smith tells it, he has not liked Whitlock for a long time, but what brought about Smith's long segment was a January 5th piece Whitlock wrote for TheBlaze.
In the piece, Whitlock talks about the recent Katt Williams / Shannon Sharpe interview in which Williams implied that several prominent Black entertainers were frauds and industry plants pushed by media networks to push those networks' agenda. While Williams mentioned several names, he did not mention Smith.
Whitlock suggested Smith could be one such "industry plant" entertainer. He accused Smith of falsifying details of his autobiography Straight Shooter, and implied it was possible Smith didn't write it. His piece suggests Smith was "planted" by ESPN to support liberal agendas, such as pro-trans and pro-vaccination rhetoric.
What Did Smith Say About Whitlock In His Podcast Segment?
Stephen A. Smith said a lot about Whitlock in his segment, a lot of which was profane insults and extremely negative characterizations of Whitlock, going so far as to call him a demon. However, there are several key points Smith mentioned that are worth going into detail about.
Much of the podcast was Smith addressing Whitlock's implication he didn't write his autobiography and couldn't write at all. He recalls that when Whitlock was tasked to lead The Undefeated, Whitlock approached several prominent Black sports journalists, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jemele Hill, and Smith himself. Smith outright refused to work with Whitlock, as did many other prominent Black journalists. He harshly criticized Whitlock's tenure at The Undefeated and tied it to Whitlock's poor reputation among journalists and colleagues.
Stephen A Smith just fried Jason Whitlock pic.twitter.com/i6jjTu3w0L
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) January 11, 2024
He also accused Whitlock of appearing in front of "white folks who… might have a problem with Black folks" and volunteering to write negatively about Black people, notably calling him "worse" than a white supremacist.
How Has Jason Whitlock Responded?
Whitlock has attempted to brush off Smith's criticism, making jokes at his expense on Twitter and using his YouTube channel to try and paint Smith's segment as a meltdown. Notably, he said he felt like he "beat up a baby seal" by going after Smith.
_For more information, check out the Stephen A. Smith / Jason Whitlock Beef entry on Know Your Meme.
