Stephen A. Smith is known for many things. Passion. Volume. Unfiltered opinions. What he is not known for is mixing up his Kirks on live television. Yet that is exactly what happened on Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s First Take, and the moment quickly turned into one of those very Stephen A. Smith moments that lives online long after the segment ends as Texas and Pennsylvania did battel on the field.
According to NJ, While breaking down the Houston Texans’ dominant 30-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Stephen A. Smith was in full analyst mode, highlighting the performance of Texas receiver Christian Kirk. Or at least he meant to. Instead, viewers heard something very different. “We saw Charlie Kirk catch 8 receptions for 144 yards,” Smith said confidently on air regarding the NFL game.
Almost immediately, co-host Shae Cornette jumped in to correct him. The pause that followed said it all. Smith realized what he had just said and could only laugh at himself. “I apologize,” Smith said. “Oh my God. Christian Kirk.”
The slip-up was brief, but it landed with extra weight given Smith’s very public comments in recent months about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The name clearly has been living rent-free in his mind, and Tuesday’s on-air gaffe proved it. However, many via X found this moment to be the breaking point. “First take is such a clown show,” wrote one angry social media user.
Stephen A. Smith Has Crazy Mix-up Amid Texas NFL Game
Back in September, after Charlie Kirk was killed at the age of 31, Smith spoke passionately about the reaction he was seeing online. While Kirk was a polarizing figure because of his political beliefs, Smith made it clear that politics should not erase basic humanity.
“I don’t care what his political beliefs were. I don’t care what he felt,” Smith said at the time. “That he’s dead at the age of 31. That his wife is a widow. That his children are fatherless because his ideas and his beliefs differed from somebody else, apparently. And then I’m going online, and I’m seeing people celebrating it. Shame! Shame on you!”
Those comments struck a chord, not because Smith suddenly became a political voice, but because he framed the situation as a human tragedy rather than a partisan debate. For someone who thrives on heated sports arguments, the emotional clarity of that statement stood out.
Fast forward to Tuesday, and that emotional memory may have played a role in the verbal mix-up. When you spend time condemning cruelty and calling out what you see as moral failures online, certain names stick with you. In this case, Charlie Kirk’s name popped up at exactly the wrong moment.
To be fair, Smith owned the mistake immediately. There was no attempt to brush it off or pretend it did not happen. The quick apology and self-aware “Oh my God” reaction reminded viewers why these moments often endear him to fans as much as his fiery debates do.
What Will Stephen A. Smith Say Next?
It also served as a reminder of how intertwined sports, culture, and politics have become, even when analysts are just trying to talk football. A wide receiver’s stat line somehow turned into a callback to a much heavier conversation about death, decency, and online behavior.
Christian Kirk, of course, still had a big day on the field, and Texas still cruised to an easy win. But the moment people remembered from the segment was not the score or the yards. It was Stephen A. Smith, briefly crossing wires between sports and politics in real time.
In the end, it was a harmless slip, but one loaded with context. Stephen A. Smith’s earlier comments showed how deeply affected he was by the public response to Charlie Kirk’s death, and Tuesday’s gaffe showed that those thoughts have not fully left his mind. For a show built on fast takes and faster opinions, it was a rare glimpse of how even the loudest voices can carry quieter reflections beneath the surface. The finals score of that game had Houston Texas taking the win over the Pittsburgh Steelers with a final score of 30-6.
Kendra Quinn 
Casey James 
