SHUT IT DOWN
ESPN viewers brand First Take ‘hard to watch’ and ‘painful’ as stars Molly Qerim and Stephen A. Smith continue absences
Stephen A. Smith ended his summer break briefly and appeared on a special live First Take last Friday
FIRST Take fans are having a hard time staying tuned into the sports debate program as the top stars continue to be absent.
The popular ESPN show returned to its regular two-hour time slot on Thursday but was without host Molly Qerim and lead analyst Stephen A. Smith.
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Instead, SportsCenter host Brian Custer stepped in and took over hosting duties for Qerim.
Custer was joined by Kimberley A. Martin, Clinton Yates, and Harry Douglas, who replaced regular analysts Smith and Shannon Sharpe.
First Take viewers are not happy with the changes and have shared their displeasure on social media.
"@FirstTake is so hard to watch," said one fan.
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"Kimberley Martin has ZERO clue what she’s talking about, this panel is painful," raged a second.
"What happened to #firsttake no sharpe no smith terrible," a third wrote on X.
"First Take is awful without Stephen A. Smith. Unwatchable Tbh," a fourth claimed.
One fan did not mind the change saying, "First take and s**t not that bad when Stephen A not there."
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"Everybody gets to talk you can hear and it’s nobody just being outrageous," the fan continued.
Smith has mostly been out enjoying his summer break but has appeared on the program for an appearance occasionally.
First Take star sitting in for Stephen A. Smith screams 'give me statistics' to director after being accused of 'lying'
Both Smith and Qerim returned last Friday for a special live taping from the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago.
Smith caused some controversy over social media when he revealed his top five sports cities list.
He listed Houston, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and Boston from five to one as his top five sports cities.
The 56-year-old left Los Angeles off his list and many fans did not take a liking to it.
Stephen A. Smith's journey through media
STEPHEN A. Smith is now the face of ESPN and an executive producer on First Take having initially started working for the company back in 2003.
Smith has held various roles with the network, including hosting radio shows, SportsCenter contributions, and appearing on NBA Countdown.
He was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1994 to 2010.
His began as an NBA writer before becoming a general sports columnist.
Before that, Smith worked as a reporter with Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News, and the New York Daily News.
Meanwhile, a variety of topics were discussed during First Take on Thursday.
Yates, a columnist for ESPN believes that Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns need to win the AFC North the most.
First Take also welcomed guests Paul Finebaum, a television-radio personality who works on ESPN's SEC Network, and Mina Kimes, a senior writer and NFL analyst at ESPN.
Finebaum discussed the four-year show cause order punishment handed to Jim Harbaugh from the NCAA.
Harbaugh was handed the punishment on Wednesday for having unapproved contact with recruits and players during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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He is now effectively banned from college athletics until August 2028.
Meanwhile, Kimes discussed the Buffalo Bills offense without Stefon Diggs and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's potential earnings if he were to hit free agency.