ESPN
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum has taken offense to some comments by his colleague Stephen A. Smith.
While discussing Lane Kiffin’s job prospects on ‘First Take’, Smith said he believes Kiffin is hindered at Ole Miss because “brothers ain’t trying to come to Oxford, Mississippi” and he’ll have trouble recruiting black players.
“I’m going to bring it home, all right,” Smith said. “He’s in Oxford, Mississippi, ok? Let’s get this out the way. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, you all can’t say it. Don’t you dare say it Paul, don’t you say it Doggie, don’t you say it Shae. Leave it to me, I’ll say it. The brothers ain’t trying to come to Oxford, Mississippi for the most part compared to Gainesville or Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Let’s just call it what it is, ok?”
— welovesports40 (@welovesports40) November 20, 2025
Finebaum would later respond to Smith, calling his take “completely incorrect,” and would call out Stephen A. for making things racial during their discussion about Kiffin.
“I realize a lot of you did not see what Stephen A. said, but he clearly made it racial,” Finebaum said. “He clearly said, in his words, ‘the brothers do not want to go to Oxford, Mississippi,’ which has been proven to be completely incorrect. I’ve been to Oxford a million times and I think it’s terribly unfair to bring up echoes of yesteryear, the 60s, and try to portray Oxford as that type of place today. It’s not. The south has changed. You can make your own interpretation, but to dump on Oxford while saying Gainesville and Baton Rouge would be utopia was just baffling to me.”
Paul Finebaum calls out Stephen A. Smith for Oxford comments: ‘He clearly made it racial’ https://t.co/kMYsuOyRyz pic.twitter.com/FK3AVKrO6u
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 20, 2025
Ole Miss agreed with Finebaum and blasted Stephen A on social media.
“Stephen A. Smith should face repercussions for his comments. I urge @stephenasmith to come down to Oxford for a weekend and report back. Until he comes down south, his opinion on Oxford, the SEC and the south are irrelevant.” said one fan on X.
It’ll be interesting to see how Smith responds to Finebaum’s comments.