Props to Stephen A. Smith for not lying.
Everyone knew that he wanted Max Kellerman off First Take for a while because he didn’t consider him a great sparring partner. I think he was offended when Terrell Owens came on the show and said Max was blacker than him. Stephen A. fought hard to get Skip Bayless to return to ESPN (Bayless used ESPN to get a massive offer from Fox Sports to stay).
The fact of the matter is that Stephen A. needs someone like Michael Irvin, who will yell and sometimes be nonsensical with the takes.
Max was too level-headed and cerebral. In essence, he made too much sense.
That doesn’t help the ratings.
That doesn’t go viral.
Flip the page for Stephen A. speaking about kicking Max off the show.
Tags: Headline