Etan Thomas Responds To Stephen A. Smith And Challenges Him To A Public Debate

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:08]And I'm saying along the way, focus on that and not the other things.

[00:00:13]And then I read an article in The Guardian about yours truly, Stephen A. Smith.

[00:00:22]In the interest of full disclosure, the article was written by a former NBA player, Etan Thomas, who's a smart dude, who was a good player, and I'm not here to cast any aspersions on him as a human being.

[00:00:39]I think he's a bright brother who's clearly emotional and devoid of facts or an unwillingness to hear facts and instead is getting caught up in his emotion and wants to talk about why.

[00:00:51]And the only reason I'm bringing it up on this platform is because it's relevant to the kind of things that I'm going to talk about all show long.

[00:01:01]Let me read a couple of graphs as to what they said about me in this article written authored by Etan Thomas.

[00:01:16]What does he say?

[00:01:18]The title of the article, first of all, is I can tell Stephen A. Smith why many black people don't like him.

[00:01:24]Okay.

[00:01:25]I won't bring up the fact that I go throughout the streets of America and I get black love from everywhere, but that's a story for another day. Instead, let me read to you what he said.

[00:01:36]Couple of graphs.

[00:01:37]Far too often, Stephen A. Smith, you attack black male athletes in particular. Kyrie Irving, Kwame Brown, LeBron James, Terrell Owens, and Kevin Durant are just a few of your targets with a passion and vitriol you just don't reserve for white athletes and white executives.

[00:01:52]It doesn't stop there, though. You parrot right-wing talking points as you did earlier this year, when you said that racism isn't as prevalent in the United States as some on the left claim.

[00:02:05]You went on to argue that most Americans judge people based on their character rather than skin color, which is not the experience of most black people in the United States.

[00:02:15]In the midst of ISIS' brutalization of large parts of the country, you blamed Yvette Gay Gooden for her own death at the hands of federal agents. You didn't claim that people celebrated ICE under Obama, but are condemning Trump. That's not the only time you were sympathetic to the president. You called Democrats' efforts to hold Trump accountable in the courts as lawfare.

[00:02:36]End quote. It's particularly galling for black people when you chastise black athletes at the same time as minimizing the president who was convicted of 34 felonies. You're not much better with black politicians. You attacked Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett for not being respectful enough to Trump.

[00:02:55]I stop there.

[00:02:57]The misrepresentations that I read in print about the things that I say sometimes are just nauseating. It makes me want to throw up. It's a lie.

[00:03:11]Dear Stephen A. Smith, I watched your Straight Shooter podcast and I would encourage everyone to go and watch it. I'm not here to personally disparage you in any way, shape or form.

[00:03:26]Um this isn't a personal attack. I'm sticking to the issues and only the issues. Uh I would never demean you by calling you names or insulting you personally because we are grown-ups.

[00:03:40]Trump started this kindergarten tactic of calling out uh politicians by little nicknames, and it only reflects his lack of intellect, but I I The reason why I want to encourage everyone to go back and watch your podcast is so they can see for themselves how you did what is called creating straw man arguments.

[00:04:05]A term I learned at Booker T. Washington High School when we were state champions in basketball and state champions in speech and debate back in 1996.

[00:04:14]That's where I was first labeled as more than an athlete. Shout out to Tulsa World newspaper. But the term straw man argument is commonly used in politics, which you have now delved into.

[00:04:29]Straw man arguments are when someone, in your case you, Stephen A. Smith, distorts, exaggerates, over simplifies, or simply recreates their opponent's actual position.

[00:04:42]And by creating this easily defeated straw version, they attack the falsely created claim instead of engaging with the real argument, and you did it repeatedly on your podcast.

[00:04:56]Your shooting was not straight at all.

[00:04:59]It was in fact extremely crooked, pun intended.

[00:05:04]On Straight Shooter, you read a few actual quotes from my article, which were your quotes, and you're welcome to click the links in the article after I quoted you, because I actually did research. I wasn't lying on you, sir. You actually said these things.

[00:05:23]But after you read the quotes, you still didn't even argue the actual quote you had just read.

[00:05:31]And with all due respect, just because you start screaming does not mean you are making your points. It just means you are yelling.

[00:05:40]So, let me calmly and rationally, and without of go through some of the quotes you read.

[00:05:49]You start off by taking issue with the title of my article in The Guardian, which was, I will tell Stephen A. Smith why many black people don't like him.

[00:06:02]Your retort was that you get high-fives from black people when you walk in the street. That That's it?

[00:06:10]Uh Stephen A. Smith, I didn't just pull that out of the air.

[00:06:14]That was, first of all, a direct response to your segment, again, on Straight Shooter, where you were saying, in response to Joy Reid, that you didn't understand why black people don't like you.

[00:06:27]And you used a similar argument as you did here with me.

[00:06:31]That you were from Hollis, Queens, and you go into arenas and walk the streets and get high-fives, but just as you missed her point, you also missed mine.

[00:06:42]How many times has MAGA shown footage of black celebrities taking pictures with Trump and smiling with Trump and he is good friends with Nicki Minaj and she speaks so highly of him and good friends with Nelly and Snoop and they show old footage of him with Don King and Diddy and 50 Cent and whoever else and says, "See, he can't be racist. Look at all the black people who love him."

[00:07:06]That's what you did.

[00:07:08]Black people high-five you in the streets and in the arenas?

[00:07:13]Okay, you read a quote from my article where I said, "Far too often, you attack black male athletes in particular.

[00:07:22]Kyrie Irving, who you did finally publicly apologize to, and I even gave you props on my social media when I saw you do it, but there are a lot more people that you need to apologize to.

[00:07:34]Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Terrell Owens, Stephon Marbury, Kevin Durant. You have a long history of doing this. But, you read my quote, where I said in my article in The Guardian, that you attack black male athletes with a passion and vitriol you just don't reserve for white athletes and and executives.

[00:07:59]Now, your straw man argument was that you have to do your job and cover the team. Because you're a beat writer and a columnist and a pundit and on TV and radio. And if a player is doing something that you feel is detrimental to the team or not playing as good as he should be on the team, and you cover it, you're doing your job.

[00:08:21]S- Stephen A. Smith, that was not my point.

[00:08:25]I said, now repeat, with black athletes, when it comes to criticism, you have a passion and vitriol that you do not have when it comes to white athletes and executives.

[00:08:39]So, argue that.

[00:08:41]Defend yourself against that specific accusation.

[00:08:45]And here's the thing, Stephen A. Smith, you're doing it right now in real time with Jaylen Brown. You're literally proving my point.

[00:08:55]That's why Dan LeBatard said that he hated what you and Skip Bayless have done to sports media. For what ESPN talent Stephen A. Smith. I hate what you two have done to sports television.

[00:09:09]You can say that all you want to. I would say, who the hell are you to sit up there and say me and him? What about you? What the hell were you living under a rock teaching at Miami U? You were part of it, too. You ain't innocent.

[00:09:20]>> I'm talking about all the imitators that you have birthed. Uh all of the all of the imitators that are all over the place thinking, without the journalism credentials, that uh the the point of all this is to turn it into an argument on television. And you immediately took offense, but you didn't actually listen to what he was actually saying.

[00:09:43]Then you took issue with me saying that you parrot right-wing talking points.

[00:09:49]This was interesting.

[00:09:51]Your Your claim was that you were actually doing this to highlight their talking points, so that we know what they are saying and we know how to combat it effectively.

[00:10:05]Come on now, Stephen A. Smith. You You know good and well that's not the presentation.

[00:10:10]Then you said if the Democratic Party would have just listened to you, Stephen A. Smith, Trump wouldn't have been back in office.

[00:10:19]Sir, to quote the late Kobe Bryant, that was a Bikram yoga stretch.

[00:10:26]Wow, that You know what? That's a Bikram yoga stretch.

[00:10:33]You stretched the hell out of the good job.

[00:10:36]The quotes I wrote about, which were in fact your own words, are nauseating and makes many people want to throw up as you said they make you.

[00:10:46]But there was no misrepresentation or misconstruing or taking out of context.

[00:10:53]These are in fact your actual words, whether you want to stand by them or not.

[00:10:59]And again, I provided links to all of your words in my article at The Guardian, if you want to go back and read and listen to what you actually said on camera.

[00:11:13]You might as well have said, "Fake news.

[00:11:16]This fake.

[00:11:17]Never said it. It's a lie.

[00:11:19]It's all a lie." Trump, Stephen A., we we have the video of you saying it. No, no, no. It's the radical left. I would never say it. Never even thought it. I wouldn't say it. I don't believe it.

[00:11:31]Fake news, that's basically what you did.

[00:11:35]Believe me, not your lying eyes.

[00:11:38]Now, you tried to backtrack and moonwalk away from what you said about Renee Good after she was murdered by ICE agent Jonathan E. Ross.

[00:11:47]Now, yes, you did say it was heinous for the officer to do. You did say that.

[00:11:53]But, that wasn't my point. Your straw man argument was that you were right about him getting off. Again, sir, that was not my point. That wasn't what I was listing as another example of why many black people don't like you. Your actual attempt to defend yourself, you again repeated that Renee Good put herself in that position.

[00:12:18]Those were your exact words. That means you're saying it was her fault.

[00:12:24]Then, you went on to say that she did this wrong and she did that wrong. Let me make this easy for Nothing Renee Good did justified being shot in the face by ICE agent Jonathan E. Ross. That's it and that's all. To quote my man Robin Vann, that's his phrase. I just use it from time to time.

[00:12:45]I notice in your segment you cut out the part of her actually driving away because it didn't match what you were saying.

[00:12:53]That she almost ran him over.

[00:12:56]But, she didn't actually do that. That's why your producers edited that part out.

[00:13:01]The video If the video would have supported your claim, they would have showed it.

[00:13:07]But, they didn't and they didn't for a reason.

[00:13:09]Another point you brought up was that you took issue with me, again quoting you, when you said, "Racism is not as prevalent as some on the left claim."

[00:13:21]Now, your straw man argument was to compare the racism in its current form in 2026 to how racism presented itself in the 1960s in terms of segregation and Jim Crow and everything our parents and grandparents went through.

[00:13:38]But you're arguing a point I didn't make. Your quote that you read was saying that the left is currently saying that racism is worse than it actually is. And you said that it's not as prevalent as the left claims it is. Um did you worry about racism if you ran for president?

[00:13:58]>> No.

[00:13:59]I know it exist. I know that you can't escape it, but I do not believe it is as prevalent as some on the left would like us to believe. I do believe a vast majority of Americans judge you on the content of your individual character rather than the color of your skin. I think a lot of people in America, especially in this day and age, now more so than ever before, it's not about race, it's about the fact that they don't give a damn about it because they got their own problems. That's entirely different than believing they are superior to you and they want to hold you back from ascending. That's not what's going on to the degree that it was decades ago. What's going on now is that we have more white Americans and others suffering and worried about the state of our nation. And because they're concerned about that, that's where their worries lie. That was the Stephen A.

[00:14:49]Smith quote.

[00:14:50]So argue against that point, but that's not what you did. You again created another straw man argument.

[00:14:58]But I will give you credit.

[00:15:00]Uh because you did lay out your objections to what you are seeing Trump currently do with our voters' rights.

[00:15:08]And the fact that he can run for president with 34 felonies, but you left out when you, Stephen A. Smith, chastised Democrats for pursuing the accusations of Trump being in the Epstein files.

[00:15:21]You argued again on your show Straight Shooter that the Democrats sudden outrage and push for transparency smelled political.

[00:15:31]It was intended to score points rather than seek genuine justice. You, Stephen A. Smith, expressed skepticism regarding the broader obsession for the Democrats with the Epstein client list.

[00:15:46]I I remember seeing you on uh Bill Maher show who was a real piece of work and I agree wholeheartedly with what Dave Chappelle expressed um or his sentiments about him. But you actually defended Trump's 34 felonies and told black people to {quote} unquote leave him alone.

[00:16:06]Stephen A., you will chastise any black athlete for any infraction of any law or NBA rule, but you don't hold the president of the United States to the same standard?

[00:16:17]How many times have you been on camera defending Donald Trump?

[00:16:22]That's all you've got? It's really really surprising that this matters. Of course I think there's a list, but I don't know. I suspect, but I have no knowledge, nor do I care. It's Friday night. I'm getting ready to go out and enjoy myself. I'm getting ready to have a nice weekend. I could give a damn about the client list the Epstein client list. This has no effect ON ME WHATSOEVER. I HAVE A LIFE. I DON'T UNDERSTAND FOR THE LIFE OF ME WHY THIS MATTERS SO MUCH TO THESE I'M TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE LOSING THEY'RE CRYING on camera. THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT RESIGNATIONS. They're pissed OFF ABOUT EVERY I'M LIKE, REALLY? THE WITH ALL THE STUFF GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY WITH ALL THE POWER THAT YOU POSSESS because of the cash and the influence you have because of your connection through TO THIS ADMINISTRATION.

[00:17:07]THAT'S WHY YOU UPSET AT TRUMP? I DIDN'T BLAME TRUMP ONE BIT FOR LOOKING at them AND SAYING, REALLY? THAT REALLY MATTERS TO YOU? THAT'S REALLY THAT IMPORTANT?

[00:17:15]NOW MAYBE HE HAD A DIFFERENT REASON for saying it, trying to be evasive or whatever, I don't know. But, I do know this, in the grand scheme of things, it ain't going to affect the lives of over two to 300 million Americans. I think we'll be just fine with uh without knowing whether or not there was really, really a client list. I think we'll be okay.

[00:17:38]The same person who the KKK endorsed three times.

[00:17:43]The same person who won't even entertain a discussion about reparations, and doesn't have any money for education, health care, public schools, uh homelessness, supportive housing, mental health services, but somehow has a slush fund of 1.6 billion dollars to provide reparations for domestic terrorists who stormed the US Capitol on January 6th.

[00:18:04]The same cat who won't even apologize to the Central Park Five.

[00:18:09]After he fought to actually put them to death for a crime they didn't even commit.

[00:18:15]Everyone has seen when they see us by the talented Ava DuVernay. I personally interviewed Raymond Santana in my book Police Brutality and White Supremacy, The Fight Against American Traditions.

[00:18:26]The now exonerated five are the ones who deserve restitution.

[00:18:32]And then black people see you.

[00:18:34]Stephen A. Smith.

[00:18:36]Talking out of both sides of your mouth about Donald Trump. Defending him on all these times, but pointing out that he did something wrong here and here, but then defending him more all this time.

[00:18:48]But, you still wonder why black people don't like you?

[00:18:51]I actually agree with your position that you expressed to Cam Newton that both parties should currently have to compete for black people's votes.

[00:19:00]I think that's a good point.

[00:19:02]But, here's the part you leave out.

[00:19:05]The issue is one party that doesn't do enough for black people, the Democrats, and another party who is actively working against black people, Republicans.

[00:19:16]But you presented as if the black community is so naive, so politically ignorant that we are blindly following Democrats and just giving them our votes. That's not only incorrect, but it's insulting.

[00:19:30]You didn't see any black people wearing Biden hats and putting Biden flags on our lawns and on our cars. Why you ask?

[00:19:38]Because there is no cult-like following for black people and Democrats. It's simply the lesser of two evils. And when it comes down to the last two candidates, we unfortunately had no choice but to vote for Biden.

[00:19:52]That was Kaepernick's point. That we deserve a better system and better options, which I wholeheartedly agree with.

[00:20:01]And furthermore, that's why many black people are growing increasingly tired of having to choose between bad and terrible as the only options and are not interested in voting at all. And I understand why.

[00:20:14]Nobody thinks the Democrats are perfect or even good.

[00:20:19]They're just not as bad as Trump and the Republicans.

[00:20:21]In fact, I think all of those centrist Democrats need to go. Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, all of them.

[00:20:30]Who you should be lecturing, Stephen A.

[00:20:32]Smith, is MAGA.

[00:20:34]Who are really the ones who are following a man who is actively working against their interests and who doesn't benefit them in any way, shape, or form.

[00:20:43]Look, I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

[00:20:45]And I've seen these MAGA Christians since I was little.

[00:20:50]Supporting someone who doesn't follow any of the principles of Jesus Christ.

[00:20:55]Trump has been accused of raping children, has been accused of sexual assault, rape, and some type of misconduct 27 times.

[00:21:05]He actually admitted to sexually assaulting women on camera.

[00:21:11]You remember on Resurrection Sunday, he goes on social media, you know, before he even said "Happy Easter" to everybody, he he started talking about like he wanted to murder an entire civilization. But MAGA Christians and all the MAGA still support him.

[00:21:30]But you don't lecture them about the absurdity of their support since your goal is, as you kept saying, to win.

[00:21:37]Or you can lecture the the white middle-class MAGA voters, the MAGA working families who are teachers and firefighters and truck drivers and farmers, regular 9-to-5 working Americans who are all being hurt in multiple ways by Trump's policies.

[00:21:54]After the campaign, he promised to lower the prices of eggs and gas prices and put an end to wars and boost the economy and make life better all around for everyone. He did the actual opposite.

[00:22:05]Why don't you lecture those people?

[00:22:09]If you are so concerned with winning, you should be lecturing the people who all voted for Trump.

[00:22:15]Black people only make up 13% at most of the entire population in America.

[00:22:23]Okay? MAGA Christians, white poor, white working class, and white women, you you really need to lecture them, but you wouldn't dare do that, would you?

[00:22:33]So again, to shift to your new argument of trying to win, shouldn't you focus your attention on a different demographic that is mostly prohibiting that victory?

[00:22:45]But that's not what you do.

[00:22:47]You told Cam Newton on his podcast Freaky Friday that every black person should vote Republican because the Democratic Party takes our vote for granted. And we have been giving them our votes since 1964.

[00:23:01]I wish for one election that every black person would vote Republican.

[00:23:09]They were like, "What? What? What? How could you say that?" I said, "It's simple."

[00:23:15]Since 1964, the black people black folks, we have been giving our vote to the Democratic Party at an exorbitant rate.

[00:23:24]Therefore, they know they got our vote.

[00:23:26]And they don't have to cater to us as much as we need them to.

[00:23:30]The Republicans know they'll never get our vote.

[00:23:33]So, they don't give a damn about us.

[00:23:35]And as a result, we're the only community in America devoid of representation, which is why we considered disenfranchised. I'm tired of that. What I want is to put ourselves as a community in a position where both parties have to work to get our vote.

[00:23:53]Can I ask you this?

[00:23:55]Do you think you covering politics like you cover politics in the words of your man's, is that good for business, your business?

[00:24:04]It has the potential not to be.

[00:24:07]We'll have to see. So far, it is. I think I'm doing pretty good.

[00:24:11]Sir, that's your solution?

[00:24:15]So, so let's talk a little bit about what Trump and MAGA have done.

[00:24:20]And your good friend Sean Hannity, who you love to express your admiration towards even though he champions and advocates for these very policies, but you don't know why black people don't like you. I I I still don't understand how that's possible, but the Trump administration just recently advanced policies that systematically restrict black voting rights and dilute black political power.

[00:24:44]They dismantled voting rights acts that our grandparents, not our ancestors, but our grandparents fought for.

[00:24:53]As soon as Trump uh returned to office in 2025, he immediately moved to limit police accountability by dismantling federal oversight tools, uh rescinding misconduct tracking, and promoting aggressive police tactics.

[00:25:09]Key actions including shutting down the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database and the shifting uh the DOJ away from constant decrees.

[00:25:19]And he has taken action to reverse federal police reforms and opposed the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act that everybody got around in 2020 after George Floyd was murdered.

[00:25:31]Now, I co-authored Eric Garner's daughter, uh Emerald Garner's book uh with her called Finding My Voice.

[00:25:40]And I watched her cry hysterically after Trump just wiped away all of her efforts of holding police accountable after her father was murdered by NYPD officer uh Daniel Pantaleo. And that's the man who you consistently told black people to feel sympathetic for? I knew Trump before he ran for [music] the presidency. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him. He was a huge sports fan. He used to [music] throw a lot of events um at at at you know at at his casinos and stuff like that. And [music] I genuinely liked him. I didn't know who this guy was running for president. Um I think he's changed, but I will tell you this, I think when people call him racist and stuff like that, I've never thought of Trump [music] that way. He's not He's not against black people. He's against all things not named Trump.

[00:26:32]There is a difference.

[00:26:35]When you were speaking on Fox News to your good friend Sean Hannity, you said that Donald Trump was telling the truth when he claimed that trials make him relatable to black people.

[00:26:48]And because we have historically been targeted by the justice system, we relate better to Trump. That's really what you went on there and said. But I got to tell you something, as much as people may have been abhorred by Donald Trump's statement weeks ago talking about how black folks he's hearing that black folks find him relatable because what he's going through is similar to what black Americans have gone through, he wasn't lying. He was telling the truth. When you see the law, law enforcement, the court system and everything else being exercised against him, it is something that black folks throughout this nation can relate to with some of our historic, iconic figures. We've seen that happen throughout society. No matter what >> I would have loved to know specifically what historic iconic figures, cuz I know Dr. King went to jail.

[00:27:45]I know that the Jim Lawson went to jail.

[00:27:47]Uh I know that they went to jail, but they did not hold classified documents.

[00:27:53]They did not pay off porn stars.

[00:27:57]They did not try to overturn an election.

[00:28:00]They did not overstate the value of their properties to apply for business loans.

[00:28:05]So therefore, there literally is no comparison. But you wonder why black people don't like you?

[00:28:11]Sir, as of May 2026, analysis indicates that the Trump administration has initiated or completed approximately 51% to 53% of the domestic administrative policy proposals outlined in Project 2025.

[00:28:31]So, Stephen A. Smith, that's the party that you told Cam Newton that black people all should vote for. For what? To teach the Democrats to appreciate us more? It's so absurd that it almost seems like it had to be manufactured and planted for you to suggest.

[00:28:49]Stephen A. Smith, you are in fact a very intelligent person. You are well-read. You are good at your job. You can create a buzz about any topic anytime you speak, which is why you are the highest-paid commentator on ESPN.

[00:29:04]But the reason why many black people don't like you is because it appears that you have been hired to push an agenda that would be detrimental to the black community as a whole.

[00:29:19]So, this is what I propose, Stephen A.

[00:29:21]Smith.

[00:29:23]This was actually my daughter, Baby Sierra's idea, so I have to give credit where credit is due. Um I want to challenge you to a public debate at an HBCU of your choice.

[00:29:35]We could We could do it here in DC at Howard or Morehouse in August during the National Association of Black Journalists Convention since I will be there on a panel discussing why the relationship between athletes and the media uh have been rocky. And I'm sure your name will come up as exhibit A.

[00:29:53]Um or we can do it at your alma mater, Winston-Salem State University, or all of the above.

[00:30:00]Award-winning sports reporter Lou Holder and I just did an amazing debate called I Respectfully Disagree at the University of Maryland and had a powerful panel with the first ever black female police captain in Montgomery County, Sonya Pruitt.

[00:30:17]Uh we had US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who just filed a suit against Trump in his $1.6 billion slush fund he wants to award the January 6th insurrectionists with. And we had right-wing conservative Brandon Bryant.

[00:30:33]And we had an amazing debate. The students were engaged, different opinions were expressed, and we disagreed peacefully.

[00:30:41]We also did a I respectfully disagree after the Super Bowl at Boise State University with Dr. Boyce Watkins and two-time Super Bowl champion and former Baltimore Raven Torrey Smith and it was absolutely amazing. I think it's important to display to young people how black men in particular can express their thoughts and opinions and be in complete opposition to each other but do it peacefully, respectfully and with integrity.

[00:31:10]Instead of what we currently see Donald Trump does who who he he debates like a 6-year-old. No no disrespect to 6-year-olds. It's such a better representation of us. If we as President Barack Obama said, we can disagree without being disagreeable. As I told David Aldridge and Mark Spears a few years ago when we were debating on my podcast The Rematch, you Stephen A.

[00:31:35]Smith have a tremendous amount of power.

[00:31:40]In fact, you have the same amount of power over the minds of the sports world as Tucker Carlson has over the right.

[00:31:47]But with that power comes great responsibility.

[00:31:52]And that's why you can't just be on TV talking recklessly. You have to choose your words wisely and carefully and with all due respects, you have not been doing that.

[00:32:03]So that's my challenge to you Stephen A.

[00:32:05]Smith, a public debate at an HBCU of your choice.

[00:32:10]We'll see if you accept it.