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Stephen A. Smith faced backlash for making a raunchy comment towards Chiney Ogwumike during *First Take*. His remarks followed Ogwumike's praise of Rudy Gobert's performance in French.
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Stephen A. Smith attends the Los Angeles premiere of 'Michael' at Dolby Theatre on April 20, 2026, in Los Angeles, California; Chiney Ogwumike speaks at the 2026 TIME Women of the Year Leadership Forum at The West Hollywood EDITION on March 10, 2026, in West Hollywood, California - Savion Washington/Getty Images for Lionsgate, Amy Sussman/Getty Images for TIME
Social media users say ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith committed a foul on Friday’s episode of First Take, as he made a raunchy comment toward fellow commentator Chiney Ogwumike.
The offending moment happened after Ogwumike, a former WNBA star, broke into French during as she praised the “magnifique” performance of NBA player Rudy Gobert.
“I gotta get a little personal for a second here,” Smith responded. “Listen, I’m living the good life. I’m pretty damn happy, to say the last. But I must admit, in all my years on this earth, I’ve never dated a woman from France or anything like that. But after hearing Chiney, I was like, what have I been missing? What have I been missing? I mean, that language, that verbiage right there, that kind of turned me on.”
In the moment, Ogwumike laughed and said, “Crazy.” Smith then shifted his focus back to sports.
Coach Jackie J, a popular sports content creator, said on Instagram Smith committed sexual harassment in the workplace and needs to be fired. And many Instagram users agreed with her, with more than 18,000 liking that post.
Stephen A. Smith commented on Chiney Ogwumike's use of French, saying it turned him on and expressing regret for not having dated a French woman.
Social media users criticized Smith for making a raunchy remark that many found inappropriate and disrespectful towards Ogwumike.
Chiney Ogwumike was praising NBA player Rudy Gobert's performance in French when Stephen A. Smith made his comment.

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“Doesn’t matter if ‘it’s a joke’ or ‘it was lighthearted,’” one user wrote in the comments. “No one should be facing sexual advancements at work.”
Another person wrote, “This gets you fired at *checks notes* every job in America. Someone in a more senior position, too. This is textbook harassment.”
And a third user wrote, “Harassment on live TV in 2026. Not shocking, but still infuriating.”
Former NFL star Terrell Owens also commented on Jackie’s Instagram video. “Guarantee, he’ll make an apology and nothing will be done about it. It’ll be all good,” he wrote, adding a shrugging emoji.
Smith has made controversial comments before. In a 2014 conversation about NFL player Ray Rice’s domestic abuse scandal on First Take, for example, he told women to “[not do anything to provoke wrong actions,” seemingly suggesting that Rice’s wife may have provoked the Baltimore Ravens star’s violence, as TIME reported. ESPN suspended Smith for one week over those comments.
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