Time apparently doesn’t heal all wounds.
Stephen A. Smith slammed former “First Take” partner Max Kellerman this week, more than two years after the duo split.
On Thursday’s episode of “The Joe Budden Podcast,” Smith was asked about Kellerman leaving the show, which the pair co-hosted on ESPN from 2016-21.
Smith, in his response, was brutally honest, echoing what he said in the past about the split.
“I would take full responsibility for that,” he said in addressing the tension between them toward the end of their time together. “It was totally my fault and the reason it was my fault is because I didn’t like working with him.”
“It’s just that damn simple. I didn’t like it,” Smith continued. “I thought the show was stale. I thought that we had flatlined when it came to the public at large. I didn’t want to go from No. 1 to No. 2. when Skip [Bayless] left. I wasn’t having that. That s–t wasn’t gonna happen.
In replacing Kellerman, one of the roughly 20 sports personalities to be laid off this summer from ESPN, Smith has had a rotation of guests appear on the show, including Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Shannon Sharpe, Marcus Spears and J.J. Redick.
“I had mad respect for him from the standpoint of white dude, highly intelligent, Ivy League — educated from Columbia. Smart as a whip. Can talk his ass off,” Smith continued.” Can talk about anything. I get all that. But you weren’t an athlete, and you weren’t a journalist. And the absence of the two components left people wondering, ‘Why should we listen to you?’”
Smith posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday morning to address the situation, saying “Same question, Same answer for damn-near two years now: Max & I weren’t working in the end. I wanted to win. So I didn’t want that duo. Does mean he’s isn’t smart, talented and that he’s not a good guy. I have nothing against him. I wish him well. Just needed a change. That’s all.”
In 2021, Smith admitted that the rumors of him wanting Kellerman off the show were true because the pair was not a “great partnership anymore.”
He said he was transparent with the network and Kellerman about his feelings.
“The reason why I’m unapologetic about my position, No. 1, is that it’s no knock against him professionally, his work ethic, and all of that other stuff, his talent. It’s not like I wanted the guy to be fired,” Smith said. “I knew there were landing spots for him available at this network that would generate just as much, if not more revenue for him and all of that other stuff.
“It also wasn’t my decision. I gave my recommendation [to ESPN]. They ask it, I tell it. Every single year when the NBA season comes to an end, the bosses ask me where I stand … And I also told Max that.”
After “First Take,” Kellerman went to work on ESPN Radio’s morning program with Keyshawn Johnson and Jay Williams, and he took the lead in an afternoon television show called “This Just In.”
Kellerman was making around $5 million per year, and since leaving ESPN, he has not publicly addressed his departure.
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