Stephen A. Smith Thinks Women Should Stop Provoking Men To Beat Them

Is it just me, or is everyone who is even remotely involved in the sports industry a total dumbass?

Seriously, it’s like if you didn’t get your head smashed inside your helmet enough to go pro, you then went on to become a thrice-concussed, vocabulary-challenged sports panelist who's only talent lies in speaking about men chasing balls.

So why then, do we allow these glorified sports fans to speak on real issues?

This is exactly what came to mind after (regrettably) listening to "First Take" panelist, Stephen A. Smith, discuss Ray Rice’s suspension on this morning’s episode.

Smith decided he would try to impress people with his stunning lack of intelligence when he suggested that women have a responsibility to not provoke men into beating them. Take a moment and let that sink in.

For those not up-to-date on the latest athletic scandals, Ray Rice received a two game suspension for allegedly knocking out his wife in an elevator. Smith boldly decided to suggest that it’s a woman’s responsibility to avoid inciting this type of behavior.

Sadly, Smith's ability to pontificate (go on, sound it out, Smith) on women’s rights is equal to that of Todd Akin's knowledge of rape (which is to say, he has none at all).

Not only does he make a nonsensical, rambling argument about domestic violence, but he also continues to say that if women don’t want to be attacked by men, they shouldn’t give them a reason to do so.

Hmm, is this the kind of logic Smith picked up from his super educated circle of professional athlete friends? Don’t hold your breath. Smith says:

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.

In case you didn’t understand the bullsh*t (side note: How is this guy a commentator if he can’t even articulate himself in proper English?), that’s Smith-speak for "women are responsible for what happens to them."

Smith has just proven he has the intellectual capacity of a bulldozed tree stump. To be clear: A woman is never deserving of domestic violence, nor do her actions ever “permit” a violent response from her partner.

But silly Smith of course continues speaking because that’s what idiots do. "We also have to make sure that we learn as much as we can," he says, "about elements of provocation."

Okay, Smith, right now you have provoked me and many other women to punch you incredibly hard in your face. Does that mean we’re allowed to do it?

You have spewed a bunch of damaging garbage on air that is hurtful to women. By your logic, it would seem that I am justified in physically retaliating against you.

What Stephen A. Smith has failed to realize (among other basic knowledge) is that there is a larger issue at hand when it comes to domestic violence. It is never acceptable, and it is never justified.

It also isn’t prevented by women "learning to shut their mouths." It is, however, preventable by calling out and refuting uninformed misogynists like Smith, who should maybe take some of his own advice and STFU.

In case you need a print-out visual of what full idiocy looks like, here’s the entire quote, straight from the moron’s mouth (courtesy of Deadspin):

It's not about him, then. It's about you, and here's what I mean by that. We keep talking about the guys. We know you have no business putting your hands on a woman. I don't know how many times I got to reiterate that.

But as a man who was raised by women, see I know what I'm going to do if somebody touches a female member of my family. I know what I'm going to do, I know what my boys are going to do.

I know what, I'm going to have to remind myself that I work for the Worldwide Leader, I'm going to have to get law enforcement officials involved because of what I'm going to be tempted to do.

But what I've tried to employ the female members of my family, some of who you all met and talked to and what have you, is that again, and this what, I've done this all my life, let's make sure we don't do anything to provoke wrong actions, because if I come, or somebody else come, whether it's law enforcement officials, your brother or the fellas that you know, if we come after somebody has put their hands on you, it doesn't negate the fact that they already put their hands on you.

So let's try to make sure that we can do our part in making sure that that doesn't happen. Now you got some dudes that are just horrible and they're going to do it anyway, and there's never an excuse to put your hands on a woman.

But domestic violence or whatever the case may be, with men putting their hands on women, is obviously a very real, real issue in our society. And 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.

We know they're wrong. We know they're criminals. We know they probably deserve to be in jail. In Ray Rice's case, he probably deserves more than a two game suspension which we both acknowledged. But at the same time, we also have to make sure that we learn as much as we can about elements of provocation.

Not that there's real provocation, but the elements of provocation, you got to make sure that you address them, because we've got to do is do what we can to try to prevent the situation from happening in any way. And I don't think that's broached enough, is all I'm saying. No point of blame.