“Fearless” (Ep. 251)

Sports Journalist Jason Whitlock’s Fearless podcast is walking the walk, reconciling Christianity with conservatism and exposing the real epidemics plaguing black Americans

I’m not a journalist, but I’m journalist adjacent. 

For the last couple decades, I’ve worked as a communications professional in myriad capacities: PR (with all those hats), corporate comms, Influencer campaigns, writer, editor. I cite that information, not to bring attention to my skill set, but to offer context with respect to the ethos of this piece.

Divine assignments are a thing.

Contrary to what many believe, a divine assignment doesn’t always reveal itself after dedicated time spent studying the Bible, meditation on a particularly resonating Scripture or “a word” spoken by wise counsel. Sometimes, divine assignments come in the form of a nagging unction. A pull. A leaning. Sometimes divine assignments are wholly unspectacular, mired in drudgery and rooted in requirement. 

This written piece is among my divine assignments. 

For six months, I’ve been burdened with an undeniable notion to write a review of sports journalist Jason Whitlock’s white-hot-take podcast, Fearless, which also features his accompanying op-ed column. In the case of this divine assignment, my writing and submitting it is entirely unsolicited and, by extension, could go completely unnoticed. 

That doesn’t matter. After all, there’s good ideas, and there’s God ideas. When God is behind a thing, the odds are already beaten.

What matters is my obedience to the unction; my willingness to yield to the pull. My writing this review is less about Whitlock and his show (although, I have a lot to say about it) and more about being in lockstep with God.

I’ve been watching and listening to Jason Whitlock’s sports commentary through all his years at ESPN (both times), AOL Sports and Fox Sports, respectively. I’m a sports girl and a communications professional, so staying plugged in with skilled sports industry talking heads is an “iron sharpens iron” thing for me. Over the last little while, I’ve witnessed Whitlock’s Road to Damascus-like journey. He left a lucrative career at the three- and four-letter networks, opting instead for what many consider an uncertain (at best) or career suicide-worthy (at worst) foray into the conservative Christian space on a subscription platform. As the vehemently anti-woke, but glaringly awake, host of a podcast on BlazeTV, Whitlock is an unlikely beacon of light in an increasingly sold/souled-out industry. All evidence is pointing to the inevitable truth that Fearless is Whitlock’s divine assignment. And I’m here for it.

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, Whitlock’s Fearless program is arguably the most important collection of voices in media. 

I said what I said.

The truths told on Whitlock’s Fearless is a dish best served cold, and everybody can eat.

In addition to Whitlock as host, the show is an aggregate of regularly featured contributors, referred to by Whitlock as ‘Fearless Soldiers,’ whose respective areas of interest and expertise range from sports, spirituality, politics, entertainment and culture. The show is aptly named, and it’s not for the faint of heart. Whitlock routinely has visceral reactions to the troubling changes happening nationally and globally, and administers verbal radiation into what he’s identified as a malignancy that is overtaking American society’s bloodstream: the metastasizing, cancerous tumor of Antichrist sentiment.

I’m personally enjoying watching all of this unfold. It’s as if Whitlock is publicly participating in prophecy that’s being fulfilled right before our eyes and, like Elijah mocking the prophets of Baal, he and his camp of quick-witted correspondents mercilessly taunt the left. It’s such fun to watch. On a daily basis, Fearless summons, tees up and reiterates this fundamental truth:

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, ‘What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.’ They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of His command, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then He used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. -2 Peter 3:3-9 NLT

Peter, by the way, was mouthy. It’s been said that the only time he opened his mouth was to put the other foot in it. He was zealous. He was known for popping off with well-meaning, but foolish, declarations about his loyalty to Jesus. On one such occasion, Jesus called him the devil and told him to get somewhere and sit down (that’s the southern paraphrase for “Get behind me, satan.”). 

Whitlock reminds me of Peter. Not with respect to his being foolish, but as it relates to his zeal. He often references the seeds of Christianity sown by his family members when he was growing up. Per his own admission, those seeds spent many years buried underground, desperately lapping up the occasional sprinkle of water and ray of sunlight needed to nurture them to maturity while he mostly lived for himself, his desires and his flesh. Now, in the throes of a poignant professional pivot grounded in a never-too-late conviction, those seeds sown are producing a most bountiful harvest. 

Most Fearless episodes (which now total over 365) can stand alone. The content pulls the threads of current events and hot topics, and delivers honest, provocative discussions in mostly digestible bites. 

Recently, Whitlock declared episode 351 “the greatest show in the history of Fearless.” With several contributing guests weighing in, its content included discussion about a feud between two sports industry pundits, Hip Hop’s and “social justice” special interest groups’ negative influence in sports and the villainizing of football because of the harrowing incident involving a 24-year-old Buffalo Bills player who required CPR to revive his life on the field while millions watched on national television. The takes were hot. Sacred cows were slain. Names were named and fingers were pointed. It is, indeed, excellent content.

But, I’m not reviewing that episode. This review is focused on content from over one hundred episodes ago: episode 251. 

This episode is a “family meeting” level set that clarifies the show’s genesis and purpose. Entitled “The Real Reason Jason Whitlock is Critical of Black Culture & Its White Puppet Masters,” it is the precipice for this divine assignment and, possibly, the explanation for Whitlock’s.

Jason Whitlock, “Fearless” - Ep. 251

Did I mention this content is not for the easily triggered? Whitlock, however, may argue that is exactly for whom his show exists. Touché. 

The entirety of this episode is focused on Whitlock’s addressing an email he received from an audience member. The viewer contended Whitlock regularly identifies, but never offers solutions to, problems plaguing the black community. Whitlock’s 105+-minute response culminated with this arc: “I am crystal clear about what the solution is; His name is Jesus Christ. We talk constantly on this show about a Biblical worldview. That’s the solution I’m offering African-Americans. Without God, none of it’s getting fixed.”

In episode 251, Whitlock mentioned (in passing) the effect his each-one-teach-one roles as mentor and philanthropist have had on people, like his sacrificing $40,000 of his own money to rescue a former Ball State football player from a Chinese prison. He mentioned regularly going out of his way to create career opportunities for people with no traditionally meaningful or relevant qualifications, which he described as “Taking real chances on real people who most of America would take a dump on and be like, ‘Are you crazy?’”

His mentioning of these selfless acts didn’t land for me as self-aggrandizing, but rather as a throughline underscoring the real point of Fearless: Whitlock is not allowing his career to go gentle into that good night. He’s got a renewed enthusiasm for the trajectory of his purpose, and he’s letting God do the steering. Whitlock has been red pilled and his content echoes the immortal words of the greatest musician to ever pick up an instrument or write a song, “Don’t cry. He is coming. Don’t die…without knowing…the cross.” 

IYKYK.

Openly assuming the role of a sports industry griot, Whitlock is embracing the ridicule that comes with saying, after years of living a hedonistic lifestyle, that Jesus is his net-net. He also says (on a loop) that black culture has been hijacked by a specific group of people with a sinister agenda, and that his former employers are guilty of eroding the purity of what used to be the universal unifier. 

And he’s right. About all of it.

‘Fearless’ is Transparent

Part of the draw to Whitlock’s Fearless is that he readily admits his former (and sometimes present) carnal habits. He anchors his transparency in heady exchanges with his regularly scheduled contributors: Delano Squires, Shemeka Michelle, Royce White, TJ Moe, Steve Kim, Dave Shannon and Pastor Anthony. 

Whitlock’s routine disclosure about his past days spent in the clubs, chasing women and overtaken by the sin the church refuses to discuss – gluttony – creates a safe space for his guests to likewise engage, and for his viewers to witness firsthand what grace looks like in real life. 

Because Whitlock is decidedly pro-life, abortion is among the show’s featured tender topics. As a post-abortive woman, I share, albeit in a different way and for different reasons, his regret about being childless. I also share his revelation that, years later, it was my rededication to Christ that gained me access to the unimaginable and unmerited mercy of God’s forgiving, healing, restorative nature. 

Fearless is a portal by which many unchurched and church-wounded can benefit from the transparency that is woefully absent in many faith-based forums.

‘Fearless’ is Journalism

A momentary diversion from episode 251.

A recent Fearless Special: The ‘COVID Cartel’ (episode #359) was Whitlock’s impressive assembling of several prolific voices in the “vaccination” conversation including Steve Deace, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Senator Ron Johnson and people in the sports industry who have either suffered adverse effects or been professionally penalized because of the jab (I refuse to call it a vaccine…because it isn’t a vaccine). 

It was an apposite dialogue in which Whitlock asked uncomfortable questions, and flexed his journalism muscles in a way he’d never be allowed to do on any legacy media network.

I’m not shy about my position on this issue. The new viral strains of “the pandemic” are chronic cognitive dissonance and willful ignorance. They’re rampant, and highly contagious. Episode 359’s two-plus hours of cogent content should be required viewing on every college campus and in every newsroom.

‘Fearless’ is Rooted in Bible-Based Christianity and Constitutional Conservatism

In his episode 251 retort to the viewer who emailed him questioning whether or not he should have his “Black Card” revoked, Whitlock expressed his being puzzled that the foundation of his show had somehow flown over her head. He plainly outlined his thematic focuses on making men alpha men again, giving voice to Bible-focused ministers, exposing the entertainment industry’s attacks on free speech and renouncing the toxic matriarchy. 

He’s pretty obvious about it. I’m not at all sure what perplexed the viewer.

Whitlock also doubled down on the truth that the Bible is the root of this country’s founding, and acknowledges ethnicity-based slavery as a global phenomenon; one that is still being practiced in many countries except the United States. And, while slavery in the form of sex trade trafficking still exists in the U.S., it is the only country with citizens who have actually fought a war to end ethnic-based slavery on her own soil. The result? Ethnic-based slavery was and is permanently abolished. Spend some time in Africa and see if that’s true there today. Spend some time in China and see if that’s true there today. Hop on over to Mexico, squat and see what happens. Go ahead. I dare you.

But, I digress.

The show’s Christ-centered, Bible-based bent is both childlike through Whitlock’s and some (not all) of his contributors’ faith in the inerrant, infallible truth of the Word, and defiant about the unwelcome, but needed, schism Whitlock seemingly knows he’s creating inside and outside the church, and in what he refers to as “Death Row Media.” His flawed-human approach identifies the proverbial fly in faith- and political-space ointments and, through both his monologues and his contributors’ commentary, slaps an inconveniently discernible magnifying glass over the dirty little secrets in both camps.   

Episode 251’s “My Why” testimony juxtaposes Whitlock’s renewed enthusiasm for his blood-bought salvation with his neophyte understanding of what is absolutely interwoven in his faith: his civic duty to vote. 

After botching his 2022 midterm election voter registration (do better, Jason), he’s quick to mention the fact that he’s “not political” and has never voted; a blemish he almost wears as a badge of honor. 

It’s not. 

I, like Whitlock, am not political. I am a steward of my God-given rights; rights many have died for me to enjoy and exercise. Voting is both a right and a responsibility: one that, when it is squandered, leaves the faces and graves of those who made and make the ultimate sacrifice for its existence spit on and trampled.

Likewise, I am also not religious. I’m a blood-bought, born-again, Bible-believing daughter of the Creator of the universe. I’m in a relationship with Him. We’re tight. He’s my everything. I’m stunningly flawed, but I know who I am and Whose I am. The last thing I want to be is religious. Religious folk are the only people Jesus called out, fussed out and cited as examples of who is a stench in His nostril. 

Miss me with religion.

It is encouraging, however, that Whitlock seems committed to actively – and publicly – walking out his journey as a citizen of both the United States and the kingdom. In episode 251, he said, “I was given a prescription for all my problems. My grandmother gave me the greatest gift: a love of Jesus Christ and a rudimentary understanding of the power of that gospel and the philosophies taught...despite doing all kinds of counterproductive things I’ve talked about on this show: My gluttony, and being obese…and trying to fight it my way. It did not work. The only thing that has been successful over the last 30 years was me giving it to God.”

That part.

‘Fearless’ is Fearless

It’s easy for mainstream media to either ignore Whitlock’s content, or write it off as tin foil hat conspiracy drivel. The most pervasive criticism I see regarding Whitlock in the social media comment sphere is the fact that he’s no longer a pundit on one of the major sports networks or a columnist in one of the most notable publications. But, the truth is, he’s got enough “forget you money” to say what he wants to say, give voice to the otherwise muted and promote the products and services he believes in with strategically inflammatory gumption. The truth is also that he is a man who is aggressively opposed to the ankle-grabbing status quo in the media space, and he gives zero foxes about who has a problem with it. 

In episode 251, Whitlock doesn’t do the most, but he does a lot. He points out that “America’s greatest Influencers are now idols: in the 80s and 90s it was Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali and Oprah Winfrey. Today, it’s LeBron James, Jay-Z, Colin Kapernick and Kim Kardashian.” 

He also unapologetically, and without clearing his throat, refers to this group as the “...toxic, demonic Mount Rushmore of Influencers ruling America and moving us toward satanism. The left knows…’Let’s walk black people away from their religious beliefs, detach them from God and America will follow suit.’”

Without vitriol, Whitlock fervently rebukes the questioning emailer with these overtly clarifying statements. 

“The puppet masters…the people in control of Hollywood and the music industry…the people in control of politics….they’re using black culture to take this country down a path of destruction. This culture that’s been handed to us is not our culture. Our culture had been America’s greatest, most passionate Christians. We used that to move ahead in this country, to free ourselves and to create opportunities for people like me. And now, we’ve got Moe, Larry, Curly and Kim Kardashian…the Influencers of debauchery. And the puppet masters have incentivized this debauchery.

Black culture has been packaged up by satanic people to be the gateway drug to satanism. The culture that the puppet masters have designed for black people is satanic, and it’s intentional. And it’s because they know that in order to move a culture here in America, you gotta move black people first. That’s why you’ve seen this cultural shift. That’s why you’ve seen the culture detach black people from their religious beliefs.

If you don’t like this show, it’s because you don’t like what I’m saying. I’m saying Hollywood, the puppet masters, the globalists…they’re all Jim Jones…feeding black people Marxism. Black people, because of our tradition and our importance, took control of American culture. We’re the lab rats. We’ve been fed the satanic culture, and they’re using [black people] to spread the satanic culture all across America and all across the globe. And I’m objecting to it. And I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.”

Whitlock’s foundational tenets have shifted from self-serving myopic sports journalism to God-led disruption. It is these tenets that keep me watching and listening to Fearless. And, while I don’t agree with every stance he and his contributors take on any number of subjects, I am grateful for the “fire starting.” 

Whitlock is apparently on the unpopular narrow path, and his dissidence is a breath of fresh air.

I hope episode 251 eliminated that viewer’s question about Whitlock’s integrity as it relates to being a positive example in the black community. As for me, there’s no question about it.

That’s it and that’s all.