"It devalues the difficulty of immigrating to the US" - When Stephen A. Smith got slammed by ESPN colleague for xenophobic remarks on Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani is arguably the most famous baseball player on the planet. The two-way Japanese superstar has become one of the biggest draws in the MLB thanks to his abilities as both a hitter and a pitcher. Thanks to these skills, Ohtani has been able to secure the most lucrative contract in North American sports history this offseason.

That being said, Shohei Ohtani's ride to being arguably the best player in the MLB has not always been smooth. The two-time MVP has dealt with a number of injuries and been at the forefront of an off-field controversy, albeit not his fault.

Back in 2021, outspoken media member Stephen A. Smith sparked outrage in the baseball community. The polarizing sports personality explained that the then-Los Angeles Angels superstar could not be the face of the MLB due to the fact that he does not speak English.

"You have to go back to Babe Ruth to find a player that did what Shohei Ohtani is doing now…but according to Stephen K Smith if he is to be the number 1 player he should speak good English. What a stupid and horrible take." - @aabogaert

Smith said on his show First Take, “I don’t think it helps that the number one face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying."

Needless to say, this did not only go over poorly in the baseball community but his Smith's colleagues at ESPN. One of those colleagues who spoke up against Smith's insensitive comments was Joon Lee. Lee said that telling someone to just learn English "Devalues the difficulty of immigrating to the United States.

"Watching First Take and Joon Lee is talking to Stephen A Smith about his comments about the Asian community and baseball/Shohei Ohtani and etc. and Joon mentioned how BTS has shown that language barriers don't matter when it comes to talent. Yesssss Lawdddddddddd" - @OmG_Itz_Ace

Joon Lee was not the only ESPN colleague to respond to Smith's comment about Shohei Ohtani

In the aftermath of Stephen A. Smith's insensitive and inappropriate comments about Shohei Ohtani, a number of other ESPN staff members aside from Joon Lee criticized the take. One such staff member was beloved MLB insider Jeff Passan.

Following Smith's comments, Passan went on First Take to defend the then-Los Angeles Angels superstar. In his response, which subsequently went viral, Passan explained that Ohtani left everything he knew behind in order to pursue his MLB dreams. The heartfelt and respectful speech from Passan left many in the MLB universe satisfied and proud.