Stephen A. Smith and the First Take crew talk about the Dallas Cowboys a whole lot, and usually, Smith is of the belief that bad things are destined to happen to the team on the football field. Of course, Smith uses that in the context of their pursuit of the Super Bowl and doesn’t cross any sorts of lines with things like injuries, but on Friday’s edition of the show, one panelist used it in a way that Smith, Ryan Clark, and a few NFL players all disliked.
On Thursday, starting cornerback Trevon Diggs was ruled out for the season after tearing his ACL in practice. It was a gigantic loss for a Dallas defense that looked dominant to start the year, and while breaking things down on First Take, ESPN analyst Bart Scott went a little too far for the rest of the panel.
Bart Scott took Stephen A Smith's Cowboys trolling a little too far on First Take while analyzing the Trevon Diggs injury, and Stephen A had to tamp it down: pic.twitter.com/qFR3FScJYp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 22, 2023
After Scott dove into the Xs and Os behind why Diggs’ injury hurts the Cowboys, he decided to lean into the First Take schtick of cracking jokes about the Cowboys.
“This is a major, major blow for Dallas, and like Stephen A. always says: just wait, something bad always happens,” Scott said.
Clark made it a point to tell Scott “don’t start that,” while Smith likewise wasn’t having this.
“I wouldn’t do that right now, in all seriousness, RC,” Smith said. “This is a season-ending injury, so I’m certainly not gonna joke about that with Trevon Diggs, my brother, I got a lot of love for him.”
Unsurprisingly, a few folks weren’t fans of how Scott talked about the injury. Diggs’ teammate, Micah Parsons, called Scott out on Twitter, while his older brother, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs, said Scott accomplished nothing other than coming off like a clown.
Wtf ?? He ole hating ass old head!! Lame asf!! This why I really don’t like talking to dudes in the media!! As a former player you are a lame asf bro! Just facts joking bout a man trying to feed his family and building a legacy! ESPN gotta stop letting corn balls on tv!! https://t.co/nT29Slv3sA
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) September 22, 2023
Ol fake try to be funny ass 🥷
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) September 22, 2023
Bart scott. Like what did you gain from that ? Other than looking like a 🤡
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) September 22, 2023
Scott did go on to Twitter and try to defend himself, claiming that Parsons took his statement out of context.