Former First Take commentator Skip Bayless has come to the defense of his former teammate Stephen A. Smith in the most recent episode of The Skip Bayless Show on YouTube. Following a week of a public back-and-forth between Smith and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, the former FS1 host has finally broken his silence on the matter, ultimately taking Smith’s side in the whole situation.
Bayless began his comments by sharply criticizing James for the way he confronted Smith during the third quarter of a Lakers game last month.
“How weak was that, on LeBron’s part, to choose that time and that place to deliver that message?” said Bayless. “This was a flat-out ambush, a drive-by, a premeditated and calculated move by LeBron James to show up Stephen A. in front of the NBA world while giving Stephen A. no face-to-face time to respond.”
Furthermore, Bayless noted that he believed Smith would have been happy to have a conversation with James following the game. However, since that didn’t happen, Bayless stated that he doesn’t blame Smith for reacting the way he did.
“LeBron didn’t want any rebuttal,” Bayless argued. “This was just a delusional, irrationally, insanely proud pop, telling off Stephen A. Smith, knowing this debate was rigged. Frankly, that was pretty cowardly.”
Reactions from both Smith and James spread swiftly throughout last week, drawing responses from current and former ESPN employees as well as various media members. Meanwhile, Bayless chose to wait until Monday night to release his thoughts on the matter, explaining that while he does believe Smith “milked” the situation for all it’s worth, that’s simply part of the business they’re in.
Ultimately, while Bayless applauded how Smith handled the situation, he acknowledged that both James and Smith came out of the ordeal looking bad. However, given Bayless’s reputation as a harsh critic of James throughout his career, it was no surprise that he concluded LeBron came out looking even worse.
“LeBron looked way worse,” Bayless remarked. “Still think he’s the G.O.A.T.?”
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