Shannon Sharpe crafted a cringey analogy about women to support his claim that the Pittsburgh Steelers are acquiring damaged goods in Russell Wilson.
On Monday morning’s First Take, Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith reacted to news that Wilson intends to sign with Pittsburgh this offseason. But according to Sharpe, the Steelers shouldn’t be too excited about landing a quarterback who was just put on the free agent market, just like he wouldn’t be excited about dating a single woman.
“He’s on the market,” Sharpe told Smith. “No matter how fine a chick is, no matter how many Birkin bags or Chanel purses she has, if she’s on the market, what does that tell you? She can be a dime. She can have a mansion. She can drive a Bugatti with Rolls-Royce and Cullinans! If she’s on the market, what does that tell you, Stephen A.?”
By that measure, Sharpe is seemingly claiming teams should only pursue players who are under contract and in good standing with another franchise. And worse, Sharpe is claiming people should only be interested in “chicks” who are already in another relationship because being single is an automatic red flag.
“That tells me that somebody didn’t want her,” Smith answered. “That don’t mean I shouldn’t… what’s good for the goose might not be good for the gander.”
Immediately after the segment, ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin noted how awful Sharpe’s analogy was. “Just because’ a chick’ is ‘on the market’ doesn’t mean something’s wrong with her,’ Martin wrote on Twitter while tagging Sharpe. Get a better analogy for this Russell Wilson convo.”
Making analogies about dating has been part of Sharpe’s schtick since joining Smith on First Take, but he should have thought better of this one because it didn’t land. He should figure out a way to allege that a 35-year-old quarterback playing with his third team in four seasons isn’t a recipe for success without being misogynistic and implying that all single women have something wrong with them.
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