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ESPN host Stephen A. Smith spoke out against individuals who are openly celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
During an episode of his podcast on Thursday, Smith aggressively condemned anyone celebrating Kirk’s killing.
“I don’t care what his political beliefs were! I don’t care what he felt!” Smith added that he felt pain for Kirk and his family. “That he’s dead at the age of 31. That his wife is a widow. That his children are fatherless because his ideas and his beliefs differed from somebody else, apparently.”
LIVE UPDATES: CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION SPARKS MANHUNT AS SHOOTING SUSPECT REMAINS AT LARGE
“And then I’m going online, and I’m seeing people celebrating it!” he continued. “Shame! Shame on you!”
Smith also commended the New York Yankees for honoring Kirk on Wednesday night ahead of the game against the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees held a moment of silence for Kirk, and displayed an image of him on the stadium jumbotron.
“Props to the New York Yankees organization last night for having a moment of silence,” Smith said. “We’re not supposed to condone stuff like this. We’re not supposed to say it’s okay. I don’t give a d–n who you are, black, white or anything in between!”
Smith added that he hopes the FBI finds the suspect.
“I hope the FBI and law enforcement catch this individual and do what needs to be done with him.”
A transgender Team USA BMX cyclist made a series of social media posts Wednesday celebrating the assassination. Chelsea Wolfe, who was present for the U.S. women’s BMX team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as an alternate, made the celebratory posts on the athlete’s Instagram story.
Consequences have befallen other individuals who have made controversial comments in the aftermath of Kirk’s death.
MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd for suggesting “hateful” rhetoric from Kirk led to his own assassination, Fox News Digital previously reported.
The Carolina Panthers fired Charlie Rock, a member of the team’s communications department, after social media posts linked to Rock appeared to show him questioning why people were sad that Kirk had been shot and killed. The song “Protect Ya Neck” from the Wu-Tang Clan was also shared.
“The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers,” the team said in a statement posted to social media. “We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual.”
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was struck by a single bullet around 12:20 p.m. local time on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday. The 31-year-old was surrounded by mostly college students as his event was getting underway.
Authorities have yet to publicly identify a suspect in the shooting. However, officials offered more details about the person they’re after in a Thursday morning news conference.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls and Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said they had obtained “good video footage” of the shooter while he was on the Utah Valley University campus.
Investigators added that they believe the suspect to be “of college age.”
The investigation into the assassination of Kirk is still ongoing.
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