UPDATE: Jalen Rose insists this isn’t about Stephen A. Smith, who he calls “my brother,” but Mr. 1.4 ppg (his nickname for Skip Bayless).
He is my brother and this is not accurate. If anything it was for Mr 1.4ppg playing JV as a junior. https://t.co/EC5L8qK28H
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) January 24, 2023
Rose has long taken every available opportunity to jab at Bayless, but if there’s one thing Bayless isn’t, it’s someone who trolls Cowboys fans. If anything, he’s taken on the persona of the world’s biggest Cowboys fan (not counting those who actually played for the team), while Stephen A. is the unquestioned No. 1 Cowboys hater. This feels a bit like covering the tracks, particularly given how many replies he gave to people who tweeted him about Smith on Monday night, while choosing not to make this clear until Tuesday afternoon.
Original Story: When the Dallas Cowboys fell short on Sunday night in San Francisco, there were few non-Niners fans happier about it than Stephen A. Smith, who loves nothing more than trolling Cowboys fans and his Monday First Take sparring partner, Michael Irvin, after a Dallas loss.
On that front, Stephen A. delivered, doing a pre-show skit where he dressed as Pinky from Friday, badgering Irvin and then continuing on the show itself.
.@stephenasmith brought back the Pinky impression and let @michaelirvin88 HAVE it after the Dallas Cowboys' loss 🤣 pic.twitter.com/JPybPKPJ38
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 23, 2023
Smith relishes the chance to go over the top on his Cowboy hate, but not everyone at ESPN is a fan of the antics. His fellow NBA Countdown analyst Jalen Rose decided on Monday night that he’d stir the pot a bit with some tweets throwing considerable shade at Smith for “pretending to fake troll the Cowboys,” going after low-hanging fruit, and generally calling out sports TV shows for selling “clowns” to the audience instead of quality content.
Praying on the audience being dumb/lazy and low hanging fruit. https://t.co/Mr94YO2Nag
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) January 24, 2023
No @ needed. Damn near all shows selling clowns this like it’s quality content. You da fool. https://t.co/nhegdxfmnu
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) January 24, 2023
Got y’all talking about Dallas knowing the only way they can actually shut up critics is to win it all. Suckers. https://t.co/CxnMpMK173
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) January 24, 2023
What prompted this thread of tweets eight-plus hours after First Take aired is anyone’s guess, but Rose apparently couldn’t help but get his frustrations with ESPN’s most valued asset and the take-economy in general off his chest. It’ll be fascinating to see how this plays out, given ESPN’s investment in Smith, the fact that these two work together on NBA Countdown (which had been a revolving door of a cast until the last two years), and Rose re-upping on a contract extension in October. Smith would, of course, love to turn this into something for TV, but taking this to Twitter seems to indicate Rose isn’t interested in on-air banter for the aforementioned “dumb/lazy” audience.
