Stephen A. Smith appeared to have been catfished by someone posing as his former First Take colleague Cari Champion, and he found out during an awkward exchange with Champion.
Smith joined Champion and Jemele Hill on their Flagrant and Funny podcast this week for an expansive two hour-plus interview where Champion and Hill discussed their past issues and criticism of Smith directly with him. Champion and Smith also discussed their time working together, leading to the revelation that Smith was catfished.
During the podcast, Smith was discussing helping Champion, who worked on First Take from 2012 to 2015, early in her career in sports journalism. Champion pushed back on some of this, claiming Smith did not even want her on the show and that she was underused.
During this exchange, Smith claimed Champion had reached out to him after Molly Qerim resigned from First Take in 2025. Smith claimed Champion wanted to make her way back into ESPN.
"When Molly [Qerim] resigned a few months ago, did you not reach out?" Smith asked.
#first #take #molly
Smith joined Champion and Jemele Hill on their Flagrant and Funny podcast this week for an expansive two hour-plus interview where Champion and Hill discussed their past issues and criticism of Smith directly with him. Champion and Smith also discussed their time working together, leading to the revelation that Smith was catfished.
During the podcast, Smith was discussing helping Champion, who worked on First Take from 2012 to 2015, early in her career in sports journalism. Champion pushed back on some of this, claiming Smith did not even want her on the show and that she was underused.
During this exchange, Smith claimed Champion had reached out to him after Molly Qerim resigned from First Take in 2025. Smith claimed Champion wanted to make her way back into ESPN.
"When Molly [Qerim] resigned a few months ago, did you not reach out?" Smith asked.
#first #take #molly
14 days ago
