Jason Whitlock has repeatedly gone after Stephen A. Smith in very personal terms, mainly accusing him of lying about his past and being “fraudulent” as a media figure.

The core things Whitlock said

Here are the main points Whitlock has made about Stephen A. Smith across recent interviews, podcasts, and clips:

  • He has flat-out called Stephen A. Smith “a fraud” , saying ESPN “installed him in that seat” and that Smith misrepresents who he really is.
  • Whitlock has accused Smith of lying about his college basketball career at Winston-Salem State, claiming the story about his scholarship, minutes played, and scoring average “doesn’t add up.”
  • On his own show, Whitlock went so far as to label Smith a “pathological liar” , saying that the more he watched Smith’s videos and heard his stories, “the lying seems pathological.”
  • He has mocked the way Smith presents his basketball résumé, pointing to stats graphics and documents that appear to show extremely low scoring numbers and limited games, and then contrasting that with how big a deal Smith makes of having been a college player.
  • Whitlock has also blasted Smith’s broader credibility and talent, arguing that:
    • Smith’s narrative about his rise in journalism is “fabricated” or heavily embellished.
* Editors at Smith’s old newspaper and at ESPN supposedly had to “rewrite everything” he turned in, and that he knows “virtually nothing” about most sports beyond some basketball.

In one widely shared comment, Whitlock summarized his view of Smith’s history this way: Stephen A. has spent “2+ decades lying about a college basketball career,” while then turning around and calling someone like Drake Maye a liar on TV.

Where this blew up recently

The feud has flared multiple times, but a few flashpoints stand out:

  1. Cam Newton’s podcast appearance (early 2026 coverage)
    • On Cam Newton’s “4th and 1” podcast, Newton directly asked Whitlock what his issue with Stephen A. Smith was.
    • Whitlock answered immediately: “He’s a fraud,” then launched into the claims about Smith lying regarding his college career and ESPN “installing” him into his top role.
  1. College basketball stat dispute and “pathological liar” line
    • Whitlock highlighted a TV graphic showing Smith with a tiny scoring average and questioned how that squared with Smith’s scholarship story and his own later comments about not really playing because of a knee injury.
 * He brought out a stats sheet that appeared to indicate a “Stephen Smith” averaging less than a point over multiple games, and suggested either Smith misremembered or was misleading people about what actually happened.

 * That’s where Whitlock used the phrase **“pathological liar”** about Smith, arguing that the inconsistencies go beyond normal memory gaps.
  1. Response to Stephen A.’s rant about him
    • In earlier rounds of this feud, Stephen A. Smith did a nearly hour-long rant attacking Whitlock personally after Whitlock criticized his memoir and called him a fraud.
 * Whitlock then laughed off the tirade, calling it “embarrassing” and saying it proved Smith was insecure and overly sensitive to criticism of his origin story and career.

How Whitlock frames the bigger issue

Whitlock has tried to connect his Stephen A. criticism to a broader argument about sports media:

  • He says Smith has been “installed at the top” of ESPN despite questionable credibility and that this reflects how modern sports TV rewards theatrics and branding over accuracy and journalistic standards.
  • He implies that Smith’s shifting life narrative—about his upbringing, struggles, and hoop career—shows how media stars can keep “editing” their story as it becomes more useful or marketable.
  • On various shows and podcasts, Whitlock has described himself as “the greatest sportswriter ever” while positioning Smith as the opposite: someone who allegedly built a huge platform on hype and exaggeration.

What Stephen A. Smith has fired back

You asked specifically what Whitlock said, but the aftermath helps show how intense it got:

  • Smith has responded by calling Whitlock things like “the worst, most despicable, lying, no good… human being” and even “worse than a white supremacist,” and “the devil in the flesh.”
  • After Whitlock’s more recent “fraud” comments, Smith hinted he might deliver a “scorched-earth” response on his platforms, saying he had hours of live TV where he could unload on Whitlock at any time.

So, in short: Jason Whitlock has called Stephen A. Smith a fraud, a liar, and even a “pathological liar,” focusing especially on Smith’s college basketball story and his credibility as a media figure, and that has triggered a very heated back-and-forth between them in 2024–2026.

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Wondering what Jason Whitlock said about Stephen A. Smith? Here’s a clear breakdown of Whitlock’s “fraud” and “pathological liar” accusations, the college basketball controversy, and how Stephen A. fired back.

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