“He did this purposely”: Stephen A. Smith’s controversial slip up drags Charlie Kirk into NFL debate sparking outrage among fans

Stephen A. Smith, the popular sports analyst, has been known for his honest and brutal takes on players but his recent mistake has dragged in late political commentator, Charlie Kirk, into the drama.A few hours ago, Stephen A. Smith was commenting on the match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans when he made a controversial mistake as he tried to speak about the popular star player, Christian Kirk.Interestingly, Stephen A. Smith appeared on ESPN’s First Take as he said, “We saw Charlie Kirk catch eight receptions for 144 yards…”This led to an awkward pause as he was quickly corrected by his co-host Shae Peppler Cornette, as Stephen A. Smith immediately apologised for his mistake.The popular sports analyst continued, saying, “I’m sorry, I apologize. Oh, my God, I meant Christian Kirk.”Stephen A. Smith’s hilarious mistake has sparked chaos among fans as many cant stop joking about how he made such a controversial mistake.A fan by the username @USAblackguy took to X and wrote, “Bruh how do you even continue your point after that”, while another fan by the username @AtrocitusRex wrote, “Sh*t I would have done that too on television if I was on that much lol”.A third fan by the username @Domthgreat posted, “Lowkey feel like he did this on purpose but him getting into a political bag recently gives him a good excuse”.Another fan by the username @THEEJoeMess added, “Bro knows NOTHING about football. He only knows the dudes who play well the previous weekend”Neither ESPN nor Stephen A. Smith has issued any statements yet for this controversial mistake as fans continue to brutally troll the popular sports analyst.For the unversed, political commentator and former CEO of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, was shot at the University of Utah in September 2025.His untimely and tragic death had sparked shockwaves across the world due to many of his controversial views on the rights of women and abortion laws.Also Read: “She’s been upfront about it”: Billionaire Taylor Swift reportedly uneasy about combining finances with Travis Kelce ahead of their high profile wedding