Stephen A. Smith -- APOLOGIZES for Dom. Violence Comments ... 'Foolish Is an Understatement'

Stephen A. Smith says his boneheaded comments about domestic violence were "foolish" -- and this morning he went back on ESPN to beg for forgiveness.

Smith got himself in some pretty deep trouble on Friday -- and really pissed off his ESPN co-worker Michelle Beadle -- who crushed Smith for implying that women can "provoke" domestic violence.

Now, Smith says he has realized the stupidity of his comments -- calling his diatribe the "most egregious error of my career."

In a 100 second apology on ESPN's "First Take," Smith says he doesn't truly believe that domestic violence is somehow a woman's fault ... and explains that he just did a poor job of expressing his true point of view.