First Take viewers already get a lot of Stephen A. Smith commentary every day, but Molly Qerim’s mom appears to want more.
During a debate about the 1999 New York Knicks and the 2023 Miami Heat Thursday morning on First Take, Smith accused ESPN basketball analyst Monica McNutt of being a moderator. “You’re too scared to make a decision,” Smith chided McNutt. The accusation prompted Qerim to interject, just to remind everyone she is the “host of First Take.”
While Qerim might be the host of First Take, that doesn’t mean all viewers are OK with her interrupting the show’s lead personality.
“Mamas love Stephen A.” pic.twitter.com/ulMenxAAJK
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 1, 2023
“I got a text from my mom,” Qerim noted as she pulled out her phone. “It says, ‘It seems you’re interrupting SAS a bit much,’ with two heart emojis. Sandra Qerim, whose side are you on?”
You might be wondering why Qerim’s mom would call out her daughter like that, choosing to take the side of Stephen A. Smith. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Smith thinks he has the answer.
“Mamas love Stephen A,” Smith explained as he turned on his seductive voice. “Mamas love Stephen A, they’ve always shown me love. I’m just saying. I’m just saying. Mama Qerim! That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Molly. The love is there! Mamas love Stephen A. Absolutely!”
Smith has worked with Qerim on First Take for nearly eight years and just recently learned how to pronounce her name correctly. But that doesn’t seem to bother Mama Qerim, who snubbed her own daughter to join team Stephen A.
Qerim, meanwhile, implored Smith to settle down, while NBA analyst Jay Williams had to walk off set as First Take‘s foremost personality incessantly boasted about how much love he receives from “the mamas.”
If anything, one might expect Mama Qerim would be rooting for her daughter to chime in more on First Take, rather than let Smith constantly dominate the show. Between First Take, NBA Countdown, his podcast, his book, his constant media tours, his alternate broadcasts, and more, few people are saying, ‘we need more Stephen A. Smith.’ But there’s just something about Stephen A. Smith that the mamas can’t resist. Mamas want more Stephen A. Smith, even if that means less of their own offspring.