Posted in: Sports, TV, YouTube | Tagged: espn, keyshawn johnson, max kellerman, stephen a. smith

Stephen A. Smith on ESPN Layoffs, Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson

During his podcast, Stephen A Smith shared his belief that more ESPN layoffs are on the way & discussed Keyshawn Johnson and Max Kellerman.

Heading into this past weekend, the news came down that approximately 20 ESPN on-air personalities were being cut as part of The Walt Disney Company's across-the-board series of layoffs & budget cuts as the company works towards $5.5B in overall cost savings. David Pollack, Jalen Rose, Jordan Cornette, Suzy Kolber, Max Kellerman, Jeff Van Gundy, Keyshawn Johnson, Matt Hasselbeck, Chris Chelios, Steve Young, Rob Ninkovich, Neil Everett, Ashley Brewer, Joon Lee, LaPhonso Ellis, Todd McShay, and Jason Fitz were the names that were confirmed to have been let go. Now, network A-lister Stephen A. Smith is checking in on the matter via The Stephen A. Smith Show podcast.

Smith on ESPN Layoffs: "As you all know, I work at ESPN. My day job is 'First Take'… And there are a lot of people who got laid off. Friends of mine actually definitely respected colleagues who've done a phenomenal job and deserve better. But it's not Disney or ESPN that they deserved better from. They deserved better from than the times we're living in… When Disney announced that 7000 layoffs were coming, everybody associated with ESPN knew this day would arrive. Folks as individuals were hoping it just wasn't them."

Smith Says, "More Is Coming": "But if we're going to be real about it. Let's deal with reality. This ain't the end. More is coming. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, I could be next. And one thing that I can tell you about Stephen A this ain't 2009. I really didn't see it come in. My eyes [are] always wide open now. I'm never comfortable. I never take anything for granted, and I never assume that I'm safe."

Smith on Keyshawn Johnson: "Keyshawn Johnson, my brother. Now I know him on a far more personal level than I know many others. We've been friends for over 20 years. I'm sad to see him go. But I personally am going to miss him because of his contribution to First Take, what he has done for me, what he's done for my life, just being a big brother and a friend of mine. I love him to death. And I know he's going to be fine."

Smith on Max Kellerman: "I'm even going to mention Max Kellerman. I know y'all thought I wouldn't. I am not happy that he is gone. We all know what history we had, we all know what happened with he and I parted ways on 'First Take.' I don't want the brother unemployed. I want him gainfully employed. I want him to have a job and a career… I wish him no ill will. And as a matter of fact, although I sincerely doubt he ever will, if he ever called me needing my help, I would not hesitate to help him."

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