Despite being the NBA's top name for two almost decades, LeBron James has never been embroiled in a massive controversy or had any off-court difficulties. Forget controversy, his recent altercation with Stephen A. Smith on the court before a Los Angeles Lakers game seems uncharacteristic.
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Channing Crowder Sides with Stephen A. Smith
LeBron was visibly unhappy with Smith over something. After the video went viral, Smith, of course, addressed the situation. According to the ESPN analyst, LeBron contacted him to talk about his son and teammate, Bronny James, and how he interpreted Stephen A.'s coverage of the son.
While responding to the controversy, Stephen A. Smith insisted that he was not criticizing Bronny James, but rather LeBron James for keeping unfair expectations and placing pressure on his son. A father's instinct to shield his child from criticism is quite acceptable. However, as Channing Crowder pointed out, being LeBron's kid should not make him "off limits" to criticism like any other professional athlete.
“How can you look at this professional athlete—which Bronny is, I’ve seen him sitting on the bench where he should be. Sorry, Bron—and Stephen A. is saying exactly what everybody thinks, that’s the thing I hate,” said Crowder on The Pivot podcast.
The initial video was taken from behind Stephen A. and facing LeBron, so while we don't know what he said, we can see him say it. However, some innovative websites have employed skilled lip readers to try to solve the puzzle. A Men's Journal writer concluded that he said, “I’ma tell you one time, bro. Keep my son out of this [expletive], bro.”