ESPN First Take host Stephen A. Smith took to his podcast platform last night in response to LeBron James sitting down with The Pat McAfee Show on the network Wednesday afternoon, further escalating the tension between the two individuals. James continues to mock Smith for what he interpreted as a personal criticism of both himself and his son, Bronny James. Meanwhile, Smith maintains that his comments were strictly about basketball, specifically regarding how James handled his son’s draft process.
Following both James and Smith speaking out on Wednesday, First Take co-host Shannon Sharpe also joined the discussion on his Night Cap podcast, sharing his thoughts on the matter.
“I wish Stephen A. would have just left it alone once he addressed it,” said Sharpe. “Address it. This is what happened. He came over to me, said what he said. I want to address it now, and I’m going to be done with it. Because, as my grandma used to say, ‘Boy, stirring up old ish, it still smells.’”
This marks the first time Sharpe has spoken out regarding the latest stir-up between Smith and James. As he continued, he made it clear that he believes his First Take co-host should simply move on from the issue.
“I don’t think LeBron was coming to hit you,” noted Sharpe in response to Stephen A. Smith. “LeBron was coming to tell you, bro, just stop talking about my son. Because you said, as a father, now you’re making it personal. You’re making it personal because now you’re making it seem that I’m (LeBron James) not a good father.”
Sharpe continued offering his advice to his First Take co-host via his Night Cap podcast, where he was joined by co-host Chad Ochocinco. He emphasized that it’s time to put an end to the ongoing back-and-forth.
“Now it’s time to move on,” pleaded Sharpe. “It’s not going to stop me from talking about LeBron James, the basketball player on the court. But the incident? I feel that we’ve talked about it at nauseam. I feel we’ve talked about it enough, and now it’s time to move on. That’s what I would wish Stephen A. would do.”
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