"Admit Max cooked you": Fans continue berating Stephen A. Smith for admitting he 'wanted to win' while defending Max Kellerman's firing

Stephen A. Smith defended himself for his explosive comments against former 'First Take' debate partner Max Kellerman on X. Smith recently answered questions about Kellerman's departure, claiming he was let go because he wasn't a journalist or an athlete. That reason hurt Kellerman's popularity with the audience.

“I had mad respect for him from the standpoint of white dude, highly intelligent, Ivy League, educated from Columbia," said Smith about Kellerman on the 'Joe Buddon Podcast'.

"Smart as a whip. Can talk his *** off. Can talk about anything. I get all that. 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?'”

Smith was slandered by several fans for this as they believed the 'First Take' executive producer parted ways with his former partner as he was getting the best of him. However, Smith did not agree with fans.

"Same question, Same answer for damn-near two years now: Max & I weren’t working in the end," Smith wrote on X. "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"

However, Stephen A. Smith hasn't aided the situation at all. Fans are still after him as they refuse to believe Max Kellerman wasn't suited to be on 'First Take.' One fan wrote:

"Just admit max cooked you and your feelings got hurt"

More reactions followed:

ESPN fired Max Kellerman two years after Stephen A. Smith kicked him off 'First Take'

Max Kellerman's ESPN stint that started back in the late 90s. Kellerman then had his own show in three years in 2002, called 'Pardon the Interruption.' He then became the host of 'Around the Horn.' Kellerman's career with the company trended in the right direction, but the two parties couldn't agree on an extension.

He left ESPN in 2004 for Fox Sports. He was back on as a radio analyst in 2006. Kellerman had a decent stint across various shows before departing ESPN in 2009. He continued covering boxing on HBO until 2016. He was hired as Skip Bayless' replacement on 'First Take' as Stephen A. Smith's debate partner.

Kellerman and Smith appeared to have an excellent chemistry to the public eye. Their tenure debate partners lasted five years before Smith told ESPN they had to choose between him or Kellerman.

Kellerman only lost his spot on First Take at the time. He was still an ESPN analyst for two years until June 2023, hosting the 'KJM' morning radio show alongside Jay Williams and Keyshawn Johnson. The company fired several longtime employees for cost-cutting purposes along with Kellerman.