Stephen A. Smith was under fire following a report that he and fellow ESPN host Pat McAfee were feuding. But the "First Take" host quickly shut down the report on his own podcast.
"There is no dispute whatsoever," Smith said on the Friday, Mar. 8 episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show."
Smith was addressing a report by The New York Post on Thursday, Mar. 7 that said the two got into an "explosive argument" that led to Smith banning McAfee from "First Take." That point was denied by Smith on his podcast.
"There is no banishment from 'First Take' or any other show," Smith clarified. "He is more than welcome to come on 'First Take' in the future, and I'm going to be more than welcome to come on his show."
Related: Sports producer accuses ESPN exec of leaking Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith feud
But while Smith denied the confrontation, he didn't directly deny the "explosive argument" that took place. The Post reported that the argument took place during a private conversation between the two about a project that Smith was producing, and it led to McAfee calling Smith a "motherf—ker."
That part was never addressed by Smith during the over seven minutes that he discussed The Post's report on his Instagram.
Instead, Smith doubled down on explaining his reason for supporting McAfee, alongside others in the business, for growing their brands with networks like ESPN but also building themselves independently the same way that he's trying to do now with his own show.
"I cannot tell you how thankful and grateful I am to Pat McAfee, to Shannon Sharpe, to Ryan Clark," Smith said. "The list goes on and on. Individuals who had the courage to go out there on their own and create a platform which ultimately evolved into a business that they could then monetize because you have linear networks and others willing to come on board and pay them for the content, thereby enabling them to get paid while being independent contractors and business owners without necessarily being employees."
Related: Dan Le Batard thinks we're witnessing "the end" of Skip Bayless, praises Stephen A. Smith
Smith's point focused on how "The Pat McAfee Show" was licensed, and not bought, by ESPN, in a move that allowed McAfee to be paid a reported $17 million a year while also continuing other endeavors, like as a commentator for the WWE.
This is the same thing Smith's partner, Sharpe, has been doing with his successful podcast "Club Shay Shay" which is signed on with The Volume, the media company of FS1's Colin Cowherd.
Whether or not Smith and McAfee had that fight, it's clear that Smith has taken the same approach he has in the past with regard to other reports about feuds with fellow sports media members. He took the same approach when going back and forth with Meadowlark Media's Dan Le Batard — who he mentioned among the sports media personalities he respects — and it seems he's doing the same with McAfee now.
"We win where I go," Smith said. "Because I don't win alone. I win because all of those people that I mentioned, and the help they've provided me and will continue to provide me. And I will reciprocate in kind because that's what teammates do. Leave all that chirping all you what you want to. That's that divide and conquer stuff going on. It ain't gonna work this way. It never will. Remember I said that."
Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024
