Stephen A. Smith breaks silence on Pat McAfee ‘rift’ as he issues rare statement when he ‘wouldn’t normally waste time’
STEPHEN A. Smith is squashing rumors of an alleged beef between him and Pat McAfee.
Rumors spread of “tension” between ESPN’s two biggest stars after an article was posted by Athlon Sports.
In the article, author Michael Gallagher shared comments from Outkick’s Dan Dakich.
He said extreme things, like McAfee “is the enemy of the ESPNers that are African American that are siding with Stephen A. Smith.
“True story. I’ve been told that by him. He knows that. We all know that.”
While Stephen A. loves to create drama, he wouldn’t stand to see what he called “bulls***” spread around the internet.
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“Peeps, normally I wouldn’t waste my time. But this is a flat out lie — and some straight BullS#%!,” Stephen A. said.
“There isn’t a shred of truth to this B.S. I root FOR my teammates, not against them.
“And I damn sure have NEVER encouraged my colleagues to do otherwise.”
He quickly followed that up with another post on X explaining how McAfee’s success is beneficial to everyone at ESPN.
“More….the more @PatMcAfeeShow succeeds, the better it is for the rest of us,” he wrote.
“How many times do I have to say this. It was true with @PTI . It was true with @FirstTake …..before I arrived. And it’s true now.
Stephen A. walks off set – First Take guests gasp after Shannon Sharpe remarks
“There are enough legit true things to attack, so why lie? Again, straight B.S. Have a nice weekend everyone!”
Fans quickly flocked to Stephen A’s comments to defend him after he aired out his complaints about the reports.
“Never trust the mainstream media. They are pitting Stephen and Pat against eachother to weaken both of your negotiating power,” one fan said.
“The SaS haters are wild. I don’t get it,” another fan said.
“They want to take you down,” a third fan said.
First Take viewing figures
First Take went from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim last year.
The weekday ESPN debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 – making it the most-watched year in program history.
Its December average of 611,000 was a 24% year-on-year increase compared to 2022.
The show also reported more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports’ Undisputed.
“Sounds like some bulls*** to me, why would anyone say this about you,” a fourth fan said.
“Y’all are both great at what you do. Screw media making stories up,” a fifth fan said.
McAfee didn’t have any response to the rumors about his relationship with Stephen A, but it is possible he addresses it on his show.
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Stephen A. likely won’t say anything on First Take as he tends to keep things about sports on the show.
It will be more content about the Dallas Cowboys before he ever speaks about McAfee.