“Based on my words, I failed in that regard,” he continued, “and it’s on me.”

“As an African-American, keenly aware of the damage stereotyping has done to many in this country, it should’ve elevated my sensitivities even more. “I never intended to offend any community, particularly the Asian community,” he insisted.

More: Connect with your fave stars on Cameo Īfter getting an inkling of just how egregious his error was, Smith took to Twitter to apologize. 1 face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying.” “When you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube, or to the ballpark, to actually watch you, OK?” he continued. “And unfortunately, at this moment in time, that’s not the case.” But instead of him, “it needs to be somebody like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, those guys,” suggested Smith. “But the fact that you’ve got a foreign player that doesn’t speak English, that needs an interpreter, believe it or not, I think contributes to harming the game to some degree when that’s your box-office appeal.”Īctually, Ohtani’s box-office appeal is probably that he’s so good that he’s the first athlete in Major League history to be chosen to both pitch and hit in the upcoming All-Star Game.

“This brother is special, make no mistake about it,” said Smith, who recurs on General Hospital as Brick. Smith argued that Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani was “harming the game” of baseball because the Japanese pitcher uses an English translator during press conferences. Smith, who’s an ESPN host when not playing Brick on the ABC soap, opened his mouth and inserted his foot all the way in.Īs reported by our sister site TVLine, during the July 12 edition of First Take, ESPN personality Stephen A.

Stephen a smith soap opera