“Stephen A. Smith needs to face consequences for that … I think he should be fired,” a sports influencer said of Smith’s comments
Credit: espn
NEED TO KNOW
- After former WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike spoke French during an April 24 episode of ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith joked that her French accent “kinda turned me on”
- “I’ve never dated a woman from France or anything like that, but after hearing Chiney, I was like, ‘What have I been missing?’ ” he said
- In response to Smith’s comments, users on social media expressed that the sports commentator “needs to face consequences” for his “sexual advancements”
Stephen A. Smith is facing backlash after he joked that Chiney Ogwumike turned him on during a television broadcast.
During an April 24 episode of ESPN's First Take, the former WNBA star, 34, spoke a bit of French as she praised NBA player Rudy Gobert for his “magnifique” performance, as seen in clips shared on social media.
While the ESPN commentator, 58, quickly interrupted Ogwumike to repeatedly make it known that her French “did me proud,” Smith later went on to “get a little personal” about how her use of the language made him feel.
“I'm living a good life, I'm pretty damn happy to say the least, but I must admit, in all my years on this earth, I've never dated a woman from France or anything like that,” he said. “But after hearing Chiney, I was like, 'What have I been missing?' That verbiage right there, that kinda turned me on.”
Credit: David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty
While Ogwumike seemingly brushed off Smith's comments with a laugh, quipping that he was “crazy,” users on social media — including sports influencer Coach Jackie J — called Smith's remarks inappropriate.
“Stephen A. Smith needs to face consequences for that,” the influencer said on Instagram. “I think he should be fired. I'll lead that charge, fire Stephen A. Smith. You should have done it years ago, but you should do it now because of this.”
In the comments of her video, many people agreed with Coach Jackie J's take on the situation — including former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens and Ashanti Plummer, who co-host the Fudd Around and Find Out podcast alongside Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd.
“Guarantee, he'll make an apology and nothing will be done about it. It'll be all good,” Owens, 52, wrote, after which Plummer, 31, added, “EWWWW.”
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Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
“100% agree doesn't matter if ‘it's a joke' or ‘it was lighthearted' that does not matter,” another commenter said. “No one should be facing sexual advancements at work… And laughter is a common defense mechanism to diffuse unwanted attention.”
ESPN did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
After joining ESPN in 2003, Smith found himself under fire on a separate occasion when he made an inappropriate joke about sports journalist Molly Qerim's phone ringing — or vibrating — during the show in 2023.
"That's Molly's cell phone ringing, by the way," he said at the time, after which Qerim quickly pointed out that her phone was on vibrate, per Outkick.
"I try to say ring. Do you want me to say vibrating on the air?" Smith continued during the uncomfortable moment. “You always like me mentioning vibrating on-air with you with your phone. You really want me to do that?”
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