The Cleveland Browns fanbase is divided into three parts, one of which supports the idea of veteran Joe Flacco being named the starting quarterback of the season, another that is rooting for Deion Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, to take the center stage, and a small amount that’s hoping to see Dillon Gabriel in the role.
After Shedeur Sanders impressed the fans with his performance during preseason game 1 against Carolina Panthers, ex Oregon star Gabriel got the opportunity to take center stage during preseason game 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
During a sideline interview, Gabriel said, “there’s entertainers and there’s competitors,” which many people assumed to be about Shedeur Sanders. His comments led to Gabriel later clarifying it wasn’t about the ex Colorado quarterback.
Jason Whitlock expressed his frustration with the media for broadcasting Gabriel’s interview out of context and starting the online debate during his latest podcast:
“This is the NFL. Adam Schefter and the NFL. I’m not distancing those two. Leaning into the entertainment soap opera-esque sports environment that has been created. The racebait environment that has been created. I like Adam Schefter. We’re peers. We’re colleagues. We came up in the business. At the same time, I have a great deal of respect for Adam Schefter. I can’t believe I was blown away that he put this comment out of context. It’s unfair to Dillon Gabriel. It’s un unfair to Shedeur Sanders. It’s just unfair. But this is what journalism, ESPN, the sports world has turned into.” (13:03)
Stephen A. Smith Calls Out Dillon Gabriel Over Entertainers’ Comment
Dillon Gabriel explained in the post-game press conference that the quote that he used was an old one, confessing that he’s used it many times. He also shared that by “entertainers” he meant the media and not his teammate.
Reacting to this, Stephen A. Smith said that even though he totally believes the fact that Gabriel did mean it for the media and was not talking about Shedeur Sanders, he still thought it was a very stupid and dumb comment to make.
“I totally believed him when he said he was talking about the media. I want to get that out of the way first. I don’t think, he was talking about Shaedeur Sanders,” Smith said. “The comparisons were emanating from the media more so than anybody else. And that’s what I think, that’s exactly who I think he was directing his comments towards. Having said that, Dillon Gabriel, respectfully, it was stupid. A very dumb comment to make,” Smith said on Monday’s episode of First Take.
Stephen A. Smith on Dillon Gabriel’s “entertainers and competitors” quote: “I totally believed him when he said he was talking about the media… having said that, Dillon Gabriel, respectfully, it was stupid. A very dumb comment to make… when you go out there and compete like… pic.twitter.com/u2O5VUZ4u5
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 18, 2025
Smith further added Gabriel has now heightened the level of scrutiny coming his way, especially on the days when he doesn’t perform well.
