Stephen A. Smith loves a good debate, but this one was put to rest in 2021: He is now, without rival, the face of ESPN.

That became abundantly clear when he rebuilt the network’s morning debate show, First Take, entirely in his own image — admitting it was his decision to cut Max Kellerman from the show after five years.

Smith’s popularity and stardom has the Worldwide Leader appearing almost desperate to use him at every opening -- and his brash, unfiltered takes consistently deliver high ratings for them, regardless of the show or sport.

He added a ton of gigs to his already full plate in 2021. In addition to being the architect and star of First Take every weekday, Smith was named a featured co-host of ESPN’s revamped weekly pregame show NBA Countdown and launched Stephen A’s World exclusive to the company’s digital platform. 

People either love Smith or they love to hate him, but his brash opinions keep audiences seeking what he has to say about every topic on any platform. He not only holds the most sway on his own network, he's earned the top spot in our just-launched Mediaite's Most Influential in Sports Media 2021 list, a new companion to our annual Most Influential in News Media list.

Hyperbole is among the most frequently used rhetorical devices, maybe the most in fact. Intentionally using exaggeration or for emphasis for the effect to make a point is a tricky bit of sophistry consistently used across the political media spectrum, but there are times when one can go so far as to enter the realm of absurdly irresponsible. Or maybe irresponsibly absurd?

This came to mind Tuesday evening when MSNBC’s Joy Reid flatly claimed that Fox News hosts “let their viewers and fans die because they don’t give a damn.”

She then amplified that idea adding, “It’s just clicks to them. It’s just — they don’t care what happens,” suggesting that prioritizing ratings around anti-vax rhetoric is what is motivating many opinion hosts.

"This is fun for them, you know," she continued. “That’s what they think. Let them die. If it gets them power, let as many people die…they don’t care.”

As Mediaite's Colby Hall pointed out, there are reasonable criticisms of Fox News' coverage, particularly some of their rhetoric on the pandemic, that should be highlighted. We’ve done that repeatedly and will continue, wrote Hall, but to suggest that Fox News hosts think it’s "fun" to let their viewers die is simply "irresponsible hyperbole."