Did Stephen A. Smith have to discuss being confronted by LeBron James? Despite the comments from Kevin Love, Smith says that he did.
For context, James confronted Smith, who was seated courtside during Thursday night’s game between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. Smith addressed the matter on Friday’s First Take after teasing that he would on X (formerly Twitter), saying that he had “no choice.” Love, in turn, mocked Smith’s post. During Friday night’s episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith clarified what he meant and addressed Love’s comments.
Smith said that when he woke up on Friday, the confrontation with LeBron had over 15 million views on X and was “the No. 1 sports story going.”
“Regardless of everybody wanting to walk around acting like they don’t have bosses, I don’t deny the fact that I have bosses,” Smith said (conversation starts at the 17:55 mark). I work for ESPN and ESPN called me this morning and said, ‘Whatchu mean you ain’t talking about it? You most certainly have to talk about it. This directly involves you. And LeBron James is the biggest story in the country right now in sports. There’s no way for you to escape it. Talk about it. You got your platform. Do what you gotta do.’ I said, ‘Fine.'”
Smith then showed Love’s response and kept a photo of it up while addressing it.
“Let’s go over the list,” Smith said. “And I like Kevin Love. I’m very fond of him. Alright? I have nothing negative to say. I have no choice because of what I just told you about my bosses, Kevin. Because it went viral, Kevin, which I just explained. I didn’t want to. Why would I want to? I take no pleasure in something like this and I guess it’s the implication that I wouldn’t have, ‘laugh out loud’ on all of those things. You see, stuff like that dilutes the seriousness of the discussion.
“So let me explain this to Kevin Love in the simplest terms. First Take has been the No. 1 morning show for 13 consecutive years. And on this particular morning, it’s the day after I was in the news for a lucrative contract extension. So if I said that I didn’t have any intentions of doing it, I don’t have to lie. And I’m not starving for ratings. And, respectfully, Kevin, you should know that I mean what I say. I don’t have to lie. I’ll just leave it at that. Outside of that, feel free to support your boy.”
