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ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith broke his silence on a viral video in which he appeared to be confronted by Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James during Thursday's (March 6) win against the New York Knicks.
Smith, 57, said the "unexpected" incident stemmed from comments made about James' son, Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard Bronny James, while appearing on First Take Friday (March 7) morning.
“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 in regards to James’ eldest son, 20-year-old Lakers rookie Bronny James. “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. 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.
“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.”
Smith, who is reported to be in the process of getting a new five-year, $100 million deal with ESPN, added that James' representation had his contact information and the two could, instead, have a private conversation.
“That is not what he elected to do. Instead, he elected to confront me while I was sitting courtside,” Smith added. “… He walked right up to me, and he said what he had to say, and he feels like I was slighting his son. Now let me tell you what I feel. What I would have said if we were in a different environment, cause I was not going to engage in a confrontation at that particular moment in that setting. But if he had had that conversation, I would have said to LeBron James I never would speak negatively about your son. I was talking about you.”
Smith said he had "nothing but the best wishes for Bronny James, who was selected by the Lakers at No. 55 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, despite being limited at USC during his freshman season and has struggled at the NBA level.