Did Stephen A. Smith say he let go Max Kellerman because he 'wanted to win?' 

Longtime TV personality Stephen A. Smith recently opened up on his split from Max Kellerman during a recent episode of "The Joe Budden Podcast." As Smith explained, when he and Max Kellerman split in 2021, he was at fault for causing the split.

At the time, Smith was disgruntled about Skip Bayless leaving the show, and with the drop in ratings that followed. As a result, he issued an ultimatum to ESPN, either Kellerman goes, or he goes.

The departure of Bayless and the split between Smith and Kellerman rocked the industry at the time, sparking quite a bit of discussion.

Although it's never been a total secret that Stephen A. Smith wasn't pleased with Max Kellerman co-hosting the show, the "First Take" host recently unloaded.

While speaking with rapper Joe Budden, Smith spoke freely about the situation, explaining that the show needed an overhaul.

With poor ratings, Stephen A. Smith knew that something needed to change. After explaining the situation on Budden's podcast, he took to Twitter to clarify his comments, writing that he did in fact want to win:

"Same question, Same answer for damn-near two years now: Max & I weren’t working in the end. I wanted to win. So I didn’t want that duo. Does mean he’s isn’t smart, talented and that he’s not a good guy. I have nothing against him. I wish him well. Just needed a change. That’s all."

What were Stephen A. Smith's full comments about Max Kellerman?

Given the controversy that has stemmed from Stephen A. Smith's recent comments about Max Kellerman, let's take a look back at exactly what Smith said.

Prior to clarifying that he wanted to win, and he didn't believe he could win with Max Kellerman as his co-host, he stated:

"I would take full responsibility for that. It was totally my fault and the reason it was my fault is because I didn’t like working with him. It’s just that damn simple. I didn’t like it. I thought the show was stale. I thought that we had flatlined when it came to the public at large.

"I didn’t want to go from No. 1 to No. 2. when Skip [Bayless] left. I wasn’t having that. That s--- wasn’t gonna happen. I had mad respect for him ... But you weren’t an athlete, and you weren’t a journalist. And the absence of the two components left people wondering ‘why should we listen to you?’"

2021 NBA Finals - Game Three

As part of the latest ESPN layoffs, the network has parted ways with Kellerman, with the network and FOX Sports 1 doing some reshuffling. In the wake of Shannon Sharpe's departure from "Undisputed" with Skip Bayless, ESPN tapped Sharpe to sit opposite Stephen A. Smith.

While there are no indications that Kellerman will join "Undisputed," FOX has found Bayless three new cohosts. Whether or not the change for both Smith and Bayless will help them both find new levels of success, only time will tell.