In February 2014, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was involved in an altercation with at the time fiancée Janay Palmer. One thing led to another and while Rice and his fiancée Palmer were in the elevator, Rice allegedly struck Palmer unconscious. Rice and Palmer were both arrested following the incident by Atlantic City police.
Almost five months later, the NFL sentenced Rice with a two game suspension. Steven A. Smith and Skip Bayless discussed the suspension on ESPN‘s First Take. Some of Steven A. Smith’s comments were construed to be offensive to women, acknowledging that women need to do everything in their power to not provoke situations of domestic violence.
Michelle Beadle, another ESPN host watched Smith’s comments and went to Twitter to express her feeling on the matter. Beadle tweeted this:
“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.”
Michelle then went on to tweet this comment:
“I’m thinking about wearing a miniskirt this weekend…. I’d hate to think what I’d be asking for by doing so.”
Before the days of Twitter and Instagram, Michelle Beadle would’ve had to wait until she was in front of a camera to respond to Steven A. Smith’s comments. But, with the rush of social media, Beadle was able to reach hundreds of thousands of followers without any delay. Steven A. Smith had the same opportunity as Beadle and he immediately responded to her comments in an attempt to set the record straight about what he really meant.
Smith first started off his tweet by saying that after hearing what he said on First Take, he admits that he could have articulated his statement a little better. He expressed his respect for his ESPN colleague Michelle Beadle and apologized for his comments if it offended anyone.
Social media is a great way for athletes, reporters and celebrities alike to be able to express themselves, clear up any misunderstandings, or portray themselves in the way they want their fans to see them. Just like any tool, there are both positive and negative ramifications of social media.
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