Stephen A. Smith Explains Why He had Max Kellerman Removed From 'First Take'

The word on the street has been Stephen A. Smith pushed Max Kellerman out of their ESPN show First Take.

He confirmed those rumors during a chat with Hot 97. 

"Well the rumor is accurate in terms of me wanting him off the show.  We don't have a bad relationship.  I think he's a good guy.  I appreciate what he did for the show.  We were number one for five years.  We stayed number one and I appreciate that.  But what a lot of people don't realize is the amount of work that goes into the show every single day.  And the reality is we have 15 segments a day.  75 segments a week.  Over 3000 takes a year. In the nine years I've been on First Take I've given over 33,000 takes ... it's a chemistry that you have and sometimes it just stalls.  The audience lets you know it is what it is and you need something fresh and you need to retool," Smith said.

He added that he thinks Kellerman is talented and hard-working and he knew ESPN would find somewhere for him to go where he would make as much if not more money as he did on First Take.

"It was the fact that I knew that we together was no longer a good partnership," he concluded.

Smith revealed he's been telling ESPN to get rid of Max for three years, and they finally agreed this year.   Smith added that he's been upfront with Kellerman the whole time about his desire to get rid of him.