ESPN host Stephen A Smith came under fire over his comments about domestic violence while discussing Ray Rice's two-game suspension over a video of him dragging his then-fiancee after allegedly punching her in the face. Smith told Skip Bayless early in the discussion that he thinks men "have no business putting [their] hands on a woman."
As the conversation progressed, however, Smith said he was unsure about who's to blame for domestic abuse, given "the elements of provocation." His statement drew criticism from viewers who were outraged, including his colleague Michelle Beadle, who sounded off on her Twitter page.
"So I was just forced to watch this morning's First Take. A) I'll never feel clean again B) I'm now aware that I can provoke my own beating. I'm thinking about wearing a miniskirt this weekend...I'd hate to think what I'd be asking for by doing so @stephenasmith. #dontprovoke. I was in an abusive relationship once. I'm aware that men & women can both be the abuser. To spread a message that we not 'provoke' is wrong. Violence isn't the victim's issue. It's the abuser's. To insinuate otherwise is irresponsible and disgusting. Walk. Away."
Soon after Michelle sent out her tweets, Stephen responded to the controversy via Twitter. He began by apologizing and then went into clearing up his statement.
"This will be a long tweeted message, folks. So please stay with me and let me finish my complete thought before responding...b/c i'm ANNOYED. In discussing the Ray Rice ruling earlier today on @ESPN_FirstTake, me and @RealSkipBayless ventured into discussing domestic violence. Upon hearing what I had to say, although admitting I could've been more articulate on the matter, let me be clear: I don't understand how on earth someone could interpret that I somehow was saying women are to blame for domestic violence. And when I saw @MichelleDBeadle -- a colleague I have profound respect for -- tweet what she tweeted, enough is enough."
Check out what else he had to say in the above slide.
Source: Twitter
