Smitty
DCC 4Life
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By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Deadline.com – 14 hours ago
Hugh Douglas excelled on the defensive side of the ball during his NFL playing career, but an offensive he launched against an ESPN colleague has cost him his TV gig. The sports giant has cut ties with Douglas in the wake of his threats and racial slurs inflicted on Michael Smith, his co-host on the ESPN2 program Numbers Never Lie, on August 2 at the Orlando House of Blues. Douglas, who has not appeared on the show since the incident, tweeted this morning, “I am very disappointed to be leaving ESPN and will have more to say about this situation and my future at the appropriate time.” ESPN has said only that Douglas is no longer with the network.
The former All-Pro defensive end was at a National Association of Black Journalists convention event when he and Smith had an altercation that escalated into a screaming match. Several media outlets reported that witnesses saw Douglas threaten to fight the much-smaller Smith — his on-air adversarial foil — and hurled slurs at him including “Uncle Tom” and “house n—–” and that the men had to be separated. ESPN said at the time that it would look into the matter. Apparently, it has.
Hugh Douglas excelled on the defensive side of the ball during his NFL playing career, but an offensive he launched against an ESPN colleague has cost him his TV gig. The sports giant has cut ties with Douglas in the wake of his threats and racial slurs inflicted on Michael Smith, his co-host on the ESPN2 program Numbers Never Lie, on August 2 at the Orlando House of Blues. Douglas, who has not appeared on the show since the incident, tweeted this morning, “I am very disappointed to be leaving ESPN and will have more to say about this situation and my future at the appropriate time.” ESPN has said only that Douglas is no longer with the network.
The former All-Pro defensive end was at a National Association of Black Journalists convention event when he and Smith had an altercation that escalated into a screaming match. Several media outlets reported that witnesses saw Douglas threaten to fight the much-smaller Smith — his on-air adversarial foil — and hurled slurs at him including “Uncle Tom” and “house n—–” and that the men had to be separated. ESPN said at the time that it would look into the matter. Apparently, it has.