Stephen A Smith, Shannon Sharpe unload on ESPN colleagues after comments made about ‘First Take’

Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe don’t want to hear “First Take” come out of the mouths of two ESPN colleagues. 

Smith and Sharpe both addressed comments made by Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler during their College Football Playoff broadcast on Monday’s edition of the popular sports debate show. 

And while Smith was more polished with his response, Sharpe let it be known that he doesn’t care how many ESPN bosses he has to go through if he hears shots thrown at “First Take” again. 

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Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith makes an appearance on a podcast. (PBD podcast)

“I’m gonna be a good teammate,” Sharpe said to Smith. “I’m gonna let it slide. Everybody’s at ESPN. Because had you not taken the route you’ve taken, I would’ve lit their a–es up. If we’re going to be on the same team, if we’re gonna work for the same network, don’t do that. 

“Kirk, Chris Fowler, I promise you, if you ever mention any platform that I’m on again talking about ‘I wonder what they’re going to say as negativity,’ I promise you, ESPN ain’t got enough bosses to keep me off y’all for what I’m going to say. Don’t play with me.”

The comments from Herbstreit and Fowler were about Ohio State Buckeyes head football coach Ryan Day, where Smith accused them of misquoting him about calling for the coach to be fired.

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“Stop it,” Smith said into the camera during his speech on the matter. “’First Take gotta get him fired,’ that is not true. I did! Not ‘First Take.’ That was me, Stephen A. Don’t misquote me. What I said was, ‘This man Ryan Day, if he doesn’t get a national championship, he should go. Even with a 66-10 record.’ I didn’t stutter one bit, I ain’t stuttering now.”

Herbstreit and Fowler were on the call for the Buckeyes’ rout of the Tennessee Volunteers to move on to the next round of the playoffs. 

While Day was leading the team to a dominant victory, Herbstreit brought up the “lunatic fringe” that he feels exists at Ohio State, which came firing at Day after losing for the fourth straight year to Michigan in their rivalry game. 

Kirk Herbstreit tosses the football with fans on the set of ESPN’s College Game Day at the University of Texas, ahead of the Longhorns’ game against the Georgia Bulldogs in Austin, Oct. 19, 2024. (Sara Diggins/American-Statesman/USA TodayNetwork via Imagn Images)

Then, Herbstreit moved the conversation to “First Take.”

“’First Take’ tried to fire him,” Herbstreit was heard saying. “They thought he was done. So, I’ll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday after this performance. They had him out. They’re trying to find replacements. But here he is. He’s still got his hat on. He’s still coaching.”

At that time, Herbstreit’s comments were interesting, to say the least, considering he was talking about a show within his own network. 

Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe took exception to fellow ESPN colleagues making comments about something they said on “First Take.” (IMAGN)

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But, as they’ve done in the past with others who have called them out, Smith and Sharpe responded quickly, even if it meant putting their own colleagues on notice. 

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