We’ve gotta start taking microphones away from people. At the very least, there needs to be a 24-hour waiting period before someone can spout off about the latest social media ‘news’ on a podcast or TV show. Stephen A. Smith demonstrated this when he put his foot firmly in his mouth by reacting to a fake post about Brittney Griner without verifying it first.
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Stephen A. was a guest yesterday on the Valuetainment podcast with Patrick Bet-David. The two spoke at length on an Instagram post about WNBA star Brittney Griner that was so obviously fake that hopefully they’ll research more next time before going on air. Unfortunately, neither man seems fazed by the blunder.
First of all, this was posted by an account called The Sports Memery, which should have been enough to make both men stop and re-evaluate. Stephen A. has been victimized multiple times by the NBA Centel fake news account, but that’s at least semi-understandable, since the name is so close to the NBA Central account that it disguises itself as.
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Even getting beyond the name of the account that posted it, how could SAS and PBD not see that the quote itself was obviously fake? According to the fake post, Griner apparently “voiced frustration in a recent interview, claiming that Caitlin Clark is “ruining what used to make the WNBA great.” They reported Griner to have said, “WNBA games used to be a chill quiet place you could bring your laptop, and relax. Maybe even get a little work done.”
Stephen A. took the bait hook, line, and sinker, slipped into his fake serious persona, lowered his voice, and said, “Respectfully, Brittney Griner was in a Russian prison.” If the seasoned analyst is unable to distinguish between satire, trolling and genuine news, he should perhaps reconsider his journalistic career.
“You would think,” he continued, “that somebody who is now free, back in America, on home soil, would not have too much to complain about. Especially something like this. Fans in every sport, she described the fans. It doesn’t matter what sport you pick, that’s how fans act, in every arena.”
Somehow, he kept going. “Clearly she’s not remembering who they let out to get her back. The ‘Merchant of Death,’ an arms dealer, who wanted to kill American citizens, according to the reports. You would think that you would be smiling, you would be ecstatic, you would be happy, and something like this wouldn’t faze you at all. The fact that it does, is disturbing. I’ll leave it at that.”
At this point, one has to wonder if we’re being punked and this is all a deepfake video because how can anyone possibly be this confidently wrong?
Relaying misinformation is dangerous
Spreading misinformation has ripple effects. Like Pikachu hitting a water Pokémon with Thunder Shock. It’s super effective. People often believe anything they see if it is said loudly and often.
We need media members, especially those with as much airtime and influence as Stephen A. Smith, to do their homework before shouting into the mic. The original Instagram post itself was flooded with credulous people who believed the fake quote to be real. When amplified by a prominent media person, many more fall for it.
Brittney Griner has had to deal with so much hate simply for existing that Stephen A. should have slowed down before adding to it himself.
It’s not an accident that The Sports Memery’s post referenced Brittney Griner and Caitlin Clark. Fever’s red-hot star has, without any action or desire on her part, become a racist totem. She’s their blunt instrument of choice against those they hate.
It becomes worse when people like PBD and Stephen A. feed it to their audience without a second thought.
It’s very dispiriting. Stephen A. recently signed a five-year, $100 million contract at ESPN. This sends the message that not only is his behavior OK, but it’s worth rewarding.
