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Mark Gray: Stephen A. Smith Must Own the Criticism, Not Play the Victim
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On OG Sports Wrap, Mark Gray argued that Stephen A. Smith’s response to criticism from the National Association of Black Journalists revealed a deeper problem: a powerful commentator demanding grace he rarely extends to others.
Stephen A. Smith has built a career on volume, certainty and the willingness to say what many other television personalities will not. That influence comes with a price, according to Mark Gray: when a figure with Smith’s reach is criticized, he cannot retreat into grievance or frame every challenge as an attack on him.
During OG Sports Wrap, Gray took aim at Smith’s reaction to receiving a negative award from the National Association of Black Journalists. Gray’s central argument was not that Smith lacks the right to disagree. It was that Smith, a commentator who routinely judges athletes, coaches and public figures harshly, should be equipped to absorb criticism without treating it as persecution.
A Powerful Platform Carries a Higher Standard
Gray repeatedly returned to Smith’s stature in sports media. In Gray’s view, a journalist and personality earning the kind of money and commanding the kind of audience Smith does cannot expect the benefit of the doubt every time his views generate backlash. Success brings influence, but it also brings responsibility for the impact of one’s words.
That responsibility is especially meaningful when the criticism comes from an organization with NABJ’s history and mission. Gray stressed that the association helped create pathways for Black journalists at a time when major newspapers and broadcast outlets offered few such opportunities. Smith’s career is his own accomplishment, but Gray believes the institutions and communities that helped open doors deserve more respect than public dismissal.
Opinion Is Not Immunity From Accountability
Gray rejected Smith’s suggestion that NABJ had somehow failed at journalism by issuing the award. The host’s point was straightforward: an award decision is an expression of opinion, and Smith’s own work often occupies that same space. Columns, debate programs and personality-driven sports shows are built around interpretation, criticism and strong conclusions—not the notion that every opinion must be received without pushback.
For Gray, the dispute also exposes the blurred line between journalism and entertainment. Smith’s platform can inform audiences, but it also trades in performance, argument and provocation. Gray said that dynamic does not make Smith illegitimate; it means he should be candid about the role he plays. A commentator who makes a living criticizing public behavior has to accept that organizations and viewers can assess his behavior in return.
Gray Sees a Pattern of Deflection
The sharpest part of Gray’s commentary focused on what he saw as Smith’s attempt to redirect the conversation. Rather than squarely addressing why NABJ members objected to his rhetoric and public posture, Gray said Smith shifted toward claims of unfairness, political labels and questions about the organization’s motives. To Gray, that was deflection, not a substantive response.
Gray also questioned Smith’s public silence after his social-media response, particularly during a period crowded with major sports stories. He wondered whether Smith was taking time away on his own or whether his network wanted the controversy to cool. Gray did not present that as confirmed fact, but as a pointed observation about the contrast between Smith’s usual omnipresence and his apparent quiet at a moment when a direct, measured response might have served him better.
What It Means
The larger issue, as Gray framed it, is not whether every Black journalist, fan or organization must agree with NABJ’s decision. Healthy disagreement is part of a free media culture. But Gray believes Smith cannot demand independence for his own opinions while minimizing the independence of a Black professional organization that has reached a conclusion he dislikes.
For sports media’s biggest voices, the lesson is bigger than one award or one public dispute. Credibility is not built only through forceful takes; it is also built through the ability to take criticism, acknowledge harm when warranted and keep moving with professionalism. Gray’s message was blunt: Smith has earned his platform, but he still has to answer for how he uses it.
Substantive update: