Stephen A. Smith was unfazed by the criticism he received for his exchange with ESPN analyst Monica McNutt on Monday’s episode of First Take.
The back-and-forth occurred during a lengthy conversation about Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter. In a weekend game between the teams, Carter shoved Clark to the ground after Clark elbowed her moments before. During the First Take segment, McNutt criticized the media for the way it’s portrayed the entire WNBA as having animosity toward Clark. When Smith defended First Take by claiming no other sports show talks more about women’s sports, McNutt said Smith could have used his platform to do so years ago.
Smith later responded on The Stephen A. Smith Show by doubling down and listing various female analysts who have appeared on First Take.
“Ever heard of Monica McNutt? You have now…she’s on First Take a lot…I’ve sat back for years taken a lot of sh*t…Highly offensive when somebody implies or flat out states like Monica McNutt did…factually incorrect”
– Stephen A Smith
Full 34-min reply https://t.co/JkM17NKp6O pic.twitter.com/SbkPnOCutd
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 3, 2024
On Tuesday’s episode of First Take, Smith accused his detractors of simply wanting to see ESPN’s top morning show fail.
“There’s a lot of people that come after us on First Take because we’re no. 1,” Smith said, “but most importantly, because of the subjects we’re willing to attack. Monica and I disagreed with each other a little bit yesterday. I love you, girl. You know that. I love you, too, [Chiney Ogwumike]. You know that. You know I always got y’all. Those other folks out there can kiss my ass. We’re gonna win. We’re gonna sit up there and do what we do, and we’re gonna do it by making sure we attack and address the subjects with the realness and the authenticity it deserves. That’s what we do on First Take.”
Watch above via ESPN
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