Rare are the instances Stephen A. Smith is left speechless.
ESPN basketball analyst Monica McNutt did so with a healthy dose of reality Monday on ‘First Take.’
With Caitlin Clark, Chennedy Carter and the WNBA leading the sports conversation following this weekend’s action, ‘First Take’ – Shannon Sharpe and McNutt joined Smith and host Molly Qerim, none of them in the same location – opened with a lengthy first segment covering it all.
As Qerim attempted to steer the back-and-forth into commercial break, Smith said he resented that he needed to ‘watch every syllable’ while discussing the WNBA. To that, McNutt replied: ‘Welcome to the world of being a woman, Stephen A., and how you have to dance about your word choice and how you have to please everybody and anybody as you navigate your being.’
To that, Sharpe and Smith asked McNutt what the difference between being a woman and a Black man is. McNutt explained how the multitudes of the conversations about competitiveness and protections offered to Clark.
When she finished, Smith asked, ‘Who talks more about the WNBA, who talks about women’s sports more than First Take?’
Then McNutt delivered the knockout blow.
‘Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted to,’ McNutt said.
Smith and Qerim both appeared shocked. Sharpe remained stone-faced. After three seconds of silence, all Smith could exhale was ‘wow.’
‘You’re my guy,’ McNutt said, ‘but I’m talking to you.’
‘You’re my girl,’ Smith replied, ‘but you’ve missed a lot of episodes of ‘First Take.”
Finally, Qerim moved the program into break, with Sharpe attempting to shout over her that McNutt had somehow made Smith’s entire point.