Are the debates on First Take genuine? It doesn’t matter according to Domonique Foxworth, who made memorable TV alongside Chris Russo last week when he was called to fill in for the ailing Stephen A. Smith.
“The night before I decided ‘It’s July. We’re gonna be entertaining. I’m gonna think of the most anti-old man takes I can come up with to see if I can be in a side-by-side after sparking a Chris Russo rant,’” he told Bomani Jones on the latest episode of The Right Time.
Regular viewers of ESPN’s Get Up have seen Foxworth be animated before. They may never have seen him be as confrontational as he was with Russo on Thursday. The First Take version of the former NFL cornerback was certainly foreign to those that know him best from his appearances on Jones’s podcast.
Domonique Foxworth said there is a reason for that.
“It’s entertainment and it depends on what show you’re on what kind of vibe you can bring,” he said. “People who turn on First Take? They want performance.”
The best evidence of that came earlier in the month. Foxworth said that Brian Windhorst clearly knew how to keep the audience engaged. That is why his speculation about what roster moves the Utah Jazz could make turned into a viral sensation.
“Your man Windy blew up because of his finger dancing. The most incredible thing about that whole thing to me was like the appreciation for the art of it, cause it was captivating and there was no payoff.”
