Many times when Stephen A. Smith gets into a feud with an athlete or fellow commentator, he falls back on an argument that he is a journalist.
The conversation came up most recently when NBA star Jaylen Brown challenged Smith’s “journalistic integrity” and called the First Take host out for being overly personal in his criticism of Brown. Since he became the face of the “embrace debate” era at ESPN, Smith’s bona fides as a reporter have diminished.
And in an appearance on The Awful Announcing Podcast this week, fellow ESPNer Michael Wilbon weighed in on the debate, arguing Smith is not a journalist but a “show.”
“Stop, you’re not a journalist anymore. You’re not doing what you did at the Philly Inquirer,” Wilbon laughed, addressing Smith directly. “Stop, dude. I know what you did there because I was shoulder to shoulder with you at press row and in press boxes and at practice.”
“Stephen A. is a show. He knows it. He wants to be the show, and he’s doing a damn good job at it. That’s what he wants to be. He has now spawned a whole generation of people who want to be the show. Good for Stephen A.; he knows that.”
The reason, Wilbon explained, that Smith is not in the same category as others at ESPN and across the industry is because he no longer has boots on the ground covering games day to day.
“You’ve gotta show up. When you write that column that’s negative about the first baseman, your a** better be at the cage the next day,” Wilbon said. “That’s journalism.”
Smith chose, as Wilbon did, to bid farewell to his reporting career many years ago in favor of a far more lucrative, high-profile role on television. That title, according to Wilbon, is not a journalist but a “know-it-all.” But it can be hard to let go of the identity of covering stories as a reporter, even when the television job hits big.
“We try to hold onto it because it’s what we value. We value that more than the show,” Wilbon said.
‘He gets paid to be a know-it-all; that’s the gig. So none of us grew up with thinking that … our training, our aspirations were going to result in what we do 1786029967. No, I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m a journalist, and I ain’t gonna allow him, if he were sitting here with me, to say, ‘Wilbon, I’m a journalist.’ No, you’re not. Not anymore. You may go to elements of it when you need to … but stop.”
Early in his career covering the NBA and then as a columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Smith was a nationally recognized sports reporter. Often, he adopts that identity to defend his integrity and honesty.
But by Wilbon’s and many others’ definition, journalism is just as much about being accountable to the people you cover and engaging with their perspectives. As the host of a morning debate show, that is not the lane Smith occupies any longer.
The full episode with Wilbon drops on Friday, August 7. Make sure you’re subscribed to The Awful Announcing Podcast wherever you listen or watch.