Stephen A. Smith ventured down a path of mentioning Doug Christie and his wife on First Take, and ESPN NBA writer Vincent Goodwill quickly seemed unsure about where he was heading.
Prior to their 128-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night, Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie attempted to get a boost from some smelling salts on the bench. Monday morning, First Take reacted to the amusing scene, with Smith noting Christie has always been a little strange.
“I haven’t spoken to Doug Christie in years, absolutely wonderful guy… And the wife, we know about the wife. Jackie, we know. Hey, how you doin?” Smith said. At the same time, Goodwill could be seen waving his hand and pretending to zip his lips, seemingly in an attempt to get Smith to stop talking.
“They were always wonderful to me,” Smith continued of Christie and his wife before appearing to catch Goodwill’s signals. “I don’t know personal situations. I just know, years ago, him and the wife, I used to say hi to them all the time, they were wonderful to me. I don’t know anything about the situation. I don’t know anything. I see you, Vinny. I don’t know anything. But I’m just telling you, with him, he’s always been a bit different.”
Jackie Christie was famously or infamously on the VH1 show Basketball Wives for 15 years. And as that show comes to an end, Christie just got started on the third season of House of Villains.
Goodwill was not clear in his reasoning for suggesting Smith needed to be stopped, as he began referencing the Kings’ head coach and his wife. But last year, there were widespread rumors about Christie’s marriage. The rumors, which have since been dismissed, even led Chris Webber to post a social media video attempting to clear his name of any involvement.
When Smith said, “Jackie, we know…how you doin’?” the First Take host seemed genuine and didn’t appear to know about those rumors. But for those who did know about the dismissed rumors, it seemed like an awkward comment to make.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com