He has specifically labeled ESPN's ESPY Awards and their "Who's Now" segment in the summer of 2007 as "pathetic" self-promotions, and accused it of ignoring second-tier sports in their highlights—such as the Arena Football League—until they are broadcast by ESPN. He often targets Stephen A. Smith, writing: "Could it be that Smith’s urban street-hip brotha yak—which he seems able to turn on and off with the drop of a Kangol—is supposed to appeal / pander to young, urban, street-talkin’ sports fans?—a description that was felt to have racist overtones. Mushnick often singles out sports play by play announcers and color commentators when they commit factual errors or miscall a play. Particularly controversial was a July 2007 column ("Had Our Phil of Morgan") that criticized Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, color commentator for ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball", for inaccurately recalling a game he played in 1964. Soon thereafter "An Open Letter to Phil Mushnick and Other Critics of Mine" was posted on the Internet decrying Mushnick's interpretation, curiously positing that Morgan's mis-recollection was less important than his ability to enhance the game for the viewing audience. The controversy quelled when it was revealed the post originated from a website well known for parody. Mushnick criticized WFAN's Don Imus for calling Mother Teresa "a no-good bitch" and for referring to sportscaster and former WFAN host Len Berman as "Lenny the Jew". When WFAN's parent, CBS Corp, canceled "Imus in the Morning" after Imus made racist remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team, Mushnick wondered rhetorically why people were surprised by Imus' "nappy-headed-ho" comment. On Friday, May 4, 2012, Mushnick made comments regarding rapper Jay-Z and his marketing in regards to the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. In the column Phil states, "As long as the Nets are allowing Jay-Z to call their marketing shots -- what a shock that he chose black and white as the new team colors to stress, as the Nets explained, their new "urban" home—why not have him apply the full Jay-Z treatment?" It wasn't until he added the next part which includes the N word that got the majority of people up in arms. "Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N------s?