Serena Williams receives apology as Stephen A. Smith confronted by tennis icon's husband

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, was not happy with ESPN presenter Stephen A Smith's comments about Williams' appearance at the Super Bowl

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Stephen A. Smith has issued an apology to tennis icon Serena Williams and has partially walked back the remarks he made during the Super Bowl in February.

Tennis champion Williams made a surprise cameo during Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance, which prompted a slew of complaints sent to the FCC. A speculation surfaced that her presence was deliberately timed during a track titled 'Not Like Us,' which takes shots at Lamar's competitor Drake.

It's been reported that Drake was a former romantic partner of Williams. In a casual remark on 'First Take' after the performance, ESPN's Smith declared: "If I'm married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his a--. Cause clearly you don't belong with me.

"What you worried about him for and you're with me? Bye. Bye."

Those statements have now returned to haunt him when Ohanian made his own appearance on the program this week. He was swift to challenge the host.

"Stephen A. Smith, I think you had some marriage advice for me, is that right?" he asked. Smith responded with an uncomfortable chuckle before Ohanian continued, "You hadn't been married before, right?

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"Cause I give advice to plenty of founders who want to build billion-dollar companies. And the reason I do that is because I build billion-dollar companies. So, I generally try to stay in my lane in the advice department."

Smith himself addressed the situation during his appearance on 'The Pivot' podcast, where he clarified his comments and extended an apology to Williams.

"I should not have said it this way, I'll concede that. But going to commercial, joking around, I said, 'Take your a-- back to him,'" Smith admitted.

"All I was saying is as men, if I'm married, if my wife got the energy and the fervor to show up in Super Bowl Sunday and go out onstage specifically to dance off of a song that's disrespecting her ex, my question would be, 'What's that energy about?' You're supposed to be happy with me.'"

He continued: "I don't think that he's wrong for taking it differently.

"And to his face, I would have said to him what I just said ... and I would own that and I would apologize."

Smith also issued a direct apology to Williams, stating: "I'm not casting aspersions on Serena Williams in any way, and I apologize to her as well.

"I didn't mean it the way it was taken, I was just speaking from a man's perspective."