Max was fired from First Take in 2021 and released from ESPN in July. Smith's on-air antics encouraged the show's contributors, such as Kendrick Perkins and Dan Orlovsky, to join in at Max's expense.
Smith, who constantly mocked his basketball knowledge and berated him personally with eye-rolls and punchlines that sometimes included his career accomplishments. Max Kellerman's five-year tenure on First Take was infamously marred by his co-host and boss, Stephen A. In 2016, Max made the tough decision to leave Michelle Beadle and his best friend, Marcellus Wiley, at Sports Nation in lieu of replacing Skip Bayless as the co-host of First Take with Stephen A. Three years later, Colin Cowherd left the show, clearing the way for his replacements, Marcellus Wiley and Max Kellerman. When ESPN first launched Sports Nation in 2009, starring Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd, the hosts captivated viewers with their witty banter and unorthodox interactions with off-camera crew members while on the air.
