Shannon Sharpe and Kirk Herbstreit Have No Choice But To Be On The Next Rough N Rowdy Card After Sharpe Went Off On Herbstreit On Air
USA Today - Tension seems to be brewing between ESPN with "First Take" contributor Shannon Sharpe sending a warning to Kirk Herbstreit following his comments on the show's criticism of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.
As the Buckeyes were putting the finishing touches on their dominating win over Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff, the ESPN analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Herbstreit called out the popular show for what it said about Day. After Ohio State lost to Michigan for the fourth-straight season, several people said Day should either be fired or his job is dependent on his team winning the national championship.
With the debate show returning to the airwaves on Monday, the pundits were able to deliver their response to Herbstreit. No stranger to firing back, Stephen A. Smith was actually timid in his response. He said he should be the one to take the heat for the criticism of Day and not anyone else on the show and said he was misquoted by the college football announcers.
But Sharpe didn't hold back much when it was his turn to respond.
“I’m gonna be a good teammate. I’m gonna let it slide. Everybody’s at ESPN. Because had you not taken the route you’ve taken, I would’ve lit their (expletive) up,” Sharpe said. “If we’re going to be on the same team, if we’re gonna work for the same network, don’t do that. Kirk, Chris Fowler, I promise you, if you ever mention any platform that I’m on again talking about 'I wonder what they’re going to say as negativity,' I promise you, ESPN ain’t got enough bosses to keep me off y’all for what I’m going to say.
"Don’t play with me," he added.
So this all started with Herbstreit going holier-than-thou on Saturday night's broadcast -
What's funny was he made sure to take shots at the "fringe" Ohio State fans first - aka, the fans who think it's bullshit that he blamed them for needing to leave Columbus instead of his marital problems. And aka the fans who called him out for his son going to play for Michigan next season. (Technically, Tate would qualify as a "fringe lunatic Buckeyes fan" (the dog man? Cmon.) But I don't think that's who Herbstreit meant here. Tate's kind is more of the 1-2%. Herbstreit was trying to paint a large collective of the fanbase with a very wide brush here.
So it's funny that of all the people to snap back at him, it was Shannon Sharpe who took the most offense.
Herbstreit channeled his inner middle schooler, basically saying, “Haha, told you so!” to the First Take crew for daring to suggest that Ryan Day’s job might hinge on not losing to Michigan four years in a row.
Stephen A. backpedaled like he always does when he's called out.
But not his new co-host. This is ESPN, where egos are bigger than SEC fanbases, and Shannon Sharpe wasn’t about to let that slide. Oh no. Sharpe went full-on WWE heel, cutting a promo that would make even The Rock proud.
“Don’t play with me,” Sharpe growled, wagging his verbal finger at Herbstreit and Chris Fowler. “I promise you, if you ever mention any platform that I’m on again… ESPN ain’t got enough bosses to keep me off y’all for what I’m going to say.”
Herbstreit has no choice now other than to lace them up and face Sharpe at Rough n Rowdy.
But real talk, here’s the thing- this nonsense is exactly what happens when a network abandons its core identity. ESPN used to be the gold standard for sports coverage: actual reporting, showing games as they are, and analyzing what happened on the field without all the sideshow antics.
But now?
It’s the Real Housewives of College Football, where every conversation has to be a “hot take” and every analyst competes to have the loudest, most inflammatory opinion.
Instead of focusing on what should have been an incredible Ohio State performance, the conversation has devolved into Kirk vs. Shannon.
Why?
Because at some point, ESPN decided that thoughtful analysis wasn’t entertaining enough. Nope, we need shouting matches, veiled threats, and beefs between co-workers aired out like dirty laundry on live TV.
This isn’t sports journalism, it’s reality TV. You can almost hear the network executives cackling in their offices, counting ad revenue as their analysts take potshots at each other. (Yes, I fully realize I'm just helping them to jerk off seeing this posted on Barstool Sports)
Who needs game highlights when you’ve got Shannon Sharpe promising to verbally “light up” Herbstreit and Chris Fowler?
On the flip side, what exactly was Herbstreit trying to accomplish with his comments?
Sure, he’s Ryan Day’s unofficial hype man, that's a surprise to no one. But poking at First Take on national television?
That’s like smacking a hornet’s nest and then acting surprised when you get stung.
Herbstreit’s snarky tone didn’t just rile up Sharpe; it also made him look like a guy who is trying wayyyyy too hard to remind people of who his allegiance belongs to.
We get it, Kirk. You love Ohio State. But maybe, just maybe, stick to analyzing games instead of lobbing passive-aggressive bombs at your co-workers.
Of course, the real MVP here is ESPN. They’re probably popping champagne in Bristol over all this free publicity.
Nothing gets viewers tuning in like a little intra-network squabble. Forget Oregon vs. Ohio State on New Years Day, this is the real showdown people are waiting to see.
Will Herbstreit double down and respond? Or better question, will ESPN brass force him to in order to keep this story going?
p.s. - why do I have a feeling Shannon wouldn't have been talking so tough if it was Shaq taking shots at the First Take comedy hour, and not Herbstreit?
Icon Sports Wire. Getty Images.