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ESPNers back up Stephen A. Smith’s furious Jason Whitlock takedown

Stephen A. Smith may be the angriest Jason Whitlock hater, but he's far from alone.

Jemele Hill and others slam Whitlock after 'First Take' host called Blaze Media personality a 'bitch' and 'slut' in long, fiery rant on 'The Stephen A. Smith Show' did. And I remembered my own experience working with him.

“Stephen A. Smith told the truth,” Hill, who worked at ESPN from 2006 to 2018, wrote in the X post. And we didn't want to work with him. ”

Hill was referring to Whitlock's failure on “The Undefeated” in 2013, when ESPN hired him as the founding editor of the website covering the intersection of race and sports. demoted from his position He joined the company in April 2015, but was still employed by the media giant.

“SportsCenter” host Stan Verrett recalled “how dysfunctional” Whitlock was.

Jemele Hill in December 2023. Instagram/Jemele Hill

“He was planning a feature on the undefeated games called 'Open Look' where any of us could write commentary,” Verrett wrote. “I was walking down Olympic Boulevard one day and we talked about it. When I saw how dysfunctional the whole enterprise was, I stopped getting involved.”

Gregory Hampton Lee Jr., senior editor of Front Office Sports, said: I have written“He interviewed me for 'The Undefeated' and it was the worst experience.”

Mr. Whitlock has worked at ESPN twice, first from 2002 to 2006, when he was a writer and frequently appeared on the studio's shows.

Mr. Smith's rant came after Mr. Whitlock. called his book“Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes,” and claims that ESPN's top personality wrote lies and exaggerations. called him a myth.

Warning: Explicit language

Jason Whitlock and Stephen A. Smith are having a war of words. YouTube/Jason Whitlock

“I mean it with all my heart when I say this is the worst human being I've ever known,” Smith said. “I don't know anyone worse than Jason Whitlock.

“He's just a first-class human being. He's going to have a funeral, but he's not going to be a casket bearer.”

Smith also said he called his superiors at ESPN to get permission to rip Whitlock on his own YouTube show, and that he also called his pastor beforehand to ask for forgiveness.

Stephen A. Smith criticized Jason Whitlock on his YouTube show on January 10, 2023. YouTube/Stephen A. Smith

Smith and Whitlock have been trading not-so-subtle shots in the years since Whitlock left ESPN in 2015.

ESPN said in a statement: Although the split was mutual, Whitlock later claimed The “real reason” ESPN “fired” him was because they didn't agree with his masculine presentation.

Smith joined ESPN as an analyst in 2003 and is now one of the highest-paid personalities.

He makes $12 million a year on a five-year, $60 million contract he signed at the end of 2019.

As The Post's Andrew Marchand previously reported, Smith's personal salary is $8 million a year, but he also has a production contract worth $4 million a year.

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