Stephen A. Smith said that his now-former “First Take” co-star, Molly Qerim, “abruptly resigned” from ESPN on Monday night, “effective immediately,” after 10 years of sharing the same airwaves.

During Tuesday’s installment of his Sirius XM show , Smith explained that ESPN didn’t want to lose Qerim amid contract negotiations with the host, adding “it’s just uncomfortable to see” and he’s “not happy about it.”

“To say that I’m quite sad about it is an understatement,” he said on “The Stephen A Smith Show,” which aired shortly after Tuesday morning’s “First Take” that didn’t feature Qerim. 4

“Molly is a friend. Molly is a co-worker. Molly is somebody that I’ve leaned on on many occasions in the past, as she has done when it comes to me. We’ve been partners on the show for the last 1

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