It appears some of ESPN's First Take personalities are not big fans of taping the show from Milwaukee for the NBA Finals.
Former NFL offensive guard Damien Woody asked during a recent episode for commentator Stephen A. Smith's views on going to the cities in the finals, saying "do you really want to go to Milwaukee? Is that where you want to be?"
The remaining cities in the playoffs are Milwaukee, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
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Smith responds with a "hell, no."
Host Molly Qerim Rose then joined in saying, "you know what I just thought about, which is actually kind of funny? The only two times, the one time I didn't go to the Super Bowl was Minnesota, and this is the first year - I'm not sure what our plans are for First Take - but I don't think we're going, Max and I, we'll see."
"And it's going to be terrible cities. I mean, good karma for me on that end," Rose stated.
Fellow host Max Kellerman responded, "terrible cities? Molly didn't mean that."
Smith then interjected: "There is breaking news here. I don't believe either of them are going to win their respective series. But I don't believe I've ever rooted for Atlanta, the Atlanta Hawks or the Los Angeles Clippers, more in my life."
Smith continued on Atlanta and LA: "All I know is this: when you get to those locations, it's worth the flight."
It was also Smith who predicted on Monday that the Bucks would defeat the Hawks in five games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
On Wednesday, Rose tried to walk back her comments on the show, saying "I got nothing bad to say about Milwaukee. I got a lot of calls. I hear it is a great city."
Just saw this on First Take and I'm not surprised whatsoever. Milwaukee has not covered on ESPN for decades. We don't want yall in Milwaukee when we host the NBA Finals!! @SnellSZN@nathanmarzion@brewhoop
— Logan Winser (@logan_winser) June 22, 2021
#bucksin6 #terriblecities #Milwaukee pic.twitter.com/Mqk1bD07uL
Very hard to tell but I believe this was @espn ‘s @MollyQerim ‘s best attempt at an apology to @cityofmilwaukee ?? Claiming she has “nothing bad to say about Milwaukee” 24 hours after she called Milwaukee “a terrible city” because it doesn’t match her travel & lifestyle needs. pic.twitter.com/50PH20KJdq
— Brian Niznansky (@BrianNizTMJ4) June 23, 2021