‘First Take’ host Stephen A. Smith was the butt of jokes on Friday morning after ESPN colleague Molly Qerim reported that the sports analyst needed to be taken to hospital after suffering an injury courtesy of a crossover from Micah Parsons.

Smith, who is one of the coaches for tonight’s NBA Celebrity All-Star Game, will be sporting a boot after hurting his ankle during a practice scrum on Thursday.

 

“Stephen A. Smith is one of the coaches in the Celebrity All-Star Game tonight alongside our guy Shannon Sharpe [and] so yesterday, SA had to get out to Indianapolis early and they had a practice,” Molly said on ‘First Take’ this morning.

“So, he started messing around with Micah Parsons of all people, one of the guys on his team, obviously a Dallas Cowboy — Micah crossed him over and all I know is Stephen A.’s at the hospital right now getting X-rays,” Qerim said. “So, I’ll let him tell you the rest of the details when he gets here.”
Stephen A. would later join the show and refute Molly’s version, claiming he slipped on a wet surface. It appears he was telling the truth, with a video having popped up online showing him falling while chasing a loose ball, with Parsons nowhere in sight.

 

According to Smith, he was fine when he got up and was still feeling good when he got to his hotel. However, he was in severe pain when he woke up on Friday morning and had to be taken to a hospital.

The injury hasn’t ruled him out of tonight’s game.