Recently, former Dallas Cowboys and current Green Bay Packers linebacker Micah Parsons took to his podcast, The Edge with Micah Parsons, and aired out Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels for his “disgusting” late-game actions Sunday against the New York Giants. Since then, Parsons has drawn criticism from peers and NFL analysts for his reaction to the situation.

On a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith defended Parsons, saying he is “sick and tired” of the media scrutiny athletes face whenever they speak out.

“I am sick and tired of people in the media thinking that athletes don’t have a right to speak their minds; they do,” Smith said. “If we can talk about a sport we’ve never played, particularly on that level, how the hell are we gonna sit up there with a straight face and look at them who are actually playing the sport and tell them they should be quiet?”

We have seen phrases like “shut up and dribble” thrown around when NBA athlete LeBron James spoke out politically against President Donald Trump. Similarly, this year the WNBA has fought its own uphill battles with players and media as the conversation about transgender athletes in women’s sports was a major topic, until players like Sophie Cunningham became the bane of the league when she spoke out.

Smith sees this sort of media treatment as backward; why patronize athletes when they have “the credentials”?

“We can talk about teammates and calling out your teammates or lack of decorum or anything like that; we can talk about those things. But at the end of the day, he ain’t a member of the Washington Commanders; he doesn’t owe Jayden Daniels anything. If anything, he’s going to side with Dan Quinn. But most importantly, he has the credentials to do it; he knows what the hell he’s talking about, what he said was absolutely correct, and he said it about a man he supports [Dan Quinn],” Smith said.

Quinn worked with the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons, from 2021-2023, as a defensive coordinator with Parsons, which helps explain why the linebacker’s response was so personal. Quinn’s career with the Commanders hasn’t been the best, with a losing regular-season record of 18-20-1 since joining in 2024.

After their “inexcusable” actions late in Sunday’s matchup, Parsons assumed that the conversation about coach Quinn’s dismissal was prevalent. Rather, he was ridiculed for his response as a professional athlete.