On Thursday, the NFL punished Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice with a two-game suspension after the player allegedly knocked out his fiancée during an altercation in February.
While many around the league have been highly critical both of Rice's conduct and of what's been perceived as a lenient punishment, ESPN panelist Stephen A. Smith sought to temper that criticism during a "First Take" segment on Friday.
In a long-winded statement, Smith acknowledged a man has "no business putting [his] hands on a woman," then slowly worked toward the conclusion that women should also do their part not to give men a reason to beat them.
"We know [abusing women is] wrong," Smith concedes, though toward the end of his monologue he casts doubt on who, exactly, is to blame for said abuse, given "the elements of provocation."
Good ****ing bye dumbasses like them are the reason why America is so ****ed up at times. And the government WONDERS why other countries look down at us like we're **** I can't
Yeah, because i provoked two men near a bar to rape me 2 years ago when i wore nothing else but jeans and jacket and a shirt and didn't imply something sexual. THOSE people are the reason me and other people like me, can't have justice.
I will never understand this logic. Instead of blaming the person who actually carried out the attack, we blame the victim of said attack, basically taking the blame off the abuser and letting them go free. And for what? People shouldn't have to act differently to avoid being abused, abusers should stop abusing people.
the people on twitter are defending him because he went on to say that he should've done a better job explaining his response. It's a long series of tweets and he does make up for his statements.
