Veteran NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith becomes the latest victim to fall prey to the satirical reports of Ballsack Sports.
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Well, there is a reason why they say one shouldn’t believe everything they see on the worldwide web. The internet is a scary place being the root cause of numerous false stories and narratives. The invention of social media has been both a boon and a curse to civilization.
The widespread misinformation on the internet can even have savants in their profession falter. The most recent example is that of ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith. The 54-year old would cite a fake report during a discussion with Magic Johnson on the show First Take.
The debate revolved around former MVP James Harden forcing his way out of Brooklyn to Philly and the need for him to deliver. While making a point regarding Harden, Smith would narrate an incident involving heated exchanges between The Beard and Kyrie Irving during a Nets practice.
However, the source of Smith’s information was an NBA-focused satire account on Twitter called Ballsack Sports.
Stephen A. Smith cites a hoax report during a live segment of ESPN’s First Take.
The ESPN studios recently had Magic Johnson as a visitor, making an appearance on the popular shows of the broadcasting giant. Thus it was no secret that the management would have the Lakers icon on the popular show First Take seated across Smith.
The two savants in their respective fields would engage in a discussion on various matters. One such topic being the pressure on Harden to deliver as a Sixer. While making their arguments, Smith would cite a fake report detailing a heated argument between Harden and his former teammate Irving during the former’s time in Brooklyn.
Earlier this year, a Twitter account named Ballsack Sports posted a fake story revolving around Harden and Irving indulging in trash talk during a Nets practice.
“Kyrie beat James Harden 1 on 1 almost every day in practice, and Kyrie was barely even in basketball shape,” the fake report read. “It demoralized Harden…the breaking point came when Kyrie called Harden ‘washed’ after completely locking him up in one scrimmage. An assistant had to break up the two as tempers flared, and the relationship spiraled downhill from there.”
Smith would narrate the above incident while addressing The Beard’s recent struggles on the hardwood.
Well, it was certainly surprising to see a well-read person like Smith commit such an error, having covered the NBA for decades. Surprisingly, Stephen A is not the first one to cite reports from the satire-based account. Not so long ago, former champion and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins had quoted a report from the same account.
With even the best falling victims to fake information and news on the internet, there needs to be some kind of regulations on these sources.
