Stephen A. Smith walks back Drake Maye 'liar' comments (sort of)

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith faced hordes of criticism after calling New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye a "liar" for not knowing Cam Newton appears regularly on First Take.

Maye was responding to a previous comment made by Newton, when the former NFL MVP called the Patriots' 9-2 run this season "fool's gold." When appearing on WEEI Afternoons, Maye claimed that he didn't know what show Newton was on, and instead of clapping back, the second-year quarterback took the high road by brushing off the comments and shifting the focus back to the team.

That response initially appeared to irk Smith, who called Maye a "liar" publicly. However, during an episode of Straight Shooter with Stephen A., Smith didn't back down from his opinion, but he did claim that he wasn't being serious when he called Maye a "liar."

"My take was my take, but in terms of calling him a liar, like, come on, don't act like you didn't know that Cam Newton was on television talking about you," said Smith. "You don't know where he's at. ...I wasn't being serious about that. Come on. ...To Mr. Drake Maye and his family, you want an apology? Fine. Come on, man. I was playing around. I wasn't playing around about my take, but in terms of you lying when you said that you don't even know where Cam Newton is, I didn't believe that, but it was no big deal."

It's very possible that Maye had no idea Newton was on First Take.

The show has a revolving door of guests, and Newton isn't a full-time co-host on the show, even if he appears on there more frequently these days. Maye has other things to worry about than what is being said about him on a morning television show.

For the Patriots and their quarterback, it's on to Cincinnati.

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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Stephen A. Smith walks back Drake Maye 'liar' comments (sort of)