Stephen A. Smith has had his fair share of heated on-air exchanges while hosting First Take through the years, but not everyone Stephen A. has debated has been treated the same.
In a recent episode of his podcast The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith said he had a difficult time debating Tim Tebow when he would appear on the show. Tebow, a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion at Florida with Urban Meyer, is an analyst on SEC Network and contributes college football analysis across ESPN. He is one of the most respectable and likeable personalities amongst his colleagues.
Tebow’s good nature made it hard for Smith to get fired up to battle Tim’s points.
“I’ve tangled with Ryan Clark, I’ve tangled with Marcus Spears, I’ve tangled with Dan Orlovsky,” Smith said. “About the only person I didn’t tangle with was Tim Tebow, because he’s my friend and he’s a very nice guy. And damnit when I get on him too much, I almost feel like I’m destined for hell, cause he’s such a wonderful, wonderful human being and I almost feel like I deserve to be crucified for insulting him.”
Tebow is a devout Christian and has never shied away from expressing his faith publicly. Stephen A. wasn’t mocking Tebow for his religious beliefs when he set he felt like he should be crucified, just trying to make a point that Tim is too nice to really have a passionate back and forth with.
