Stephen A. Smith: A Victim of The Toxic Nature of The MMA Community
The Toxic Nature of a Community Should Not Outshine The Greatness of a Sport
Edited by Miles Arthur
It is widely seen that sports communities can be extremely sharp in criticizing the personalities, detecting their mistakes, and discussing their losses against their favorite teams or athletes. They can become incredibly hostile against the sports journalists and television hosts who criticize their admired and respected athletes and sports teams. The problem of the overall toxicity of sports communities is the most noticeable among the representatives of the mixed martial arts (MMA) community. Stephen A. Smith is one of the most popular sports journalists in the United States. He is frequently invited as a analyst for various American sporting events while also hosting the “First Take” and “The Stephen A Smith Show” on ESPN, discussing sports news and pop culture with his co-hosts and guests. He is notable for his expressive and often comedic approach towards commenting on various events and sports news; however, it seems that particular flavor is not accepted by MMA audiences. Response to his takes regarding the UFC has generated harsh criticism, with some attacking his credibility as a Sports Personality.
The problems with MMA fans began with Smith expressing a controversial opinion regarding UFC 246: McGregor Vs. Cowboy. After the start, the event ended approximately 40 seconds, with Cowboy Cerrone losing via knockout to the former two-division champion. After the event, Smith highly praised McGregor for his performance while sharply criticizing Cowboy. MMA fans and experts were infuriated by Smith’s statements that Cerrone looked like “he gave up,” which was taken as an offensive opinion even by McGregor. Many would-be shocked in the weeks following when Cerrone himself would acknowledge Smith’s comments on his performance as accurate to an extent. The athlete accused Smith of being disrespectful and asked him to apologize for his words. In his defense, Smith stated that he, as a fan first, expected the event to last for more than 40 seconds, and that is why he was not impressed by McGregor’s performance.
That was not the only time when Smith had polarizing statements regarding MMA. Recent reports about Smith not supporting female MMA fighters, stating that he does not endorse fights between female athletes. Once again, the community was enraged, responding with hateful comments about Smith’s lack of consistent knowledge of the sport. Once again, Smith responded to his critics and haters that his point of view was never intended to disrespect anyone; he simply shared his attitude towards watching the female fights.
It is worth noting in this regard that Smith indeed has his own perception of MMA. He does not view it from the same expert lens as Joe Rogan, a top-level MMA personality among those to heavily attack Smith. Smith has always deferred to experts and former fighters for technical analysis of the sport. Although Smith has not fully embraced mixed martial arts culture from its inception, he respects and the philosophy and the demand of respect for every fighter and the physical sacrifices they make. On the contrary, Smith’s view of UFC events does not tend to shift away from the generic sports talk mentality he typically upholds. Smith views fight for the entertainment value where the athletes give a performance to the audience rather than engaging in an unpredictable and dangerous battle that can end with severe injuries and, in sporadic cases, death. However, It must be mentioned that Smith’s opinions should not receive such a high level of backlash and criticism from top-level MMA personalities and athletes, as well.
Smith has consistently upheld that he is not an expert in analyzing MMA and the fights’ technicalities and aspects. He adopts the identity of a fan who enjoys watching fights and exploring the performance of the athletes from that same perspective. Moreover, he believes that any professional sport needs viewer attention, and one with Smith’s resume in the national sports media certainly brings more eyes. Smith supports the idea that more casual opinions regarding MMA need to be shared in the communities, especially journalists. In such a way, they start appealing to the average sports lovers who may only tune in for a Conor McGregor event. Therefore, he is always willing and most definitely justified to express casual opinions and statements regardless of the attitudes of a community, who believe they can attack him for his lack of sufficient knowledge when his mission is active to promote the sport.
Perhaps Smith’s message was intended to defend the position demonstrating how the MMA community can be overly harsh to casual viewers of the sport. Smith compares himself to average viewers who enjoy watching the fights and casually comment on them regarding their entertainment value. Such perceptions of the newcomers and irregular viewers should also be respected. Smith identifies the influx of casual viewers as the indication of the sport’s development and popularization. The attitudes of hardcore fans are overly aggressive and even toxic to those who want to casually comment on fights similar to Smith.
It is undeniable that the community around the mark appears to consist primarily of toxic elitists rather than promoters of the sport itself. The MMA community seems to be the most defensive regarding their sport and aggressive to those who deliver controversial opinions .
Moreover, the cases associated with Smith are just minor examples of the “toxic masculinity” widely represented by some MMA athletes, their fans, and media personalities. It is commonly reported that MMA culture is increasingly associated with maintaining the image of “hard men” among the combatants and further enforcing it on the fans. Obviously, the creation and support of such images among the fighters is not a novelty; even at the first broadcasted UFC events on television in 2005, a generalization was formed that athletes will inevitably behave aggressively inside and out the octagon. Indeed, the direct association between the fighters’ behavior and the fans’ increasing toxicity towards casuals needs to be proved empirically.
There is something within the violence and testosterone that appeals to the taste buds of MMA audiences. However, that same craving for violence and hatred should not transfer over into the community when personalities like Smith work desperately to bring mainstream popularity to the sport. Officials from MMA organizations like UFC President Dana White offer the alternative narrative that it is not the community to blame for the increase of toxic behavior who believe the media is the root of the issue. Under such conditions, UFC controversies can be compared to other scandals happening in the mass media. Which, to an extent, is true. However, When acknowledging that the MMA communities’ toxicity against others represents a concern, the responsibility should not be held primarily on media interpretation, excluding the athletes, fans, and product itself. It is also worth mentioning that some controversial statements, unlike those involving Stephen A. Smith, can also be planned beforehand to increase interest in the sport and attract more viewership.
The increasing criticism and hate aimed at Stephen A. Smith for his statements and assumptions regarding various MMA fights are not justified. It is undoubtedly true that Smith cannot be categorized as a hardcore fan of MMA or an expert from the dark ages when MMA was an afterthought to mainstream sports. Instead, he provides emotional and subjective comments that are unique from the perspective of a casual viewer. The overwhelming hate is not warranted, especially when similar statements have been made by some of the most accomplished MMA personalities who cover the sport daily. As a fan of the sport, the impression that MMA culture is highly offensive and toxic to the newcomers and casual viewers is shameful and sadly becoming a common trend for most within the community, whether it be fighters, personalities, or fans.
