Stephen A. Smith Issues On-Air Apology Following Failed Twitter Attempt

Following a bungled attempt to issue an apology via Twitter, as The Inquisitr previously reported, ESPN sports analyst Stephen A. Smith used the first three minutes of First Take on Monday for an on-air apology.

According to a report from The Guardian, during his on-air apology, Smith addressed the comments he made on Friday in regards to the Ray Rice incident and how women shouldn’t do anything to “provoke wrong actions.”

“I made what I can only amount to the most egregious error of my career,” Smith said.

He continued his on-air apology by saying it was not his “intent” to blame women involved in domestic violence.

“It is not what I was trying to say,” he added. “Yet the failure to clearly articulate something different lies squarely on my shoulders.”

Smith added that calling his comments “foolish would be an understatement.”

“To say I was wrong would be obvious,” he continued. “To apologize, to say I’m sorry, doesn’t do the matter its proper justice to be quite honest. But I do sincerely apologize.”

Cari Champion was right next to Smith and thanked him for his on-air apology.

“I think there are people out there who appreciate it as well,” Champion said referring to Smith’s apology.

Champion had a few things to say following Smith’s on-air apology, but First Take did not discuss the issue after that. According to a report from The Epoch Times, the show switched to a discussion about LeBron James.

Following his on-air apology, ESPN issued a statement saying they will still have “constructive dialogue on this important topic.”

“Stephen’s comments last Friday do not reflect our company’s point of view,” the statement continued. “As his apology demonstrates, he recognizes his mistakes and has a deeper appreciation of our company values.”

Some are questioning the apology Smith made. Matt Yoder, a contributor for Awful Announcing, said Smith sounded “sincere” in his apology, but the way it’s being handled is raising “more questions.”

“So that… appears to be that,” Yoder wrote referring to the ESPN statement. “Smith has apparently escaped any sort of discipline whatsoever from ESPN for talking about a woman’s role in domestic violence. Considering the laundry list of past ESPN suspensions, it comes as a great surprise.”

One person who surprisingly came to Smith’s defense was Whoopi Goldberg. According to The Wrap, during Monday’s episode of The View, Goldberg said she “knew she was going to catch a lot of hell” for what she was about to say, but that didn’t bother her.

“But you have to teach women, do not live with this idea that men have this chivalry thing still with them, don’t assume that that is still in place,” she said.

What are your thoughts on Stephen A. Smith’s on-air apology?

[Image via ThatsEnuff.com]