Stephen A. Smith suggests Dana White deserves same punishment as he'd hand out to UFC fighters for hitting a woman
Stephen A. Smith is one of the most influential broadcasters and journalists in sports. He has expressed his opinion on a number of sports topics on his ESPN show First Take, which hasn't all been well-received in the past.
Smith recently shared his opinion on why he feels Dana White should be punished for his actions on New Year's Eve, where there was a video released of him slapping his wife. He mentioned that the actions were wrong, but he's not advocating for the UFC President to lose his job, saying:
"You do not put your hands on a woman period, okay...The reason that I said that he deserves what he would hand down to the fighters under his stewardship is because somebody would get suspended for six months...for a year. Now, am I an advocate of cancel culture, where you want him to lose his job? No, and I'm not apologizing for that." {0:52 - 1:35}
The First Take co-host also added that the UFC President shouldn't decide his own punishment for his actions because he has a boss that should take appropriate action. He mentioned that they share a connection with the network, but White needs to be held accountable by his boss and not himself, saying:
"Dana White was wrong. You do not do what he did to his wife, which he has openly admitted. Does he deserved to be punished? Yes, he does. Does he deserve to be the person who decides what his punishment is? No, he does not...Somebody else needs to be able to make that call." {1:47 - 2:04}
Smith made it known that he was upset with White's actions and even told him about it. It remains to be seen if the situation blows over or if ESPN and Endeavor will be forced to hand down a suitable punishment if they continue to face criticism.
Check out the full video:
Stephen A. Smith compares Dana White situation to Vince McMahon in terms of accountability
🚨🚨BREAKING🚨🚨
Effectively immediately, Vince McMahon, along with George Barrios and Michelle Wilson are #WWE's Board of Directors! https://t.co/e9HHwgqzpx
Stephen A. Smith weighed in on the scrunity surrounding Dana White and the UFC President punishing himself rather than Endeavor handing down a punishment.
While discussing the issue on ESPN's First Take, Smith brought up the public perception of when individuals in an influential position get themselves into trouble and even made a comparison to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, saying:
"I look at the Wall Street Journal the other day and I see Vince McMahon, who got into some trouble running the WWE...He comes back, reclaims the CEO position and the stock prices jumped up. I mean, we're living in a society right now where there's a level of accountability that people are craving for, but who is going to exact that accountability."
White has taken a different approach than McMahon as he has decided to address the issue and remain with the promotion rather than leaving his position.