Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellermen have heated debate over Fox News, Brian Urlacher and ‘low-quality information’

Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman went at it on Friday.

First Take co-host Max Kellerman criticized SEC football fans on Thursday in a clip that went viral on social media, and his discussion about willingness to consume ‘low-quality information’ spilled over and sparked a heated exchange with Stephen A. Smith on Friday’s show.

During a segment about former Bears star Brian Urlacher, who liked an Instagram post defending 17-year-old Kenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse and criticized NBA players for boycotting games, Kellerman said that he felt Urlacher was susceptible to extreme right-wing propaganda.

In response, Smith warned Kellerman not to generalize about Urlacher or other segments of the population – and things got a bit lively.

Smith: “You know you’ve got to be careful about generalizing. When you talk about low-quality information, you’ve got to be specific about that. Excuse me, just like you brought up Fox News – there are people that could look at CNN or MSNBC and they’re going to have their opinions about those networks.”

Kellerman: “No, this is not an issue of opinion, Stephen A. I’m talking about independent fact-checking organizations and the quality of the information…”

Smith: “Max…Max… Max, you’re not right. Hold on. No, no. We listened to you! We heard you, alright! But the point is do you know that Brian Urlacher got that information from Fox News? Do you know that? How do you know what television network he was watching? That’s the point….”

Kellerman: “No, I didn’t, and I didn’t say he did.”

Smith: “Don’t even bring it up. You said low-quality information, you mentioned Fox News. I watch them all, I watch them all….”

Kellerman: “No but I saw certain facts, certain facts that he was incorrect about, including [Jacob Blake] reached for the knife, because that’s where it’s framed in low-quality information news silos.”

Smith: “Listen, I saw ‘certain facts’ everywhere. There are a multitude of outlets…. we heard you. See, that’s your problem! Cause you like to talk and then what you don’t want to do is hear the other point, because you want your point to be stuck with everybody.”

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