Stephen A. Smith has reached a new low after his latest rant about LeBron James. To catch you up, their beef was first ignited when James confronted Smith on March 6 after the sports analyst spoke ill of his son, Bronny James. Ever since, the pair have been going back and forth with comments about their exchange, and one another.
Fast forward to Thursday, March 27, during the opening segment of “First Take,” Smith went on a 15-minute rant attacking the Los Angeles Lakers superstar for comments he made on “The Pat McAfee Show” the day prior.
During his lengthy soliloquy, Smith said, “I never brought up or never really discussed why you were not at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service. I never really brought up or discussed why you did not attend Dwyane Wade’s Hall of Fame induction when that man was directly responsible for you capturing a championship for the first time in your career.”
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On top of the statement being a low blow, it’s also completely false.
According to the Los Angeles Times, James was present at Bryant’s memorial service but declined to be shown on camera or photographed. The service was held on February 24, 2020, at the Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena).
Furthermore, James was unable to attend Wade’s Hall of Fame induction because he was dealing with the cardiac arrest of his oldest son, Bronny James.
Hours later, Smith attempted to walk back some of his comments in a tweet on X, writing, “My apologies and clarification. I misspoke in Hour#1 of @FirstTake today when I intimated that LeBron did not attend Kobe Bryant’s memorial. I corrected myself in Hour#2 when I acknowledged he was indeed in attendance. My mistake. Should not have even broached that subject. It was not my main point. I retract NOTHING else that I said. Have a nice day!”
Social media response
Even though Smith, 57, attempted to apologize, the damage was already done. Several people on social media called out the “First Take” host for his classless attempt to get personal with James.
@swishout wrote on X, “To bring Kobe up in this is so classless and weird.”
@LaJethroJenkins commented on a post, “Yesterday he was talking about fighting Bron. Today he’s bringing up Kobe. This is not a man who’s using his brain anymore. This a man who’s in too deep. Has completely lost the plot, but has gone too far reel it back in… Nasty spot to be in. Crash dummy type s**t.”
In response to Smith’s “apology,” @KenHeLive wrote, “You didn’t misspeak..You’re drowning so you tried to get Kobe Stan’s on your side by saying some s**t you didn’t think anyone had receipts for.”