Stephen A. Smith is no stranger to having people mad at him about things he says on ESPN’s airwaves (or his podcast, or Fox News), but typically the backlash he faces is on social media. On Thursday night in Los Angeles, it was much more direct and face-to-face when LeBron James came over to Smith after the Lakers comeback win in overtime over the Knicks and confronted ESPN’s biggest personality.
Video of the brief but clearly tense interaction went viral on social media, and on Friday morning Smith spoke about it on First Take. According to Smith, it had nothing to do with Smith’s recent comments about James that prompted LeBron to respond on social media or the never-ending GOAT debate or anything like that. Instead it was about comments Smith has made about Bronny, and LeBron saying, in words Smith couldn’t repeat because the FCC wouldn’t allow it, that he needs to watch what he’s saying about his son.
Did this need to be a 10-minute long segment? Of course not, but despite his insistence he wasn’t going to discuss the conversation on the show, Smith got the absolute most out of it. Smith chose his usual method of defending himself by insisting there are better ways to get in contact with him to have a conversation about things, which is particularly funny because LeBron opted for the most direct route for getting in contact with him: walking straight up to him and talking to him face-to-face in a public setting. Also, it’s pretty clear LeBron wasn’t trying to engage in some intellectual debate about the merits of Smith’s arguments, but to make a very stern and clear point.
Smith continued on to explain the comments he’d made and why they weren’t attacks on Bronny but rather more comments on LeBron and how he was handling the situation. That may be true, but it’s not surprising that LeBron would take a moment to send a message to Smith as a father without caring all that much about the nuance or context of everything Smith has said.