ESPN stars reunite after feud

Despite reports of a murky relationship, we can confirm Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee can collaborate in some form.

ESPN recently unveiled a new commercial featuring their most prominent daytime personalities, Stephen A. Smith, Pat McAfee and Mike Greenberg. Two things were notable in the commercial: Smith’s biceps, and Smith appearing alongside McAfee.

Earlier this year, Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post reported the two personalities got into an “explosive” argument over creative differences, possibly something pertaining to Smith’s docuseries Up For Debate , which premiered on ESPN+ in May. According to the report, McAfee called Smith a “mother*****” during their heated argument.

Smith later addressed the report, downplaying any issue with McAfee by stating how much appreciation and gratitude he has for the former NFL punter turned media star. As Smith negotiates his next contract with ESPN, the First Take host has praised McAfee and his $85 million deal for resetting the standard. But despite the occasional exchange of kind words from afar, we haven’t seen Smith and McAfee collaborate on anything since the NFL season.

McAfee made weekly appearances with Smith every Tuesday on First Take when he joined ESPN last year, but those segments came to an end after the Super Bowl. The Post reported Smith banned McAfee from First Take after their spat, although both parties denied that.

It was, however, still notable that McAfee’s appearances stopped around the time their spat was reported. Yes, it coincided with the NFL season ending, but with the draft, free agency, and a new Aaron Rodgers headline every day, there were plenty of opportunities to have McAfee pop on First Take the same way Smith pops into Get Up .

Six months after McAfee reportedly called Smith a “motherf*****” during an “explosive” conversation, does this commercial prove everything is copacetic between ESPN’s biggest stars? Not necessarily.

While the commercial proves Smith is willing to expose his newfound biceps like McAfee, the nature of the commercial and its rotating iso shots led to some speculation that they weren’t actually in the same room when it was filmed. ESPN sources, however, confirmed to Awful Announcing that the duo — and Greenberg — filmed the commercial together at ESPN’s Seaport District studios.

[ ESPN ]

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