During the Wednesday edition of First Take on ESPN, the show addressed the New York Knicks deciding to relieve head coach Tom Thibodeau of his duties despite bringing the team to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. A preponderance of the show talked about this transaction, along with the implications it could have for the organization and the rest of the league at large. At one point in the episode, host Molly Qerim asked featured commentator Stephen A. Smith whether he would want to be the head coach of the New York Knicks or the head of state, presumably referencing the instances he has teased a potential presidential run.
Jerry Recco, anchor for Boomer & Gio on WFAN, played audio of the instance on the air where Smith asked for clarification as to whether or not she was referring to the presidency of the United States. When Qerim confirmed that it was such, Recco averred that she was wondering why Smith needed to be so literal about the situation. Earlier in the discussion, he mentioned how he feels bad for Qerim, who has been the host of First Take for nearly a decade, resulting in Giannotti assuming that “she’s making plenty of money” in the role.
“I’m sure she is, but in-between these two dopes,” Recco said. “So she asked Stephen A. Smith about the Knick job or would he want to be president, and he basically says because of James Dolan, this is why he says [president].”
When Smith was finished giving his answer, Russo joined the conversation and asked if he could see Smith negotiating the situation between Ukraine and Russia. This resulted in Smith explaining how he would approach the situation, which occurred a few hours after SiriusXM announced that he was re-joining the company to host both a sports talk show and a program centered on pop culture, politics and social commentary.
“He goes on and he gives a real answer,” Recco said, “but again, I feel bad for Molly because Russo then fires back.” Russo then stated that they were not going to be getting into politics on the show, resulting in Qerim conveying that she feels like he just did. Once the audio of the situation completed, Giannotti did a facsimile impression of Russo, resulting in laughter around the studio.
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