Stephen A. Smith has officially been called out by a prominent ESPN colleague for a "disrespectful" opinion. The face of ESPN, who reportedly earns more than $20 million per year, decided to weigh in on the ongoing Lane Kiffin saga.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith gave what many are calling the "dirtiest" look to a longtime coworker on "First Take" on Thursday morning. The ESPN morning show was discussing Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry's comments on the LSU Tigers head football coaching search.

Paul Finebaum said it was “terribly unfair” for ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith to make the debate surrounding Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s future “racial.”

ESPN is reshaping things. They changed the NBA Countdown lineup, leaving Stephen A. Smith off the show for the 2025–26 season.

On his SiriusXM show, Stephen A. Smith responded to the reactions surrounding ESPN’s announcement of its revamped studio crew.

The Worldwide Leader announced this week that the “new-look ‘NBA Countdown’ team” will debut Wednesday, and Smith was noticeably missing from the lineup — which includes third-year host Malika Andrews alongside senior ESPN writer Brian Windhorst, 2023 NBA Champion head coach Michael Malone and former NBA champ Kendrick Perkins as analysts.

Stephen A. Smith breaks down why he stepped away from NBA Countdown and explains the move came from him, not ESPN.

Stephen A. Smith says he negotiated his exit as an 'NBA Countdown' regular during contract talks with ESPN because of an increasingly busy schedule that still includes 'First Take.'

On Tuesday, many individuals were buzzing about viral headlines and rumors suggesting that ESPN removed Stephen A. Smith from its " NBA Countdown" programs. However, Smith has since addressed the buzz, calling it a "non-story" and shutting down earlier reports that he was "yanked" from the show after appearing on for over six years.