Drake Maye has no interest in escalating a feud with Stephen A. Smith.
“‘First Take’ is the number one morning show, 13 years and counting,” Smith said last Thursday. “April will be 14 years. Don’t tell me you (are) an athlete and you don’t know that. Don’t tell me you an athlete and you don’t know that Cam Newton is on this show. You lying.”
Maye declined the opportunity to push back when asked about Smith on Monday’s weekly “WEEI Afternoons” interview.
“I’m just worried about what people do in our building and organization, and people that I hold a lot of personal relationships with on their opinions, and value that,” Maye said, via WEEI’s Tom Carroll. “So all that outside stuff, it is what it is. Just got to be careful about what I say, and didn’t try to mean it disrespectfully.”
Mike Vrabel wasn’t as diplomatic when asked about Smith on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill.” The head coach joked that the TVs in the team’s weight room might not work before questioning Smith’s claim that “First Take” is the No. 1 sports show.
“Is it?” Vrabel asked. “I find that hard to believe. I find that hard to believe. It’s not the SportsCenter that I grew up with.”
Smith apologized on Friday, explaining that he was being “facetious” when he called Maye a liar.
Stephen A. Smith calls NFL quarterback Drake Maye a ‘liar’ after his brutal takedown of ESPN star
Stephen A. Smith has fired back at Drake Maye and accused him of ‘lying’ after the New England Patriots quarterback threw shade at his First Take colleague Cam Newton this week.
During last Friday’s edition of the week-daily ESPN show, Newton made headlines when he labeled the Patriots’ resurgence with Maye under center as ‘fool’s gold’ because of their kind schedule.
After being asked about the ‘fool’s gold’ assessment, the in-form rookie, who has inspired New England’s impressive 9-2 start, responded in brutal fashion by claiming to be none the wiser about his fellow quarterback’s TV career.
‘I don’t even know what show he’s on,’ Maye said about Newton on Wednesday. ‘I think they get paid to make remarks and make certain comments.’
On Thursday, Newton stood by his comments while broadcasting First Take live from Bethune-Cookman University, insisting Maye is still not on the level of fellow AFC quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes despite the Patriots having a better record than both the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs.
And during that episode, Smith also leapt to his co-star’s defense by pointing out how successful of a show First Take is.
Stephen A. Smith has fired back at Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and accused him of ‘lying’
Maye claimed to not know which show Smith’s First Take co-star Cam Newton (pictured)
As the panel were discussing Maye, the ESPN star interjected: ‘He’s also a liar. Listen… Pardon The Interruption is the No 1 show on ESPN spanning 20-plus decades. First Take is the number one morning show 13 years and counting, April will be 14 years.
‘Don’t tell me you a athlete and you don’t know that. Don’t tell me you a athlete and you don’t know that Cam Newton is on this show. You lying.’
Newton, who was crowned NFL MVP in 2015, acknowledged that Maye is having a ‘great season’ with the Patriots.
However, he also suggested the 23-year-old still has a long way to go while just 11 games into his pro career.
‘I also put Drake Maye in the position where it’s like, yo, we don’t really know,’ he said.
‘I’m just worried about what people in our organization think, and worry about (what) we think and what my teammates think,’ Maye added on Wednesday. ‘People are going to have different opinions. I’m just going out there on Sunday and worrying about ourselves.’