'Sad' Stephen A. Smith Speaks on Cowboys Ex Keyshawn & ESPN Firings

"We've been friends for over 20 years," Stephen A. Smith says of Cowboys ex Keyshawn Johnson, fired from ESPN. "I'm sad to see him go. What he's done for my life, just being a big brother and a friend to me. I love him to death."

FRISCO - Stephen A. Smith is reportedly making $12 million annually at ESPN, and it seems "The Worldwide Leader's'' plans include retain the omnipresent commentator even while executing mass layoffs that are costing his co-workers their jobs.

But while Smith isn't going to be hurt financially, he says he is nevertheless hurting for his out-of-work friends, including former Dallas Cowboys receiver Keyshawn Johnson.

"ESPN laid off about 20 members of its on-air talent. Friends of mine, actually. Definitely respected colleagues who've done a phenomenal job and deserve better. They deserve better than the times we're living in," Smith said this week.

We're not sure what the First Take star means by "the times we're living in''; ESPN parent company Disney made $24 billion in profit last year, and ESPN was the centerpiece for $8 billion of that revenue. Maybe "the times we're living in'' is about competition from Amazon, YouTube, Apple and other outlets who are gobbling up sports broadcast properties. But in any event ...

"We've been friends for over 20 years," Smith said of Johnson. "I'm sad to see him go. What he's done for my life, just being a big brother and a friend to me. I love him to death."

Smith rattled off some other unemployment-line names, as he also noted he has "a lot of love" for Jalen Rose, a "brilliant basketball mind" who "worked his (butt) off'' and said nice things about NBA voice Jeff Van Gundy, NFL Draft guru Todd McShay, college football analyst David Pollack, SportsCenter anchors Ashley Brewer and Neil Everett and others. 

(Some note he didn't mention former First Take co-host Max Kellerman in the video clip. In fairness, he didn't mention a lot of people, just as in our report on former Dallas Cowboys staffer Suzy Kolber, we didn't mention every single move. No crime there.)

Smith's job seems safe, and he wields enough authority that he is in a sense helping ESPN spent its money by talking about hiring on guys like Shannon Sharpe, who just jumped ship away from Skip Bayless on FS1, and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys legend who is working through a legal issue that has him suing a sexual harassment accuser for $100 million.

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