The ESPN commentator wars continue. With reports that Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee already have a frosty relationship and are in competition for highest-paid ESPN talent while maintaining their own dedicated tribe of fans, in the aftermath of Ohio State blasting Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff, analyst Kirk Herbstreit took the mic and called out the guys on ESPN’s “First Take” for what he perceived as a daily attempt to get Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day fired.
Those are some pretty strong accusations from your colleagues, so naturally Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe both took issue with Herbstreit’s assessment of their comments. They also dragged his boy Chris Fowler into it.
“That is not true,” Smith said of Herbstreit’s claim that “First Take” tried to get Day fired.
“I did… Not First Take. That was me, Stephen A. I’m going to own that. And what did I say specifically, Kirk Herbstreit, because you’ve got to quote me accurately, my brother.
“I watch you on ‘College Football GameDay.’ I don’t misquote you. 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.”
Smith, also clarifies that he said Ohio State needs to get very close to winning the national title for Day to keep his position with the school.
“I didn’t stutter one bit, I ain’t stuttering now. You get the job at The Ohio State, which you know, Kirk Herbstreit, you gotta beat. This man has lost four in a row,” Smith said.
“And then not only do you lose four straight to Michigan, you get to the College Football Playoff, and you get bounced out by Tennessee. That’s what I was saying, you can’t lose to Tennessee now. You’ve gotta handle your business.”
“To their credit, they blew them out. They beat Tennessee like they stole something. Major props to you. But in the end, what it comes down to is this. You’re Ryan Day, the job is two-fold: beat Michigan and make sure you’re in the national championship picture,” Smith said.
“You’ve got a $20 million payroll with NIL. You’ve got 11 dudes that were NFL caliber that returned to the school for this season. You didn’t even win the Big Ten.
“And then if you get bounced out early in the College Football Playoff, had that happened, you damn right I would’ve been on national television, right before Christmas, ‘Ryan Day got to go,’” Smith added.
Social Media Fans React To Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe’s Response To Kirk Herbstreit Accusation
Social media was split on what to think about his latest rant. Most don’t understand how sports talk reached this point, where analysts are gossiping back and forth and throwing threats like the “Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
“First Take is why no one watches ESPN anymore. Give me my bowl of cereal, Stuart Scott and real sportscenter highlights back,” said one X user.
“My man is literally in the business of talking sh-t,” one fan said about Shannon Sharpe. “Can’t take the heat, stay out the kitchen. If you gonna give it, be ready to take it big dog.”
“Is it just me or is the discontent for sports debate shows intensifying? I’m just saying what Aaron Rodgers said the other day is what everyone feels. Do highlights like sportscenter used to do and keep the sports debate format to a minimum,” another disgruntled fan suggested.
“The amount of ESPN-on-ESPN violence is a bit unserious and immature. Seems to be a major rift among some of their key talent and that’s something I never encountered in all my years watching the network. Strange brew,” added another X user.
Added another X user: “Sharpe is a male version of the female ‘View’ women. Big mouth, no substance.
Shannon Sharpe Threatens Kirk Herbstreit & Chris Fowler of ESPN College Game Day Crew
Some fans seem to have had enough with the theatrics that have nothing to do with sports.
Sharpe, however, isn’t pulling any punches either. While Stephen A. took the high road, Unc was throwing direct shots, some would perceive as threats.
“I’m going to be a good teammate. I’m going to let it slide. … But hey, if we’re going to be on the same team, if we’re going to work for the same network, don’t do that,” Sharpe said.
“Kirk, Chris Fowler, I promise you, if you ever mention any platform I’m on again, and 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.”
ESPN Host Wars Continue?
So now “The First Take” crew has heat with the “College GameDay” guys and the “Pat McAfee Show” crew – allegedly.
It appears as if ESPN has so many high-paid bigwigs on the air that the egos are outgrowing the station. Stay tuned to see if Kirk Herbstreit responds to “The First Take” crew’s warnings and criticisms of his honest assessment.
Smith is no stranger to calling for head coaches’ jobs, so not so sure why he and Shannon are so upset. Smith wouldn’t stop berating ex Bengals coach Marvin Lewis during his tenure in Cincinnati.
RELATED: ‘It Looks Like We Are Paying You $5’| QB Kirk Cousins’ $294M Eulogy In Atlanta Sparks Michael Penix Jr. Era. Panic Move By Raheem Morris?
There are countless others, but they obviously didn’t like that their colleagues called them out on it. Stay tuned to find out who catches feelings next.
