Are the days at ESPN numbered for Stephen A. Smith? Probably not, but on a recent episode of Dan Le Batard’s South Beach Sessions podcast, Smith did lay out a scenario where he could see himself stepping away from First Take.
Le Batard said that he got the impression from Smith’s book, Straight Shooter, that he is bored with the sports debate show that made him a star. Le Batard said that Smith seems to have outgrown the show.
Smith insisted that he is not bored, but ambitious.
“It’s not because of First Take,” he said. “It’s because of the other things I want to do and I don’t know if I can do it working for ESPN.”
Stephen A. Smith noted that he has been in movies as himself and he has a recurring role on General Hospital, but he is only now starting to take acting seriously. He also wants to grow his production company and his podcast.
“There’s also late night television that I want to do,” he added. “There’s a lot of things that I want to do that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with ESPN. Well, how receptive are they going to be to that? I don’t know the answer to that question.”
There is no problem with First Take according to Stephen A. Smith. He said that he is still very happy doing the show. His only complaint is that he wishes it aired a little later in the day.
“I’m open to doing that for years to come, just so long as it doesn’t limit me from doing other things that I want to do. If it’s gonna limit me, then in two years I’m gonna have decisions to make.”
