‘Drop mic, sit down’ Stephen A. Smith tells First Take co-star Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo after Yankees debate boils over

STEPHEN A. Smith caused First Take co-host Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo to lose his mind in an impassioned debate over the New York Yankees.

At the First Take live show at the Fanatics Fest in New York on Friday, Stephen A. and Russo were asked to name the greatest-ever Yankee .

ESPN

ESPN

ESPN

Russo, who is a baseball historian, selected Yankees legend Babe Ruth.

But Stephen A. drew Russo’s ire by ignoring the likes of Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle by naming Derek Jeter as his greatest Yankee.

Stephen A’.s comments drew applause from the young crowd at the Javits Center.

But Russo told his First Take co-host that he should be “ashamed of himself.”

“Have you heard of Ruth? Have you heard of [Lou Gehrig]?” Russo told the crowd.

“Have you heard of Joe DiMaggio? Mickey Mantle?

“If you haven’t, go back to your history book; and when you go to Yankee Stadium, go look at all the photographs!

“Go to Monument Park!”

Russo then pivoted to Gehrig, who famously said “I’m the luckiest man alive” in a retirement speech.

“Lou Gehrig played 2,000 straight games! Died! Died at Yankee Stadium!” Russo said.

“And you bring up ‘El Capitan’? You should be ashamed of yourself!”

Stephen A. fired back: “You should be ashamed of yourself! This is El Capitan!”

In an entertaining finger-wagging argument, Russo retorted: “You’re nuts!”

“This is Derek Jeter! Oh, by the way, he’s got more World Series championships in a Yankee uniform than Babe Ruth!” Stephen A. said.

Former Boston Red Sox star Ruth won seven World Series in total – with four with the Yankees.

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.

Jeter, meanwhile, won five World Series with the Yankees.

“Ha! You see that? You didn’t know that either!” Stephen A. added.

“You didn’t know that either! Drop mic!

“Sit down! Sit down! Sit down!”

Russo also caused a reaction when he shared that he wasn’t that excited about Team USA’s men’s basketball gold medal glory at the Paris Olympics.

Meanwhile, co-host Molly Qerim, who dazzled fans with her wardrobe , announced that Shannon Sharpe would be returning to First Take on Monday.