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re: Stephen A. Smith went on a bigoted rant against Shohei Ohtani on First Take
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:14 pm to McCaigBro69
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:14 pm to McCaigBro69
quote:
I mean I think it’s retarded when players refuse to speak the native language of where they play despite planning on, or having played here for years.
Many do but don't feel comfortable enough doing public interviews for fear they'll misunderstand a question or say something wrong.
I know within the Astros clubhouse Yuli Gurriel came from Cuba in 2016 not speaking any English and has worked to learn English and has given the occasional English interview but still prefers to do it in Spanish with a translator.
Ichiro did this for years, always gave his interviews through a Japanese translator despite being fluent in English.
1
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:14 pm to dj30
quote:
Its not racist or a big deal. But looking at twitter responses, they seem to be interpreting this much differently than I am though.
This should have come up long ago. Many an MLB MVP is coming from the Hispanic and Latino culture and has for decades and many use an interpreter. There are more Spanish in the game of MLB than African Americans.
Why save the indignation for this Japanese kid?
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:16 pm to Lsuhoohoo
Darvish can speak perfect English but I know he always used a translator for media dealings. Not sure if he still does it.
Adolis Garcia is a current guy on the roster in the same boat. Earlier in the year after big games they would never interview him post game on the broadcast and it was very obvious it was due to the language barrier. However, this changed quickly snd he does a lot of interviews now with a translator.
Adolis Garcia is a current guy on the roster in the same boat. Earlier in the year after big games they would never interview him post game on the broadcast and it was very obvious it was due to the language barrier. However, this changed quickly snd he does a lot of interviews now with a translator.
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:17 pm to RLDSC FAN
quote:
understand what the hell he’s saying
Coming from a guy who speaks like a retarded gang member? Lol
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:21 pm to RLDSC FAN
He does have a point. Ohtani is the best player in the game, but not being able to speak English, being on the West Coast, playing for the number two team in a city in a state and region that is increasingly caring less and less about athletic/masculine achievements doesn’t help him in terms of being a “superstar”.
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:22 pm to McCaigBro69
quote:
I mean I think it’s retarded when players refuse to speak the native language of where they play despite planning on, or having played here for years. However, I 100% understand why they do it.
What does this have to do with Shohei Ohtani?
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:23 pm to RLDSC FAN
It's not racist to say it's hard for the average American baseball fan to develop a crazy fandom for a guy that doesn't speak directly to them. Is it somehow racist to say it's hard for the average American baseball fan to develop a crazy fandom for Mike Trout since he avoids the spot light and has the personality of a wet paper bag?
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:23 pm to RLDSC FAN
That’s what 12 mil buys you.
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:24 pm to RLDSC FAN
Media folks are calling him out now
quote:
Keith Olbermann
I’ve supported @stephenasmith when he’s been big at @espn and when he hasn’t, and when he’s been right and when he’s been wrong.
But this, about Shohei Ohtani, is straight up racism at a time of dangerous anti-Asian violence.
This requires an apology, and a suspension. Now.
quote:
Dan Wolken
Is First Take shown live or did they just forget to edit out the stupid stuff today ?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my life is that so much of the world goes to great lengths to cater to English speakers. We should be able to handle a baseball player who uses an interpreter.
quote:
Kevin Draper
Seems telling of something that on First Take today Stephen A. Smith both said that Shohei Ohtani can’t be the face of baseball because he uses a translator and also butchered the names of Nigerian basketball players by way of criticizing Team USA for losing to them.
Interesting to see some ESPNers, some more directly than others, condemn these comments, especially the Ohtani one. ESPNers frequently disagree with First Take, but usually not publicly.
quote:
Lindsay Rhodes
Right, because what my kid’s concerned about when he turns on a baseball game- SPECIFICALLY TO SEE WHAT SHOHEI OHTANI DOES- is “what is will Ohtani say after the game and will I understand him?”
He also has these concerns about Messi in soccer. ??
quote:
Aditi Kinkhabwala
You know what “helps” #MLB? A “dude” who is a bonafide power hitter, who also has an absurd fastball and nasty curve, and who is unlike ANY other player any of us have seen. You know what helped create the beautiful fabric of this country? Immigrants. #StopAsianHate
quote:
Mike Freeman
Stephen A should be blasted for what he said same way a white broadcaster would be. His words are unacceptable. What he said was xenophobic and racist.
And Black people: we need to be consistent in our reactions to these types of comments.
Just my opinion.
This post was edited on 7/12/21 at 2:35 pm
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:26 pm to QJenk
Is it even outrageous?
From the perspective of baseball and its stars and what that means to a game with some declining numbers, it's genuinely not ideal that the star player can't communicate to the public in any sort of humanizing/personable way
From the perspective of baseball and its stars and what that means to a game with some declining numbers, it's genuinely not ideal that the star player can't communicate to the public in any sort of humanizing/personable way
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:29 pm to Fun Bunch
quote:
I mean..I guess I'm the only one that doesn't think this is even remotely racist or a big deal.
It's 2021, it doesn't matter if it's actually racist or not. It just matters where the person who said it is in the hierarchy of progressive wokeness compared to the people that can feign outrage about what that person said. It's the great circle jerk of "oppression."
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:30 pm to RLDSC FAN
I fail to see what his first language has to do with his ability to his 460-foot piss missiles at close to 120mph
SAS is an ignorant loudmouth. Now let’s move on from anything associated with ESPN
SAS is an ignorant loudmouth. Now let’s move on from anything associated with ESPN
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:31 pm to RLDSC FAN
do we even know if Anthony Davis or kawhi leonard speaks english yet?
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:32 pm to RLDSC FAN
quote:
I don’t think it helps that the number one face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying,” Smith said on First Take.
This isnt false
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:35 pm to MrWalkingMan
Why does ESPN continue to find it necessary to force opinions down our throats from people that know jack shite about a certain sport? Steven A needs to stick to the NBA. I don’t care what he has to say about MLB or the UFC.
Also ESPN themselves get way too many passes when they’re the ones that come up with these controversial topics. Are they basically thinking what SAS is saying since they decided to make this a topic?
These hot take shows are complete trash.
Also ESPN themselves get way too many passes when they’re the ones that come up with these controversial topics. Are they basically thinking what SAS is saying since they decided to make this a topic?
These hot take shows are complete trash.
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:37 pm to RLDSC FAN
quote:
“I don’t think it helps that the number one face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying,” Smith said on First Take.
You could say that about a lot of American athletes.
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:39 pm to RLDSC FAN
quote:
“I don’t think it helps that the number one face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying,” Smith said on First Take.
I don't think anyone cares about postgame interviews. The guy has gotten as many people interested in the sport as his teammate Trout did before injuries sort of derailed that fan hype train.
People don't care he has to use an interpreter, they just care how far his last home run went and the MVP run he is having.
quote:
The media here would have a field day with any kind of possible out of context answer and these are likely the same people crying about the comment.
This is exactly why they use interpreters
This post was edited on 7/12/21 at 1:42 pm
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:41 pm to Jcorye1
quote:
It's not racist to say it's hard for the average American baseball fan to develop a crazy fandom for a guy that doesn't speak directly to them
I want to keep pointing out that Ohtani can in fact speak English
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:41 pm to RLDSC FAN
As long as the person isn’t black or some mental illness sexual preference hero you can say whatever you want about them
Posted on 7/12/21 at 1:57 pm to McCaigBro69
quote:
The media here would have a field day with any kind of possible out of context answer and these are likely the same people crying about the comment.
It’s even worse in England lol. We see it all the time with them twisting the words of foreign players and managers. Bielsa speaks way more English than people think but I highly doubt you’ll ever see him do media in English.
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