STEPHEN A. SMITH VS. NABJ: BABY, HOW DID WE GET HERE?!

Now THIS one needs some context, because if you just walked into the room, you'd think Stephen A. Smith woke up one morning and decided to fight the entire National Association of Black Journalists.

Nope. There's history behind this smoke. 😭

And as a Black woman looking at this story, I think there's a conversation worth having that goes deeper than simply picking Team Stephen A. or Team NABJ.

Because there's a difference between criticizing a Black woman and having a pattern of tearing down Black women.

The whole argument is over where that line is.

📺 SO HOW DID THIS START?

At the 2026 NABJ Convention in Atlanta, the National Association of Black Journalists gave Stephen A. Smith its “Thumbs Down Award.”

This isn't a regular award you put next to your Emmys.

Baby, this is basically NABJ saying:

“COME GET THIS L.” 😭

NABJ gives the award to people or organizations whose journalism, commentary or actions it believes conflict with the organization's mission and values.

And its criticism of Stephen A. was VERY specific.

NABJ accused him of having a recurring pattern of disparaging commentary toward prominent Black women across politics, sports and media, saying that kind of commentary can reinforce harmful narratives about Black women.

👩🏾 BUT WHAT BLACK WOMEN ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?

This didn't originate with one comment last Tuesday.

The larger criticism has been building around Stephen A.'s public commentary involving women including Kamala Harris, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Joy Reid, Serena Williams and Michelle Obama, although the exact circumstances and substance of his comments differed from woman to woman.

NABJ President Errin Haines has specifically discussed criticism involving Harris, Crockett and Reid when explaining the organization's concern about what it considers a cumulative pattern.

And THAT distinction matters.

NABJ isn't saying:

“Stephen A. criticized one Black woman, therefore he hates Black women.”

Their argument is essentially:

“When we put all these comments together, we see a pattern.”

Stephen A. says:

“NO YOU DON'T.”

And now we have ourselves a situation. 😭

🗣️ STEPHEN A. SAID Y'ALL GOT THE WRONG ONE

Stephen A. did NOT quietly accept his little thumbs-down trophy and go home.

He called the award a “hit job” and said the accusation that he disparages Black women is false.

He also argued that some of this backlash is really about his willingness to criticize Democrats and prominent political figures whose views he doesn't agree with.

His position is basically:

A disagreement with a Black woman is not disrespecting Black women.

And you know what?

THAT PART IS TRUE.

Black women are not exempt from criticism because we're Black women.

We're grown.

We can be wrong.

We can say something ridiculous.

We can make bad decisions.

And somebody disagreeing with us doesn't automatically make that person anti-Black-woman.

BUT...

And that's a big ol' BUT sitting right there in the middle of the living room. 😂

The question NABJ is raising isn't whether Stephen A. is allowed to criticize Black women.

It's whether the frequency, tone and framing of some of those criticisms collectively cross over into something different.

That's a legitimate conversation too.

😳 AND THEN STEPHEN A. WENT ON HANNITY

Now THIS is where somebody poured gasoline on the charcoal.

Stephen A. appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox News show to defend himself.

He rejected NABJ's accusation and pointed to the Black women in his own family, including his mother, four older sisters, two daughters and nieces.

His point was essentially:

How are you going to tell ME that I disrespect Black women when Black women raised me and surround my life?

But critics immediately had another question:

Of ALL the places to discuss a dispute with the National Association of Black Journalists... WHY HANNITY?! 😭😭😭

And baby...

The internet CLOCKED IN.

Some critics felt going onto Hannity to complain about criticism from a Black journalists' organization only made the optics worse.

Stephen A., however, hasn't backed away from his position.

👀 NOW HERE'S WHERE LADY RED IS LOOKING AT BOTH SIDES

I understand why Stephen A. is offended.

If somebody accused ME of having a pattern of disrespecting Black people, and I believed that accusation was completely false?

I'D HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TOO.

And Stephen A. has spent decades in journalism, has supported Black journalists and has had a relationship with NABJ. In fact, just last year, Stephen A. and First Take were major attractions at the 2025 NABJ convention.

So imagine going from:

“WELCOME, STEPHEN!”

to:

“AND THIS YEAR'S THUMBS DOWN GOES TO...”

😭😭😭

I'd be sitting there like:

“DAMN. Y'ALL COULDN'T CALL ME FIRST?!”

But I ALSO understand why some Black women are saying:

“Stephen... we're not talking about whether you LOVE your mama.”

Having a Black mother, sisters, daughters or friends doesn't automatically settle a conversation about how somebody publicly talks about Black women.

The issue NABJ raised concerns his public commentary, not his private relationships.

And that's where I think the real discussion should stay.

🔴 LADY RED SAYS...

I'm not interested in blindly defending Stephen A. because he's Black.

And I'm not automatically declaring him guilty because NABJ handed him an award.

SHOW ME THE COMMENTS.

Show me the context.

Show me the pattern.

Then let me decide what I think.

Because as a Black woman, I don't need somebody protecting me from criticism.

But I absolutely understand why Black women pay attention when criticism starts feeling different when WE are the target.

Those two things can be true at the same time.

Stephen A. has every right to criticize Kamala Harris.

Jasmine Crockett.

Joy Reid.

Serena Williams.

Michelle Obama.

ANYBODY.

But Black women also have every right to look at how we're being discussed and say:

“Hold up... why does the temperature seem to change when you get to us?”

And THAT is the conversation underneath all this noise.

Not:

“Does Stephen A. hate Black women?”

That's way too simplistic.

The better question is:

👀 WHEN DOES CRITICISM BECOME A PATTERN?

And here's what I want to know from the 730 BOOM family:

Can a Black man repeatedly criticize prominent Black women without it being viewed as an attack on Black women?

OR... if enough Black women tell you they're hearing something different in your tone, should you at least stop and LISTEN before dismissing it?

👀👇🏾

Baby, y'all can discuss this one.

BUT KEEP YOUR SHOES ON. 😭😂

💥 BOOM!

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