Stephen A. Smith fires back at Dave Portnoy as bitter feud escalates: 'You ain't demanding s*** from me'

ESPN star Stephen A. Smith has refused to give in to Dave Portnoy's demands after the Barstool Sports chief claimed he owed NFL star Drake Maye an apology. 

Smith launched a scathing attack on the New England Patriots quarterback this week when he branded Maye a 'liar' for throwing shade at his 'First Take' colleague Cam Newton. 

The accusation drew backlash from many, including Portnoy, a longtime passionate fan of the Patriots. 

The Barstool Sports founder insisted that the ESPN personality owed not only Maye an apology but also one to himself, owners the Krafts, and all other Patriots fans. 

Yet, while Smith admitted that he may be willing to consider apologizing to Maye, Portnoy had better not hold his breath.

'I'm hearing Dave Portnoy is demanding an apology,' Smith admitted during his show for Mad Dog Sports Radio on SiriusXM. 

'First of all, you ain't demanding s*** from me. Excuse my language. I respect Portnoy for a lot of different reasons. I really do. I've never had any issue with him. I don't want to see no headline demanding an apology. What if I demand an apology for some of the things he says? So, please, give me a break.' 

Smith did claim that he was just being facetious about Maye but refused to back down for the Barstool personality. 

'Demanding an apology? Please. No demand from Portnoy is gonna affect me,' Smith continued. 

'Let's make sure we're clear about that. But I respect him, and I respect what he's accomplished and what he's established for himself, and I wish him nothing but the best. Ain't nobody demanding a damn thing from me. I'll apologize if I want to apologize. And I won't if I don't.' 

During an episode of 'First Take' last week, Smith's colleague Newton made headlines when he labeled the Patriots' resurgence with Maye under center as 'fool's gold' because of their kind schedule.

After being asked about the 'fool's gold' assessment, the in-form rookie, who has inspired New England's impressive 9-2 start, responded in brutal fashion by claiming to be none the wiser about his fellow quarterback's TV career.

'I don't even know what show he's on,' Maye said about Newton on Wednesday. 'I think they get paid to make remarks and make certain comments.'

On Thursday, Newton stood by his comments while broadcasting First Take live from Bethune-Cookman University, insisting Maye is still not on the level of fellow AFC quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes despite the Patriots having a better record than both the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs.

And during that episode, Smith also leapt to his co-star's defense by pointing out how successful of a show First Take is.

As the panel were discussing Maye, the ESPN star interjected: 'He's also a liar. Listen... Pardon The Interruption is the No 1 show on ESPN spanning 20-plus decades. First Take is the number one morning show 13 years and counting, April will be 14 years.

'Don’t tell me you a athlete and you don’t know that. Don’t tell me you a athlete and you don’t know that Cam Newton is on this show. You lying.'

Newton, who was crowned NFL MVP in 2015, acknowledged that Maye is having a 'great season' with the Patriots.

However, he also suggested the 23-year-old still has a long way to go while just 11 games into his pro career.

'I also put Drake Maye in the position where it’s like, yo, we don’t really know,' he said.

'I'm just worried about what people in our organization think, and worry about (what) we think and what my teammates think,' Maye added on Wednesday. 'People are going to have different opinions. I'm just going out there on Sunday and worrying about ourselves.'