Calgary Stephen A. Smith Apologizes For Xenophobic Comments About Asian Baseball Player | HuffPost Sports - Action.News ABC Action News WestNet-HD Weather Traffic

ESPNs Stephen A. Smith apologized on Monday for saying that baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani cant be the face of Major League Baseball because the player prefers to have an interpreter around to help translate his native Japanese to English.

The longtime sports host known for his blunt personality made what many viewed as a xenophobic remark on the networks First Take, where he told on-air sparring partner Max Kellerman that the Los Angeles Angels players language barrier contributes to harming baseball.

This brother is special, make no mistake about it, Smith began. But the fact that you got a foreign player that doesnt speak English, that needs an interpreter, believe it or not, I think contributes to harming the game to some degree when thats your box office appeal.

Stephen A. Smith says Shohei Ohtani needing an interpreter \"contributes to harming\" baseball pic.twitter.com/2J5jRGartx

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Stephen A. Smith says Shohei Ohtani needing an interpreter "contributes to harming" baseball pic.twitter.com/2J5jRGartx
Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) July 12, 2021

Smith added that the face of Major League Baseball needs to be somebody like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout.

He added that Mark McGwire saved baseball in the 1990s because he was someone you could put on Wheaties boxes, that could ingratiate himself with the younger generations out there and have America transfixed on the sport of Major League Baseball. (Harper, Trout, and McGwire are all white, native-born Americans.)

Having an interpreter comprises the ability for them to ingratiate themselves with the American public, Smith said.

Ohtani currently leads the MLB in home runs (33) and posts a 3.49 ERA on the mound, according to ESPN, making him one of the leagues most successful two-way players in decades something even Smith has acknowledged, calling him todays Babe Ruth.

The 27-year-old will have a strong presence on Tuesdays MLB All-Star Game after being voted the American Leagues starting designated hitter and, as of Monday , the starting pitcher.