While Stephen A. Smith is the most popular talking head in ESPN history, there are a couple of former colleagues who have zero love for the very wealthy sports analyst.
"I don't respect him," Michelle Beadle told Front Office Sports. "I don't respect his work. He doesn't like me. This goes back to the Ray Rice stuff. He made some really piggish comments on the air. I responded. He got suspended for like two weeks. I think that was sort of the beginning of the end for anything.
"I just don't respect him, [and] I think he gets things wrong all the time. I'm not talking about opinions. Those can never be wrong. But factually, when you spread yourself so thin, it's hard to be right. Not a fan."
Beadle had two stints with the sports media giant. First, a three-year run from 2009 to 2012. Then she returned in 2014 for another five-year tenure that included hosting Get Up before Mike Greenberg took on the job. Her new comments on Smith come immediately after her SiriusXM show got the boot and is being replaced by a new weekly series from Smith that is part of a massive deal with the satellite radio provider.
Yet, Beadle was not the only former ESPN analyst who recently took shots at the 57-year-old.
Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
"I know for a fact that you wanted Max [Kellerman] to be the white guy. You know, talk on the white issues. You needed another Skip Bayless," Marcellus Wiley said this week on his "Dat Dude TV" YouYube channel [h/t The Spun]. "… Remember those days back then? When everybody needed to keep the stereotypes alive? We all know what this is, the typecast. You needed a white guy. Problem is, as T.O. told you and told the world, Max is Blacker than you… I do know one thing. Max knew more Black culture than you. And you got mad."
"How do I know that? I watched. People told me. People who watched told me. That don't mean he's Blacker than you, but you took it that way. Cause that means you got your own insecurities, partner. The other thing is, you wanted to win the debates all the time and be the smartest in the room. Oh, you picked wrong dude. Max is a genius, I am not exaggerating that. This is not hyperbole."
The former NFL star spent 11 years with ESPN. Working on various television and radio shows, including First Take . Kellerman was often a debate opponent on many episodes of the popular daily show from 2016 to 2021. However, his role on the series eventually declined. The popular long-time fight sports analyst for the network was a part of a huge round of layoffs by ESPN in 2023.
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