Today’s very special of First Take began with a taped apology from Stephen A. Smith for comments he made on Friday’s show. You saw it live if you heeded Smith’s advice to tune in. If you’re morally opposed to embracing debate, here is what the sports-shouter had to say:
After calling the comments the “most egregious mistake” of his career, Smith was joined by Cari Champion, who said the program will aspire to communicate better in the future.
The show then smoothly transitioned to an argument about LeBron James’ jersey number. Never change, First Take. Never change.
I can’t quibble with the content of Smith’s apology, although I simply can’t understand why it took so long for him to address this storm. If this was truly about showing contrition, perhaps a statement over the weekend would have been better received than what can be construed as a cheap ratings ploy.