A Boston Red Sox legend has accused Stephen A. Smith of racism and claimed that Smith was barred from entering the Philadelphia Phillies’ clubhouse.
When Stephen A. Smith criticized Mike Trout over a recent injury, Boston Red Sox legend Jonathan Papelbon responded by labeling the ESPN analyst as a “racist.”
The Los Angeles Angels were hit with heartbreaking but very familiar news last week when it was revealed that team great Mike Trout would be out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his left knee. It was killer news that sent the Angels on a path to missing the playoffs again in 2024.
However, instead of taking the high road during a recent edition of “First Take,” ESPN talking head Stephen A. Smith decided to kick the 11-time All-Star while he was down and made some harsh comments about the future Hall-of-Famers injury history and baseball players in general.
“How the hell is he always hurt?,” Smith said last week “I don’t understand this. It drives me nuts when I see baseball players get hurt. What is it that you’re doing with yourself physically that you can’t stay healthy playing baseball? Now, you get hit by a pitch or something, that’s different, I get all of that. With these oblique injuries, you’re running around bases, catching one, then you’re running out for a fly ball, and all of a sudden, something gets tweaked.”
MLB fans around the country blasted the ESPN analyst afterward, but Boston Red Sox great Johnathan Papelbon took the backlash further by trashing Smith and bringing up a little-known story from his time with the Philadelphia Phillies.
