Alexis Ohanian Claps Back at Stephen A. Smith Over Serena Williams Comments
Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and husband to tennis legend Serena Williams, publicly confronted ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith over comments he made on his podcast about Williams’ legacy and its impact on women’s sports.
The Controversial Comments
The incident stemmed from an episode of Smith’s podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show, where he was discussing the current state of women’s basketball, particularly the WNBA. In his analysis, Smith stated:
“Serena Williams, I don’t care what anybody says, she’s the reason why nobody is talking about women’s basketball… Because she was so dominant, she was so spectacular, she was must-see TV… Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese and these other ladies… they’re finally making us not talk about Serena Williams anymore.”
The core of his argument was that Williams’ monumental, decades-long dominance was so all-consuming that it allegedly overshadowed other women’s sports, and that her relative absence from the sport has “cleared the way” for the current boom in popularity for the WNBA.
Ohanian’s Response
Ohanian, a well-known and vocal supporter of his wife and women’s sports at large, took issue with the framing of his wife’s success as a hindrance to other women athletes. He responded directly on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), calling out Smith’s take as a flawed and divisive argument.
In a now-viral post, Ohanian wrote:
“Nah, this is a wild take and just flat out ignores the history of women’s sports & its media coverage. The reason more folks are talking about women’s hoops isn’t because they’ve ‘stopped talking’ about the G.O.A.T.—it’s because they’re finally talking about women’s sports like they talk about men’s sports.”
He went on to credit the players themselves—name-checking Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and others—for driving the new interest through their talent and rivalries, arguing that the media is simply catching up.
The Broader Context and Public Reaction
The online confrontation sparked a significant debate:
- Support for Ohanian: Many agreed with Ohanian, stating that pitting successful women against each other is a tired trope and that Williams’ legacy should be celebrated as a trailblazer who helped pave the way for all female athletes, not as a figure who held them back.
- Criticism of Smith’s Framing: Critics argued that Smith’s comments failed to acknowledge the historical lack of consistent media investment and promotion for women’s sports, instead placing the “blame” for that lack of coverage on the shoulders of another Black female athlete.
- The “Crabs in a Barrel” Narrative: Ohanian specifically pushed back against what he called a “crabs in a barrel” narrative—the idea that one woman’s success must come at the expense of another’s. He champions the view that the rising tide of investment and interest in women’s sports can lift all boats.
While Stephen A. Smith has not issued a direct public apology, the exchange highlighted the ongoing conversation about how the media discusses and frames the success of women athletes, and the importance of avoiding narratives that create unnecessary divisions within women’s sports.