Stephen A. Smith Disputes Molly Qerim’s Claim That A Micah Parsons Crossover Sent Him To The Hospital

Stephen A. Smith is taking on Shannon Sharpe at the Celebrity Game this All-Star weekend. No, the two are not going to play basketball against one another — the two First Take personalities are coaching the teams that will go head-to-head on Friday night in Indianapolis, which promises to be some pretty terrific television, because that’s usually what happens when you put Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe in front of a camera.

In a delightful bit of irony, Smith is actually coaching the team that features a player from the Dallas Cowboys: star edge rusher Micah Parsons. And according to Molly Qerim, Smith and Parsons were involved in an incident at practice that unintentionally (we presume) ended in Smith needing to go to the hospital.

“This was not confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski, but this is what I was told by Stephen A,” Qerim said. “If he wants to change the story when he gets here, that’s fine. But this is what I understand: Stephen A. Smith is one of the coaches in the Celebrity All-Star Game tonight, alongside our guy Shannon Sharpe, it’s gonna be epic TV … Yesterday, SA had to get out there, get out to Naptown early, and they had a practice.

“So, he started messing around with Micah Parsons, of all people, one of the guys on his team, obviously a Dallas Cowboy,” Qerim continued. “Micah crossed him over and all I know is Stephen A’s at the hospital right now getting x-rays. So, I’ll let him tell you the rest of the details when he gets here.”

There is, however, a twist in this tale: Smith says this did not happen. As he tells it, he slipped on some sweat and needed to go to the hospital, and the story of Parsons crossing him up is not true.

“Molly Qerim is a pathological liar,” Smith said. “That did not happen to me, she made the whole thing up, that’s number one. Crossed over by a Cowboy? By Micah Parsons? Are you kidding me? … They had the practice last night, and Shannon didn’t show up. So I go there, cause I got to scout my team, cause I got to see I’ma play and who I’ma put on the bench, cause I’m not losing this game tonight, ok? And the next thing you know, that damn Micah Parsons is on the basketball court acting like he’s trying to sack quarterbacks and stuff, and pushing people around.

“So, after that, they were sitting up there, and he and I were shooting around, shooting against one another,” he continued. “And it was some sweat on the floor, and I literally — I was about to just pull up, just shooting — I literally bust my ass. I mean, feet flying in the everything, go BOW. You understand what I’m saying? I got up, it was like I was sliding into third base or something, it was that bad.”

Tim Legler made it a point to say that Smith could not use sweat on the floor as an excuse here. I’ll be honest: I am choosing to believe Molly on this one, because a member of the Cowboys crossing him up and taking him out like that would be incredibly funny and proof that the universe has an incredible sense of humor.