Stephen A. Smith says UFC President Dana White should step down after slapping ... trends now
Stephen A. Smith has hinted that his friend Dana White should resign from the UFC after footage of him striking his wife surfaced on social media last week.
The outspoken ESPN analyst offered his stance on the issue during Wednesday's airing of First Take, reasoning that if it had been one of his fighters, the UFC president would have released them from the promotion immediately.
It comes less than a week after White found himself at the center of controversy, when video surfaced of him slapping his wife Anne White while ringing in the New Year at a Cabo nightclub. The widely seen footage shows Anne slap White in the face, to which he responds by striking her back with considerable force.
The clip has already been viewed by millions on social media, and spurred White, 53, to air a public apology, with his wife telling reporters her husband's actions 'were out of character.'
The greater public, however, have been less forgiving - with many, including Smith, citing the litany of fighters that have been nixed from White's UFC due to various instances of domestic abuse.
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The outspoken ESPN analyst offered his stance on the issue during Wednesday's airing of First Take, reasoning that if it had been one of his fighters, the UFC president would have released them from the promotion immediately
It comes less than a week after White found himself at the center of controversy, when video surfaced of him slapping his wife Anne White at a Cabo nightclub. The footage shows Anne slap White in the face, to which he responds by striking her back with considerable force
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The 55-year-old Bronx native proceeded to lay into White on Wednesday, when asked by fellow host Molly Qerim what she thought White's punishment should be.
'My immediate response to that is whatever discipline he should face is the kind of discipline he would impose on someone he oversees,' Smith said, speaking to his colleague in a somewhat somber tone. 'That would be consistent with who he is.'
Smith proceeded to point to his friendship with White, which the commentator, known for his oft-controversial opinions - goes beyond sports and that the two are very close personally.
'He's a friend; I love the guy,' Smith added. 'This is a very hard subject for me. We talk all the time. We've certainly connected briefly since this happened. He knew there was no way on earth that I wasn't gonna talk about it.'
Smith then offered his condolences to White's family - particularly Dana and Anne's three children, Dana, Savannah, and Aidan - who he said were put in an 'embarrassing' situation by the highly publicized incident, which spurred the couple to each issue statements in explanation.
'My heart goes out to his family because this is a very, very embarrassing situation,' Smith went on, before addressing White's recent video apology to TMZ, in which the MMA boss said he was 'embarrassed' by the footage, for which he said he has 'no excuse.'
'He says it has never happened before,' Smith said of White, who he has had on his show in the past and whom he considers a 'friend.'
'He's completely ashamed and utterly disgusted with himself,' Smith continued, 'that he finds himself in this situation - that he would have ever done such a
