The National Association of Black Journalists handed ESPN's Stephen A. Smith a Thumbs Down Award at its 2026 convention in Atlanta, announced Saturday night at the organization's gala. The citation named a recurring pattern of disparaging public commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports and media.
The NABJ defines the Thumbs Down Award as recognition for an individual or organization responsible for especially insensitive, racist or stereotypical reporting, commentary, photography or cartooning about the Black community, or for conduct at odds with the organization's goals. Smith earned the award on the grounds that his commentary reinforces harmful narratives and undermines fair representation of Black women in public discourse.
Smith was not the only honoree in the negative column. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, CBS News, The Washington Post and DuJuan McCoy—owner and CEO of Circle City Broadcasting and Indianapolis station WISH-TV—each received a Thumbs Down Award at the same ceremony.
The recognition is notable given ESPN's parent company Disney maintains a partnership with the NABJ, and Smith has attended the convention alongside ESPN in the past. That institutional connection did not shield him from the award.
Smith responded publicly, warning the NABJ that he intends to confront the matter directly. His position frames the award as something he plans to challenge rather than accept, though the specifics of his response had not been fully detailed by Saturday night.
From a sports media standpoint, this puts one of ESPN's highest-profile personalities in direct public conflict with the leading professional organization for Black journalists in the country. Smith's show is among the most-watched programs on the network, making the dispute difficult for ESPN and Disney to ignore. The NABJ award carries institutional weight that a social media exchange does not—it is a formal, named citation from an organization with decades of standing in the journalism community.
The breadth of the Thumbs Down list—spanning a sitting federal regulator, two major national news outlets and a regional broadcast owner alongside Smith—signals the NABJ used this year's Atlanta convention to make a pointed statement about representation and accountability across the media industry, not just in sports commentary.
