Stephen A. Smith opens up on Molly Qerim's departure from First Take: 'I was not behind that'

Stephen A. Smith claimed he had nothing to do with former First Take host Molly Qerim’s departure from ESPN. Qerim parted ways with the network back in September, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

A staple of First Take for over a decade, Qerim was eventually replaced by Shae Cornette. Smith seemingly has final say on a lot of things around ESPN, especially First Take. Naturally, some assumed it was Smith’s decision to shake things up around the show considering he was reportedly the final decision behind Max Kellerman’s exit as Smith’s sparring partner on the show.

But Smith maintained it was not his decision but Qerim’s. Not only that, he misses the former host despite his admiration for Cornette.

“I was not behind that,” Smith said on Funky Friday with Cam Newton. “I had nothing to do with that. I love Molly. “Molly is a really good friend. She’s always been good to me, and she was on the show with me for 10 years and, you know, we were number one. And she had a lot to do with that, because a lot of people got a lot of love for her.”

Qerim began at ESPN in 2006, working on the digital and mobile side before moving over to the news team in 2008. In that same year, Qerim earned an Emmy for her work on Fantasy Football Now.

Qerim was with ESPN for four years before moving on to CBS Sports, covering college football and basketball. She also spent time at the NFL Network, hosting NFL AM and NFL Fantasy Live.

In 2015, Qerim returned to ESPN and was assigned to host First Take. Smith claimed a certain point he questioned Qerim internally due to what he saw as the host having a lot going on.

“There were times that, you know, I wondered whether she wanted to be there or not, cause she had a lot going on,” Smith said. “And it just got to a point where, you know, she was just at odds in terms of what she wanted to do compared to what they wanted to do… I’m not at liberty to get into the details. I can’t do that. I’m not gonna do that, but I will tell you that they have a right to make those decisions.”

Still, Smith and Qerim are friends to this day, despite not working together five days a week. Whether that leads to a working partnership once again in the future is anyone’s guess though.

“I’m not just speaking about Molly’s ability as a host. I’m not just speaking about the love and the affinity that the community had for her. She and I are friends,” Smith said. “I’ve known Molly now for over 11 years. She’s confided in me a lot, trusted me with a lot of things, and our friendship only grew, and I miss her. I miss her a lot.”