Stephen A. Smith has accused former ESPN colleague Marcellus Wiley of crossing a line following the latter suggesting he pushed Max Kellerman off ‘First Take’ because he was afraid of the competition Max posed.
Back in September, Wiley lashed out at Stephen A. for his treatment of Kellerman, saying it was hypocritical of him to express sensitivity over Shannon Sharpe’s departure from FS1 after forcing Kellerman from the aforementioned show, and eventually ESPN.
“It’s hypocritical of Stephen A. to be sensitive to Shannon, and Shannon getting pushed out of FS1, and all that happened there, and not Max, when you did the same thing to Max,” the former NFL star declared.
Smith fired back during a recent appearance on ‘The Breakfast Club’, pointing out that Wiley was defending his best friend but noting that he crossed a line by claiming a Black man is intimidated by someone else’s intellect.
“In terms of what Marcellus Wiley said — I only have one thing to say. He and I worked together. I have a lot of respect for him. I know the man he was talking about, that was his best friend. I get all of that. No problem,” Smith said. “Here’s my only issue: For a Black man to stand up there and say another Black man is scared of somebody’s intellect, come on bro. That’s just a line you’re crossing.
“I have nothing to say other than that. That’s sad that he would go that route. I guess he’s going to get attention because everybody watches ‘The Breakfast Club’ every chance we get and you’re going to see us talk about it.”
Smith also addressed Wiley’s comments on his show this week, claiming to have no beef with Wiley, whom he says was always nice and professional during their interactions.
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“The only thing that I would say to [Wiley] is ‘bro, really? A Black man is scared of the intelligence of a white dude, really?’ In the year 2023, we’re going to say something like that?” Smith remarked.
Wiley has yet to respond to the comments, nor has Jason Whitlock, who caught some strays during ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show’ as well.
