Stephen A. Smith responded to the mounting backlash on his Twitter page regarding a hot take he disseminated on ESPN's First Take Monday.

Stephen A. Smith and co-host Max Kellerman were talking about Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani and his impact on MLB's rating spike when the two were asked  if "it's good for Major League Baseball that Ohtani is the top attraction."

During his response, Stephen A. said Ohtani's language barrier was an issue if Ohtani is expected to increase the sport's popularity domestically.

"The fact that you got a foreign player that doesn't speak English, that needs an interpreter, believe it or not, I think contributes to harming the game to some degree, when that's your box-office appeal," he said. "It needs to be somebody like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, those guys. Unfortunately at this moment in time, that's not the case...When you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube or to the ballpark to actually watch you, 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 is saying -- in this country. And that's what I’m trying to say."

Following heavy backlash for his remarks, the ESPN personality released a video response explaining his opinion.

"People are misinterpreting what I'm saying," Smith said. "Baseball's a great game, a great sport. Some of the greatest players are the foreign players...I'm talking about the marketability and the promotion of the sport. It's exactly what Sports Illustrated essentially alluded to in their article last month when they said that 28% of the players in Major League Baseball are foreign players. A lot of them need translators. You know, Spanish, it can be Mandarin, Japanese, the list goes on and on and on. If you are a sport trying to ingratiate yourself with the American public the way Major League Baseball is because of the problems that you've been having to deal with in terms of approving the attractiveness of the sport, it helps if you spoke the English language...In the United States -- all I was saying is that when you're a superstar, if you can speak the English language, then guess what, that's gonna make it that much easier and less challenging to promote the sport."

After posting his video response, Stephen A. wrote, "Amazing that folks still don't know me after all these years. If I am wrong about something, I will apologize. Especially if I unintentionally offend ANY GROUP of people -- because it's the right thing to do. Period! I'm BLACK. I would know! See y'all tomorrow on @FirstTake."

Last Sunday, Ohtani made MLB history when he became the first player to be both the designated hitter and pitcher in the All-Star Game. He is batting .279 with a league-leading 33 home runs and 70 RBI, while also pitching to a 3.49 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 67 innings.