Stephen A. Smith is known for controversy and giving bad takes.
This one might just be his worst.
Yesterday morning, the ESPN analyst made an offensive remark about Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani and the marketing of the game of baseball, criticizing him for his use of an interpreter.
“I understand that baseball is an international sport itself in terms of participation, but when you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or the ballpark, to actually watch you, I don’t think it helps that the number one face is a dude that needs an interpreter, so you can understand what the hell he’s saying in this country,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take.
And sure enough, Twitter blew up, with people going after Smith for his comments, while also defending Shohei Ohtani.
Smith went on to clarify his comments in a video, saying he was referring to “the marketability” of baseball, which only made matters worse.
After more criticism on Twitter, some from his own colleagues, Smith finally issued an apology and tweeted it Monday night, saying he was “sincerely sorry for any angst” he may have caused, which seems very half-hearted and insincere.
It’s frustrating that we always seem to have to go back to square one when it comes to racism. It rears its ugly head time and time again, showing that our society still has much to learn on such a serious subject.
Whether Stephen A. intended to be racist or not doesn’t matter. He said what he said, tried to defend himself, then when that didn’t work, he offered a fake apology to cover his behind, showing us that he’s only sorry because he got caught.
As previously mentioned, Smith has given some pretty foolish takes in the past, but this one might just take the cake. He clearly didn’t think through what he was about to say, and let it out for the entire sports world to hear, embarrassing ESPN, Major League Baseball, and most of all, himself, in the process.
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