ESPN hot-take artist Stephen A. Smith made an unfortunate mistake on the air on Tuesday, errantly referring to Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk as Charlie Kirk.
During a segment about the Texans’ 24-point blowout win over the Steelers in the AFC Wild Card matchup, Smith sought to give credit to Kirk for his 8-catch 144-yard performance. However, instead of crediting Christian, Smith credited Charlie.
“We saw Charlie Kirk catch eight receptions for 144 yards,” Smith said.
Smith was promptly corrected by ESPN’s Shea Peppler Cornette and corrected himself, “I’m sorry, I apologize. Oh my God, I meant Christian Kirk.”
Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was tragically killed by an assassin’s bullet on September 10, 2025.
In the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination, Smith took pains to express sympathy for the slain activist and his family. In addition, he also criticized those celebrating and mocking his killing.
“I don’t care what his political beliefs were. I don’t care what he felt,” Smith said, via Fox News Digital. “That he’s dead at the age of 31. That his wife is a widow. That his children are fatherless because his ideas and his beliefs differed from somebody else, apparently. And then I’m going online, and I’m seeing people celebrating it. Shame! Shame on you!”
Smith has been devoting more time to politics on his podcast, the Stephen A. Smith Show, which might explain his mistake in mentioning Charlie instead of Christian Kirk. In any event, given his past comments, it’s likely Smith simply made a mistake.
