Stephen A. Smith Admits He Wanted Max Kellerman off First Take: It ‘Was Not a Great Partnership Anymore’
Stephen A. Smith is one of ESPN’s most successful personalities, largely because he insists on delivering his takes with no holds barred honesty.
Smith routinely states he will not run from controversy or hesitate to give an opinion on any topic. And the same holds true when it comes to addressing why Max Kellerman is no longer on First Take. After five years as Smith’s sparring partner, Kellerman found himself on the outside looking in when ESPN announced a new show format that began this week.
“The rumor’s accurate in terms of me wanting him off the show,” Smith said of Kellerman, as he fessed up to Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg on Hot 97. “Let’s get that out the way. Yes, I did. We don’t have a bad relationship. I think he’s a real good guy. I appreciate what he did for the show. We were number one for five years, we stayed number one, and I appreciate that.”
“In the nine years that I’ve been on First Take I’ve given over 33,000 takes,” Smith added. “It’s a chemistry that you have and sometimes it just stalls and the audience lets you know it is what it is and you feel the need for something fresh.”
Smith noted that he didn’t want Kellerman to be fired from ESPN altogether and knew there would be other opportunities for him within the company to generate revenue. Those opportunities have already been made official, with Kellerman taking over as the point guard of ESPN’s morning radio show, also landing a daily spot on their TV lineup beginning Monday at 2pm ET.
“It wasn’t really about asking him to be off the show,” Smith explained. “It was about the fact that I knew that we, together, as far as I was concerned, was not a great partnership anymore and that was something that needed to change.”
While it might be shocking to hear Smith admit he wanted Kellerman off the show, it’s not surprising that ESPN allows their highest paid on-air personality to dictate who their co-host will be. Smith played a role in bringing Kellerman to First Take when Skip Bayless departed for Fox Sports in 2016. And he made the decision to end their run together after five years.
Although the duo appeared to have a good working relationship on-air for most of their tenure, it was curious to see Smith stay away from the show during Kellerman’s final two weeks. Smith phoned in for an awkward goodbye on Kellerman’s last day, blaming surgery to address sleep apnea for his absence.
With Kellerman out, the seat across from Smith at the First Take table will be filled by a rotating cast of co-hosts, led by Michael Irvin on Mondays and Tim Tebow every Friday.
Watch above via Hot 97
