Stephen A. Smith Facing Calls To Apologize For 'Inappropriate' Comment on ESPN

ESPN star Stephen A. Smith is facing calls to apologize for an "inappropriate" comment made on the network.

Earlier this week, Smith and the "First Take" crew welcomed WNBA analyst Chiney Ogwumike onto the show. Ogwumike, discussing the upcoming 2026 season and the NBA Playoffs, spoke some in French.

Smith admitted that he was "turned on" by the language.

"I gotta get a little personal for a second here," Smith said. "Listen, I'm living a good life, I'm pretty (expletive) 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. But after hearing Chiney, I was like, ‘What have I been missing? What have I been missing?' That verbiage right there, that kinda turned me on."

The former WNBA star had said, "Bonjour, Stephen A." before discussing how Frenchman Rudy Gobert's play has stood out this postseason.

She responded kindly.

"I hope I did all the French people proud there with my pronunciation, I'm more of a Spanish girl," she said, before Smith responded: "You did. You did me proud."

Not everyone is OK with the moment, though.

Smith is facing calls to apologize, as some feel that it's "inappropriate" to suggest your co-worker's language turned you on.

Fans pushing Smith to apologize for his comment

"This is like directly from a workplace training on harassment that is supposed to be the obvious example," one wrote.

"He needs to apologize for this," one shared.

"Fireable offense at a normal workplace mind you," one shared.

"ESPN banned Lavar Ball for life for less than this," another added.

"Hey so this is not okay!!" one shared.

"Get this man off the air, unprofessional and inappropriate. What is going on at ESPN?" another added.

"If you ask anyone who works in Human Resources this will require a sit down and publicly apologize at the very least," one shared.

Does Stephen A. Smith need to apologize for his comments?

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 11:07 AM.