Stephen A. Smith says he has immense respect for Conor McGregor or Joe Rogan but he won’t apologize.
The popular ESPN personality is known for giving takes on the world of sports and he doesn’t often hide his feelings. This drew the ire of many within the MMA community at the conclusion of UFC 246. On SportsCenter, Stephen A. called Donald Cerrone’s performance against McGregor “atrocious” and even said “Cowboy” looked as if he “gave up.”
Stephen A. Smith Sticks To His Guns
Stephen A. join Ariel Helwani for an interview released through the ESPN Radio platform. During the interview, Smith responded to McGregor’s call for an apology.
“If you’re telling me to apologize for using the word ‘quit’ or whatever, fine that’s no problem but don’t tell me that the guy wasn’t in over his head, don’t tell me the guy didn’t look like the bright light was just too big or too great for him. Don’t tell me that it didn’t illuminate on him so much that he didn’t seem to be able to handle the pressure of the moment. I’m not apologizing for that.”
Stephen A. went on to give McGregor his due and said that unlike Cerrone, the moment is never too great for the “Notorious” one.
“Conor McGregor as far as I’m concerned, despite four losses on his resume is elite. And one of the biggest reasons he is elite even though he’s tapped out a couple of times or so is this reality, he shows up. He shows up for the big events and the big events never seem to be too much for him. Conor McGregor’s not gonna be somebody that goes out there and beats himself. You wanna beat him you’re gonna have to literally do that, beat him.”
With that said, Stephen A. remains firm in his stance.
“I will not apologize and I will not backtrack from my position. I don’t care what Conor McGregor or Joe Rogan says, although I profoundly respect both. We will just have to respectfully disagree on what we saw.”
