Monica McNutt Reflects on Viral Stephen A. Smith Exchange 10 Months Later

Monica McNutt says she’s still “learning how to navigate” discussing the sensitivities of women’s sports. 

McNutt appeared at a Front Office Sports Courtside Collective event on a panel alongside Unrivaled commissioner Micky Lawyer and ESPN marketing SVP Jo Fox during the Women’s Final Four in Tampa this past weekend. 

FOS editor-in-chief Dan Roberts asked if the approach to talking about men’s and women’s basketball is the same, or if she treats the two differently. In her answer, McNutt brought up a viral moment from First Take last year in which she got into it with Stephen A. Smith last June. 

“This is one I’m still learning and dancing around, if I’m honest. I mean, y’all saw the moment last year,” McNutt said, referring to the exchange with Smith. 

“This is layered for me because the existence of women at large, outside of sport, is just challenge. That is the nature of our experience and our society today. So am I sensitive to word choices and descriptions about certain women? Yes. Does that mean that I cannot talk about basketball and acknowledge how we are all moving this thing forward together? No. But there is a sensitivity for me when it comes to women’s sports that I don’t necessarily have around men’s sports, and I am, in real-time, learning how to navigate that.” 

McNutt continued, “I don’t think that that disables my ability as a journalist, but I fully understand how powerful words are, right? With that in mind, I think I can go in and tell you X’s and O’s and who’s better off the dribble and who’s shooting, and that’s great, but that is something that is constantly in the back of my mind as I’m doing the work in women’s sports.”

The heated exchange with Smith last year (Shannon Sharpe was also part of the segment) came amid debate about whether WNBA players were unfairly targeting Caitlin Clark in the context of when she was flagrant-fouled by then-Sky guard Chennedy Carter. 

“Who talks about the WNBA, who talks about women, who talks about women’s sports more than First Take?” Smith asked.

McNutt responded, “Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to.”