Outrage at ESPN host who suggested women should try not to 'provoke' men into beating them after Ray Rice scandal

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith made the comments during a discussion of Ray Rice's two-game suspension for knocking his wife out cold

Smith said that while men should not hit women, women should not 'provoke' men

ESPN2 host Michelle Beadle tweeted her disgust at the comments

Smith defended himself in now-deleted tweets and later issued a longer apology

An ESPN host has been taken to task by one of his own colleagues for comments he made during a discussion of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice's two-game suspension for allegedly knocking out his fiancee.



The punishment has been criticized as too lenient for such an act, but Stephen A. Smith made an ill-advised attempt to come at the issue from both sides during a First Take segment Friday.



Ray Rice was captured on camera knocking his then-fiancee (now wife) unconscious at an Atlantic City casino and dragging her limp body from the elevator.

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Provocation: Stephen A Smith won the ire of many who watched First Take Friday and heard him advise women not to 'provoke' men into abusing them

In a meandering comment, Smith comes to the conclusion that while no man should ever hit a woman, women, for their part, should learn not to behave in such a way as to 'provoke' his anger.



Smith appears to believe that being a man 'who was raised by women' and has himself raised daughters, he is well-qualified to advise women on how to behave.

'Let's make sure we don’t do anything to provoke wrong actions,' he says, presumably to his female viewers.



'...I think that just talking about what guys shouldn’t do, we got to also make sure that you can do your part to do whatever you can do to make, to try to make sure it doesn’t happen.'



Taken to task: ESPN host Michelle Beadle didn't let her work relationship with Smith get in the way of her indignation at his comments

Scathing: Beadle didn't hold back in her condemnation of Smith's comments

Victim-blaming: Beadle alluded to the victim-blaming culture surrounding rape

His colleague Michelle Beadle, cohost of SportsNation on ESPN2, tweeted a response to Smith's rant, insinuating that he was victim-blaming.



'So I was just forced to watch this morning's First Take. A) I'll never feel clean again B) I'm now aware that I can provoke my own beating,' she wrote.



In another tweet, she said, 'I'm thinking about wearing a miniskirt this weekend...I'd hate to think what I'd be asking for by doing so @stephenasmith. #dontprovoke.'

She went on: 'Violence isn't the victim's issue. It's the abuser's. To insinuate otherwise is irresponsible and disgusting. Walk. Away. '

Smith responded to his critics with a series of tweets that have since been deleted.



Lenient punishment: Ray Rice was caught on camera knocking his then-fiancee out cold and dragging her body from a casino elevator and was given a two-game suspension

'Enough is enough,' he wrote. 'I simply asked: now what about the other side … what about addressing women on how they can help prevent the obvious wrong being done upon them?'



In subsequent tweets, he essentially reiterated the comments he made on-air.



A second, longer statement was issued later Friday, in which Smith said that he does 'not believe a woman provokes the horrible domestic abuses that are sadly such a major problem in our society.'

