Stephen A. Smith found himself in hot water earlier this week when he made some insensitive comments about former NBA player Lamar Odom, while ranting about Phil Jackson and his decisions as president of the New York Knicks. On Thursday's episode of ESPN First Take, Smith attempted to take down Jackson's decision-making skills when Odom got caught in the crossfire. "His very first move as executive was to sign Lamar Odom," he said, "who was on crack!"
Regardless of whether Smith's accusations are true or not, it's incredibly insensitive for the ESPN personality to throw shade at someone who is battling something as serious, and life-threatening, as addiction. Especially when you consider that this illness resulted in Odom being found unconscious in a Las Vegas brothel nearly two years ago.
In response to Smith's remarks, Odom's lawyer, Saam Zangeneh, wrote the following letter, arguing that "outrageous and unacceptable does not scratch the surface."
In light of the backlash he has received since making those comments, Smith tried to clarify the intent behind his rant, per Deadspin, asserting that Odom "was not the target of my ire."
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Even though Smith is showering Odom with plenty of praise, the words "sorry" or "apologize" are nowhere to be found in his comments.
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