Stephen A. Smith did not hold back Thursday in criticizing New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye for claiming he was unaware that former NFL MVP Cam Newton is part of ESPN’s First Take.
During a segment discussing Maye, Smith called the Patriots signal caller a “liar” and questioned the credibility of a professional athlete who supposedly did not know the long-running show.
“He’s also a liar. First of all, not to brag. Pardon the Interruption is the number one show on ESPN, spanning 20 plus decades. First Take is the number one morning show. 13 years and counting. Don’t tell me you are an athlete and you don’t know that Cam Newton ain’t on the show. You lying,” Smith said during his on-air commentary.
The remarks follow a WEEI interview in which Maye, asked about Newton’s comments on the Patriots calling the team “fool’s gold” last week on ESPN. The comments circulated back to head coach Mike Vrabel being asked earlier in the week about them. WEEI host Andy Hart asked about the comments to Drake during an interview on Wednesday.
“Oh no, I don’t even know what show he’s [Newton] on,” Maye told WEEI. “I think they get paid to make remarks and make certain comments. So, I just worry about what people in our organization think, and worry about we think and what my teammates think. People are going to have different opinions. I’m just going out there on Sunday and worrying about ourselves.”
Following Smith calling the Patriots quarterback a liar, he then said that the question asked by WEEI was taking Newton’s comment out of context.
“The media offers former professional athletes opportunities that corporate America, for the most part, ain’t doing, but a professional athlete performing because he and his feelings, because somebody might have critiqued him, or some weak ass reporter or pundit on radio, gonna ask the question out of context, out of context,” Smith said. “They misquote Cam, Because, like Cam said, he was talking about the Patriots, not him, and you gonna ask the question? Well, ask it accurately, instead of misrepresenting Cam Newton.”
The question asked by the WEEI host was indeed tied to Newton’s criticism of the Patriots, and not Maye specifically.
“Drake, your coach [Mike] Vrabel dismissed this question, but I felt like I’d give you the opportunity because you’re familiar with this guy. He played for the Patriots. Cam Newton said the Patriots are ‘fool’s gold.’ That was his words, not mine. Do you hear those things? Do you react those things? Any comment on that,” asked Hart.
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