Marcellus Wiley Fires Back At Stephen A For Max Kellerman Comments, Smith Responds

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Who Is Marcellus Wiley

Marcellus Wiley is a retired NFL defensive end. Throughout his career, he played for several teams, including the Chargers and Bills. Now, after his playing days are long gone, he’s shifted his career towards being a sportscaster on television. Wiley would be the co-host for ESPN’s show “SportsNation” alongside Max Kellerman from 2013-2016. The two hosts would form an incredible bond.

Max Kellerman Joins Stephen A Smith’s First Take

After nearly a decade of Skip Bayless being the host of ESPN’s First Take, he announced his departure in the summer of 2016 and would join Fox Sports. Kellerman would be the one to fill the Bayless role alongside Smith.

The Terrell Owens Incident

There have been multiple occasions that show Kellerman and Smith bumping heads over debate. One of the hottest debates was over former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s desire to get another chance to play in the NFL. First Take brought former All-Pro wide receiver Terrell Owens to join the debate with Smith and Kellerman in this episode.

Smith would argue that every black sports analyst has defended Kapaernick’s decision to take a knee for the national anthem, but Kapaernick did not speak up for himself. He would also criticize Kaepernick for not taking any questions and changing the location of his NFL workout.

Owen counter-argued and stated how Kaepernick wanted full transparency for his workout (believing the NFL would only show some of the clips but not the entire workout). Owen would then utter, “Max almost seems blacker than you, Stephen A.” This would send the sports world into an uproar. The video clip has garnered over 4.5 million views on YouTube. Stephen A Smith was visibly upset and took offense to Owen’s statement. Owen has not been brought back to First Take since.

Smith Takes Shots At Kellerman

On September 16, Smith was on the Joe Budden Podcast, where he was asked about Kellerman’s departure. Smith would be brutally honest and replied, “I didn’t like working with him.” Smith would also criticize Kellerman for not being an athlete or a journalist, stating, “Why should we listen to you?” Smith would also remark on the TV ratings declining over Max’s partnership.

Wiley Responds to Smith

On September 20th, Wiley addressed the Stephen A. Smith situation on his “More to It” podcast. Willey commented that the Terrell Owens “Max sounds blacker than you, Stephen A” comment still frustrates Smith and was one reason he wanted Kellerman gone from First Take.

Willey further states that Max was fired because he did not want to play his “role.” He also noted that Smith was begging Max to join First Take, even though he was not an athlete or a journalist (debunking Smith’s comments).

Smith Reacts to Wiley’s Comments

On October 11th, on the “Stephen A Smith Show,” Smith addressed Wiley’s comments about him. Smith started paying respect to Wiley as they both were ESPN colleagues at a point in time. He also mentioned how Willey and Kellerman are best friends, indicating that there is no surprise he would come to the defense of Kellerman.

Smith then would play the race card and say, “For a black man to stand up there and say another black man is scared of somebody’s intellect, come on, bro.” This statement goes back to Wiley’s comments about Max not wanting to play the role that Smith wanted for him. Smith concluded by calling Kellerman and Wiley good dudes and wishing them the best.