Chris Russo has admitted to criticizing ESPN’s and First Take‘s incessant coverage of Bronny James before.
He did so during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show earlier this summer, in which he praised Stephen A. Smith for helping aid his career renaissance and expressed some prickliness about how much the network focuses on Bronny, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the ‘Mad Dog’ called out the “fakeness” of Bronny and dad, LeBron James’ NBA debut together. This is someone who doesn’t want to spend topic after topic, segment after segment, on the son of LeBron James, so if he does, he’ll do it his way.
Again, Russo discussed Bronny James on The Dan Patrick Show. At the end of his appearance, when he was having an immaculate hair day, Russo said he offered to lay low about ripping Bronny and ESPN’s coverage but found an unlikely source who allowed him to let it rip.
When Patrick informed Russo that he worked part-time for a network that made this bigger than it needed to be, the longtime radio host agreed.
“Part-time’s a little strong, Dan…I’m on there two hours a week to help Stephen A.,” he said. “To say I’m an ESPN employee is a little strong…Now, I’ll tell you a little secret, I told him yesterday, I said, ‘Guys, listen, I’ll play the this is how I feel about Bronny; if you don’t want me to get into this because it’s gonna bother people, I’ll lay low.’ And to Stephen A.’s credit, he said, ‘Chris, you say what you have to say. If you get pounded, who cares? We all get pounded on First Take. Say what you have to say.'”
Chris Mad Dog Russo sounds off on LeBron and Bronny James becoming the 1st father/son duo to play in an #NBA game:
“I walk around town all the time. I did not have one person tell me ‘wow did you see Bronny play with LeBron last night’. The American sports fan could care less.” pic.twitter.com/QnhrzcvNgU
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) October 24, 2024
And that he did.
Russo might disagree with how the network he appears on for two hours each week covers Bronny James, but Smith isn’t about to let Russo’s authenticity wane, even if it means critiquing the network in the process.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.