ESPN star Stephen A. Smith, who reportedly inked a lucrative contract extension with the network, addressed his recent interaction with four-time NBA champion LeBron James.
Smith was on hand for the Los Angeles Lakers’ overtime victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday. But the confrontation between Smith and James overshadowed the game’s events.
Smith said the exchange stemmed from the NBA superstar’s concerns about the television personality’s remarks about his eldest son, Bronny Janes. Smith also described the incident as “unexpected.”
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Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James (Imagn)
“That was LeBron James coming up to me — unexpectedly, I might add — to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about I say about his son,” Smith said on “First Take” in reference to the Lakers rookie.
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“Can’t repeat the words, because they ain’t suited for FCC airwaves, that’s what he was doing. And I thought long and hard about this over the last few hours, ’cause I had no intention on talking about this at all,” Smith said about the viral moment.
And the reason was because it was a one-on-one, I wouldn’t say it was a conversation, but it was a one-on-one confrontation. But then I wake up, and everybody from ESPN, my agent and everybody else sending me that this thing had gone viral, so, ultimately it was unavoidable, and that is why I have to discuss it now.”
Oct. 23, 2024; Inglewood, California: Stephen A. Smith (Stephen Smith) on the ESPN NBA Countdown live set at Intuit Dome. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
Smith suggested the interaction hadbeen between a pair of fathers, more than an exchange between a basketball player and a sports television star.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) and forward LeBron James (23) warming up before the game against the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena. (Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images)
“That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me, that was a parent, that was a father. I can’t sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in that regard. By all accounts, he’s obviously a wonderful family man and father who cares very, very deeply about his son, and based on some of the comments he had heard — or shall I say I think he thought he heard — clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say, and he confronted me about it.”
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Smith also suggested that he would be open to having further discussions with James privately.
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