Stephen A. Smith: Article detailing tension with Pat McAfee ‘a flat out lie’

Stephen A. Smith is disputing a report that he and other people at ESPN view colleague Pat McAfee as “the enemy.”

A recent Athlon Sports article wrote about the “tension” that was brewing at ESPN between Smith and McAfee. On Saturday night, Smith jumped on X (formerly Twitter) to refute that claim.

“Peeps, normally I wouldn’t waste my time. But this is a flat out lie — and some straight BullS#%!,” Smith said. “There isn’t a shred of truth to this B.S. I root FOR my teammates, not against them. And I damn sure have NEVER encouraged my colleagues to do otherwise.”

He followed that with another post.

“More….the more @PatMcAfeeShow succeeds, the better it is for the rest of us. How many times do I have to say this. It was true with @PTI . It was true with @FirstTake …..before I arrived. And it’s true now. There are enough legit true things to attack, so why lie? Again, straight B.S. Have a nice weekend everyone!”

More….the more @PatMcAfeeShow succeeds, the better it is for the rest of us. How many times do I have to say this. It was true with @PTI. It was true with @FirstTake…..before I arrived. And it’s true now. There are enough legit true things to attack, so why lie? Again,… https://t.co/AguR3SPRVQ

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) November 10, 2024

In the Athlon Sports article in question, author Michael Gallagher cited comments from OutKick’s Dan Dakich, who, among other things, said that McAfee “is the enemy of the ESPNers that are African American that are siding with Stephen A. Smith. True story. I’ve been told that by him. He knows that. We all know that.”

[Stephen A Smith on X, AthlonSports.com]