Respectfully Monica McNutt, you are wrong about this

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you didn’t hurt Caitlyn Clark you didn’t chop at her knees or anything like that Kennedy Carter so that’s cool it was a bush league play it wasn’t a basketball play and all of this other stuff but at the end of the day all I’m saying is for you cuz I saw you I saw a reports that you called her the b word before you shoved her in the side hip checked her but before just in case resentment jealousy Envy or whatever it is is applicable because I don’t know which one it is just in case all I’m saying is hold up ladies There’s an opportunity here go for it let that girl shine I’m not talking about on the court you compete against her you try to take her out try to beat her I get that part but I’m talking about let that girl shine marketing wise let her get her bag find a way to maximize off of it and create an opening for yourself so you can get yours that’s the American way hell that’s the global way but for some reason my colleague at ESPN miss Monica mcnut couldn’t figure that out and took a conversation and did something she has never done before that absolutely shocked me that she did today that I totally and emphatically disagreed with although I do love it to death and I appreciate the great work that she does for me on first take on ESPN and the great work she does for ESPN overall I love Monica MCN but this is the first real disagreement we had and since she brought it up on National Television I’m going to bring it up now this is myself along with her and Shannon sh from Club sh Shay getting into it on this very subject watch where Monica mcnut goes listen to this who talk about women sports more more than more than first tap Stephen A respectfully with your platform you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to wow all right we gotta go you got so so did you say my who does more for than us I’m talking to you I’m talking to you don’t do that I’m talking to you about the power that you have okay I’m talking to you okay okay you’re my guy but I’m talking to you got guys guys guys I really appreciate you’re my girl but You’ missed a lot of episodes of first take you missed a lot Stephen three years ago you were not talking about the W at this level don’t do that guys guys guys guys guys nobody you making Stephen a point Monica Monica you making St a my J first of all as it pertains to what Molly said doing a job at that particular moment now naturally in television got to get us the commercial break sometimes damn the commercial break but that’s a subject for another day I’ll deal with that here’s the bigger issue you know there’s something that’s going on and a lot of people run from it but I’m not because I’m not scared of these subjects doesn’t phase me at all to address Monica mcnutt’s point I found it very unfortunate that she would say that ladies and gentlemen I am the executive producer of first tap you ever heard of Monica mcnut you have now because she’s on first take a lot chenel gum absolutely wonderful spectacular basketball analyst etc etc WNBA player in her own right ask her how it’s been to be on first dat how about Andrea Carter who’s a rising star in this business how much did you think First Take help that what about Kimberly Martin what about Molly Kum herself now I have sat back for years and taking a lot of [ __ ] from people some who don’t know what the hell they’re talking about some who act like they don’t know just because they want to get at me I could care less about people getting at me I just want you to be accurate and it is highly offensive to me when somebody implies or flat out States like Monica mcnut did Monica mcnut did this morning which was factually incorrect I challenge anybody to find a show in sports television that discusses women issues that discusses the WNBA or women’s sports that highlights and profiles female analyst more than first dat it’s been going on for years one of my producers here is a guy by the name of gayen Gordon who used to be a producer on first take he was one of the people who spearheaded highlighting diversity um you as an audience don’t know this but Monica Monica mcnut does the James Dunn and the David McKinnon of the world and others he’s a black man overseeing first take my boss the hn as they say one of the executives the top three Executives at ESPN overseeing First Take is a black man by the name of Dave Roberts we have black women we have white women Mina coms let me not forget to mention her there’s a female host on my show nobody trying to let go of Molly before her it was Carrie Champion before Numbers Never Li came along with Jamal Hill she’s on first tap first take his spearheaded diversity and Equity you have any idea how offensive it was for me to sit there and hear Monica Monica mcnut say that about me when I’m the one who handpicked our roster on First Take now again we’re only talking about this incident I love Monica mcnut she’s phenomenal and she is a friend and I am a supporter and I’m going to remain a supporter of hers I just disagree with that one statement because I have to publicly defend the show what she said is blatantly false I’m not accusing her of lying I’m accusing her of not knowing because she’s not a liar she’s an honorable person she must not have known the WNBA could I have done more well guess what Monica mcnut I could have done less who’s done more hell a legitimate argument could be made that the WNBA wasn’t doing it for themsel for themselves the commissioner of the WNBA came on first take to thank us for what we was doing for the WNBA who else was doing it where were these people at we address one issue after another after another is sports fine is social issues fine is politics it’s fine it’s gender issues fine the list goes on and on first take is the place who’s the executive producer first day who handpicked every single contributor to the show because more than two years ago Jimmy patara the president of ESPN Dave Roberts an executive at of ESP ESPN handed that responsibility to me and I didn’t even ask for it you don’t believe me ask them you know know their numbers Jimmy pataro Dave Roberts Burke Magnus is now the boss over creative over content for ESPN ask him to I’m in charge of content I’m in charge other contributors that are on the show that would be me what do you mean we haven’t talked about it years ago years ago you weren’t resonating years ago you didn’t have an audience years ago you didn’t have that audience because even the women weren’t supporting the WNBA and it was me on National Television calling out the women to support the N WNBA I said it you can find a tape yo we should be talking about y’all more but you got to resonate more y’all got to do better and supporting your own sport the fellas got their Sports this is your sport ladies why don’t y’all support them more the tape is there it’s in the archives what are you talking about it’s been there it’s been there and ever since that’s what we’ve been doing I recall chenel gum and Andrea Carter coming on the show and thanking me not just for what I was doing for them but what I was doing for for women’s sports so for Monica mcnut to go on national television and say that is unfortunate I love her she’s a good woman and a phenomenal analyst and I’m not throwing any shade on her I’m speaking out because she put out a falsehood about me live on National Television on first take and I’m going to to clear that record that is not true could I have done more well if you’re a sports show and a sports news show you got to talk about what’s percolating you got to talk about what’s resonating you’ve got to pay attention to what the Masters are paying attention to and the fact of the matter is they weren’t paying any attention to the WNBA so there’s but so much I could do until the WNBA did something for itself and then the second there was a sliver of an opening to do something more for the sport I have always done something for women’s basketball and women’s sports period yet here we are on this particular day and I am sitting up here and I’m Google Alerts it is let me play for you the headlines one headlines uh USA Today Monica mcnut leaves Stephen A Smith speechless with real talk about first takes WNBA coverage that ain’t real talk that’s the damn point it’s not real it’s false but USA Today you didn’t bother to pick that up did you another one ESPN’s Fox News ESPN Stephen A Smith says some NBA players jealous of Caitlyn CK suggest race as a part of it you’re damn right some people got a problem with a white girl who’s been labeled the Savior even before she played a game after they toiled the terrain of the WNBA for years it’s a natural reaction it’s not beneficial it doesn’t need to be something they harness and harbor because you can maximize the potential of what Caitlyn Clark has created but nevertheless the resentment to some degree is real not tell not backrack it from that here’s another headline Athlon Sports Stephen A Smith left speechless after WNBA opinion backlash on first take I’m speechless because I didn’t want to go nuclear on a wonderful wonderful woman like Monica mcnut who I think was false and put out a false narrative that’s why Stephen A Smith Daily Mail of course couldn’t forget them guy can’t forget them Stephen A Smith is slammed by co-hosts in Furious exchange live on the air slammed or taken aback by the falsehood of that accusation what’s the matter that headline is too long to write do y’all homework check the facts First Take delivers and we deliver because we run from nothing and we try to support everything that comes associated with the World of Sports I love Monica mcnut dearly and I will always support her everybody can’t be right all the time everybody can’t be correct it is by far the most disappointing moment moment I ever had with her because she didn’t just say what she said about me when you talking about I could do more you talking about First Take and we’ve done more than most and we could always do less but we don’t because we care and I’mma leave it at that