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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith hammered out his apology Monday night after making insensitive remarks about Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani and apparently doubled down as saying MLB stars learning English would help them better promote sport.
After breathing in the clarification of his comments in a Twitter video and subsequent tweet, Smith wrote a long note of apology.
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“Let me apologize right away,” he began.
“As I watch this unfold, let me say that I never intended to offend ANY COMMUNITY, especially the Asian community – and in particular SHOHEI Ohtani, himself.
“As an African American, deeply aware of the damage that stereotypes have done to many in this country, it should have elevated my sensitivity even more. In my words, I failed in this regard and it is to me, and to me alone! Ohtani is one of the brightest stars in all sports. He makes a difference, in terms of inclusion and leadership. I should have embraced him in my comments.
ESPN’s STEPHEN A. SMITH: ENGLISH-SPEAKING MLB STARS WILL MAKE SPORT PROMOTION EASIER
“Instead, I screwed up. These days, with all the violence perpetrated against the Asian community, my comments – albeit unintentional – were clearly callous and regrettable. There is simply no other. way of putting it. I am sincerely sorry. for any angst I caused with my comments on “First Take” this morning. Once again, I am sorry. And I will gladly repeat these words at greater length tomorrow morning. “
Smith first caused a stir when he said that Ohtani’s emergence as MLB’s top star wasn’t necessarily a good thing as he has to speak through a performer. He said stars like Ohtani speaking through a performer were not good for the marketing of baseball in the United States.
“But the fact that you have a foreign player who doesn’t speak English, who needs an interpreter… believe it or not, I think that helps to hurt the game to some extent when it’s your appeal to the game. box office. It has to be someone like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, those guys. And unfortunately right now it’s not, “he said.
He quoted NBA players who played in Europe or South America who didn’t need an interpreter to play and in MLB “you have these guys who need these interpreters and I think that compromises their ability to make yourself well known to the American public, that’s what we’re really talking about. “
ESPN’s STEPHEN A. SMITH ON SHOHEI OHTANI: ANGELS STAR USING PERFORMER THAT DOES A LOT OF BASEBALL
Smith then attempted to clarify his comments in a video on Twitter.
“If you are a sport that is trying to please yourself to the American public the way Major League Baseball does because of the problems you have had in proving the attractiveness of the sport, it helps if you speak English. language. It doesn’t mean anything more than that.
Smith pointed out that the baseball audience is older than some of its competitors, like the NBA and NFL in the United States, and that Ohtani was only the center of the conversation because of his baseball performances in this moment.
“We know it’s an international sport. We know it’s great and baseball has the global appeal that it is, great. But in the United States, all I was saying was that when you’re a superstar, if you can speak the english language then guess what, that’s going to make promoting the sport a lot easier and less difficult. That’s all i was saying about anyone. “
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Smith initially said he was going to expand on his comments further, but instead decided to make a long statement.
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