Stephen A. Smith Says Shohei Ohtani Needing an Interpreter Harms Baseball
Written by SOURCE on July 12, 2021
Stephen A. Smith is facing backlash comments he made about Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani.
During Monday’s episode of ESPN’s First Take, Smith said Major League Baseball has a problem if the Japanese superstar is the league’s main attraction. Smith went on to criticize the fact that the current face of baseball needs an interpreter, saying its bad for the game.
“I know what he’s doing on the field,” Smith said. “I know it’s nothing short of spectacular. And 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, OK, I don’t think it helps that the No. 1 face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying in this country. And that’s what I’m trying to say.”
Smith argued that foreign born basketball players Dirk Nowitzki and Manu Ginobli learning to speak English while played in America “goes a long way.”
“For some reason, with Major League Baseball, you got those guys who need interpreters and I think that compromises the ability for them to ingratiate themselves with the American public, which is what we’re really talking about,” he added.”
Smith’s co-host, Max Kellerman, said he thought Smith made a “good point.”
“If your point is, he’s gotta learn English, I agree with that,” Kellerman said. “I think the language barrier in every sport—not just baseball—is useful to learn the native tongue of the vast majority of most Americans. Certainly the language that this country speaks.”
Smith’s comments come the same month he called the baseball star a “modern day Babe Ruth” who wasn’t getting the marketing he deserved. But, after his latest segment, people condmened Smith for being xenophobic. It was similar to the criticism he faced for comments he made after Team USA’s loss to Nigeria in an exhibition game last week, in which he butchered the last names of players on Team Nigeria.
Below, some of the more notable reactions to Smith’s comments about Ohtani.
