ESPN’s outspoken analyst Stephen A. Smith apologized profusely for telling battered women to stop provoking their abusers.
He went one step further during Monday’s segment of ESPN2’s “First Take,” calling his statements the “most egregious of my career.”
Smith made his controversial statements during ESPN’s “First Take” on Friday.
Smith was commenting on Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice who was suspended for 2 games for assaulting his wife in February.
During the segment, Smith said battered women should be mindful of provoking their men in the heat of the moment. Of course, Smith was referring to the family dynamic in the black community, where black men who are routinely belittled and emasculated by their single mothers grow up to abuse their wives.
But Smith forgot that he was holding this discussion in mixed company — in front of millions of sports fans who will never understand the black man’s experience. Smith’s message was lost because he was preaching to the wrong choir.
In his third, and most extensive apology yet, Smith said:
“On Friday, speaking right here on “First Take” on the subject of domestic violence, I made what can only amount to the most egregious error of my caree. While elaborating on thoughts concerning the NFL’s ruling versus Ray Rice following a domestic dispute with his then-fiancee, I ventured beyond the scope of our discussion by alluding to a woman’s role in such heinous matters, going so far as to use the word “provoke” in my diatribe. My words came across that it is somehow a woman’s fault. This was not my intent. It is not what I’m trying to say. Yet the failure to clearly articulate something different lies squarely on my shoulders. 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 it’s proper justice, to be quite honest. But I do sincerely apologize.”
More from Sandrarose.com:
