ESPN announced on Monday that First Take had attained its most-viewed May ever and accounted for a 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year growth, averaging 513,000 viewers per show. This is up 6% from the average viewership total in 2023 and also included the program’s most-watched episode since mid-February. Yet the debate pertaining to Caitlin Clark and the WNBA that ostensibly turned contentious between Stephen A. Smith and Monica McNutt took headlines on Monday and led to further conversation on social media.
When Smith spoke about how he feels people have to watch every syllable when discussing women’s sports, McNutt delineated that it is how she has felt about being a woman. Later in the conversation, Smith asked McNutt if another show has discussed the WNBA and women’s sports more than First Take. McNutt replied by telling Smith that he could have done it three years ago if he wanted to, leaving him in a state of shock that his query had elicited such discourse.
Smith examined the actions of his colleague during his eponymous program, The Stephen A. Smith Show, on Monday evening, prefacing his commentary by divulging his appreciation for her and the work that she does. Additionally, he spoke about how sometimes in television, the commercial break needs to be forsaken; however, he understands that it is part of the job of First Take host Molly Qerim and stated that it was a subject for another day. Smith then discussed what McNutt said and the umbrage that he felt immediately thereafter.
“To address Monica McNutt’s point, I found it very unfortunate that she would say that,” Smith explained. “Ladies and gentleman, I am the executive producer of First Take. You ever heard of Monica McNutt? You have now – because she’s on First Take a lot.”
Adopting parallel structure in his elocution, Smith mentioned several other women in sports media who have thrived on First Take, including Chiney Ogwumike, Andraya Carter, Kimberley Martin and Molly Qerim. Although he conveyed that he has been subject to criticism from people over the years, some of whom do not know the subject matter of which they are discussing, he simply wants people to be accurate. Smith referred to what McNutt did as “highly offensive” and the “first real disagreement” they had had and again challenged the audience to find another show that discusses the WNBA or women’s sports more than First Take.
“Do you have any idea how offensive it was for me to sit there and hear Monica McNutt say that about me when I’m the one that handpicked our roster on First Take?,” Smith said. “Now again, we’re only talking about this incident. I love Monica McNutt – she’s phenomenal, and she is a friend and I am a supporter, and I’m going to remain a supporter of her’s – I just disagree with that one statement because I have to publicly defend the show.”
A factor of First Take that Smith outlined on his program is that the show has had conversations pertaining to many different subject areas, including sports, social issues, politics and gender issues. Smith asserted that he was given the executive producer responsibilities on First Take by Jimmy Pitaro, the chairman of ESPN, and Dave Roberts, the head of event and studio production for ESPN, without being asked.
Following a 21% rise in viewership during the 2023 regular season and the most-watched WNBA Finals in two decades that averaged 728,000 viewers on ESPN platforms, the league is assimilating into added prominence and becoming even more of a regular part of the everyday conversation. Smith wanted to talk about the WNBA more in the past and implored women to support the league, calling on people to review the tape from previous shows.
“Could I have done more?,” Smith questioned. “Well, if you’re a sports show and a sports news show, you’ve got to talk about what’s percolating, you’ve got to talk about what’s resonating. You’ve got to pay attention to what the masses 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 in 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.”
