NFL legend Terrell Owens has been going at Stephen A. Smith on X, and the fiery host finally responded with a long monologue.
Smith spoke on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on Sept. 18 to address Owens, who quote tweeted a post of his 2019 appearance on “First Take” with Smith and then-host Max Kellerman in which he went at Smith by saying that Kellerman “almost seems Blacker” than him.
Related: Stephen A. Smith and NFL legend Terrell Owens have a serious problem with one another
Smith first addressed that he did not drive Kellerman off of “First Take.” Smith claims that Kellerman, who is now no longer with ESPN, was instead removed by the management of ESPN.
“I felt the reason why was he and I — not him — he and I didn't work together,” Smith said. “We didn't enjoy working together. It's not a crime.”
Smith then said that Owens putting himself in this argument is the real “crime.” He played the video of Owens’ 2019 appearance on “First Take,” and called it “one of the greatest insults you could give to a Black man."
But the biggest reveal Smith made on his podcast was that he said that Owens attempted to sue him following his “First Take” appearance.
“Terrell Owens tried to sue me,” Smith said. “He had lawyers contact ESPN, who obviously contacted me to try and sue me. Needless to say, it was laughable. It never went anywhere. He wasn’t getting a damn dime, which he was hoping to get. That's why I was pissed off Saturday, because I hadn't spoken to him since that day cause he tried to sue me. He tried to sit up there and say I did something I've never done in my career. And that has taken off the record conversation and publicize it.”
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Smith proceeded to talk about Owens’ character, saying that the former NFL wide receiver has done similar things to other people in his NFL career.
“I always had his back,” Smith said. “But don’t you all know — When you have TO’s back, that's when you're most likely to get stabbed in yours.”
Owens responded soon after, denying Smith’s claims. He also reiterated again that Smith has been using his platform to “talk bad” about Black athletes like himself in order to improve ratings or make money for the network.
Holding up papers talking about you got FILES of stuff on me! As long as no court houses and police departments don’t have any on me, I’m good. And even if they did ninja, so what!!! Miss me with that baloney!!!! Your alleged FILES of people that don’t like me because I stand… https://t.co/LnTequnMTK
— Terrell Owens (@terrellowens) September 19, 2023
It's unclear whether Owens will have a lengthier response, but it seems like Smith may be trying to nip it in the bud after this long rant. He said he spoke to many people, including other pro players and people in the NFLPA, and he's decided to not say more than this rant.
And contrary to Owens' point, Smith said he will not use his platform to give Owens more publicitiy.
"You won't hear me talking about T.O. again," Smith said. "You spent 15 years making a spectacular name for yourself on an NFL football field. I recognize it's a struggle for you to continue to make a name for yourself now. But you're ain't gonna use me to do it."
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