Boston Celtics
“Traditional vs. untraditional. Mainstream media vs. the dumb jock. Let’s see who comes out on top.”
Jaylen Brown continued his war of words with Stephen A. Smith on Sunday. Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe
May 25, 2026 | 7:23 PM
3 minutes to read
The war of words between Jaylen Brown and ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith doesn’t appear to be quieting down any time soon.
The Celtics star once again took to Twitch on Sunday to share his frustrations not just with Smith, but the entire media industry.
”Listen, I’m not even really focused on Stephen A.,” Brown said on Sunday, as transcribed by CelticsWire’s Justin Quinn. “I’m really focused on the industry that he represents. Obviously, I have my quarrels with Stephen A., but I also have my quarrels with the industry in itself. Stephen A. is the face of the industry and his willingness to serve his higher-ups is a major cause for concern, and it’s caused frustration, but it ain’t even really about him.”
After trading retorts and barbs with Smith for the last few weeks, Brown said that the best avenue to squash their beef might be on a debate stage.
”Stephen A., here’s my proposal,” Brown said. “Why don’t we have a live audience debate, traditional media versus us athletes? And let’s do a live debate in front of a live-streamed audience at a mutual location like Harvard or MIT, and let’s talk about it. Let’s see who comes out on top. Should be easy. Should be a piece of cake.”
”Mainstream traditional media versus the athlete. Let’s set it up. Harvard, MIT, live and let’s see who comes out on top. You know where to find me. We know where to contact my team. Let’s set up a live debate at a mutual location and let’s talk about it. Traditional vs. untraditional. Mainstream media vs. the dumb jock. Let’s see who comes out on top.”
Brown and Smith have been engaged in a feud ever since Boston’s season came to an end in the first round of the playoffs against the 76ers.
After calling on Smith to “be quiet” and “retire” earlier this month while on his Twitch live stream, Brown didn’t mince words on May 17 while talking about Smith’s criticism doled out on ESPN’s “First Take”.
“Man, f— Stephen A. Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C,” Brown said after pausing a clip where Smith said that Brown needs to “be quiet.“My offer still stands. You want me to be quiet and stop streaming? Well, I want you to be quiet and get off these networks. Because you’re not using your platform to do real journalism. You’re using your platform to use clickbait.”
Brown didn’t hold back against Smith, who also urged Brown to get off his Twitch livestreams unless the Celtics star wanted to facilitate a trade elsewhere this offseason.
“Tell this mother—— to retire, because he’s the face of clickbait media,” Brown said. “And maybe with his retirement, we could spark a movement to get the rest of these mother——s out of here.
“Or to also have some type of, forget journalistic integrity, actual integrity in order to hold themselves accountable to the bull—- takes they put out with no basis, no bias, no information. Just narrative. Just for the sake of just pushing a weak narrative. Just purely out of that.”
On May 18, Smith responded to Brown’s comments on “First Take.”
“But, in the end, Jaylen Brown — be careful what you wish for,” Smith said. “You really want me to start reporting on that level? The locker room, how the organization might think about you, how the city may feel about you, how Jayson Tatum may or may not feel about you. Sneaker deals, endorsement deals, the list goes on and on.”
“The season is over bro. You’re on Twitch trying to do what I do and me needing to step away. It makes no sense.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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