STEPHEN A. SMITH has spoken out over his ESPN suspension following controversial remarks.
The long-time broadcaster caused outrage for comments he made about NFL legend Ray Rice.
Stephen A. Smith is one of the most well-known faces in the sports media landscape[/caption]
Smith is a regular on First Take and other leading ESPN shows[/caption]
In 2014, Smith suggested some women may “provoke” domestic violence incidents.
He was discussing Rice’s suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
The Baltimore Ravens legend was banned for two games after being arrested and charged with assault.
A horrifying video of the incident was released showing him knocking out his partner in an Atlantic City elevator.
He then dragged her body into the hallway.
Smith was recently asked by Danyel Smith for Rolling Stone about his comments on the domestic violence incident.
The 57-year-old was suspended by ESPN for the first and only time for the remarks live on First Take.
“Nobody’s perfect,” said Smith.
“Everybody and their mother advises me, ‘Don’t revisit it. It’s a no-win situation.’ To me, that’s cowardice.
“I know what I said. And what I did was utter the word ‘provoke’.
“A former colleague at ESPN took it, ran with it, and it went ballistic on Twitter.
“The leadership at ESPN reacted to that. When the heat elevated, [they] said, ‘We have to suspend you’.
“And that’s a blemish on my career I do not believe I deserve. I’ve been consistent in that position.
“I’m a father of two daughters. I know what I’ve never condoned or excused.
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“Unfortunately, we live in an immature society where people are not deducing right from wrong and contextualizing things properly.”
Smith made the comment in July 2014 as part of a live First Take episode alongside Skip Bayless.
He said them on Friday 24th, before returning the following Monday with an apology.
The next day it was announced he would not be on the network for one week.
“We keep talking about the guys,” Smith said in 2014.
“We know you have no business putting your hands on a woman. I don’t know how many times I got to reiterate that.
“But as a man who was raised by women, see, I know what I’m going to do if somebody touches a female member of my family.
“I know what I’m going to do, I know what my boys are going to do.
“I know what, I’m going to have to remind myself that I work for the Worldwide Leader, I’m going to have to get law enforcement officials involved because of what I’m going to be tempted to do.
“But what I’ve tried to implore the female members of my family, some of who you all met and talked to and what have you, is that again, and this is what, I’ve done this all my life, let’s make sure we don’t do anything to provoke wrong actions.
“Because if I come, or somebody else come, whether it’s law enforcement officials, your brother or the fellas that you know, if we come after somebody has put their hands on you, it doesn’t negate the fact that they already put their hands on you.
“So, let’s try to make sure that we can do our part in making sure that that doesn’t happen.”
