Stephen A. Smith Addresses Rumors That He And Molly Qerim Are… Dating?

ESPN

Have you ever heard rumors that First Take stalwarts Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim are dating? I haven’t. But apparently, SAS has, which led him to awkwardly address these potentially self-invented dating rumors while on-air.

During the April 10 episode of the long-running ESPN debate show, the 56-year-old Smith — prompted by usual Wednesday partner-in-crime Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo — addressed rumors that he and Qerim, 40 years old, are romantically involved.

“There’s nothing going on. America’s been lying about that for years… here’s the upside to all of that: they know my taste. So therefore they know that it’s a compliment to her,” Smith said.

“And obviously she has great taste as well, so I guess that’s America’s way of saying we both really really look good.”

Smith’s comments are made even more awkward by the fact that he’s essentially — because America knows that he’s, as SAS once famously put it, a “bottom feeder” — telling Qerim on national airwaves that she has a nice backside.

It’s certainly not out of the question that Qerim — who has been the moderator of First Take since taking over from Cari Champion in 2015 — would date a co-worker, however, as she was married to former ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose from 2018 to 2021. Rose was let go by ESPN back in the summer of 2023 as part of cost-cutting layoffs.

As for Smith, he has been with ESPN since 2005 and began hosting First Take five days a week with Skip Bayless in 2012. Since then, Smith has risen to become ESPN’s top personality, as he also appears on a variety of programs such as SportsCenter, NBA Countdown, Get Up!, and more.

In recent years, Smith has also launched his own widely popular and highly viral podcast called The Stephen A. Smith Show.