Comedian, radio host, and longtime Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc member Rickey Smiley took to social media this week to call out members of his fraternity after memes began circulating that paired him with Stephen A. Smith amid the recent controversy surrounding Smith’s misstatement about Omega Psi Phi on ESPN.
Last week, Smith had an on-air slip when he mispronounced the fraternity’s name while discussing fraternity culture. Smith later acknowledged the mistake and issued an apology, but the clip had already taken on a life of its own online.
That’s where Smiley entered the conversation. As memes began circulating that paired Smiley with Smith, framed as fraternity-related jokes, Smiley took to social media to address what he saw. What some treated as internet fun, he saw as a failure of brotherhood and basic awareness.
In an emotional video, Smiley explained that the memes surfaced during one of the most painful periods of his life: the anniversary of his son Brandon’s death. “Today, this month, it’s a tough month for me,” Smiley shared. “January is a tough month for me and my family… this is the week that I lost my son. And it does not get any easier.”
What stung most wasn’t the joke itself, but who it came from, and when. He shared that many of the memes and social media chatter were coming from other members of his fraternity.
“They have a meme out about me and matched me with Stephen A. Smith… during this month of grief for me and my family,” he said. “Is what y’all doing friendly? Are you displaying friendship? And friendship is essential to the soul.”
Smiley distinguished the organization and the individuals posting the memes. He says those actions do not represent Omega Psi Phi as a whole, nor the values he believes the fraternity stands for.
“Some Qs had me up on a meme… and they don’t represent Omega Psi Phi,” he said. For Smiley, the frustration wasn’t about being thin-skinned or avoiding accountability. It was about selective energy and misplaced priorities.
He spoke about the decades of his community work, much of it done quietly: fundraising, political organizing, and service through organizations like the NAACP, SCLC, the National Urban League, St. Jude, and international initiatives protecting girls from trafficking and forced marriage.
“All of this stuff I do low-key, underground, that a lot of people don’t know about,” he said. “Did you make memes about the Qs that killed Tyre Nichols? Did you make memes about Caleb Wilson?”
He also pointed out what he described as performative fraternity culture: ego, hierarchy, and clout chasing replacing accountability and care. “For some of y’all, that’s all y’all have,” he said. “You don’t have anything else except for that step show you won in ’92 and ’93.”
Still, Smiley was clear that his comments are not a rejection of Omega Psi Phi. It was a defense of what it’s supposed to mean. “I have real friends in the fraternity,” he said, naming brothers who have shown up with genuine love and support. “These are real relationships.”
Check out the full video below.
