Jason Whitlock Questions Authenticity Of Basketball Team Photo Featuring Stephen A. Smith—Real Or AI?

Whitlock doesn't know if a Winston-Salem State University basketball team photo featuring Smith or if it was altered

The feud with LeBron James has not ended with Stephen A. Smith. Still, another of his adversaries, Jason Whitlock, has launched another attack on the ESPN analyst as he doubted that a photo of Smith on an HBCU basketball team was really him.

According to HBCU Gameday, Whitlock cast doubt on a photo the platform’s owner, Steven Gaither, posted on another platform he runs, WSSU (Winston-Salem State University) Ram Nation. Gaither posted a team photo that showed Smith beside current North Carolina A&T head coach Monté Ross. The picture was from the 1991 season. Although it was previously mislabeled as the team that made the playoffs in 1992, Gaither assured his readers that the photo was genuine and the person was really Smith.

1991-92 WSSU Rams men’s basketball team. Player on the left is @CoachMonteRoss, to the right is @stephenasmith. pic.twitter.com/PQypeFiDUD

— WSSU Ram Nation (2024 NC D2 Attendance Champs) (@WSSURamNation) March 31, 2025

Clutchpoint reported that during his appearance on his recent podcast, Fearless, Whitlock stated he saw the photo and immediately questioned if it was real or artificial intelligence.

“ We’ve done the homework, and we know where this picture comes from. It comes from whatever conference they were in the 90s, the 1992 Postseason Conference for Winston-Salem State. It was in [the] media guide for that postseason conference tournament. This picture was in, and I’ve said here I’m not sure if this is AI. I’m not sure if that is actually Stephen A. Smith.”

Still doubting the picture’s validity, Whitlock continues by trying to point out inconsistencies with stories Smith has mentioned over the years.

“Yes. There’s a striking resemblance between this man next to Monte Ross and Stephen A. Smith. But, even according to Stephen A. Smith’s own telling at the time of the 1992 postseason tournament of the conference that they played in, Stephen A. Smith was working at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution or the Winston-Salem Journal. Winston-Salem State or Winston-Salem Journal, whatever. He was already started his media career. He was already graduated from Winston-Salem State. They can’t keep their lies straight.”

Gaither points out Whitlock’s insistence on attacking Smith because “he never misses a chance to take a snipe” at his known adversary. But, the HBCU Gameday founder reassures us that the picture IS authentic.