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The US Sun
‘I need you to calm down,’ Stephen A. Smith scolds First Take guest as he calls out her ‘head movements’ live on air
By David Scott,
2024-07-24
STEPHEN A. Smith was forced to dial things back during a heated Dallas Cowboys debate.
With the NFL season fast approaching, First Take is back to squabbling about America's team.
Stephen A. Smith got into a disagreement with Molly Qerim and Kimberly Martin Credit: ESPN/ First TakeStephen A. made a hilarious comment about Martin's head movements Credit: ESPN/ First Take
The Cowboys have multiple crucial contracts to sort out and haven't been able to get a deal done with any of their star players.
Quarterback Dak Prescott, edge rusher Micah Parsons, and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb all need new contracts after 2024, but no deals have gotten done.
The First Take cast discussed which player should get their deal done first, and things quickly got rowdy.
Molly Qerim got especially feisty during the segment, and First Take guest Kimberly A. Martin was quick to back her up.
Martin reacted to everything she said with vigorous head and hand movements.
It got so active that eventually Stephen A. Smith had to stop the conversation to talk about it.
"I really need you to calm down with the head movement over here," Stephen A. said.
Qerim quickly chimed in to let Stephen A. know he made a huge error with his previous statement.
"Can I just tell you the most infuriating thing a man can say to a woman is 'relax' and 'calm down,'" Molly said.
"You're lucky I didn't take it up a notch with that," Martin replied.
Stephen A. didn't listen to Molly's warning though, and went right back to his rant against Martin.
"Okay, my retort to that would be you are sitting across from a woman that says pause, pause, pause (while making hand gestures)," Stephen A. said.
"So I get to sit up there and say relax while she says pause, pause, pause!"
The show quickly descended with everyone shouting over each other before Stephen A. was able to corral the panel and return to the Cowboys conversation.
First Take viewing figures
First Take went from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim last year.
The weekday ESPN debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 - making it the most-watched year in program history.
Its December average of 611,000 was a 24% year-on-year increase compared to 2022.
The show also reported more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports' Undisputed.
First Take is mostly back to normal with Stephen A. returning from vacation.
He came back from a multi-week break on Monday, reuniting with Molly on Monday, and meeting up with Chris "Mad Dog" Russo on Tuesday.
Stephen A. did reveal that he will only be back for the week before going back on vacation for a few more weeks.
"So I decided, let me take a break, from my break, to come in and break people's emotions and feelings," he added.
"It's only gonna be a few days, then I'm disappearing again."
Wednesday's episode of First Take was consumed by Dallas Cowboys arguments Credit: ESPN/ First Take
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