STEPHEN A. SMITH (56) says he explained (apologized) in advance to his pastor, colleagues and "bosses" at ESPN before going nuclear on Hall of Fame troll JASON WHITLOCK (56) in a viral, profanity-laden, hour-long tirade on his Youtube podcast a couple days back.

On Friday, he explained (apologized for) his actions to all those people again for the bad look on them and expressed gratitude for his relationship with Disney chief exec BOB IGER (72). Smith is very proud of the honorary PhD he bought from his alma mater, Winston-Salem State University, and the $65 million he claims he's raised on behalf of historically black colleges and universities, but WSSU, and the HBCU community he's an ambassador for, were notably missing from this latest apology tour.

Source: The Stephen A. Smith Show

Related: JASON WHITLOCK CANCELS ROYCE WHITE, For Telling the Truth