“First Take” anchor Stephen A. Smith said ESPN colleagues who were laid off “deserved better.”
“ESPN just the other day laid off about 20 members of its on-air talent,” Smith said on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on Monday. “Friends of mine, actually, definitely respected colleagues who have done a phenomenal job and deserved better. But it’s not Disney or ESPN that they deserved better from, they deserved better than the times we are living in.”
Jeff Van Gundy, Suzy Kolber, Keyshawn Johnson, Jalen Rose and Max Kellerman were among the on-air talent let go by ESPN in the latest round of layoffs last week as part of parent company Disney’s cost-cutting measures. Smith said this isn’t the end of the layoffs, adding, “more is coming.”
“Yes, ladies and gentleman, I could be next,” Smith said. “My eyes are wide open now. I’m never comfortable. I never take anything for granted and I never assume that I am safe.”
WHAT WE KNOW:ESPN layoffs include Jeff Van Gundy, Suzy Kolber
Smith took a moment to shout out several colleagues, including Rose, a “brilliant basketball mind” that appeared on “NBA Countdown” alongside Smith, and Van Gundy, ESPN’s top NBA color analyst who Smith called “a Hall of Fame analyst and commentator.”
“Jeff was an outstanding, brilliant basketball analyst for ESPN for years. I could say I’m gonna miss him but I just can’t imagine he’s gonna be out of work for long,” Smith said of Van Gundy, who was part of the network’s “A team” alongside play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and fellow analyst Mark Jackson.
Smith even said he’s “going to miss Max Kellerman,” his former “First Take” co-host from 2016 to 2021.
“I am not happy that he is gone. We all know what history we had. We all know what happened with he and I parting ways on ‘First Take.’ I don’t want the brother unemployed. I want him gainfully employed. I want him having a job and a career,” Smith said. “And that brother knows his boxing inside and out, is smart as a whip, and has been around a long time. I wish him no ill will. And, matter of fact, although I sincerely doubt he ever will, if he ever called me needing my help, I would not hesitate to help him.”
Despite the layoffs, Smith said people “shouldn’t blame Disney or ESPN,” but instead should blame the economy and inflation. He added, “Times are bad right now and that’s why you see things reverting back.”
Contributing: Chris Bumbaca
