Stephen A. Smith Called Out By Megan Olivi: ‘To Not Get The Acknowledgment My Male Colleagues Got, I Genuinely Was So Hurt’

Megan Olivi was “genuinely so hurt” by Stephen A. Smith when he complimented ESPN’s UFC coverage, listing multiple announcers and reporters, but failed to mention her name.

“It’s, unfortunately, something the women in this room have dealt with before and will have to continue to deal with,” Olivi said during a press conference shared by MMA Junkie. “I don’t think he did it on purpose. I don’t think there was any (bad) intent. I don’t think he was trying to be rude by any means. I just think it didn’t really matter to him.”

After UFC 260 in March, Smith praised a number of male commentators, analysts, and reporters, for the job they did covering the event. Despite her prominent role as a reporter, Olivi was left off the tweet.

Ummm hey there – you’re forgetting someone ?

— Megan Olivi (@MeganOlivi) March 28, 2021

“I don’t love social media in general, but then to play such a big role in terms of pre-and post-fight interviews, like, I’m the one onsite doing them,” Olivi said. “Then to do all the hits in the broadcast and be a part of this team and literally the only women on the pay-per-view team, there’s not a female desk host, there’s not anyone who’s female on the pre-or post-show. It’s literally just me. And I’ve worked to be here, I wasn’t handed this. It’s been a very long journey, as people who have seen me 10 years ago I’m sure can attest to. I’ve done everything the right way to get here, and to not get the acknowledgment as my male colleagues got, I genuinely was so hurt.”

Gender bias has a long history in sports media, with very few women holding prominent positions in talk radio or in the booth for game broadcasts. But even areas of sports media that do employ more female talent, women are often judged differently than men. Just last year, Chicago sports radio host Dan McNeil was fired for claiming ESPN reporter Maria Taylor looked outfitted for an adult film awards show, a tweet he later deleted.

About one month before Smith omitted Olivi from his tweet, he controversially stated he doesn’t want to see women in the UFC ring, despite the sport’s success with female fighters.

“When I think about pugilistic sports, I don’t like seeing women involved in that at all. I just don’t like it,” Smith told the Black on the Air podcast. “I wouldn’t promote legislating laws to prohibit them from doing so, but I don’t want to see women punching each other in the face.”

Olivi said she’s had positive interactions with Smith in the past, and even acknowledged he might have had help in constructing the tweet that failed to mention her name. But as one of few women covering the UFC, Olivi will continue her role as a trailblazer, and eventually, it will be impossible to ignore her and other females from their involvement in the sport.

“To know that I’ve been traveling through this pandemic, I’ve been the one adding the reporter role to all of these cards through this really trying time and he didn’t care to notice enough, that’s on him,” Olivi said. “And we’ll just keep doing what we do and eventually, people aren’t going to be able to ignore it anymore.”

Watch above via, MMA Junkie

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