D*mn Stephen. Say it ain’t so. Sports fans will not have the pleasure of seeing Stephan A. Smith on ESPN for one week following his domestic violence comments on the Ray Rice controversy.
On Friday’s First Take (July 25), he discussed the NFL suspension of Ray for two games following assault charges that involved his then-fiancée, now wife, several months ago. But in a twist of events it was Stephan’s comments that caused a storm when he suggested that women should “not provoke wrong actions.”
He then took to the air Monday (July 28) to issue a formal apology for his words. “My words came across that it is somehow a woman’s fault. This was not my intent,” he said. “To say what I actually said was foolish is an understatement. To say I was wrong is obvious. To apologize to say I’m sorry, doesn’t do the matter its proper justice, to be quite honest. But I do sincerely apologize.”
Oh Stephan… I really feel like Stephan is one of THE best commentators in sports, but you just can’t say certain things publicly. Certain topics I don’t even approach. Once his comments hit Twitter – which was immediately – I knew suspension was just around the corner. It was too much heat for ESPN.
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