LeBron James addressed his ongoing feud with Stephen A. Smith after a video of their tense courtside confrontation went viral.
In a new interview on ESPN with Pat McAfee, LeBron, 40, made it clear he has no issues with the media’s criticism of a player’s performance but draws the line when it comes to personal attacks.
“He’s like on a Taylor Swift tour run right now,” LeBron told McAfee about Smith, as seen in a clip circulating online. “I didn't wanna address it. I wasn't going to address it, but since the video came out, I feel the need to address it.”
“He completely missed the whole point,” he continued. “Never would I ever not allow people [who] talk about the sport to criticize players about what they do on the court. That is your job to criticize… that is all part of the game. But when you take it and get personal with it, it’s my job to not only to protect my damn household but protect the players.”
“I think a lot of the media, including him—and I know he’s going to be happy as hell, he’s gonna be smiling ear-to-ear when he hears me talking about him,” he added. He’s going to get home and grab some ice cream out of the fucking freezer and sit in his chair in his tighty-whities on the couch … Relax, bro.”
After the Knicks-Lakers game on March 6, a visibly upset LeBron confronted Smith, 57, seemingly over his criticism of his 20-year-old son, Bronny.
Earlier in January, Smith had criticized the amount of minutes on the court Bronny received and suggested that his presence in the NBA was largely because of his father.
"I am pleading with LeBron James as a father. Stop this," Smith said at the time. "Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad. The first game of the season, opening night, the Griffeys are in attendance. Father-son duo playing in an NBA game for the first time and absolutely, positively, wonderful story. And then reality sets in."
"I am rooting for Bronny James. It would be cruel to root against him," he continued. "He's a wonderful kid, I wish him nothing but the best. But he's LeBron James' son and everybody knows what attention that brings."
Smith later addressed the incident on First Take and confirmed that LeBron approached him unexpectedly. He couldn’t reveal LeBron’s exact words “because they ain't suited for FCC airwaves.”
"That wasn't a basketball player confronting me; that was a parent, and that was a father. And I can't sit here and be angry, or feel slighted by LeBron James in anyway in that regard. ... He clearly took exception to some of the things that he heard me say and he confronted me about it,” said Smith.
Days later, Smith admitted on his podcast that the confrontation left him feeling “sad.”
On last Friday’s broadcast of First Take, Smith seemingly changed his tune after Bronny delivered an impressive performance against the Bucks.
"I was impressed," said Smith on March 21. "This is the big picture here that I want to bring up: I might've been wrong. Are you listening LeBron James? Are you listening James family? Are you listening Rich Paul? Are you listening all you people? Because here's my position—my position all along, Bronny James needed to be in the G League ... and then after that let him come on because I've always believed that this kid has the potential, once I watched him, to be in the NBA."
"But what I saw last night made me say to myself, 'What a minute. He keeps showing up and playing like that, JJ Redick and his staff obviously doing an exceptional job coaching him. The G Leaguers obviously doing a good job of preparing him, him sitting on the bench learning and watching the Lakers play,” he added.