Stephen A. Smith has put his foot in his mouth once again.
The co-host of ESPN’s “First Take” was discussing Deflategate on Monday’s show — specifically the fact that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady might have lied to owner Robert Kraft about his involvement — when he made a rather unsettling comparison.
“Very uncomfortable to say, but it needs to be said,” Smith said. “Aaron Hernandez told Robert Kraft he was innocent, too.”
Smith went on to insist that he wasn’t comparing Brady to a convicted murderer and that he simply was using that example to show that “people lie to folks all the time in professional sports,” but in that case, he probably could have found a comparison that was a little less extreme. Not to mention, it’s a bad example beyond the fact that deflating footballs isn’t comparable to murder, as Hernandez would have been in a lot more trouble than Brady had he told the truth up front.
But, hey, Smith essentially is a walking hot take machine at this point, so I guess we can’t really be surprised when he says something ridiculous.
Thumbnail photo via Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports Images
