Sports Journalism & the Descent Into Celebrity

As the buzzer sounded on an overtime win against the New York Knicks, LA Lakers star LeBron James had a score to settle. He saw ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith courtside and decided to take him to task for things that Smith has been saying on his ESPN show “First Take” about his son, Bronny, who was drafted this year by the Lakers in the second round of the NBA Draft.

The confrontation has resulted in Smith going on a media tour explaining his side of the story to anyone that will listen, which as it turns out is a lot of people. The irony is of course that he lamented that LeBron didn’t confront him in private, making his whole reaction to the situation a case of “do as I say and not as I do”.

The injection of a personal note by Stephen A Smith is indicative of a larger issue than just a TV personality in a war of words with an athlete. In the current journalism landscape that is seeing countless reputable scribes lose their jobs in favor of highly paid personalities, this incident is a reminder that nuanced analysis long ago took a backseat to loud and controversial caricature figures.

The Toxicity of the Debate Format

Years ago, ESPN had a show called “Cold Pizza”, which was a sport take on the incredibly popular “Good Morning, America”. Cold Pizza featured a segment called “1^st and 10” which can be considered the origins of the modern debate show format that has become ubiquitous to any sports fan that watches ESPN or FOX Sports.

1^st and 10 would eventually become rebranded as the wildly popular “First Take” show that has become a part of the cultural sports media zeitgeist in recent years. The show retained former sports writer turned take factory Skip Bayless for the show. Bayless’ partner, Woody Paige, would leave the show and go back to his sports writing job in Denver. In Paige’s place, ESPN brought Stephen A. Smith full-time to be Bayless’ debate partner.

From there, the show exploded in popularity. The formula was simple: two men with strong opinions spend the better part of two hours yelling at each other about the trending sports topics of the day. In essence, the show took the concept of “controversy sells” and saw just how much of it they could sell. Quite a bit, it turns out.

The two would insult one another, with Smith often telling Bayless that he knew nothing about basketball. Bayless would often throw temper tantrums when he was being interrupted by yelling “it’s my turn”. The topics that they discussed were often the surface level of sports debates, without much depth to the analysis. The LeBron vs Michael Jordan debate was a frequent topic of conversation, as were the Dallas Cowboys, Bayless’ favorite NFL team.

Despite the success, Bayless ultimately would leave for FOX Sports where he starred in the show “Undisputed” alongside NFL Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe. First Take shifted to being Stephen A centric, bringing in boxing analyst Max Kellerman as Smith’s debate opponent.

The pairings ultimately would not last. Sharpe and Bayless would have one fiery debate too many, leading to Sharpe leaving the show, soon to be followed a year later by Bayless. Kellerman would be pushed out of ESPN, and First Take relied even more on Smith while bringing on Sharpe, Chris Russo, and Michael Irvin to debate him.

Through the era that has seen the format of the debate show become more popular, the story framing has shifted. In the past, it was the premise of what is happening in the sports world as a primary focus, with the personalities of the show adding some entertainment value. In the last few years, reality has flipped. The topics have become secondary to the inflated celebrity and ego of people like Bayless and Smith.

The Celebrity Commentator

In the last couple of years, ESPN has started to reshape itself as a network. For many years, it seemed that while it was always an entertainment product, there was a sense of journalistic integrity that came with it. That at the very least behind the flagship debate formats, there were smart sports minds that could be relied upon. It has now become very clear that the entertainment aspect has taken command.

There are three entities that ESPN has made clear: Stephen A Smith, Inside the NBA, and Pat McAfee. Smith recently signed a five-year $100 million contract extension with the network, McAfee is on a five-year $85 million contract, and Inside the NBA was acquired by the network as a part of the NBA’s new media deal. The common thread of these three entities is that they are loud, recognizable, and rooted in entertainment value.

This ESPN trio veers far away from its former journalistic ethos and instead leans into hot takes and celebrity. At the same time, it has been steadily chipping away at programs that have leaned into more journalistic analysis. In 2022, it cancelled “Outside the Lines”, a show that focused on hard analysis and investigative reporting. And just recently, it cancelled “Around the Horn”, a popular show that was a mainstay for 23 years. Around the Horn featured the debate format but from local journalists without the bluster of First Take.

In Smith, the network has prioritized a figure that is incredibly interested in expanding his personal brand. He has expanded his role on ESPN into his podcast, “The Stephen A. Smith Show”, where he tackles sports as well as current events issues. This has led to him making appearances on FOX News, weighing in on political issues. His walks to games are often filmed like a basketball player entering the arena, leading him to be portrayed as someone that is more important than the game.

McAfee, similarly, has been injected into many of the network’s football properties, with a reliance on the brand that he cultivated as an independent content creator. McAfee often gives off the type of energy that resonated with younger white men this past election cycle, which it can be argued is the whole reason to invest in him. What he and his show lack in analytical substance is replaced with bluster and catchphrases.

McAfee’s lack of journalistic presence is something that he has worn as a badge of honor. This was on full display last NFL season, during his weekly interviews with Aaron Rodgers that felt more like a friend checking in as opposed to an actual interview. The idea behind it all is that McAfee is a name that has become recognizable and has bits that provide entertainment value.

Lastly, there is Inside the NBA. Many fans have long viewed the show as an institution, the default pregame and postgame show for nationally televised NBA games. The issue is that some more dedicated NBA fans have started to grow tired of their schtick.

What was once a funny dynamic has often morphed into a group of older players that don’t watch games and display a refusal to let go of the era that they played in. This was evidenced recently when Shaquille O’Neal did not know the coach of the Detroit Pistons, a team that is in contention for home court advantage in the NBA Playoffs.

ESPN and other outlets have clearly made a decision here. Valuable reporting and analysis of sports comes secondary to winning the headline and going viral. And in the ESPN triumvirate, we have personalities that will say things that will trend on X, TikTok, and Instagram.

There are some exceptions to this rule. The Ringer, owned by former ESPN writer Bill Simmons, has prioritized smarter analysis of basketball and football. Mina Kimes is also an analyst on ESPN who provides a sliver of hope with her detailed breakdowns of the NFL. That goes without mentioning the countless independent content creators that are constantly pushing the boundaries of intelligent analysis in sports.

But at the core of it all, ESPN and what their vision of sports coverage looks like still matters on some level. Its pivot into elevating personality above all else will create more emboldened statements like what Smith said about Bronny James. It will continue to lead to mistrust between subject and reporter, and potentially more altercations in the future. Worst of all, that would probably be viewed as a positive by the network since it will get millions of views. And that is the true tragedy of it all.