Stephen A. Smith took to his podcast to talk about Monica McNutt’s comments on First Take. He seemed to imply that McNutt’s popularity was due to her constant presence on First Take, same as Chiney Ogwumike, Andrea Carter, Kimberly Martin, and even longtime First Take host Molly Qerim.
“You ever heard of Monica McNutt? You have now. Because she is on First Take a lot. Chiney Ogwumike, absolutely wonderful, spectacular basketball analyst, etc. WNBA player in her own right. Ask her how it’s been to be on First Take. How about Andrea Carter, who is a rising star in this business? How much do you think First Take helped that? How about Kimberly Martin? What about Molly Qerim herself?”
Smith seemed to combat the critics of him and the show by saying most of them don’t know what they are talking about, or act like they don’t to try and get at him. He adds he was highly insulted by Monica’s comments, and challenged people to mention a show that highlights women in sports more than First Take.
“Now I have sat back for years and taken a lot of sh*t from people. Some don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. Some who act like they don’t know just because they want to get at me. I could care less about people getting at me, I just want you to be accurate. And it is highly offensive to me when somebody implies or flat-out states like Monica McNutt did this morning, which was factually incorrect.”
“I challenge anybody to find a show in sports television that discusses women’s issues, that discusses the WNBA or women’s sports, that highlights and profiles female analysts more than First Take.”
Stephen A basically just said he made these ladies famous….
“You ever heard of Monica McNutt?….. you have now, because she’s on first take a lot.”
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) June 3, 2024
Stephen A. Smith clearly feels very strongly about the issue of women’s sports on First Take. While he is well within his rights to respond to McNutt’s comments, to imply that her popularity and fame came solely through her work on First Take is incredibly dismissive of her time in the WNBA, and the same goes for the other analysts he mentioned.
Stephen A. Smith And First Take Caused A Lot Of Controversy Today
Smith was responding to McNutt’s comments on First Take, who blasted him and the show for not covering the WNBA in the past, whilst discussing the general animosity WNBA players have for rookie Caitlin Clark.
Stephen A. Smith: “Who talks about the WNBA? Who talks about women? Who talks about women’s sports more than First Take?”
Monica McNutt: “Stephen A, respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to… I’m talking to you about the power that you have. I’m talking to you.”
Stephen A. Smith: “You’re my girl, but you’ve missed a lot of episodes of First Take. You missed a lot.”
Monica McNutt: “Stephen A, three years ago, you would not talk about the WNBA at this level. Don’t do that.”
There are definitely some fair criticisms that can be leveled at Smith and First Take for their lack of coverage of the WNBA. And while Monica made some great points, there are criticisms that can be leveled at her, primarily her not vocalizing this in the past. But the route that Smith took was uncalled for and could land him in hot water with higher-ups at ESPN.
McNutt was shrewd in putting Smith on blast, as he is one of the most powerful on-air entities at ESPN, and could have some major sway among network executives to garner more coverage for the WNBA.
It is wonderful that the WNBA is growing in popularity, and this has been a long-needed revolution in sports media. Hopefully, the best-case scenario from this situation comes to fruition, which is more coverage for the WNBA, rather than the worst-case scenario, which would be a mudslinging situation between the two analysts.
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