Stephen A. Smith said he is close to finalizing a deal to broadcast historically Black college and university basketball games and will hire Black on-air talent, producers and other staff for the project.
The ESPN “First Take” host and Straight Shooter Media founder made the announcement near the end of a lengthy YouTube response Monday to the National Association of Black Journalists. NABJ had given him its “Thumbs Down” award two days earlier at its convention in Atlanta.
“Got something coming down the pike, by the way,” Smith said. “I’m about to ink a deal where we’re broadcasting HBCU basketball games. I’m gonna need some Black folks working for me. As talent and producers and beyond.”
Smith did not name the schools, conferences, television or streaming partners, or a start date. Reports have linked the project to his production company, Straight Shooter Media. Existing HBCU basketball coverage already airs on Byron Allen’s HBCU GO streaming service, with some games also appearing on ESPN platforms; BET has also signaled plans for more HBCU basketball this fall.
The timing placed the announcement in the middle of Smith’s rebuttal to NABJ. The organization cited a “recurring public pattern of disparaging commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports and media.” Smith called the award a “personal hit job,” said NABJ had not provided specific facts, and argued the criticism was politically motivated. He credited NABJ with helping launch his career decades ago at its job fair and said he still supports the organization’s mission even as he disputed the latest action.
Smith, a Winston-Salem State University alumnus who played basketball there under Hall of Fame coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines, has long highlighted his HBCU ties. He has served as an ambassador for HBCU Week, donated to his alma mater, and used “First Take” to spotlight HBCU campuses. In the same video he said the basketball project would not change that work: “It’s not going to stop me from continuing to be the ambassador for HBCU Week, and do everything that I can to help HBCUs generate money, notoriety, etc.”
The announcement adds another high-profile name to a growing field of HBCU sports media efforts. Smith framed the hiring plan as part of a broader effort to create opportunities, a point he has made in the past about supporting Black journalists and producers. No further details on the deal have been released.
