Stephen A. Smith has been brutally honest about wanting Max Kellerman off First Take, now admitting that he offered to leave the show himself if ESPN executives didn’t oblige.
After ESPN’s Wednesday morning screaming match between Smith and Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, Smith joined Russo’s SiriusXM Radio show to discuss the behind-the-scenes operations of First Take. Russo was recently added to the weekly rotation of guests tasked with filling the seat Kellerman was booted from last year.
Kellerman took over for Skip Bayless and partnered with Smith on First Take in 2016. But Smith, who admitted last summer that he felt the show needed a change, told Russo he was willing to leave First Take if ESPN wanted to keep Kellerman.
“I also said to the bosses, ‘Listen, I think our time together has passed,'” Smith admitted, referring to himself and Kellerman. “If you want to keep him on the show and not me, and you want me to do something else…so be it.’ But in the end, I knew that it was time for us to part ways.”
“I think I’ve proven to be right,” Smith added of the decision to part ways with his former co-host, categorizing it as a good move for Kellerman.
Since departing First Take, Kellerman has been moved to hosting ESPN’s morning radio show from 6 – 10am and later hosts a TV show at 2pm on ESPN,
Russo later asked Smith if his relationship with Kellerman is “good” today.
“I wouldn’t classify it as that,” Smith answered. “I wouldn’t classify it as good or bad. We don’t communicate, but we’re very respectful toward one another. We say ‘hi’ to one another when we see each other, but we go our separate ways.”
Listen above via SiriusXM