Social Media Blasts ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith for Xenophobic Comments About Angels’ Shohei Ohtani

Stephen A. Smith is taking a lot of heat for the xenophobic comments about Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani. The ESPN host appeared on First Take on Monday and talked about Ohtani, who has made the All-Star team at two different positions. Smith said Ohtani can’t be the face of MLB because he doesn’t speak English.

“I understand that baseball is an international sport itself in terms of participation, but when you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or to the ballpark, to actually watch you, 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 on the show. The video of Smith saying the comment went viral, and he was attacked on social media. He quickly apologized for his comment.

“I want to express my sincere apologies to the Asian community and the Asian American community,” Smith said in First Take on Tuesday.” “I am a Black man. I religiously go off about minorities being marginalized in this nation.” Here’s a look at social media going after Smith.

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Arash Markazi added: “This wasn’t an off the cuff comment. The prepared chyron is cringeworthy too. Why the hell would it be bad for Shoehi Ohtani to be the No. 1 attraction? He’s a generational talent doing things we haven’t seen since Babe Ruth. Why, because he’s Japanese and learning English?”

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One fan wrote: “I don’t necessarily think it matters if he can speak English. People know the name and any baseball fan respects game when they see it regardless of where they’re from. If he wants/needs a translator then he can have one.

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“Roberto Clemente and so many other players over the years have heard that same diatribe of hate and xenophobia,” one Twitter user stated. 

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Keith Olberman added: “I mean, imagine something even vaguely like this, said about any black athlete or female athlete or even an athlete who doesn’t speak to the media, by anybody else. The commentator would have been fired by now.”

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One fan wrote: “Bro that’s wild man baseball is so well diverse you get Dominican Republicans Puerto Ricans Americans Mexicans and a lot of Asian players so for him to say this is really wild lol like as long people watch who cares what nationality he is lol.”

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“I’d like to see an ancestral background investigation where he found out his ancestors were from Nigeria!  With 12% Asian heritage!” another fan revealed. 

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“WRONG! MLB doesn’t have to ingratiate itself on American fans!” one person tweeted. “They don’t have to whitewash baseball from a marketing standpoint to make it more palatable! WTF kind of racist talk is that? Baseball fans can handle a foreign player using an interpreter.”