U.S. Senator Kamala Harris speaks at the San Joaquin Valley Leadership Conference held at the University Plaza Waterfront Hotel in downtown Stockton on Oct. 12, 2017. Credit: Stockton Record
ESPNPoliticsBy Sean Keeley on

Update: Granderson has since deleted his original post and is now claiming that he was mistaken in his earlier comments.

Palmer responded, saying that he spoke with Granderson, the whole thing was a “misunderstanding” and that they’re on good terms.

Original: On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and throwing his support behind Vice-President Kamala Harris to take his place as the Democratic Party nominee against Republican nominee Donald Trump.

It would surprise no one to learn that many a hot take and strong opinion about Harris was shared on social media.

One such opinion came from longtime NBA writer and ESPN contributor Chris Palmer, who wrote on X that “Kamala Harris might be the least qualified person in history to do anything.”

As you might imagine, that post got ratioed pretty hard, to the point where Palmer even had to acknowledge it.

There was one engagement in particular that stood out from the rest. Palmer’s post was quoted by Los Angeles Times sports and culture columnist LZ Granderson, who lobbed an accusation that Palmer had once been found to make up quotes for an article.

“I was your editor. You got in trouble for making up quotes,” wrote Granderson on X. “Maybe focus on your qualifications.”

While the two both wrote extensively under the ESPN umbrella for years, it’s unclear exactly what quotes or articles Granderson would be referring to or the specific outlet within ESPN it was for. Granderson worked for ESPN’s Page 2 before becoming a senior writer and columnist for ESPN The Magazine and a senior writer for The Undefeated before leaving the company in 2021. Palmer has been a staff writer for ESPN The Magazine, an NBA insider for ESPN.com, and a contributor to The Undefeated over the last 25 years.

That post, which went up at 6:15 p.m. ET, took off on its own. At 8:09 p.m. ET, Palmer seemed to become aware of the comment via a separate comment from former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann.

At this point, Palmer appeared to become aware of Granderson’s comment and tried to track him down to explain it, while also saying that the claim was unwarranted and a lie. He also seemed to imply potential legal action over the claim.

As of the time of this writing on Sunday evening, Granderson has not posted again on X. Before making that post about Palmer, he wrote a column for the L.A. Times titled, “Biden’s decision to drop out is one of the most patriotic moments in a long life of service.”

We will update the story with any developments as they occur.

[Chris Palmer, LZ Granderson]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Sean Keeley