Anthony Davis left the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s Game 5 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. Following a make by D’Angelo Russell, Warriors big man Kevon Looney swung his arm and accidentally elbowed Davis in the head. Davis looked woozy in the immediate aftermath and made his way to the back, where he was examined and eventually needed a wheelchair to get to the Lakers’ locker room.
While Los Angeles lost, it did get some good news in the aftermath that Davis was doing well, and Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report reported that the expectation is that Davis will be fine ahead of Game 6 on Friday night. But the thing with Davis is he has a reputation for being a player who gets hurt easily, and on Thursday morning’s episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith took a rather flippant approach to what happened.
Stephen A Smith on Anthony Davis injury
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— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) May 11, 2023
“I’ll be damned if I wasn’t laughing,” Smith said. “I’m like, concussion? Concussion? I thought the NFL season was over! Now, I understands concussions can happen in other sports — boxing, UFC. And I mean, if the collision is fierce enough, I guess it could happen in basketball, too. But damn, I ain’t seen nothin’ yesterday that made me say concussion. Concussion?”
Smith went on to bring up the fact that Davis needed a wheelchair, and while he said he hopes Davis is okay and that he knows concussions are serious, “we’re saying we found it hard to believe that a concussion actually happened.” Now, while it seems like Haynes’ most recent reporting is optimistic, head injuries are serious business and Davis certainly seemed like he was struggling mightily, so it makes sense that the team would treat this with care.
But Smith’s comments struck a nerve, and a number of folks took to Twitter to call him and First Take out.
It’s wild that this is the conversation on a national talk show in 2023 the day after a player looks like they may have been knocked out of a playoff game due to a concussion. pic.twitter.com/SCrMDthGpz
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) May 11, 2023
As ignorant of a discussion as I’ve ever seen and only @WindhorstESPN keeps his credibility here with “seen concussions with less”. Can’t wait for @FirstTake to do a segment on “seat belts” or “smoking” next since they are operating in 1975 still.
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— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) May 11, 2023
I don’t know what it is about AD specifically but people lose their goddamn minds anytime he gets hurt. Tell you what, Stephen A. Take an elbow from Looney to your temple. See how that goes. https://t.co/2nfwtebdFj
— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) May 11, 2023
This is the type of stuff that normalizes not taking head injuries seriously. Stephen A has zero clue as to what level or location of force could result in a concussion (aka mild traumatic brain injury). Credit to Windhorst & Molly, wanted no part of that nonsense. https://t.co/vIJpliWFjt
— Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT (@3cbPerformance) May 11, 2023
Shame on you @stephenasmith. This kind of 2005 talk sends a terrible message to young athletes. You know better.
It doesn’t have to look catastrophic to cause #concussion. And asking 6’10” guys who are dizzy and can’t see straight to walk to the locker room is bad medical care. https://t.co/3ehVpaKUmi— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) May 11, 2023
Insane!! Forearm/elbow to the temple from a 7footer is no joke. Any Boxer knows it’s not only where you get hit but it’s the shots you don’t see comin that can knock you out. Being disoriented & the way AD looked is concerning
— Jerry Hairston, Jr. (@TheRealJHair) May 11, 2023
It’s worth mentioning that Smith took a similar approach here to the Inside the NBA guys who also laughed at Davis’ expense over the whole thing. As of this writing, Davis has not been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol, which Brian Windhorst of ESPN noted would make it nearly impossible for him to play in Game 6 and difficult for him to play in a potential Game 7.