ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon was critical of the media in a recent interview with OutKick, following a week-long public feud involving Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and fellow ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith. Last week, Wilbon opened up about his disappointment with the public spat between James and Smith. Additionally, he expressed frustration over how the situation had overshadowed other significant NBA storylines.
In a follow-up interview with Waddle & Silvy on ESPN Chicago, the former Washington Post journalist continued his criticism—not only of how the events transpired but also of how his own ESPN network repeatedly forced the conversation around Lakers second-round selection Bronny James.
“My objection is to everybody talking about Bronny all the time for about three months. I found it disgraceful,” said Wilbon. “I found it less than the professional-level standard that I became accustomed to personally at Northwestern, at The Washington Post. Just talking about Bronny James, for what?”
LeBron James has stated that his issue with Smith was not necessarily about the criticism of Bronny’s performance as an NBA player. Instead, he argued that Smith’s remarks crossed the line into what James termed as personal attacks against both his son and his teammate.
The tension escalated when James confronted Smith at the Lakers’ game against the New York Knicks on March 6 during the third quarter. This sparked a week-long public feud between the two, culminating after James’ appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN.
“(LeBron) and Stephen A. are big boys. They’re sort of equals in this,” Wilbon told ESPN Chicago. “I’m not getting involved in their stuff. I don’t care about their stuff. I don’t consume it. I don’t give a damn about their back-and-forth with each other.”
Wilbon further explained to ESPN Chicago that his comments from the OutKick interview did not receive pushback from his superiors at ESPN. He also reaffirmed his stance when he described the media business as being “just s**t some days.” According to Wilbon, his bosses had a clear understanding of where he stood on the Bronny James coverage, which helped ease tensions on that front.
“It was news at one point. It was news when Bronny was coming into the league and was going to be drafted,” Wilbon noted. “It was a newsworthy subject, and then it wasn’t. Once we got to the season, it wasn’t newsworthy anymore, and I said I wasn’t going to talk about it. The whole nepotism thing? I don’t really buy it. Because if I was a father who had the influence to do something like that for his kid, you damn well better believe I would do it.”
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