Hugh Douglas, a former Eagles defensive end who appears on the ESPN show “Numbers Never Lie,” was yanked off the air by the network after an altercation with show co-host Michael Smith over the weekend, according to a report at bigleadsports.com.
Douglas reportedly was inebriated during an event at the House of Blues in Orlando on Friday night and tried to get on the stage where a DJ was playing music. When Smith, a former Boston Globe reporter, refused to help, Douglas threatened him numerous times, calling him an “Uncle Tom” and a “house [N-word],” before onlookers broke it up and another ESPN employee pulled Douglas aside to calm him down. Douglas then left the party, which was a fundraiser hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists.
ESPN released a statement Sunday saying, “We are aware there was a disagreement between Hugh Douglas and Michael Smith on Friday. We are looking into the situation.”
Smith returned to “Numbers Never Lie” on Monday while Douglas was absent.
Douglas was a first-round draft pick of the Jets in 1995. After three seasons in New York, he spent five years with the Eagles and one season with the Jaguars before closing out his 10-year career with a final year in Philadelphia as part of the Eagles team that lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.
