Stephen A Smith Suspended For A Week for Domestic Violence Comments

[MadVillainy]

Four days after Stephen A. Smith’s controversial comments about domestic violence on ESPN’s First Take, ESPN announced the host will be taking some time off.

“ESPN announced today that Stephen A. Smith will not appear on First Take or ESPN Radio for the next week. He will return to ESPN next Wednesday,” ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz wrote in a statement emailed to For The Win.

Smith was speaking about the NFL’s controversial suspension of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice when he seemed to imply that some women are to blame for domestic violence. After an almost immediate outcry, including from his ESPN co-worker Michelle Beadle, he issued two separate apologies on Twitter.

On Monday, Smith issued a pre-taped apology before First Take and ESPN released a statement saying his previous statements did not reflect the company’s viewpoint.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/07/stephen-a-smith-espn-2
I think this is really silly.

 

[The Endless]

Well if a woman is coming at me with a knife or in some other extreme circumstance i'm gonna put her down.

But generally, yea men who hit women are *****ebags

 

[runawayboulder]

Stephen A Smith is a *****ebag.

He may be on the outs with ESPN but rest assured some other *****e will fill the void he leaves.

 

[MadVillainy]

Well if a woman is coming at me with a knife or in some other extreme circumstance i'm gonna put her down.

But generally, yea men who hit women are *****ebags

That's what he's saying. Of course men who hit women are a**holes generally. But when a women is hitting a man over and over, get hit back, and then cried domestic violence I think that's messed up.

I think the tweet was a good way to put it:

Charlamagne Tha God @cthagod · Jul 25
Stephen A is simply saying "Ladies Don't do what Solange did to Jay Z cause a man might not react like Jay Z he might react like Ray Rice."

And I dont think that's unreasonable to say. He just worded it wrong

 

[HaplessHenchman]

Stephen A Smith is a *****ebag.

He may be on the outs with ESPN but rest assured some other *****e will fill the void he leaves.

Ha! That made me laugh because it's true. That network has no shortage of D-bags, that's for sure.

 

[runawayboulder]

Ha! That made me laugh because it's true. That network has no shortage of D-bags, that's for sure.

They have that "Embrace Debate" policy which makes it carte blanche for every dips**t at the network to say whatever nonsense they feel like saying.

 

[Warhammer]

This whole situation is blown out of proportion. There is no way one watches the clip and says "Oh, I guess Smith supports abusing women." Yes, it could have been worded differently but damn, people like to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

And while I do not support abusing women, I really do want to backhand the hell out of Michelle Beadle. She is such a stupid b****. I never liked her. That's your colleague at the same network in the same building. It was unnecessary to put Smith on blast like that. This isn't another Rob Parker situation.

 

[Doc Samson]

That's what he's saying. Of course men who hit women are a**holes generally. But when a women is hitting a man over and over, get hit back, and then cried domestic violence I think that's messed up.

I think the tweet was a good way to put it:


And I dont think that's unreasonable to say. He just worded it wrong

Exactly. I don't care how strong willed of a man you are, if a woman is coming at you and won't stop, it's possible that you might need to physically restrain her. And depending on her ferocity, that restraint might warrant some power behind it. It's easy to get on the soapbox and spout off about what you would do in that situation, it's not so easy when a female is kicking, punching & spitting on you with hopes that it escalates into something further. And it's naive to think certain women (not all!) don't relish the consequences of that escalation either.

I don't even think he worded it that wrong TBH, but he's Stephen A. Smith too. He's already been in hot water with the network and his "volume" can easily make people nervous or uncomfortable. But at no time did I misconstrue anything he said as supporting abuse, it's ridiculous...

 

[Warhammer]

^I will give you until the next page before someone quotes you and says something along the lines of "You should never hit a woman ever."

 

[Doc Samson]

Lol, probably. But it is what it is, I'm not saying you should either. I'm just saying, like Stephen did, that there are certainly women out there that don't mind provoking you until you snap. And everybody, at some point, can snap...

 

[Hush]

I won't quote him, but you never hit a woman. I have had a woman get angry and hit me, you stand there and take it. You know why? Because if I decided to hit a woman back they'd be in the hospital and you're hitting someone that is weaker than you and where is the merit in that? Now I have stopped a woman's hand from slapping me, I asked "are you done?", assert yourself while you take control of the situation. As soon as you hit a woman she lives in fear, and that is no way for someone to live if you love them. This is just my personal view, I'm not trying to sound judgy so I apologize if I do.

As for Smith, this is absurd his job is to commentate and he mostly does a great job. He will be cautious from here on out and his reporting will be less quality because of that. His producer should be suspended too for allowing this if this how ESPN is gonna act. I bet 100% this is Disney stepping in.

 

[The Endless]

Women want equality right? If a man punches in the the face, I punch him back. So with that whole "equality" thing in mind, if a woman punches me in the face, she's gonna get punched back.

I'm actually joking. I'm just playing with the whole equality thing.

But at the end of the day, the idea that women can't harm a man because they are weak and fragile women is pretty ****ing sexist really. If a women comes at me with a tool. A knife or a rolling pin or hammer... she getting knocked out. Same as a man.

 

[batdude]

It wasn't Stephen A's finest moment but I get what he was trying to say. Problem is, they comparing him to Ray Rice who got in his fight on camera. no win thing for sure.

 

[runawayboulder]

As for Smith, this is absurd his job is to commentate and he mostly does a great job. He will be cautious from here on out and his reporting will be less quality because of that. His producer should be suspended too for allowing this if this how ESPN is gonna act. I bet 100% this is Disney stepping in.

Smith is complete garbage and is the prime example as to why the network sucks now. Everyone's personal opinion about domestic violence is completely trivial. As a broadcaster you have a certain responsibility to live up to. Your words must be phrased as perfectly as can be so they in no way be misconstrued. He failed to do so and is being justly suspended for it.

 

[Wanksta]

Lol, probably. But it is what it is, I'm not saying you should either. I'm just saying, like Stephen did, that there are certainly women out there that don't mind provoking you until you snap. And everybody, at some point, can snap...

True

 

[Pink Ranger]

Lol, probably. But it is what it is, I'm not saying you should either. I'm just saying, like Stephen did, that there are certainly women out there that don't mind provoking you until you snap. And everybody, at some point, can snap...

I think you need to think very carefully about your use of the words "provoke" and "snap." That is entirely different than the knife scenario described previously; what you are implying above is something different than self defence.

"Provoking" implies something other than a threat to your life or safety, and "snap" implies a reaction above and beyond an even-strength response to whatever provoked you. Consider this a teachable moment, but this kind of thinking leads down a dangerous path.

 

[Doc Samson]

Smith is complete garbage and is the prime example as to why the network sucks now. Everyone's personal opinion about domestic violence is completely trivial. As a broadcaster you have a certain responsibility to live up to. Your words must be phrased as perfectly as can be so they in no way be misconstrued. He failed to do so and is being justly suspended for it.

He's definitely not the first to have his words taken wrong or to present his viewpoint in a less than stellar manner. But calling him complete garbage implies you just have a dislike for him regardless.

I think you need to think very carefully about your use of the words "provoke" and "snap." That is entirely different than the knife scenario described previously; what you are implying above is something different than self defence.

"Provoking" implies something other than a threat to your life or safety, and "snap" implies a reaction above and beyond an even-strength response to whatever provoked you. Consider this a teachable moment, but this kind of thinking leads down a dangerous path.

Teachable moment? I'll excuse your condescension and give you a real world example of what I meant. Trust and believe I thought about my use of words, I usually do

My brother was dating a woman who had a history of provoking her ex-boyfriends into physical confrontations, her last boyfriend wound up in jail over some sort of altercation. Long story short, New Years Eve of this year, they're in Atlantic City. She gets intoxicated, starts hitting him. He's trying to just leave the situation, she's all over him. He gets to the car, goes to leave her, she starts crying and making a bigger scene. He lets her in, she starts on him again. Then she grabs the wheel, makes the car swerve and he hits 4 parked vehicles in the process. They get out, and still....she's letting him have it. At this point, he loses his cool and strikes her once, and he's still going to court over it til this day.

Now I'm not saying he was right, but I'm certainly not giving her a pass either. Especially with her history. She, for whatever reason, enjoys that type of relationship. Once my brother knew that about her, no doubt, he should've left her immediately. But just because he didn't doesn't excuse what happened no more than what she did excuses him. I'm not saying anyone is wrong or right, what I am saying is there are females who instigate and try their best to get into an actual scuffle. Whether you want to believe it or not. That's just reality. And it's also reality that everyone has a breaking point. Everyone.

 

[The Endless]

I think he was right in hitting her.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Women want equality right? If a man punches in the the face, I punch him back. So with that whole "equality" thing in mind, if a woman punches me in the face, she's gonna get punched back.

I'm actually joking. I'm just playing with the whole equality thing.

But at the end of the day, the idea that women can't harm a man because they are weak and fragile women is pretty ****ing sexist really. If a women comes at me with a tool. A knife or a rolling pin or hammer... she getting knocked out. Same as a man.

Women want equal protection under the law and equal opportunity. They don't want to go toe to toe with Mike Tyson.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Didn't Rice drag this woman by her hair once she was knocked out.

That doesn't seem like reasonable self-defense to me.

 

[The Endless]

Neither do i lol.

 

[Immortalfire]

Didn't Rice drag this woman by her hair once she was knocked out.

That doesn't seem like reasonable self-defense to me.

Ray is another Lawrence Phillips in the making.

 

[runawayboulder]

He's definitely not the first to have his words taken wrong or to present his viewpoint in a less than stellar manner. But calling him complete garbage implies you just have a dislike for him regardless.

Well......yeah. He's not a journalist or sportscaster. He's a sensationalist. He's more about having a celebrity status than he is being informative. The entire credibility of the network is shot when he's there. Same goes for Skip Bayless and the entire First Take show. It's problem numero uno with ESPN.

 

[Warhammer]

I love Skip Bayless. I can never get enough of that guy.

 

[Doc Samson]

Well......yeah. He's not a journalist or sportscaster. He's a sensationalist. He's more about having a celebrity status than he is being informative. The entire credibility of the network is shot when he's there. Same goes for Skip Bayless and the entire First Take show. It's problem numero uno with ESPN.

Well you can dislike his personality, no doubt about that he's not everyone's cup of tea. But to say he's not informative might be a stretch, particularly when it comes to the NBA.

He was the first person I know of who publicly said it was a distinct possibility Lebron might go back to Cleveland last season, and one of the first to confirm he was going to Miami hours before the Decision. He certainly was the only one saying Doc Rivers was contemplating going to the Clippers, which sounded extremely ridiculous to me at the time.

He's broken too many stories to be uninformed. I have the same level of dislike for Skip Bayless that you do for Stephen but I can't ignore all that he's done in his career either, well before First Take was on TV. I think people forget they're encouraged to be loud and controversial for ratings...