STEPHEN A. Smith was forced to slow down during a heated debate over the Dallas Cowboys.
With the NFL season quickly approaching, First Take is back in contention over the American team.
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The Cowboys have several crucial contracts to work out and have been unable to reach a deal with any of their star players.
Quarterback Dak Prescott, edge rusher Micah Parsons and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb all need new contracts beyond 2024, but no deals have been reached.
The First Take cast argued over which of them should close the deal first, and things quickly got turbulent.
Molly Qerim got especially feisty during the segment, and First Take guest Kimberly A. Martin was quick to back her up.
Martin emoted everything she said with head and hand movements, and eventually Stephen A. Smith had to interrupt the conversation to talk about it.
“I really need you to calm down with the head movement here,” Stephen A. said.
Qerim quickly chimed in to inform Stephen A. that he made a huge mistake in his previous statement.
“Can I just say that the most annoying thing a man can say to a woman is ‘relax’ and ‘calm down,’” Molly said.
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“You’re lucky I didn’t go overboard with that,” Martin replied.
Stephen A. didn’t heed Molly’s warning and went back to his rant against Martin.
“Okay, my answer would be that you are sitting across from a woman who says pause, pause, pause (while making hand gestures),” Stephen A. said.
“So I can sit there and say relax while she says pause, pause, pause!”
The show went downhill quickly with everyone yelling at each other before Stephen A. managed to end the panel and return to the Cowboys talk.
First Take is almost back to normal with Stephen A. returning from vacation.
First look at the numbers
First Take has grown from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim over the past year.
ESPN’s weekday debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 — making it the most-watched year in the show’s history.
Its December average of 611,000 represented a 24% annual increase compared to 2022.
The show has also recorded more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports’ Undisputed.
He returned from a multi-week break on Monday, reuniting with Molly on Monday and meeting with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on Tuesday.
Stephen A. revealed that he will only be back for a week before returning from vacation for a few more weeks.
“So I decided, let me take a break, to go in and break down people’s emotions and feelings,” he added.
“It’ll only be a few days, then I’ll disappear again.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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