When the Grizzlies and Lakers met on Friday night in L.A., not many expected the lead story to be an altercation at the end of the first half between Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams, Ja Morant, and…Shannon Sharpe.
The NFL Hall of Famer turned FOX Sports talking head has become one of LeBron James’ most vocal supporters, and he took that a tad too far when he interjected himself into the action on Friday night in what became a Lakers win. Sharpe initially gave a statement at halftime talking about how he wanted the smoke and the Grizzlies were soft, but after some time to reflect on the incident, Sharpe struck a different tone on Monday morning’s Undisputed.
Sharpe offered a lengthy and earnest apology to the Lakers, the Grizzlies, Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant specifically, and LeBron James, who offered his support of Sharpe after the game.
Unc Shannon sharpe apologizes for his behavior at the lakers vs Grizzlies game
pic.twitter.com/kqAfwD0qvV
— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) January 23, 2023
“Friday night at the Lakers game, I want to apologize for my behavior. I’ve preached for the last six and a half years, responsibility and accountability, and I take full responsibility for what transpired. It does not matter what Dillon Brooks said or how many times he said it. Me being the responsible person, me having the platform I have, and me having so many people look up to me, I was wrong. I should’ve lowered the temperature in the arena. Instead, I turned the temperature up and I let it get out of hand.”
He would continue to offer direct apologies to the Lakers and Grizzlies organizations for negative attention he brought to both, to Brooks who he called a “fierce competitor” and wished him the best, to Morant who he lauded for his incredible abilities, to James for always supporting him and putting him in a position to have to support him after such a display, and also his family who had to see that and be associated with it.
All things considered, this is about as well done as it gets from Shannon, who absolutely could’ve just doubled and tripled down on his behavior, ranting and raving about the Grizzlies. It seems that it was almost a moment of reckoning for Sharpe that he’s no longer an active part of the games, but just a fan and he can’t let his emotions run as hot as the players actually participating. Kudos to him for finding that perspective and we’ll see if he can keep the banter to a friendlier note at future games.