Stephen A Smith wanted ‘passive-aggressive’ Robert Griffin III to remain on ‘First Take’

To Stephen A. Smith, Robert Griffin III’s comments sound not only misguided but downright ignorant.

But if Smith had his druthers, Griffin would still be at ESPN and on First Take.

That said, ESPN’s $100 million man isn’t calling all the shots. According to Smith, the “passive-aggressive” Griffin wasn’t well-liked at ESPN. That was all part of his takedown of RG3, who seemingly fired some shots his way after bemoaning politics on sports shows in the aftermath of Smith challenging President Donald Trump to a debate on DEI.

Griffin maintained that nothing about Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier was political, which Smith ripped him to shreds for. He wasn’t the only one, but Griffin tried to maintain his innocence, clarifying that his stance on Robinson, Jesse Owens and Jack Johnson wasn’t what it was made out to be, even if he knew why it appeared that way.

The former NFL quarterback, now ex-ESPN analyst, finally spoke out after Smith dismantled him on The Stephen A. Smith Show on YouTube. While Griffin’s response wasn’t directly aimed at the 57-year-old ESPN personality, Smith didn’t hesitate to call out Griffin for tap dancing around tough issues — and he made sure Griffin paid the price for trying to play coy.

“I certainly don’t have any problem with you,” Smith told Griffin. “Let me tell you, RG3, an unknown secret that you may not have realized. Because, you see, you come across as somebody that’s bitter about being gone from ESPN; you ain’t being slick. See, we saw the reports when you got let go by ESPN, and how ticked off you were. We saw people in your camp — probably you in my estimation, but I don’t know this for sure — who alluded to the Jason McCourtys of the world being on ESPN in the aftermath of you being let go.

“So, since you have this penchant, this proclivity to be passive aggressive because that’s how you roll, let me show you to how to be direct. RG3, people at ESPN didn’t like you, bro. They didn’t like you. You know the names. I said names as in plural. And do you know why I can say that to you, RG3? Because I’m not one of those people. I actually loved you on First Take. Every time you came on First Take, you did a damn good job. Are you ready for this, RG3? Don’t faint. The bosses will tell you I wanted to keep you. But just because I’m the executive producer of First Take doesn’t mean that I get to keep you on the show. It doesn’t mean that I get to determine your salary. It doesn’t mean that I get to determine whether or not they’re willing to pay your salary, and it damn sure doesn’t mean that I have anything to do with Monday Night NFL Countdown, which you were a part of.”

For what it’s worth, Smith’s new contract with ESPN will allow him to expand his NFL footprint, but that’s beyond the point here.

“Now, I’m not going to get into who was happy about it or who wasn’t,” Smith added of Griffin’s departure. “I’m not going to get into whether they were happy about it at all. That’s inside, in-house business, that’s none of anybody’s business. What I’m saying to you is: stop the passive-aggressive stuff. That’s weak, bro. That’s weak. That’s exactly the reason why a whole bunch of cats at ESPN had a problem with you: because of that passive-aggressive stuff. You know good, and well that First Take has never been afraid to tackle issues ever — ever! When Skip Bayless was there, we weren’t afraid. When Max Kellerman was there, we weren’t afraid. Since Max Kellerman departed, whether it’s [Marcus Spears, it’s Ryan Clark — two dudes you’re very familiar with… the list goes on and on and on…

“We don’t run from anything, RG3. How do I know what I’m talking about?… Let me tell you why we run from nothing and how I have factual evidence. RG3, do you know I have footage of you tackling issues? You know, good and damn well, we tackle anything. It’s football; it’s basketball; it’s politics; it’s social issues; it’s social commentary. Colin Kaepernick, George Floyd, the list goes on and on. We’ve tackled issues on a plethora of occasions; why are you acting like you don’t know? Because your feelings hurt that you were gone?”

Smith wants to know where RG3 was when he got fired.

“You the only one that was let go? I can give you a laundry list of over 300 people that have been let go from ESPN since 2015,” says Smith. “You ever heard of downsizing? You ever heard of how life can be sometimes in corporate America, because you got stockholders and shareholders?… Sometimes, this stuff happens. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m bringing this up about RG3 because RG3 is emblematic of something that happens a lot with people who depart from ESPN. You depart from ESPN, and you’ve got a problem with the industry, so you got to talk about shows or people on shows that are going to draw an automatic connection from the words that come out of your mouth. So, you’ve got to infiltrate the proceedings by incriminating them as if they did something they did not do.

“RG3, bro, I didn’t let you go. If I had my druthers, you would’ve remained on First Take. It’s not my fault that you’re not on College Football GameDay. And by the way, Pat McAfee is there instead of you. That brother is doing a hell of a job — it’s undeniable. Pat McAfee is made for College Football GameDay. I mean, him getting people to kick those damn field goals is the funniest stuff on television sometimes. It’s hilarious, and he sells it like no other. He’s doing a hell of a job. He’s a star. Period… I can’t speak for everyone else, but you weren’t on College Football GameDay. Evidently, you weren’t wanted anymore on Monday Night Countdown. I wanted you on First Take.”

Smith wants RG3 to know that his problem should be with management, not with him.

He didn’t fire him.

He’d still be on First Take if it were up to him.