Yolett McPhee-McCuin, the head coach of the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball team, disavowed comments from sports commentator Stephen A. Smith on his show on Jan. 21. In November, Smith suggested that athletes of color do not want to play in Oxford. He implied this may have contributed to former Ole Miss Football head coach Lane Kiffin’s decision to depart for LSU.
“He’s in Oxford, Miss. Let’s get this out of the way, now listen ladies and gentlemen, I’m gonna say it. Y’all can’t say it,” Smith said in November. “Leave it to me, I’ll say it — the brothers ain’t trying to come to Oxford, Miss., for the most part. Compared to Gainesville or Baton Rouge, La., let’s just call it what it is.”
Smith’s comment implied that athletes of color would not want to attend Ole Miss for athletics because of Mississippi’s history and the negative connotation the state receives from the outside looking in.
McPhee-McCuin announced on Jan. 16 via X that she would be appearing on the Stephen A. Smith Show. She joined the show virtually on Wednesday to vouch for Ole Miss and the community of people in Oxford.
Smith opened the show by explaining what he meant by his original statement, and then asked McPhee-McCuin to share about her personal experience of Oxford.
“I didn’t want anyone to assume I’m talking about what’s going on down there today. I don’t know,” Smith said. “But in fairness to you and that program, and athletic director Keith Carter, and Ole Miss everything, talk to us about what Ole Miss has to offer and what Ole Miss brings to the table.”
McPhee-McCuin immediately showed appreciation that Smith asked her about her experience and shared what she knows about the Oxford community to be true.
“Oxford, Miss., is, one, incredibly diverse,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I listened to your whole statement, and I can admit that here, we are a bit sensitive, when it comes to people who have this connotation of what’s going on now because of what happened 50-60 years ago.”
McPhee-McCuin added that this subject matter even plays a role in her recruiting, but the biggest advice she tells her recruits is to come visit for themselves to see the true embodiment of what the university and Oxford community is.
“Even when I recruit I have to say, ‘Now look, whatever you thought, I need you to come see for yourself,’ so I understood where you were coming from in that perspective, but that’s only a small piece of the narrative and I’m here living it every day,” McPhee-McCuin said. “This place is full of love (and) support. My family, we love it here. … We’ve got elite people of color, but we’ve got elite people — period — in Mississippi and in Oxford, and that’s why (Carter) invited you.”
As McPhee-McCuin noted, the best way to understand Mississippi is to visit, and that is the exact thing she convinced Smith to do.
“People come here and they fall in love, just like I did. Black excellence is celebrated here, so we get real offensive when people say what they say and they say, ‘Well, I hadn’t been there,’” McPhee-McCuin said. “That’s why I want you to come, I want you to come, because I think you may mess around and be a fan.”
Smith officially accepted an invite to Oxford via coach McPhee-McCuin’s discussion. No official date has been announced for Smith’s trip.
“If you’re inviting me … for you, I will come, ain’t no problem. Stephen A. is going to get down to Oxford,” Smith said.
