Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday revealed that he went to multiple network executives to voice his displeasure with the treatment of Michael Irvin earlier in 2023.
Just days ahead of the Super Bowl, Irvin was pulled from NFL Network’s coverage after a woman accused him of misconduct. He was also a regular guest on ESPN’s First Take, and Smith regularly refers to him as one of his favorite colleagues.
Irvin has maintained his innocence from the very beginning, claiming he merely had a brief conversation with the woman in a lobby and shook her hand before they went their separate ways.
A month later, Irvin released security footage in an attempt to prove his innocence. He’s also filed a $100 million defamation suit against the woman — an employee of the hotel — and the hotel itself.
Smith made his return to sports TV on Monday on Skip Bayless’ revamped Undisputed debate show on FS1.
“I think it’s a travesty what happened to Michael Irvin over the last few months,” Smith said on Wednesday’s episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show.
“The NFL sent Michael Irvin from the Super Bowl, pulled him from their coverage. That was bad enough; but for him to have an accusation levied against him — that ultimately jeopardized his career — and to this day, all we’ve seen is a 45-second video of him conversing with a young lady in the lobby and then walking away, and she walked away … We have no audio. We have no accusations that extend beyond that specific experience. For him to be off the airwaves since February … and to have his job in jeopardy, his future in jeopardy, is a travesty.”
Smith then said the racial component of the incident made it especially concerning.
“But, I have to admit to you, as a Black man, it was incredibly scary,” he continued. “And it’s something that I articulated for some folks in positions of power at various networks who will remain nameless.”
Smith also extended well wishes to Smith, Keyshawn Johnson and Richard Sherman as they begin a new chapter of Undisputed, though he did admit he was disappointed that First Take couldn’t get them.
“So with that in mind, understand it was really good see those three brothers on the air,” Smith said. “Now, I wasn’t too happy because two of them were working with me last year on First Take. One of them is somebody that I wanted for years at ESPN in Richard Sherman; and all three of them are now on Undisputed.”
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