Stephen A. Smith With a Racist Rant on Ohtani Being the Face of Baseball

We all know that ESPN's Stephen A. Smith likes to hear himself talk (yell?) about just about any topic that's making the rounds. Often, he's more concerned about making headlines than making sense. 

Today's rant crossed the line of racism for many on social media. Smith says the fact that Ohtani doesn't speak English, essentially makes him a bad choice as the face of baseball. Have a listen:

The "speak English or get out" idea is more than just tired, it's racist.pic.twitter.com/6qZ1Rq5GcJ

— OLIVIA witherite (@Oliviawitherite) July 12, 2021

In a sport where most of the biggest names in the game didn't grow up with English as their first language (Fernando Tatis Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Ronald Acuna Jr., etc.), this is a pretty closed-minded take. Not surprising though, from a guy who doesn't really follow baseball all that closely. 

Seems Stephen A. was feeling the heat though, and tried to spin out of it afterwards:

On my earlier comments about Ohtani pic.twitter.com/FM0vnDDXBB

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) July 12, 2021

Ohtani's 33 home runs as a hitter, and 3.49 ERA along with 87 strikeouts in 67 innings are numbers that translate in any language. 

Angels star Shohei Ohtani will be the American League All-Star team starting pitcher and bat leadoff as designated hitter less than 24 hours after competing in the Home Run Derby as the No. 1 seed.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 12, 2021

And that's why he's the focal point of the All-Star Break. 

Photo Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports