Stephen A. Smith isn’t letting the comments made by Monica McNutt go.
The ESPN personality addressed the barbs the two traded on “First Take” on Monday on his podcast later that night.
During a lengthy segment discussing the dustup between Caitlin Clark and Chennedy Carter, Smith tried to boast about how “First Take” has extensively covered the WNBA and women’s sports, but McNutt fired back with a comment that cut Smith deep.
“Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to,” McNutt responded.
The comment stuck with Smith to the point that he spent the early part of his podcast trying to push back on McNutt’s comment while on multiple occasions expressing his admiration for his fellow ESPN colleague.
Smith addressed the disagreement with McNutt after a lengthy rant about Clark’s impact on the WNBA, saying that her comments on the ESPN debate show “absolutely shocked” him.
“To address Monica McNutt’s point, I found it very unfortunate that she would say that,” Smith started off saying after seemingly expressing annoyance that Molly Qerim interrupted the heated moment to get the program to break.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am the executive producer of First Take. You ever heard of Monica McNutt? You have now. Because she’s on First Take a lot. Chiney Ogwumike, absolutely wonderful, spectacular basketball analyst. … ask her how it’s been to be on First Take. How about Andraya Carter? Who’s a rising star in this business. How much do you think First Take helped that? What about Kimberley Martin? What about Molly Qerim herself?”
Smith continued his response by taking aim at the people that he has “taken a lot of s–t” from before calling what he felt McNutt had said about him that was “highly offensive” and “factually incorrect.”
“I challenge anybody to find a show on sports television that discusses women’s issues that discuss the WNBA, or women’s sports that highlights and profiles female analysts more than ‘First Take.’ It’s been going on for years,” he continued.
“We have black women, we have white women. Mina Kimes, let me not forget to mention her,” Smith added as he attempted to point out the diverse nature of his show. “First Take has spearheaded diversity and equity. Do you have any idea how offensive it was for me to sit there and hear Monica McNutt say that about me when I’m the one who hand-picked our roster on ‘First Take?’”
The sports talk host made it a point to point out that his displeasure was only related to the disagreement the pair had on Monday’s show and he heaped praise upon McNutt and called her a friend.
Smith also mentioned that he would remain a “supporter” of McNutt’s regardless of their disagreement.
During his podcast, Smith called her comment “blatantly false” while making sure to explain that he wasn’t saying she was a liar.
“I’m accusing her of not knowing. Because she’s not a liar, she’s an honorable person,” Smith continued. “She must not have known. The WNBA, could have I done more? Well, guess what, Monica McNutt? I could’ve done less. Who’s done more? Hell, a legitimate argument could be made if the WNBA wasn’t doing it for themself.
“The commissioner of the WNBA came on ‘First Take’ to thank us for what we were doing for the WNBA. Who else was doing it? Where were these people at?”
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert appeared on “First Take” in April and expressed gratitude for the increased media coverage and thanked the show along with ESPN and Disney.
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