Four-time NBA champion Draymond Green and reporter Jemele Hill made waves this week when Green told Hill that ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith may not be a true journalist in the purest sense of the word.
Smith promptly responded on his SiriusXM show, saying that while he has had his disagreements with the Golden State Warriors star, he would welcome the opportunity to “talk man-to-man” about the topic with him on the air.
Hill has now responded to Smith’s pointed retort.
Jemele Hill Sets the Record Straight on Perceived Stephen A. Smith Slight
On Wednesday, Hill posted a lengthy response on X, insisting that she doesn’t “have a problem” with Smith, as the outspoken analyst seemed to suggest.
“It seems you’re responding to implications and not what I actually said. You put a lot of thought into my laugh, which I guess is flattering,” Hill began.
“I’m well aware of your journalistic credentials. I interned at The Inquirer when you were a columnist. I often tell young people that you became what you became because you were one of the best NBA writers in the country.
“Draymond and I had a broad journalistic discussion about the relationship between players and reporters, where I used myself as an example of how doing daily television kept me at a distance from the people I was actually discussing. I didn’t mention you. I honestly wasn’t even thinking about you. That discussion wasn’t about you at all.
“I didn’t say I’d been in more locker rooms than you and never implied that. You swinging at ghosts, my guy. I don’t have a problem with you. If I did, I’d tell you to your face.”
It seems you’re responding to implications and not what I actually said. You put a lot of thought into my laugh, which I guess is flattering.
I’m well aware of your journalistic credentials. I interned at The Inquirer when you were a columnist. I often tell young people that you… https://t.co/JXof9mQcgF
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 8, 2026
Hill also said she would welcome Smith on her podcast and that she wouldn’t hide from discussing the issue.
“Oh, and consider this an invitation. You absolutely are invited to be on my podcast. I’ll be in touch. Like you, I don’t duck smoke,” Hill added.
Oh, and consider this an invitation. You absolutely are invited to be on my podcast. I’ll be in touch. Like you, I don’t duck smoke. https://t.co/JXof9mQcgF
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 8, 2026
Hill is no stranger to controversy. In 2008, the Detroit native wrote in an ESPN article that “rooting for the [Boston] Celtics is like saying [Adolf] Hitler was a victim. It’s like hoping [Mikhail] Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before [Ronald] Reagan.”
She was disciplined as a result, but later expressed remorse over her comment and explained that it stemmed from Boston’s history of racism toward Black individuals and the supposed lack of acceptance that the Black community had for the predominantly white Celtics teams of the mid-1980s.
In 2017, Hill posted a tweet that accused President Donald Trump of being a “white supremacist.” At the time, she was one of the hosts of ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Overall, Hill has been a respected journalist who has covered both sports and politics since the 1990s. She is currently a staff writer for The Atlantic.
