Earlier this week, Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post reported that Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith, the 1a. and 1b. of ESPN’s talent pyramid, got into an “explosive” argument that included the former NFL punter calling the First Take host a “motherf*****.”
The despite reportedly stemmed from creative differences involving a project that Smith is working on for ESPN. The Post also reported that Smith might have banned McAfee from future appearances on First Take over the disagreement, though both sides denied that.
Both McAfee and Smith provided statements to the Post that downplayed any friction between them without completely dispelling the notion that something had happened.
On Friday, Smith took some time out of The Stephen A. Smith Show to discuss the situation, categorically denying there was any issue between him and McAfee and making it clear how much “gratitude” he has for ESPN’s big star of the moment.
Addressing the Pat McAfee situation, Tyson vs Paul, Tatum’s MVP campaign, SOTU response, more
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“Number one, there is no dispute whatsoever,” said Smith. “Pat McAfee is my teammate. Pat McAfee and I work together at ESPN. There is no banishment from First Take or any other show. He is more than welcome to come on First Take in the future and I’m gonna be more than welcome to come on his show.”
Smith then launched into a diatribe about how he appreciates the bravery and courage that people like McAfee, Shannon Sharpe, and Ryan Clark have had to forge a path that he himself hopes to follow.
“I root for my teammates. I root for my colleagues. I don’t root against anybody. The people out there who do that are idiots. A rising tide raises all boats. If you succeed, I succeed,” said Smith. “I cannot tell you how thankful and grateful I am to Pat McAfee. To Shannon Sharpe. To Ryan Clark. The list goes on and on. Individuals who had the courage to go out there on their own and create a platform which ultimately involved into a business that they could then monetize because you have linear networks and others willing to come on board and pay them for their content. Thereby enabling them to get paid while being independent contractors and business owners without necessarily being employees. That is not something to hate on. That is something to show gratitude for.
“That’s why I’m thankful to the Pat McAfees of the world. That’s why I’m happy and I’m thankful when I see the ratings or the numbers for Club Shay Shay or the Nightcap. Or Joe Rogan getting a $250 million deal. Or Bill Simmons before him on Spotify. Or Dan Le Batard, Meadowlark Media. Or All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson signing on with Dan Le Batard and John Skipper and their team. The list goes on and on and on.
“The business is evolving. And individuals who were employees, who had nothing to rely on other than their on-air talent, have transformed and transitioned into being actual businessmen. That is not something to hate. Whether it’s any of the names that I mentioned, the McAfees, the Le Batards, the Shannon Sharpes, the Ryan Clarks, the list goes on and on. No, that’s something to revere. Joe Rogan is somebody I admire. Bill Simmons is somebody I admire.”
Smith then pivoted towards the discussion around his impending contract negotiations and desire to increase his platform beyond First Take (and ESPN), something he thinks people like Pat McAfee have made easier for him.
“All those individuals I mentioned, including Pat McAfee, are responsible for helping to position people like myself and others to do what they did years ago. Building what they built. Animosity? Anger? Friction? Tension? Please. It’s gratitude. I’m thankful to them all because they showed me the way,” said Smith. “Now my time is coming up again. In less than 16 months. We’ll see what happens. But there’s no animosity. There’s no anger. No hostility. There’s no feelings of unfairness. There’s none of that. Just gratitude.”
To be fair, there still hasn’t been a complete refuting of the report of an argument, but it does sound like the two sides genuinely want to see one another succeed, especially since it means they can just keep driving up the price for one another’s services.
