Stephen A. Smith Says His Comments on Shohei Ohtani Were ‘Misinterpreted’ Amid Heavy Criticism for Xenophobia

Brandon ContesJul 12th, 2021, 4:03 pm
 

As baseball fans witness Shohei Ohtani change the landscape of the sport by proving a two-way player can dominate as a hitter and pitcher, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith complained about the Japanese-born superstar needing a translator.

“I don’t think it helps that the number one face, is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying, in THIS COUNTRY,” he said Monday morning on First Take. After being widely criticized for his judgment, Smith posted a video attempting to clarify the comments.

“My segment on Ohtani this morning, on First Take, people are misinterpreting what I’m saying. I’m not talking about the state of the game,” Smith said in the video. “I’m talking about the marketability and the promotion of the sport.”

Smith went on to cite a recent article from Sports Illustrated which states 28 percent of Major League Baseball’s players are foreign.

“If you are a sport trying to ingratiate yourself with the American public the way Major League Baseball is, because of the problems that you’ve been having to deal with in terms of improving the attractiveness of the sport, it helps if you spoke the English language,” the ESPN host added of foreign born players.

“In the United States, all I was saying is that when you’re a superstar, if you can speak the English language, then guess what, that’s gonna make it that much easier and less challenging to promote the sport,” Smith said.

Speaking highly of Ohtani’s talent as a baseball player, Smith called him the second-coming of Babe Ruth, while noting the Japanese-born superstar is leading the league in home runs and dominating as a starting pitcher. But Smith failed to address why he doesn’t believe that is enough of a reason to consider Ohtani a great MLB ambassador.

There are many American-born MLB stars who speak English as their first language such as Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Jacob deGrom. What does Smith believe those players are saying on a regular basis that helps promote the sport?

When Trout hits a homerun, are fans thinking about how great it is that he speaks English? And when Ohtani hits a homerun, are any baseball fans concerning themselves with his ability to speak English?

Ohtani’s talent speaks for itself. The ability to dominate as a hitter and a pitcher, a skill baseball fans have not witnessed in over 100 years, makes Ohtani a better ambassador for the sports than anything any player will say in a press conference.

UPDATE: Hours later Smith tweeted “I’m sincerely sorry” and posted an apologetic statement.

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