Smith alleged that Molly Qerim was not truthful about his ankle injury prior to the NBA All-Star game.
ESPN’s First Take aired live from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium featuring hosts Molly Qerim and Stephen A. Smith on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. The show was in town as part of the Black College Football Hall of Fame Class (Image via IMAGO).
Despite the banter in recent weeks, Smith left empty-handed from the NBA All-Star celebrity game for the second consecutive year. SAS was defeated by his ESPN colleague at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday night.
There is no doubt. Smith was a bit upset about the loss, but the experienced sports analyst was furious about the alleged false narrative surrounding his ankle injury. When he was absent during a segment of First Take before the celebrity basketball game, the host revealed the reason.
Qerim disclosed that Smith ended up in the hospital after being crossed over by a Dallas Cowboys linebacker. If anyone knew the truth, it was Smith himself, who later criticized Qerim for “fabricating stories” about him. On his YouTube channel, he uploaded a 5-minute video expressing his frustration.
“Molly Qerim… she creates stories, she invents things. She always sensationalizes things and it’s always to make me look bad… 👀👀 I did not get crossed over by Micah Parsons.” – Stephen A. Smith [@stephenasmith] #NBAAllStarWeekend pic.twitter.com/yybZKLGMnf
The 56-year-old was eager to defeat Sharpe at the All-Stars game. He even provided private lessons to the team on how to defend against Parsons. Given his basketball background from his college days, Smith was confident in winning the game. However, he couldn’t even sit on the bench; he had to watch the game from the hospital.
Qerim claimed that it was Parsons’ fault for sending SAS to the hospital, but that was not the truth.
So how did he injure his ankle? He provided a detailed account of what happened that day. Parsons, who played basketball in high school, was outperforming everyone during the practice session. This angered Stephen A. Smith, and they began trash-talking each other.
Yikes @stephenasmith with a massive slip! 😬 🎥: @ErickSavage13 pic.twitter.com/emgz8aNy0r
While practicing their shooting skills, they decided to have a competition. This is where Smith made a mistake. He attempted a jump shot and slipped on sweat, falling on the court. Amidst all the chaos, he blamed his sneakers for betraying him.
Well, it was bad luck all around for Stephen A. Not only did he injure himself, but Sharpe’s team won the game, and Parsons was named MVP.
According to the Source firstsportz.com