Is ESPN Done Listening to Stephen A. Smith after firing Ryan Clark and Cam Newton?
They let go of Shannon Sharpe last year and Michael Irvin the year before
Stephen A. Smith is very clear about his role as a producer of First Take. He’s said on multiple occasions that he does not have the ability to hire whoever he wants, but his opinion carries a lot of sway at ESPN.
Smith also has never been shy about admitting who he asked the network to bring on.
According to Smith’s book, Straight Shooter, he once told ESPN Executive Vice President Dave Roberts that First Take didn’t work with himself and Max Kellerman. “If you don’t want to take Kellerman off the show, then take me off the show.” Smith recalled in his memoir. “I’ll understand. I’m sure we can find something else for me to do here.”
Since First Take moved on from Kellerman, Smith reportedly asked ESPN to bring in Michael Irvin - ESPN let him go after a sexual harassment allegation in 2023, though the network claimed letting him go had more to do with reshaping their on-air debate format.
Smith also claims he’s the one that pushed hard for the network to bring in Shannon Sharpe after he left Fox Sports’ Undisputed. ESPN let him go after settling a sexual assault allegation in 2025.
On Tuesday ESPN let go of another one of Smith’s strong endorsements, Cam Newton. This just one day removed from the network letting go of Ryan Clark, who Smith has since posted a video of support for.
Of Stephen A. Smith’s First Take endorsements, that I’m aware of, only Chris “Mad Dog” Russo remains.
As far as Cam Newton and Ryan Clark go, the decision makes sense. Both Clark and Newton have extremely successful podcasts that discuss sports and culture. Neither of those podcasts are produced or affiliated with ESPN. So the most polished/filtered sports network in America, has no influence over what’s said on those platforms.
Stephen A. Smith also has his own podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show. The difference is that Stephen A. Smith, as the most prominent figure on the network, has a massive paycheck that comes from ESPN. He’s not going to say anything on his show that he wouldn’t say on ESPN (Other than a few stronger curse words). Additionally, Smith has programming on Sirius XM. He won’t want to do anything to upset that employer either.
While ESPN may be comfortable with Smith having other outlets to state his political beliefs and continue promoting his personal brand, they’re seemingly done giving him input on First Take contributors. For one reason or another, Smith’s choices and preferences haven’t worked out. Frankly, I liked Max Kellerman sitting opposite Stephen A. I thought he had pragmatic takes that didn’t rely on the over-the-top theater that Cam Newton and Michael Irvin relied heavily on. Hell, if we’re being honest, First Take was best with Skip Bayless sitting across from Stephen A. Smith. Not because Bayless has good takes, he has hilariously awful ones…but Smith and Bayless going at one another was pure entertainment.
ESPN, can we just get Bayless back?
-Written by Seattle Mike