Shannon Sharpe is not one to hold his tongue, and the former NFL tight end sports analyst made his opinion known during the Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers game Friday night with confrontational results. Sharpe’s comments from his courtside seat were ill-received by Grizzlies players, and the chirping led to an on-court potential showdown.
Why Was Shannon Sharpe Beefing With Tee Morant?
The drama started when Shannon Sharpe admittedly said that Grizzlies small forward Dillon Brooks could not guard LeBron James. Brooks must have heard and yelled an expletive at Sharpe, who returned the derogatory phrase. Brooks upped the ante and came for Sharpe, joined by Ja Morant and Steven Adams, who wanted Uncle Shay Shay to know they stood tall for their own.
Shannon Sharpe still looks pretty sharp. 😂 #DontMessWithShannon pic.twitter.com/Wkx9pFTSHf
— Market Rebellion (@MarketRebels) January 22, 2023
Enter Tee Morant, the father of Ja, who flanked the courtside confrontation, said something in close range toward Sharpe, and his focus turned squarely to Tee as the newfound source of his anger. For the crowd, the reason for the incident was unclear. Sharpe provided a glimpse into what set off the situation after being led off the court.
Shannon Sharpe spent halftime in the tunnel with security before returning to his seat for the third quarter. He granted ESPN a brief interview explaining what happened with the Grizzlies on his way to his seat: pic.twitter.com/XZNw6sQhEG
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 21, 2023
“They didn’t want this smoke, Dave,” Sharpe said to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “They do all that talking and jockeying, and I ain’t about that jockeying. It started with Dillon Brooks. I said he was too small to guard LeBron. He said, ‘F*** me,’ I said, ‘F*** you back.’ He started to come at me, and I said, ‘you don’t want these problems.’
“And then Ja (Morant) came out of nowhere talking. He definitely didn’t want these problems. Then the dad came, and he obviously didn’t want no problems. But I wanted anything they had. Don’t let these fools fool you now.”
The Lakers defeated the Grizzlies 122-121, with LeBron and Morant having the hot hands with 23 and 22 points, respectively. James weighed in, defending Sharpe.
All The Kings Men
“I ride with Shannon 365 days—366 on a leap year—24/7. So that’s my guy,” James said during the postgame press conference. “I always got his back. And he’s got mine. He can talk with the best of them, for sure.”
Shannon Sharpe doesn’t forget pic.twitter.com/wRjN1oNTF1
— Ali B (@ali_behpoornia) January 21, 2023
James kept the same energy on social media, continuing his support of the man willing to scrap with crucial members of the Lakers opposition while being critical of James’ defender. After all, he too has been in verbal conflict with members of the Grizzles before.
“If ‘I wish a Muthaf— would’ was a person. MOOD. Unk VIBES!” James wrote on Instagram under a picture with a visibly perturbed Sharpe. Must feel good to “King James” to have a fan in Shannon Sharpe.
Shannon Sharpe Is Theatre
The broadcaster has been polarizing as of late. From checking “Undisputed” co-host Skip Bayless for an insensitively timed tweet about Damar Hamlin during his gut-wrenching injury to being a lightning rod of controversy for the radically Afrocentric, Shannon is either loved or hated. He also interviewed Deion Sanders during his pivotal transition from Jackson State University to Colorado University, showing his real-world foot injury and rehabilitation.
One person willing to move on from the fracas is Tee Morant, as both he and Sharpe were seen dapping and hugging after everything was over. Just another day in the life of Shay Shay, the drama’s owner and proprietor.
