Women’s sports content creator Coach Jackie recently posted a video calling for Stephen A. Smith to be fired over remarks he made about ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike.
When Coach Jackie made the video, she likely did not expect Shaquille O’Neal to show up in her comments section. But that is exactly what happened, and her response has since taken on a life of its own.
The original video centered on a moment that aired on ESPN, in which Smith made an on-air remark directed at Ogwumike, a former professional women’s basketball player turned television analyst, after she greeted viewers in French.
Smith stated: “I got to get a little personal here for a second here, Chiney. I mean, you know, listen, I’m living a good life. I’m pretty damn happy, to say the least. But I must admit, in all my years on this earth, I’ve never dated a woman from France or anything like that. But after hearing Chiney, I was like, what have I been missing? What have I been missing? I mean, that language, that verbiage right there, that kind of turned me on.”
Coach Jackie described the clip as something you might be shown in a workplace HR training session as a textbook example of what not to do. She acknowledged debating whether to post a video at all, not wanting to draw further attention to what she viewed as an uncomfortable moment for Ogwumike.
Ultimately, she pointed out that ESPN itself had broadcast it, and that both the network and Smith needed to face real accountability. “Fire Stephen A. Smith,” she said flatly in her video. “You should have done it years ago, but you should do it now because of this.”
What she did not anticipate was NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal leaving a comment on the video that read: “Stop reaching get a life lady no get a real job.”
Coach Jackie, who noted that she and O’Neal are both LSU alumni and that she is roughly 30 years his junior, did not let the remark go unanswered. In a follow-up video, she addressed the four-time NBA champion directly
She acknowledged that it was a strange dynamic for someone his age to target someone who is essentially the same age as his own daughter, but said she would not press the point, because she was confident it would not embarrass him.
As evidence, she referenced Shaq’s guest appearance on Angel Reese’s podcast, during which he reportedly suggested that the only way audiences would tune into the WNBA was if the rims were lowered and the players performed in revealing clothing, remarks he made directly to Reese herself.
On the question of her career, Coach Jackie conceded that building a platform around women’s sports content, complete with brand partnerships, might not look like a conventional profession. But she noted that O’Neal was perhaps not the ideal person to weigh in on what constitutes legitimate work.
Additionally, she briefly considered taking aim at his 1996 film Kazaam before acknowledging she had never actually seen it, for the straightforward reason that she had not yet been born when it came out.
Additionally, Jackie said that O’Neal’s choice to defend Smith for his behavior on air revealed something telling about O’Neal himself.
“I guess I could say that you defending your buddy Stephen A. Smith for being a creep on live TV just confirms for me that you would do the same thing,” she said in the video. “But you know that you would do the same thing because that’s why you commented this.”
She closed by announcing she was choosing to be the bigger person in the situation, before landing one last line: “Which was pretty impressive. Considering that Shaq is famously huge.”
The videos have connected with an audience of women’s sports supporters who have grown weary of dismissive attitudes aimed at both the athletes they follow and the people who cover them. Coach Jackie made clear she would prefer not to spend her platform relitigating Stephen A. Smith’s behavior at all.
“Don’t make me talk about him again,” she said in the original clip. “And I’m so sorry, Chiney, because you deserve so much better.”
