‘Bent the knee’ – Dave Portnoy accepts Stephen A. Smith’s apology over Drake Maye ‘liar’ accusation

Stephen A. Smith sparked outrage among Patriots fans last week after calling Drake Maye a ‘liar’ for claiming he did not know Cam Newton was a regular on ESPN First Take.

One of those fans was Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who in turn demanded Smith apologize for his accusation.

@FirstTake

In a surprising turn of events, Stephen A. somewhat backtracked on his liar accusation when asked about it on his Mad Dog Sports Radio show on SiriusXM Friday afternoon.

“I was being facetious because it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Smith claimed. “In other words, Cam Newton is on national television. And your reaction was, ‘I don’t even know where he works.’ I just didn’t believe that. That’s all. I wasn’t calling him a liar about anything else. Just that he didn’t know where Cam works. But you are right, I don’t know Drake Maye, I’ve never spoken to him. Again, I was being facetious; I wasn’t being serious about that point. So, if people take it that way, sure, I can apologize for that, it’s no big deal. But I wasn’t being serious.”

During Monday’s Wake Up Barstool on FS1, Portnoy revealed he was thankful for Smith’s apology.

“When Drake Maye was called a liar by Stephen A. Smith because he said he didn’t know Cam Newton was on that other network and on First Take, I demanded an apology from Stephen A,” Portnoy explained. “I said, ‘You don’t call my quarterback a liar. You don’t do that.’ Stephen A. responded by saying, ‘Who is Dave Portnoy to demand an apology from me. I ain’t getting an apology demand for me from nobody, especially Dave Portnoy.’

“And in the next breath, what did he do? He apologized. So, thank you, Stephen A. for apologizing. I don’t care whether you say I can’t demand it, the main thing is you did it…apology accepted, I’m glad we can put this nastiness behind us. I respect Stephen A. And I’m glad he adhered and bent the knee and gave the apology. So, I am thankful that war is over.”

Cam Newton claimed Patriot’s fortunes was ‘fool’s gold’

The bizarre fallout began when ESPN analyst and former Patriots QB Cam Newton made headlines by playing down New England‘s resurgence with Drake Maye, calling it “fool’s gold” because of their kind schedule.

“It has fool’s gold written all over it,” Newton said.

“Cubic zirconia. Middle of the mall. And yes, is Drake Maye playing good football? … Absolutely.

“The thing I have a problem with is if you keep playing sorry scrubs … it has one and done written all over it.”

Newton’s scepticism of the Patriots’ then 9-2 start didn’t go down well with Maye, who refused to pay attention to his remarks and took a subtle dig at the former Panthers quarterback.

GETTY

GETTY

“I don’t even know what show he’s on,” Maye said about Newton on Wednesday.

“I think they get paid to make remarks and make certain comments.

“I’m just worried about what people in our organization think, and worry about (what) we think and what my teammates think.

“People are going to have different opinions. I’m just going out there on Sunday and worrying about ourselves.”

Stephen A. Smith takes aim at ‘liar’ Drake Maye

The First Take crew, including Stephen A. reacted to Maye’s remarks while broadcasting live from Bethune-Cookman University.

During the taping, Stephen A. defended Newton before calling Maye a “liar.”

“He’s also a liar,” Smith said when he interjected in a discussion about Maye.

“Listen… Pardon The Interruption is the No. 1 show on ESPN, spanning 20-plus decades. First Take is the number one morning show, 13 years and counting, April will be 14 years.

“Don’t tell me you a athlete and you don’t know that. Don’t tell me you a athlete and you don’t know that Cam Newton is on this show. You lying.”

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Getty

Portnoy demands apology from Smith

Famous Patriots superfan Portnoy decided to weigh in on the fallout by claiming Maye is not a liar, due to the fact not even he knew that Newton was on First Take.

He then said Smith should apologize to Newton.

“I know Stephen A. does First Take, I got no clue who his partner is at this point,” Portnoy began.

“I had absolutely no idea Cam Newton was on it, I didn’t even know Cam Newton worked for ESPN, I thought he did his own gig. So, to call Drake Maye, a man of honor, a man of integrity, to call him a liar, to say his family are liars, he’s from a family of liars…because he doesn’t know Cam Newton is on First Take.

“I think, if you polled 100 percent of sports fans, ‘what does Cam Newton do in sports media?’ 60 to 70 percent are not going to know. And you call the MVP of the league a liar? Well, you owe us, me, Drake Maye, the Krafts, all Patriots fans an apology.”

@stoolpresidente

Newton stands by his comments on Maye

It should also be noted that Newton defended his remarks about Maye, before also saying that the 23-year-old has a long way to go in his career.

“I also put Drake Maye in the position where it’s like, yo, we don’t really know,” he said.

“I’m just worried about what people in our organization think, and worry about (what) we think and what my teammates think,’ Maye added on Wednesday.

“People are going to have different opinions. I’m just going out there on Sunday and worrying about ourselves.”

The Patriots kept on rolling on Sunday, moving to 10-2 for the season after a 26-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

However, Maye was in no mood to celebrate like Newton as the pair’s beef boiled into Week 12.

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