LeBron James has caught some heat for approaching Stephen A. Smith during a Lakers game. Reportedly, he told the analyst to keep his son’s name out of his mouth, when critiquing the Lakers — pulling a “Will Smith” from the Oscars.
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Like many on the internet, Stephen A. has weighed in on the debate about Bronny James making it to the NBA because of his father. And as expected — though not entirely — LeBron lost his cool over it. Stephen A. looked to be enjoying his courtside seat, watching his New York Knicks take on the Lakers. But suddenly, LeBron, who doesn’t typically confront people in public, walked up to the well-regarded TV personality and let out some words — screams too.
Details on what was said are sparse, but Stephen A. assured his audience that he couldn’t repeat some of the words on live TV. You can paint a picture for yourself from that. That said, Ryan Clark recently weighed in on the outburst, saying the possible GOAT of basketball could have handled it differently.
Clark, a Super Bowl-winning safety, understands the level of scrutiny LeBron has faced throughout his life. Not on the same scale, but to some extent, he gets it — especially as a parent. And from experience, Clark knows that what LeBron did may have only made the situation worse.
“I’m not LeBron, but I am a father; and I’m willing to die for mine. I get approaching Stephen A Smith as a father, but he wasn’t ‘only’ protecting his seed. He was speaking on behalf of another professional athlete. And Stephen A. is paid to analyze (that’s his job),” Clark critiqued on The Pivot.
Clark added that LeBron should’ve checked with his son, Bronny, before confronting the well-regarded TV personality. “Bron gotta let Bronny be a man,” he added, even using his own son’s reaction to this incident as an example to drive the point home.
“The first thing Jordan (Clark’s son) told me when he saw that, he said, ‘Pop, I’d lose my sh*t.’ if I did that. If someone was talking about him and I did what LeBron did, he would lose it. He said, ‘You’ve gotta let me be a man.’ LeBron did what he needed to do, but what about Bronny James?”
The former safety went on to admit that for a 55th overall pick, Bronny does get criticized more than he maybe should. However, he also argued that Bronny gets more opportunity and money than any other prospect of his stature because he’s LeBron’s son.
Clark referenced how Bronny was paid millions in NIL money in college for only averaging 4 points per game. He also gets paid more off the court than some G Leaguers get paid on it.
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It’s a good point that Clark and his son made. Parents will naturally defend their children, whether it be physically or verbally, but that doesn’t mean they want them to. Sometimes it’s embarrassing when a parent stands up for their child because it doesn’t give the kid an opportunity to stand up for themselves — which is a part of maturing.
Especially in a league as big as the NBA, people are going to critique players for their skill level compared to the competition. It’s the player’s job to defend their game and stand up for themselves to the media- not their parents.
All in all, Clark made some good arguments. And the general public seems to be criticizing LeBron for his antics rather than SAS for once. We know LeBron wants his son to succeed and nobody questions if he’s a good father, but now the family ties are starting to intertwine with drama in the media. And that is a storm that LeBron and Bronny surely want to stay far away from.
Notably, a lip reader has come out and determined LeBron said something along the lines of, “I’ma tell you one time, bro. Keep my son out of this sh*t, bro” during the altercation.
