Max Kellerman Was The Wrong Type Of White Guy For Stephen A. | Bobby Burack

Stephen A. Smith says he is currently on a "much-needed vacation," but had to hit pause to respond to his critics. In a YouTube video on Tuesday, Smith addressed the coverage of Max Kellerman's return to sports media.

"They said that I was upset that Max Kellerman, my former colleague at ESPN on First Take," Smith began. I got upset because he’s gonna be calling the Terence Crawford and Canelo Álvarez fight in September? They looked at my face and said I was upset."

Who said that? Who looked in Smith's face and said he was "upset" about Kellerman's new role covering boxing? We ask because we honestly aren't sure. 

Unfortunately, Smith said his critics would "remain nameless."

By all accounts, he's referring to my post on X last week and comments from Marcellus Wiley, Kellerman's former co-host and personal friend. 

However, neither of us claimed Smith was "upset" about Kellerman's role in the upcoming Canelo-Crawford bout. Here's what I wrote:

"Most people are afraid to say this, but everyone knows it:  @stephenasmith tried to ruin @maxkellerman’s career because Max was more popular among the black community than he was. Yet Kellerman got paid over $10 million not to work the past few years. He is now going to be the face of boxing’s renaissance. Meanwhile, more and more people have come to realize SAS is a fraud."

After my post, Wiley addressed Smith on his podcast:

"Two things I know for a fact: You wanted Max to be the white guy to talk about the white issues. But Max wasn’t that dude. Max is blacker than you, as T.O. [Terrell Owens] told the world. Whether you agree or not, Max knew more about black culture than you did. That bothered you.

"You picked the wrong dude. You can’t pick Max if you want to out-debate him and outsmart him every day. Not going to happen."

Wiley was, of course, referencing Terrell Owens' appearance on "First Take" in 2021 when he told Smith, "Max is blacker than you."

Sources say that segment was Smith's final straw. Afterward, he aggressively pushed ESPN management to remove Kellerman from "First Take."

NEW YORK - Max Kellerman speaks onstage during Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 at Javits Center on June 22, 2025 in New York City.  (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

For background, Skip Bayless departed ESPN and "First Take" for FS1 in 2016. At the time, Smith and ESPN still believed the only way to run a debate show was with a black man, a white man, and an attractive woman as the moderator. So, Smith needed a new white debate partner. 

While ESPN tested radio host Brandon Tierney and others, Kellerman was both Smith and management's first choice. But Stephen A. didn't just want a white guy. He wanted a certain type of white guy. He wanted a white guy who would take the opposite side during political and cultural debates, someone to play the role of the villain in the eyes of Black Twitter.

However, Kellerman is more liberal than Smith. And while the two often agreed on topics pertaining to race, Kellerman is also smarter and more eloquent than Smith. (Not all White Dudes or Kamala are dumb. Just most of them are.)

For that, Smith despised Kellerman. And to my original post, Smith didn't just have Kellerman removed from the show. He spent the next few years belittling him publicly. Specifically, Smith said viewers didn't respect Kellerman because he was neither a pro athlete nor a journalist.

Amusingly, Smith has since staffed "First Take" with pundits far less accomplished than Kellerman, including Mina Kimes, Monica McNutt, Kimberley Martin, and David Dennis Jr.

If you hadn't noticed, the "white guy" role is no longer a necessity, not after George Floyd's death in 2020.

Nonetheless, ESPN demoted Kellerman off "First Take" in 2021 and included him as part of a mass talent layoff in 2023. 

Still, ESPN owed him $10 million for the two years remaining on his deal. His contract expired in June and was immediately announced as the lead broadcaster for the Crawford and Canelo fight on Netflix, a megafight backed by Saudi official Turki Alashikh, UFC president Dana White, and WWE president Nick Khan.

No one knows this story better than Stephen A. Yet, to this day, he still cringes when he hears the name Max Kellerman uttered. He's also particularly sensitive to what Wiley and I say about the situation, considering we are the only two people who exposed how poorly he treated his former debate partner.

Ultimately, Kellerman has moved on. Stephen A. still hasn't.