If you read my previous article, In Defense of Stephen A. Smith Off-the-Cuff Rant on Domestic Violence, then you’ll know why I believed Stephen A. Smith’s apology.
Following Friday’s controversial show in which Smith was accused of implying that women provoke men to violence, Smith began the Monday edition of First Take with a sincere apology. Some have criticized him for obviously reading a scripted apology from a teleprompter. However, I don’t fault Smith for such actions because it was undoubtedly the off-the-cuff manner in which he spoke about domestic violence that got him into trouble in the first place.
I believed Smith when he said in his apology that:
My words came across that it is somehow a woman’s fault. This was not my intent. It is not what I was trying to say. Yet the failure to clearly articulate something different lies squarely on my shoulders. Unfortunately, I did an incredibly poor job of asserting my point of view last Friday.
Yes, without a doubt, his words came across to many that domestic violence was somehow a woman’s fault. I truly believe that it was not Smith’s intent, and it was not what he was trying to say as stated in his apology. In my previous post, I suggested that the real problem was that Smith didn’t articulate a subtle point that he was trying to make. Most likely, it’s because he was talking off-the-cuff about a very sensitive subject—and this failure—does lie squarely on his shoulders.
While ESPN has suspended and even fired analysts for lesser causes, the network issued a statement that Smith would not be fired nor suspended and added:
We will continue to have constructive dialogue on this important topic. He [Stephen A. Smith] recognizes his mistakes and has a deeper appreciation of our company values.
However, there was no “constructive dialogue” on domestic violence or what Smith was actually trying to say on Friday’s show. There was even an opportunity to continue the discussion with co-host Cari Champion, who accepted Smith’s apology and seemed poised to take up the topic. However, shortly after the apology, the show segued into a live talk about LeBron James. ESPN blew a perfect moment to have that “constructive dialogue” on domestic violence.
It’s clear that ESPN is just sticking to what it does best—talk about sports.
