The back and forth between Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has become comical at this point. Both have taken shots at each other and has James superfan and Smith’s “First Take” co-host Shannon Sharpe in the middle. The pettiness has reached a boiling point to where Sharpe is taking the side of his king, LBJ.
Fans Predict Shannon Sharpe Will Be Fired For Siding With LeBron In Fued With SAS
That has fans making remarks like this on X: “Shannon Sharpe is gonna get fired.”
Another fan piggybacked those same sentiments with, “Shannon won’t last a year.” These remarks insinuate that Smith’s status as the face of the network along with his recently signed five-year, $100 million contract could play a role in Sharpe’s removal for the stance he’s taken in the back-and-forth we didn’t know we needed. While that’s highly unlikely, it’s still something to ponder for the sake of the current drama.
Sharpe Sides With Bron
During a recent episode of Sharpe’s hit “Nightcap” podcast with former NFL wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Sharpe didn’t hold back when discussing the topic. Sharpe’s stance is he’s OK with LeBron standing up to SAS as a father. He also believes Smith should pipe down after already addressing the feud on “First Take.” The Pro Football Hall of Famer was pretty blunt about where he stands.
“I wish Stephen A. would’ve just left it alone,” Sharpe said, before adding, “Stephen A. just needs to let it go.”
Stephen A. shouldn’t be surprised, because Sharpe is the same guy who was ready to fight the entire Memphis Grizzlies team during a game a couple of seasons ago in defense of LeBron. So, in essence, if he’s gonna do that no one stands a chance at coming between him and his king, not even SAS, who brought Sharpe to ESPN after he left FS1’s “Undisputed.”
Sharpe Continues To Plead With Smith
In more of the back-and-forth, during Wednesday’s episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show” the renowned analyst talked at length about the first altercation between the two, and says if LeBron had put hands on him “he would’ve swung” on the four-time NBA champion. Sharpe wasn’t buying the bluff that Smith spewing and he quickly called him out, telling him to chill out.
“You about to be 58, that ain’t even your M.O.” Sharpe said. “You ain’t gonna fight nobody. LeBron wasn’t going to swing on you so there would’ve been no need for you to swing on him. I’m glad you guys stood there. He said what he said. You seemed to be receptive to it at the time of it. You said you understood because he was speaking to you as a father and not LeBron James the basketball player. … Let it go now.”
In that regard Sharpe is correct. Smith, or James for that matter, won’t risk everything they’ve built for something so petty and again the beef we didn’t know we needed
