Stephen A. Smith Issues Apology After Controversial Kawhi Comments

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George deserve an apoogy.

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

During the NBA Finals, Stephen A. Smith put Paul George in an incredibly uncomfortable position when he made negative remarks about Kawhi Leonard to George. It was a moment that George expressed his displeasure on his podcast, and now Stephen A. Smith has apologized for it.

Stephen A. Smith dedicated an entire 11 minute segment on YouTube to apologizing to Paul George.

“When you’re right, you’re right. Paul George is right,” Smith said. “Here’s where it really hits home. I put him in a bad spot. That’s Kawhi Leonard’s teammate. And it was the furthest thing from my mind. What happened was that ESPN had alerted us to the fact that if Kawhi Leonard is not healthy enough and available for Olympic competition this summer in Paris, a likely replacement for Kawhi Leonard would be Derrick White of the Boston Celtics... And that was basically the lightheartedness that it was coming from."

Stephen A. Smith is claiming a bit of ignorance in saying that he forgot Kawhi Leonard is Paul George's teammate. While Smith was apologizing, he knew exactly what he was doing. The only reason he is apologizing is because George expressed his unhappiness.

“Where Paul George is absolutely right — and I do owe him an apology as a professional — that’s Kawhi Leonard’s teammate. And it was the furthest thing from my mind, thinking about how Paul would look on the set with us because I’m just busy being lighthearted and having a good time while talking about the NBA Finals… I’m not thinking about how Kawhi could be looking at it towards Paul George; it was the furthest thing from my mind."

Smith then doubled down on his apology to George, which in all honesty, made him come off as even more sincere.

“So, when I saw that clip of Paul George saying what he said, I said, ‘Damn, I didn’t think about that. He got a good point.’ Because Paul George loves Kawhi Leonard, he loves his teammate, always speaks highly of him, and has nothing but love and respect for him…And I should not have put Paul George in that position. So, Paul George is absolutely right, and anybody who thinks that I take issue with anything with what Paul George said is wrong; they don’t know me, and it’s not true."

There have been countless moments where there's hope that Stephen A. Smith may have learned from his actions. One would like to hope this is one of them, but history has said otherwise.