Stephen A. Smith has been suspended from ESPN’s First Take for a week following his comments about the Ray Rice case.
ESPN has suspended Stephen A. Smith for a week following his controversial comments about domestic violence on First Take. The suspension is effective immediately and he will not appear on the show until August 6th, according to an ESPN spokesperson.
Smith was widely criticised for suggesting that women should examine their role in provoking domestic violence after video of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée Janay Palmer surfaced online. He issued an apology in a series of tweets after the show aired, but also said that he “misspoke” and didn’t mean to imply that women are to blame for domestic violence.
ESPN has not yet said whether or not Smith will be punished further or whether this is a one-time suspension.