Stephen A. Smith doesn’t have an issue with Chris Canty’s stance that the Dallas Cowboys should trade Micah Parsons this offseason.
Rather, it’s the former NFL defensive lineman’s reasoning for such a trade that the ESPN star has a problem with.
In fact, Smith found Canty’s belief that the Cowboys should trade their star pass-rusher for the sake of the franchise’s culture so egregious — “asinine” to be specific — that the take itself became a topic on Thursday’s episode of First Take.
“That’s the most asinine thing that I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth,” Smith said of the Unsportsmanlike co-host. “I’m not talking about trading Micah Parsons. I’m talking about the reasons he threw out. You want to trade Micah Parsons because you don’t have enough draft capital and you want to buffer that? Fine. You think trading Micah Parsons could get you additional assets elsewhere on the football field or a multitude of assets that would exceed just that of one person? I’m good with that fellas. My issue is the reasons he talked about that.
“Excuse me, Micah Parsons opening his mouth and you want to establish the culture? How the hell are you going to establish any culture when the person who does the most talking is Jerry Jones. Are you kidding me? You’re trying to tell me that Micah Parsons comprised the culture?”
Smith went on to refer to Canty as “must-listen-to radio,” which he didn’t necessarily mean as a compliment.
“This guy, Chris Canty right here, you want to listen to him in the morning. Because he’s going to say some stuff now,” Smith continued. “It’s just that some of the time, it’s going to be as asinine as it can be. And this is one of those moments. It makes no sense what he’s saying.”
Apparently Canty was watching and unsurprisingly, the comments didn’t sit well with the former Cowboys defensive lineman. Tagging the official X account for First Take, as well as co-hosts Elle Duncan, Harry Douglas and Louis Riddick, the former Virginia star reshared his original clip for Thursday morning’s Unsportsmanlike, along with some harsh words for Smith.
“First off, watch your tone when you talk about me,” Canty wrote. “Second, listen to @stephenasmith and watch @UnSportsESPN b/c if you did, you’d know that culture is just one of several reasons why they should trade Parsons.”
It’s Day 4 of the NFL offseason and Chris Canty and Stephen A. Smith are having a feud over the Cowboys trading Micah Parsons. https://t.co/zJ9uHnptNa pic.twitter.com/AAJtNC0WwQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 13, 2025
To Canty’s credit, he did have additional reasoning for why the Cowboys could potentially trade Parsons, although that’s hardly the primary story here. Rather, it’s the ongoing feud between Smith and Canty, who haven’t been shy to trade barbs in recent months, as was the case this past September when Canty called Smith “asinine” — sensing a trend here? — for a take regarding Aaron Rodgers.
But while it may seem like there’s bad blood between the two ESPN colleagues, the reality is that both of them know how to play the game. Since emerging as an ESPN personality, Chris Canty has established himself of a take machine capable of driving a morning newscycle, a pivotal role on the network’s first radio show of the day. And for as heated as their arguments on — and off — air might seem, that’s surely something Stephen A. Smith appreciates, even if the end result is a product that feels more like professional wrestling than sports talk debate at times.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.