Amelia Robinson, Columbus Dispatch
For a split second, I felt sorry for Stephen A. Smith. But then the outspoken ESPN journalist and political commentator provided a lesson about allyship and representation that caused the solitary tear I could have shed to roll back up into my eye socket.
The National Association of Black Journalists gave me one of the best honors of my journalistic career when it recognized me as my division’s best column writer for a collection of opinion pieces for The Columbus Dispatch at its annual Salute to Excellence Awards in Atlanta.
Before my dessert was finished, Smith, along with CBS News/ Paramount, The Washington Post, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr and DuJuan McCoy, a TV station owner, were announced as the 2026 Thumbs Down Award recipients for undermining fair and inclusive coverage of the Black community or otherwise striking at NABJ’s values.
Specifically, in a room full of Black journalists and other media professionals, NABJ accused Smith of a “recurring public pattern of disparaging public commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports and media.”
The but I was raised by Black women defense
Smith has made himself such a standout in this year’s Thumbs Down class that CBS, The Washington Post, Carr and McCoy have all but been given a pass. Not that they care what NABJ thinks.
In interviews – one with Fox News’ firebrand Sean Hannity – and an epic 44-minute YouTube rant, Smith clung to the legs of the Black women in his life – his female staff members, late mother, four sisters, four daughters and 10 nieces – as if association with them equals accountability or absolves him of the offenses of which he was accused.
To prove that his spicy comments about a list that includes U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former first lady Michelle Obama, tennis great Serena Williams and journalists Joy Reid and Cari Champion were not evidence of disparagement, Smith, in his response to NABJ, dismissed the dishonor as political and talked about the five Black women who raised him – his mom and sisters.
It is debatable how much politics played into the Thumbs Down Award. What isn’t debatable is the notion that being raised by Black women means you can’t disrespect Black women. Some of the world’s “best” Uncle Toms and Auntie Tomikas were raised by Black women and men.
Some of the baddest racists have Black “friends.” Some of the worst misogynists take their little girls to daddy-daughter dances.
Being of a community does not mean you understand or fight for the needs of that community. Relationships don’t necessarily make you wise or empathetic.
A vengeance press tour
Smith is known for his venom, but it is not evenly sprayed.
He stood down and shut up during the NBA championship games after President Donald Trump called him “dumb as a rock” and an arrogant fool in a Truth Social post.
“I take no offense with the president coming after me the way that he did,” Smith told Hannity in July. “People go after him every day. I certainly went after him. He has every right to come back and clap back at me. I’m a big boy. I can take it.”
Imagine if Smith was that “reflective” in his comments directed at NABJ president Errin Haines.
He instead ripped into her, declaring all lines of communication cut off. Then he went on a vengeance press tour.
Like other media associations, NABJ has long given out bad actor awards, so the fact that it handed out five Thumbs Down Awards at the Aug. 15 ceremony wasn’t unheard of. Still, some in the crowd at the Salute to Excellence Awards gasped when Smith’s name was called because he is a trailblazer.
I understand why the Thumbs Down Award stung. It is why I felt sorry for Smith for those fleeting moments.
The fellowship, encouragement, and scholarship NABJ provides is unmatched, particularly with the challenges Black and Brown journalists face today.
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I would not have become a Black journalist without Black journalists, and I would not be a journalist today without Black journalists. It is why the Columbus Association of Black Journalists is so valuable, and I am a proud member.
Smith conveyed similar emotion during his initial response to the Thumbs Down. In his shoes, I would have assessed my actions. Smith assessed nothing and conveyed the arrogance Trump accused him of and a lack of awareness.
It is the same disconnect and void illustrated in the viral video of the white father scolding his mixed-race child about his afro.
The father criticizes his son for his “urban” hairstyle and tells the boy he is caucasian. To the father’s clear chagrin, the giggling little boy insists that he is Black.
I can assume the father loves his son even though the words that emerged from his mouth reflect the opposite. I can assume Smith loves Black women even though the words that oozed from his mouth in his response to NABJ didn’t reflect it or understanding.
I don’t know the family in the video any more than I know Stephen A. Smith. I do know that you’re not an ally just because people from marginalized groups are in your orbit.
Actions typically speak much louder than words, but in Smith’s case, words are mighty powerful too.
Amelia Robinson is the Columbus Dispatch’s opinion and community engagement editor.