Overview
- While praising Houston’s playoff win on First Take, Smith said “Charlie Kirk” before co-host Shae Cornette corrected him and he immediately apologized.
- Christian Kirk had eight receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown in the Texans’ 30–6 Wild Card victory over the Steelers, setting up a divisional game at New England on Sunday.
- A clip of the moment, posted by Awful Announcing, drew millions of views on X as users joked about the error and debated Smith’s forays into political topics.
- Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder, was assassinated at Utah Valley University in September 2025; a 22-year-old suspect, Tyler Robinson, was arrested after a manhunt.
- Multiple outlets noted ESPN’s uploaded YouTube segment appeared edited to remove the misname, underscoring how networks handle live on-air mistakes after the fact.