Stephen A. Smith Denies His Mistake In Viral Patriots Blunder

Stephen A. Smith, Cam Newton, and the rest of ESPN’s “First Take” crew made a mockery of themselves on Friday afternoon when they falsely credited the New England Patriots defensive success to defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, who, unfortunately, has been away from the team since Week 2 after his prostate cancer diagnosis.

The internet let them hear it. First Take was trending with several high-profile media personalities expressing their disappointment with what has become of the “worldwide leader of sports.”

The official First Take account on X deleted the post in a sort of admission of fault. However, Smith took to his personal account to call out all the people pointing out his very obvious mistake.

“Nice try!” Smith wrote. “First of all, we reported earlier in the year that he was out due to Prostate Cancer when it happened. Secondly, he still talks to coaches for game-planning purposes. Thirdly, forgetting to mention all of that is different than not knowing — plus it really doesn’t matter when I’ve got experts like Ryan Clark and Cam backing me up.

“But keep pushing the story. Hope it gets the clicks folks want. Carry on!”

Unfortunately for Smith, it does in fact matter.

When a first-time defensive play caller steps up and leads a team to the AFC Championship Game in a role he never knew he would be operating in, the way Zak Kuhr has this season, it matters that the media fans trust to cover the sport they love actually know what they are talking about.

The narrative all season has been that the Patriots aren’t as good as their 14-3 record implied. Well, they are one win away from the Super Bowl. It’s time to learn the coaches’ names.