Vincent Goodwill picked a hell of a day to make his First Take debut.
As ESPN’s morning debate show prepared to discuss the second night of the NBA’s regular season, the sports world was rocked by the news that Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player/assistant coach Damon Jones as part of a gambling probe. Suffice it to say, the breaking news threw a wrench into the plans for most morning shows, which were otherwise prepared to discuss Victor Wembanyama’s insane performance and the New York Knicks’ season-opening win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
First Take — which doubled as Goodwill’s debut since coming over from Yahoo last month — opened with Stephen A. Smith briefly addressing the news before moving on to the pre-planned topics du jour. As FBI director Kash Patel held his highly anticipated press conference, Smith and a panel featuring Goodwill, Jay Williams and Monica McNutt debated topics such as what the Dallas Mavericks’ Game 1 loss means for the rest of their season.
Around 10:35 a.m. ET, First Take returned to the news of the day, playing a clip from Patel’s press conference before further discussing the subject. Come 11 a.m., most viewers — and perhaps some of the panelists — likely wished they hadn’t.
By the time the segment had come to an end, Smith had used the opportunity to air his grievances toward President Donald Trump. In fact, ESPN’s $100 million man went as far as to effectively blame the entire ordeal on the 45th and 47th president’s revenge tour.
“How many times for one incident after another, have I said, Trump is coming. He’s coming,” Smith began. “I’m gonna say it on national television again. Bad Bunny is performing at the Super Bowl and all of a sudden you hearing ICE is gonna be there looking to engage in mass deportations. The Super Bowl, disrupting things. Big night for the NBA, Wembanyama put on a show, that has now been smeared because we’re talking about this story. Remember, Trump has a long, long history connected to the world of sports because he had those casinos.”
He later added of Trump: “It’s a statement and it’s a warning that more is coming. And that’s what they’re saying here. I’m just telling you, it’s as serious as it gets. This ain’t the platform for me to get into it the way I’m going to get into it. But I’ve been saying, he’s coming. He’s coming.”
It wasn’t the platform for Smith to get into it, and yet, there he was doing so anyways. While Williams attempted to shift the conversation toward the involvement of the mafia, McNutt looked visibly dismayed and even said at one point that she wished some of the dialogue with Smith would have taken place off-air.
It’s easy to understand where McNutt was coming from, as Smith had put her into an impossible position to either agree with him and draw the ire of an audience eager to criticize her or disagree and appear as if she was defending Trump. It was a lose-lose for McNutt, who — like most — was still trying to grasp the full details of what is still a breaking story.
But while Smith may deserve blame for turning First Take into one of his Hannity appearances, the reality is that he never should have been in the position to do so in the first place. Although he’s one of the most powerful people at ESPN, that doesn’t mean he’s the best equipped to play point guard, a role that was previously filled by Molly Qerim and will be assumed by Shae Cornette come Nov. 3.
In the two months between Qerim’s departure and Cornette’s promotion taking effect, First Take has relied on a variety of guest hosts, including multiple days in which Smith has been tasked with running the show he also stars on. Clearly, there’s a reason why ESPN didn’t turn to that recipe as the full-time replacement for Qerim, who had hosted First Take for 10 years before her September resignation.
It’s hard to imagine Qerim letting Smith take the show as far off track as he did on Thursday, as he seemingly seized on the opportunity to bolster his political persona. But without a full-time host, First Take was left to its biggest star’s devices, as three colleagues — including one on his first day on the show — appeared powerless to reverse course.
For Cornette, that may prove to be her greatest challenge as she looks to establish the same equity with Smith that Qerim built over the course of a decade. It’s an enviable task and one that she’s nearly a week away from facing. In the meantime, First Take either needs to find a guest host or hope the serious stories slow down.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.