Chris Russo throws First Take off the rails with ‘draft booty’: ‘I used the wrong word!’

For those who were just recently introduced to Chris “Mad Dog” Russo when he joined First Take last year, you should know the renowned radio host often struggles with the spoken word.

Routinely botching names and words may not sound like the bio of a Radio Hall of Famer, but the innocent goofiness has been part of Russo’s appeal over the last few decades. Wednesday morning on First Take, Stephen A. Smith welcomed NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper to the show and Russo had an interesting suggestion for the Chicago Bears who own the first overall pick.

“If you love (Justin) Fields, do you trade down to help your draft booty?” Russo asked Kiper, a question that baffled Molly Qerim and caused Smith to erupt with laughter.

What’s draft booty? pic.twitter.com/34KA76d96h

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 25, 2023

Draft booty? John David Booty? Pirate’s booty? Based on the context clues, Russo meant capital. But just outright using booty as a synonym for capital and trying to brush it off as no big deal is classic Mad Dog.

“I used the wrong word. Look at him laughing,” Russo admitted while pointing to Smith who couldn’t keep his composure. But Qerim couldn’t get past “draft booty,” pressing Russo on what he meant.

“CAN I FINISH THE QUESTION?!” Russo ranted. “Capital! All the stuff you get with the draft and everything else. Assets! Picks! Things like that. I used the wrong word. I don’t know, it came to me. Stupid.”

This is a person who questioned whether the Marvel comic Daredevil was a true story, and a radio host who has made a living out of talking when he hasn’t pronounced a sports name correctly in the last 30 years. It’s not surprising that he came up with a fake phrase such as “draft booty,” on the fly; it’s more surprising that he recognized using “the wrong word.” Russo eventually completed the question, but the show struggled to take him seriously and get back on track after the “booty” reference.

[First Take]