Stephen A. Smith addressed the viral moment LeBron James approached him courtside at the Lakers-Knicks game on Thursday, and revealed James used some words that “ain’t suited for FCC airwaves,” as he confronted him over on-air comments about his son Bronny.
“Apparently, he feels like I was slighting his son,” the ESPN First Take host said Friday morning. “That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent, that was a father. I can’t see here and be angry and feel slighted by LeBron James in any way in that regard.”
That said, Smith indicated there were plenty of other ways to address James’ concerns: “LeBron James knows how to get in contact with me if he wanted to.”
“He never called, because had he called and wanted to talk to me, I would have accepted that call,” Smith added. “Had he wanted to see me, I would have flown out, and I would have seen him, and I would have had a conversation man to man. But that is not what he elected to do. Instead, he elected to confront me while I was sitting courtside.”
Smith was approached by James on Thursday evening at the game he attended with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David.
Prior to the viral moment, Smith commented on Bronny James’ career and the “position he was put in by his dad,” he said Friday, as he denied having attacked James’ son directly. Smith was one of several sports pundits who thought the Lakers’ drafting Bronny—because James had wanted them to be teammates—put unnecessary pressure on the rookie player.
“My point, months ago, was that because of who you are, one of the top two players in the history of basketball in my estimation, there’s an immense amount of pressure that comes with that for his son,” Smith continued. “Anything that goes awry as it pertains to his son, there’s going to be a microscopic eye, even more intensified, on Bronny James because of his dad.”
James hadn’t heard anything constructive in the comments however, if his posture Thursday was any indication. Smith said that he doesn’t blame him—though he thinks James misinterpreted “what he thought he heard.”
“He was very, very upset, I could tell,” the talk show host continued, as he described how James was “making sure that I mind what I say about his son… As a father, I get it. I’m not offended, I’m not insulted, I don’t have any animosity or animus towards LeBron James for this.”
