Updated at 5:45 p.m.
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith has been suspended from the network for one week following controversial comments he made suggesting an NFL player’s wife may have provoked the alleged severe beating that landed her husband in jail.
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice received a slap-on-the-wrist, two-game suspension after being arrested and indicted for allegedly hitting his now-wife so hard that he knocked her unconscious. Following the NFL’s announcement of the punishment, Smith implied Monday on First Take that women need to be careful about what they do or say so as not to tempt men to viciously attack them:
ESPN announced in a message to USA Today Tuesday that Smith won’t appear on First Take or ESPN radio “for the next week.” He’ll return to work on Wednesday, the network said.
ESPN host Michelle Beadle fired back at Smith after the segment on Twitter.
She has also retweeted several violent threats that were made against her following her comments.
Smith responded by trying to clarify his position and apologizing to Beadle. He tweets that he never accused women of being wrong. But he also concludes, “I was simply saying to take all things into consideration for preventative purposes.”
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Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com